He whose understanding is prepossest with the doctrine of abstract general ideas, may be persuaded that extension in abstract is infinitely divisible, Berkeley's Principles of Human Knowledge. By intenseness of application a philosopher may abstract himself from his senses and his imagination, according to Plato, and employ his mind wholly about incorporeal natures and ideas, to which it becomes united by this abstraction. Bolingbroke's Essay on Human Knowledge. As the abstractedness of these speculations [concerning human nature] is no recommendation, we have attempted to throw some light upon subjects, from which uncertainty has hitherto deterred the wise, and obscurity the ignorant. Hume's Essays. Here then is another source of what has been called abstract terms; or, rather, as you say, another method of shortening communication by artificial substantives: for in this case, one single word stands for a whole sentence. Tooke's Div. Purley, v. ii. ABSTRACT IDEA, in Metaphysics, a partial idea. of a complex object, limited to one or more of the component parts or properties, laying aside or abstracting from the rest. ABSTRACT MATHEMATICS, otherwise called Pure Mathematics. ABSTRACT NUMBERS, assemblages of units, considered in themselves, without denoting any collections of particular things. Thus seventy is an abstract number; but seventy feet is determinate. ABSTRACT TERMS, words that are used to express abstract ideas, as beauty, ugliness, whiteness, roundness, life, death. ABSTRACT, in Literature, a compendious view, shorter than an abridgment, of any large work. ABSTRACTION, in Metaphysics, the operation of the mind when occupied by abstract ideas. ABSTRUSE', adj. Ab: trudo, trusus. To thrust ABSTRUSELY, from. Applied to that, which is ABSTRUSE NESS. thrust, or moved away, so as to require keenness of mind to discover it :-to that which is concealed, obscure, difficult of apprehension, or detection. Let the scriptures be hard; are they more hard, more crabbed, more abstruse than the fathers? Milton on the Reformation in England. Meanwhile the Eternal eye, whose sight discerns Milton's Paradise Lost, b. v. Then, from whate'er we can to sense produce, The thoughtful soul this general inference draws, Prior's Solomon, b. i. Knowledge. Whatsoever is in its own nature abstruse and difficult-whatsoever is of so abstruse a nature, that a person of mean capacity can neither himself, nor by means of any instruction given him, be able clearly to understand it; such a thing cannot possibly be necessary to be understood, by that particular person. Dr. Samuel Clarke's Sermons. CLEO. Why that's the way to foole their preparation, ye prophete discribeth the foly of such as worshippeth those images that hath eares & can not hyre, handes and can not feele, feete and can not goe, mouth and canot speake. All whiche absurdities & onreasonable folyes appeareth as well in the worshippe of our ymages, as in the Painims ydolles. Sir T. More's Works, fol. 1557, p. 133. Those images were all out as gross, as the shapes in which they did represent them: Jupiter with a ram's head; Mercury a dogges, Pan like a goat, Hecate with three heads, one with a beard, another without, and which was absurder yet, they told them these images came from Heaven. Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy. The capital things of nature generally lie out of the beaten paths, so that even the absurdness of a thing sometimes proves useful. Lord Bacon's Essays. FRI. But, signior, I have now found out a great absurditie i' faith. RIN. What was't? FRI. The prologue presenting four triumphs, made but three legs to the king: a three legg'd prologue, 'twas monstrous! Beaumont and Fletcher's four plays in one. Triumph of Honour. His kingdom come. For this we pray in vain, Unless he does in our affections reign: Absurd it were to wish for such a thing, And not obedience to his sceptre bring, Whose yoke is easy, and his burthen light, His service freedom, and his judgments right. Waller's Reflections upon the Lord's Prayer. It was formerly the custom for every great house in England to keep a tame fool dressed in petticoats, that the heir of the family might have an opportunity of joking upon him, and diverting himself with his absurdities. ABSURDUM, reductio ad absurdum, a mode of demonstration employed by mathematicians, when they prove the truth of a proposition by demonstrating that the contrary is impossible, or leads to an absurdity. ABSUS, in Botany, the Egyptian Lotus of Ray. ABSYRTUS, in Mythology, a son of Etes (king of Colchis) and Hypsea; and brother of Medea: who running away with Jason, was pursued by her father; when, to stop his progress, she tore Absyrtus in pieces, and scattered his limbs in the way. Some assert that he was murdered at Colchis, others near Istria; the place where he was killed has been called Tomos, and an adjoining river Abysyrtos. ABTHANES, a title of honour anciently used by the Scots, who called their nobles thanes, or king's ministers. The higher orders were styled abthanes, and the lower underthanes. ABUCCO, ABOCCO, or AвосHI, a weight used in Pegu. One abucco contains 12 teccalis; two abuccos make a giro or agira; two giri, half a hiza ; and a hiza weighs an hundred teccalis; that is, two pounds five ounces the heavy weight, or three pounds nine ounces, the light weight of Venice. ABSURD. ABUCCO. ABUSE. ABUT. ABU ABUKESO, in Commerce, the same with ASLAN KESO. and ASPER; a silver coin, worth from 115 to 120 ABUSE. aspers. ABUNA, the title given by the Christian Arabs to the archbishop, or metropolitan of Abyssinia. It denotes our Father, and is written variously. ABUNDANT NUMBER, a number, the sum of whose aliquot parts exceeds the number itself. Thus 18 is an abundant number because 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9, its aliquot parts, are 21, or greater than that number. When the aliquot parts of any number are of less amount than the number itself, as in the number 15, whose aliquots 1, 3 and 5 make only 9, that number is said to be deficient. A perfect number is one whose aliquot parts are equal to itself. ABUNDANTIA, a heathen goddess exhibited on monuments under the figure of a beautiful woman crowned with garlands of flowers, pouring fruits out of a cornucopia in her right hand, and scattering grain. with her left. She is represented with two cornucopiæ on a medal of Trajan. ABUS, in Ancient Geography, a river of England, which received the united streams of the Ure, the Derwent, and the Trent, falling into the German ocean, and forming the mouth of the Humber. ABUSE', v. ABUSE', n. ABU'SER, ABU'SIVE, Ab: utor, usus. To use from, from, viz. all useful purposes. away To ill use, by deception, guile, imposition, reproach, violence: and ABU'SIVELY, consequently to deceive, impose ABU'SIVENESS, upon, vilify, reproach, violate, ABU'SAGE, defile. ABUSE FUL, ABU'SION. Abusion, though now obsolete, is not uncommon in the elder writers. Who though he lye in a continuall await upō euery preacher to catche hym in to pride if he can: yet his hyest enterprise and proudest triumph standeth in the bringing of a man to the most abuse of that thing, yt is of his own nature the best. And therfore great labour maketh he & gret bost, if he bring it about that a good wit maye abuse his labour, bestowed upon the study of holy scripture. Sir T. More's Works, fol. 1557, p. 151. He shall not be innocet whoso abuseth my name, for I will viset the wykednes of soche fathers in theyr chyldren into the thyrde & fourth generacion. The Exposicion of Daniel, by George Joye, fol. 32, çol. ii. I see how thine abuse hath wrested so thy wittes, And certes that were an abusion That God shuld haue no perfite clere weting More than we men, yt haue doutous wening But soch an errour vpon God to gesse Surrey. Chaucer. Fourth booke of Troilus, fol. 181. col. 2. Ye nobles & commōs also of this realm, & specially of ye north partes, not willing any bastard blood to haue ye rule of the land, nor ye abusions before in ye same vsed any loger to continue, haue codisceded & fullye determined to make huble petició vnto ye most puisat prince, ye lord protector. Sir T. More's Works, fol. 1557. p. 63. God of his infinite mercie, has sent vs a newe Josias, by whose rightuous administracion and godly policie, the lighte of God's word that so many yeares before was here extinct began to shine againe: to the vtter extirpatio of false doctrine, the roote and chiefe cause of all abusions. Erasmus's Paraphrase of N. T. by P. Udall, God commanded the people to kepe the calendes, and newe moones: yet not with sutche superstition and abuses, as the people kepte them. Jewel's Defence of the Apologie. Whose hideous shapes were like to feendes of hell, All shap't according their conditions : For by those ugly formes weren portray'd, Foolish delights, and fond abusions, Which doe that sense besiege with light illusions. Spenser's Faerie Quene, book ii. ch. xi. True it is, concerning the word of God, whether it be by miscon struction of the sense, or by falsification of the words, wittingly to endeavour that any thing may seem divine which is not, or any thing not seem which is, were plainly to abuse, and even to falsify divine evidence. Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity. Legh said, that there was honest devotion in those parts, and not used with abusion. Pole asked, what he called abusion. Legh answered, all that which was demanded in God's pretence, and afterwards to man's folly. Strype's Memorial of the Reformation.. ZARA. The faithful Selim, and my women, know The dangers which I tempted to conceal you. You know how I abus'd the credulous king; When he receiv'd you as the prince of Fez. Congreve's Mourning Bride, act ii. sc. 9. ALITH. Insomuch, that I can no longer suffer his scurrilous abusiveness to you, no more than his love to me. Wycherly's Country Wife, act iii. sc.1. Wretch! that from slander's filth art ever gleaning, Spite without spite, malice without meaning: The same abusive, base, abandon'd thing, When pilliored, or pension'd by a king. Mason's Epistle to Dr. Shebbeare. ABUSIVE, in Ecclesiastical Law; is applied to a permutation of benefices, without the consent of the bishop, which is consequently null. ABUSIR, BUSIR, or BUSIRIS, a town of Lower Egypt, on the right bank of the Nile, thirty-eight miles south of Damietta. It is now a place of inferior note, but stands on the site of the ancient BUSIRIS, and retains some few ruins of the temple of Isis;—it once gave its name to that branch of the Nile on which it is situated. ABUSIR, or, The Tower of the Arabians, two fortified eminences on the coast of Egypt, about 120 miles west of Alexandria, which are the first objects observable on that coast in sailing from the westward; and form, therefore, a kind of sea-mark to naviga tors. ABUT. ABYLA. Suppose within the girdle of these walls The name and place of the thing granted were ordinarily express'd, as well before as after the conquest; but the particular manner of abuttalling with the term itself, arose from the Normans, as appeareth in the Customary of Normandy, cap. 556, where it is said, that declaration must be made par bouts & costes destites terres saisies, of the abuttals and sides of the said lands seised. Bout signifieth the end of a thing, abbouter to thrust forth the end. Spelman on Antient Deeds and Charters. ABUTTALS, the buttals or boundings of a piece of land. In Coke, the plaintiff is said to fail in his abuttals; that is, in proving how the land is bounded. ABUTUA, a kingdom in South Africa, to the north of the Hottentot country, said to be rich in gold mines. ABYDOS, an ancient city of Asia on the eastern side of the Dardannelles. It was built by the Milesians, with the permission of king Gyges, and famous for the bridge of boats which Xerxes here threw across the Hellespont; and for the loves of Leander and Hero. This city was once important, as it commanded the straits, and defended itself with great courage against Philip of Macedon; but at length the surrender, A. M. 3803, was attended with dreadful scenes of carnage. Liv. 31, c. 18. LUCAN. 2, v. 674, &c. ABY DOS, OF ABYDUS, an ancient town of Upper Egypt, between Ptolemais and Diospolis Parva, which contained the palace of Memnon and the celebrated temple of Osiris, built by Osymandes. Under the empire of Augustus, the town was reduced to ruins; but to the west of it, in the present village of El-Berbi, magnificent remains of what is supposed to have been the tomb of Osymandes, are still found. The entrance is under a portico sixty feet in height, and supported by two rows of columns. The massy character of the edifice, and its hieroglyphics, proclaim its Egyptian origin. The tomb itself forms a kind of entrance to the adjoining temple, which is nearly 300 feet in length, and 150 wide. Remains of extensive apartments communicate with each other by subterranean passages and staircases, whose walls are sculptured with the ancient Egyptian symbols, and many of the idols of ancient and modern India; amongst which the celebrated Juggernaut and Vishnu are conspicuous. An apartment 46 feet long by 22 wide, opens at the bottom of the first hall. Six square pillars support the roof; and at the angles are the doors of four other chambers, which have been buried in rubbish by the Arabs in their search for concealed treasures. The next hall is 64 feet long by 24 wide. Various colossal figures adorn these apartments, which are minutely described by Savary in his Letters on Egypt; the pyramids themselves have not more successfully resisted the ravages of time than these splendid ruins; which appear still likely to reach remotest ages. ABYLA (Ptolemy, Mela); one of the pillars of Hercules on the African side, called by the Spaniards Sierra de las Monas; opposite to Calpe in Spain, the other pillar. They are supposed to have been formerly conjoined, but separated by Hercules, and thus to have opened an entrance to the sea now called the Mediterranean; the limits,according to Pliny, of the labours of Hercules. That this liues in thy minde? What seest thou els Shakespeare's Temp. act i. sc. 1. And at this time most easie 'tis to doo't: Id. Ant. & Cl. act iii. sc. 2. This Prince, who received the name of Ironside from his hardy valour, possessed courage and abilities sufficient to have prevented his country from sinking into those calamities, but not to raise it from that abyss of misery into which it had already fallen. Hume's England. ABYSS. A controversy has arisen on the subject of a supposed cavern in the centre of the earth, to which this name has been given. Whether the waters said to be contained in this immense deep, were deposited here on the third day of the creation, or retired into it after the deluge, is matter of dispute. Dr. Woodward, and others, suppose this vast collection of waters to have been called by Moses 'the great deep;' and that over its surface, the terrestrial strata are expanded. The water is believed to communicate with the ocean, by certain hiatuses or chasms, having one common centre; but in such a manner that the surface of the abyss is not level with that of the ocean, nor yet so distant from the centre as the other, it being restrained and depressed by the super-incumbent strata of earth. Whereever these strata are broken, or porous, the water ascends, and saturates all the interstices of the earth, stone, or other matter, till it attains the level of the ocean. ABYSS. ABYSS. Springs and rivers, and the level maintained in the surfaces of different seas, have been supposed to originate in this abyss: and to the effluvia emitted from it have been even attributed the diversities of the atmosphere. This theory seems far from being satisfactorily demonstrated; and by most persons is considered as rather ingenious than philosophical or correct. Whoever wishes to investigate this curious speculation more fully, and to acquaint himself with the controversies it has occasioned, may consult WOODWARD'S Nat. Hist. of the Earth, with Holloway's Introduction. WHITEHURST'S Inquiry into the Original Formation of the Strata, &c. COCKBURN's Inquiry into the Truth and Certainty of the Mosaic Deluge. JAMESON's Mine- ABYSS. ralogy, vol. iii. p. 76. CAMERAR. Dissert. Taur. Act. Erudit. Supp. tom. vi. Id. 1727, p. 313. Journal des Sçavans, tom. lviii. Memoirs of Literature, vol. viii. ABYSS is more properly used in Antiquity, to denote the temple of Proserpine; in which a magnificent fund of gold and other riches were supposed to have been concealed. ABYSS, in Heraldry, to denote the centre of an escutcheon. A thing is said to be borne in abyss, en abysme, when placed in the middle of the shield, clear from any other bearing: "He bears azure, a flower delis, in abyss." COLOMBIERE. ABYSSINIA. Extent. Names. ABYSSINIA. ABYSSINIA, ABASSIA, HABESH, OF UPPER ETHIOPIA, an African kingdom, of very considerable extent, lying between the 7th and 16th degrees N. lat. and the 30th and 40th degrees of E. lon. The medial breadth is about eight degrees of longitude, in lat. 10°, about 550 British miles. Ancient writers give the title of Ethiopians to all nations of a black complexion; hence the Arabians, and many other Asiatics were so denominated. The Africans in general were divided into the western or Hesperian Ethiopians, and the eastern, situated above Egypt. As the ancients never acquired any accurate knowledge of this extensive region, it is not surprising that they should differ concerning the situation of the empire of Ethiopia, and assign it such a variety of names; as India, an appellation which seems also to have been applied to many distant and unknown nations; Atlantia and Etheria; and in the most remote times, Cephenia. Its usual appellation was Abasene, a word very similar to Abassia, or Abyssinia, its modern names. Persia, Chaldea, Assyria, and other Asiatic countries, were sometimes styled Ethiopia; and all the countries along the coasts of the Red sea, were promiscuously denominated India and Ethiopia. The Jewish names of Ethiopia were Cush and Ludim. To one country, however, above the rest, Situation of the title of Ethiopia Propria was given. It was bounded Ethiopia on the north by Egypt, extending to the lesser cataraet Propria. of the Nile, and the island of Elephantine; on the west by Libya Interior; on the east by the Red sea; and on the south by unknown parts of Africa. Different nations, the ancients. More than twenty different nations are described by the writers of antiquity, each as distinguished by some consiaccording to derable peculiarity. Their descriptions are evidently tinctured with fable; but as a gratification to the curious, we shall preserve the principal names which have been transmitted to us. 1. The Anthropophagi, or maneaters, now supposed to have been the Caffres, and not any inhabitants of Proper Ethiopia. 2. The Hippophagi, or horse-eaters, who lay to the northward of Libya Incognita. 3. The Agriophagi, who lived on the flesh of wild beasts. 4. The Pamphagi, who used almost every thing indiscriminately for food. 5. The Struthiophagi (situated to the south of the Memnones); 6. The Acridophagi; 7. Chelonophagi; 8. Ichthyophagi; 9. Cynamolgi; 10. Elephanto phagi; 11. Rhizophagi; 12. Spermatophagi; 13. ABYSSI Hylophagi; and, 14. Ophiophagi—all of whom had NIA. their names from the food they made use of, viz. ostriches, locusts, tortoises, fish, bitches milk, elephants, roots, fruits or seeds, and serpents. 15. The Blemmyes, near the borders of Egypt; who, probably from the shortness of their necks, were said to have no heads; but eyes, mouths, &c. in their breasts. Their form must have been very extraordinary, if we believe Vopiscus, who gives an account of some of the captives of this nation brought to Rome. 16. The Nobatæ, inhabiting the banks of the Nile, near the island Elephantine already mentioned, said to have been removed thither by Oasis, to repress the incursions of the Blemmyes. 17. The Troglodytes, by some writers said to belong to Egypt, and described as little superior to brutes. 18. The Nubians, of whom little more is known than their name. 19. The Pigmies, by some supposed to be a tribe of Troglodytes; but by others placed on the African coast of the Red sea. 20. The Aualitæ, or Abalita, of whom we know nothing more than that they were situated near the Abalitic gulf. 21. The Asache, a people inhabiting the mountainous parts, and continually employed in hunting elephants. 22. The Macrobii, a powerful nation, remarkable for their longevity; some of them attaining the age of 128 years. 23. The Sambri, situated near the city of Tenupsis, in Nubia, upon the Nile; of whom it is reported that all the quadrupeds they had, not excepting even the elephants, were destitute of ears. 24. The Hylogones, neighbours to the Elephantophagi, and who were so savage that they had no houses, nor any other places to sleep in but the tops of trees. PROVINCES. Modern Abyssinia, according to Mr. Provinces Bruce, is divided into two principal parts, named Tigré and Amhara; which, however, refers rather to the distinction of language than to that of territory. Masuah is the most easterly province; it runs Masuah. parallel to the Indian ocean and Red sea, in a zone of about 40 miles broad, as far as the island of that name. The territories of the Baharnagash include this province, as well as the districts of Azab and Habab. In the former are mines of fossil salt, which is cut into square solid pieces about a foot in length, and used to ABYSSI- answer the purpose of money. The Habab is also ΝΙΑ. called the land of the Agaazi, or Shepherds; who have used letters from the earliest times. Their language is termed Geez. The province of Masuah is now under a Mahometan governor, called a naybe. Tigre. Sire. Samen. Narea, &c. Tigre is a very wealthy province, bounded on the east by the territories of the Baharnagash; the river Mareb is the eastern boundary, and the Tacazze the western. It is about 200 miles long from north to south, and 120 broad from west to east. Sire is about 25 miles in length, and the same in breadth. Tacazze is its western boundary. Samen is a mountainous province, lying to the westward of the Tacazze, about 80 miles long, and in particular places 30 broad, though in general much narrower. Begemder is situated to the north-east of Tigré ; about 180 miles long and 60 broad; bounded on the west by the river Nile; and comprehending the mountainous country of Lasta. Its soldiers are the best in Abyssinia it is said that this province, with Lasta, can furnish 45,000 horsemen. It abounds with iron mines, and beautiful cattle. It constitutes the principal barrier against the incursions of the Galla, who notwithstanding their frequent attempts, have never yet been able to form a settlement in it. The mountainous province of Amhara is about 120 miles long, and upwards of 40 broad. The men have the reputation of being the handsomest in Abyssinia. This province contains the rock Geshen, once the residence of the royal family. Walaka is situated between the rivers Geshen and Samba. In this province the only surviving prince of the family of Solomon was preserved, after the massacre by Judith; on which account, great privileges were conferred upon the inhabitants. This province is remarkable for the monastery of Debra Libanos, where the famous saint Tecla Haimanout, the founder of the power of the clergy, was bred. Gojam is bounded on the north by the mountains of Amid Amid, on the south by the river Nile, on the west by another river named Gult, and on the east by the river Temci. It is about 40 miles long, from north to south; and somewhat more than 20 in breadth from east to west: very populous; but inferior to the rest of Abyssinia in military character. It abounds in fine cattle, and is celebrated for containing within its borders, some of the sources of the Nile. To the east, and beyond the mountains of Amid Amid, lies the country of the Agows; on the west Buré, Umbarma, and the country of the Gongas; on the south, those of Damot and Gafat, and Dingleber. Dembea occupies the space bordering the lake of that name, from Dingleber below the mountains bounding Guesque and Kuara. Kuara, to the south of Dembea, is the Macrobii of the ancients. There is, in the lower part of this province, a colony of Pagan blacks, named Ganjar; derived, according to Bruce, from the black slaves who accompanied the Arabs after the invasion of Mahomet. The governor of this country is one of the great officers of state: he has kettle-drums of silver, which he alone has the privilege of beating through the streets of Gondar. Narea, Ras-el- Feel, Tchelga, and other frontier countries, are inhabited by Mahometans, and usually governed GENERAL APPEARANCE. The aspect of Abyssinia is General generally wild and magnificent. The mountains are re- appearance. markable for their elevation, though their precise height has never yet been ascertained. Some have idly repeated, that they exceed the Alps and Pyrenees. Some resemble pyramids and obelisks, while others are flat and square, grouped with the utmost irregularity. The country abounds also in forests, morasses, deep and beautiful vallies and rivers. This renders travelling difficult, but it is also delightful, from the charms of perpetual and romantic variety. The great salt plain, which extends over part of the Salt plain. tract between Amphila and Masuah, is one of the most extraordinary productions of Abyssinia. It is For half a mile the about four days' journey across. salt is soft, but afterwards it becomes hard, like snow partially thawed. For about the depth of two feet it is pure and hard, when it becomes coa:ser and softer. The digging of this salt is rather dangerous, from the vicinity of the Galla, who will often attack the persons so employed, as well as the caravans which convey the salt to Antalo, where they are much welcomed upon their safe arrival. MOUNTAINS. The mountains are arranged in three Mountains. ridges; the principal elevations, as is usual in such regions, being in the middle, and at the same time, the most rugged and barren. On the east of the kingdom are the heights of Taranta; toward the centre, the Lamalmon, and in the south, the Ganza. Bruce represents' the Taranta as so bare, that there was no possibility of Taranta. pitching a tent; and recourse was accordingly had to a cave for lodging. The lower part of the mountain produces in great plenty, the tree called kolquall, which he found in a state of high perfection. The middle produced olives, which had no fruit; and the upper part was covered with the oxycedras or Virginia cedar, called arze in the language of the country. On the top is a small village named Halai, inhabited by poor shepherds, who keep the flocks of the rich people of the town of Dixan below. They are of dark complexion, inclining to yellow; their hair black, and curled artificially with a stick. The men have a girdle of coarse cotton cloth, swathed six times round their middle; and they carry along with them two lances, and a shield made of bulls' hides. Besides these weapons, they have in their girdles a crooked knife, with a blade about 16 inches in length, and three in breadth, at the lower part. There is an abundance of cattle; the cows are generally milk white, with dewlaps down to their knees; their horns wide; and their hair like silk. The sheep are black, having hair upon them instead of wool; but remarkable for its lustre and softness. On the top of the mountain is a plain, which, at the time of Bruce's visit, was sown with wheat. The air seemed excessively cold, though the barometer was not below 59° in the evening. On the western declivity, the cedars degenerate into shrubs and bushes. Lamalmon is on the north-west part of the mountains Lamalmon. of Samen, and was ascended by Bruce by a winding path, scarcely two feet broad, on the brink of a dreadful precipice, and frequently intersected by the beds of |