Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/141

 AMU

AMTRUSTIO, in antient charters, denotes a fworn or liege tenant, or vaffa], of the antient French or German kings. The word is alio written Antrufio. Spelman derives it from the German Ampt, office, bufinefs, and the Englifh Trujlee. Spelm. Gloff. p. 29. feq.

AMULET (Cyd.)— Some think this word derived from Amu- la, a fmall vefiel with luftral water in it, antiently carried in the pocket by the Romans, for the fake of purification and expiation. This laft opinion appears the more probable, in that fome Amulets were made in the fhape of little veffels, as appears from the teftimony of Pliny* who obferves, that pieces of amber, cut in form of little veilels, were hung about childrens necks for Amulets. Infantibus alligaiur fuc- cinum Amuleti ratioue formam vajcidi babens. Vid.Jour des Scav. T. 45. p. 382.

Amulets are by fome confidered as a natural fpecies of Talif- rnans." Others rather make Talifmans a fpecies of Amulets b . — [' Mem. deTrev." 1707. p. 1250. "Jour, de Scav.T.20. p. 416.]

The Sambucus is faid by Hartman to be art Amulet againft the Epilepfy : Dipfaci, according to Diofcorides and Scali- ger, are Amulets againft the Quartan : Toad Flax, Linaria, is by others reputed an Amulet againft the haemorrhoids : Or- pin, Telapbium, by Wedelius, c againft the blind piles, and condylomata: a fpider inclofcd in a fmall nut, by others, againft the phthifis : Jet, againft the gravel : a dead man's tooth, againft the tooth-ach.' 1 — [= Ephem. Acad. N. C. dec. I. an. 2. Obf. 195. J Jour, des Scav. T. 7. p. 38.] The Bulla, worn by the antients ; the Abraxas of the Brafi- lidians, &c. were alfo Amulets.

The antients made great ufe of gems for Amulets.- The whole Eaft, according to Chiflet, wore a kind of jafpai for this pur- pofe.— Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 90.

Some will have the Teraphim of Laban, c which were car- ried away by Rachel, and the ear-rings which Jacob hid un- der an oak, to have been Amulets. f — <[ c Gen. c. xxxi. v. ig. f Gen. c. xxxv. v. 4. Calm. Diet. Bibl. T. 1. p. 122. That fpecies of Amulets compounded of poifons, ufed as pre- fervatives from the plague, are mere particularly denominated Zenechta. Vid. Giorn. de Letter. deParm. 1690. p. 164.] Under Amulets, fome alfo include medicinal or other fub- ftances fixed to brutes, or even plants, to preferve them from certain difeafes and dangers.

Charms, words, fcrolls, magic figures and numbers make a large clafs of Amulets, to which the Turks are ftill greatly devoted. Their Amulets, called Cbaimaili, are little bits of paper of two or three fingers breadth, rolled up in pieces of filk, containing fhort prayers or fentences out of the Alco- ran, with circles and other figures, in which they inferibe the name of Jefus, the figure of the crofs, the firft words of St. John's gofpel, and the like. They hang them about their necks, or place them under their arm-pits, or in their bofom near their hearts, and efpecially when they go to war, as a prefervative againft the dangers of it. Phil. Tranf. N" 155. P; 445-

1 he pope is fuppofed to have the virtue of making Amulets, which he exercifes in the confecrating of Agnus Dei's, &c. See the article Agnus Dei.

The fpunge which has wiped his table, was formerly in great veneration on this account, as a prefervative from wounds, and death it (elf: On this account it was fent with great fo- lemnity by Gregory II. to the duke of Aquitain. Vid. Act. Erud. Lipf. 1718. p. 210.

Amulet, in a more particular fenfe, is reftrained to fuch medicines, as do not operate by any phyfical virtue, or thofe wherein there is no proportion between the caufe and effeft. Burggr. Lex Med. in voc.

In this fenfe medicines which operate by effluvia, odors, and the like, do not belong to the clafs of Amulets. In this fenfe alfo thofe effence veffels worn by hyfterical women on their bread, called by Greek authors *a$}»?, and by the Latin ones damns pectoris, were not properly Amulets.

Amulet is fometimes alfo applied, in a more extenfive fenfe, to all medicines, whether internal or external, whofe virtue or manner of operation is occult. — Vid. Giorn. de Letter de Parm. 1690. p. 164.

We find Mr. Boyle giving credit to Amulets, not as magic charms, but as having fome fecret phyfical influence. He tells us, that he himfelf, being troubled with a bleeding at the nofe one fummer, what he found the moft effectual remedy was, the mofs of a dead man's ftull, tho' it did but barely touch his (kin. Vid. Boyle Phil. Works abr. vol. 1. p. 445. Several authors have written exprefsly on Amulets, as Jul. Reichett, Dav. Rein, Cafp. Bartholin, Th. Eraftus, Ant. Tollini, 8 and Jac. Wolfius, * which laft has almoft exhaufted

the fubject of Amulets [s V. Lipen. Bibl. Med. p. 15.

Ejufd. Bibl Phil. p. 42. h Wolf. Scrutinium Amuletorum Medicum, in quo de natura & attributibus illorum, uti & plurimis illis qua; pafiim in ufum tarn in theoria quam praxi vocari fueverunt, ac in fpecie de Zenechtis, vel qua; pefti op- ponuntur, agitur, &c. Lipf. 1690, 4°. An extrafl of it is given in Giorn. de Letter de Parma, 1690. p. 163, feq. Suppl. Vol, I. 1

A M Y

AMULETICS, in medicine, is ured by fome writers for what is more frequently called an Amulet.

Amuletics amount to the fame with what are othcrwife called Sympatbctus. See Amulet, and Sympathy. Amuletics are chiefly ufed of late times to ftop bleedine- fuch are the perfuana, lapis hematites, dried toads, &c alfo againft warts, farcomas, &c. V. Junck. Confp. Chirurg.

Digby's fympathctic powder is one of the principal Amuletic: in cafes of haemorrhages; and with many the ancora facra Junck. Confp. Medic, tab. 3. n. 6.

AMUND, in antient writers, denotes a perfon free or dif- charged from tuition or wardfhip. Du Cange, Gloff. Lat 1 . 1. p. 176.

The word is alfo written Aamund, Amond, and Amont; and is compounded of the privative a, and the Saxon Mund'e de- fence, tuition. J

AMURACORY, In fome writers of the middle age, denote a kind of Turiijb foldiery belonging to the corps or order of fant%arieSi

They feem to be the fame with thofe otherwife called Saraptam and Pocillatores. Aquin. Lex. Milit. in voc. AMURCA (Cyd.yis properly an aqueous dufky coloured juice which is exprefled together with the oil out of olives ; but which, upon (landing, feparates, and fettles to the bottom Some define Amurca by the feces or dregs of olives, an ex- preffion not altogether proper ; in regard what fettles from the oil, after it is put in the calk, is properly denominated its feces The olive is faid to confift of five fubftances, or, nucleus fan/a, oleum and Amurca. Calv, Lex. Jur. p. 66. Amurca being boiled in a copper veffel to the confidence of honey, becomes a drug of fome ufc in medicine, being re- puted an aftringent and drier • ; and as fuch fometimes pre- ferred in ulcers, as well as againft difeafes of the teeth, eyes

t C b "7l", Sa ^ r - Dia ' Commi T. i.-pi 96. " V. Burger. Lex. Med. T. 1. p. 617. wggr.

Hippocrates applies the term Amurca to a crude, immature

putrid ftate of the liver. Hippacr. Aph. 45.

Some authors have alfo given the Name Amurca to the juice

or fluid found in the renes fuccenturiati. Caftel. Lex. Med.

in voc. Amurca. See Succenturiati. AMYGDALA, in natural hiftory, the name of a fpecies or

eebmusmarinus, of the genusof the Briffoides. Klein. Echin.

p. 16. See the article Brissoides. Amygdala, in furgery, denotes fuperfluous flefh growing

at the root of the tongue. Ruland. Lex. Alchem cat AMYGDALOIDES lapis, in natural hiftory, the name given

by authors to a ftone which refembles the kernel of an alrnond

in figure. It is no natural foffile, but the petrify'd fpine of

an echnus marinUs, or fea-urchin, of the nature of the lapis

Judaicus, but wanting the pedicle or ftalk of that fpine. AMYGDALUS, the almond-tree, in botany. See the article

ALMOND-Tra». AMYLON, in antient writers, a kind of pulment anfwer-

lng, as fome apprehend, to our furmity. Baxt. Gloff. in

voc.

The word is Greek) Afiuto, thus called, becaufe made fms mola. J

AMYNTA, in literary hiftory, a beautiful paftoral comedy compofed by Taffo ; the model of all dramatic pieces wherein fhepherds are actors.

Taffo's Amynta is allowed by the critics to be a mafter-piece in its kind, as containing all the beauties and delicacies poffiblc. The author even preferred it to his Jerufalem : It has been tranflated into French, Spanifh, Englifh, Flemifh and High- Dutch ; and been imitated by moft of the Italian poets fince efpecially by Guarini and Bonarelli : The Pa/lor Fido, and Filli di Scire, are only copies of this excellent piece. Baill Jugm. des Scav. T. 4. P. 1 p. 393. feq. Menag. Difcorf! fopr. Amynt. in pref. Anti-Baill. T. 1. n. 55.

AMYNTOR properly denotes a perfon who defends or vindicates a caufe. The word is pure Greek, A^iAj, formed of the verb upvm, I defend or avenge.

In this fenfe Mr. Toland entitles his defence of Milton's life Amyntor, as being a vindication of that work againft Mr! Blackall, and others, who had charged him with queftioning the authority of fome of the books of the new Teftament, and declaring his doubt that feveral pieces under the name of Chrift and his apoftles, received now by the whole Chriftian church, were fuppofititious.

The foundation of Amyntor is, that what had been faid in the life of Milton concerning the fpurioufnefs of feveral pieces under the name of Chrift and his apoftles, was not meant of thofe writings which are now received by the whole Chrif- tian church, but of thofe apocryphal pieces, which were in many places received and approved of by the Fathers, and the firft ages ; fuch as the epiftles of Barnabas, of Clement, and of Ignatius ; and many others, under the titles of go'fpels, afls, liturgies; fome revelations, and the paftor Hermas ; all which he holds to be mere forgeries, fome of pious biggots and others of Heathens ; but at the fame time he fuggefts many things which tend to diminifh the authority of the canon of the new Teftament itfelf.


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