Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/79

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The Agumh is the fame with what is otherwife called Gerah and Kejbitab. The Septuagint translation renders it o&Jws. AGUSADURA, in antient cuftoms, a fee due from vafials to their lord for the fharpening their plowing tackle. Antiently the tenants in Come manors were not allowed to ■ have their rural implements fharpened by any but whom the lord appointed j for which an acknowledgement was to be paid, called Agujadura, in fome places Agujage : which fome take to be the fame with what was otherwife called Re'dlagc, from the anticnt French Re'dle, a plow-fhare. Du Cangc, Gloff Lat. T. i. p. 1 14. AGUTI, in zoology, the name of an American animal, much refembling the Guinea pig, as we call it, having the characters of the rat kind, with the voice and hair of the hog. The hairs are very hard, thick and gloffy, and are of a mixt colour, of a reddifh and brown with more or left black ; thofe on the belly however are yellowim ; its head and whifkers are like thofe of the rab'jit kind, but that the nofc is fharper, and . the upper chop longer than the under one* as in the hog kind; the upper lip is fplit as in the hare, and the legs are naked, or have at the utmoft only a few Scattering hairs on them ; the fore feet have four toes, and the hinder ones fix, and thefe are much longer than the fore legs ; its tail is very fhort, and its eyes prominent ; its voice altogether refembles the grunting of a hog. It is a very voracious animal, devour- ing its food with extream eagernefs, and ufing its fore feet for hands in the manner of the fquirrel. It runs veryfwiftly, and is very expert at digging, fo that it foon buries itfelf in the earth. When provoked, it raifes all the hair of its back up- bright, and ftrikcs the earth with its hinder feet. Ray, Syn. Quad. p. 226. Aguti Trev a infula Marignan^, in botany, a plant men- tioned by Dc Laet. It has the leaves of the orange tree, only thinner, a dewyflower, a large fruit, with a grcenim rind, which contains kernels like thofe of the pomegranate, thin, fweet, and not ill tafted. Ray, Hift. Plant. Agutiguepa Obi Brajilienftbus, in medicine, the name given bymany authors to the arrow root, or Sagittaria alexipharmaca of the Weil Indies. Margrave, p. 23. Pifo. p. 224. AGYEI, in antiquity, a kind of obelifk confecrated to Apol- lo, and placed in the vendibles of houfes, for the fecurity thereof.

The Agyei were no other than huge ftones, or perhaps fome- times timber, having either a circular or fquare bafis, and terminating in a point at the top, facred to Apollo, or as fome fay, to Bacchus, as protector of the high ways. Others will have them to have been erected to both thofe deities. V. Suid. Lex. T. 1. p. 41. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 6<. Baxt. doff. p. 72. AGYNIANI, in church hiftoryj a feet who condemned all ufe of flefh, and marriage, as not inftituted by God, but introduced at the inftigation of the devil. The word is compounded of the privative «, and yvr», wo- man. They are fometimes alfo called Agynnenfes, and Agynii ; and are faid to have appeared about the year 694. It is no wonder they were of no long continuance. Their tenets coincide in great meafure with thofe of the Abelians, GnoJHcs, Cerdonians, and other preachers of chaftity and abrtinence. Prateol. Elench L Haeref. 1. 1. n. 18. p* 13. Arnd. Lex. Ec- clef. p. 40 1 i AGYRTiEj in antiquity* a kind of ftrolling irnpoftors run- ning about the country, to pick up money by telling for- tunes at rich mens doors, pretending to cure difeafes, by charms, facrifkes, and other religious myiteries ; alfo to ex- piate the crimes of their deceafed anceftors, by virtue of certain odours and fumigations ; to torment their enemies* by the ufe of magical verfes and the like* The word is Greek Ayuglat, formed of the verb uyvgv, I con- gregate ; alluding to the practice of Charletans* who gather a crowd about them. Magri, Vocab. Ecclef. p. 8. AGYRTiEj among the Greeks, amount to the fame with Mruf- catores, among the Latins, and differ not much from gypfies among us. Lang. Epift. Medic. 33. 1. 1. p. 141. Vojf. Etym. p. 15. Ejufd. Inftit. Orat. 1. 4. c. 6. Pitifc, Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 65. Hoffm. Lex. Univ. T. 1. p. 117. Burg. Lex. Med. T. 1. p. 366. feq. AHALOTH, in the materia medica, a name ufed by fome writ- ers for the lignum aloes, or aloes wood. It is the Hebrew name. AHANIGER, in ichthyology, a name given by Albertus, and and others, to the fim called by authors Acus vulgarity and by us the garfifli. The fliape of this fifh, which is very long and flender, has caufed it to be confounded with the Syn- gnathus, or tobacco-pipe fifh, called alfo acus ; but they . differ extreamly when examined ; that being a true fpe- cies of the Syngnathus, and this of the Efox or pike. See Esqx. 1 . . AHOUAI, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the cha- racters of which are thefe.

The flower confifts of one leaf, and is of the funnel fafhioned Kind, and divided into feveral fegments at the edge ; from the cup there arifes a piftil, which is fixed in the manner of a nail to the lower part of the flower, and finally becomes a flefhy and pear fafhioned fruit, containing a trigonal ftone . with its kernel.

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The (pedes of Ahouai mentioned by Mr. Tournefort are thefe. Ihe Ahum of Thevet, or the apple-leaved poilbnous "*"' An( l 2- The Nerium-leaved Ahum. Toufnef. Inft P- 6 S«- See alio AfrV/w, Gardn. Difl. Vol. 2. in voc. AHMELLA, in botany, the name given by the Ceylonefe to a plant famous for its virtues, as a lithontriptic, and diuretic ; It is a fpecic-s of bidens, or water hemp agrimony. Its flowers are large, and refcmble thofe of the marygold ; they grow in large numbers on the tops of the flalk, and of the large branches, and are fucceeded by oblong feeds, which have the fame lore of points at one end with thofe of our common bidens, and all the other plants of that genus. The ftalks are fquare, and the leaves ftand in pairs, and are in fliape like thofe of the common nettle.

It nrit got into ufe in the ifland of Ceylon, and other parts of the Eaft-Indies as a diuretic ; and thence obtained among the Europeans, under the great charafler of a certain cure for the ftone. The feeds contain the principal virtues. It is Very probable that tho' this plant may not come up to the charader which was at firft given of it, yet both it and all the other plants of the fame genus, may have very confide- rable virtues in working by urine. We have one fpecies of it very common in all parts of England, about watry places ; and eafily known by its feeds, in Autumn, flicking to the cloths and ftockings of people who go near the plant ; by means of the three points at the end, which are fllarp and bearded. It would be worth while to try whether thefe feeds poflifs virtues worthy notice in phyfic, for at prefent they are neglcdted. This plant and the others of the fame genus are called by the name bidens, from the teeth or prickles at the ends of the feeds, but the word fliould be tridens, for there are three of them. V. Phil. Tranf. N°. 257. p. 365. AHICCYATLI, in zoology, the name of an American ferpent, approaching to the nature of the Hsemorrhous and rattlefnake, but larger than the former, and wanting the rattle of the lat- ter ; it is is fatal in the eft'eft of its poifon, as any known ipecies of ferpent. Ray, Syn. Anim. p. 287. AIAIA, in zoology the name of a Brafilian bird, of the Platen, or fpoonbill kind, called by the Portuguefe Colherado. It i? exactly of the fame fliape, and much of the fame fize with the European fpoonbill, and its beak is in the very fame man- ner broad at the end. It is of a pale but very bright and Aiming flefh colour, on the back and wings ; the other parts of its body are perfe31y white ; it is common about the fliores of rivers, and its flefli is very well tafted. Margrave, Hift. Brafll. AJAX, in antiquity, a furious kind of dance, in ufe among the Grecians; intended to reprefent the madnefs of that hero, after his defeat by UlylTes, to whom the Greeks had given the preference in his conteft for Achilles's arms. Lucian, in his treatife of dancing, fpeaksof dancing the Ajax. There was alfo an annual feaft called Ajantia^ Ai«,1n«, confe- crated to that prince, and obferved with great folemnity in the ifland of Salamis, as well as in Attica ; where, in memory of the valour of Ajax, a bier was expofed, fet out with a compleat fet of armour. Potter, Archaeol. Attic. 1. 2. c. 20. AICHMALOTARCHA. ScejEcHMALOTARCHA.CV/ and

Suppl. AID (Cycl.) — The Aids, or affiftances of divine grace which are offered to man, have been the fubject of much difpute betwixt Janfenifts and Jefuits ; for the compofing whereof, a celebrated congregation was erected at Rome under the title of congregation of Aids, Congregatio de Auxiliis. Some divines after St. Auguftine, diftinguiih two kinds of Aids, viz. fine quo, and quo. Auxilium fine quo, that which the mind is at liberty either to ufe orrefufe,- fuch is fuppofed to have been the Aid miniftred to man in the ftate of innocency, while his mind and will were found and upright. Auxilium quo amounts to what is otherwife called efficacious grace, which furmounts and fubdues the will ; fuch, accord- ing to the Calvinifts and Janfenifts, is fuppofed to be the Aid miniftred by grace, in the ' prefent fallen ftate of human na* ■ ture. Jour, des Scav. T, 33. p. 1047. Aids, in antient cuftoms, are divided into legitimate and free. Legitimate Aids are thofe impofed by authority of law, or antient cuftom ; thefe are fometimes alfo denominated Legi- time Tallies, Leaux Aydes, Aydes Goujlumieres, and Auxilia Communia. Of which kind are the capital Aids, Aids de Re' lief, de Marriage, &c. Aid de Relief, Auxilium pro Relevio feu Raeheto^ is that due from the tenants in fee, upon the death of the Lord Mefn, to his heir, towards the charge of a relief of the fee, of the fuperior Lord. Capital Aid, Ayde Chevel, or Auxilium Capitale; mentioned in the Cyclopaedia, was alfo called Taille Seigneurale, and Aid ot Chivalry. We alfo meet with Auxilium pro Militia Domini, Aid for the lords being knighted ; and Auxilium pro Militia Fratris, for his brothers being dubbed. Authors have been under fome miftake on this head ; the ge- nerality fuppofe, that the chivalry or knighthood here fpoken of, was fome particular order conferred by the king. Eerand, and Bafhage fuppofe it, in Normandy, to have been the order of the Holy Ghoft ; their fyftem is, that the oldeft fons of

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