Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/165

Rh marble Covers for Books. See Marbling, Book-binding, &c.

And there are Diamond-Cutters, who use it to seperate Diamonds from metalline Powders. See Diamond.

'Tis, farther, of service in etching Copper, or Brass-Plates. See Etching.

Lastly, Mr. Boyle assures us he has caused Canes to be stained like Tortoise-shell, by a mixture hereof with Oil of Vitriol, laid on them at fsveral times, over live Coals, to cause it to penetrate the deeper; and, afterwards, giving them a Gloss with a little soft Wax and a dry Cloth.

Aqua Regalis, or Regia. See Aqua Regia.

It is thus call'd, because it dissolves Gold, which is vulgarly esteem'd the King of Metals. It is sometimes also call'd Aqua Chrysulla and Stygia.

Aqua Vitæ is commonly understood of what we otherwise call Brandy. See Brandy.

Some, however, distinguish between 'em ; appropriating the Term Brandy to what is procured from Wine, or the Grape; and Aqua Vitæ to that drawn after the same manner from Malt, &c. See Wine, Malt, Distillation, &c.

Aqua Marina, in natural History, a Gem, or precious Stone, of a Sea-Green Colour : whence its Name, see Precious Stone and Gem.

It is found along the Sea-Coasts; and is said to vie with the Amethyst in hardness. See Amethyst.

Some of the Criticks contend for its being the sixth Stone in the Rationale of the Jewish High Priest; call'd, in the Hebrew, Tharsis; and render'd in Latin, by Berillus, Thalassius, &c. Jonathan and Onkelos call it, in the Chaldee,, Cherum Jamma: Tho' the Seventy, S. Jerom, Aquila, Pagninus, the Translators of Geneva, and Schindler render it Chrysolithus. Others will have it a Turqueise. Leo de Juda and Hutterus translate it Hyacinthus.

Several of the Lapidaries take it for the Beryl; which coincides with the first Opinion. See Beryl.

Aqua omnium floum, in Pharmacy, signifies the distill'd Water of Cows-Dung, when they are at Grass. See Water.

AQUÆDUCT, Aquæductus, q.d. Ductus Aquæe, a Conduit of Water; is a Construction of Stone, or Timber, made on an uneven Ground, to preserve the Level of the Water, and convey it, by a Canal, from one place to another. See Water.

There are Aquæeducts under ground, and others rais'd above it, supported by Arches.

The Romans were very magnificent in their Aquæducts; they had some that extended an hundred Miles. Frontinus, who had the Direct ion of them, tells us of nine that emptied themselves thro' 13514 Pipes, of an Inch Diameter. Blasuis has observ'd, that in the space of twenty-four Hours, Rome received, from these Aquæducts, no less than five hundred thousand Hogsheads of Water. The Aquæduct built near Maintenon for carrying the River Bure to Versailles, is the greatest in the World. It is 7000 Fathoms long; and its Elevation 2560 Fathoms containing 242 Arcades.

Aquæduct, in Anatomy, is a Passage or Persoration, partly membranous, and partly cartilaginous; leading out of the Bony Passage of the internal Ear into the Palate. See Ear and Palate.

It makes the beginning of the Canalis particularis, and is divided into two Parts; the shortest of which opens into the Cavity of the Skull, &c.

It is thus call'd, not only on account of its Form, which is that of a Canal 5 but from its serving to discharge any foreign Matters collected in the inner Cavities of the Ear. It is sometimes call'd Aquæductus Fallofii, from the Name of its first Discoverer.

AQUARIANS, Aquarii, a kind of Hereticks in the third Century, so called from the Latin, Aqua, Water; because they used nothing but Water in the Sacrament. See Eucharist.

'Tis said the Occasion of the Abuse was owing to the Persecution which prevail'd in those Times: For the Christians being then obliged to celebrate the Sacrament in the Night; found it necessary to make use of Water, lest the smell of the Wine mould betray them to the Heathens. But they afterwards went further, and actually forbid the use of Wine in the Eucharist, even when it might be used with safety.

Epiphanius tells us, the Aquarians were the Followers of Tatian; and were so call'd, because they, abstain'd wholly from Wine, and did not use it even in the Eucharist. See Abstemious.

AQUARIUS, in Astronomy, the eleventh Sign in the Zodiac, reckoning from Aries. See Sign and Constel- lation.

The Sun moves thro' it in the Month of January; 'tis mark'd thus ♒︎. See Character..

The Poets feign, that it was Ganymede, whom Jupiter ravish'd under the Shape of an Eagle, and carried away into Heaven, to serve as Cup-bearer in the room of Hebe and Vulcan; whence the Name——Others hold, that the Sign was thus call'd, because, when it appears in the Horizon, the Weather usually proves rainy.—The Stars in the Constellation Aquarius, in Ptolmeys Catalogue, are 45; in Tychos 40 ; in the Britannic Catalogue 99: The Longitudes, Latitudes, Magnitudes, &c. whereof, are as follow:

Stars in the Constellation.

Names