Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/192

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ASC

From «, hanrio, to drink ; and Sttt, Forma, Shape.

ARYTiENOIDEUS, in Anatomy, a Pair of Mufcles of the Larynx. See Larynx.

The Arytisnoidcus has its Head in one Arytenoid Car- tilage, and its Tail in the other; and ferves to bring them together, and mut tke Rima or Glottis. See Glottis

ARYARYTJENODEUS, in Anatomy, one of the Muf- cles ferving to clofe the Larynx; otherwile called little Ary- uuoideus, and Aryaritrenoideus, as deriving its Origin from the pofterior and inferior part of the Aryticnoides. See Arytienoides.

ARYTHMUS, in Medicine, a Sinking or Failure of the Pulfe, fo as it can no longer be felt. See Pulse.

The Word is form'd from the privative Particle <*, and fiBuof, Modulus, or Pulfus.

AS, among Antiquaries, has two different Significations.

l° It fignifies a Weight ; and in this Senfe the Roman As is the fame with the Roman Libra, or Pound. See Weight, Libra, Pound, &c.

The As had feveral Divifions. — The principal were, the Uncia, or Ounce ; which was the twelfth Part ol the /is : Sextans, the fixth Part of the As, or two Ounces : £>ua- drans, the fourth Part of the As, or three Ounces : Triens, the third Part of the As, which was four Ounces : Quin- cunx was five Ounces : Semis, half the As, that is fix Oun- ces : Scptunx, feven Ounces : Ses, two Thirds of the As, or eight Ounces : fDodrmS, three Fourths of the As, or nine Ounces : 'Sextans, ten Ounces : Seunx, eleven Oun- ces. Sec Ounce, Uncia, Quadrans, &c.

Hence, alio, the Word As came to fignify a whole or en- tire Thing, or the Totality of any Thing ; in which Senfe it was ufed, principally, in Matters ofSucceffion, and fignificd the whole Succefllon, or Inheritance. Thus, to inherit to any Perfon, ex ajfe, was to inherit all his Eftate, to be his fole Legatee, his only Heir ; and thus, to inherit, ex tricnte, ex femi/fc, ex beffe, was to inherit a Third, an Half, or two Thirds of the Eftate.

i° As was alfo the Name of a Roman Coin. See Coin.

Under Ntima Pompilius, according to Eufebius, the As was either of Wood, Leather, or Shell. — In the Time of Tullus Hoflilms, it was Brafs, and was call'd As, Libra, or Pound. — Four hundred and twenty Years after, the firft iPllnic War having exhaufted the Treafury, they retrench'd a Sextans or two Ounces, and thenceforward only made it of the Weight of a Sextans, or ten Ounces.— After this they took away another Ounce, and reduced the As to a Sodrans, or nine Ounces. — Laftly, by the Papirian Law, they took away an Ounce and half more, and reduced the As to a Septunx and Semuncia : And 'tis generally thought that it refted here all the Time of the Commonwealth. See Money.

This laft was called the Papirian As, in regard the Law juft mentioned was pafs'd in the Year of Rome 5^3, by C. Tapirius Carbo, then Tribune of the People. Thus there were four different As's in the Time of the Commonwealth.

The Figure which the As bore, was a Janus with two Faces on the one Side, and the Roftrutn or Prow of a Ship on the other Side.

The Word is derived from the Greek dU, which, in the Sorick Dialect, is ufed for s/V, one, q. d. an entire Thing ; as above noted. Goodwin will have it named As, quafi Jh',s, becaufe made of Brafs. — Budmis has wrote nine Books i)e jfffe & ejus partibus, of the Js and its Parts.

' ASAPPES, Asappi, an Order of Soldiers in the Turkifh Army, whom they expofe to the firft Shock of their Ene- mies, to the end that being thus fatigued, and their Swords blunted, the Spahi's and Janizaries may fall on and find an eafy Conqueft.

The Afappes are held of fo little Value, that they fre- quently ferve as Bridges for the Cavalry to pafs over, in ill Roads, and as Fafcines to fill up the Ditches of Places be- fieged. — The greater! Part of them are natural Turks; they travel on Foot, and have no Pay, but the Plunder they can get from the Enemy.

The Word is deriv'd from the Turkifli Saph, which fig- nifies Rank, File, Order; from whence they have formed Afpbaph, to range in Battle.

ASBESTINE 'Paper or Cloth, is fuch as will burn in the Fire, be purified by it, and yet not confume. See In- combustible.

It is made of the Asbeflos, or Lapis Amianthus ; and is by fome called Linum Vivum. See Asbestos.

The Antients are faid to have made Napkins and Towels of it, which, when foul, inttead of Warning, they threw into the Fire to cleanfe. Sec Linum Incombuflibile.

ASBESTOS, or Amianthus, Lapis, in natural Hiftory, called alfo Caryftms Lapis, an incombuftible Matter ; fup- pofed by fome to be a fort of Flax, growing on the Pyre- neans ; whence it is alfo called Linum vivnm, Linum In- combuflibile, &c.

The Asbeflos, or Lapis Asbeflos, is really a fort of native, fiflile Stone, which one may fplit into Threads or Filaments,

very fine brittle, yet fornewhat tractable, filkv and of a greyifh filver Colour, not unlike Talc of Venice''

It is almoft infipid to the Tafte, indiffoluble in Water ■ and expofod to the Fire, neither confumes nor calcines.- A large Burmng-glafs, indeed, reduces it into little Glafs Globules, in proportion as the Filaments feparate • but com" mon Fire only whitens it. See BuRNiNG-Gia/s. '

Thefe Filaments are of different Lengths, from one Inch to ten.— The Stone is found inclofed within other very hard Stones, and is brought from the Ifles of the Archipelago the Pyreneans, and from Montauban in France. We have alfo feen Inftances of it in Scotland, Wales, &c.

Several Perfons have pretended to the Secret of fpinning the Asbeflos : 8. Porta affurcs, that in his Time, 'twas % thing known to every Body in Venice : And yet this fhould leem hardly practicable, without the Mixture of fome other very pliant Matter, as Wool, Line or Hemp along with it • the Filaments of the Amianthus it felf being too brittle to make any tolerably fine Works.— See further of the natural Hiftory, Preparation, ManufaEluring, &c. of this celebrated Stuff, under the Article Linum Incmnbuftibile. . I

The Works made of Asbeflos, were heretofore held in fo grea,t Efteem, that they were of equal Price with Gold ; and none but Emperors and Kings had Napkins made of it. Sea

ASBEST.INE-Ctei.

Sorr.-e. Antiquaries are of Opinion, that the Antients made Shrouds of the Asbeflos, wherein they burnt the Bodies of their Kings, in order to prefervc their Afoes entire, and pre- T^t-t X, g mix ' d with tbofc °f Wood, and other com- buftible Matters, whereof the common Funeral Piles were form'd. See Funeral, Burning, &e.

Others affert, that the Antients ufed the Asbeflos: to make perpetual Wicks for fepulchral Lamps.

However this be, there are fome at this Day who ufs the Asbeflos for the Wicks of fuch Lamps as they would not have any trouble withal; becaufe the Amianthus never wafting, there is no occafion for fhifting the Wick. See Lamp.

The Word **fe©-, Asbeflos, properly fignifies an incom- buftible Body ; being formed of the privative Particle a, and cHnoyM, extinguo — Notwithstanding the common opinion that Fire has no Efleft on the Asbeflos ; yet, in two Trials before the Royal Society, a Piece of incombuftible Cloth made of this Stone, a Foot long, and half a Foot broad, weighing about an Ounce and half, was found to lofe above a Dram of its Weight, each time.

The Asbeflos applied to any Part of the Body, excites an! Itching; and yet we read of it as antiently prefcribed for Dileales of the Skin, and particularly for the Itch : Unlefs it were rather the Alumcn Plumofum that was meant hereby ; for even at this Day, they are frequently confounded. See Alum and Plumose.

ASCARIDES, in Medicine, a kind of little Worms, iometimes found in the Reflum, and adhering to the Fun- dament. See Worms and Vermes.

They are thus called from the Greek dtmfifu, I leap on account of their continual troublefome Motion, caufink a moil intolerable itching.

ASCENDANT, or Ascendent, or Ascending Line, in Genealogy, is rrhderftood of fuch Relations as have gone before us ; or thofe nearer the Root of the Family. See Line and Consanguinity,

Such are Father, Grandfather, Great Uncle, &c They

are thus called in Contradiftinftion to Defendants, or the defending Line. See Descendant.

Marriage is always forbid between the Afcendents and Dependents, m the direct Line. See Marriage, De- gree, isc. '

Ascendent, in Aftrology, the Horofcope; or the De- gree of the Equator which rifes upon the Horizon, at the Tlm .f. ! the Birtn °f any one. See Horoscope.

This is fuppofed to have an InHuence on his Life and For- tune, by giving him a Bent and Propenfity to one thine! more than another. See Nativity, gv.

In the Cceleftial Theme, this is alfo called the Fir it Houfe, the Oriental Angle, and the Significator of Life. See House, Theme, Significator, £?c.

_ Such a Planet ruled in his Aftendent.—fupiter was in his Afcendent, &c.

Hence the Word is alfo ufed in a moral Senfe, for fome Superiority which one Man has over another, from fome unknown Caufe.

ASCENDING, in Aftronomy, Is underftood of thofe Stars, or Degrees of the Heavens, f£c. which are rifing above the Horizon, in any Parallel of the Equator. See Rising and Horizon.

Ascending Latitude, is the Latitude of a Planet when going towards the Poles. See Latitude.

Ascending Node, is that Point of a Planet's Orbit, where- in it paffes the Ecliptic, to proceed to- the Northward. See Orbit, Planet, r>r.

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