Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/844

FRE be brought nearer together, and thickn'd by the Condensation of the Air: As, on the contrary, a Rarefaction of the Air, and an Augmentation of its Fluidity, must divide and seperate them.

If now the same Thing happen to all Liquors that have imbibed, or dissolv'd any Salt; if the Warmth of the Liquid keep the Salt exactly divided ; and if the Coolness of a Cellar, or of Ice give occasion to the Molecules of the dis- solv'd Salt to approach, run into each other, and shoot into Crystals : Why should the Air, which is allow'd a Fluid, be exempt from the general Law of Fluids?

'Tis true, the Nitre of the Air being grosser in cold Weather, than hot; must have less Velocity : But still, the Pro- duct, of its augmented Mass, into the Velocity remaining, will give it a greater Momentum, or Quantity of Motion. Nor is any thing further requir'd to make this Salt act with greater Force against the Parts of Fluids : And probably, this is the Cause of the great Evaporation in frosty Weather.

This aerial Nitre mull promote the Concretion of Li- quids: For 'tis not the Air, nor yet the Nitre it contains, that gives the Motion to Fluids : 'Tis the Etherial Medium. From a Diminution of the Force of that, therefore, arises a Diminution of Motion of the rest.

Now the etherial Matter, weak enough of it self in the Winter time, must lose still more of its Force by its Action against Air condens'd and loaded with large Molecules of Salt. It must, therefore, lofe of its Force in cold Weather, and become less dispos'd to maintain the Motion of Fluids. In a Word, the Air, during Frost, may be esteem'd like the Ice impregnated with Salt, wherewith we ice our Liquors in Summer time. Those Liquors, in all Probability, freeze from a Diminution of the Motion of the etherial Medium, by its acting against the Ice and Salt together: And the Air, for all its torching Heat, is not able to prevent its Concre- tion.—

Freezing Rain, or Raining Ice, a very uncommon kind of Shower, which fell in the West of England, in December, Anno 1672; whereof we have divers Accounts in the Phi- losophical Transactions.

This Rain, as soon as it touch'd any thing above Ground, as a Bough, or the like; immediately settled into Ice; and by multiplying and enlarging the Icicles, broke all down with its Weight. The Rain that fell on the Snow, imme- diately froze into Ice, without sinking in the Snow at all.

It made an incredible Destruction of Trees, beyond any thing in all History: "Had it concluded with some Gust of Wind", says a Gentleman on the Spot, "it might have been of fad importance."

"I weigh 'd the Sprig of an Ash Tree, of just three Quarters of a Pound; the Ice on which weigh'd 16 Pound."—"Some were frighted with the Noise in the Air; till they discern'd it was the Clatter of icy Boughs, dash'd against each other."

Dr. Beale observes, that there was no considerable Frost observ'd on the Ground during the whole; whence he con- cludes, that a Frost may be very fierce and dangerous on the Tops of some Hills, and Plains ; while in other Places it keeps at two, three, or four Foot distance above the Ground, Rivers, Lakes, &c. And may wander about very furious in some Places, and remiss in others, not far off. The Frost was followed by glowing Heats, and a wonderful For- wardness of Flowers and Fruits. See Frost.

Freezing, in Commerce and Manufactures; see Frizing.

Freezing Mixture, a Preparation for the artificial Con- gelation of Water, and other Liquors.

All kinds of Salts, whether alcalizate, or acid ; and even all Spirits, as those of Wine, &c. as also Sugar, and Saccharum Saturni, mix'd with Snow, are capable of freezing other Bodies: And the same Effect is produc'd in a very great Degree by a Mixtion of Oil of Vitriol, or Spirit of Nitre with Snow : Thus Mr. Boyle.

Mons. Homberg observes the same of equal Quantities of corrosive Sublimate, and Sal Ammoniac, with four times the Quantity of Vinegar distill'd. See Waters.

FREEZELAND Horse, in War, the same with Cheval de Frise. See Cheval de Frise.

FRENCH, absolutely us'd, signifies the Language of the People of France. See LANGUAGE.

The French, as it now stands, is no Original, or Mother Language; but a Medley of several : Scarce any Language, but it has borrowed Words, or perhaps Phrases, from.

The Languages that prevail most, and that are, as it were, the Basis thereof, are 1$o$ The Celtic; whether that were a particular Language it self, or whether it were only a Dia- lect of the Gothic, as spoke in the West, and North. 2$o$ The Latin, which the Romans carried with them into the Gauls, when they made the Conquest thereof. And 3$o$, The Teutonic, or that Dialect of the Teutonic spoke by the Franks, when they pafs'd the Rhine, and establifh'd them- selves in the Gauls.

Of these three Languages, in the space of about thirteen hundred years, was the French form; such as it is now found.

Its Progress was very slow; and both the Italian and Spa- nish were regular Languages long before the French.

Pasquier observes, it was under Philip de Valois, that the French Tongue first began to be polish'd; and that in the Register of the Chamber of Accounts of that Time, there is a Purity seen almost equal to that of the present Age.

However, the French was still a very imperfect Language, till the Reign of Francis I. The Custom of speaking La- tin at the Bar, and of writing the publick Acts and Instru- ments of the Courts of Justices in that Language, had made them overlook the French, their own Language. Add, that the preceding Ages had been remarkable for their Igno- rance, owing in good measure to the long and Calamitous Wars, which France had been engag'd in: Whence, the French Noblesse deem'd if a kind of Merit, not to know any thing ; and the Generals regarded little, whether or no they wrote and talk'd politely, provided they could but fight well.

But Francis I. who was the Restorer of Learning, and the Father of the Learned; chang'd the Face of Things ; and after his Time Henry Stevens printed his Book De la Pre- cellence du Langage Francois.

The Change was become very conspicuous at the End of the XVI Century; and under Henry IV. Amyot, Coeffeteau, and Malherbe contributed towards bringing it to Per- fection : Which the Cardinal de Richelieu compieated, by the Establishment of the French Academy ; an Assembly; wherein the most distinguish'd Persons of the Church, the Sword, and the Gown have been Members.

Nor did the long Reign of Louis XIV. contribute a little to the Improvement of the Language. The personal Qua- lities of that Prince, and his Taste for the polite Arts, and that of the Princes of the Blood, render'd his Court the politest in the World. Wit and Magnificence seem'd to- vye ; and his Generals might have disputed with the Greeks, Romans, &c. the Glory of Writing well, if they could not that of Fighting.

From Court, the Elegance, and Purity of the Language spread it self into the Provinces; and now there is no Body but writes and speaks good French.

One of the Characters of the French Language is to be natural, and easy. The Words are rang'd in it much in the same Order as the Ideas in our Minds; in which it differs exceedingly from the Greek and Latin, where the inversion of the natural Order of the Words is a Beauty.

Indeed, the Hebrew surpasses even the French in this Point; but then it comes ahort of it in Copiouaneas and Va- riety.

It muat be added, however, that as to the Analogy of Grammar, and the Simplicity wherewith the Moods of Verbs are form'd ; the English has the Advantage, not only over the French, but over ail the known Languages in the World : But then the Turns, the Expressions, and the Idi- oms of the English are sometimes so quaint, and extraor- dinary, that it loses a good deal of the Advantage which its grammatical Simplicity gives it over the rest. See En- glish.

The French has but few compound Words; wherein is differs widely from the Greek, High Dutch, and English. This the French Authors own a great Disadvantage in their Language; the Greek and Dutch deriving a great Part of their Force and Energy from the Composition of Words; and frequently expressing that in one founding Word, which the French cannot express but by a Periphrasis. And the Diminutives in the French are as few as the Compounds; The greatest Part of those remaining in use having lost their diminutive Signification. But what distinguishes the French most, is its Justness, Purity, Accuracy, and Flexibility.

French is the most universal and extensive Language in Europe. The Policy of States and Courts has render'd it necessary for the Ministers of Princes, and their Officers, &c. And the Taste of Arts and Sciences has had the same Effect: with regard to the Learned.

In Germany, and elsewhere, the Princesses and Persons of Distinction value themselves on understanding French: And in several Courts of Europe, French is almost as much known as the Language of the Country; tho' the Court of Vienna is an Exception from this Rule. French is there very little us'd : The Emperor Leopold could not bear to hear it spoke in his Court : The Latin and Italian are there cul- tivated instead of it.

This Extensiveness of the French Language is no modern Advantage: William the Conqueror gave Laws to England in the French Language ; and the anient Cusioms of most of the Provinces of the Netherlands are wrote in the same.

Lastly, the French is the same Language every where; not only in all the Provinces of France, but in all the Places- where 'tis spoke, out of France. Rh