Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/165

 MEA

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MEA

Attick T)ry Meafures reduced to Englifh.

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Roman T)ry Meafures reduced to Englifh.

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Note. The ufual Measure of Wood for Firing, is the Cord ; four Foot high, as many broad, and eight long 5 divided into two half Cords, call'd Ways, and by the French, Membrures, from the Pieces, ftuck upright, to bound them ; or Voyes, as being fuppofed half a Waggon Load. See Cord.

The Measure for Hotfes, is the Hand or Handful ; which, by the Statute, contains four Inches. See Hand, &c.

MEASURE is alfo ufed to fignify the Cadence, and Time obferved in Poetry, Dancing, and Mufic, ro render them regular, and agreeable. The different Meafures in Poetry, are the different Manners of ordering and com- bining the Quantities, or the long and Ihorr Syllables. Thus Hexameter, Pentameter, Iambic, Sapphic Verfes, i£c. confiil of different Meafures. See Quantity, Verse, &c.

In Englifj Verfes, the "Meafures are extremely various and arbitrary, every Poet being at liberty to introduce any new Form he pleafes. The moll ufed are, the Heroic, generally confiding of five long, and five fhort Syllables; Verfes of four Feet'; and of three Feet, and a Cefure or fingle Syllable. The Antients, by varioully combining and tranfpofing their Quantities, made a valt Variety of different Meafures. Of Words, or rather Feet of two Syllables, they form'd a Spondee, confiding of two long Syllables ; a Tirrhic, of two fhort Syllables ; a Tro- chee, of a long and a fhort Syllable ; an Iambic, of a long and a fhort Syllable. Of their Feet of three Syllables, they form'd aMolofs, confining of three long Syllables; a Tribrach, of three fhott Syllables j a Dalfol, of one long, and two fhort Syllables ; an Anafeft, of two fhort and two long Syllables. The Greek Poets contrived 124 diffe- rent Combinations or Meafures, under as many different Karnes, from Feet of two Syllables to thofe of fix. See Spondee, Dactyl, Rhime, Foot, &c.

Measure, in Mufic, is the Intetval, or Space of Time, which the Perfon, who regulates the Mufic, takes be- tween the raifing and letting fall of his Hand, in order to conduit, the Movement fometimes quicker, and fometimes flower, according to the Kind of Mufic, or the Subject that is fung or play'd. See Time. The ordinary or common Meafure, is one Second, or fixtieth part of a Mi- nute, which is nearly the Space between the Beats of the Pulfe or Heart ; the Syflole, or Contraaion of the Heart, anfwering to the Elevation of the Hand, and its Diaflole, or Dilatation, to the letting it fall. The Meafure ufually takes up the Space that a Pendulum, of two Foot and a half long, employs in making a Swing or Vibration. See Vibration.

The Meafure is regulated according to the different Quality or Value of the Notes in the Piece ; by which the Time that each Note is to take up, is exprefs'd. The Semi-Breve, for inftance, holds one Rife, and one Fall - and this is call'd the whole Meafure: the Minim, one Rife or one Fall ; and the Crochet, half a Rife, or half a Fall there being four Crochets in a full Meafure. See Note.

Binary, or "Double Measure, is that wherein the Rife and Fall of the Hand are equal.

Ternary, or Trifle Measure, is that wherein the Fall is double to the Rife; or where two Minims are play'd during a Fall, and but one in a Rife: To this purpofe,

the Number 3 is placed at the beginning of the Lines, when the Meafure is intended to be triple 5 and a C when theiVfoyW is to be common or double.

This rifing and falling of the Hands, was call'd by the Greeks ioat and fiiojt. St. Juguflm calls it Plaufus, and the Spaniards, Comfafs. See Beating of Time.

MEASURING. To define Meafuring Geometrically, it is the affuming any certain Quantity, and exprefiing the Proportion of other fimilar Quantities to the fame : To define it popularly, Meafuring is the ufing a certain known Meafure, and determining, thereby, the precife Extent Quantity or Capacity of any thing. See Measure.

Measuring, in the general, makes the practical Part of Geometry ; fee Geometry : From the various Sub- jects whereon it is employ'd, it acquires various Names, and conftitutes various Arts. Thus

Measuring of Lines, or Quantities of one Dimen- fion, we call Longimetry, fee Longimetry : And when thofe Lines are not extended parallel to the Horizon Altimetry: fee Altimetry. When the different Alti- tudes of the two Extremes of the Line are alone regarded Levelling', fee Levelling.

Measuring of Suferfcies, or Quantities of two Dimen- sions, is varioufly denominated, according to its Subjects ; when converfant about Lands, 'tis called Geodxfia, or Sur- veying: in other Cafes, limply Meafuring. The Inftruments ufed are the Ten-Foot Rod, Chain, Compafs, Circumfe- rentor, t$c. See Superficies ; fee alfo Surveying.

Measuring of Solids, or Quantities of three Dimen- sions, we call Stereometry ; fee Stereometry: where 'tis converfant about the Capacities of Veffels, or the Li- quors they contain particularly, Gauging. See Gauging. The Inflruments are the Gauging-Rod, Sliding-Rule* i$c. See Soiid; fee ulfo Gauging-Rod, Slidino- Rule, (gc.

From rhe Definition of Meafuring, where the Meafure is exprefs'd robe fimilar or homogeneous, i.e. of the fame kind with the Thing meafured ; 'tis evident that in the firft Cafe, or in Quantities of one Dimenfion, the Meafure muft be a Line; in the fecond, a Superficies ; and in the third, a Solid. For a Line, v.g. cannot meafure a Surface • to meafure, being no more than to apply the known Quan- tity to the unknown, till the two become equal. Now a Surface has Breadth, and a Line has none ; but if one Line hath no Breadth, two or a hundred have none : A Line, therefore, can never be applied fo often to a Sur- face, as to be equal to it, i. e. to mcafute it. And from the like Reafoning it is evident, a Superficies, which has no Depth, cannot be equal to, i. e. cannot meafure a So- lid, which has. While a Line continues fuch, it may be meafured by any part of itfelf : but when the Line begins to flow, and to generate a new Dimenfion, the Meafure mull keep pace, and flow too ; i.e. as the one commences Superficies, the other muft do fo too : Thus we come to have Square Meafures, and Cubic Meafures. See S0.UARE and Cube. Hence we fee why the Meafure of a Circle is an Arch, or part of the Circle ; for a right Line can only touch a Circle in one Point, but the Periphery of a Circle confills of infinite Points : The right Line therefore to meafure the Circle, muft be applied infinite Times, which is impoffible. Again, the right Line only touches the

Circle,