Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/17

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the Exjences of its Branches 5 and particularly, That if the Refervatory be 52 Foot high, and the Adjutage half an Inch in Diameter, the Pipe ought to be three Inches in Diameter. See Fountain., Water, &c.

JETSON. See Vhtfon.

JEWEL-OFFICE. AnOffice that takes care of fafhion- ing and weighing the King's Plate, and delivering it out by fuch Warrants, as they receive from the Lord Cham- berlain. When his Majeiiy makes any Prefent of Plate, fife, they have the Charge of providing it, with fome other things lefs material. The principal Officer is the Mailer of the Jewel-Office, whofe Salary is 450/. per ami. and befides, the Yeoman and Groom, at 106L 15 s, perann. each, and a Clerk at 13/. 6 s. od. which are in the King's Gift. Befides, there are in this Office, in the Gift of the Lord Chamberlain, the Poet-Laureat, at 100/. per ami. Salary ; the King's Hiftoriographer, at 200/. per ami. the Hitlory Painter, and Principal Painter, at 200 /- per ami. the Painter in Enamel, and the Surveyor and Keeper of the Pictures at 200 I. per arm. The Gold- fmith and Jeweller are employ 'd by the Mafter, and are ufually in his Gift.

JEWS-EAR ; a kind of Fungus, Mufhroom, or fpun- gy Subllance, that grows about the Root of the Elder- Tree. It is chiefly ufed in Deco&ion, which is found Detergent and Vulnerary, and a good Gargle in fore Throats.

JEZ1DE, or Jezideatt, a Term ufed among the Maho- metans to fignify an Heretic. Leunclavius tells us, that the iNanie is derived from an Emir call'd Jezide, who kill'd the two Sons oiJli, Hafan and Hnjjeiii, two Ne- phews of Mahomet on their Mother's fide, and perfecuted the Polleriry of the Prophet. The Agaremam, whofe Emir or Prince he was, loolc'd on him as an Impious and Heretical Perfon j and hence took occafion to call all whom they accounted Heretics, Jezideans. Some Authors mention the Jezides as a particular People, fpeaking a Language different both from the Turkijb and JPerfiatt, tho' fomewhat akin to the laft. They further tell us, that there are two kinds of?e««fe*5 the one Black, the other White. The White have no Slit in the Bofom of their Shirt 5 but barely an Opening for the Head to pafs thro' : a thing that they obferve with a great deal of ltriftnefs, in memory of a Circle of Gold and Light which fell from Heaven upon the Neck of their Grand Scheik or Chief of their SecT. The Black Jezides are Fakirs, or Religious The Turks and Jezides bear a flrong averfion to each other j and the grcatefl Affront one can put on a Turk, is to call him Jezide. On the con- trary the jezides love the Chriltians, being perfuaded that Jezjde, their Chief, is Jefus Chrift : Or rather bc- caufe fome of their Traditions mention that $ezide made an Alliance with the Chriltians againft the Muffulmen. They drink Wine even to Excefs when they can get it, and eat Swine's Fle/h. They never undergo Circumci- flon, excepting when they are forced to it by the Turks. Their Ignorance is furprizing ; they have no Books. In- deed they pretend to believe in the Gofpcl, and in the Sacred Books of the Jews, but go without ever reading either one or other of 'em. They make Vows, and go in Pilgrimage ; but have no Mofques, Temples, nor Orato- ries, no Feafis nor Ceremonies j all their Religious Wor- ship con fifting in finging Hymns to Jefus Chritt-, the Vir- gin, Mofes, and Mahomet, When they pray, they look to- wards the Eaft, in imitation of the Chriflians j whereas the Muffulmen turn towards the South. They believe the Devil may poffibly, one day, come into favour again with God ; and that he is the Executor of God's Juitice in the other World : for which reafon they make it a Point of Confcience not to fpeak ill of him, left he Jhould revenge himfelf of 'em.

The Black Jez'des are reputed Saints, and 'tis forbidden to weep at their Death ; inftead whereof, they make Re- joicings: and yet for the generality they are no more than Shepherds. They are not allow'd to kill the Animals they eat ; that Office belongs to the White Jezides. The Jezides go in Companies like the Arabs. They often change their Habitations, and live in black Tents made of Goats-Hair, and encompafs'd with large Rufhes and Thorns interwoven. They difpofe their Tents in a Circle, placing their Flocks in the middle. They buy their Wives i the fiated Price whereof is 2C0 Crowns, be they better or worfe. They are allow'd Divorce, provided it be to become Hermites. 'Tis a Crime among them to tfbave the Beard, tho' ever fo little. They have fome Cufloms which intimate that they fprang originally out of fome Seel of Chrifians : for inf'ance, in their Feafts one of era preft.nts a Cup full of Wine to another, bid- ding him take the Cup of the Blood of Jefus Chrift ; which laft kiffes the Hand of him who prefents it, and drinks.

IGNIS FATUUS. See Jack mtb a Lantbow.

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IGNITION, in Chymiftry, fignifies the Application of Fire to Metals, till fuch time as they become ted-hot, without melting : which happens in Gold and Silver, but efpccially in Iron. Lead and Tin are too loft and fufible to bear Ignition.

IGNORAMUS is a Word ufed by the Grand Inqueft, lmpannel'd in the Inquifition of Caufcs Criminal, and Fub- lick, and written upon the Bill, when they dillike their Evidence, as defective or too weak to make good the Prefentment. The Effect, of which is, that all farther Enquiry upon that Party for that Fault is thereby itopr, and he dcliver'd without farther Anfwer.

IGNORANCE,orMOTro/&oWe*<:, is chiefly owing to thefc three Caufes ; FirS, Want of Ideas ; Secondly, Want of a difcoverable Connection between the Ideas we'have ; Thirdly, Want of tracing and examining our Ideas. Firff, There are fome things we are ignorant of for want of Ideas. All the fimple Ideas wchave, are confined to the Obfervation of our Senfes, and the Operations of our own Minds, that we areconfeious of in ourfelves. What other Ideas it is poffible other Creatutes may have, by the af- fiftance of other Senfes or Faculties, more or perfecter than we have, or different from ours, it is not for us to determine : but to fay or think there are no fuch, becaufe we conceive nothing of them, is no better an Argument, than if a blind Man /hould be pofnive in it, there was no* fuch thing as Sight and Colours, becaufe he had no man- ner of Idea of any fuch thing. What Faculties therefore- other Species of Creatures have, to penetrate into the Nature and inmoft Conllitutions of Things, we know not : This we know, and certainly find, that we want other Views of them, befides thofe we have, to make Difcoveries of them more perfect. The Intellectual and Senfible World are in this perfectly alike, that the Patts which we fee of either of them, hold no proportion with that we fee not ; and whatfoever we can reach with our Eyes, or our Thoughts of either of them, is but a Point almoft nothing in comparifon of there!!. Again, the Want of Ideas, which we yet feem capable of, is another great Obitacle in our way, and keeps us in Ignorance of things, we conceive capable of being known. Bulk, Figure and Motion we have Ideas of; yet notknowino what is the particular Buik, Motion, and Figure of the greatell patt of the Bodies of the Univerfe, we are igno- rant of the feveral Powers, Efficacies and Ways of Ope- ration, whereby the Effefls we daily fee are produced. Thcfe are hid from us in fome things, by being too re- mote, in others by being too minute. When we confider the vait Extent of the known and vifible Parts of the World, and the Reafons we have to think, that what lies within our Ken, is but a fmall Part of the immenfe Uni- verfe; we fhall then difcover an huge Abyfs of Itm- runce : What are the particular Fabricks of the great Maffesof Matter, which make up the whole (lupendous Ftame of Corporeal Beings, how far they are extended and what is their Motion, and how continued, and what influence they have upon one another, are Contempla- tions, that at firlt glimpfe our Thoughts lofe themfclves in. If we confine our Thoughts to this little Canton this Syftem of our Sun, and the groffer Mafles of Matter thatvifibly move about it; what feveral forts of Veoe- tables, Animals, and Intellectual Corporeal Beings, infi- nitely different from thofe of our little Spot of Earth may probably be in other Planets, to the knowledge of which, even of their outward Figures and Parts, we can no way attain, whilft we are confin'd to this Ear'th, there being no natural Means, either by Senfation or Reflexion to convey their certain Ideas into our Minds? There are other Bodies in the Univerfe no lefs conceal'd from us by their Minutenefs. Thefe infenfible Corpufcles being the active Parts of Matter, and great Inflruments of Nature on which depend all their fecondary Qualities and Opera- tions, our Want of precife diftincVldeas of their primary Qualities keeps us in incutable Ignorance of what we de- fire to know about them.

Did we know the mechanical Affections of Rhubarb or Opium, we might as eafily account for their Opera- tions of purging and caufing Sleep, as a Watchmaker can for the Motions of his Watch. The diffolving of Silver in Aima Fonts, or Gold in Sqiia Reiia, and not vice verfa would be then perhaps no more difficult to know, than it is to a Smith, to understand, why the turning of one Key will open a Lock, and not the turning of another. But whilvt we are deftitute of Senfes acute enough to difcover the minute Particles of Bodies, and to give us Ideas of their mechanical Affections, we muff be content to be ignorant of their Properties and Operations ; nor can we be affured about them any farther, than fome few Tryals we make, are able to reach ; but .whether they will fuc- ceed again another time, we cannot be certain. This hinders our certain Knowledge of univerfal Truths con- cerning natural Bodies ; and our Reafon carries us herein C c c c c vei .y