Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/313

 ONI

( 66z )

ONO

Thefe Bones are broad, and especially in the middle; within, and convex without 5 and are join'd to the Cla- vicles and Arms.
 * hick in their Apophyses j of a triangular Form, concave

The Word comes from the Greek »/*©-, Shoulder, and -s-ArtTuf, broad.

OMPANORATE, the Title bore by the Priefts of the Ifland of Madagascar.

Thefe are the School-Matters of the Country, and teach Arabic and Writing. They have fevcral Books, but none of them contain more than fome Chapter of the Alcoran, and a few phyfical Recipes.

They are divided into feveral Orders, bearing fome Re- fcmblance to our Ecclefiaftical Dignities : As Ombiajfe, Secretary, or Phyfician > Ttbon, Subdeacon j Moulad-zi, Deacon ; Faquihi, Prieft 5 Catlbon, Bifhop j Lamlamaha, Archbi/hop5 Ompirji quilt. Prophets or Diviners 5 Sababa Calif, or Chief of the Religion.

The Ompanorates deal much in Talifmans, and other Charms, which they call Hitidzi, and which they fell to the Grandees of the Place. They alfomake little Statues or Images, call'd Auli, which they confult as Oracles 5 and to which they afcribe various Powers ; as the making rich, deftroying Enemies, &c. They have public Schools, where they teach their Superftitions and Sortileges. The Qmptfiquili pra&ife Neomancy, and are moftly confulted on Difeafes, and the Succefs of Affairs ; refolving all Quettions by Figures drawn on alittle Table, cover'd with Sand.

OMPHACIN, in Pharmacy, a kind of Oil, pretended to be drawn from Olives while yet green, and four ; but Fo- met charges it as an Impofture j adding, that Olives yield no Oil at all till perfectly ripe. See Oil and Olive.

The Word is derived from the Greek °y-<?*Z> unripe Grape.

OMPHALOCELE, in Medicine, a kind of Hernia, or Tumor, in the Navel j arifing like other Hernia's from a Relaxation or Rupture of the Peritoneum. See Her- nia.

Its remoter Caufes are violent Strains, loud Cries, abun- dance of ferous Humour, difficult Delivery, &c.

The Word is form'd from the Greek o^ahov, Navel, and »&», Tumor. 'Tis otherwife call'd Exomphalus. See

ExOMPIlALUS.

OMYUhLQ-Mef enteric, in Anatomy. All Fxtus's are wrap'd in at leaft two Coats, or Membranes ; mod of them have a third, call'd Allantoides, or Urinary. Some, as the Dog, Cat, Hare, &c. have a fourth, which has two Blood- Veffels, viz. a Vein and an Artery, call'd Omphalo- Mefenterics, becaufe paffing along the String to the Navel, and terminating in the Mefentery. See Foetus, Secun- dine, &c.

OMPHALOPTIC, in Optics, a Glafs that is convex on both fides, popularly call'd a Convex-Lens. See Con- vex- Len s.

ONANIA, and Onanism, Terms fome late Emperics have framed to denote the Crime of Self-pollution j men- tioned in Scripture to have been practifed by Onan, and puniftied in him with Death. 'Tis the fame with what in other places of Scripture, particularly Levit. ch. xx. is call'd gtv'mgof Seed to Moloch 5 for which the Punifhment allot- ted is Honing to Death. See Pollution.

ONDEE, in Heraldry, fee Wavy.

ONERANDO fro rata Fortionis, a Writ which lies for a Joint-Tenant, or Tenant in Common, when diftrain'd for more Rent than the Proportion of his Land comes to.

ONGLEE, is ufed by the French Heralds to denote the Talons or Claws of Bealis or Birds, when of Colours diffe- rent from the Body.

ONIROCRATIA, in Divination, the Art of Expound- ing Dreams. See Dream, Divination, 2?c.

It appears from feveral Paffages of Scripture, that there was, under the ^eiviJJj Difpenfation, fitch a thing as fore- telling future Events by Dreams 5 but then there was a particular Gift, or Revelation required for that purpofe.

It mould feem hence, that Dreams are really iignifica- tive, and do forebode fomething to come ; and all that is wanting among us is the Onirocratia, the Art of knowing what ; yet 'tis the Opinion of many, that Dreams are mere Chimera's; bearing, indeed, fome Relation to what has pafs'd, but none to what is to come. As to the Cafe of Jofeph, 'twas poffible for God, who knew all things, to difcover to him what was in the Womb of Fate 5 and to in- troduce that, he might take the occasion of a Dream : Not but that he might as well have foretold it from any other Accident or Circumftance whatever. Unlefs God, to give the Matter more weight, mould purpofely communicave fuch a Dream to Fharaoh, in order to fall in with the popu- lar Notions of Dreams and Divination, which then prevail'd among the Egyptians'

The word Onirocratia is form'd from the Greek QV&&t, Dream, and xca^y, 1 poffefs.

ONIROCRITIC, a Title given to Interpreters of Dreams, orthofewho judge of Events from the Circum- itances of Dreams.

The Word is form'd from the Greek 'qvu&s, Dream, and Kttcii, Judgment.

There is no great regard to be had to thofe Greek Books call'd Onirocritics 5 nor do we know why the Patriarch of Confiant'mople and others /hould amuie themfelves with writing on fo pitiful a Subject.

Rigault has given us a Collection of the Greek and Latin Works of this kind; one attributed to Ajhampfichus, ano- ther to Nicephorus Patriarch of Conjlantinople j to which are added the Treatiles of Artemidorus, and Achrrct. But rhe\ Books themfelves are little elfe but Reveries? a kind of waking Dreams, to explain and account for ileeping ones.

The Secret of Omrocrhicifm, according to them all, con- fifts in the Relation fuppofed to be between the Dream, and the Thing fignify'dj but they are far from keeping to the Relations of Agreement and Similitude 5 and frequently have recourfe to others of Diffunilirude, and Contrariety.

ONIX, or Onyx, in Natural Hiitory, a precious Stone, accounted a Species of Opake Agat. See Precious Stone, Agat, £S?c.

Its Colours are ufually white and bhick, which appear as diftincT: as if laid on by Art. There are fome brought from Arabia, mix 'd with a greyiftvHue; which, after ta- king off one Lay or Zone, mew another underneath, of a different Colour. Whence it takes the Name Memphites or Camehiia, q. d. another Stone. Whire Zones or Girdles are effential to an Onix.

The Word Onix, in the Greek Language, fignifiesAW; the Poets making this Stone to have been form'd by the Fare*, from a Piece of Venues Nails, cut off by Cupid with one of his Arrows.

Diofcorides and Galen rank Alabafter among the number of Onix's ; tho' this is very remote from the Sentiment of the Moderns. See Alabaster.

ONKOTOMY, in Cbirurgery, the Operation of open- ing a Tumor, or Abfcefs; from the Greek ovk.qs, Tumor, and -A[j.vu>, I cut. See Tumor, &c.

ONOMANCY, or Nomancy, the Art of divining the good or evil Fortune to befall a Man, from the Letters of which is his Name. See Name.

Qnomantia was a very popular and reputable Practice a- mong the Antients : The Pythagoreans taught, that the Minds, Actions and SuccelTes of Men, were according to their Fate, Genius, and Name ; and Plato himfelf feems fomewhat inclinable to the fame Opinion. Attjonius expref- fes it to Probus, thus ;

Qualem creavit Moribus 9 Jujjit vocari Nomine, Mundi jufremus Arbiter.

Thus he plays with tippling Meroe, as tho' her Name told /he would drink mere Wine, without Water, or, as he calls it, Merum Merum. Thus HippoUtus was obferved to be torn in pieces by his Coach-Hories, as his Name imported -, and thus Agamemnon iignify'd he mould linger long before Troy. Priam, that he ftiould be redcem'd out of Bondage in his Childhood. Hitherto may be alfo referred that of Claudius Rutllius;

Nominibas certts credam decurrere Mores* Moribtts ant potius Nomina certa dariX

'Tis a frequent Obfervation in Hiftory, that the grcateft Empires and States have been founded and deftroy'd by Men of the fa'me Name. Thus Cyrus, the Son of Camhyfes^ begun the Ferfian Monarchy ; and Cyrus, the Son of Darius, ruin'd it. Darius, Son of Hyjtafpes, reftorcd it j and again, Darius, Son of Arcanus, utterly overthrew it. Philip, Son of Amintas, exceedingly enlarged the Kingdom of Macedo- nia ; and Philip, Son of Antlgonus, wholly loft it. Au- giiftus was the firtfc Emperor of Rome, Auguftulus the lair. Conftantine firft fettled the Empire of Confiant'mople t, and Conjiantine loft it wholly to the Turks.

are conftantly unfortunate to Princes .- As Cains among the ^Romans ••, $obn in France, England, and Scotland ; and Henry in France.
 * Tis an Obfervation of the like kind, that fome Names

One of the great Rules of Onomancy among the Pythago- reans, was, That an even Number of Vowels in a Name fignify'd an Imperfection in the left Side of the Man 5 and an odd Number, in the right. Another Rule was, that thofc Perfons were the molt happy, in whofe Names the Numeral Letters, added together, made the grcateft Sum 5 for which reafon, fay they, it was that AchiHes vanquim'd He&orj the Numeral Letters in the former Name amount- ing, forfooth, to a greater Number than in the latter.

And it was doubtlefs from a Principle much of the fame kind, that the young Romans toaftcd their Miftreffes at

their