Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/627

 RET

( 1010 )

RET

Thofe who minifter'd at the Altar antiently lived of Retribu- tions, which they received for the Services they did the Church. But thefe Retributions were afterwards judg'd proper to be fixM to precife Sums. See Tith.

RETRIEVE) Retrouver, to recover, get again, or repair a thingloft or damaged. See Recovery, Reparation, &c.

To Retrieve, in Falconry, fignifies to fpring or find Par- tridges- again, which have been once fprung before. See Hawk- ing.

RETROACTIVE, in Law— New Laws and Statutes, we fay, have no retroactive Effed; that is, they have no Force or Effed as to what is already pafs'd; nor can be alledg'd as Rules for any thing done before their Promulgation.— Their Authority is wholly as to what is to come.

Indeed we have fome Inftances of Laws that have a Retro- fped, or Retroaclion, i. e. were made with exprefs Defign to extend to things already pafs'd.— Thefe we ufually call Laws ex poffatlo. See Law, &c.

The Word is compounded of the Latin, retro, backwards; and ago, I ad.

RETROCESSION, the Ad of going backwards; more ufu- ally exprefs'd by Retrogrejjion or Retrogradation. See Retro- gradation, &c.

Retrocession of the Equinox. See Pr/ecession.

Retrocession of Curves, &c. See Retrogradation, Contrary Flexure, &c.

RETROGRADE, Retrogradus, fomething that goes backwards, or in a Diredion contrary to its natural one.

Such is the Motion of the Lobfter, the Crab, &c.

The Word is form'd from the Latin, retro, backwards; and gradior, I go.

If the Eye and the Objed move both the fame way, but the Eye much fader than the Objed,' the Objed will appear to be Retrograde> i. e. to go back, or to advance the contrary Way from what it really does. See Vision of Motion.

Hence, the Planets in fome Parts of their Orbits appear to be Retrograde. See Planet and Retrogradation.

Retrograde Order, in Matters of Numeration, is when in lieu of accounting i, 2, 3, 4, we count 4, 3, 2, 1. See Progression, Series, Number, &t.

Retrograde Verfes are fuch as give the fame Words, whether read backwards or forwards; call'd Mo reciprocal Verfes, and Recur- rent si fuch is,

Signa te Sigua temere me tangis et Angis.

RETROGRADATION, or Retrogression, the Ad or Effed of a thing moving backwards. See Retrograde.

Retrogradation, in Aftronomy, is an apparent Motion of the Planets, wherein' they feem to go backwards in the Ecliptic, and to move contrary to the Order or Succeffion of the Signs. See Planet, Ecliptic, &i.

When a Planet moves in confeqimitia-, i. e. towards the follow- ing Signs, or according to the Order of the Signs, as from Aries to Taurus, from Taurus to Gemini, &c, that is, from Weft to Eaft, it is faid to be dircB. See Direct.

When it appears for fome Days in the fame Point of theHea- vens, it is faid to be Stationary. See Stationary.

And when it goes in Anteceekntia, i. e. towards the antecedent Signs, or contrary to the Order of the Signs, viz. from Eaft to Weft, it is laid to be Retrograde. See Antecedents, Sign, <&c.

The Sun and Moon always appear dired.— Saturn t Jupiter, Mars, Ve?ms, and Mercury, fometimes dired, fometimes Statio- nary, and fometimes Retrograde. See Saturn, Jupiter, Ve- nus, &c.

The fuperior Planets are Retrograde about their Oppofition with the Sun; the inferior ones about their Conjundion- See Opposition and Conjunction.

The Intervals of Time between two Retrogradations of the fe- deral Planets, are unequal.— In Satum'xh a Year and 13 Days; in Jupiter a Year and 43 Days; in Mars two Years 50 Days; in Venus one Year 220 Days; in Mercury 115 Days.

Again, Saturn continues Retrograde 140 Days, Jupiter 120, Mars 73, Venus 42, Mercury 22: Yot are not the feveral Retro- gradations of the fame Planet conftantly equal.

Thefe Changes of the Courfes and Motions of the Planets are not real : but apparent, when view'd from the Centre of theSy- ftem, i. e. from the Sun, they appear always uniform and regu- lar.— The Inequalities arife from the Motion and Pofition of the Earth whence they are view'd, and are thus accounted for.

Suppofe PQO (Tab. Afironomy, Fig. 58.) a Portion of the Zodiac ABCD the Earths Orbit, and EMGHZ the Orbit of a fuperior Planet, c. gr. Saturn. And fuppofe the Earth in A, and Saturn in E; in which Cafe he will be feen in the Zodiac at the Point O.— If now Saturn remain'd without any Motion, when the Earth arrives at B, he would be feen in the Point of the Zo- dial L, and would appear to have defcribed the Arch OL, and to have moved according to the Order of the Signs from Weft to Eaft. But becaufe while the Earth is paffing from A to B, Sa- turn likewife moves from E to M, where he is feen in Conjundi-

on with the Sun, he will appear to have defcribed the Arch OQ'. greater than thai OL.

In this State, now, the Planet is dired, and ks Motion, from Weft to Eaft, or according to the Order of the Signs. And its Motion, now that it is in Conjundion with the Sun and molt remote from us,is quicker thanatany other time. SeeDiRECTioN. The Earth arriving at C, while Saturn dufcribes the Arch MG, he will be obferved intheZodiacatR. But the Earth being advanced to K, and Saturn to H, fo as the Line KH joining the Earth and Saturn, be for fome time Parallel to it felf, or nearly fo; Saturn will be feen all that time in the iame Point of the Zo- diac at P, and with the fame fix'd Stars, and is therefore Statio- nary. See Station.

But the Earth being come to D, and Saturn arrived in oppo- fition to the Sun in X, he will appear in the Zodiac in V, and will feem to have been Retrograde, or to have gone backwards through the Arch PV. — Thus the fuperior Planets, on Optical Confiderations, are always Retrograde, when in Oppolition to the Sun. See Sun, Opposition, &c.

The Arch which the Planet defcribes while thus Retrograde, is call'd the Arch of Retrogradation. See Arch.

The Arches of Retrogradation of the leveral Planets are not e- qual.— That of Saturn is greater than that of Jupiter t that of Ju- piter than that of Mars, &c.

Retrogradation of the Nodes, is a Motion of the Line of the Nodes, whereby it continually fhifts its Situation from Eaft to Weft, contrary to the Order of the Signs ^ compleating its Retrograde Circulation in theCompafsof about 19 Years: After which Time either of the Nodes having receded from any Point- of the Ecliptic returns to 'the iame again. See Node.

Retrogradation of the Sun. — When the Sun is in the tor- rid Zone, and has his Declination, AN, (Tab. Afironomy, Fig. 9.) greater than the Latitude of the Place AZ, but either Nor- thern or Southern as that is;; the Sun will appear to go backwards, or to be Retrograde both before and after Noon. See Sun and Zone.

For, draw the vertical Circle ZGN to be a Tangent to the Sun's Diurnal Circle in G, and another ZON, through theSun in O— 'Tis evident all the intermediate vertical Circles cut the Sun's diurnal Circle twice: Firft, in the Arch GO, and the fe- cond time in the Arch GI.— Wherefore, as the Sun afcends thro' the Arch GO, it continually arrives at further and further Ver- ticals. But as it continues its Afcent through the Arch GI, it-re- turns to its former Verticals; and therefore is feen Retrograde foe fome time before Noon.

The fame, it may be fhewn after the iame manner, it does for fome time after Noon.

Hence, as the Shadow always tends the oppoute Way to that of the Sun, the Shadow will be Retrograde twice every Day in all Places of the Torrid Zone, where the Sun's Declination ex- ceeds the Latitude. See Shadow.

Retrogradation, or Retrogression, in the higher Geo- metry, is the fame with what we otherwife call co?jtrary Flexion. See Contrary Flexion.

The RetrogreJJton of Curves maybe thus conceived. — Suppofe a Curve LineAFK, (lab. Geometry, Fig. 82.) to be partly Con- cave, partly Convex, in refped of the Right Line AB, or in re- fped of the determinate Point B; the Point F which feparates the Concave Part of the Curve from the Convex, or which makes the end of one, and the beginning of the otter, is call'd the Point of contrary Flexion, when the Curve is continued from F towards the fame Side as before. — When the Curve is con- tinued backwards towards A 3 then is F the Point of RetrogreJJt- on. See Point and Curve.

RETROGRESSION, or Retrocession, the fame with Retrogradation See Retrogradation.

RETROMrNGENTS, in natural Hiftory, a Clafs or Divi- fion of Animals, whofe Charaderiftic is, that they ftale or pifs backwards; as Cows, &c. See Animal.

The Word is compounded of the Latin, retro t backwards, and mhgo, I make Water.

RETROPANNAGIUM, Retropannage, in our antient Law-Books, Aferpannage; or what is left when the Beafts have done. See Pannage.

Et debent habere Retropannagium h Fefio SanBi Martini uf- aue ad Fcfimn Pur. Beata Mariee. Petitio in Pari. temp. Edw. III.

RETROSPECT, a look or view backwards. See Retro- active.

RETURN, in Law, hath two feveral Acceptations.

The one in the Return of Writs by Sheriffs and Bailiffs; which is only a Certificate made to the Court by the Sheriff, Bailiff, &c. of what is done with regard to the Execution of the Writ direded to them. See Writ.

Suchalfpis the Return of a CommiJJton, which is a Certificate, or Anfwer of what is done by the Comroiffioners, to whom fuch (Commiffions, Precepts, Mandates, or the like, are di- reded.

The other Application of the Word return, is in Cafe of a Re- plevin; for if a Man diftrain Cattle for Rent, fyp and afterwards juftify or avow his Ad, fo as it is found lawful, the Qattle be-


 * fore