Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/816

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S Y L

and Hands, 'tis enough to ftir them, and to ufe them as Oats to conduct the Veflel.

Swimming Bladder, a Veficle of Air, inclos'd in the Bodies of Fifhes, by means whereof they are enabled to fuftain themfelves at any Depth of Water. See Fishes.

For the Air in that Bladder being more or left comprefs'd, according to the Depth the Fiih pwims at ; takes up more or lefs Space 5 and confequently the Body of the Fiih, Part of whofe Bulk this Bladder is, is greater or lefier, according to the feveral Depths ; and yet tetains the fame abfolute Weight. Now the Rule de Infidentibus humido, is, that a Body heavier than io much Water as is equal in Quantity to the Bulk 01 it, will neceffarily link ; a Body that is lighter, will fwim ; anda Body of equal Weight, will reft in any Part of theWater.

By this Rule, if the Fifh in the middle Region of the Water be of equal Weight with Water, Bulk for Bulk ; the Fifli will reft there without any natural Tendency upwards or downwards.

And if the Fifli be deeper in the Water, its Bulk becom- ing lefs by the greater Compreffion of the Bladder ; it will ftill remain commenfurate to the Gravity of the Water in that Part.

If the Fifh be higher than the middle Region ; the Air dilating itfelf, and the Bulk of the Fifli confequently in- creafing, but not the Weights tfte Fifh will rife upwards, and reft a-top of the Water.

'Tis probable the Fifh, by fome Action, can emit Air out of its Bladder, and take frefh in : Mr. Ray obferves, that in moft Fifhes, there is a manifeft Channel leading from the Gullet to the fwimming Bladder, which doubtlefs ferves for the Conveyance ; and that there is a mufculous Power in the Coat of the. Bladder, whereby the Fiih can contract it when it lifts. The fame Author adds, in Confirmation of this Docfrine, that 'tis found, if the fwimming Bladder of any Fiih be prick'd or broke, the Fifh immediately finks to the Bottom, and can neither fupport nor raife itfelf And that in flat Fillies, as Soles, Plaife, £s?c. which lie always groveling at the Bottom, there is no [dimming Bladder at all.

SWINE-'Po*. See Pox.

SWOONING, a Kind of Syncope, or Fainting, wherein the Patient lofes all kis Strength, and his Underftanding.

Swooning may he occafion'd by any thing that alters, cor- rupts, ordifiipates the Vital Spirits ; as, long Watching, vio- lent Pains, great and fudden Evacuations, putrid Vapours arifing from Ablcefles in the noble Parts. See Syncope.

SWORD, an offenfive Weapon, wore at the Side, fetving either to prick, or cut, or both. See Fencing.

Its Parts are the Blade, Guard, Hand or Graff, and 'Pum- mel ; to which may be added, the Bow and Scabbard. The Mafters of Defence divide the Sword into the upper, middle, and lower Part ; or the ftrong, middle, and fmall or weak Part.

Anciently there were a kind of two-handed Swords, call'd Spado's, which were to be manaa'd with both Hands ; which in thofe Days they could brandifh {b nimbly, as to cover the whole Body therewith.

The Savages of Mexico, when firft vifited by the Spani- ards, had a kind of Wooden Swords, which would do as much Execution as outs. In Spain, Swords are only allow'd of fuch a Length, dctermin'd by Authority. The ancient Cavaliers gave Names to their Swords ; Joyeufe was that of Cba.rlemain ; Tturaiidal that of Orlando, &c.

SwoKB-Blade Company. See Company.

SYCOPHANT, a Greek Term, originally ufed at Athens, for Perfons who made it their Bufinefs to inform againft thofe who ftole Figs, to the Owners ; or againft thofe, who, con- trary to the Law, which prohibited the Exportation of Figs, yet pracfifed the Thing; and deceiv'd the Officers, thetn- fpecfors of the Ports, &c.

At length, the Term became ufed in the general for all In- formers, Tale-bearers, Parafites, &c. efpecially thofe in the Courts of Princes : And, at laft, for a Lyer, Impofter, &c.

The Word is form'd from aoim, a Fig, and pn^i, I fay.

SYCOPHANTIC Plants. See Parasites.

SYLLABIC, in the Greek Grammar. There are two Kinds of Augmentations in the Greek ■■ The firft call'd Sylla- bic, which is when the Word is increas'd by a Syllable ; and the other Temporal, which is when a fhort Syllable be- comes long. See Augmentative.

SYLLABLE, in Grammar, a Part of a Word, confifting of one or more Letters pronounc'd together. See Letter.

Or, a Syllable is a compieat Sound, utter'd in one Breath, confifting either of a Vowel alone, or of a Vowel and one or more Confonants, not exceeding feven. See Vowel, Con- sonant, &c.

Scaliger defines a Syllable to be an Eiement under one Accent ; that is, what can be pronounc'd at once.

c Prifcian, more intelligibly, calls it a Comprehenfion of le- veral Letters falling under one Accent, and produc'd at one Motion of the Breath : But fome Grammarians reject this Definition, as excluding all Syllables of one Letter.

Another defines Syllable a literal, or articulate Voice, of an individual Sound. See Voice.

In every Word, therefore, there are as many Syllables as there are vocal Sounds ; and as many vocal Sounds, as there are Ample or compound Vowels ; each whereof requires a diftinft Motion of the pefloral Mufcles : Thus a, a a make three Syllables, form'd by fo many Motions, diftin- guiih d by fmall Stops betwixt each Expiration.

In the Hebrew, all the Syllables begin with Confonants ; allowing Aleph to be one ; not has any Syllable more than a fingle Vowe). See Vowel.

From the Number of Syllables in Words they become de- nominated Monofyllables, Bijfyllables, Trisyllables, and W?- fyllables, a. d. Words of one Syllable, two Syllables, three Syllables, and many Syllables. See Word, Monosyllable, £J?C. '

The Word is deriv'd from the Greek roto^i), Affemblage.

As 'tis the Number of Syllables that makes the Meafure of B/glifi Verfe ; it were to be wifh'd, we had fix'd and fettled Rules to determine the precife Number of Syllables in each Word : for we have Words very dubious in that refpefl : And there are even fome which have more Syllables in Verfe, than in Profe. Many of the Words ending in riolts, give a deal of Embarrafs to fuch as pique themfelves on Exaftnefs ; as odious, precious, &c. See Foot, Quality, Measure,©;.

SYLLABUB, a kind of compound Drink, moft aftecfed in the Summer Seafon ; ordinarily made of White-Wine and Sugar, into which is fquirted new Milk with a Syringe, or Wooden Cow.

Sometimes 'tis made of Canary, in lieu of White Wine ; in which Cafe the Sugar is fpar'd, and a little Lemon and Nutmeg ufed in lieu of it.

To prepare it the beft Way, the Wine and other Ingredients, excepting the Milk, are mix'd over Night, and the Milk or Cream added in the Morning. The Proportion is, a Pint of Wine to three of Milk. For

i Whipt Syllabub, to half a Pint of White Wine, or Rhe- nifh, is put a Pint of Cream, with the Whites of three Eggs. This they feafon with Sugar, and beat with Birchen Rods. The Froth is taken off as it rifes, and put into a Pot ; where, after ftanding to fettle two or three Hours, 'tis fit to eat.

SYLLEPSIS, in Grammar, call'd alfb Conceptio, is a Fi- gure whereby we conceive the Senfe othertvife 'than the Words import ; and thus make our Conftruction, not accord- ing to the Wbtds, but to the Senfe. See Conceptio.

The Syllepfis, fays an ingenious Author, is a Figurative Conftruct ion, which agrees mote with our Ideas, trian with the Words ; and which expreffes more of the Senle or Ideas in the Mind, than the Terms themfelves. _ ■ Other Authors make it a Difproportion, or Unfuitablenefs in the Parts of the Difcourfe.

Voffius will have it the Agreement of a Verb, or Adjective, not with that Word next it, but with the moft worthy in the Sentence ; as Rex fy Regina beat:.

Some Authors call the Syllepfis, Synthefis. See Syn- thesis.

'Tis a Figure of very confiderable Ufe for the well under- ftanding of Authors: Accordingly, Sciofpius divides it into two Kinds, fimple and relative. The fimple Syllepfis is when the Words of a Difcourfe either differ in Gender, or Number, or both : The relative Syllepfis, is when the Rela- tive is referr'd to an Antecedent, w'hich is not exprefs'd ; but which we conceive by the Senfe of the whole Period.

SYLLOGISM, in Logic, an Argument, or Form of Rea- foning, confifting of three Propofitions ; having this Proper- ty, that the Conclufion neceffarily follows from the two Pre- mifes ; fo that if the firft and fecond Propofition be granted, the Conclufion muft be granted in like Manner ; and the whole allow'd Demonftration.

If the Premifes be only probable, or contingent, the Syllo- gifm is faid to be DialeSical ; if they be certain, ApodiSi- cal ; if falfe, under an Appearance of Truth, Sophiftic, or Paralogifiic. See Dialectical, Apodictical, and Sophistical.

As often as the Mind obferves any two Notions to agree to a third ; which is done in two Propofitions ; it immediate- ly concludes that they agree to each other : Or if it find that one of them agrees, and the other difagrees; which is likewife done in two Propofitions; it immediately pronounces that they difagree to each other. And fuch is a Syllogifm 5 which, it hence appears, is nothing but an inward Difcourfe, or Thought, whereby, from any two Propofitions granted, a third is neceffarily dedue'd. See Proposition.

Hence, as the Greeks call it Syllogifm, the Latins call it Colletlio, or Ratiocinatio, as being a kind of Computation, which, either by adding or fubftracfing, gathers either the Sum or the Remainder: For, as if we add two to three, we thence collect five ; fo, if to this Propofition, Man is an Animal, you add this, every Animal thinks ; you thence deduce this, therefore Man thinks.

Of the three Propofitions whereof a Syllogifm confifts - the fitft is by way of Eminence, call'd the 'Propofition, as being ptopos'd for the Bafis of the whole Argument ; the fecond is call'd the AJJiimption, as being affum'd to affift in

inferring