Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/822



SYR.

Love and Mufic ; which are the three moft powerful Means of feducing Men ; and hence fo many Exhortations to avoid the fatal Syrens Song.

Probably 'twas hence, that the Greeks fetch'd their Etymo- logy of Syren-, viz. from tm§£ } a Chain, as if there was no getting free ot their Enticement.

Others, who don't look for io much Myftery in the Fable, maintain, that the Syrens were nothing but certain dole Places in the Sea, where the Waves whirling furioufly around, feiz'd and fwailow'd up Veflels that approach'd them too near.

Laftly, others allow them to have been Certain Shores and Promontories, where the Winds, by the various Rever- berations and-Echo's, caule a kind of Harmony, that Surprizes and flops PafTengers. This, probably, might be the Origin of the Syrens Song, and of the giving the Name of Syrens to thefe Rocks. The Sculptors and Painters ufually follow Ovid's Defcription ; but on fome Medals, we find them repreiented with the upper Parts of Women, and the lower, of Birds.

SYRINGE, an Inftrument ferving to imbibe or fuck up a Quantity of any Fluid, and to expel the fame with vio- lence.

'The Syringe is made of a hollow Cylinder, as A BCD (Tab. HydroLlaticks, Fig. 26. ) furnifhed with a little Tube at bottom, E F. in this Cylinder, is an Embolus, K, made or at leaff. cover'd with Leather, or other Matter, that eafily takes Moiflure $ and fo filling the Cavity of the Cylinder, as that no Air or Water may pafs between the one and the other.

If, then, the litrle Tube F be put in Water, and the Em- bolus drawn out 5 the Water will afcend into the Cavity left by the Embolus : And upon thmfting back the Embolus, it will be violently expell'd again through the Tube E F : And Hill, the greater Impetus will the Water be expell'd withal, and to the greater Diftance, as the Embolus is thrutt down with the greater Force, or the greater Velocity,

This Alcent of the Water, the Ancients, who fuppofed a Plenum, attributed to Nature's Abhorrence of a Vacuum : But the Moderns, more reasonably, as well as more intelligi- bly, attribute it to the Preffure of the Atmofphere on the Surface of the Fluid. See Air and Vacuum.

For, i)y drawing up the Embolus, the Air left in the Cavity of the Cylinder mull be exceedingly Tariffed; fo that being no longer a Counter-balance to the Air incumbent on the Surface of the Fluid 5 that prevails, and forces the Water through the little Tube, up into the Body of the Syringe.

fn effect, a Syringe is only a Simple Pump, and the Water afcends in it on the i'ame Principle, as in the common luck- ing Pump ; whence it follows, that Water will not be railed in a Syringe, to a Height exceeding 31 Feet. See Pump and Suction.

Syringes are of considerable Ufe in Medicine and Chi- rurgery. By them Cly iters are adminiftred : Injections of medicinal Waters, f$C. made into Wounds, J^fc. They alfb Serve to inject colour'd Liquors, melted Wax, §§c. into the dried VefTels of the Parrs of Animals, to Shew the Dispo- sition, Texture, Ramifications, £$c. thereof. See In- jection.

The Word is form'd from the Latin, Syrinx, Pipe.

SYROP, in Pharmacy, an agreeable Liquor, or Compo- sition, of a moderately thick Confidence, extracled from Juices, Tinftures, or Waters of Fruits, Flowers, or Herbs boil'd, and feafon'd with Sugar, or Honey 5 and taken either for Health or Plea lure.

There are various Kinds of Syrops t denominated from the various Fruits, l$c. they are extracted, from 5 as Syrop of Violets, of Elder, of Wormwood, of Poppies, gjfc. Emetic SyropSy Lienteric and Antinephritic Syrops, ike. Chohgogite, ^Phiegmagcgtte Syrops, &c.

The Syrop of Sapor is a Syrop, the Bafe whereof is Apples, with Juices of Bugles, Annis, Saffron, &c, thus caU'd from Sapor King of 1>er(ia, who overcame the Em- peror Valerian, fuppos'd to be the Inventer thereof.

The Word, Menage derives from the Latin Syropus, of the Arab Schirab, which Signifies 'Potion. Others derive it from the Greek, m/f», I araw, and ot©-, Juice. Skinner thinks the Word might come from the Greek Suefa?, Syria, in regard thefe Kinds of Liquors were much in Uie among the Syrians, a very delicate People; tho' he thinks it mould rather be deriv'd from the Arabic Siruf >b, which Signifies the fame Thing as Syrop, or from Sark or Sirab, a Potion, or Medicinal Drink.

2). Herbeht obferves, that the Word* Syrop, and Sfoerbet, or Sorbet, all come from the Arabic, Scharab, which Signi- fies any Kind of Drink in the general. See Sherbet.

c &i i

SYS

Syrop of Alkemes Syrop of^Diacodium Syrop of Capillaries v g ( Syrop of Lemon Syrop of Sugar Strop ofVioleti

•■Scarlet. . Diacodium. ) Capillaries. \ Citron.

MoLOSSES.

• Violet*.

SYSSARCOSIS, in Anatomy, a particular Species of the Kind of Articulation calfd Symthifi. See Sym-

PHISIS. -f. X J

The Syffarcojis is a natural Union of two Bones, by Mean* of Fle/h or Mufcles : Such is that of the Os Hyoides, and Omoplata. ' '

FleflT W ° rd " Greek ' com P ounded of m \ wi<h, and «*£?, SYSTEM, in the general, a certain Affemblage, or Chain of Principles and Conclufions : Or the Whole of any Doflrine, the feveral Parts whereof are bound together, and follow or depend on each other.

fitilii 6 W ° rd " f ° rmd ° f the G ''" Cek ' S " V " f " £ ' Com ?°'

In this Senfe, we fay, a Syjiem of 'Philofothy ; a Syflem of Motion ; a Syjiem of Fevers, &c. The Divines have framed abundance of Syjiem of Grace : The Syjiem of in- termediate Science, and 'Predetermination, are invented to ex- plain that of Grace. See Grace, tic.

Among Phylicians, fome follow'the Syjiem of Alcali and Acid ; others that of the four Qualities, %$t; Dr. Woodward accounts for molt Things on his Syjiem of the Bile;

Ties CmteS% Syjiem is held very deftruftive to Religion, See Cartesianism, Cause, tic.

Gaffendi renewed the ancient Syflem of Atoms; which was that ot Tlemocritus, followed by Epicurus, Lucretius, $gcl See Corpuscular.

Sir Ifaac Newton's. Doarine of Colours; M.Leibniz's Trotogaa, and fome Difcourfes of M. Jujfien, to the Aca- demy oi Sciences, to (hew that there are Bodies, whofe Parts are not to be deftroy'd by any natural Agents ; are very fa- vourable to the Syjiem of Gaffendi. See Atom.

Experiments are the Materials of Syjlems : An Infinity are required to build one. See Experiment.

System, in Aftronomy, an Hypothefis or S uppofition of a certain Order, and Arrangement of the feveral Parts of the Univerfe ; whereby Aflroiiomers explain all the Phenomena, or Appearances of the heavenly Bodies, their Motions, Changes, Sgc. calt'd, alfo, the Syjiem of the World, and the Solar Syjiem. See World.

Syflem and llypotkefii, have the fame Signification; unlefs, perhaps, Hypothejh be a more particular Syflem ; and Svflem a more general Hypothefis. See Hypothesis.

Some late Authors, indeed, furnifh a frelher Diftinflion = An Hypothefis, fay they, is a mere Supposition, or Fiction; founded rather on Imagination, than Reafon : A Syjiem is only built on the firmeir. Ground, and raifed by the fevereft Rules : 'Tis founded on Aflronomical Obferyations, and Phyfical Caufes, and confirm'd by Geometrical Demonftra- tions.

The mod celebrated Syjlems of the World, are the Ptolo- Mdkj and the Copernican; to which may be added, the Syciixic : The Oeconomy of each whereof, is as follows ;

'Ptolemaic System places the Earth at Reft, in the Centre of the Univerfe ; and makes the Heavens revolve round the fame from Soft to Weft, and carry all the heavenly Bodies, Stars and Planets along with them, See Ptolomaic.

For the Order, Ttijiances, Sic. of the feveral Bodies in this Syftcm, fee Plate Jflrommy, Fig. 43.

The principal Afferters of this Syjiem, are Jriftotle, Hip- farchts, ftolomy, and many of the old Philofophers, followed by the whole World, lor a great Number of Ages ; and flill adhered to in fome of our Univerfities, and other Places, where free Philofophizing is excluded : But the late Improve- ments have put it out of all Countenance ; and we don't even want Demonftration againft it. See Earth, <bc.

Copernican System, places the Sun at reft, nearly in the Centre of the Syflem 5 excepting for a vertiginous Motion about his own Axis. See Sun.

Around him, more from Weft to Eafi, in feveral Orbits, firft Mercury, then Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. See Planet,

About the Earth, in a peculiar Orbit, moves the Moon ; accompanying the Earth, in its whole Progrefs round the Sun. See Moon.

And after the fame Manner, do lour Satellites move round Jupiter ; and Five round Saturn. See Satellites.

Athwart the planetary Space do the Comets move round the Sun; only in very excentrick Orbits, probably Parabola's, in one of whofe Foci is the Sun. See Comet.

At an immenfe Diftance beyond the Planetary and Cometarf Spaces, are the fix'd Stars, which have all a proper Motion from Weft to Eaft. See Star.

The Solar or Planetary Syflem, is ufually confined to narrower Bounds : The Stats, by their immenfe Diftance, anct the little Relation they appear to bear to us, being reputed no Part thereof. 'Tis highly probable, that each Star, is, itlelf, a Sun ; and the Centte of a particular Syflem, furrounded with a Company of Planets, lie. which, in different Periods, and at different Diftances, perform their Courfes round their refpective Sun ; and are enlighten'd, warm'd and cherifh'd, Sic. thereby : Hence we have a very magnificent Idea of th« [ T t ] Wor u