Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/980

 UNI C 323 ] UNI

Or, Unifon may be defined a Confonance of two Sounds, make two Kinds of Unity, vi

-. Unity of Simplicity, which is both undivided and indivifible; fuch as is that of God, Angels, and human Souls : The '

produced by two Bodies of the fame Matter, Length, Thick nefs, Tenfion, equally ftruck, and at the lime time; fo that they yield the fame Tone, or Note. See Note.

Or, it is the Union of two Sounds, fo like each'othcr that the Ear perceiving no difference, receives them as one and the fame Sound. See Sound.

What constitutes Unifonance, is the Equality of the Num- ber of Vibrations of the two fonorous Bodies in equal Times • Where there is an Inequality in that refpecl, and of confe- quence an Inequality in degree of Time; the unequal Sounds conftitute an Interval. See Interval, and Vibra- tion.

Unifon is the firft and greateft of Concords; and the Foundation, or, as fome call it, the Mother of all the reft • Yet fome deny it to be any Concord at all; maintaining it to be only that in Sounds, which Unity is in Numbers. See Unit*.

_ Others teftrain the Word Concord to Intervals, and make it include a difference of Tune; but this is precarious : for as the Word Concord Bonifies an Agreement of Sounds, 'tis certainly applicable to Unifons in the firft degree.

But tho Unifonance, or an Equality of Tune, makes the molt per eel Agreement of Sound; it is not true that the nearer any two Sounds come to an Equality of Tune, they are the more agreeable.— The Mind is delighted with Va- riety; and the Reafon of the Agreeablenefs or Difapreea- bleners of two Sounds, mull be afcrib'd to fome other Caufe than the Equality or Inequality of the Number of their Vi- brations. See Concord.

'Tis a fam'd Pha:nomenon in Mufick, that an intenfe Sound being rais'd, either with the Voice or a fonorous Bo- dy, another fonorous Body near it, whofe Tune is either U- nifen or OSzve above that Sound, will found its proper Note

Unifon or Octave to the given Note The Experiment

is eafily try'd by the Strings of two Inftruments, or by a Voice and a Harpfichord, or a Bell, or even a drinking. Glafs. S

This our Philofophers account for thus : One String being ftruck, and the Air put in Motion thereby; every other String within the reach of that Motion, will receive fome Impreffion therefrom : But each String can only move wirh a determinate Velocity of Recourfes, 'or Vibrations; and all Unifons proceed from equal or equidiurnal Vibrations • and other Concords from other Proportions. The Unifon String, then, keeping equal pace with the founded String, as hav- ing the fame Meafure of Vibrations, muft have its Motion continued and ftill improv'd, till its Motion become fenfible, and it give a diftinft Sound. Other concording Strings have their Motions propagated in different Degrees, according to the frequency of the_ Coincidence of their Vibrations wbh thofe of the founded String : The Ocfave, therefore, molt fenfibly; then the fifth : after which, the crofting of the Motions prevents any effect.

This they illuftrate by the Pendulum; which being fet a-moving, the Motion may be continu'd and augmented by making frequent, light, coincident Impulfes 5 as blowing on it when the Vibration is juft finifh'd : But if it be touch'd by any crofs or oppofite Motion, and this, too, frequently; the Motion will be interrupted, and ceafe altogether. — So, of two Unifon Strings, if the one be forcibly ftruck, it com- municates Motion by the Air to the other : and being equi- diurnal in their Vibrations, that is, finifhing them precifely together, the Motion of that other will be improv'd and heigh- ten'd, by the frequent Impulfes receiv'd from the Vibrations of the firft; becaufe given precifely when that other has finifh'd its Vibration, and is ready ro return : But if the Vi- brations of the Chords be unequal in Duration, there will be a crofling of Motions, lefs or more, according to the Pro- portion of the Inequality; by which the Motion of the un- touch 'd String_ will be fo check'd, as never to be fenfible. And this we find is the Cafe in all Confonances, except Uni- fon, Oflave, and the Fifth. See Chord.

UNITARIANS, a Name affumed by the new Antitrini- tarians; as making Profeffion to prcferve the Glory and At- tribute of Divinity to the One, only great and fupreme God, and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift. See Arians,

SOCTNIANS, &C.

UNIT, Unite, in Arithmetick, the Number One; or one

fingle, individual Part :rf difcrete Quantity .See Number, bun ..making one Revolution, which is.

_ It a Number confift of four or five Places, that which under pain of Irregularity : Some Criticks will even have

is outermott towards the right hand, ,s called the Place of it included in the Space* of twelve Hours or an Artificial

Unites. See Numeration. D a v ' anffl ™

Number in general is by Euclid AcSn'A to be pA,». Indeed, the antient Tragic Poets fometimes difnens'd

•tor, a Multitude, or Aggregate 1 of Unites; in which Senfe with this Rule; and the modern jftg«*SS Tmany of 'em

U "'t''T, a ^ U ™ b «- Se " V » m - , diliHow it : few of 'em praflife it. * " * ' ^

1TY, the_Abftraa or Quality, which conftitutes or In the Epic Poem, the Unity of time is ftill l e fs eft*


 * n-'j . t_ iacja. .' - - ■ —

■ ■'« other Union of Compofltion; rtuch tho undivided, is divifible in the Being, as confifting ol divers Parts : fuch is that of Man, i£c. ,„ „ \Umty\s alfo divided into that/«- fe, which agrees o any Being whofe Parts ate coined into one Substra- tum; and Unity fer accidens, whofe Parts are not united into one Subftratum; as that of a Flock of Sheep, &c.

Some alfo make a SinguUtr, or Numerical Unity, and an Univerfal Unity; a Real, and an Imaginary Uni-

'Tis difputed among Mathematicians, whether or no Unity be a Number.— The generality of Authors hold the Nega- tive 5 and make Unity to be only inceptive of Number, or the Principle thereof; as a Point is of Magnitude, miUmfon ot Concord. J

Stevinus is very angry with the Maintainers of this Opi- nion : and yer, it Number be defin'd a Multitude of Unites join d together, as many Authors define it, 'tis evident Unity is not a Number. See Number.

Unity, among Divines.— The Romanics and the Re- form'd difpute whether or no the Church be one fingle Bo- dy all the Members whereof are join'd together, either really, or in Inclination; fo that whatever does not apper- tain to that Body, is no part of the Church: Which is what they call the Unity of the Church; and which the Roma- mjts maintain is reftrain'd to one fingle Society, or one Com- munion, under one vifible Head; and out of which the Pro- tettants are excluded.

Thefe laft, on the contrary, hold, That the Unity of the Church may ftill fubfift, without being united under any one vifible Head; it being fufficient that all Chriftians be uni- ted by the Bonds of mutual Love, and Charity; and that they be agreed in the Fundamental Points of Religion.

AH the difficulty is to fix what thofe Fundamentals are; fome inclining; to make the Door of tho Church wider than others. See Toleration.

Unitv, in Poetry.— In the Drama there are three Uni- ties to be obferv d; the Unity of ASion, that of fime, and that of 'Place. See Drama.

In the Fpic Poem, the great and almoft only Unity, is that or the Action.— Some regard, indeed, ought to be had to that of Time : That of Place there is no room for. The Unity of Charafter is not reckon'd among the Unities. See Character.

The Unity of the Dramatic Aflion, confifts in the Unity of the Intrigue in Comedy, and th it of ihc Danger in Trage- dy; and rhis.not only in the Plan of the Fable, but alfo in the Fabie extended and fill'd with Epifodes. See Action.

The Epifodes are to be work'd in, without corrupting the Unity, or rorming a double Aflion; and the feveral Mem- bers are to be fo connected together, as to be confident with that Continuity of Action fo neceffary to the Eody; and

which Horace prefcribes, when he fays, fit quodvisfim-

fiex d'intaxat iS iinum. See Episode.

Tne Unity of the Epic AHwn, M. T>acier obferves does not confidin the Umly of the Hero, or in the Unit y of his Character, and Manners; tho chol'e be Circumftances neceffa- ry thereto. The Unity of ja on, tequires that there be but one principal Aaion, of which all the reft are to be In- cidents or Dependencies. See Hero, Manners &c.

F. Sofpt affigns three Things requifirethereto ■ The firft That no Epilode be ufed but what is fetch'd fro n the P an' and Ground of the ASion, and which is a natural Member of that Body: The fecond, that thefe Epifodes and Mem- bers be well conneaed with each other : The third is Not to finifli any Epifode, fo as it may appear a whole Action - but to let each be always leen in its quality of Member of the Body, and an unfinifli'd Part.

The fame excellent Critick examines the JEncid, Iliad, and Odyffee, with refpefl to thefe Rules, and finds 'em ftrict- ly obferv'd.— Indeed, it was from the ConduS of thof- di- vine Poems, that he took the Hint of the Rules themfelves Inflances wherein thefe Rules ate all neglected he gives us in Statius's Ttebaid. °

1'othzUnity of Time it is requir'd, in the Drama, that the Aftion be included in the Space of a Day.

Ariflotle fays exprefly, It mult not exceed the Time rhe Sun is making one Revolution,

denominates a Thing unum, or one bHm 'd. i n ^.ft, there is n0 faj the Time of; -

The School Philofophers generally define Unity, by a tion; in regard, the warmer and mSre violent it i, the lefs

Things being undivided m it felf, and divided from every muft be its Continuance : Whence it is that the 7, W re

S iT t, "• m ° re accurate1 ^ **■» "• a M °de of prefenting the Anger of Achilles, only contains forty leven

Being, whereby it agrees to any particular being, once; and Days at molt; whereas the ASion of the Odyffee holds elgh?

lears