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 A M P ( 138 ) AMS AMPHISMILA, a diffe&ing-knife, with a double edge. covering for the ears, worn by the ancient pugiles» AMPHITANE, among ancient naturalifts, a ftone faid to prevent their adverfaries from laying hold of that part. to attract gold, as the loadftone does iron. AMPH1TAPA, in antiquity, a garment frized or fhag- AMPHTHILL, a pretty town in the heart of Bedfordged on both fides, which was laid under perfons going {hire in England. AMPLIATION, in a general fenfe, denotes the a<d of to lleep. AMPHITHEATRE, in antiquity, a fpacious edifice, enlarging or extending the compafs of a thing. built either round or oval, with a number of rifing Ampliation, in Roman antiquity, was the deferring feats, upon which the people ufed to behold the com- to pafs fentence in certain caufes. This the judge did, by pronouncing the word amplius; or by. writing the bats of gladiators, of wild beads, and other fports. Amphitheatres were at fird only of wood; and it letters N. L. for non liquet; thereby fignifyiug, that was not till the reign of Augudus, that Statilius Tau- as the caufe was not clear, it would be neceifary to rus built one, for the fird time, of done. The lowed bring further evidence. part was of an oval figure, and called arena, becaufe, AMPLIFICATION, in rhetoric. See Exaggera'for the conveniency of the combatants, it was ufually drewed with fand; and round the arena were vaults AMPLITUDE, in adronomy, in arch of the horizon ' diled cavea, in which were confined the wild beads intercepted between the ead or wed point, and the centre of the fun, or .a planet at its rifing and fetting, appointed for the {hews. Above the- caveae was ere&ed a-large circular pe- and lb is either north and fouth, or ortive and Qccafive. ridyle, or podium, adorned with columns. This was See Astronomy. the place of the emperors, fenators, and other perfons Mngnetieal Amplitude, the different rifing or fetting of the fun from the ead or welt points of the compafs. of didinchon. The rows of benches were above the podium.. Their It is found by obferving the fun, at his rifing and fetfigure was circular { and they were entered by avenues, ting, by an amplitude-compafs. at the end of which were gates, called vomitoriae. Amplitude of the range of a prejeflile, the horizontal The mod perfeft remains we now have of amphi- line, {ubtending the path in which the projetfile moved. theatres, are that of Vefpafian, called the colifeum, AMPULL A, in antiquity, a round big-bellied vefiel which that at Verona in Italy, and that at NifmeS in Lan- the ancients ufed in their baths, to contain oil for anointing their bodies. It was alfo a cup made of glafs, guedoc/ Amphitheatre, in-gardening, a temple ere&ed on a and fometimes of leather, for drinking out of at tabje. rifing ground, of a iemicircular figure. Thefe amphi- AMPULLACEiE concha, in naturai hidory. See theatres are formed of ever-greens, obferving always Doha. to plant the diorted growing trees in the front, and AMPURIAS, a town of Spain, capital of the diftriid and fituated in E. long. the tailed behind. They are alfo made of dopes on the of Ampouzdan in Catalonia, ikies of hills, and covered with turf, being formerly 2° 50', and N. lat. 420 15'. edeemed great ornaments in gardens; but they are now AMPUTATION, in forgery, the cutting off a limb, generally excluded, as the natural dope of fuch hills or any part, from the body of an animal. See Surgery, title. Of amputation. is, to perfons of true t5.de, far more beautiful -than AMRAS, a drongcadlein the Tyroleze, E. long. 12° the diff angular dopes of thefe amphitheatres. 0 AMPHITHURA, in the ancient churches, was the veil 10', N. lat. 47. or curtain fepayating the chancel from the ted of the AMSDORFI ANS, in church-hidory, a fed: of Protedants in the XVIth century, who took their name from church. AMPHODONTA, a term for animals who have teeth Amfdorf their leader. They maintained, that good works were not only unprofitable, but were obdacles in both jaws. ( AMPHORA, in antiquity, a liquid meafure among the to falvation. Greeks and Romans. The Roman amphora contained AMSEGETES, in Roman antiquity, thofe whofe land forty-eight fextaries, and was equal to about feven gal- bordered upon a public road. lons one pint Englilh wine-meafure ; and the Gre- AMSTERDAM, a large and beautiful city of Holland, cian or Attic amphora contained one third more. fituated on the river Amdel, and an arm of the fea, of the Zuyder-fea, in Amphora was alfo a dry meafure, likewife in ufe a- called Wye, a little eadward 4° 30' E. long, and 520 20 N. lat. mong the Romans, and contained three bufhels. It is computed to be half as big as London ; and, in Amphora, among the Venetians, the larged meafure ufed for liquids.' It contains four bigorzas, the bigor- point of trade, equal to any town in the known world; za being four quarts, the quart four fachies, and each there being people in it of almod every nation and refachie four leras; but, by wholefale, the amphora is ligion of Europe, who apply themfelves with the utfourteen quarts, and the bigorza three quarts and a mod diligence to heap up wealth, not with a view to enjoy it, but to have the pleafure of dying rich. half. Amphora, in adronomy, a name fometimes ufed for Amsterdam, is alfo the name of a town of the Curaone of the twelve figns of the zodiac, more ufually coes, in America: likewife the name of three ifiands, called aquarius. See Aquarius. one of which lies in the Indian ocean, between New AMPHOTIDES, in antiquity, a kind of armour or Holland and Madagafcar; the fecond between Peru and