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 extent than it is at preent, becaue everal provinces have revolted, and the Turks have made encroachments to the cat. The land is fertile in many places, and the air is very hot, except in the rainy eaon, and then it is very temperate. For four months is the year, greater rains fall there than perhaps in any other part of the world, which occaion the welling of the river Nile, that has its ource in this country. It contains mines of all orts of metal, except tin; but the inhabitants make no great advantage thereof. The fields are watered by everal treams, except in the mountainous parts. The emperor, or king, is called Negus; and he has been commonly taken for Pretor John. His authority is abolutre, and he often dwells with his whole court in tents. However, Abyinia is not without cities, as ome pretend; for Gondar is a large place, where the king commonly reides when he is not in the field. The inhabitants are black, or very near it; but they are not o ugly as the negroes. They make profeion of the Chritian religion, but it has a mixture of Judaim. The habit of perons of quality is a ilken vet, with a ort of earf; but the common people wear nothing but a pair of drawers.  ABYSSINIAN church, that etablihed in the empire of Abyinia. It is a branch of the Copts or Jacobites; a ect of heretics, who admit but one nature in Jeus Chrit.  ACACALOTL, the Brailian name of a pecies of the Corvus. See.  ACACIA, in botany, a ynonime of the poinciana, genita, mimoa, robinia, guaicum, &c. See thee articles.

, in the materia mediea, the inpiitated juice of the unripe fruit of the acacia. This juice is brought from Egypt in roundih pieces, wrapt up in thin bladders, and is ued as a mild atringent.

germinca. See.

, among antiquaries, omething reembling a roll or bag, een on medals, as in the hands of everal conuls and emperors. Some take it to repreent a handkerchief rolled up, wherewith they made ignals at the games; others a roll of petitions or memorials; and ome a purple bag full of earth, to remind them of their mortality.  ACACIANS, in eccleiatical hitory, the name of everal ects of heretics; ome of whom maintained, that the Son was only a imilar, not the ame, ubtance with the Father; and others, that he was not only a ditinct, but a diimilar ubtance. Two of thee ects had their denomination from Acacius bihop of Cæarea, who lived in the fourth century, and changed his opinions, o as, at different times, to be head of both. Another was named from Acacius patriarch of Contantinople, who lived in the cloe of the fifth century.  ACADEMIC,, or , a member of an academy. See in the modern ene.  ACADEMICS, or, a denomination given to the cultivators of a pecies of philoophy originally derived from Socrates, and afterwards illutrated and inforced by Plato, who taught in a grove near Athens, conecrated to the memory of Academus an Athenian hero; from which circumtance this philoophy received the name of academical. Before the days of Plato, philoophy had, in a great meaure, fallen into contempt. The contradictory ytems and hypothees that had ucceively been urged upon the world, were become o numerous, that, from a view of this incontancy and uncertainty of human opinions, many were led to conclude, that truth lay beyond the reach of our comprehenion. Abolutre and univeral cepticim was the natural conequence of this concluion. In order to remedy this abue of philoophy and of the human faculties, Plato laid hold of the principles of the academical philoophy, and, in his Phædo, reaons in the following manner: "If we are unable to dicover truth, (ays he), it mut be owing to two circumtances; either there is no truth in the nature of things, or the mind, from a defect in its powers, is not able to apprehend it. Upon the latter uppoition, all the uncertainty and fluctuation in the opinions and judgments of mankind admit of an eay olution: Let us therefore be modet, and acribe our errors to the real weaknes of our own minds, and not to the nature of things themelves. Truth is often difficult to acces: in order to come at it, we mut proceed with caution and diidence, carefully examining every tep; and after all our labour, we will frequently find our greatet efforts diappointed, and be obliged to confes our ignorance and weaknes."

Labour and caution in our reearches, in oppoition to rah and haty deciions, were the ditinguihing characteritics of the diciples of the ancient academy. A philoopher poeed of thee principles, will be flow in his progres, but will eldom fall into errors, or have occaion to alter his opinion after it is once formed. Vanity and precipitance are the great ources of cepticim; hurried on by thee, intead of attending to the cool and deliberate principles recommended by the academy, everal of our modern philoophers have plunged themelves into an aburd and ridiculous kind of cepticism. They pretend to dicredit things that are plain, imple, and eaily comprehended; but give peremptory and deciive judgments upon ubjects that evidently exceed the limits of our capacity. Of thee Berkley and Hume are the mot coniderable. Berkley denied the exitence of every thing, excepting his own ideas. Mr Hume has gone a tep further, and quetioned even the exitence of ideas; but at the ame time has not heitated to give determined opinions with regard to eternity, providence, and a future tate, miraculous interpoitions of the Deity, &c. ubjects far above the reach of our faculties. In his eay on the academical or ceptical philoophy, he has confounded two very oppoite pecies of philoophy. After the days of Plato, indeed, the principles of the firt academy were grosly corrupted by Arceilas, Carneades, &c. This might lead Mr Hume into the notion that the academical and ceptical philoophy were ynonimous terms. But no principles can be of a more oppoite nature  Rh