GLOSSARY

OF WORDS AND PHRASES NOT EASILY TO BE UNDER

STOOD BY THE YOUNG READER.

[Many names of persons and places, terms of art, &c., which occur in this Volume, will be found explained in one of the places where they occur. For these, see INDEX.]

Abana, (or Amana,) a river of Palestine, mentioned by Naaman, (2 Kings v. 12,) as better than all the waters of Israel. It rises in Anti Lebanon, and unites with the Pharpar about four miles northwest of Damascus. It is then again divided into several streams, one of which passes through Damascus, and the others around it, after which they are lost in a bog, or marsh, called Bahr-el-Marje, or Lake of the Meadow. The Abana was called Chrysorrhoas by the Greeks, and is now called Barrady.

Absolute monarchy, a form of government, in which the power of the monarch is unlimited.

Absolutism, the system, or principle, of vesting unlimited power in the sovereign.

Academy, a place of education; a school of philosophy; an assembly or society of learned men, uniting for the purpose of conferring together upon discoveries already made in the sciences, or to try experiments for their further improvement. The name is derived from the groves of Academus, in the vicinity of Athens, about one eighth of a mile from the city, where the Philosopher, Plato, resided, and gave his instructions; from which time they became, in a great measure, sacred to philosophy. The name Academy is often used for the school of Plato, as in this Volume, pages 23, 41. In other places, as pages 25, 155, it is confined to the various public societies established in different countries, for the improvement of the arts and sciences. The French Academy, at Paris, and Royal Academy, at London, are those particularly mentioned in this Volume. There is, in this Country, an American Academy of Arts and Sciences.' See French and Royal. Acropolis, (Greek,) the highest part or citadel of a city, particularly that of Athens.

Accession, the act of coming into power, or of entering upon an office.

Adelphic, fraternal.

Adriatic Sea, also called Gulf of Venice, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, on the northeast of Italy. Aladdin, the subject of one of the tales in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. The possession of a magical lamp is represented as giving him command of the services of the Genius of the Lamp,'

an imaginary being of superhuman powers, by whom all his orders were obeyed, with the celerity of enchantment. Albertus Magnus, or Albert the Great, a distinguished theologian and natural philosopher, who resided at Paris, Rome, and Cologne, and died at the latter place, in the year 1280, aged about eighty years. He was for some time Bishop of Ratisbon, but his love of solitude induced him to resign that dignity, and retire to a monastery. His works make twenty-one folio volumes.

Alcaus, a celebrated lyric poet of Greece, who flourished about six hundred years before Christ. A few fragments, only, of his works remain.

Alchymists, the professors of Alchymy, an art which originated in Arabia, in the fourth century, and was afterwards much cultivated in Europe, which had for its object the transmutation, or change, of the baser metals into gold, and the discovery of the philosopher's stone, a substance supposed to possess the power of curing all diseases, and renewing life. The alchymists, though engaged in the pursuit of objects now known to be visionary, have, by their experiments, rendered much service to modern chemistry. Alcuin, called also Albinus, (Flaccus,) an Englishman, and the most eminent scholar of his age, born A. D. 732.

Alexander the Great,- Macedonia's madman,'—a celebrated King of Macedonia, who was born three hundred and fifty-six years before the birth of our Saviour, and died in the thirty-second year of his age. He was a great warrior, and conquered his enemies in every battle which he fought; and at last is said to have wept, because there were no more worlds to conquer." The extent of his conquests, and his uniform success in war, have rendered his name synonymous with conqueror. He was proud, ordering himself to be worshipped as a god; and visited the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Desert of Siwah, and bribed the priests of the temple to declare him to be the son of Jupiter. He was brave, often to rashness; humane and liberal; easy and familiar with his friends; and a great patron of learning. But he was a drunkard; and in one of his fits of madness, produced by intoxication and debauchery, he set fire to the city of Persepolis.

Alexandria, the capital of Lower Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great. This city, under the reign of the Ptolemies, successors of Alexander, was distinguished as the seat of learning. At the Museum, founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who died B. C. 247, numerous scholars lived, were supported, and studied. The grammarians and poets of Alexandria are termed, collectively, the Alexandrian school, and the age of literature under the Ptolemies is termed the Alexandrian age.

Algiers, one of the States of Barbary, on the northern coast of Africa, with a capital city of the same name, which was surrendered to the French, July 5, 1830, previous to which time, the Algerines were a piratical nation, and received tribute from several states of Christendom.

Alkali, (plural alkalies,) a substance that has the property of combining with, and neutralizing the properties of, acids, producing salts by the combination. Alkalies change the vegetable blues and

purples to green, red to purple, and yellow to brown. Caustic alkali, an alkali deprived of its carbonic acid, being thereby rendered more caustic and violent in its operation. This term is usually applied to pure potash. Fixed alkali, an alkali that emits no characteristic smell, and cannot be volatilized or evaporated without great difficulty. Potash and soda are called the fixed alkalies. Soda is also called a Fossil, or Mineral Alkali, and potash, the Vegetable Alkali. Volatile alkali, an elastic, transparent, colorless, and consequently invisible, gas, known by the name of ammonia, or spirits of hartshorn.

Allston, (Washington,) one of the most distinguished of living painters; an American.

Alma mater, dear, or benignant, mother; an epithet applied to a college, university, or other seminary of learning, by those who have there received their education.

Alpine, of, or relating to, the Alps, a lofty ridge of mountains in Europe, the highest summits of which are in Savoy and Switzerland.

Altai Mountains, a vast chain of mountains, in Asia, forming, for a great distance, the southern boundary of Siberia.

Amalgamation, the combination of mercury with other metals. The compound is called an amalgam.

Anacaona, a female cacique (chief) of Hispaniola, or St. Domingo ; put to death by the Spaniards, under Ovando, in 1505. Anatolia, see Asia Minor.

Andes, an immense chain of mountains, extending through South America, from north to south. In Chili, these mountains, which, to the north and south, are divided into several ridges, form but one ridge, about one hundred and twenty miles in breadth and the Chilian Andes present many summits of great height. Anson, (George,) Lord, a distinguished English naval commander, between 1739 and 1761. He not only obtained numerous victories over the ships of the French and Spaniards, then at war with England, but added much to geographical knowledge, by his explorations and discoveries.

Anti-Christian, opposed to Christianity.

Antartic Sea, or Ocean, (also called Southern Frozen Ocean,) the ocean lying round the south pole, and south of the southern extremities of America, Africa, and New Holland.

Apollo, one of the deities of the ancient Grecian mythology, presiding over poetry, music, medicine, and prophecy. One of the most perfect specimens of ancient sculpture, which have come down to modern times, is the statue of this god, named the Apollo Belvidere, from the pavilion called Belvidere, in the Vatican, or Pope's palace at Rome.

Apollonius the Rhodian, an ancient poet, born about two hundred and thirty years before Christ. He wrote a poem, of some merit, upon the expedition of the Argonauts, who sailed in the ship Argo, under the command of the hero Jason, in search of the fabulous golden fleece.

Appetence, desire.

April the nineteenth, see Lexington.

A priori, literally, from the preceding. Reasoning a priori, is reasoning on grounds preceding actual knowledge.

Arabs, or Arabians, inhabitants of Arabia, an extensive region in the southwestern part of Asia.

Arcadia, a mountainous country, in the centre of the peninsula constituting the southern part of Greece, now called the Morea, and anciently the Peloponnesus. It has been much celebrated by the poets, as the abode of virtue, courage, and pastoral simplicity of

manners.

·Archangel, a city in the northern part of Russia, on the River Dwina, about six miles from the White Sea; formerly the only maritime city of importance in Russia, but, since the foundation of St. Petersburg, it has much declined. Archimedes, the most celebrated among the ancient geometricians, born at Syracuse, in Sicily, about two hundred and eighty-seven years before the birth of our Saviour. He was the inventor of several of the most important mechanical powers, such as the compound pulley, the endless screw, &c.; and is reported to have said he would move the world, if he could find a fulcrum, or point, without it, on which he could stand and place his lever. He is also said to have constructed lenses, or burning glasses, of such great power, that he set on fire with them the ships of the Roman fleet, which was besieging Syracuse. Hiero, King of Syracuse, suspecting that an artist had added some common metal to a crown, which he had directed to be made of pure gold, requested Archimedes to ascertain the fact. He discovered the method of solving the question, while he was in the bath. Archipelago, a sea interspersed with many islands. The name was originally applied to the Ægean Sea, situated between Europe and Asia, and which is called the Grecian Archipelago, but has been also extended to other seas and even oceans. By the Indian Archipelago is to be understood the collection of islands south of the eastern part of the continent of Asia, and forming a part of what is comprehended under the term East Indies.

Ariosto, (Ludovico,) an eminent Italian poet, who was born A. D. 1474, and died A. D. 1533. His great work is the Orlando Furioso, an epic poem.

Aristotle, a distinguished Grecian philosopher, born B. C. 384, at Stagira, in Macedonia, whence he is sometimes called the Stagyrite. He was the preceptor of Alexander the Great.

Arkwright, (Sir Richard,) inventor of the spinning-jenny, died in 1792. For a further account of him, see the second volume of

.

Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties,' forming Vol. xv. of
THE SCHOOL LIBRARY,' Larger Series.

Armadillo, a small quadruped, found in tropical America, whose whole body is covered with a hard shell, consisting of scales or plates, arranged like a coat of mail. When attacked, the animal rolls himself into a solid uniform ball.

Armillary, resembling a bracelet. The armillary sphere consists of a number of rings of brass, or bracelets, representing the various circles of the celestial globe.

Asia Minor, (now called Anatolia, or Natolia,) a province of Asiatic

Turkey, is that part of Asia comprehended between the Grecian Archipelago and the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and bordering, easterly, on Armenia and Syria.

Assyrians, people of Assyria, one of the most important kingdoms of ancient Asia.

Astrolabe, an instrument for measuring angles, formerly in use for determining the position of the heavenly bodies, but not now used. Atahualpa, the last of the Incas, or native princes of Quito, a province of South America. He was burnt by the Spaniards, in 1533. Athens, the capital of Attica, one of the countries of ancient Greece. It was remarkable as the seat of art, literature, and philosophy. It was rich in public edifices of the greatest magnificence. It was the resort and abode of poets, whence the phrase, the Attic Muse,' embraces the noblest productions of Grecian poetry. The schools of the philosophers, of Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and Epicurus, were held within, or near, the city. Athens is still interesting, on account of the ruins of its ancient buildings, of which enough remains to attest its former splendor.

Athenæum, a name given to public libraries, frequented for the purposes of reading. It was the name of a building in ancient Athens, dedicated to Minerva, and destined for assemblies of poets and

orators.

Athos, a lofty mountain in Greece.

Atlantis, a name given by the ancients to an island supposed to exist in the Atlantic Ocean, but respecting which they had only vague and indefinite accounts. As they placed it in a spot where afterwards no island was found, it was supposed to have sunk,-to be 'lost.' Its existence is now generally regarded as imaginary. Atlas, a chain of mountains in Northern Africa.

Attica, Attic muse, see Athens.

Augustan age, see the next article.

Augustus, (Octavius Cæsar,) a Roman Emperor, who was born about B. C. 62, and died A. D. 14. His age was remarkable for the number of distinguished writers and men of genius whom it produced; whence the phrase, Augustan age, is applied to any flourishing era in literature.

Auspices, signs of future events.

Australia, that division of the globe, which comprehends the numerous islands lying in the Southern and the Pacific Oceans. Babylonian, of Babylon, the capital of the ancient Asiatic empire of Babylonia.

chancellor of England, He is to be regarded as

Bacon, (Francis, Baron Verulam,) lord high was born A. D. 1561, and died A. D. 1626. one of the most remarkable men of any age. He was a profound scholar in the whole circle of the sciences, and is the first who reformed philosophy, by founding it on the observation of Nature. Bacon, Roger, an English monk of the thirteenth century, distinguished for his discoveries in chemistry and natural philosophy. For an account of him, see the second volume of Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties,' being Vol. xv. of THE SCHOOL LIBRARY,' Larger Series.