512 



Contributes to Englljh Synonymy^ 



[Jan. 1, 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



CONTRIBUTIONS ?9, ENGLISH SYNO- 

 NYMY. — NO. in. 



[Continued from p, 326 of Number 135 1 

 Bi/hoprick, Diocefe. 



BOTH thcie word* cielcribe the ex- 

 tent of an epifcupai jurifdiition ; the 

 firft with relation to -the overfrer, the Te- 

 cond with relation to the ch nge. This is 

 implied in their deriva'ion j the one be- 

 ing compounded of bi/hop and of rtckt 

 which in Anglo-Saxon fignifies empire, 

 jurifdifiion ; and the other hting com- 

 pvimded tif dia, through, and oike/ts, 

 mianagement. 



Tilt jurifdiftion of a fynod of Prefbyters 

 may ap'ly be delcribed as :i diocefe, but 

 not as a biflioprick. The titular jurildic- 

 tions a'tributed to Catholic i^reiates in 

 countries where their religion is not recog- 

 nized, are biftiopricks, but not diocefes. 



The bifliopiic k of Ronie may be fa;d to 

 pervade the diocefes of all tie Ca'hclic 

 bifhops : but the d.nccle of Rome is limit- 

 ed to tint di(tii£\ which has no other bi- 

 ftiop than the pope. 



The archbiOiop of Canterbury has more 

 than a hundred peculiars, or ch'iiches, in 

 the feveial diocelesof London, Winchefter, 

 Lincoln, Rochefter, Norwich, Oxford, and 

 Chichfcittr, where lie exercifts epifcopal 

 juriklJiSlion : his biftinprick C';niprehends 

 a part ot thofe diocefes, but his diocefe 

 does not comprehend any part of thofe bi- 

 fliopricks. 



explicable. Middleton throwg no light on 

 this topic, in the relative note which oc- 

 curs (vol. ii., p. 69) in the Life of Ci- 

 cero. 



Arms, Weapons. 



Originally arms meant inftruments of 

 offence J and weapons, inftruments of de- 

 fence. A fword, a fpear, is as it were an 

 artificial arm ; a hauberk, a fhield, is as it 

 wereaiTOrt/ : ivepa, in Icelandifh, means 

 a coat ; and txiapen, in German, means 3 

 ftiield,and acoatof arms. 



' Furor arma miniflrat.^ * O let not 

 women's weapons, water-drops, ftain my 

 man's cheeks.' « Men fliould learn the 

 ufe of arms.' ' In Marfhal Saxe's opi- 

 nion the breaft-plate is a weapon unwifely 

 difufed.' 



Our poets havedeferted this application, 

 of the terins, and employ ' weapons' 'sot 

 inftru'nents of offence, whenever they 

 want a dcffyilabic word. So Sptiifer : 

 His weapon huge that heaved was on high. 



And Shakfpeaie : 

 The cry of Talbot fcrvcs me for a fword } 

 For I havf leaden me with many CpoiU 

 Ufing no other weapon but his name. 



They alfo employ ' arms' for inftruments 

 of defence, whentver they want a mono- 

 iyllaWic word. So Dryden : 

 His furcoat o'er his arms was cloth of 

 Thrace. 



And Shakfpeare, without any motive of 

 profody : 



Diocefan properly means ' belonging to Their wounded deeds 



the diocefe.' In Engbai this word is ap- Yerk out their armed heels at their 

 plied odiy to the diocefiarch, or chief of matters. 



dead 



the ilincefe. In French it is applied only 

 to the dependent clergy. " Un eveque ne 

 pcut donner la tonfure ni les ordres qu'a 

 fon diocefain." There is always a diffi- 

 culty in preferving diftindl ufagts of the 

 fame word in two nations whofe liieratuie 

 intercirculates ; the arbitrary application 

 will in both countries probably expire, 

 and diocefnn will become applicable both 

 by the clergy to their biftiop, and by the 

 bifliop to his clergy. 



Among the ancients bifhop and diocefe 

 boti) de!criHtd civil inftitutions. Cicero 

 was epifcopus or a Campania. Strabo fa) s 

 the Romans had divided Afia into diocefes, 

 in each ^i which fat a judicial court. 



The office of epifcopus among the La- 

 tins paffes tor military, and i« fuppofed to 

 correfpond with commiffary of pioviiions, 

 or vi£f ualltr. If it comprehended the lu- 

 perintendance of dilfributions of corn 

 among the people, the transfer f the term 

 to an ecclcfiaflical nlm;;ner would be Daoi% 



Theie words, therefore, are become 

 identical in meaning : yet caprice has con- 

 fecrated Tome peculiarities in iheiremploy- 

 mcnt. We (-6.^ fire-arms, T\t\tT fire-ivea- 

 pons We call thole inftruments arms 

 wh'ch are made on purpofe to fight with ; 

 but we call thofe inftruments itseapons 

 which are accidentally employed to fight 

 with. 



Nigh, Near, Next. 



The Anglo-Saxon verb knijan, colla- 

 teral with the German neige?i, ligoifiss to 

 lean, to incline : from its participle de- 

 rives the adjciflive 'nigh,' which means 

 leaning againft, and thence contiguous. — 

 The coliateiai German aojeftive is nach 

 and nah -. the Englifh adjeilive occurs 

 with other vowels in 'neighbour.' ' Near' 

 (Teutonic ;/«ff/!^r), and « next' (Teutonic 

 iteechji) aie the comparative and luperlative 

 degrees of this lame adjective. • Nigh' is 

 that which leans againft ; ' near' that 

 which lean* more againft j and ' next' that 

 which 



