FLA 
Society on the 13th of February 1678, and he contri- 
to the transactions of that learned body a great 
iety of valuable papé His celebrity, however, is 
iefly founded on Historia Celestis Britannica, a 
work in three volumes folio, which was published by 
his widow in 1725. See Astronomy, vol. ii. p. 599. 
Flamstead is represented by his biographers as of a 
morose and unsociable dis 6 pea having been 
on bad terms with most of his contemporaries. ‘ From 
some of his letters,” says Dr Thomson, (History of the 
Royal Society, p. 335,) “ it eyen appears that he com- 
plained of Sir Isaac Newton as unreasonable in his de- 
mands of observations. Dr Halley, in the preface of 
the Historia Celestis Britannica, draws rather an unfa- 
vourable picture of the disposition of Flamstead ; and I 
find, from one of Sir Hans Sloane’s MSS. in the Bri- 
tish Museum, that, in the year 1710, he was expelled 
the Royal Society, because he refused to pay his an- 
nual contribution.” (0) 
FLANDERS, the name of a maritime province in 
the Netherlands. It was formerly divided into Aus- 
trian, French, and Dutch Flanders. It now belongs to 
Ho.vanp and France, which see. 
. FLAT, in Music, ()), or flattened intervals, are such 
as are depressed or lessened a degree of the scale, a 
chromatic semitone, or Fincer-Key Interval (see that 
article.) As it ha , with the Numerals, 1, I, 2, II, 
3, ITL, &c. of the ic scale, that the major and minor 
of the same Numerat (see that article, ) are not at the 
same invariable distance from each other; so the 
of the literals, Dp, Ep, Fp, &c. are not at one inya- 
riable distance from their naturals D, E, F, &c. al- 
in tempered scales this is obliged to be the case. 
Mr has correctly explained these matters, in his 
«« Essay on perfect Intonation ;’ but it may be proper 
pri) iad ical coker b ee 
ta incongruities yy enumera~ 
é. Be Ds Bases of his MS. in the 
LAT, , in some parts i . in 
is pigh Sacg Royal Institution, is =S, or 57 2+4f+4 
m. 
r ok nat double, of Liston, is invariably $+ /, or 83 4 
: Tm, - 
; LAT, double, ()p), of Chambers and Overend ; some- 
, times 2 P, or 116242 f+410m, ; at others, P+S, or 
105 242 ay. a 
Frat, of Liston, to the notes D, G, B, or C, is = S, 
or 47 &+4+f+44m; and to the notes E, F, or A, is=J, 
? or 36 &4f4-3 m, the second flat of any note being al- 
‘ ways the reverse of its first one. 
’ tat, of Marsh, = 3, or 36 >4+f43 m. 
’ . Frat, of Maxwell, = 5, or 47 5 +f 43 m. 
Frat, of Overend, (and Dr Calleot, Mus. Gram. 
: ist ed. p. 112), = P, or 58 = 4+ f + 5m; this corre- 
7 sponds with perfect fifths, See the theorems below. 
Fat, of some writers, = L, or 46 2 4-f44 m. 
¥ , Brats or Scales, is the 7 lim- 
4 ma ith, which, according to Mr Farey’s 
. theorems, Phil. ay. ap aa Xxxix. p. 44, is =58>-+-f+. 
5m—seven times temperament of the Vth: Or, 
=38.75196562 + f+ 3m + seven-fourths of the tempe- 
rament of the I1Id: Or, =32.3228500 = 4f42m4 
se irds of the tem of the VIth. 
hence we see, by way of that in the 
iy a? where the tem: of the I1Ird 
=0, the flat is =38.7519656z +f4 3m, 
for obtaining the of the Isotonic 
: 
| 
=P—ljc:— 
either use the | 
, we may 
temperament of the Vth, 1.0006552=, of 
the Ilfrd, 7,0052416z, or of the VIth, 8.0058968z, 
867 
FLE 
and either of the above theorems will give 51.0032762 _ Flax, 
+f-+4m, being ,,VIII :—and, in. the system where Flechier. 
the major sixths are perfect, the flat is =P—2}c.. (¢) 
FLAX. See Acricutture, Vol. I. p. 317. 
FLECHIER, Esprit, bishop of Nismes, an eminent 
French ecclesiastic, was born at Pernes,.a small town 
near Carpentras, on the 10th of June 1632, of obscure but 
respectable parents. He was educated at Tarascon, in 
a college possessed by the congregation formerly known 
in France under the name of the Doctrinaires, or fa- 
thers of the Christian doctrine, of which his maternal 
uncle was, at that time, general. At the of fifteen, 
having finished his studies, he caployas imself, for 
some years, in ing the Jdel/es lettres, in the same 
college. Some time after he pepe to Paris, and 
having determined to fix his residence in that city, he 
accepted employment in a parish, and afterwards un- 
dertook ‘the sea of the “mn. of M. Lefebvre ee 
Caumartin. From this period, his reputation rapidly 
increased, in consequence of the discourses which he 
delivered on different festivals of the church ; and his 
celebrity procured him admission into the Academy, in 
the year 1673. He had the honour of preaching before 
Louis XIV. on Advent, 1682. 
For his preferment, and the many favours he received 
from the king, Flechier was principally indebted to the 
active patr and friendship of the Duke of Mon-~ 
taussier, who already for him two. bene-~ 
fices, and the abbacy of St Severin, besides the office 
of almoner to the dauphiness ; when, in the year 1685, 
he was selected as one of a mission, which was destined 
to bring back into the bosom of the church, the Pro- 
testants of Poitou and Brittany, of which mission Fe-~ 
nelon was the chief. On his return, he was appointed 
to the bishopric of Lavaur, which he held for two years, 
and was then translated to the more lucrative see of 
Nismes. The duties of this charge, however, were 
much more troublesome than those of the former, on 
account of the great number of Calvinists who were then 
in open revolt, or ready to break out, against whom the 
impolitic and disastrous edict, revoking that of Nantes, 
was Bgrously executed. In this difficult situation, the 
high of Flechier became eminently conspicu- 
ous. By his mildness, moderation, and persuasive ad« 
dress, he contributed to assuage the sangui zeal of 
the Catholics ; his humane virtues concili the good 
will of all parties, and he received unequivocal testimo~ 
nies of regard even from the Calvinists, amidst the hora 
AWwhe oe aa 8 ee rat i ngth appeased, hi 
en les were at le; ap) , he was 
enabled to devote himself, without obstruction, to the 
exercise of a zealous and active benevolence. There 
was not a single charitable institution at Nismes, which 
was not either founded by him, or indebted to his libe- 
rality for support. His favours were indiscriminately 
conferred upon unfortunate persons of all descriptions, 
without regard to religious opinions ; and in the disas- 
trous winter of 1709, his charity was only limited by 
the total expenditure of his funds. When some one, 
upon that occasion, represented to him the le 
consequences which might ensue to himself from such 
profuse liberality, he. answered, “ What you say is, 
haps, very true ; but are we bi for nothing ?” 
e€ was as much the enemy of su tion and fanati-« 
cism, as he was zealous for the maintenance of pure re- 
ligion ; and he laboured with ardour and efficacy to re- 
form and instruct his clergy, and to enlighten and re- 
lieve the people from that blind ignorance and creduli- 
ty, which are often abused for the purpose of mislead~ 
