296 



ASIA MINOR ASP. 



articles on the different countries ot Asia, anil those 

 on Niebuhr and Burckhardt.) 



ASIA MINOR ; the most western portion of the great 

 continent of Asia, bounded by the black sea on the 

 nortli, by tlie river Euphrates on the east, and on the 

 west by the Mediterranean, tin- si a of Manuora, and 

 the straits of the Hellespont and Unshorn-. It is 

 about 1000 miles in length from east to west, and 

 between 400 to 500 in breadth from north to south. 

 The whole country is under the Turkish government, 

 and is divided into several provinces, of which Natolia 

 and Caramania are the most important. See Natolia. 



ASIATIC SOCIETIES AND MUSKUMS; learned bodies 

 instituted for the purpose of collecting valuable in- 

 formation of every kind, respecting the different 

 countries of Asia. The three great central points 

 where this knowledge is accumulated are, London, 

 Paris, and Petersburg. The royal Asiatic society of 

 Great Britain and Ireland contains 300 members. It 

 was established by Mr Colebrooke, and opened 

 March 19, 1823. Its transactions are published in 

 London. Similar societies have been formed in Asia 

 itself, at Calcutta, Bombay, and Bencoolen. Since 

 the foundation of the Asiatic society in Calcutta, by 

 Sir William Jones, in 1784, the study of Asiatic 

 literature has made great advances. The secret of 

 the Sanscrit literature has been obtained from the 

 Bramins, and its connexion with the Greek put be- 

 yond doubt. Works have been printed which greatly 

 facilitate the study of the Arabian and Persian lan- 

 guages and literature. Asiatic philology has made 

 great progress. Even Chinese literature has come 

 forth from its recesses. The societe Asiatiytte, at 

 Paris, was founded, in 1822, by a number of learned 

 men. It opened its sittings April 21, 1823, having 

 already commenced, in JuJy, 1822, the publication 

 of the Journal Asiatitfue, ou Recueil de Memoires, 

 d'E.ttraits et de Notices relatifs a fHistoire, a la 

 Philosophic, aux Sciences, d la Literature et aux 

 Langues des Peuples Orientaux. The 2d vol. ap- 

 peared in 1823. The museum connected with it was 

 established in 1823. The principal members, who 

 are, at the same time, editors of the journal, are 

 Cheay, Cocquebert, de Montbret, Degerando, Fauriet, 

 .Grangeret, de Lagrange, Hase, Klaproth, Abel 

 Remusat, Saint Martin, Silvestre de Sacy. In the 

 Asiatic societies at Paris and London, professorships 

 of the Oriental languages are wanting, which are 

 connected with the society at Petersburg. London 

 is particularly deficient in this respect, the professors 

 being confined to Oxford and Cambridge. In Paris, 

 lectures are given on the Arabian, Persian, Turkish, 

 Sanscrit, Chinese, and Tartar languages, in the college 

 royal, and in the royal library. 



ASLAN, or ASLAXI ; in commerce, a name given to 

 the Dutch dollar, in most parts of the Levant. 

 Sometimes the word is written asselani. It is of 

 Turkish origin, signifying a lion, the figure stamped 

 on these dollars. It is silver, but much alloyed, and 

 is current for 115 to 120 aspers. See Asper. 



AsMANNSHAtrsEN, wine of. The plant which yields 

 this wine grows on the Rhine, below Rudesheim, a 

 village on the banks of that river, en a soil formed 

 of blue slate. The red kind, the production of a 

 small, red, Burgundy vine, is the more valuable. 

 Tts colour is peculiar. In some places, an awnie (a 

 seventh of an English tun) of the best often costs 

 from 120 to 160 florins. It retains its value only 

 three or four years. After this time, it grows worse 

 every year, and precipitates the whole of its red 

 colouring-matter. Many delicate judges of wine 

 prefer the red sort to the best Burgundy. It is dis- 

 tinguished by colour and taste from all the other 

 Rhenish wines. We know of instances in which it 

 has borne transportation across the Atlantic. 



AS.MOIMI; according to Hebrew mythology, an 

 evil spirit, which slew seven husbands ot Sard, 

 daughter of Kugud, at Rages. By the direction of 

 the angel Raphael, the young Tobias drove him 

 away, with the smell of a fish's liver burned on the 

 coals, into tlie uttermost parts of Egypt, where tin; 

 angel Ixmnd him. Asnwdtii signifies a desolator, 8 

 destroying angel ; it is also written Abaddon. 



Asoi'cs; the name of several rivers in Greece. 

 The most celebrated of this name are those in Achaia 

 and Boeotia. See JZginu. 



ASP, ASPIC ; a species of viper found in Egypt, 

 resembling the cobra da capello, or spectacle serpent 

 of tlie East Indies, except that the neck of the asp is 

 not so capable of expansion, and its colour is green- 

 ish, mingled with brown. The asp is tlie coluber haj'e, 

 L., vipcYa haje, Geoff. This venomous serpent is 

 found in the vicinity of the Nile, and has been cele- 

 brated for ages, on account of the quick and easy 

 death resulting from its bite. When approached or 

 disturbed, this viper, like the cobra da capello, elevates 

 its head and body to a considerable degree, extends 

 the sides of its neck, and appears to stand erect to 

 attack the aggressor. This peculiarity gave origin 

 to the ancient Egyptian superstition, that the asps 

 were guardians of the spots they inhabited, and led 

 to the adoption of the figure of this reptile as an em- 

 blem of the protecting genius of the world. Hence, 

 on the portals of Egyptian temples, it is common to 

 see, carved on each side of the globe, one of these 

 serpents, in the attitude above described. The same 

 device is also found among the paintingson the coffins 

 of mummies, which also contain representations of 

 the asp in various relations to other hieroglyphics. 

 The circumstance originating the preceding notion 

 has led to the employment of the asp as a dancing 

 serpent by the African jugglers, either for exhibi- 

 tion as a source of profit, or to impose upon vulgar 

 credulity. The asps for this purpose are carefully 

 deprived of their fangs, which enables their owners 

 to handle them with impunity. When they are 

 to be exhibited, the top of their cage, common- 

 ly a wicker-basket, is taken off, and, at the same 

 moment, a flute or pipe is played. The. asp imme- 

 diately assumes the erect position, and the balancing 

 motions, made during its protracted efforts to main- 

 tain this attitude, are what is called dancing. A 

 really curious circumstance is stated, on good autho- 

 rity, relative to the asp, which is, that the jug- 

 glers know how to throw it into a sort of catalepsy, 

 in which condition the muscles are rigidly contracted, 

 and the whole animal becomes stiff and motionless. 

 This is done by compressing the cervical spine be- 

 tween the finger and thumb. The trick is called 

 changing the serpent into a rod or stick. In the re- 

 lation given by Moses of the miracles performed 

 before Pharaoh, to induce him to allow of the depar- 

 ture of the Israelites, we read, that " Aaron cast 

 down his rod before Pharaoh and his sen-ants, and it 

 became a serpent. Then Pharaoh called also the 

 wise men and the sorcerers : now the magicians of 

 Egypt, they also did in like manner with their en - 

 chantments : for they cast down every man his rod, 

 and they became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed 

 up their rods." Exod. vii. 10, 11, 12. It is possible, 

 that, to keep up their credit with Pharaoh, by ap- 

 pearing to possess equal power with Aaron, the 

 Egyptian jugglers held asps in their hands, in the 

 cataleptic condition above described, as rods, which 

 only required to be thrown down to resume their 

 activity as serpents. The superiority of the real 

 miracle of Aaron's transformed rod over this pre- 

 tended one of the jugglers, is shown by the swallow- 

 ing up of the other serpents. The asp has also 

 acquired a great degree of notoriety in consequence 



