CLE 



CLE 



Species, viz. C. Virginica and C. Sibirica, 

 and Pursh has described a new species 

 found in the United States. 



CLEF, or CLIFF, in music, a mark set 

 at the beginning 1 of the lines of a song, 

 which shows the tone or key in which 

 the piece is to begin ; or it is )a letter 

 marked on any line which explains the 

 rest. It is called clef, or key, because 

 hereby we know the names of all the 

 other lines, and consequently the quan- 

 tity of every degree or interval : but be- 

 cause every note in the octave is also 

 called a key, this letter marked is, for 

 distinction sake, denominated the signed 

 clef; and by this key is meant the prin- 

 cipal note of a song, in which the melody 

 closes. See Music. 



CLEMATIS, in botany, virgin's bower, 

 a genus of the Poliandria Polygamia 

 class and order. Natural order of Mul- 

 tisiliquac. Ranunculaceae, Jussieu. Essen- 

 tial character : calyx none ; petals four, 

 sometimes five, or even six ; seeds 

 having a tail. There are twenty-one 

 species. 



CLEOME, in botany, a genus of the 

 Tetradynamia Siliquosa class and order. 

 Natural order of Putaminex. Cappa- 

 rides, Jussieu. Essential character: nec- 

 tareous glands three, at each sinus of 

 the calyx, except the lowest ; petals all 

 ascending ; silique one-celled, two-valv- 

 ed. There are twenty-three species, 

 all of them natives of very warm coun- 

 tries. 



CLEONIA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Didynamia Gymnospermia class and or- 

 der. Natural order of Verticillatse. La- 

 biatse, Jussieu. Essential character : fila- 

 ments forked, with an anther at one of 

 the tips; stigma four-cleft. There is but 

 one species, viz. C. lusitanica, sweet- 

 scented cleonia, is an annual plant, na- 

 tive of Spain and Portugal. 



CLEPSYDRA, a water-clock, or in- 

 strument to measure time by the fall of a 

 certain quantity of water. 



The construction of a Clepsydra. To di- 

 vide any cylindrical vessels into parts, to 

 be emptied in each division of time, the 

 time wherein the whole, and that where- 

 in any part is to be evacuated, being 

 given. Suppose a cylindrical vessel, 

 whose charge of water flows out in twelve 

 hours, were required to be divided into 

 parts to be evacuated each hour. 1. As 

 the part of time 1 is to the whole time 

 12, so is the same time 12 to a fourth 

 proportional 144. 2. Divide the altitude 

 of the vessel into 144 equal parts: here 

 the last will fall to the last hour : the 



three next above to the last part but 

 one; the five next to the tenth hour; 

 lastly, the twenty-three last to the first 

 hour. For since the times increase in 

 the series of the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 

 4, 5, &c. and the altitudes, if the nume- 

 ration be in a retrogade order from the 

 twelfth hour, increase in the series of the 

 unequal numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c. the al- 

 titudes computed from the twelfth hour 

 will be as the squares of the times 1,4, 

 9, 16, 25, &c. Therefore the squares of 

 the whole time, 144, comprehend all the 

 parts of the altitude of the vessel to be 

 evacuated. But a third proportional to 

 1 and 12 is the square of 12, and conse- 

 quently it is the number of equal parts in 

 which the altitude is to be divivided, to be 

 distributed, according to the series of the 

 unequal numbers, through the equal in- 

 terval of hours. There were many kinds 

 of clepsydrae among the ancients; but 

 they all had this in common, that the 

 water ran generally through a narrow 

 passage, from one vessel to another, 

 and in the lower was a piece of cork 

 or light wood, which, as the vessel 

 filled, rose up by degrees, and showed 

 the hour. 



CLERGY, a general name given to the 

 body of ecclesiastics of the Christian 

 church, in contradistinction to the laity. 

 The privileges and immunities which the 

 clergy of the primitive Christian church 

 enjoyed deserve our notice. In the first 

 place, when they travelled upon neces- 

 sary occasions, they were to be enter- 

 tained by their brethren of the clergy, in 

 all places, out of the public revenues of 

 the church. When any bishop, or pres- 

 byter, came to a foreign church, they 

 were to be complimented with the hono- 

 rary privilege of performing divine offi- 

 ces, and consecrating the eucharist in 

 the church. The great care the clergy 

 had of the characters and reputations of 

 those of their order appears from hence, 

 that in all accusations, especially against 

 bishops, they required the testimony of 

 two or three witnesses of good charac- 

 ter : nor was any heretic admitted as an 

 evidence against a clergyman. With re* 

 gard to the respect paid to the clergy by 

 the civil government, it consisted chief- 

 ly in exempting them from some kind 

 of obligations to which others were 

 liable, and granting them certain privi- 

 leges and immunities which others did 

 not enjoy. 



. By the ecclesiastical laws, no clergy- 

 man was allowed to relinquish his sta- 

 tion without just grounds and leave ; 

 but in some cases resignation was allow- 



