IMP 



IMP 



IMMUTABILITY, one of the divine 

 attributes, founded on the absolute per- 

 fection of the Deity. 



The immutability of God is two-fold, 

 physical and moral. The first consists in 

 this, that the divine essence does not, nor 

 possibly can, receive any alteration ; and 

 the moral immutability is founded on the 

 perfection of his nature, whereby he al- 

 ways wills Jhe same things, or such as are 

 best on the whole. 



IMPALED, in heraldry, when the coats 

 of a man and his wife, who is not an heir- 

 ess, are borne in the same escutcheon, 

 they must be marshalled in pale ; the hus- 

 band's on the right side, and the wife's 

 on the left : and this the heralds call ba- 

 ron and feme, two cv^ts impaled. 



If a man has had two wives, he may 

 impale his coat in the middle between 

 theirs ; and if he has had more than two, 

 they are to be marshalled on each side of 

 his, in their proper order. 



IMPALPABLE, that whose parts are 

 so extremely minute that they cannot be 

 distinguished by the senses, particularly 

 by that of feeling. 



IMPARLANCE, is a petition in court, 

 for a day to consider or advise what an- 

 swer the defendant shall make to the ac- 

 tion of the plaintiff; being a continuance 

 of the cause till another day, or a larger 

 time given by the court, which is gene- 

 rally till the next term. 



IMPASSIBLE, that which is exempt 

 from suffering, or cannot undergo pain 

 or alteration. The stoics place the souls 

 of their wise men in an impassible or 

 imperturbable state. 



IMPATIENS, in botany, a genus ofthe 

 Syngenesia Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Cory dales. Gerania, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character ; calyx two- 

 leaved : corolla five-petalled, irregular, 

 with a cowjiecl nectary ; capsule superior, 

 five-valved. There are twelve species, 

 of which I. balsamina, garden balsam, is 

 an annual plant, about a foot and a half 

 in height, dividing into many succulent 

 branches ; leaves long and serrate ; the 

 flowers come out from the joints of the 

 stem, upon slender peduncles, an inch 

 in length, each sustaining a single flower. 

 In its wild state it is two feet, or more, in 

 height, round, hispid, juicy, with a white 

 stem, and ascending branches. It is a na- 

 tive of the East Indies, China, Cochin- 

 China, and Japan ; the Japanese use the 

 juice prepared with alum for dyeing their 

 nails red. By culture this plant is very 

 much nlarged,and becomes very branch- 

 ing. Mr. Millar tells us, he has seen the 

 stem seven inches in circuit, and all the 



plants large in proportion, branched from 

 top to bottom, loaded with its party-co- 

 loured flowers, thus forming a most beau- 

 tiful bush. The varieties which cultiva- 

 tion has produced in this elegant flower 

 are numerous. 



I. noli tangere, common yellow balsam, 

 is also an annual plant ; during the day 

 the leaves are expanded, but at night they 

 hang pendent, contrary to what is observ- 

 ed in most plants, which, from a deficien- 

 cy of moisture, or a too great perspiration 

 from heat, commonly droop their leaves 

 in the day-time. When the seeds are 

 ripe, upon touching the capsule they are 

 thrown out with considerable force: 

 hence the Latin name " impatiens" and 

 "noli tangere." The whole plant is con- 

 siderably acrid, and no quadruped, ex- 

 cept perhaps the goat, will eat it. 



IMPEACHMENT, is the accusation , 

 and prosecution of a person in parlia- 

 ment, for treason, or other crimes and mis- / 

 demeanors. An impeachment, before i 

 the Lords, by the Commons of Great Bri- 

 tain, is a presentment to the most high 

 and supreme court of criminal jurisdic- 

 tion, by the most solemn grand inquest 

 of the whole kingdom. A commoner can- , 

 not be impeached before the lords for any 

 capital offence, but only for high misde- 

 meanors ; but a peer may be impeached , 

 for any crime. The articles of impeach- J 

 ment are a kind of bills of indictment, 

 found by the house of commons, and af- 

 terwards tried by the lords, who are, in 

 cases of misdemeanors, considered not 

 only as their own peers, but as the peers 

 ofthe whole nation. By *tat. 12. and 13 

 Wm. c. 2. no pardon under the great seal 

 shall be pleadable to an impeachment by 

 the commons in parliament ; but the king 

 may pardon after conviction. 



IMPEACHMENT of -waste, signifies a re- 

 straint from committing of waste upon, 

 lands and tenements ; and therefore he 

 that has a lease, without impeachment of 

 waste, has by that a property or interest 

 given him in the houses and trees, and 

 may make waste in them without being 

 impeached for it ; that is, without being 

 questioned, or demanded any recompense 

 for the waste done. 



IMPEDIMENTS, in law, persons un- 

 der impediments are those within age, 

 under coverture, non compos mentis, in 

 prison, or beyond seas ; who, by saving in 

 our laws, have time to claim and prose- 

 cute the right, after the impediments re- 

 moved, in case of fines levied, &c. 



IMPENETRABILITY, in philosophy, 

 that property of body whereby it cannot 

 be pierced by another ; thus, a body, 



