ABA 



■machinen-, whfreby t1\e ftrings of the polyplcdra, or iii- 

 Unimciits of many llrings, were ftruck, with a plcclrum 

 niadi.' o( quills. 



Abaci's karmonicuj is ufed by Kirclier for the ftru<fture 

 and difpofition of tlic keys of a inufical inllrumcnt, whether 

 to be touched with the hands or the feet. 



Abacus, or AbACtscus, in jlrchitcflure, is the iipper- 

 motl member of the capital of a column ; ferving as a kind 

 of crowning, both to the capital and the whole column. 



Vitnivius, and others after him, who give the hillory of 

 the orders, tell us, the abacus was originally intended to re- 

 prefent a fquare tile laid over an urn, or rather over a 

 balkct. — An Athenian old woman happening to place a 

 balket thus, covered over the root of an acanthus : that 

 plant (hooting up the following fpring-encompafredthebaflcet 

 all around, till meeting with the tile, it curled back, in a 

 kind of fcroU. Callimachus, an ingenious fculptor, paffing 

 by, took the hint, and immediately executed a capital on 

 this plan ; reprefenting the tile by the abacus, the leaves 

 by the volutes, and the bafliet by the vafe, or body of 

 the capital. There is fome difference in the form of 

 the abacus in different orders. In the Tuscan, Doric, 

 and ancient Ionic, it is a flat, fquare member, well 

 enough reprefenting its original tile ; whence tlie French 

 call it lailloir, trencher. In the richer orders it lofes its na- 

 tive form ; its four fides or faces being arched, or cut in- 

 wards, with fome ornament, as a rofe, or other flower, or a 

 filh's tail, in the middle of each arch. See Corinthian 

 and Composite. But fome architefts take other liberties 

 in the abacus, in refpeft of its name, place and office. 

 Thus, in the Tufcan order, where it is the largeft and mod 

 maflive, as taking up one third of the height of the whole 

 capital, it is fomctimes caiied the dye of the capital. — In 

 the Doric it is not always the uppermofl member of the 

 capital ; a cymatium being frequently placed over it. — In the 

 Ionic, fome make it a perfeft ogee, and crown it with a 

 fillet. — The proportion of the abacus, as prefcribed by Vitni- 

 vius, is, that its diagonal (from comer to corner) be twice 

 its height ; but the moderns difpenfe with this proportion. — 

 Scamozzi applies the term abacus to a concave moulding in 

 the capital of the Tufcan pedeftal, and Palladio calls the 

 plinth above the echinus, or boultin, in the Tufcan and 

 Doric orders, by the fame name. — In the /tnctcnt Architec- 

 ture, Abacus is ufed to denote certain compartments in the in- 

 ci-ullation or hning of the walls of ftatc-roonis, mosaic 

 p;ivements, and the like. There were abaci of marble, 

 porphyry, jafper, alabaftcr, and even glafs ; (haped varioufly, 

 fquare, triang\ilar, and the like. 



ABADA, in Zoology, a fingular kind cS wild animal in 

 Beiiguela, in Africa. It is about the fize of a half-grown 

 colt, fhy and fwift-footcd. It has two hoiTis, one in its fore- 

 head, and another in the nape of its neck, which are of 

 different length and bulk. The head and tail of this animal 

 refemble thofe of an ox, and its feet are cloven hke thofe of 

 a flag, but much thicker. The front horn is deemed an 

 antidote in many diforders ; and the pihlverifed bones are 

 made into a poultice, and recommended by the natives as a 

 fovereign remedy againft all aches and pains, and as effeftual 

 for purifying the blood and humours. Mod. Un. Hid. v. 

 13. p. 8. See Rhinoceros. 



ABADAN, in Geography, a town of Afia, on the gulph 

 of Pcrfia, and near the mouth of the river Tigris. It is 

 dependent on BafTora. E. long. 47° 15'. N. lat. 29° 20'. 



ABADAVINE, in Ornithology. SeeSpiNus. 



ABADDON, Heb. correfpouding to Apollyon, Gr. ;. e. 



Dejlrayer, in Scripture-hijlory, is rcprefented, Rev. ix. II. 



as king of the loeufls, and the angel of the bottomlefs pit, 



who has been thought by many interpreters to be fatan, or 



it 



ABA 



the devil. Dr. More (Theol. Works, p. 130.) interprets 

 this title as referring to the profeflion which the Mahome- 

 tans fliould make of maintaining the doftrine of the unity. 

 Le Clerc and Dr. Hammond undcrfliand by the locufts in 

 this paffage, the zealots and robbers who infcfted and de- 

 folated Jud:ca before Jerufalem was taken by the Romans, 

 and by AbaiLlon, John of Gifchala, who having trcacher- 

 oufly left that town before it was furrcndered to Titus, 

 came to Jerufalem and headed thofe of the zealots who ac- 

 knowledged him as their king, and involved the Jews in many 

 grievous calamities. The learned Orotius concurs in opi- 

 nion, that the locufl;s are defigned to reprefent the feft of 

 the zealots, who appeared among the Jews during the fiege, 

 and at the time of the deftruftion of Jerufalem. Mr. J of. 

 Mede remarks, that the title Abaddon alludes to Obodas, 

 the common name of the antient monarchs of that part of 

 Arabia, from which Mahomet came ; and confiders the 

 paffage as defcriptive of the inundation of the Saracens. 

 Mr. Lowman (Paraphr. on Rev. p. 118, &c.) adopts and 

 confirms this intei-pretation. He (liews that the nfe and 

 progrefs of the Mahometan religion and empire exhibit a 

 fignal accompliilrnient of this prophecy. All the circum- 

 ilances here recited correfpond to the charafter of the Ara- 

 bians, and the hifl;ory of the period that extended from 

 A. D. 568 to A. D. 675. In conformity to this opinion, 

 Abaddon may be underftood to denote either Mahomet, who 

 iffued from the abyfs, or the cave of Hera, to propagate hi* 

 pretended revelations, or, more generally, the Saracen 

 power. Mr. Bi-yant fuppofes Abaddon to have been the 

 nan-,e of the Ophite deity, the worlhip of whom prevailed 

 very antiently and vei"y generally. See Serpent. 



ABADIR, in the Roman Theology, the ftone which 

 Saturn fwallowed, believing it his new-born fon Jupiter, and 

 which at length became deified, and the objeiil of religious 

 worfliip. The Carthaginians gave this title to gods of the 

 firil order. 



ABiE. See Aba. 



ABAFT, in the Sea Language, is ufed in fpeaking of 

 things placed or done towards the ftern, or hinder part of a 

 veffel ; called alfo aft, and Hands oppofite to fore. — Thus 

 they fay a thing is abaft the fore-maft, when it is behind it, 

 or near to the ilern. The poft of the mafl;er, captain, and 

 other officers, is abaft the main-maft. — The ftern, ftriftly 

 fpeaking, is only the ontfide; a^j/} includes both infideandout. 



Abaft the beam, denotes the relative fituation of any ob- 

 je£l with the fhip, when the objeft is placed in any part of 

 that arch of the horizon which is contained between a line at 

 right angles with the keel and that point of the compafs 

 which is direftly oppofite to the ihip's courfe. 



ABAGI, the fame thing with Abassi, although of dif- 

 ferent value ; it is worth at Tefflis, and throughout all 

 Georgia, about 36 fols French money; four chaouris, 

 which are alfo called fains, make one abagi. 



ABAKA // Khan, in Biography, the 8tli emperor of the 

 Moguls, of the race of Zingis, who fucceeded his father 

 Hulaku, and commenced his reign, A. D. 1264. He was 

 prudent and learned, and poffeffed many amiable quahties 

 which endeared him to his fubjeils, and rendered his govern- 

 ment profperous. He joined the Chrlilians in celebrating 

 Eafter-day at Hamadan, whence fome have erroneoufly in- 

 terred that he was a Chriftian. He reigned 1 7 years. Mod. 

 Un. Hifl;. V. iv. p. 386. 



ABAKANSKOI, \n Geography, a garrifon town of tlie 

 province of Yenifei, in Siberia. It ftands on the river 

 Jenifei, and is fo called from the river Abaken, which fiills 

 into the Jenifei at no conliderable diftance from it. E. long. 

 94° 5'. N. lat. 53° 5'. 



ABALAK, a fmall town in Siberia, about two miles 



from 



