A C C 



thM are natiirali in arariety of iiiftance?. Tlie fubicft has 

 likcwifc been conridercd by M. dc lu Hire, and M. Epinus ; 

 and M. d'Arcy haj contrived a machine for mcafuring the 

 duration of the above-mentioned imprcHions on the eye ; and 

 he inferred in the refult of feveral trials, that the cfFeft of 

 the adtion of light on llic eye continued about eight thirds 

 of a minute. Sec Aca. Par. 1743, aud 1765. Nov. Com. 

 Petrop. vol. 10. And for an abllnift, Priellley's Hill. &c. 

 of Difcoveries relating to Vifion, &c. p. (131. 



Accidental Point, in Pcrfptd'ive, is a point in the hori- 

 zontal line, in which, a right line drawn from the eye, pa- 

 rallel to another right line, interfeds the piiilure or perfpec- 

 tive plane. Tliis is alfo the accidental point of all other 

 lines parallel to the originid line, fince the fame line drawn 

 from the eye is parallel to them all ; and the repicfentation 

 of all thefe parallels, when produced, concur in the acci- 

 dental point. Sec Perspective. 



AccrDESTAL Dignities and Delililies, in j4Jlro!ogy, arc 

 certain cafual difpofitions and affeftions of the planets, 

 whereby they are fuppofcd to be either llrengthened or 

 weakened, by their being in fuch a houfe of the figure. 



Accidental, in Miijic, is an epithet added to fuch 

 fliarps, flats, and naturals, as occur not at the clef, and 

 which imply fome change of key or modulation different 

 from that in wliich the piece began. In the key of C na- 

 tural, for inftance, an accidental C*, implies the key of 

 D minor ; a D *, the key of E ; an F a, that of G ma- 

 jor ; and g «, the key of A minor. In like manner a flat 

 placed before B, implies the key of F major, or D 

 minor, &c. 



ACCIPENSER, in Tcthyology. Sec Acipenser. 



ACCIPESIUS, a name given by Athenaeus and others 

 of the Greek writers to the sturgeon, called by others 

 On'tfcos. 



ACCIPITER, a name given by Gallius and fome 

 ethers to the filh, called by others the m'llvus and hicerna. 

 It is a fpecies of trigla in the fyftems of Artedi and 

 LinntEus. 



ACCIPITRES, or RAPACIOUS birds, in the Linman 

 fyilem of Ornithology, tlie firft order of birds ; the charac- 

 ters of which are, that the bill bends downwards, that the 

 upper mandible is dilated a little on both fides towards the 

 point, or armed with a tooth-like procefs, and that the 

 noftrils are wide ; the legs are fhort and ftrong : the feet 

 are of the perching kind, having three toes forwards and 

 one backwards ; the toes are warty under the joints, with 

 claws hooked and (harp at the points. The body, head 

 and neck are mufculoiis, and the flvin very tough. The 

 birds of this order fubfift by preying on other animals, and 

 on dead carcafes, ?.nA they arc unfit for food. They live 

 ia pairs, and are monogamous ; and build their nefts in 

 lofty fituations. The female is generally larger and ilronger 

 than the male, and ufually lays four eggs at a time. I'his 

 onler correfponds to that of ferje and comprehends four 

 genera, viz. vultur, falco, strix, ar.d lanius. Mr. 

 Latham hr.s removed this laft genus to the order of Pic.«. 



ACCIPITRINA, in Botany, a name by which fome 

 authors have expreffed the hawkweed, and others, the flix- 

 •vtccA or fophia fhirurgorum. See HiERACiuM and SisVM- 

 srium. 



ACCISMUS, denotes a feigned refufal of fomeihino- 

 which^ a perfon earnelUy defires. The word axxic-juo; i" 

 fuppofcd to be fom-.ed from Acco, the name of a foohih old 

 •woman, famous in antiquity for an affeftation of this kind. 



Accifmus is fometimes confidercd as a virtue, fometimes 

 as a vice, which Auguftus and Tiberius praftifed with {--reat 

 fucccfs. Cromwell's refufal of the crown of England^may 



3 



A C C 



be brought as an inftance of an accifmus. Ia rhetoric, the term 

 is ufed U'T a fpecies of irony. 



ACCIUS, Lucius, in Biography, a Latin tragic poet^ 

 who, according to St. Jerome, was born in the year of 

 Rome, 583, B.C. 170. Several of his tragedies were 

 founded on the moll celebrated ftories which had been 

 rcprefented on the Athenian Rage, as Andromache, An- 

 dromeda, Atreus, Clytemneilra, Medea, Meleager, Phl- 

 locletes, the civil wars of Thebes, &c. He alfo compofed 

 one dramatic piece entirely Roman, called Brutus, which 

 related to the expulfion of the Tarquins. Some fay thia 

 he wrote comedies ; and the Wedding and the Merchant 

 are afcribed to him. See Voffius dc Poet. Latin, p. 7. 

 Befides his dramatic writings, he left other works, particu- 

 larly his Annals, mentioned by Macrobius, Prifcian, Fciljs, 

 and Nonius Marcellus. He was much applauded by 

 Decimus Brutus, who was conful in the year of Rome 6 15, for 

 the verfes which he wTote in his praife ; and he was fo much 

 efteemed by the public, that a comedian was punifiied for 

 only mentioning his- name on the ftage. However, he hss 

 been cenfured by fome for the harlhncfs of his ftyle, though 

 he was generally allowed to be a very confiderable poet. 

 The particular charafter of Accius feeras to have been that 

 of vigour and fublimity. Horace ftyles him altus, elevated, 

 and Ovid, anhnofus, fpirited : the latter applies the epithet 

 atrox, cruel, to his works, which is thought to refer to the 

 fubjedls of them, or the great cataftrophes treated of by the 

 Greek Diamatifts. Cicero (De Clar. Orat. apud Oper, 

 tom. i. p. 395, Ed. Genev.) fpeaks with deriiion of one 

 Accius, who had written hiilory : and fome have fuppofcd 

 that, as Accius had written Annals, he refers to him ; but 

 this is not probable, as Cicero himfelf, Horace, Quinftilisn, 

 Ovid and Paterculus have expreffed thernfelves in terms of 

 diflinguifhed applaufe of the Accius, that is the fubjeft of 

 this article. . 



There was alfo another Pectus, or 'Auius, called Pifau^ 

 rienjis from Pijaurium, the place of his nativity, who was 

 efteemed a good orator, againft whom Cicero defended Au- 

 lus Cluentius. See Cicero de Clar. Orat. (J 78, apud Op. 

 tom. i. p. 473. Orat. pro Cluent. apud Op. tom. v. p. 57, 

 &c. Valerius Maximus mentions a poet of tins name, who 

 was accuftomed not to rife when Julius Caefar entered che 

 affembly of the- poets, as he reckoned himfelf, in that place, 

 his fuperior. Gen. Dift. 



ACCIUS, Zucchus, an Italian poet of the i$th cen- 

 tury, who is faid to be the author of Italian fonnets by way 

 of paraphrafe on the fables of ^fop, on which Julius 

 Scaliqer bellows great commendation. 



ACCLAMATION, a confufed noife, or (hout of joy, 

 by which the public exprcfs their applaufe, efteem, or ap- 

 probation of any thing. 



Acclamation, in a more proper fenfe, denotes a certain- 

 formula of words, uttered with extraordinary vehemence, 

 and in a peculiar tone, fomewhat rcfembling a fong frequent 

 in the ancient alTembhes. 



Acclamations were ufually accompanied with applaufes, 

 with which they are fometimes confounded, though they 

 ought to be diftinguilhed ; as acclamation was given by the 

 voice, applaufe by the hinds ; befides, acclamation was alfo 

 beftowed on perfons abfcnt, applaufe only on thofe prefent. 

 Acclamation was alfo given by women, whereas applaufe 

 feems to have been confined to men. 



Acclamations are of various kinds; ecchfiajlical, military, 

 nuptial, fenatorial, fynodical, fcholajlic, theatrical. Sec. 



Bilhops, and other ecc'efiallical off.cers, were eleclcd by 

 the acclamations of the people. We meet with loud accla- 

 mations, niuficai and rhythmical acclamations, a<;clamations 



oi 



