JF. L F 



IE L I 



that tKis nanifwas given to it on account of its black Colour; 

 bat Mr. Bruce (Tnivtl'!, vol. iii. p. 65.) conceives, that as 

 Egrpt in the I'.tliiopic language is called }'j;yj>/, and an 

 inliabitant of the country' (jyp/, wiiieh means the country of 

 ditches or canals, drawn from the Nile on both lidos at right 

 angles with the river, nothing is more obvio\i3 than to write 

 3' f \'/>/, whence Egypt, and witli its termination ;/,r or ou:, 

 JEf^yptus. See Nile. Plutarch (tom. ii. p. i 157.) fays, it 

 was firll called Mclas, from Melas the fon of Neptune, and 

 that it was afterwards called vEgyptus front ^gyptus the fon 

 of Vulcan and Leucip])e who governed Egypt ; and who 

 ■was fo diilreiied by the facrifiee of his daughter Aganippe in 

 obedience to the Pythian oracle, as a means of fecuring the 

 fertility of the country by the retreat of the Nile, that he 

 threw himfelf into the river ; and from this ciicumilauce it 

 obtained the appellation. 



yEGYS, a town of Laconia, uhich, according to Paufa- 

 nias was deilroyed by the Laccd;rmonians in tlie reign of 

 Archelaus, whole reign commenced 957 years before Chrill, 

 and lalled forty years, bccaufe its inhabitants took part with 

 the Arcadians. 



uEHOlTlTELA, in Zoology. See Ah;T.tuli.a. 

 yEICHRYSON, in BoUmy, a name given to the Sedum 

 majiis ; called alio vEithales. 



iEINAUT.Ii, in yJnfiqtii/y, fenators of Miletus, who 

 held their deliberations on board a Ihip, far from (liore, and 

 till matters were refolved upon, never returned to land. 

 The greek word antuxTiut iignilies nliueiys mariners. Phit. 

 in QiiiEtl. Rom. 



/EiZOON, aiii^aov, from an always, and iicri life, fevApir- 

 wvum is a name given to Sedum or Houseleek. 



iELANA, or Elana, in Ancient Geoyraphy, a city of 

 Arabia Petr.xa on the Red Sea, at the north end of the 

 jtlanitic gulf. It is now called Aihith. 



^LANITIC, ^i-ANTic, or Elanitic _5-H^, a bay of 

 the Red Sea, verging towards the north-eaft, and belonging 

 to Arabia ; i"o called from the city ^Elana, fituated near it. 

 yELEA, a fmall plaee of Dardania, fouth-vveft of Sardica. 

 ^LEN, Ei.en, Ala, Aiit'iLECiA or Halcvdes, in 

 Geo'^raph'j, a large market town in the canton of Bern in 

 Switzerland, which was greatly damaged by an inundation 

 in 1740. It gives name to one of the four niandements 

 into which the government, lordfliip or county of Aelen is 

 divided. This diftritt, wliich was for fome time fubjeft to 

 Savoy, was afterwards given to the landholders of the 

 Valais, who in 15^6 exchanged it with the city of Bern for 

 another diftrift called Gundis. This lordfhip itfelf, wliich 

 is now managed by a governor refidiug in a leat on an emi- 

 nence in the town of Aelen, conlills of a trart of fertile 

 hills and vales, producing fine fruits and excellent wines ; 

 and the richnefs of its pallures is mauifeited by its large 

 breeds of cattle. 



iELFREl), in Biography. See Alfred. 

 iELFRIC, an eminent ecclefiaftic of the tenth century, 

 who was the fon of an earl of Kent, and who, after fonic 

 imperfeft iuilructions, received from an ignorant fecular 

 prieft, alTumed the habit of the Benediftine order of monks 

 ki the monaftery of Abingdon, over which Athelvrold pre- 

 fidcd. When Athelwold was created bifnop of Wincheilcr 

 hi 963, Allfric among other Abingdon monks was fettled 

 in his cathedral ; and, in order to tellify his gratitude, for 

 the advantages which he had enjoyed under the tuition of 

 Athelwold, he conformed to the wifhes of his benefaftor in 

 communicating inftruclion to the youth of his diocefe. 

 With this view, he compiled his Latin Saxon vocabulary, 

 2nd fome liutin Colloquies. The fonner woi-k was pub- 



liflicd by fmmrier, under the title of a gloffaiy, at Oxford ii\ 

 1659. yilfric alfo tranflated fiom the Latin into the Saxoa 

 language, inoll of thf hillorical books of the Old 'I'efla- 

 nicnt, part of which was printed at Oxford in 1698. At 

 Wiueheller he aifo drew up his canons, a kind of charge to 

 be delivered by the bifhops to their clergy, which are pre- 

 fer\'ed in the fnlf vc.lumc of Spelman's Councils, and were 

 compofed, fays his biographer, (vli infra J between the yeaiv 

 980 and 987. Upon his removal aV-out the year laft-mcn- 

 tioned to Cerne Abbey, he tranflated from the l^atin 

 fathers, the firll volume of his liomiHes. In 988 he was 

 made abbot of St. Alban's, and compofed a lituigy for the 

 fcrvice of his abbey j and about the latter end of the year 

 991, when he was hilhcp of Wilton, he tranflated a 

 Iccond volume of Homilies. Here he alfo wrote hit 

 Latin-Saxon grammar, a fupplcmeiit to his Homilies, a 

 Traft dedicated to Sigward or Sigefcrth, containing 

 two epilUcs on the Old and New Tcllaments, which 

 his biographer fuppofes to have been written between the 

 years 987 anti 991. In 994 /Elfric was tranflated to the 

 fee of Canterbury, where, after exerting hin-.felf with laud- 

 able fpirit and prudence for fome years, in defending his 

 diocelc againit the incurfions of the Danes, he <lied 

 Nov. 16th, in the year looj. He wasljuiied at Abingdon, 

 but his remains were transferred to Canterbury in tlie reign 

 of Canute. He is reprefcnted as the greatell prelate the 

 Saxon church ever had fince the days of St. Aullin ; and as 

 our firll reformer next to king Alfred, by introducing the 

 knowledge of the fcriptures among the laity. For the times, 

 it mull be allowed, he was a man of confiderable learn- 

 ing ; his morals were in-cproachable, and his faith was 

 free from many of the corruptions which have dif* 

 graced religion. There was another ^Ifric furnamcd Ba/a, 

 who was pupil of the former in the fchool eftablillied by 

 Athelwold at Wincheller, who was made archbilhop of 

 York in 1023, and died in 1051. Another of the fame 

 name was abbot of Malmefljur)' in 974, was created bifliop 

 of Crediton in 977, and died in 981. There were feveral 

 other perfons of this name. The celebrated antiquar)' Lc- 

 land has exprefl'ed his doubts, whether iElfric, the author 

 of the Latin-Saxon grammar, was the fan>e with the tranf- 

 lator of the HomiHes, or with the abbot of St. Alban's, 

 who drew up the liturgy, which continued to be ufcd there 

 till his own times. Bale and Pitts have afcribed thefe three 

 works to three different perfons. Whereas, archbifliop 

 UlTier, by confounding yElfric, arclibifhop of Canterbul7^ 

 with j5ilfric, arclibifhop of Y'ork, and with yElfric, bifhop 

 of Crediton, has reduced into one perfon three men who 

 were rerdly dillincl. See Edvvardi-Rowei Morefi de ^1- 

 frico, Dorobernenii Archiepifcopo, Commentarius ; ed. per 

 Dr. Thorkelin, 410. 1789. 



TELIA, an appellation derived from one of the names of 

 Adrian, and applied to feveral towns. 



jElia adiana. See Zama. — Augujla mcrcurialis. See 

 Th/fnA. 



iEbiA CaphoUna, a name given by the emperor Adrian, 

 from jElius that of his own family, and Capitolinus the 

 epithet of Jupiter, to the nev; city which he caufcd to be 

 built about A. 1). i ^4, neai- the fpot where the ancient 

 Jcrufalem flood ; and which, on his vifit to the eaftern 

 parts of the Roman empire, he found in nrins. Here" he 

 fettled a Roman colony, and dedicated a temple to Jupiter 

 Capitolinus in the room of that of Jcrufalem. This pro- 

 fanation of the holy place irritated the paflions, increafcd 

 the rebellions, and aggravated the fufferings of the Jew* 

 durir-g the reign of Adrian. The city was once more 

 N n 2 tiikai 



