IL N I 



iE N I 



Catabathmus magnus, terminating the I-ybian nome, to the 

 i'.ort!i-ucil, luar lIil- tVuntuii! of Marmarica. 



ANI, ill ^-Uscint G^'ography, an ilkiid of the Red Zc-x, 

 placed by Ptolemy to the call of Hippos, and to the foulh 

 of the Kiauitic gulf. 



yENiA was a city of the Pcirhichi in Thtffiily; and 

 alfo the name of a fn-.all p!ac • of Alia Minor, in the 

 Troas, according to Strabo, about 50 ftadia from PuIk- 

 ccj'Hs. See ^En f a. 



^ENIAD.li, t!ie name of twi) cities ; one in Acavnani;',, 

 on the Ionian fea, near tlie month of the river Aohclous, 

 denomInat(;d by Strabo JEne'hi, and now called by modern 

 travclki-s T)rii«unijlo ; and anotlicr, accovjling to Stephiiniis, 

 in Macedon. See jEnea. 



jT^NIANA, a fortified town of Aiia, ni'ar the Cafpiaii 

 Tea. 



• iENIANES, a people of the foutlicni part of ThcfTaly, 

 who dwelt to the call of movuit Oeta, upon the Sperchius. 

 Tliny reckons them among the Tluolians. 



./ENIGMA, u propolitlon put in ol)feurc, ambiguous, and 

 generally contradictory terms to pui'.zle, or exercile t'ne \rit, 

 in finding out its meaning ; or, an obfcure difcourfe cover- 

 ing fome common and well known thing, under remote and 

 uncommon terms. 



The word is formed of aivirlscrflsci, obfcure iiwucre, to hint a 

 thiiii; darkly ; of kivo--, an obfcure fpeech, dfcourfe. 



The Latins foractimcs call it fcirput, firpiu, or fcrupns. 



The populace with us najne it riddle; from the Belgic 

 rj:d,-n, or the Saxon aracthan, to interpret. 



Fra. Junius defines an tenigma to be an obfcure parable, 

 or allegoiy ; and makes two kinds : the one greater, ren- 

 dering the ftnteace more intricate and knotty, by a multi- 

 .tude of words ; the other IcJer, confilHng of only one or 

 'two remote word.-, or aliuilons ; as in Ifaiah, ch. xi. i. 

 where Jefus Chrift is called ~\'il, furculus, rod, or branch. 



Fa. Bohours, in tlie memoirs of Trevoux, defines an 

 senigma, a difcourfe, or painting, including fome hidden 

 meaning, which is propofed to be gueffed. 



jEnigmas, painted, are reprcfcntations of the works of 

 nature, or art, concealed under human figures, drawn from 

 hiilor)- or fable. Thus Jefus Chrift, in the middle of the 

 doftors, reprefents the Bible, &c. 



_ A verbal renigma is a witty, artful, and abflrufe defcrlp- 

 tion of any thing. 



The ufe of rcnigmas was very great among the Egyptians. 

 Gale thinks they might borrow their cuftom from the He- 

 brews, among whom, it is certain, enigmas were not Icfs in 

 ufe. Witneis Sarafon's riddle. Judges xiv. 12. 13. I idIU 

 noiu put forth a riddle to yon, &c. mTl' '• ?• according to 

 \atable, an £ni(;mat!cal problem : the LXX. render it, 

 ■afoS-Ar.,j.x. Solomon is faid to have been particularly fkilful 

 in the folution of enigmas. Jofeph. Antiq. lib. v.' cap. 2. 

 Clemens afliires us, that the Egyptians placed fphin<^es be- 

 fore their temples ; to intimate that the doarincs of God 

 and religion were enigmatical and obfcure. See Hiero- 

 glyphic. 



Some reprefent the aenigma as the fame with grvphus : 

 but the more exaft writers make a diftiuclion ; thouch 

 wherein the_ difference hcs is not agreed on. Some make'it 

 confift in this, that the enigma properly imports fomething 

 meixy or jocofe, and gryphus a fubjed more grave and 

 profound. Others reduce the difference to this, that in the 

 gryphus there is fomething captious, and capable of leading 

 into a fnare, which is not round in the inigm.a. 



The REDU5 is alfo ranked by fome in the number of 

 senignias. 



Tr. a general f'nfe, every d.u-k faying, every diiTicuh 

 qutdion, every parable may pafs for an enigma. Hence 

 ob^^^ure laws are called snigtrata juris. 



The ;:lchemiih are great dealers in the- asnigmatic lan- 

 guage, tlieir procefles for the ghilofopher's ilone being gene- 

 rallv \vrap]>cd up in riddles ; e. gr. Fac ex mare et fair.ina 

 r.rcuhtni, irdc ijiiaoraiigitlum, hinc trirngidnm, fac circnium et 

 hiibelij lapidcm philofopboruni. Barchufen has publiflied an 

 explication of the riddhs of cheniilU, alehemilts, phyticians, 

 &c. 



Among [he senigmas of chemiils, that called the fibylline 

 icnigma is famous, of which we had a copy hi a MS. of 

 Stephanas Alexandrinus. 



If AotTT;} 6i TK ?.oi^a, %xi ilrrrj a.'pu.'ya. rx. tt/v-;. 



Kkj Tfii: Tpi.; Cixa^-s xou Jl; TflvA. TtS: h') -:l; s'./.t, 

 OuK aixuvTOi EO"*] T^J Trap' E//S a-o^tric. 



Thus tranfiated by M. Leibnitz. 



I.iterulis nofcor qiiadrifyUalns ipfc novenis : 

 SyHiibn Ihibct binas, n'ifi quod tenet ultima ternas. 

 Vocales quatnor, quinis non p>ropria -vox efl. 

 Bis feptem vicious r.nmerum centuria totiim 

 Ingrcditur, decadefque novem, turn his tria. Si me 

 Noveris, hinc aditus adfacra nqflra patent. 



Stephanus gives a myftical folution of this senigma. Mo- 

 ret will have it fignify the name Jehovah, which, according 

 to hira, comprehends the number 1696, abating one, t!ie 

 number contained in the enigma. Brentius maintains tiiat 

 the whole fum amounts to 1711, and that it reprefents the 

 word :?ocrJc.po,:. The generality underftand it of the word 

 arfenic, or APSENIKDN. M. Leibnitz gives a very artful 

 folution of it in this fenfe, by only fuppofmg the A to ftar:d 

 for a thoufand, and I for unity, as we fomctimes find them 

 ufcd by grammarians. 



The operation of cupping, performed in ancient days by 

 a machine of brafs, is ingenioufly reprefented by the fol- 

 lowing Knigma : 



Avdj;' lijcfv n-ufj ;^aXy..;» c^' c'vt'pi r.r,X\r.T:y.v1a ; 

 " I faw a man, who, unprovok'd with ire. 

 Stuck brafs upon another's back by fire." 



Ari.fl. Rlietor. 1. iii. c. 2. t. 2. p. 586. Ed. DuvaT. 



Aulus Gellius (xii. 6.) has preferved a Latin asnigma, 

 which he alfo calls a firpus or firpos, debafed (favs Mr. 

 Han-is in his Philological Inquiries, p. 202.) with all the 

 qv:ibble of a barbarous age : 



" Semel minufne, an bis minus, (non fat fcio) 

 An utrumque eorum (ut quondam audivi dicier) 

 Jovi ipf] regi noluit concedere." 



It is thus tranfiated by Mr. Harris : " Was it once minus, 

 or twice minus, (I am not enough informed), or was it not 

 rather the tiuo tahen together, (as I have heard it faid for- 

 merly) that would not give way to Jove himfclf, the fove- 

 rcign." The tiuo talen together, that is, once minus, and 

 i'wice minus, make, when fo taken, thnce minus ; and thrice 

 minus in Latin is tcr minus ; which, taken as a fingle word, 

 is terminus, the god of boundaries. The meaning of the 

 riddle coincides with the Pagan legend, which fays, that, 

 when in honour of Jove the capitol was founded, the other 

 gods confented to retire, but the god Terminus refufed. 

 See Ovid's Fafti, 1. iii. ; 667, &c. t.iii. p. 137. Ed. Burra. 



I The 



