ART 



of the navy, whicli renikrcd a permanent law for their regu- 

 lation cxpt-dicnt, aiul the temporary duration of the army, 

 which fublilVed only from year to year, and might therefore 

 with lefs danger be fubjefted to difcretionary govcrment. 

 He adds, " whatever was apprehended at the formation of 

 the MuTiKY y/</, the regular renewal of our Handing force 

 at the entrance of every year, has made this diftinttion idle. 

 For if from experience pad we may judge of future events, 

 the army is now lallingly engrafted into the Firitifli Conftitu- 

 tion, with this lingiilnrly fortunate circumlhmce, that any 

 branch of the legiflatnre may annually put an end to its 

 legal txillencc, by refullng to concur in its contmuance." 

 Bl. Com. vol. i. p. 420. 



Articles, L.onis of, in Sots Iiyjoiy, a committee of 

 ancient inflilution in the Scottilh parliament, cxilling as far 

 back as records enable vis to trace the conllitution of par- 

 liaments in Scotland. It was their buiinefs to prepare, and 

 to digeil all matters which were to be laid before the par- 

 liament ; every motion for a new law w as firll made there, 

 and approved or rejected by them at pleafure ; what they 

 approved of «as formed into a bill, and prefented to par- 

 liament; what they rejected could not be introduced into the 

 houfe. The lords of articles, then, not only diredled the 

 whole proceedings of parliament, but polTcned a negative" 

 before debate. The committee was chofen and conftituted 

 in fuch a manner as put this valuable privilege entirely in 

 the king's hands. It is extremely probable, that the king 

 once had the fole right of nominating the lords of articles. 

 They were afterwards eledlcd by the parliament, and con- 

 fiHed of an equal number out of each ellate ; and mod com- 

 monly of 8 temporal and 8 f])iritual lords, of 8 rcprefen- 

 tatives of boroughs, and of the 8 great officers of the 

 crown. Capable cither of influencing their eleftion, or of 

 gaining them when cleCled, the king commonly found them 

 no lefs obfequious to his will, than his own privj' council; 

 and by means of his authority with them, he could put a 

 negative upon his parliament before debate as well as after 

 it. James VI. in order the more efTertually to preferve 

 his influence over the lords of articles, obtained an aft ap- 

 pointing four perfons to be named out of each ellate, who 

 (honld meet twenty days before the commencement of par- 

 liament, to receive all fnpplications. Sec. and rejecting what 

 they thought frivolous, Ihould cngrofs in a book what they 

 thought worthy the attention of the lords of articles. This 

 fclctt body v.ould of courfe be appointed by the king. In 

 16^3, when Charles I. was beginning to introduce thofe 

 innovations which gave fo much offence to the nation, he 

 dreaded the oppofition of his parhament, and in order to 

 prevent it, \ifed an artifice for fecuring in favour of the 

 crown the lords of articles. The temporal peers were ap- 

 pointed to choofe 8 bilhops, and the bilhops 8 peers ; thefe 

 16 met together, and eleded 8 knights of the (hire, and 

 8 burgclfes, and to thefe the crown officers were added as 

 ufual. In this way all the lords of articles would be the 

 tools and creatures of the king. This praftice, fo incon- 

 fiftent with liberty, was abolilhed during the civil war, 

 and the llatute of James VI. was repealed. After the re- 

 ftoration parliaments became more fervile than ever ; and 

 what was only a temporary device in the rc'gn of Charles I. 

 was foon converted into a Handing law. Upon the acceffion 

 of king William the II Id, this praftice was aboliflied, 

 with many other oppreflive and dcfpotical powers, which 

 had rendered our nobles abjeft flavcs to the crown, while 

 they were allowed to be tyrants over the people. Robert- 

 fon's Hift. of Scotland, vol. i. p. 83. 



A-HTiCLi, arllcii/iis, in yinalomy, denotes a joint or junc- 

 ture, of two or more bones of the body. 



ART 



Article ofJl'ath, artlculus mortis, the lad pangs or agony 

 of a dying perfon. The pope ufually fends his bcnedidion 

 to the cardinals, &c. in tiriiculo mortis. 



Article, in ylrilhmetic, fignifies the number ic, or any 

 number jullly divifible into ten parts ; as 20, 30, 40, &c. 

 — Tnefe are fometimes called ceeads, and lometimes round 

 numbers. 



Article, in Grammar, denotes a particle ufcd in mod 

 languages for the dechning of nouns, and denoting the 

 feveral cafes and genders thereof. 



The ufe of articles arlfes chiefly hence, that in languages 

 which have no different terminations to exprefs the ditTerent 

 flatesand circumlhuices of noiuis, there is fomething requir- 

 ed to fupply that office. 



The Latins have no articles ; but the Greeks, and moft 

 of the modern languages, have had recourfe to them for 

 fixing and afcertaining the vague fignification of common 

 and appellative names. 



The (Jrecks have their I, the eaflern tongues their h: 

 tmphaticum, from which, perhaps, the Greek article was de- 

 rived, unlefs we derive the Greek h, i, 70 from the relative 0;, 

 or both, by a kind of contraftiou very common in words 

 much ufed, from the demonllrativc «7o,-. The Spaniards 

 and the Italians have their :/, lo and la, which appear to 

 be the latin iUe. The French their le, la and ks feem- 

 ingly derived from either the Spanifli or Italian. The 

 Germans their Jcr, das, tlat. The Englifii have alfo two 

 articles, a and the ; which being prefixed to fubllantives, 

 apply their general fignification to fome particular things. 

 See letter A. 



Some grammarians make the article a diRiiift part of 

 fpeech ; others will have it a pronoun ; and others a noun 

 adjeftive. See Speech, and Pronoun. 



Articles, in the diftribution of the ingenious Mr. Har- 

 ris, belong to the fpecies of words which he denominates 

 definitives ; becaufe, being affociated with a noun, they 

 ferve to define, determine, or afcertain any particular object, 

 fo as to dillinguifh it from others of the clafs to which it 

 belongs, and, of courfe, to denote its individuality. Although 

 there be a near relation between pronouns and articles, and 

 it may be fometimes doubted concerning particular words 

 to which clafs they ought to be referred, yet they may be 

 commonly diftinguifhed by this rule : the genuine pronoun 

 always Hands by itfelf, afhiming the power of a noun, and 

 fupplying its place ; whereas the genuine article never 

 (lands by itfelf, but appears at all times alTociated to fome- 

 thing elfe, requiring a noun for its fupport, as much as at- 

 tributives or adjectives. Mr. Harris diflributcs articles 

 into thofe ftriftly and properly fo called, and the pronominal 

 articles, fuch as this, that, any, &c. The reafon and ufe of 

 the former he illuftrates in the following manner. When a 

 certain objeft occurs, with which as an individual we are 

 unacquainted, wc refer it to its proper fpecies, and call it 

 dog, horfe, lion, or the like. If none of thefe names fuit it, 

 we refer it to tlie genus, and call it animal. But the objeft- 

 which we are contemplating, is perhaps neither a fpecies 

 nor a genus, but an individual. Of what kind ? Inoivn or 

 uninown ? feen now for the Jiijl time, or fecn lie/ore, and 

 now remembered ? In this cafe we fiiall difcover the ufe of 

 the two articles a and the. A refpefts our primary percep- 

 tion, and denotes individuals as unknown. When an objetl 

 paffes by which I never faw before, I fay, " There goes 

 a beggar with a long beard." \Mien the fame man returns 

 at fome future time, I fay : " There goes the beggar with 

 the long beard." The article only is changed, the reft re- 

 mains unaltered. The individual once vague, is now recog- 

 nifcd as fomething intwri, and that merely by the efficacy of 



this 



