ASP 



Aspic, in Botany, a plant which grows in plenty in Lan- 

 guedoc, in Provence, and efpecially on the mountain of St. 

 Baume, in France. It is a kind of lavender, nearly like 

 what grows in our gardens ; both with regard to the figure 

 and colour of its leaves and flowers. The botanifts call it 

 mali lavender, lavendula mas, or /pica iiardi, pfcudo nardus, 

 &c. 



Aspic, O'dof. See Oil of !i?tK'E. 



ASPIDO, in Geography, a river of Italy, in the marqui- 

 fate of Ancoiia: it riles near Polvcrigo, and runs into the 

 Mufona, a little above its mouth in the Adriatic fea. 



ASPIDOPHORE, in Ichthyology, the name of a new 

 genus of filhes in Lacepede's arrangement. This genus is 

 compofed of tlie two fpecies of Cottus, in the Linnxan 

 fyftem called cataphra8us znA joponicus, the fornier of which 

 M. Laccpede names V afpidophorc arme, and the latter Pafpi- 

 dophore I'ifiza. See Cottus. 



ASPII, in Ancient Geography, a powerful people of India, 

 ■whom Alexander defeated in a pitched battle near the river 

 Euafpla. He had previoiidv crofTed this river, as well as 

 the Choe ; and after the battle he palTcd through the terri- 

 tory of the Gursei, and croffed the river Guraiis, fuppofed 

 by major Renncll to be the Kameh or Cabul river. This 

 ingenious geographer conjefturcs, that the nations of the 

 Afpii, Tnyra;i, and Aralaci were inferior divifions of the 

 modern Cabul, and iltuated between the rivers of Ghizni 

 and Cabul, at the height of Irjab and Dukkah. Mem. 



ASPING, in Zoology, a name given by the inhabitants 

 of Smoland to a venomous fmall fiiake, not more than fix 

 inches long, found in Oficries and Willow-holts, the bite of 

 which is frequently fatal, and wliich is much dreaded by the 

 Smolanders. It is the Coluber Chersea of Linnseus, 

 •with 1 50 abdominal fcuta, and 34 fubcaudal fcales. 



ASPIRAN, in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of Herault, and chief place of a canton in the 

 diltrift of Lodeve, two leagues north of Pezenas. 



ASPIRATE, As ? [RATIO, in Grammar, a charafter ufed 

 to denote an afpiration. 



The afpiratc, by the Greeks called fpiritus a/per, and 

 marked over their vowels, feems to be of a very diffeient 

 nature from the letters ; but is neverthelefs a true letter, as 

 well as the rell, and a real confonant. — By letters we do not 

 mean the characlers of the alphabet, which are changeable 

 according to the languages and the people, and among the 

 fame people, according to time and cuftom ; and even ac- 

 cording to the fancy of particular perfons. Thus, fome, 

 for inllance, write the afpirates, or letters afpi rated ; which 

 l)y others are omitted ; though both the one and the other 

 pronounce alike ; as in huomo, iuomirii, an Italian word fre- 

 quently written uomo, u^mini. But by letters we mean arti- 

 culate founds, marked by them, and formed by the or- 

 gans of fpeech, viz. the throat, mouth, tongue, palate, 

 teeth, &c. 



Thefe founds are of two kinds, the one fimple, and the other 

 tompound, or modified. Simple founds are thofe pronounced 

 by a fingle motion of the organ, fuch are the vowels. Com- 

 pound founds are thofe lame fimple founds m.odified by a 

 motion of the organ, fupcradded to the motion neceflary 

 to pronounce the fimple found ; of which kind are the 

 confonants. 



Nmv an afpirate is an effe£l: or confequence of a motion 

 made by fome of the organs of fpeech ; and therefore it mull 

 either be a vowel or a confonant. The former it cannot be, 

 as not being a fimple found, or a found that may be pro- 

 nounced by itielf. It mult therefore be a modificative, or 

 coiifouant ; and in effect it has all the properties of one. 



ASP 



For, I ft, It refults from a motion of the organ, wjiich 

 of itfelf produces no found. Thus thejpirittis of the Greeks, 

 our h afpirate, as well as that of the French, and other 

 people, has no more found of itfelf, than i, c, d, &c. and 

 the fame thing may be obferved of the alcph, bheth, and caph^ 

 of the Eallem languages. 



2dly, On the contraiy, our h, the fpiritus of the Greeks, 

 and the other afpirates juft mentioned, are pronounced with 

 all the vowels, in the fame manner as confonants are. They 

 modify thofe vowels, and are effefls of a motion of the 

 organ fuperadded to the motion necefiary to form the vowel. 

 Thus, to pronounce ha, two motions of the organ are re- 

 quired as well as for ba, or ca, &c. one for a, which itfelf 

 is a found ; the other tor h, which yields no found, no more 

 than^; but adds fomething to a which modifies it, and makes 

 that ha is not mere a, nor ba, nor ca. Sec. And this muit 

 hold ilill more fenfibly in the ftronger afpirates, as thofe of 

 the oriental tongues n, n. 'n» 111. 1n» > D> *<=. in all 

 which there are evidently two motions, the one to exprefs 

 the vowel, and the other to modify it : now this being the 

 nature and eflence of a confonant, it follows, that let them 

 be denoted in what manner they will, whether as our h, as 

 the orientals do, i. e. by proper characters in the courfe of 

 the words themfelves ; or, as the Greeks do fome of theirs, 

 by a fign of afpiration placed over the vowel, it matters not. 

 The aipirate is no lefs a confonant in xifn^ than in ;^atpii ; in 

 h; than in x.-u'} in oAu than in x'>^^ i and fo of others. 



The tliird and lad reafon urged by fome, is, that the 

 Eaftern languages, which, according to them, do not ex- 

 prefs the vowelo, do yet exprefs the afpirates. This kind 

 of argument feems, however, to be grounded on a miftake ; 

 fince it is more than probable, that the ff, p(, "], y of thofe 

 languages, fhould be ranked among the vowels, and were 

 fo ufed. 



Add, that the afpirate is frequently changed into a con- 

 fona,nt, and exprefled by a confonant. Thus of sf is made 

 fex ; of Irlx, _/f/..Vm ; of lorrsfo,-, -vefperus, &c. of the Hebrew 

 IT, uvS-, and thence ^7«um, &c. Nay even in the fame lan- 

 guage, Hefiod, fpeaking of Hercules's buckler, ufes 'Hpfrov 

 for ©»)f<n<v; making no difference between a Kand an afpirate. 

 Hence it follows, that afpirates are real confonants ; and 

 that we ought not to exclude the h in our language, out of 

 the number of letters. 



Other grammarians contend, that the h is founded only 

 by a ftrong emiffion of the breath, without any conforma- 

 tion of the organs of fpeech, and confequently is no letter^ 

 See H. 



ASPIRATION, the aft of afpirating, i.e. of pronounc- 

 ing any fyllable, oi- word, llrongly ; with a good deal of 

 breath, and vehemence. 



This we do, for inftance, in thofe words which have the 

 letter h before them ; as harangue, hooh, Holland, hero, &C. 

 wliereas the like fyllables are founded much fofter and eaficr 

 without the h ; as in ear, eat, &c. See H. 



ASPIS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Spain, north- 

 well of Ilicis and very near it on the fame river. — Alfo, a 

 town of Africa Propria, in 33° 20' N. lat. according to 

 Ptolemy. — Another town of the fame country, about 30^^20' 

 N. lat. according to Ptolemy. Strabo places it in the Greater 



Syrtis, and fays it is the bell port of that coail Alfo, a hill 



or territory of Africa, in the promontory ofTaphitis, accord- 

 ing to Strabo. Alfo, a town of the Carthaginians, called 

 Clypea^ M.'dAnville thinks tliis to be the fame with the for- 

 mer; but Ptolemy diftinguifhesthcm. — AlTo,an iflandof .-^fia, 

 upon the coaft of Afia Minor, between Tenedos and Teos. 

 It w£S called, according to Strabo, Arconnefus. — Alfo, a. 



promontory of Ethiopia, near Egypt An ifland in the 



vicinity 



