ATT 



than the faiiguiferous by an error loci This, they fiip. 

 pofcd, would produce a greater motion and heat, owi;iT to 

 the refiftance of the vefiels, wliieh wopld incHne thc'liu- 

 mours very much to a ftate of putrefaiiion. Of thefe con- 

 cretions fome are foluble by water alone, fuch as the faline, 

 faponaceoiis, and mucous ; but others require the diffolvinir 

 power of certain medicines ; and hence in the former cafe, 

 (lihients alone are fufficient to remove the obftruftion, but in 

 the latter, recourfe mull be had to the attemiants. Concre- 

 tions fuppofed to be produced by an inflammatory fpiffitude 

 of the blood, and oily, fcbaccous, and calculous cor.cre- 

 tions, were confidered as yielding to the internal ufe of va- 

 rious falts, fuch as fal gem, fal ammoniac, and fixed alkali, 

 alfo foaps, decoclions of the acrid and alkalefcent vegeta- 

 bles, and bile (which is a kind of natural foaf>), all of which 

 ivere confidered as highly attenuating ; and the reader will 

 here perceive how clofely the experiments of the laboratory 

 were applied to the living animal. Another fpecics of atte- 

 nuating or refolving remedies was the whole clafs of mercu- 

 rial medicines, which are known to produce the moft vio- 

 lent flow of faliva and thin fcctid humours from the body, 

 the confequence (as was imagined) of the power pofTclled 

 by this mineral to refolve and break down acrid matter im- 

 pacted in the glands and minuter veffeis. 



The term attenuant is not now much employed in its 

 original fcnfe ; the alleged caufe of obdruftions being en- 

 tirely difputed, as well as the fuppofed folvent power of 

 thefe medicines upon the concreted humours, whillt remain- 

 ing in the veflels of the body. 



ATTENUATA, in Entomology., a fpecies of Leptcra 

 that inhabits Europe, and is both defcribed and figured by 

 feveral authors. The wing-cafes are attenuated and fulvous, 

 with four black bands; legs teilaceous. 



Attenuata, a fpecies of Buprestis that inhabits Rio 

 Janeiro. The wing-cafes taper towards the end, terminate 

 in two teeth, and are ftriated; body braffy -green; beneath 

 coppery. Fabricius. 



Attenuata, a fpecies of Vespa with a ferruginous 

 abdomen, and black petiole, with yellow band. This kind 

 inhabits 7\merica. Fabricius, &c. Obf. The antennas are 

 ferruginous, tipped with black; head black, with the lip 

 vellow. 



ATTENUATION, compounded of ad, and tawis, 

 th'm, the aft of attemmtitr^ ; that is, of making any fluid 

 thinner and lefs confiftent than it was before. 



Attenuation is defined more generally by Chauvin, the 

 dividing or feparating of the minute parts of any body, 

 which before, by their mutual nexus or imphcation, formed 

 a more continuous mafs — Accordingly, among alchemills, 

 we fometimes find thc> word ufed for pidveriration, orthe acl 

 of reducing a body into an impalpable powder, by grinding, 

 pounding, or the like. 



ATTENUATUS, in Entomology, a fpecies of Carabus. 

 (Cychrus attenuatus Fabr. Append.) This infeft is ap- 

 terous, black, wing-cafes rather coppery, with three rows 

 of ralfed dots; thorax narrow; head very narrow. Paiiz. 



Attenuatus, in Natural Hiftory, a fpecies of EcHi- 

 SORYNCHUS, defcribed by Miill. Zool. Dan. It is_ globi- 

 fcrous, with an equal fmooth yellow body; and neck liliform. 

 Sometimes found in the intelHnes of the flounder. This li 

 iania longicoUls of Pallas. 



Attenuatus, /^r/uni-u/M, in Botany, denotesa foot-Italk 

 that grows fmaller towards the flower. 



ATTtNY, in Geography, a town of India, in the kuig- 

 dom of Deccan, beautifully iituate in a forell of palm-trees, 

 not far from the fea, about twenty-two leagues north ot 

 V'ifiapour. 



Vol. III. 



ATT 



ATTERBURY, Francis, in D'ngr^'phy, a pre?ate of 

 eminence in the political and literary world, wa^. born, va. 

 1662, at Milton Keynes near Newport-Pagnel, in Bucking- 

 hamlhire, where his father. Dr. Lewis Attcrbury, was 

 redtor. Having pafled through a cotfrfe of grammar learn- 

 ing at Weftniinller fchool, he was cleftcd, in 16S0, a iludcnt 

 of Chrift-church college in Oxford. Here he acquired 

 reputation as a claffical fcholar, and exhibited fpecimens of 

 his political talents in a Latin veri?on %i Mr. Dnrdcn't 

 " Abfaloin and Achitophel;" an epigram on "A lady 'i 

 fan," addreffcd to Mifs O'born, who afterwards was his 

 wife; and a tranflation of " Two Odes of Horace;" viz. 

 Od.9. l.iii. and Od. 3. l.iv. Thefe are published in bit 

 " Epiilolaiy Correfpondence." He took his degree of 

 bachelor of arts in 1684, and that of mafter in 1687; and 

 at this period he firft appeared as a conlrovcrfial writer, by 

 vindicating the reformation, in a piece intitled, " An An- 

 fwer to fomc confideranons on the fpint of Martin Luther^ 

 and the origina lof the Reformation." Wliilil he continued 

 at college, ne is thought to have taken a part in the famous 

 difpute between Mr. Bcntley and the hon. Mr. Charles Boyls 

 (afterwards earl of Orrer}-), concerning the genuinencfs'of 

 "• Phalaris's Epiftles," although his name did not appear on 

 the occafion. The time of his taking orders is not precifely 

 afcertaincd ; but it may be inferred from circumftances that 

 it was either at the clofc uf the year 1690, or in the begia- 

 ning of 1 69 1, ^e feems to have been tired of a college 

 hfe, and thinking himfcif foi-med, as he cxpreiTes himfiTf, 

 for " another fcene, and another fort of converfation," he 

 determined, whenever any favourable opportunity occurred, 

 to leave Oxford. Difapjjointed in his application for the 

 reclory of Miiton, which was the place of his birth, he came 

 to London in I^)93, and was appointed one of the chaolaini 

 in ordinary to king William and queen Mary, preacher at 

 Bridewell, and lecturer at St. Bride's. His compofitions for 

 the pulpit were dillinguiflicd by boldncfs of fentiment and 

 warmth of language ; and accordingly they foon commanded 

 attention. One of them, " On the power of charity to 

 cover fin," excited the notice and animadverfions of Hoadly ; 

 and another, intitled " The fcorijer incapable of true wif- 

 dom," was more acrimonioufly cenfurtd. In the year 1700 

 he commenced a controverfy with Archbifliop Wake, con- 

 cerning " the rights, powers, and privileges of convo- 

 cations," which lafted four years, and in the profecution of 

 which he appeared as an able and ardent advocate for high 

 ecclefialHcal authority, and the independence of the church 

 on the ftate. The learning, ingenuity, and zeal maniftftcd 

 on this occafion, procured for him the thanks of the lower 

 houfe of convocation, and the degree of doctor in divinity 

 from the univerfity of Oxford. At the commencement of 

 the year 1700, he was inllalled archdeacon of Totnefs; and 

 in the progrefs of it he was engaged with fome other learned 

 divines, in revifing an intended edition of the Greek teila- 

 ment, with Greek fcholia, collected chiefly from the fathers, 

 by Mr. Archdeacon Gregory. The acceffion of queen 

 Anne, in 1702, was to him a favourable event; and it wa« 

 foon followed by his appointment as one of her roajtfty's 

 chaplains in ordinary ; and in 1704, he was advanced to the 

 deanery of Carlifle. In 1706, he preached a funeral fcmion 

 on I Cor. XV. 19. which occafioned a difpute with Hoadly 

 " concerning the advantages of virtue with regard to the 

 prefent life." In the fallowing year he was appointed one 

 of the canons refidentiary of the cathedral at Exeter; and 

 in 1709, his diftinguilhcd talents in the pulpit introduced 

 him into the honourable office of ])rcachcr at the RoUl 

 chapel. In this year he was engaged in a controverfy with 

 Hoadly conceruiu^ " Paflivc obedience;" and in the /ollow- 

 O o ing 



