R I N 



RINDERA, in Botany. See Cynoglossum Uvigatum, 



11. I4. V 



R1NDGE, or RiNGE, in Geography, a town of America, 

 in the county of Chelhire, New Hampfliire, fltuated on the 

 Maflachufett's line, about 80 miles W. of Portfmouth, and 

 70 N.W. of Bofton. This town was incorporated in 1768, 

 and contains 1 226 inhabitants. This townlhip has 13 ponds 

 of water of different fizes, in which are perch, trout, eel, 

 &c. It has alio, towards the northern part, a mine of ochre 

 of a Spanifh brown. One halt of the water of this town 

 runs to the Merrimack, and the other to the Connecticut 

 river. 



RINDOMS, a town of Spain, in Catalonia; 11 miles 

 N.W. of Tarragona. 



RINDSAKER, a town of Norway ; 60 miles N.N.E. 

 of Chrilliania. 



R1NEKENBERG, a town of the duchy of Carinthia ; 

 6 miles E. of Wolkenmarck. 



RINEUS Maiun us, a name given by fome botanical 

 writers to the crithmum, or famphire, a fea-plant, ufed as 

 a pickle. 



RING, Annulus, a little moveable, put on the finger, 

 either by way of ceremony, or ot ornament. 



The bifhop's ring makes a part of the pontifical appa- 

 ratus ; and is elteemed a pledge of the fpiritual marriage be- 

 tween the bifliop and his church. 



The cpifcopal ring is of a very ancient (landing. The 

 fourth council of Toledo, held in 633, appoints that a 

 bifliop condemned by one council, and found afterwards in- 

 nocent by a fecond, (hall be reitored, by giving him the 

 ring, ilaff, &c. 



From bifhops, the cuftom of the ring has palled to car- 

 dinals, who are to pay a very great fum, pro jure annuli car- 

 dinaluii. 



Rings, Origin of. Pliny (lib. xxxvii. cap. I.) obferves, 

 that we are in the dark as to the perfon who firft invented, 

 or wore the ring ; becaufe what is faid of Prometheus, as 

 alfo of Midas's ring, are fables. The firit people among 

 whom we find the ring in ufe, are the Hebrews, (Gen. 

 xxxviii.) where Judah, Jacob's foil, gives Tamar his ring, 

 or fignet, as a pledge of his promife ; but the ring appears 

 to have been in ufe at the fame time among the Egyptians, 

 from Gen. xli. where Pharaoh puts his ring upon Jofeph's 

 hand, as a m^rk of the power he gave him. And in the firft 

 book of Kings, chap. xxi. Jezebel feals the warrant (lie 

 fent tor the killing of Naboth, with the king's ring. 



The ancient Chaldeans, Babylonians, Perfians, and 

 Greeks, had hkewife the ufe of the ring ; as appears from 

 feveral paffages in Scripture, and from Quintus Curtius, 

 who tills us, that Alexander fealed the letters he wrote into 

 Europe with his own leal ; and thole in Afia with Darius's 

 ring. 



The Perfians will have Guiamfchild, the fourth king of 

 the firit race, to have firft introduced the ring, for lealing 

 his letters and other aits. The Greeks, Pliny thinks, knew 

 nothing of the ring in the time ot the Trojan war; the rea- 

 fon he gives is, that we find no mention of it in Homer, but 

 that when letters, &c. were to be fent away, they were tied 

 up, and the firings knotted. 



The Sabines had rings in Romulus's time ; and it is to 

 them, probably, the practice firft came from the Greeks ; 

 and from them that it palled to the Romans ; though it was 

 fome time before it got footing there. Pliny cannot learn 

 which of the kings of Rome lirtl adopted H ; but time are 

 no figns of it in any of their ftatutes, before thofe of Numa 

 and Servius Tulhu;. Pie adds, that it was alfo in ufe 

 among the ancient Gauls and Britons. 



R I N' 



Ring.s, Matter of Ancient. There were fome of one 

 fingle metal, and others of a mixture, or two. For the 

 iron and filver were frequently gilt ; or at lead the gold 

 part was fixed within the iron, as appears from Artemidorus 

 lib. ii. cap. 5. The Romans were contented with iron 

 rings a longtime; and Pliny allures us, that Marius firfl 

 wore a gold one in his third confulate, which was in the 

 year of Rome 650. Sometimes the ring was iron, and the 

 feal gold ; fometimes it was hollow, and fometimes folid ; 

 fometimes the (tone was engraven, and fometimes plain ; 

 and the graving fometimes was in relievo, and fometimes in 

 creux : the laft were called gemma eSypte ; the former gemmte 

 fculptura prominenlc. 



Ring, the manner of -wearing the, has been various. From 

 Jeremiah, chap. xxii. it appears, that the Hebrews wore it 

 on their right hand. Among the Romans, before they came 

 to be adorned with (tones, and while the graving was yet on 

 the metal itlelf, every one wore them at pleafure, on what 

 hand and finger he pleafed. When (tones came to be added, 

 they wore them altogether on the left hand ; and it would 

 have been held an exceffive foppery to have put them on the 

 right. 



Pliny fays, they were at firft worn on the fourth finder ; 

 then on the fecond or index ; then on the little finger ; and 

 at laft on all the fingers, excepting the middle one. 



The Greeks wore them altogether on the fourth finger of 

 the left hand, as we are informed by Aul. Gellius, lib. x. 

 and the reafon he gives for it is, that having found from 

 anatomy, that this finger had a little nerve that went ftraight 

 to the heart, they elteemed it the molt honourable, by rea- 

 fon of this communication with that noble part. Pliny 

 fays, the Gauls and ancient Britons wore the ring on the 

 middle finger. 



At firft they only wore a fingle ring, then one on each 

 finger, and at length feveral on each finger. ( Martial, 

 lib. xi. epig. 60. ) At laft one on each joint of each finger. 

 (Ariftoph. in Nub. &c.) Their foppery at length arofe 

 to that pitch, that they had their weekly rings. 



Juvenal, Sat. vii. fpeaks of annuli femeftres ; as alfo of 

 winter and fummer rings. But of all others, Lampridius, 

 cap. 32. obferves, that Heliogabalus carried the point 

 fartheft, who never wore the fame ring, or the fame (hoe, 

 twice. 



Rings have been alfo worn in the nofe, and as pendants in 

 the ears. Bartholin has an exprefs treatife, " De AnnuhVNa- 

 riftm," Of Rings of the Noflrils. St. Auguftine allures us, 

 it was in his time the faihion of the Moors ; and Pietro della 

 Valle obferves the fame of tile modern orientals. 



In efleft, there is no part of the body where rings have 

 not been worn. Several Eaft India travellers affirm, that 

 the natives now commonly wear them on their nofe, lips, 

 cheeks and chin. RamuflO tells us, that the ladies of Nar- 

 finguay, in the Levant, and Diodorus Siculus, lib. iii. 

 that thofe of Ethiopia ufed to adorn their lips with iron 

 rings. 



As to the ears, the cuftom it: ill obtains of wearing rings 

 in them, both of men and women, almoft all over the world. 

 See Pendant. 



The Indians, particularly the Guzzarats, have worn 



rings on their feet. And when Peter Alvarez had his firit 



audience of the king of Calicut, he found hun all covered 



with ftones fet in rings, having bracelets and rings both on 



ils ,ind fingers, and even on the teet and toes. 



Louis Bartomc reprefents a king of Pegu as Hill morr 

 extravagant, having rings fet with precious ltones on 

 every toe. 



Rung*, Ufe of. — The ancients had three different kinds ; 



