R O O 



Stead of morals, being deeply addifted to licentious plea- 

 fures, by which he brought on a premature old age. In 

 the latter years of his life he was a penitent, and felt deep 

 contrition for the licentioufnefs of his mufe at an earlier 

 period, and refolved for the future to confine himfelf to 

 facred fubje&s. He died in 1585, at the age of 61, and 

 his memory was honoured by eulogies from many of the 

 literary characters of the time. The compofitions of Ron- 

 Ir.rd were odes, eclogues, epigrams, fonnets, hymns, and a 

 poem, entitled " La Franciade." Ronfard had a very 

 bad tafte, which rendered him pedantic, and often obfcure ; 

 but he poSTeSTed many excellent qualities as a poet, having 

 warmth of temper, a vivid imagination, and great quick- 

 nefs of invention. Very few of his works remain ; but 

 three of the bed have frequently been reprinted, viz. " La 

 Promeire," " Hymne a l'Eternite," and " Les Quatre 

 Saifons de l'Annee." 



Ronfard was praifed by all the poets of his time, and 

 •ft i 1 1 merits a part of their encomiums. Scaliger dedicated 

 to him a work, as the firlt poet in France. He was hand- 

 fome in perfon, well made, loved mufic paffionately, fung 

 cably, and was very liberal. He had a public and 

 magnificent funeral ; the fervice was fet in florid or figurative 

 counterpoint, animated by all kinds of inftruments : it was 

 iung by the children of the chapel-royal by order of the 

 king, who regretted extremely the death of fo eminent a 

 perfonage, the ornament of his kingdom. After his inter- 

 ment, Duperon pronounced his funeral oration. All that 

 were great and illuftrious at court and in the city attended ; 

 and the crowd was fo great, that cardinal Bourbon, and 

 many other princes and nobles, were obliged to return 

 without being able to gain admiflion into the chapel of the 

 ■ollege of Boncourt at Paris. 



RONSBERG, in Geography, a town of Bohemia, in the 

 circle of Pilfen ; 8 miles W. of Teinitz. 



RONSDORF, or Rheix.sdorf, a town of the duchy 

 of Berg ; 12 miles S.S.E. of Dufleldorf. 

 RONSE. See Renay. 



RONSEL, a town of Germany, in the county of 

 Mentz ; 7 miles S.W. of Lunfchede. 



RONSENAC, a town of France, in the department of 

 the Charente ; 18 miles E. of Angoulefme. 



ROO, in Agriculture, a provincial term fignifying rough 

 or coarfe, in the way of paitures, or the crops on other forts 

 of land. 



ROOAC, in Rural Economy, a provincial word ufed to 

 fignify a fog or milt. See Roar. 



ROOAH, in Geography. See Rewah. 

 ROOAHOAGA. See Riou's IJland. 

 ROOD, a quantity of land, equal to the fourth part of 

 jn acre ; and containing 40 fquare perches, or poles. 



This is the Statute rood by which land is ufually at pre- 

 sent meafured ; but there are local meafures in many dif- 

 tricls, in which both the rood and acre are confiderably 

 larger. See Measures. 



In Scotland, the rood contains 40 fquare falls. See 

 Fall. 



ROODAUN, in Geography, a town of Hindooftan, in 

 Oude ; 22 miles N.W. of Allahabad. 



ROODE, or Waveren, an extenfive tranfmontane di- 

 vifion of the diftrift of Stellesbofch and Drakenftein, in 

 Southern Africa, in the Cape dillrift, lying behind the 

 mountains of Drakenllein, and producing abundance of 

 grain, pulfe, fruits, and wine. The pafs of Roode Sand 

 is the only waggon-road in this divifion, and is diltant from 

 Cape town about 70 miles. In this divifion there is a fmall 

 neat church, and a very comfortable parfonaaje-houfe, with 



ROO 



extenfive vineyards, orchards, garden, and arable land ; and 

 contiguous to the church is a row of houfes, the number af 

 which has lately increafed. 



ROODLOFT, the gallery over the entrance into the 

 choir, in our ancient cathedral and abbey churches ; in the 

 front of which, looking towards the weft window, a large 

 rood, or crucifix, was ufually placed. 



ROOE, Little, in Geography, a fmall ifland among 

 the Shetlands. N. lat. 6o° 43'. W. long. i° 35'. 



ROOF, in ArchiteSure, is that part of a building gene- 

 rally coniifting of two Hoping fides, which protefts its con- 

 tents or inhabitants from inclement feafons or weather. 



The flope of the roof mult be directed by the nature of 

 the climate. The ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Per- 

 fians, as well as other Eaftern nations, made their roofs 

 quite flat. The Greeks, it would appear, were the firft 

 people who made roofs with a declination each way from the 

 middle to the edges ; and this was very gentle, the height 

 from the ridge to the level of the walls not exceeding one- 

 ninth or one-eighth part of the fpan, as may be feen by 

 many ancient temples now remaining. But in northern cli- 

 mates, Subject to rain and mow, the height of the ridge 

 mull be very confiderable. In moll old buildings in Bri- 

 tain, the equilateral triangle feems to have been considered 

 as the Standard, both in private and public edifices ; and 

 this pitch ieems to have continued for feveral centuries, 

 until the extinction of Gothic archite&ure. At the com- 

 mencement of this period, the ridge was made fomewhat 

 lower, and the rafters were three-fourths of the breadth of 

 the building. This was called the true pitch, and fubfe- 

 quently the fquare feems to have been coniidered as the true 

 pitch. The heights of roofs were gradually deprefied from 

 the fquare to one-third of the width, and from that to a 

 fourth, which now feems to be a very general Standard. 

 They have even been executed much lower. There are 

 fome advantages in high pitched roofs : they difcharge the 

 rain with greater rapidity, the fnow continues to lie a much 

 Shorter time on the furface, and they are lefs liable to be 

 Stripped by heavy winds. Low roofs require large Slates, 

 and the utmoit care in execution ; but they have this ad- 

 vantage, that they are much cheaper, fince they require 

 Shorter timbers, and of a much Smaller Scantling. The 

 roof is one of the principal ties to a building, when exe- 

 cuted with judgment : it binds the exterior walls to the in- 

 terior, and to the partitions, which act like Strong counter- 

 forts againft them. 



Roofs are of various forms, which depend on the nature 

 of the plan, the law of the horizontal and vertical feftions. 

 The moft Simple form of a roof is that which has only one 

 row of timbers, arranged in an inclined plane, which throws 

 the rain entirely to one fide. This form is called a Shed-roof, 

 or lean-too. But the moft elegant roof for a rectangular 

 building is that which confifts of two reftangular planes, of 

 equal breadth, equally inclined to, and terminating in a line 

 parallel to, the horizon ; and confequently the form of the 

 roof is that of a triangular prifm, each fide being equally 

 inclined to the plane of the wall-head. This form of roof 

 is fometimes called a pent-roof. 



When the form of the plan is that of a trapezium, and 

 the wall-heads properly levelled, the roof cannot be exe- 

 cuted on planes, fo as to terminate in a level ridge. In this 

 cafe, the fides, inftead of being planes, are made to wind, 

 in order to have the fummit parallel to the horizon ; but the 

 moft eligible method is to make the fides of the roof reftan- 

 gular planes, incloiing a level fpace, or flat, in the form of 

 a triangle or trapezium, at the fummit of the roof. 



Roofs, which are flat on the top, are faid to be truncated. 

 7 Truncated 



