RUT 



11 U T 



which are iimple and leafy, as in that fpecies, and the lame 

 height, but appear to be herbaceous rather than (hrubby. 

 Leaves moitly oppofite, very rarely alternate, fometimes 

 three together, almoft feflilc, an inch or more in length, 

 acute at each end, entire, dotted, with one central rib ; 

 their under iidc palcIL Floiuer-Jlalks eredt, club-fhaped, 

 not a quarter the length of the leaves, angular, with a pair 

 of fmall bracleas about the middle. Calyx final!, green, 

 finooth. Petals five times as long as the calyx, rofe- 

 coloured, tipped with deeper crimfon. Filaments pale, 

 fringed to tin- top, obtufe, though icarcely extended be- 

 vnnd the point where the (talk of the drooping anther is 

 laterally inferted. Style about as long as the gtrmen, firmly 

 attached to its top, fo as to iplit into four parts with the 

 fcparating cells of the fruit. Seeds folitary. The various 

 diftribution of the leaves in this fpecies is peculiar to it. 

 The Jlems are very rarely branched. 



RUTE, in Geography, a town of Spain, in the province 

 of Cordova ; 5 miles S. of Luccna. 



RUTENI Phovinciales, in Ancient Geography, a 

 people of Gallia Narbonneniis, according to Pliny. Cifar 

 (Bell. Gall. 1. vii. c. 7.) mentions them. Thefe people in- 

 habited the territory to the left of the Tarn. 



RUTGERS, John, in Biography, an able critic and 

 negotiator, was born of an ancient family at Dordrecht, in 

 1589. He received a part of his early education under 

 Gerard Voffius, and in 1605 was fent to Leyden, where he 

 redded with Dominic Baudius. Having completed his 

 courfe, he travelled into France, and took the degree of 

 licentiate in law at Orleans. While at Paris, he printed, at 

 the office of Robert Stephens, an edition of Horace, with 

 notes ; which was afterwards reprinted by Burmann, at 

 Leyden, in 1699. When he returned to Holland, he ac- 

 cepted the invitation of the Swedifh ambaflador to accom- 

 pany him to Sweden, where Guftavus Adolphus, in 1614, 

 conferred upon him the title of his counfellor. He was, 

 after this, employed three times as envoy from that prince 

 to Holland upon very important affairs, in which he ac- 

 quitted himfelf with great credit, and quite to the fatisfac- 

 ti6n of his majefty, who ennobled him in 1619. He vifited 

 Bohemia, Denmark, and fevcral German courts, in the 

 fame quality ; and lattly he refided at the Hague, as 

 minifler from Guftavus to that republic, where he died in 

 1625, at the age of 36. He had publifiicd in 1618 fix 

 books, entitled " Vanx Le&ioncs;" and after his death, 

 Heinfius publifhed his Latin poems in conjun&ion with 

 his own. 



RUTH, in Biblical Hi/lory, a facred book of fcripturc, 

 admitted into the canon, and placed in our bibles between 

 the book of Judges and thofe of Samuel, as being the fequel 

 of the former and an introduction to the latter. St. Jerome 

 informs us, that the Jews added it to the book of Judges, 

 becaufe the tranfaftions which it records happened in the 

 time of the judges of Iirael (Judges, ii. !.)•; and feveral 

 of the ancient fathers make but one book of the Judges and 

 Ruth. But the modern Jews place in their bibles, after the 

 Pentateuch, the five megilloth, viz. the Song of Songs, 

 Ruth, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclefiaftes, and 

 Either. Ruth is fometimes placed the firlt of the five, 

 fometimes the fecond, and fometimes the fifth. 



The fcope of the author of this book is to relate the 

 genealogy of David ; and hence it has been conjeft ured, 

 that the firlt book of Samuel was compofed by the fame 

 author ; in which book he could not conveniently place the 

 genealogy of David, and he therefore chofe to give it by 

 itfelf. The writer obferves, at the beginning of his work, 

 that the lultory he propofed to relate happened when the 



judges governed Ifrael ; and, therefore, they ceafed to go- 

 vern it when he wrote. He alfo fpeaks of David at the end 

 of his book ; which fhews, that the earlieft period that can 

 be afiigned to it muft be the time of David. Befides, there 

 are two modes of expreffion in it, which occur only in the 

 books of Samuel and of the Kings. The firft is, " The 

 Lord do foto me, and more alfo," Ruth, i. 17. Compare 

 1 Sam. iii. 17. xiv. 44. xx. 23. 2 Sam. iii. 9. 35. xiv. 13. 



1 Kings, ii. 23. xix. 2. xx. 10. 2 Kings, vi. 31. The 

 fecond phrafe is, " I have difcovered to your ear," for 

 " I have told you," Ruth, iv. 4. Compare 1 Sam. xx. 2. 



2 Sam. vii. 27. The canonicalnefs of this book was never 

 difputed. Ruth the Moabitefs occurs in the genealogy of 

 our Saviour, Matt. i. 5. 



Ruth had married the fon of Elimelech and Naomi, who 

 had fettled for fome time in Moab ; but being defirous of 

 returning to Bethlehem, her own country, after having loft, 

 her hufband and two fons, was accompanied by her daugh- 

 ter-in-law Ruth. This event happened, according to Ufher, 

 about 120 years after the time of Jofliua. When Naomi 

 came to Bethlehem, Ruth went to the fields in order to 

 glean for their fupport ; and by chance entering the field of 

 a rich citizen of Bethlehem, named Boaz, who was related 

 to Elimelech, her lather-in-law, received from him civilities, 

 which indicated his affection for her. In procefs of time, 

 Ruth became the wife of Boaz, by whom (he had a fon 

 called Obed, who was father to Jcfle, and grandfather to 

 king David. Such is an outline of the hiitory contained 

 in the book of Ruth. 



RUTHE, in Commerce, a long meafure at Amfterdam, 

 which is equal to 13 feet, or 143 inches, the Amfterdam 

 foot being = 114 inches ; the Rhineland foot of 12 inches 

 being =z 12^- Englifh inches. At Berlin the ruthe is = 12 

 Rhineland feet = 148^ Englifh inches. At Hamburgh 

 the ruthe or perch is of two forts : one is 7 ells, or 14 feet ; 

 the other 8 ells, or 16 feet, Hamburgh meafure. The 

 Rhineland ruthe (12 Rhineland feet) is 13^ Hamburgh 

 feet, or 12;^ Englifh feet. A Hamburgh mile contains 

 2000 Rhineland ruthes, or 8244 Englifh yards : hence 14; 

 fuch miles anfwer nearly to a degree of the meridian, and 

 16 Hamburgh miles to 75 Englifh miles. A fcheffel of 

 corn-land contains 200 fquare ruthes, each 256 Hamburgh 

 fquare feet, which gives 166 Englifh fquare perches, or 

 I acre 6 perches. A morgen or acre of land contains 600 

 fquare ruthes, each ruthe being 196 Hamburgh fquare feet, 

 which equal 2 acres 6 T perches, Englifh meafure. See 

 Mf.asuiie. Kelly's Un. Camb. 



RUTHERFORD, in Geography, a county of Morgan 

 diftrict, in North Carolina, bounded N. by Burke, and S. 

 by the itatc of South Carolina. It contains 13,202 in- 

 habitants. 



Ruthkhfokd, the capital of the above county, which 

 has a court-houfe, gaol, and a few houfes. 



RUTHERFORTH, Thomas, in Biography, was born 

 at Papfworth-Everhard, in Cambridgefhire, in 1712. Hav- 

 ing palled through the elementary parts of his education, he 

 was entered at St. John's college, in the univerfity of Cam- 

 bridge, where he took his degrees in the arts, and obtained 

 a fellowftiip in the college. He was afterwards appointed 

 regius profellor of divinity in the univerfity, and created 

 D.D. Being attached to, and well verfed in, mathematics 

 and natural philolophy, he was elided a fellow of the 

 Royal Society, and was afterwards appointed a chaplain to 

 his royal highnefs the prince of Wales. In the church he 

 was rector of Barley in Hcrtfordlhire, and of Shen field in 

 Eflex, and an archdeacon. He died in O£tober, 1771, 

 having marly completed his 59th year. He was author of 



a thin 



