S C Y 



S C Y 



SCYLDWIT, in our Old Writirs, a muia or fine for 

 any fault. 



It comes from the Siiion fci/de, i. e. Jdidum, and -wite, 

 i. e. pana. 



SCYLITZA, John, Curopalates, in Biography, a Greek 

 hillorian, known for his abridgment of hiltory from the 

 death of Nicephorus Logothetes, in 8ii, to the depo- 

 fition of Nicephorus Botoniates, in 1081. Tliis hiftory, 

 from the year 1067, is the fame as that of Cedrenus, which 

 hascaufed a difcuffion among the learned, which of the two 

 was the plagiary. Scylitzais thought to have been a native 

 of Lefler Afia, and a prefeft of the guards before he at- 

 tained tlie dignity of curopalates. A Latin tranflation of 

 his hiftory entire, w-as publiflied at Venice in 1570 : and the 

 part concerning which there is no difpute was printed in 

 Greek and Latin, at Paris, in 1647. Moreri. 



SCYLLA, in Ancient and Modern Geography, a rock at 

 the entrance of the Straits of Meflina, about 200 feet in 

 height, now cape Scigl'w ; which fee. Scylla was famous 

 in antiquity for the danger which it prefented to naviga- 

 tors who approached it. The rock, perfonified by Homer 

 in his Odyffee, and reprefented as a devouring monfter, has 

 been deitroyed by a late earthquake. Concerning its fitua- 

 tion with regard to Charybdis, and-other particulars, we refer 

 to Charybdis. 



Scylla, or Scyllaum, a town of Italy, in Brutiura. — 

 JV.lfo, a defert iflaud in the vicinity of the Thracian Cher- 

 fonelus. 



SCYLL^A, in Natural H'ljlory, a genus of the Vermes 

 Mollufca clafs and order, whole generic charaScr is, body 

 compreffcd, and grooved along the back ; the mouth confifts 

 of a terminal toothlefs aperture ; the tentacula or arms three 

 on each fide, and placed beneath. There arc only two 



Species. 



* Pelagica. The body of this fpecies is fixed; the four 

 extreme arms are ahke ; the middle ones papillous. It inha- 

 bits the ocean, and is generally found among floating fea- 

 weed. Independently of its fpecific character, it is defcribed 

 as having a roundifli oblong body ; broader behind, and ob- 

 tule ; the mouth is placed at the end of the fmaller extre- 

 mity ; the back is grooved with a crenulate hollow, by 

 ■which it affixes itfelf to fea-weed ; the extreme arms are 

 fmaller and rounded ; the middle pair is oblong, foliaceous, 

 bending over and fprinkled within with papillae. 



GoMPHODESsib. The body is detached ; the firft pair 

 of arms is naked and hollow at the tip ; the others have 

 branched fibres within. The body is about an inch long, 

 peDucid, yellnwiOi, with rully brown dots ; the back is flat, 

 dotted with brown at the margins, with a row of blue dots 

 down the middle ; the tail is comprefTed, with an elevated 

 rounded back, and furnifheJ on each fide with fmall branched 

 fibres ; the abdomen is dotted with blue, and rough, with a 

 row of five whililh papillx down the middle of each fide ; 

 the firft pair of arms is the lelfer, the rell are contiguous, 

 with a denticulate margin. 



SCYLLEUM Pro.montorium, in Anctent Geography, 

 the promontory of Scylla, or of Skilleo, that part of the 

 Argolide which advances towards the fouth-eait. 



SCYMNITjE, a people of Afiatic Sarmatia, between 

 the Sapothrenae and the Amazons, according to Ptolemy. 



SCYMNUS, m Ichthyology, a name ufed by ^Elian, Ap- 

 pian, and many other- of the old Greek writers, for the 

 fifh called fculion by Ariflotle. This is a fpecies of the 

 fqualus, called by Artedi and others the fqualus with the 

 pinna ani placed in the midit, between the anus and tail : 

 the catulus vulgaris and catulus major of authors. 



SCYPHOPHORUS, in Botany, from <ry.\;^,;, a large 

 kind of drinking cup, and Zzp., bearing, alluding to the di- 

 lated cup-fliaped ftalks, refembling wine-glalies, borne by the 

 leaves, on whofe margins the fruftifying tubercles are feated. 

 This is the denomination of the 2 ill tribe, or feftion, of the 

 LiCTiENES, fee that article, in the Prodromus of Acharius, 

 which are well known to the vulgar, as well as the learned 

 botanitt, by the name of Cup-mofs, or Lichenes pyxidati. 

 The above name is however funk in that of Btomyces, in the 

 Vlf^'/^o^uj of that author ; though Michaux ufes it gtneric- 

 ally in his Flora Boreali- Americana, v. 2. 328. 



SCYPHUS, among the Romans, a very large kind of 

 drinking cup. The Icyphus was called the cup of Her- 

 cules, as that of Bacchus, liberi patris, was named cantharus. 

 " SCYPPIUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of Afia 

 Minor, in Ionia, on the confines of the country of the Co- 

 lophonians, according to Paufanias. 



SCYRA, in our Old Writers, a fine impofed on fuch as 

 neglefted to attend the fcyregemot court, which all tenants 

 were bound to do. 



SCYRA S, in Ancient Geography, a river or llream of 

 Laconia, which difcharged itfelf into the gulf of Laconia. 

 Near it was a temple of Apollo, and an altar of Jupiter. 

 Paufanias, lib. iii. Lacon. c. 25. 



SCYREGEMOT, or Scykemot, in Ancient Cujloms, 

 a county-court held twice every year by the bilhop of the 

 diocefe, and the ealdorman, or Iheriff ; in which both the 

 ecclefiaftical and temporal laws were given in charge to the 

 county. 



In the time of Canutus the fcyregemot was held tlirice 

 every year. Edward the Coiifeffor appointed it to be held 

 twelve times in the year. 



SCYRI, in Ancient Geography, a people of India, in the 

 vicinity of Ariana. 



SCYRIUM Marmor, a name given by the ancients 

 fometimes to a white, and fometimes to a yellowilh marble, 

 both ufed in the public buildings of the Romans, but feldom 

 in ftatuary, not being capable of a high polilh. 



SCYROS, in Ancient Geography, an ifland in the Archi- 

 pelago, fituated to the E. of the ifle of Euboea, and very 

 near it. The ancients pretend that Achilles fpent the firll 

 years of his life here, difguifed like a female, in the court 

 of Lycoraedes. It was in alliance with Troy, as appears 

 from Agamemnon's having made a conquelt of it. See 

 Sciro. 



SCYTALA, an ifland of the Arabic gulf. 



ScYTALA, in Mechanics, a term which fome writers 

 ufe for a kind of radius, or fpoke, ftanding out from the 

 axis of a machine, as a handle or lever, to turn it round, and 

 work it by. 



ScYTALA Laconica, in Antiquity, a ftratagem, or device, 

 of the Lacedaemonians, for the fecret writings of letters to 

 their correlpondents ; fo that if they fiiould chance to be 

 intercepted, nobody might be able to read them. 



To this end they had two wooden rollers, or cyUnders, 

 perfedfly alike, and equal ; one of which was kept in the 

 city, the other by the perfon to whom the letter was direfted. 

 For the letter, a flviri of very thin parchment was wrapped 

 round the roller, and on this the matter was written ; which 

 done, itVas taken off, and fent away to the party, who, 

 upon putting it in the fame manner upon his roller, found the 

 lines and word-, which were before its application to tlie 

 roller coiifufedly disjoined, and altogether unintelligible, in 

 the very fame difpofition as when they were fiift written. 

 Plut. in Vit. Lyfand. 



This expedient they fet a very high value on ; though, in 



truth. 



