S I R 



urfi. He died in 1651, at the age of 92. He was editor 

 chiefly of the authors of the middle ages, tlie MSS. of 

 which he difcovered among the hbraries at Rome, and other 

 places. Thofe of his own compolltion were, in a great 

 part, controverfial. One, entitled " Cenfura de fuburbi- 

 cariis Regionibus," which related to the fuburbicarian 

 churches under the jurii'diftion of tlie Roman pontift", im- 

 pui^ned the opinions of Godcfroy and Saumaife. He had a 

 difpute with Peter Aurelius refpefting the fecond canon of 

 the council of Orange, which was condufted on both fides 

 with much acrimony. He was attacked with great bitter- 

 nefs, on account of a difl'ertation wiiich he wrote, to prove 

 that St. Denis the Areopagite was a different perlon from 

 St. Denis of France ; but all fair judges of the iubjeft ad- 

 mitted the- validity of his arguments. He was lefs fuccefsful 

 in a controverfy refpeftiiig predeif ination, by which he be- 

 came involved in hoflihty with the .lanfenills. He never 

 brought out, at firlt, all he knew on the fubjetl, but made 

 a referve of fome arguments for replication. His works 

 were pubhlhed coUeftively at Paris, in five volumes folio, 

 1696. 



SIRNAME. See Surname. 



SIROCC, or Sirocco, a fouth-caft wind of Sicily, par- 

 ticularly at Palermo, attended with an uncommon degree of 

 heat, and fingularly relaxing and opprcflive in its effefts. 

 The blaft of it is reprefented as refembling burning lleam 

 from the mouth of an oven : the whole atmolphere, during 

 its continuance, feems to be in a flame. Its effeft is de- 

 fcribed by Brydone like that of one of the fubterranean 

 fweating iloves at Naples ; but it was much hotter. In a 

 few minutes, thofe who are expofed to it find every fibre 

 relaxed in a molt inconceivable manner, and the pores 

 opened to fuch a degree, that they expedl immediately to 

 be thrown into a moll profufe fweat. At this time the 

 thermometer, which ftood in a room only at 73, rofe im- 

 mediately in the open air to 110, and foon after to 112. 

 The air was thick and heavy, but the barometer was little 

 affefted, having fallen only about a line. The fun did not 

 appear during the whole day ; otherwife the heat, fays Mr. 

 Brydone, muft have been iniupportable ; and on that fide 

 that was expofed to the wind, it could not be borne with- 

 out diihculty for a few minutes. Upon expofing pomatum 

 to it, the heat of the wind melted it as if it had been laid 

 before the fire. This wind is more or lefs violent, and of 

 longer or fliorter duration at different times : however, it 

 feldom lafts more than 36 or 40 hours, fo that the walls of 

 the houfes are not warmed throughout, or clfe it is appre- 

 hended that it would be infupportable. Whilff it lalls, the 

 people of the country confine themfelves witliin ; their 

 windows and doors are fhut clofe, to prevent the external 

 air from entering ; and where window-fhutters are wanting, 

 they hang up wet blankets on the infide of the window. 

 The fervants are condantly employed in fprinkling water 

 through all the apartments, in order to preferve the air in as 

 temperate a ilate as poffible ; and for this purpofe, each 

 houfe in the city of Palermo is provided with a fountain. 

 By thefe means the people of fafliion fuffcr very little from 

 this wind, except the drift confinement to which it obliges 

 them. Notwithllanding the fcorching heat of the firocc, 

 it has never been known to produce any epidemical diforders, 

 or to do any injury to the health of the people. They feel, 

 indeed, very weak and relaxed after it ; but a few hours of 

 the Tramcnitane, or north wi[id, which generally fucceeds 

 it, foon braces them up again, and rtilores them to their 

 former (late. However, in NaplcF, and fome other parts 

 of Italy, where its violence is not to be compared with that 

 of Palermo, it is often attended with putrid difordcrs, and 



S I s 



feldom fails to produce almoft a general dcjeAion of fpirin. 

 But there the firocc lafts for many days, and even for weeks • 

 fo that, as its cffcdfi are different, it probably proceeds from 

 a different cauie. Some have fuppoied that this is the fame 

 wind with that which is fo dreadful in the fandy defarts of 

 Africa, where it (ometimes proves mortal in the fpace of 

 half an hour ; but that in its paffage over the fea, it is cooled 

 and deprived of its tremendous influence, before it reachei 

 Sicily. If this were true, we might expeft to find it mod 

 violent on that fide of the ifland that lies nearefl; to Africa, 

 wliich is not the cafe ; though it is poflible, that its heat 

 may be again incieafed by its paffage acrofs the ifland to 

 Palermo, near the mod: northern part : and befides, this 

 city is almod furrounded by very high mountains, the ra- 

 vines and vaUies betwixt which are entirely parched up and 

 burning hot at this fummer feafon of the year. Thefe like- 

 wife contain fprings of warm water, the iteams of which 

 may increafc the heat, and at the fame time foften the air, 

 fo as to difarm it of its noxious qualities. It is a praftice 

 too, at this feafon, to burn heath and bruffi-wood on the 

 mountains, which mud dill add to the heat of the air. 



SIROD, in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the Jura ; 3 miles S.S.W. of Nozeroy. 



SIRO-DEVA, a name of the Hindoo deity Siva; 

 which fee. 



SIRONG, in Geography. See SuriONGE. 



SIROTE, a town of Bootan j 60 miles S.E. of Taf- 

 fafudon. N. lat. 27° 18'. E. long. 90" 25'. 



SI ROW Y, a circar of Hindoodan, in Agimere, lying on 

 each fide of the river Puddar, bounded N. by .loodpour, 

 E. by Mewat, S. by Oudipour, and W. by fandy deferts. 

 The chief towns are Sirowy and Jalour. 



SIRPY, a town of Hindoodan, in the My fore ; 30 miles 

 S.E. of Chittledroog. 



SIRR. See Sir. 



SIRSA, a town of Bengal ; 30 miles S.E. of Ghidore. 



SIRVENT, or Vasir, a town of Charafm ; 60 miles 

 S.E. of Urghenz. 



SIRUN, a town of Perfia, in the province of Segeftan, 

 or Seiitan ; 40 miles E. of Zareng. 



SIRUPA, a town of New Mexico, in the province of 

 Hiaqui ; 80 miles N.E. of Riochico. 



SIRZESZYN, a town of Lithuania, on the Dnieper; 

 50 miles N.E. of Mozyr. 



SIS, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in the government of 

 Sivas ; 24 miles S. of Tocat. — Alio, a town of Afiatic 

 Turkey, in Caramania ; 150 miles E.S.E. of Cogni. 



SISAL. See Sk AL. 



SISALO, in Ancient Geography, a town of Spain, upon 

 the route from Emerita to Saragoda, in pading by Lufi- 

 tania, between Mirobriga and Corcuvium, according to the 

 Itinerary of Antonine. 



SISAN, a town of Ada, in the confines of Cilicia. 



SISAPO, Almaden, a town of Spain, in Boctica, towards 

 the ead. Suppofing it to be the lame with Almaden, it 

 yielded, in the time of the Romans, a mine of quickfilver, 

 in high edimation, the produce and revenues of which were 

 of great importance to the republic. 



SISAPONE, tlie fame with the former, a town of Spain, 

 in the Tarragonenfis, towards the confines of Boctica, which 

 belonged to the Oreloni, according to Ptolemy. 



SISAR, a river of Africa, in Mauritania Tingitana, 

 between the towns of Cliobar and that of Jerkth, according 

 to Ptolemy. 



SISAR A Palus, the lake of Sifara, a lake of Africa, 

 being the fouthern part of the lake Hipponibis, mentioned 

 by Ptolemy. 



I 2 SISARACA, 



