s o c 



able, beyond all the reft of that genus, for the length of its 

 neck. It is very common in the Brafils ; it is fmaller than the 

 common heron ; its beak is ftrong, ilraight, and (harp ; its tail 

 fhort ; its head and neck brown, and variegated with black ; 

 and its body is of the fame colours in different variegations, 

 but its wings have a mixture of whitenefs. See Heron. 



SOCOA, in Geography, a fea-port of France, in the 

 department of the Lower Pyrenees ; 8 miles S.S.W. of 

 Bayonne. N. lat. 43° 14'. W. long. 1" 36'. 



SOCOCA, a town ef Peru, in the diocefe of La Paz ; 

 80 miles E.S.E. of Lipas. 



SOCOH, Soco, Socho, or Shoco, in Ancieni Geography, 

 a city of Judah (Jofti. xv. 35; i Sam. xvii. i.), repaired 

 by Heber (i Chron. iv. 18.), and the place in which his 

 family refided ; and afterwards fortified by Rehoboam. 

 (2 Chron. xi. 7.) According to Eufebius, there were tsvo 

 cities named Socoh, the higher and the lower ; 9 miles from 

 Eleutheropolis towards Jerufalem. 



SOCOME, in our Law-Bookt, &c. a cuftom of grind- 

 ing com at the lord's mill. 



There is a bond-foconts, where the tenants are bound to it ; 

 and love-focome, where they do it freely, out of affeftion to 

 the lord. See Molt A. 



SOCONUSCO, in Geography, a province of Mexico, 

 in the audience of Guatimala, bounded on the north by the 

 province of Chiapa, on the eaft by Vera Paz and Guatimala, 

 on the fouth by the Pacific ocean, and on the weft by the 

 Pacific ocean and Guaxaca. The climate is very hot, the 

 rainy feafon from April to September, and ftorms are very 

 frequent ; fo that the country is far from being either healthy 

 or pleafant ; nor does the foil produce much corn, but it 

 affords great quantities of indigo and cocoa-nuts, which are 

 exported by fea to all the other parts of New Spain. The 

 few Spaniards of this country are very opulent. 



SocoNusco, or Gue-vetlan, a town of Mexico, capital of 

 a province of the fame name, fituated on a river near the 

 North Pacific ocean ; 460 miles S.E. of Mexico. N. lat. 

 15° 28'. W. long. 94° 36'. 



SOCORRO, an ifland in the North Pacific ocean, about 

 20 miles in circumference, uninhabited, and barren ; about 

 200 miles W. froln the coaft of Mexico. N. lat. 18° 30'. 

 W. long. 120° 40'. 



SOCOS, a fmall ifland in the Atlantic, near the eoaft of 

 Africa. S. lat. 19° 45'. 



SOCOTAI, a town of Upper Siam ; 30 miles S.W. of 

 Porfelouc. N. lat. 17° 30'. E. long. 117°. 



SOCOTAN, a town of Perfia, in the province of Arok- 

 hage ; 120 miles E. of Arokhage. 



SOCOTORA, or SocoTnA, an ifland in the Arabian fea, 

 about 25 leagues from Cape Guardafu, in length about 

 24 leagues, and in breadth 16. Its fliore is bold, and af- 

 fords fafe anchorage and good ports : two of its harbours 

 and bays, viz. thofe of Benin and Cora, are particularly 

 diftinguifhed, on account of the fecurity they give to fliip- 

 ping againll every wind that blows. Of this ifland, though 

 much frequented by different trading nations, very various 

 and contradictory accounts have been given by different 

 authors. Some fay that it has only one town, called " Ta- 

 mart," or " Tamary ;" whilft others fay, that this is the 

 chief of three towns ; and others again ftate, that it has 

 neither town, village, nor houfe, and that the inhabitants 

 flicker themfelves from the heat of the fun in fubterraneous 

 dens and caveo. It is agreed, however, that the ifland is 

 populous and fertile, under the government of a prince, or 

 fultan, who was tributary to the fherifTs of Arabia. The 

 inhabitants are moitly Mahometans, who denominate them- 

 felves Arabs, and who referable them in their manners and 



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language. The whole ifland abounds in cattle and fruit, 

 with which, befides fome other commodities, they trade to 

 Goa, where they are more favourably received than the na. 

 tive Arabs, who are not allowed to enter that town without 

 paflports. The produce of the ifland confifts chiefly in 

 aloes, for which it is proverbially famous, frankincenfe, am- 

 bergris, dragon's blood, rice, dates, and coral, which pafs 

 from Goa to many parts of the Indies, and to all the king- 

 doms of Europe. The Eait India fhips formerly flopped 

 here, when difappointed of their paflage by the monfoons ; 

 but of late the periods of thefe winds have been fo well afcer- 

 tained, that this port is entirely neglefted. N. lat. 12° i ;'. 

 E. long. 54°. 



SOCRATES, in Biography, an ancient moral philo- 

 fopher, eminently diftinguifhed by his principles and con- 

 duft, and proverbially recognized as one of the wifeft and 

 beft men, whofe name and character hiltory has recorded. 

 He was horn at Alopece, a vfllage near Athens, in the 

 fourth year of the 77th Olympiad, B.C. 469. His paren- 

 tage was obfcure ; his father, Sophronifcus, being a fta- 

 tuary, and his mother, Phxnareta, a midwife ; and at an 

 early age he was employed in his father's buiinefs, and it 

 faid to have executed ftatues of the habited Graces, which 

 were allowed a place in the citadel of Athens. His patri- 

 mony, upon the death of his father, was only the fmaU fum 

 of 80 minae, or about 300/. ; and this fum he loft by the 

 difhonefty of a relation, with whom his father had entrufted 

 it. Thus reduced to the necefTity of fupporting himfelf by 

 manual labour in the cxercife of his profeflion, as a ftatuary, 

 he could only command occafional intervals, which he de- 

 voted to the ftudy of philofophy. He foon, however, ob- 

 tained the patronage of Crito, a wealthy Athenian, who 

 engaged him in the office of inftrufting his children ; and in 

 this fituation he availed himlelf of the opportunities, which 

 were thus afforded him, of attending the public leftures of 

 the moft eminent philofophers. Ardently devoting himfelf 

 to his favourite purfuits, he chofe, for his firlt preceptor, 

 Anaxagoras ; and when he left Athens, he attached himfelf 

 to Archelaus. Prodicus, the fophift, was his preceptor in 

 eloquence, Evenus in poetry, Theodorus in geometry, and 

 Damo in mufic ; and he alfo derived confiderable aflillance 

 in his education from Afpafia, a woman highly celebrated 

 for her intelleftual as well as perional accomplifliments, to 

 whofe houfe perfons of the molt diftinguifhed charafter re-' 

 forted. So diligent and fo fuccefsful was Socrates in the 

 improvement of tliefe advantages, that his endowments, both 

 natural and acquired, attrafted attention ; and he appeared 

 at Athens, equally diftinguifhed as a true philofopher and a 

 good citizen. The mihtary valour ot Socrates was no lefs 

 confpicuous than the other quahties which were more 

 adapted to a retired life ; nor did he decline any fervice, how- 

 ever hazardous or difficult, which private friendfhip or the 

 public intereft demanded. On one occafion he preferved 

 the life and armS of Alcibiades, when he fell wounded in an 

 engagement, in which they were jointly concerned ; and in 

 order to encourage the rifing merit of this noble youth, he 

 declined the prize of valour, which was unqueftionably due 

 to himfelf, and gave his vote that it might be beftowed on 

 Alcibiades. On another occafion, he hazarded his own 

 life, in order to refcue Xenophon, who was left wounded 

 on the field of battle, and earned him on his (boulders till 

 he was out of re:ich of the enemy. 



Socrates, dechning mihtary expeditions, fettled at Athens ; 

 and he was upwards of 60 years, before he undertook to 

 ferve his country in any civil office. Accordingly he was 

 chofen to reprefent his own diftrift in the fenate of 500 ; 

 and though he was firft treated contemptuoufly by liis col- 

 leagues. 



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