S O F 



S O G 



linda, who come hither in their " zambucks," or fmall 

 barges, which are freighted with a variety of the fore-men- 

 tioned cloths of all colours, exchanging them for gold, 

 ivory, wax, or ambergris, and alfo with the Portuguefe. 

 The Arabians exchange goods from the Eafl Indies and 

 the Red fea, to the amount of 140,000/. fterling annually 

 for ivory and gold. Befides the gold which is brought from 

 Mocaranga, Sofala has fome very confidcrable mines of that 

 metal, which, according to the reports of the Portuguefe 

 inhabitants, have yielded to the value of above two millions 

 of merigals yearly, each merigal being valued at about four- 

 teen French livres, amounting, according to Mr. Savary's 

 ftatement, to 1,166,666/. iterling. The fands alfo of the 

 river Sofala contain a very confidcrable mixture of gold- 

 dult. Some perfons have even affi^med that Solomon ob- 

 tained his gold, which is fo highly commended by the facred 

 hillorians, from this country, and that Sofala is the cele- 

 brated Ophir ; the gold being allowed to be the pureft and 

 fined in all Africa. (See Oi-hir.) The Mahometan religion 

 is faid by many writers to be that of the king and court, 

 and of a great part of the people ; but others think it more 

 probable, that the original natives are wholly deititute of 

 any religion ; and that the Arabians, who have fettled on 

 this coait, are the only Mahometans, except fome few pro- 

 lelytes, from the Negroes, who became fuch for the fake 

 of commerce ; as they obferve, that all the merchants who 

 came hither from Quiloa, Momba5a, and Melinda, are of 

 that religion. S. lat. 19° to 22°. E. long. 33° to 36°. 



Sofala, a town of Africa, in the country of the fame 

 name. S. lat. 19° 22'. E. long. 36°. See the preceding 

 article. — Alfo, a river of Africa, which rifes in the county 

 of Mocaranga, and purfuing an eafterly courfe, runs into 

 the fea, S. lat. 19' 22'. 



SOFEE. See SoPHi. 



SOFFIETTA, in Ichthyology, the bellows-fifli, a name 

 by which fome have called the fcolopax, a fmall fea-fi(h, 

 common in the markets of Rome and Venice. 



SOFFINGERBA, in Geography, a town of Italy, in 

 Friuli ; 4 miles N.N.W. of Friuh. 



SOFFITA, Soffit, or Soft, in ArchlteBure, any timber 

 ceiling, formed of crofs-beams, or flying corniches ; the 

 fquare compartiments or pannels of which are enriched 

 with fculpture, painting, or gilding. 



The word is Italian, and fignifies the fame with the Latin 

 lacunar and laquear ; with this difference, that lacunar is uf?d 

 for any ceiling with fquare, hollow pannels, called lacus ; 

 and laquear for compartiments interlaced with plat-bands, 

 after the manner of knots or laquei. 



Such are thofe we fee in the bafilics and palaces of 

 Italy, in the apartments of Luxembourg, at Paris, &c. 



SoFFiTA, or Sojfflt, is alfo ufed for the under fide or 

 face of an architrave ; and more particularly for that of 

 the corona or larmier, which the ancients called lacunar, the 

 Yrench plafond, and we ufually the Jrip. 



It is enriched with compartiments of rofes ; and in the 

 Doric order has eighteen drops, difpofcd in three ranks, fix 

 in each, placed to the right of the guttse, at the bottom 

 of the triglyphs. 



SOFI, or SoPHi. See Sofhi. 



SOFIA, in Geography. See Sophia. 



SOFIANA, a town of Perfia, in Adirbeitzan ; 25 miles 

 S.W. of Tabris. 



SOFIT, or Soffit, the internal fuperficies of an arch : 

 fometimes it fignifies the opening itfelf. 



SOFR, in Geography, a town of Arabia, in tl»e pro- 

 vince of Hcdsjas ; 70 miles S.E. of Mecca. 

 Vol. XXXIII, 



SOFRA, a town of Arabia, in the province of Neds- 

 jcd ; 50 miles N.E. of Kariatain. 



SOFREGAM, a town wf the ifland of Ceylon ; 54 

 miles S. of Candi. 



SOFROI, a town of Fez, in the province of Chaus, 

 trading principally in oil ; 12 miles E. of Fez. 



SOFT Chalk, in ylgriculture, a fort of foflile marlc, 

 which readily moulders down and becomes blended with the 

 mould of the foil, on which account it forms an excellent 

 manure, free from the objeftion made to that of the hard 

 kind, which moltly requires to be reduced into lime. This 

 fort of fubltance is often met with at fome depth at the 

 bottoms of chalk hills, where fearch fliould be conllantly 

 made for it, as it may become of great value as manure. 

 All foft mouldering chalks are not only excellent fubllancei 

 for applying on lands that are of the ftifBfh kinds, but 

 they commonly form good foils, where they are the prin- 

 cipal material. 



Soft Grafs, a troublefome fort of grafs among tnoilt 

 arable lands in fome places. See HoLCUS. 



Soft Meadozu-Graf, the common name of a common 

 grafs in molt meadows, but which is of no great value for 

 the purpofes of the farmer. There is alfo a creeping foft 

 grafs often met with, which is faid to be ufeful on dry 

 fandy foils in producing a turf or fward. See HoLCUS. 



Soft Pulf, Roe, and Soap. See the fubftantives. 



SOFTENING, in Painting, the mixing and diluting of 

 colours with the brulh or pencil. 



To foften defigns in black and white, made with the pen, 

 &c. fignifies to weaken the teint. 



To foften a portrait, according to Felibien, is to change 

 fome of the Itrokes, and give a greater degree of fweetnefs 

 and foftncfs to the air of it, which before had fomettiing 

 rough and harfh in it. 



SOGANA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Judea, in 

 the half tribe of Manafleh, on the other fide of Jordan. 

 It was fortified by Jofephus, when he was governor of 

 Galilee. 



SOGANLIK, in Geography, a town of European 

 Turkey, in Bulgaria, on the Black fea ; 8 mile* E. of 

 Varna. 



SOGD, the moft celebrated and fertile diftriA of Great 

 Bucharia, being the ancient Sogdiana, which fee. See 

 BucHARiA. — Alfo, a river which pervades this diftrift, 

 and which, at the diilance of 100 miles from Samarcand, 

 fituated on its fouthern bank, after waftiing the walls of 

 Bokhara, paffes through a confiderable lake, and is fup- 

 pofed to join the Oxus or Amu. 



SOGDI, in Ancient Geography, a people of India, qn 

 this fide of the Ganges, according to Quintus Curtius, who 

 places them on the left bank of the river Indus. The fame 

 hiltorian informs us that Alexander built a city in the coun- 

 try of thefe people, and called it Alexandria. He alfo relates, 

 that when fome of thefe people, who refided not far from the 

 country of Odin's Goths, were condemned to death by Alex- 

 ander on account of a revolt, they rejoiced greatly, and tclli- 

 fied their joy by finging vcrfcs and dancing. When the king 

 inquired the rcafon of their joy, they anfwercd, that " be- 

 ing foon to be rcllored to their auccltors by fo great a con- 

 queror, they could not help celebrating fo honourable % 

 death, which was the wifh of all brave men, in their own 

 accultomed fongs." Tiiis correfpondence of manners an(} 

 principles between the Scandinavians and the Sogdians fiir- 

 nilhes a (Iriking proof of Odin's migration from the E. to the 

 N. ; firll, in the fpontaneous cxcrcife of the poetical talent j 

 and, fccondly, in the opinion, that a glorious or warlike 

 death, which admitted them to the compiiny of their friend* 

 K k aod 



