T R A 



TRAGORCHIS, in Botany, from r^ayo?, a goat, and 

 ' Orchis, fee that article, has been ufed by feveral old au- 

 i thors to dcfignate certain fpecies of that beautiful and 

 I curious tribe, whofe flowers were thought to have a goat- 

 I lik? fcent. Two in particular have thus been called ; the 

 Satyrium hircinum of Linnsus, now Orchis hircina, and iiis 

 Orchis coriophora. 

 ! TRAGORIGANUM, from i-fK-yo > a goat, and ofiyavo.-, 

 j marjoram, a name applied by the older botanifts to feveral 

 1 plants, moftly belonging to our prefent genus Origanum, 

 I which may be found in its proper place, or to fome aro- 

 i matic plants allied thereto. The original meaning of the 

 word was founded in the idea of Marjoram being agreeable 

 to goats, aed efpecially of the Cretan Marjoram, or Dittany, 

 being a fovereign remedy for fuch as were wounded by ar- 

 rows. Tragorlganum nothum, Baftard Goat -marjoram. Dale- 

 champ Hill. 889, has indeed no connexion or affinity with 

 other plants that bear this name, being the Ltthofpermum 

 frutlcofum, whofe leaves only poffefs a flight refemblance 

 to the ringent plants, without any of their flavour or 

 qualities. 



TRAGOSELINUM, from Tpa'>o , a goat, and <ji\mi, 

 parjley, a name firfl ufed by Tabern3emontanus for the Pim- 

 pinella fax'ifraga of Linnjeus, which fome have called Tra- 

 GIUM ; fee that article ard Tragus. 



TRAGULA, among the Romans, a ftrong kind of 

 javelin, with a barb ' head. 



TRAGUM, in IciJthyolngy, the name given by Ariitotle, 

 and others of the old Greek writers, to the trugum of 

 .ffilian, Athenaeus, and Oppian. Both names are ufed to 

 exprefs the fifh called by authors the pajlinacha marina, and 

 by us thejire-jla'w, or jire-Jlaire. 



TRAGURIU-M, m Ancient Geography, a town of Dal- 

 matia, famous for its marble. Ptolemy. 



TRAGUS, a river of the Peloponnefus, in Arcadia. 

 Paufanias. 



Tragus, in Anatomy, an eminence of the external ear. 

 See Ear. 



Tragus, in Botany, a name which has been varioufly ap- 

 plied. One Tfayo; of Diofcorides, book 2. chap. 1 15, ap- 

 pears to be a kind of meal or flour. Hence perhaps Haller 

 was led to ufe this name for a genus of grafles, now denomi- 

 nated Lappago ; fee that article. Such an application is 

 like the old derivation of hcus, " a non lucendo ;'' few of the 

 tribe being likely to yield lefs meal. Another r^ayoj of the 

 above Greek author, book 4. chap. 51, is defcribed by him 

 as " a maritime (hrub, of humble growth, without leaves, 

 whofe branches are befet with a kind of reddifli berries, the 

 fize of grains of wheat, pointed, and very aftringent." 

 Whether this may be the Ephedra, or any thing elfe, it is 

 difficult to determine. Valerius Cordus thought it Sedum 

 album, which is a common Greek plant. We might rather 

 indicate S. anglicum, were that found in Greece, the leaves, 

 in both cafes, being taken for berries. Camerarius gives 

 Salfola Kali for the plant of Diofcorides, annexing an ab- 

 ftraft of his defcription of its form and qualities, the former 

 of which, at leaft, does not agree with this Salfola; any 

 more than with S. Tragus, fo called by Linnseus, apparently 

 becaufe the name was at hand when he was intent on diilin- 

 guifliing it from S. Kali; fee Amoen. Acad. v. 4. 3 10. We 

 coUeft thefe particulars to fliew the difficulty of the enquiry, 

 as well as its inutility. Diofcorides is amufing enough, as 

 a botanical riddle-book, becaufe, while fome of his defcrip- 

 tions are elaborate and precife, others are juil fufficiently 

 vague to aff"ord room for conjeAure. Theophraft^us, though 

 far more philofophical, is in but a few inftances clearly 

 inteUigible. The greater number of his plants are merely 

 Vol. XXXVI. 



T R A 



named, as being fuppofed well-known to his readers, and 

 therefore he fcarcely aff'ords matter to found any conjeftures 

 upon. 



TRAHINA, in Geography, a town of Sicily, in the 

 valley of Demona ; 28 miles N.W. of Catania. N. lat. 37° 

 40'. E. long. 14° 40'. 



TRAHONA, a town of Italy, in the Valteline, on a 

 fmall river which runs into the Adda, 2 miles N. of 

 Morbegno. 



TRAJAN, M. UlpiusTrajanus, in Biography, a Ro- 

 man emperor, the fon of a diftinguiflied commander under 

 Vefpafian in the Jewifli wars, was born at Italica in the 

 Spanifli province of Boetica, entered betimes into the army, 

 and accompanied his father in feveral military expeditions ; 

 acquiring the hardinefs, fubmitting to the difciphne, and 

 uniformly praftifing the duties of a foldier. In the career 

 of pubhc honour, he was firil made prsetor A.D. 86, con- 

 ful A.D. 91, and raifed by Nerva to the rank of Csfar 

 A.D. 97, being at this time in the 42d or 45th year of his 

 age, according to the ftatements of different writers, and 

 pofleffing a majeflic llature, manly features, and dignified 

 afpeft. Upon the death of Nerva in the following year, 

 Trajan fucceeded, without oppofition, to the imperial 

 throne. He was at this time at Cologne, and remained for 

 fome time in Germany. In 99 he fet out for Rome, and 

 entered the city on foot, preceded by the liAors as an ordi- 

 nary magiftrate, and followed by a few foldiers exhibiting 

 the demeanour of citizens. Aff'able in his manners, boun- 

 tiful in his largefs to the Roman people, and anxious to pro- 

 cure a fupply of corn by allowing free importation from the 

 colonies, Trajan acquired and maintained a very great de- 

 gree of popularity. He likewife very much contributed to 

 the tranquillity and good order of the city, by removing to 

 exile the infamous tribe of delators, who had been encou- 

 raged by the tyranny of Domitian, and not fufficiently re- 

 prefled by the lenity of Nerva, and by iffuing an edift with 

 fome penalties againtt. all falfe accufers. He alfo reduced 

 the tax of the twentieth upon collateral fucceffions, impofed 

 by Auguft^us, and formed a fund for the exercife of liberality 

 by his own economy and frugality. He encouraged merit, 

 and advanced to polls of trull men diftinguiflied by their in- 

 tegrity and talents. He aflbciated on the moft condefcend- 

 ing terms with perfons of various rank and condition, and 

 treated the citizens of Rome in general more as friends than 

 as fubjefts. Although his military education and employ- 

 ments allowed him no leifure for acquiring the accomplilh- 

 ments of literature, he was the patron of learned men, and 

 by founding libraries and other methods, he promoted the 

 difl'ufion of learning. As he was moderate and frugal in 

 his own habits, and in the entertainments he provided for his 

 guefts, he checked and reftrained the prevalence of luxury 

 and extravagant expenditure in others. By purfuing various 

 methods for rendering the people happy, he obtained, by 

 the unanimous voice of the fenate, the title of " Optimus," 

 which glorious diftinftion he retained through life and tranf- 

 mitted to pollerity. In the third year of his reign he was 

 honoured vvith a third confulate ; and during his exercife of 

 this office, Pliny pronounced that panegyric which is ftill 

 extant, and which prefents to view a finiflied portrait of a 

 perfeft prince. In the following year, when he was again 

 conful, he was engaged in a war with Decebalus, king of the 

 Dacians, from which he returned viftorious, and obtained a 

 triumph with the furngme of " Dacicus." Having fpent the 

 two following years in an attention to objefts that contri- 

 buted to the improvement of the empire, one of which was 

 the eftabhfliment of a port at Centumcellje, now Civita» 

 Vecchia, the clofe of the latter of thefe years was ren- 

 Q dered 



