N O T 
NOV 
an; 1 , promissory notes, translates languages 
and attests the sains, enters and extends 
ship’s protests, Szc. 
NO 1 A 1 ION, in arithmetic and algebra, 
the method of expressing numbers or quanti- 
ties by signs or characters appropriated for 
that purpose. See Algebra, Arithmetic, 
Character, &c. 
Notation, in music, the manner of ex- 
pressing, or representing by characters, all 
the different sounds used in music. The 
antient notation was very different from that 
ot the moderns. '1 he Greeks employed for 
this purpose the letters of their alphabet, 
sometimes placing them erect, and sometimes 
inverting, mutilating, and compounding them 
in various manners, so as to represent hv 
them alb the different tones or chords used in 
their system. By a treatise of Alypius, pro- 
fessedly written to explain the Greek cha- 
racters, we li nd that they amounted to no 
less a number than 1240. ‘ These were, how- 
ever, rejected afterwards by the Latins, who 
introduced letters from their own alphabet, 
A, B, C, D, 1-:, F, G, H, r, K, L, M, N, (), 
l 1 , fifteen in number, and by which they ex- 
pressed the sounds contained in the bisdia- 
pason. tor the great improvement upon this 
notation, which at length took place, and 
which is in part adopted at the present dav, 
we are indebted to St. Gregory, the first pope 
of that name ; who reflecting that in the bis- 
diapason, the sounds after Lichanos Meson, 
or the middle tone, were but a repetition of 
those which preceded, and that every sep- 
tenary in progression was precisely the same, 
reduced the number ot letters to seven, viz. 
A, B, C, D, E, F, G: hut to distinguish the 
second septenary from the first, the second 
was denoted by the small, and not the capi- 
tal, Roman letters ; and when it became ne- 
cessary to extend the system farther, the 
small letters were doubled thus, aa, bb, cc, 
dd, ee, If, gg. 1 he stave, consisting of a va- 
riable number of parallel lines, the applica- 
tion of which some attribute to Guido, was 
afterwards introduced; and this was again 
meant to be improved upon by the adoption 
of small points, commas, accents, and certain 
little oblique strokes, occasionally interspersed 
in the stave, while also two colours, yellow 
and red, were used; a yellow line signifying 
the letter or note C, and a red line denoting 
that of i 1 . 1 wo methods of notation were long 
■after employed for the viol and other stringed 
instruments, which were distinguished by the 
terms lyra-way and gamut-way ; with this 
exception, that the literal notation for the 
lute is constantly called the tablature ; con- 
cerning which, as also the notation by letters 
in general, it may be observed that they are 
a very inartificial practice, as was also the 
old method of notation for the flute and fla- 
geolet by dots. 
NO TE is a minute, or short writing, 
containing some article of business'; in which 
sense we say, promissory note, note of hand, 
bank note. See Bills of Exchange. 
NOTES, in music, characters which by 
their various forms and situations on the 
staves, indicate the duration as well as the 
gravity or acuteness of the several sounds of a 
composition. 
ISO 1 ICE, in lawq is the making something 
known that a man was or might be ignorant I 
of before, and it produces divers effects ; for j 
by it the party that gives the same shall have 
some benefit, which otherwise he should not 
have had : and by this means the party to 
whom the notice is given is made subject to 
some action or charge, that otherwise he would 
not have been liable to, and his estate in dan- 
ger of prejudice. Co. Lit. 309. 
The plaintiff and defendant are both hound 
at their peril to take notice of the general 
rules of the practice of the court ; but if there 
is a special particular rule of court made for 
the plaintiff, or for the defendant, he for 
whom the rule is made ought to give notice 
of this rule to the other; or else lie is not 
bound generally to take notice of it, nor shall 
he in contempt of the court although lie 
does not obev it. 2 L. P. R. 204. 
NOTON EvJTA, a genus of insects of the 
order hemiptera. The generic character is, 
snout inflected; antennae shorter than thorax; 
wings coriaceous on the upper part, and 
crossed over each other ; hind feet edged 
with hairs, and formed for swimming.* The 
principal species of this are, 
1. I he notonecta glauca, a very common 
aquatic insect, inhabiting stagnant waters; 
and generally measuring about three parts of 
an inch in length. Its colour is grey-brown, 
and the upper wings are marked along the 
edges by a row of minute black specks. This 
insect is usually seen swimming on its hack, 
in which situation it bears a most striking re- 
semblance to a boat in miniature, the hind 
legs acting like a pair of oars, and impelling 
the animal at intervals through the water. It 
preys on the smaller inhabitants of the water, 
and flies only by night. 
2. Notonecta striata, is much smaller than 
the preceding, not measuring more than a 
quarter of an inch in length, and is of a yel- 
lowish-grey colour, with numerous transverse 
undulated black lines or streaks: it is found 
in stagnant waters. 
3. Notonecta minutissima, is an extremely 
small species, with grey wings, marked by 
longitudinal dusky spots : like the tu'o former 
it is an inhabitant of stagnant waters, but is 
far less frequently observed than the rest, on 
account of its very small size. There are 17 
species. 
NOTOXUS, a genus of insects of the co- 
leoptera order. The generic character is, 
antennae filiform ; feelers four, hatchet-shap- 
ed ; jaw one-toothed ; thorax a little narrow- 
ed behind. There are 13 species, found in 
Europe and Asia. 
N OV ATI AN S, a Christian sect which 
sprang up in the third century, so called from 
Novatian, a priest of Rome, or Novatus, an 
African bishop, who separated from the com- 
munion of pope Cornelius, whom Novatian 
charged with a criminal lenity towards those 
who had apostatised during the persecution 
of Decius. He denied the church’s power 
of remitting mortal sins. 
NOVEL, in the civil law, a term used for 
the constitutions of several emperors, as of 
Justin, Tiberius, Leo, and more particularly 
for those of Justinian. The constitutions of 
Justinian were called novels, either from their 
producing a great alteration in the face of 
the antient law, or because they w r ere made 
on new cases, and after the revisal of the an- 
tient code, compiled by the order of that 
emperor. Thus the constitutions of the em- 
perors Theodosius, Valentinian, Marcian, 
&c. were also called novels, on account of 
N U M 
their being published after the Theodosia?* 
code. 
NOUN, in grammar, a part of speech, 
which signifies things without any relation to 
time ; as a man, a house, swent, hitter, &cr. 
NUCLEUS, in general, denotes the ker- 
nel of a nut, or even any seed inclosed within 
a husk. The term nucleus is also used for 
the body of a comet, otherwise called its 
head. 
NUDE CONTRACT, a hare promise, 
without any consideration, and therefore 
void. 
NUISANCE, signifies generally anv thino- 
that works hurt, inconvenience, or damage”, 
to the property or person of another. Nui- 
sances are of two kinds, public or private 
nuisance, and either affect the public or the 
individual. The remedy for a nuisance is 
by action on the case for damages. Every 
continuance of a nuisance is a fresh nuisance, 
and a fresh action will lie. 
NUMBER, kinds and distinctions of. 
Mathematicians, considering number un- 
der a great many relations, have esta- 
blished the foliowing distinctions. Broken 
numbers are the same with fractions. Car- 
dinal numbers are those which express the 
quantity of units, as 1, 2, 3, Szc. whereas 
ordinal numbers are those which express 
order, as 1st, 2d, 3d, Xc. Compound num- 
ber, one divisable by some other number 
besides unity ; as 12, which is divisible by 
2, 3, 4, and 6. Numbers, as 12 and 1.5 
which have some common measure besides 
unity, are said to be compound numbers 
among themselves. 
Cubic number is the product of a square 
number by its root : such as 27, as hein^r 
the product of the square number 9, by its 
root 3- All cubic numbers whose root is 
less than 6, being divided by 6, the re- 
mainder is the root itself: thus' 27—6 leaves 
the remainder 3, its root; 216, the cube of 
6, being divided by 6, leaves no remainder ; 
343, the cube of 7, leaves a remainder 1, 
which added to 6, is the cube root ; and 512, 
the cube of 8, divided by 6, leaves a re- 
mainder 2, which added to 6, is the cube 
root. Hence the remainders of the divisions 
of the cubes above 216, divided by 6, beim* 
added to 6, always gives the root of the cube 
so divided, till that remainder is 5, and con- 
sequently 1 1 the cube-root of the number 
divided. But the cube number above this 
being divided by 6, there remains nothing, 
the cube-root being 12. Thus the remaind- 
ers of the higher cubes are to he added to 
12, and not to 6, till you come to 18, when 
the remainder of the division must be added 
to 18 ; and so on ad infinitum. 
Determinate number, is that referred to 
some given unit, as a ternary or three : 
whereas an indeterminate one, is that refer- 
red to unity in general, and is called quantity. 
Homogeneal numbers, are those referred 
to the same unit ; as those referred to dif- 
ferent units are termed lieterogeneaU 
Whole numbers, are otherwise called in- 
tegers. See Integer. 
Rational number, is one commensurable 
with unity ; as a number incommensurable 
wfith unity., is termed irrational or a surd. See 
Surd. 
In the same manner a rational whole num- 
ber, is that whereof unity is an aliquot part; 
a rational broken number, that equal to some. 
