685 
SOL 
preparatory exercise, so necessary to sight’ 
singing, and which, by uniting in the mind of 
the practitioner the ideas of the different 
syllables with those of the intervals, facilitates 
the recollection of the several sounds, was of 
very antient adoption. 
Guido having substituted his hexachord in 
place of the antient tetrachord, adopted at 
the same time for his solmization six other 
syllables, ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, taken from 
the hymn of St. John the Baptist. 
Of the seven notes in the French scale, 
only four were for a while used by us, as mi, 
fa, sol, la ; but now we, as well as the Ita- 
lians, employ the first six, with the exception 
Of changing' ut for do, as a softer and more 
vocal syllable. By applying these syllables 
to the several notes, the practitioner not only 
utters the sound with more fulness, ease, and 
freedom, but, by the association of ideas, at- 
tains a ready recollection of the places of the 
tones and semitones,, and by feeling the re- 
lation between the syllabic and the musical 
sounds, acquires the power of expressing them 
with truth and certainty. 
SOLICITOR, a person employed to take 
care of, and manage, suits depending in the 
courts of equity, and those ol the lower sort 
are too often made use of to the damage ol 
the people, and the increase of champerty 
and maintenance. 
Solicitors are within the statute to be sworn 
and admitted by the judges, before they are 
allowed to practise in our courts, in like man- 
ner as attorneys. 
. SOLID. Geometricians define a solid to 
be the third species of magnitude, or that 
which has three dimensions, viz. length, 
breadth, and thickness or depth. 
A solid may be conceived to be formed by 
the revolution, or direct motion, of a super- 
ficies of any figure whatever, and is always 
terminated or contained under one or more 
planes or surfaces, as a surface is under one 
oi' more lines. 
Solids are commonly divided into regular 
and irregular. The regular solids are those 
terminated by regular and equal planes, and 
are only five in number, viz. the tetrahedron, 
which consists of four equal triangles; the 
cube, or hexahedron, of six equal squares ; 
the octahedron, of eight equal triangles ; the 
dodecahedron, of twelve; and the icosihe- 
dron, of twenty- equal triangles. See Tetra- 
hedron, Cube, &c. 
Solid of least resistance. Sir Isaac New- 
ton, in his Principia, shews that if there is a 
curve figure, .as DNFG, (Plate Miscel, fig. 
2 18.) of such a nature, that from any point, 
as N,. taken in. its- circumference, a perpen- 
dicular NM is let fall on the axis AB ; and 
if from a given point, as G, there is drawn 
the- right line GR, parallel to a tangent to 
the curve in tire point N, cutting the axis 
produced in R, and the proportion then is, 
as NM : GR: : GR 3 : 4 BG xGll; the so- 
lid generated by the revolution of this curve 
about its axis AB, when moved swiftly in a 
rare and elastic medium, will meet with less 
resistance from the medium, than any other 
circular solid whatever, of the same length 
and breadth. 
Solid angle, is that formed by three or 
more planes meeting in a point, like the point 
of h diamond well cut. 
Solid numbers, are those which arise 
from the multiplication of a plane number, 
SOL 
any other whatever; as 18 is a solid 
number made of 6 (which is plane), multiplied 
by 3 ; or of 9 multiplied by 2. 
Solid problem, in mathematics, is one 
which cannot be geometrically solved unless 
by the intersection of a circle and a conic 
section; or by the intersection of two other 
conic sections, besides the circle. 
As to describe an isosceles triangle on a 
given right line, whose angle at the base shall 
be triple to that at the vertex. 
This " ill help to inscribe a regular hep- 
tagon in a given circle ; and may be resolved 
by the interjection of a parabola and a 
cifcle. 
This problem also helps to inscribe a no- 
nagon in a circle; and may be solved by the 
intersection of a parabola, and an hyperbola 
between its asymptotes, viz. 
To describe an isosceles triangle, whose 
angle at the base shall be quadruple of that 
at tlie vertex. 
And such a problem as this has four so- 
lutions, and no more; because two conic 
sections can cut one another but in four 
points. 
SOLIDAGO, golden rod, a genus of 
plants of the class of syngenesia, and the 
order of polygamia superfi.ua, and in the na- 
tural system ranging under the 49th order, 
compositax The receptacle is naked ; the 
pappus simple ; the radii are commonly five ; 
the scales of the calyx are imbricated, and 
curved inward. There .are 30 species. A- 
mong these there is only one which is a native 
of Britain ; the virgaurea, or common golden 
rod, which grows frequently in rough moun- 
tainous pastures and woods. There is a va- 
riety of this species called cambrica, to be 
found on rocks, from six inches to a foot 
high. 
SOLIDITY is that property of matter, by 
which it excludes all other bodies from the 
place which itself possesses. 
SOLITARIES, a denomination of nuns of 
St. Peter of Alacantara, instituted in 1676, 
the design of which is to imitate the severe 
penitent life of that saint: thus they are to 
keep a continual silence, never to open their 
mouths to any body ; employ their time 
wholly in spiritual exercises, and leave the 
temporal concerns to a number of maids, who 
have a particular superior in a separate part 
of the monastery ; they always go barefoot- 
ed, without sandals ; gird themselves with a 
thick cord, and wear no linen. 
SOLO, in music, a term used in pieces 
consisting of several parts, to mark those 
that are to perform alone : it is sometimes de- 
noted by S. 
When two or three parts play, or sing, se- 
parately from the grand chorus, they are 
called a dio soli, a tre soli, &c. 
SOLSTICE. See Astronomy. 
SOLUTION, in chemistry, denotes an 
intimate mixture, or perfect union, of solid 
bodies with fluids, so as seemingly to form, 
one homogeneous liquor. The dissolving 
fluid is termed the solvent or menstruum. 
A solution is distinguished from a mixture 
by being perfectly clear, though not always 
colourless, and from the parts not separating 
when set at rest. See Chemistry. 
Solution, in algebra and geometry, is 
the answering a question, or the resolving any 
problem proposed. 
SOM 
Solution of continuity, in surgery,, is the 
separation of the natural cohesion oi the solid 
parts of the body , bv a wound. 
SOMMETj/a mineral named from the 
mountain Somma, " lit re it was first found. 
It is usuallv mixed with volcanic productions. 
It crystallizes in prisms, sometimes terminat- 
ed by. pyramids. Colour white, and some- ^ 
what transparent. It cuts glass. ! he specific 
gravity is 3.27. Infusible by the blowpipe ; 
and according to Vauquelin, it is compost'd 
of 
49 alumina 
46 silica 
2 lime 
1 oxide of iron 
'98. 
SONATA, in music, a piece, or compo- 
sition, intended to be performed by instru- 
ments only ; in which sense it stands opposed 
to cantata, or a piece designed for the voice. 
There are several kinds of sonatas. The 
Italians, however, reduce them principally 
to two: the sonata da camera, or chamber 
sonata ; and the sonata da cliiesa, or church 
sonata. The sonata, of whatever kind, gene- 
rally opens with an adagio; and after two or 
three movements of various descriptions,, 
concludes with an allegro, or a presto. I Ins 
definit ion of a sonata, however, rather belongs 
to what is called the antient than to the mo- 
dern music, in which the sonata is chiefly 
composed as a lesson or exercise for a single 
instrument. 
SONG11US, sozv-thislk, a genus of plants 
belonging to the class of syngenesia, and to 
the order of polygamia aequalis, and in the’ 
natural system ranged under the 49th order,, 
composite. The receptacle is naked; the 
calyx is imbricated, bellying, and conical ; 
the down of the seed is simple, sessile, and- 
very soft ; the >eed is oval and pointed. There 
are 19 species; four of these are natives of 
Britain: 1. Palustris, marsh sow-thistle. 2.. 
Arvensis, corn sow-thistle. 3. Oleraceus, 
common sow-thistle. 4. Alpinus, blue-flow- 
ered sow-thistle. All of them nefarious 
weeds. 
SONG, in poetry, a little composition, 
consisting of easy and natural verses, set to a 
tune in order to be sung. See Poetry. 
Song, in music, is applied in general to 
a single piece of music, whether contrived- 
for the voice or an instrument. 
Song of birds, is defined by the honour- 
able Daines Barrington to be a succession of 
three or more different notes, which are con- 
tinued without interruption, during the same 
interval, with a musical bar of four crotchets- 
in an adagio movement, or whilst a pendu-- 
lum swings four seconds. It is affirmed by 
this author that the notes of birds are no* 
more innate than language in man, and that 
they depend upon imitation, as far as their 
organs will enable them to imitate the sounds 
which they have frequent opportunities of 
hearing ; and their adhering so steadily, even 
in a wild state, to the same song, is owing to 
the nestlings attending only to the instruc- 
tion of the parent bird, whilst they disregard 1 
the notes of all others that may perhaps be 
singing round them: 
Birds in a wild state do not commonly sing 
above 10 weeks in the year; whereas birds > 
that have plenty of food" in a cage, sing the 
