positive 
10. Not comparative. Especially, In gram., signify- 
ing a quality without an Inflect inn to Indicate comparison 
u to the Intensity of that quality.- Positive allega- 
tion, In <<'. n allegation made without reserve, as dis- 
tinguished from an allegation made on Information and 
belief or argunicntatively. Positive attribute, an at- 
tribute whose real nature U analogous to the form of a 
positive term. Positive colon. *ee color. Positive 
crystal s! refraction and hrjnUudrim. - Positive de- 
gree, in gram., the simple value of an adjective or ad- 
verb, without comparison or relation to increase or dimi- 
nution : used by antithesis to comparative and superlative 
degree: see eoinparwoK, 5. Positive discrepancy, the 
relation between the testimony of two witnesses one of 
whom explicitly affirms what the other explicitly denies. 
Positive distinction, a distinction which distinguishes 
two real existences : opposed to negative distinction, which 
distinguishes an existence from a non-existence. Posi- 
tive electricity, ens, entity, evidence, eyepiece. See 
the nouns. Positive Judgment, in logic, an affirmative 
proposition. Positive law, in the philosophy of juris- 
prudence and legislation, the body of laws prescribed or 
controlling human conduct, as distinguished from laws 
to called which are merely generalizations of what has 
been observed to take place ; law set as a rule to which 
Itself requires conformity. Some have Included divine 
law, others only human law ; judicial as well as statutory 
law is Included. Positive misprislon, motion, organ. 
See the nouns. Positive philosophy, a philosophical 
rem founded by Augusta Comte (1798-18.*>7). IU main 
trinea are as follows. AH speculative thought passes 
through three stages the theological, the metaphysical, 
the positive. The theological stage Is that in which liv- 
ing beings with free will are supposed to account for 
phenomena ; the metaphysical is that In which nnveriflable 
abstractions are resorted to; the positive Is that which 
contents itself with general descriptions of phenomena. 
The sciences are either abstract or concrete. '1 he ab- 
stract discover regularities, the concrete show in what 
manner these regularities are applicable to special cases. 
The abstract sciences are (1) mathematics, (2) astronomy, 
(3) physics, (4) chemistry, (6) biology, (6) sociology. They 
must be studied In this order, since each after the first 
rests on the preceding. Especially, sociology must be 
founded on biology. The development of civilization 
has taken place according to certain laws or regularities. 
'I In- civilized community is a true organism a Great 
Being to which Individuals are related somewhat as 
cells to an animal organism. This Great Being should 
be an object of worship ; and this worship should be 
systematized after the model of the medieval church. 
Positive pleasure or pain, a state of pleasure or pain 
exceeding the neutral point; a pleasure or pain which is 
such Irrespective of comparison with other states. Posi- 
tive pole of a voltaic pile or battery. See ;x>k2 and 
electricity. Positive precision. See precision. Posi- 
tive prescription. See pntertpttan, 8 (o). Positive 
Proof, direct proof deducing the conclusion as a particu- 
lar case of some general rule, without the use of the re- 
ductlo ad absurdum, etc. Positive quantity, in 0/17., an 
affirmative or additive quantity, which character is Indi- 
cated liy the sign i (plus) prefixed to the quantity, called 
In consequence the positive '</. Positive Is here used in 
contradistinction to negative. Positive term, a term 
not In form affected with the negative sign. Positive 
whole, a whole which has parts : opposed to a negative 
tfhiip, or something called a whole as being Indivisible. 
II. H. 1. That which settles by absolute ap- 
pointment. 
Positives . . . while under precept cannot be slighted 
without slighting morals also. 
Waterland, Scripture Vindicated, ill. 37. 
2. That which is capable of being affirmed; 
reality. 
Rating positives by their privatives. 
South, Sermons, I. II. 
3. In gram., the positive decree. 4. In ;>/<- 
tog., a picture in which the lights and shades 
are rendered as they are in nature: opposed to 
negative. Positives are usually obtained by 
printing from negatives. See ncgatire and plio- 
tonraphy. 5. Same as positive organ. Alabas- 
trine positive. See alabastrine. 
positively (poz'i-tiv-li), adv. In apositive man- 
ner, (a) Absolutely; by Itself; Independently of any- 
thing else ; not comparatively. 
The good or evil which is removed may be esteemed 
good or evil comparatively, and not positively or simply. 
Bacon. 
(6) Not negatively; really; In Its own nature; directly; 
inherently : thus, a thing Is positively good when It pro- 
duces happiness by Its own qualities or operation : It Is 
negatively good when It prevents an evil or does not pro- 
duce it. ) Certainly ; Indubitably ; decidedly. 
Otve me some breath, some little pause, my lord, 
I.. (! I BMMMhf -I" .*> In i' in. 
Shot., Rich. III., Iv. 2. 25. 
So, Maria, yon see your lover pursues yon ; positively you 
sha'n't escape. NHeriiian, School for Scandal. I. 1. 
dlt Directly ; explicitly : as, the witness testified positively 
to the tact, (c) Peremptorily ; In positive terms ; ex- 
pressly. 
I would ask . . . whether the whole tenor of the divine 
law does nut positively require humility and meekness? 
/;//. Sprat. 
The Queen found It expedient to Issue an order positive- 
ly forbidding the torturing of sUte-prisoners on any pre- 
tence whatever. Macaulai/. Lord Bacon. 
(/) With full confidence or assurance : as, I cannot speak 
positively In regard to the fact. (;;) By positive electri- 
city : as, positively electrified. See electricity. 
positiveness (poz'i-tiv-nos). . The state of 
bring positive; aftuulncHx; reality of exis- 
4636 
tence ; not mere negation ; undoubting assur- 
ance ; full confidence ; peremptoriness. 
positivism (po/.'i-tiv-izm), H. [= 'F.]}0itivisme; 
as jMutitire + -i'xwi.] 1. Actual or absolute 
knowledge. 
The metaphysicians can never rest till they have taken 
their watch to pieces and have arrived at a happy positiv- 
ism as to its structure. 
Lowell, Among my Books, lit ser., p. 150. 
2. [.cap.] The Positive philosophy (which see, 
under positire). 
Positivist (poz'i-tiv-ist), n. [= F. positiviste; 
as positire + -ist.] One who maintains the doc- 
trines of the Positive philosophy. 
positivistic (poz'i-ti-yis'tik), a. K Positivist + 
-if.] Of or pertaining to the Positivists or 
Positivism, 
positivity (poz-i-th-'i-ti), H. [= F. positivite; 
as positive -r -it<j.~\ Positiveness in any sense. 
There Is a time, as Solomon . . . teaches us, when a 
fool should be answered according to his folly, lest he be 
wise in his own conceit, and lest others too easily yield 
up their faith and reason to his Imperious dictates. Con- 
rage and positivity are never more necessary than on such 
an occasion. Watts, Improvement of Mind, L 9. 
The property which renders a structure capable of un- 
dergoing excitatory change Is expressed by relative posi. 
Until, the condition of discharge by relative negativity. 
Nature, XXXVIII. 141. 
positort (poz'i-tor), n. [< L. positor, one who 
lays, a builder, founder, < ponere, pp.oitw, 
put, lay: see posit.'] A depositor. Hakluyt's 
Voyages, II. 249. 
posituret (poz'i-tur), n. [< OF. positure = Sp. 
Pg. It. positura, < L. positura, position, posture, 
< ponere, pp. positu.", put, place: see posit, and 
cf. posture .] Posture. 
First he prayed, and then sung certain Psalmes, . . . 
resembling the Turks in the positure of their bodies and 
often prostrations. Sandys, Travailes, p. 96. 
posnet (pos'net), n. [Early mod. E. also post- 
net, posenet ; < ME. posnett, posnettf, postnet, < 
OF. pocenet, a little basin. The W. posited, a 
porringer, a round body, is appar. from E.] A 
small basin or porringer; also, a small vessel 
of fanciful form. 
The cunning man blddeth set on posnet, or some pan 
with nayles. and seeth them, and the witch shal come In 
while they he in seething, and within a fewe dales after 
her face will be nil bescratched with the nayles. 
Gi/ord, Dialogue on Witches (1603). (Hallimll.) 
Then skellets, pans, and posnets put on, 
To make them porridge without mutton. 
Cotton U'urla (1734), p. 17. (Halliicell.) 
A silver posnet to butter eggs. Steele, Tatler, No. 245. 
posologic (pos-o-loj'ik), a. [= F. posologique; 
< posoTog-y + -if.] Of or pertaining to posology. 
posological (pos-o-loj'i-kal), a. [< posologic '+ 
-?.] Same M posologic. 
posology (po-sol'o-ji), n. [= F. posologie ; < Gr. 
-oo-of, now much, + -/.ojm, < /.t-jttv, speak: see 
The doctrine of quantity, (o) A name 
suggested by Bentham for the science of quantity, (fr) 
That part of medical science which is concerned with the 
doses or quantities in which medicines ought to be ad- 
ministered. 
poss, v. All obsolete or dialectal form otpusJi. 
posse (pos'e), n. [< ML. posse, power, a noun 
use of the L. inf. posse, be able: see potent and 
poircr.] 1. Possibility. A thing is said to be in 
pnsse when It may possibly be (In familiar language, often 
a softened denial of existence; In philosophical language, 
ready to be, in germ); in esse, when it actually is. 
Those are but glorious dreams, and only yield him 
A happiness in posse, not in esse. 
Fletcher (and another), Elder Brother, 1. 1. 
2. A sheriffs posse comitatus (see below) ; in 
general, a body or squad of men. 
It was high noon, and the posse had been In saddle since 
dawn. 
Jf . X. Murfree, Prophet of Great Smoky Mountains, p. 20. 
Posse comitatus, the power of the county; In In if, the 
body of men which the sheriff Is empowered to call into 
service to aid and support him in the execution of the law, 
as In case of rescue, riot, forcible entry and occupation, 
etc. It Includes all male persons above the age of fifteen. 
In Great Britain peers and clergymen are excluded by stat- 
ute. The word i-innit/itujt Is often omitted, and posse alone 
Is used In the same sense (see def. 2). 
possedet, r. t. [< OF. posseder, possess: see pos- 
sess."} To possess. 
None other persone may . . . pnssede It or clayme it. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, ill. 3. 
possess (po-zes')i * [< ME. possessen, < OF. 
possesser, possess, < L. possessor, pp. of possi- 
acrc (> It. possedere, possidere = Sp. poseer = 
Pg. possuir = Pr. ponsrdir, possider = F. posse- 
der), have and hold, be master of, possess, per- 
haps orig. 'remain near,' < no-, "post-, akin to 
pro-, before, + xedere, sit, dwell : see sit. Cf. 
obsess, assrxxiir. xir-t/i; (<.] 1. To own; have 
as a belonging, property, characteristic, or at- 
tribute. 
possess 
So shall you share all that he doth possess, 
By having him. Hhalr. , R. and J., 1. 3. 93. 
These possess wealth as sick men possess fevers, 
Which trailer may be said to possess them. 
a. Jonson, Volpone, v. 8. 
St. Peter's can not have the magical power over us that 
the red and gold covers of our first picture-book possessed. 
Emerson, Domestic lib. 
2. To seize; take possession of; make one's 
self master of. 
Let us go up at once and possess It ; for we are well able 
to overcome it Num. xlll. 80. 
Remember 
First topossea his books. 
Shalt., Tempest, III. 2. 100. 
The English marched toward the river Eske, Intending 
to possess a hill called Vnder-Etke. Sir J. Uayicarii. 
3. To put in possession; make master or 
owner, whether by force or legally: with of be- 
fore the thing, and now generally used in the 
passive or reflexively : as, to possess one's self 
of another's secret; to be or stand possessed of 
a certain manor. 
Slthe god bathe chose the to be his knygt, 
And posseside the In thl right, 
Tin mi- him honour with al thl myght 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Fumlvall), p. 4. 
The plate, coin, revenues, and moveables, 
Whereo/ our uncle (Jaunt did stand possess'd. 
Shot., Bic II., II. 1. 162. 
We here possess 
Thy son of all thy state. 
B. Jonson, Volpone, v. 8. 
Five hundred pound a yeare 's bequeath'd to you, 
Of which I here possesse you : all Is yours. 
Ueyvood, Fair Maid of the West (Works, 
I ed. Pearson, 1.-74, II. 305). 
Our debates possessed me so fully of the subject that I 
wrote and printed an anonymous pamphlet on It 
f'nniMiii, Autobiography, p. 118. 
4. To have and hold ; occupy in person ; hence, 
to inhabit. 
Houses and fields and vineyards shall Repossessed again 
In this land. Jer. xxxiL 15. 
They report a falre Rluer and at least 30. habitations 
doth possesse this Country. 
Capt. John Smith, Works, II. 194. 
5. To occupy; keep; maintain; entertain: most- 
ly with a reflexive reference. 
In your patience possess ye lye shall win, revised version] 
your souls. Luke xxl. 19. 
Then we (anglers) sit on cowslip-banks, hear the birds 
sing, and possess ourselves in as much quietness as these 
silent silver streams, which we now see glide so quietly 
by us. /. Wtilinii, Complete Angler, p. 10*. 
It is necessary to an easy and happy life to possess our 
minds in such a manner as to be always well satisfied with 
our own reflections. Steele, Tatler, No. 251. 
6. To imbue; impress: with icith before the 
thing. 
It Is of unspeakable advantage to possess our minds irith 
an habitual good Intention. Addison. 
Hence ... it Is laid down by Holt that to possess the 
people in'th an ill opinion of the government that Is, of 
the ministry Is a llbeL Uallam. 
7. To take possession of ; fascinate; enthrall; 
affect or influence so intensely or thoroughly 
as to dominate or overpower: with leith before 
the thing that nils or dominates. 
A poets brayne, possest with layes of loue. 
Oasciiiync, Steele Glas (ed. Arber), p. 56. 
Sin of self-love possesseth all mine eye 
And all my soul and all my every part 
Shal., Sonnets, 1x11. 
I have been touched, yea, and possessed with an extreme 
wonder at those your virtues. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, 1. 2. 
This [fancy] to possessed \ilmM\A so shook his mind that 
he dared not stand at the door longer, but fled for fear the 
tower should come down upon him. 
Sovthey, Bunyan, p. 16. 
8. To have complete power or mastery over; 
dominate ; control, as an evil spirit, influence, 
or passion: generally in the passive, with by, 
of, or tri/A. 
They also which saw It told them by what means he that 
was possessed of the devils was healed. Luke mi 36. 
I'nless you be possess'd trith devilish spirits, 
You cannot but forbear to murder me. 
Shot., 2 Hen. VI., Iv. 7. 80. 
One of those fanatic infidels possessed by the devil who 
are sometimes permitted to predict the truth to their fol- 
lower*. Irving, Granada, p. 28. 
Of. To put in possession of information; in- 
form; tell; acquaint; persuade; convince. 
Possess us, possess at ; tell us something of him. 
SAo*.,T. N., U. 8. 149. 
The merchants are possess'd 
You've been a pirate. 
Miilillrt.in, Anything for a Quiet Life, L 1. 
I see It don with some artifice and lalxmr, to possess the 
people that they might amend thlr present condition by 
nli or by his Sons restorement. 
MOIon. Elkonoklasten, xxvii 
