SEX 
«rs .have likewise authority to nvake iii- 
<]iiiry of all nuisances or offences committed 
by the stopping of rivers, erecting mills, not 
repairing banks, bridges, &c. and to tax 
persons chargeable for the amending of de- 
faults that tend to the obstruction or hin- 
drance of the free passage of the water 
through its ancient courses. They may not 
only make a rate and assessment tor repairs, 
but also may decree lands to be "sold, in 
order to levy charges assessed upon non- 
payment thereof, &c. But the decrees of 
the commissioners are to be certified in 
Chancery, and have the King's assent to be 
binding, and their proceedings are subject 
to the jurisdiction of the King’s Bench. In 
the making of a rate or tax, the commis- 
sioners are to assess every owner or posses- 
sor of lands in danger 'of receiving any da- 
mage by the waters, equally according to 
the quality of their lands, rents, and num- 
bers of acres, and their respective portions 
and profits, whether it be of pasture, fish- 
ing, &c. And where no persons or lands 
can be known that are liable to make re- 
pairs of banks and servers, then the com- 
missioners are to rate the whole level. The 
3 James I. ordains that all ditches, banks, 
bridges, and water-houses, within two miles 
of London, adjoining to, and falling into the 
Thames, shall be subject to the commis- 
sioners of sewers. Also the Lord Mayor, 
&c. may appoint persons in tliat case to have 
the power of commissioners of sewers. Per- 
sons breaking down sea-banks, whereby 
lands are damaged, are adjudged to be 
guilty of felony ; and removing piles, &c. 
forfeit 201. by 6 and 10 George II. c. 32. 
SEX, something in the body which dis- 
tinguishes male from female. 
SEXAGENARY, something relating to 
the number sixty. Thus, se.xagendry, or 
sexagesimal arithmetic, is a method of com- 
putation proceeding by sixties ; such is that 
used in the division of a degree into sixty 
minutes, of the minute into sixty seconds, , 
of the second into sixty thirds, &c. ' Also 
sexagenary tables are tables of proportional 
parts, showing the product of two sexage- 
naries that are to be multiplied, or the quo- 
tient of the two that are to be divided. 
SEXAGESIMALS, or Sexagesimai, 
fractions, fractions whose denominators pro- 
ceed in a sexagecuple ratio ; that is, a 
prime, or the first minute = ^ ; a second 
“ Tboo * ^ tliird — 2r5oto • 
Anciently there were no other than 
sexagesimals used in astronomy, and they 
are still retained in many cases, though deci- 
SEX 
mal arithmetic has now grown into use 
in astronomical calculations. In these 
fractions, which some call astronomical frac- 
tions, the denominator being always sixty, 
or a multiple thereof, is usually omitted, 
and the numerator only written down, 
thus, 4", 59', 32", 50"', 16"", is to be read 
four degrees, fifty-nine minutes, thirty-two 
seconds, fifty thirds, sixteen fourths, &c. 
SEXANGLE,in geometry, a figure hav- 
ing six sides, and consequently six angles. 
SEXTANS, a sixth part of certain things. 
Tlie Romans liaving divided their as into 
twelve ounces, or mica, the sixth part of 
that, or two ounces, was the sextans. Sex- 
tans was also a measure which contained 
two ounces of liquor, or two cyathi. 
SEXTANT, in mathematics, denotes the 
sixth part of a circle, or an arch compre- 
hending sixty degrees. The word sextant 
is more particularly used for an astronomi- 
cal instrument made like a quadrant, ex- 
cepting that its limb only comprehends 
sixty degrees. The use and application of 
the sextant is the same with that of the 
quadrant. See Quadrant. 
SEXTILE, the position or aspect of two 
planets when at sixty degrees distance, or 
at the distance of two signs from one an- 
other. It is marked thus ( * ). 
SEXTON, a church officer, whose busi- 
ness is to take care of the vessels, vestments, 
&c. belonging to the church, and to attend 
the minister, churchwardens, &c. at church. 
He is usually chosen by the parson only. 
The office of sexton, in the Pope’s chapel, 
is appropriated to tlje order of the hermits 
of St. Augustine. He is generally a bishop, 
though sometimes the Pope only gives a 
bishopric in particular to him on whom he 
confers the post: he takes the title of 
prefect of the Pope’s sacristy, and has the 
keeping of the vessels of gold and silver, 
the relics, &c. When the pope says mass, 
the sexton always tastes the bread and wine 
first. If it be in private he says mass, his 
Holiness of two wafers gives him one to 
eat ; and if in public, the cardinal who 
assists the Pope in quality of deacon, of 
three wafers gives him one to eat. When 
the Pope is very sick, he administers to him 
the sacrament of extreme unction, &c. 
and enters the conclave in quality of first 
conclavist. 
SEXUAL system, in botany, that system 
of classification which was invented by the 
immortal Linnaeus, professor of physic and 
botany, at Upsal, in Sweden. It is founded 
on the parts of fructification, m. the sta- 
