«■«» I ♦»» «■; \ 
MAG 
liis coiintrymen, and indeed on the greater 
jjart of the civilized world, a pretended 
mode of curing all kinds of disease by 
means of a sympathetic affection between 
the sick person and the. operator. The 
remedy was supposed to depend upon the 
motions of the fingers, and the features of 
the latter ; he placing himself immediately 
before the invalid, whose eyes were to be 
fixed on his, and performing a number ot 
antic and unmeaning changes, accompanied 
by various grimaces, or inflections of the 
principal muscles of the visage. This rarely 
failed to excite a certain ilegrce of appre- 
hension in the mind of the sick ; which, by 
creating a new action of the system, often 
frightened them into convalescence. That 
•such effects may have been produced among 
the credulous and timid, we shall not con- 
trovert ; but, on the other hand, it is assert- 
ed that numbers have been so far overcome 
with terror and fatigue, (for, tike Dr. San- 
grado, the operator was never satisfied 
while any strength to undergo the process 
remained) that consequences highly danger- 
ous, and in some instances fatal, were in- 
duced. Notwitlistanding the obvious folly 
of the pursuit, there were found many gen- 
tlemen of great respectability and talents 
among its followers ; hence a certain degree 
of credit was established, and there were 
not wanting persons foolish enough to cer- 
tify many cases, and to give a celebrity 
which was in a very short time found to be 
ihisapplied. It is a lamentable case, that, 
throughout the world, impositions of this 
nature are always tolerated long enough to 
answer the purposes of the fabi’icator, and 
to encourage others in similar deceptions. 
Our readers may recollect many instances 
of notorious character, among which the 
metallic tractors, which were at one time 
asserted to be allied to metallic-magnetism, 
m^y, perhaps, serve as a proper illustration 
and proof. 
MAGNIFYING, in philosophy, the mak- 
ing of objects appear larger than they would 
Otherwise do ; whence convex lenses, which 
have the power of doing this, are called 
magnifying glasses ; and of such glasses are 
microscopes constructed. 
MAGNITUDE, whatever is made up of 
parts locally extended, or that hath several 
dimensions; as a line, surface, solid. The 
apparent magnitude of a body is that mea- 
sured by the visual angle, formed by rays 
drawn from its extremes to the centre of 
the eye ; so that whatever things are seen 
MAG 
under the same or equal angles, appear 
equal; and, vice versa. Mr. Maclaurin 
observes, that geometrical magnitudes' may 
be usefully considered as generated or pro- 
duced by motion. Thus, lines may be con- 
ceived as generated by the motion of points; 
surfaces, by the motion of lines ; solids, by 
the motion of surfaces ; tingles may be sup- 
posed to be generated by the rotation of 
their sides. Geometrical magnitude is al- 
ways understood to consist of parts ; and to 
have no parts, or to have no magnitude, are 
considered as equivalent in this science. 
There is, however, no necessity for consi- 
dering magnitude as made up of an infinite 
number of small parts ; it is sufficient that 
no quantity can be supposed to be so small, 
but it may be conceived to be farther di- 
minished : and it is obvious, that we are 
not to estimate the number of parts that 
may be conceived in a given magnitude, by 
those which, in particular determinate cir- 
cumstances, may be actually perceived in it 
by sense, since agreater number of parts be- 
come sensible, by varying the circumstances 
in which it is perceived. 
MAGNOLIA, in botany, so named in 
honour of Pierre Magnol, professor of me- 
dicine, and prefect of the botanic garden at 
Montpelier, a genus of the Polyandria Po- 
lygynia class and order. Natural order of 
Coadunatae. Magnolias, Jussieu. Essen- 
tial character; calyx three-leaved ; petals 
nine: capsule one-celled) two-valved; seeds 
berried, pendulous. There are seven spe- 
cies ; of which M. grandiflora, great laurel- 
leaved magnolia, or tulip tree, in the south- 
ern provinces of North America, grows to 
the height of eighty feet : the trunk is more 
than tw'o feet in diameter ; the leaves are 
nine or ten inches long, and three broad in 
the middle, of a thick consistence, resemb- 
ling those of the common laurel,' but much 
larger ; of a lucid green, sessile, and placed 
without order on every side of the branches ; 
continuing green all the year, falling off 
only as the branches extend, and the new 
leaves are produced. The flowers come 
out at the ends of the branches: they are 
large, and composed of eight or ten petals, 
which are narrow at the base, broad, round- 
ed, and a little waved at their extremities ; 
they are of a pure white colour, possessing 
an agreeable scent. 'J'he summers in Eng- 
land are not warm enough to bring the fruit 
to perfection. This fine tree is a native of 
Florida and Carolina, and, in common with 
many of the trees and plants of that conn- 
