gg8 CAT 
whole body of citizens ; and, after replenifliing the town 
with a new dock of inhabitants, gave it the name of Etna : 
immediately after his deceafe, it regained its ancient name, 
and its citizens returned to their abodes. Catanea fell in¬ 
to the hands of the Romans among their earlieft acquifi- 
tions in Sicily, and became the relidence of a praetor. It 
was then adorned with fumptuous buildings of all kinds, 
and every convenience was procured to fupply the natural 
and artificial wants of life. It was deftroyed by Pompey’s 
fon, but reitored with funerior magnificence by Augultus. 
The reign of Decius is famous in the hiftory of this city, 
for the martyrdom of its patronefs St. Agatha. In 1693, 
the town was entirely deftroyed by an earthquake, fo that 
hardly one ftone was left upon another. It began on the 
9th of January, and on the nth the earth opened in feve- 
ral places. Almoft in a moment 11,000 perfons, who had 
fled to the cathedral for (heifer, perifhed by the fall of the 
church j the canon, with the minilters of the altar, and 
about 100 perfons, were all that efcaped. The country 
round Catania is exceedingly fertile, which was the occa- 
lion of its being rebuilt. It is the fee of a bifhop, fuffra- 
gan of Montreal, and an univerfity. Catanea was formerly 
one of the richeft cities in Italy; it now contains 30,000 
inhabitants. The revenues of the bilhop are very confi- 
derable; be is faid to receive near 2000I. fterling per an¬ 
num from the file of fnow collected on Mount Etna. 
Here is a magnificent convent of Benedictines, who have 
an income of near 15,000!. a-year; the mufeum is full of 
antiquities. Through the care and at the expence of the 
prince of Bil’caris, many monuments of ancient fplendour 
and magnificence were recovered, by digging down to the 
ancient town, which, on account of the numerous torrents 
of lava that have flowed out of Mount Etna for the laft 
thouland years, is now to be fought for in dark ca¬ 
verns many feet below the prefent furface of the earth 
Mr. Swinburne informs us, that he defeended into baths, 
fepulchres, an amphitheatre, and a theatre, all very much 
injured by the various cataftrophes that have befallen them. 
They were ereCled upon old beds of lava, and even built 
with fquare pieces of the fame fubftance, which in no in- 
ltance appears to have been fufed by the contaCt of new 
lavas : the feiarra, or (tones of cold lava, have conftantly 
proved as ltrong a barrier againft the flowing torrent of 
fire as any other ftone could have been, though fome au¬ 
thors were of opinion that the hot matter would melt the 
whole rnafs and incorporate with it. This city has been fre¬ 
quently defended from the burning (treams by the folid 
mafs of its own ramparts, and by the air comprefled be¬ 
tween them and the lava ; as appears by the torrent having 
ftopt within a fmall diftance of the walls, and taken another 
direction; but, when the walls were broken or low, the 
lava collected itfelf till it rofe to a great height, and then 
poured over in a curve. A finiilar inftance is feen at the 
Torre del Greco near Naples, where the ftream of liquid 
fire from Vefuvius divided itfelf into two branches, and 
left a church untouched in the middle. There is a well 
at the foot of the old walls of Catania, where the lava, 
after running along the parapet, and then falling forwards, 
lias produced a very complete lofty arch over the fpring. 
The prefent church is a noble fabric; and accounted the 
Sargeft in Sicily, though neither a porch nor cupola has 
been ereCled, from a doubt of the folidity of its founda¬ 
tion, which is no other than the bed of lava that ran 
out of Etna in 1C69, and is fuppofed to be full of cavities. 
Catanea, according to Mr. Swinburne’s account, has 
more the features of a metropolis and royal refidence 
than Palermo; the principal ftreets are wide, ftraight, and 
well paved with lava. An obelilk of red granite, placed 
on the back of an antique elephant of touchftone, (lands 
in the centre of the great fquare, which is formed by the 
town-hall, the feminary, and cathedral. There is a great 
deal of activity in the difpofition of this people : they 
know by tradition that their anceftors carried on a flou- 
rithing commerce; and that, before the fiery river filled 
it up, they bad a (pacious harbour, where they now. have 
CAT 
only a creek for a felucca: they therefore wi(h to reftore 
thole advantages to Catanea, and have often applied to 
the government for afliftance towards forming a mole and 
port, an undertaking their ftrength alone is unequal to 
accomplifti. In the Eenige Btrichtm , publilhed at the 
Hague in 1794, we are told, that the nobility and gentry 
of Catanea difplay a refined tafte and improved minds, 
are fenfible and agreeable in converfation, and feem ani¬ 
mated with a defire of improving the welfare of their city 
and country. In no place are ltrangers better received, 
nor treated in a more polite and friendly manner. This- 
city lias the privilege of being governed by its own ma- 
giftrates, and has no garrifon. Among its public infti- 
tutions is one which educates forty boys, and teaches them 
various handicraft profeflions. Moll of the trading inha¬ 
bitants fubiifted heretofore by (ilk manufactures; but, by 
the heavy duties attending the exportation of thefe arti¬ 
cles, and by the introduction of cloths and cottons, after 
the falhion of the Englifn, though highly unfuitable to 
the climate, not lefs than 15,000 perfons have been de¬ 
prived of their ufual means of lupport. This is laid to 
have been reprefented to the court of Naples; but tho 
government has not been able to take any Heps for the re¬ 
moval of the evil. Forty-feven miles fouth-fouth-w-eft of 
Medina, and eighty-five eall-fouth-eaft of Palermo. Lat. 
37. 32. N. Ion. 32. 52. E. Ferro. 
CATANHE'DE, a town of Portugal, in the province 
of Beira. 
CATANZA'RO, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of 
Naples, and province of Calabria Ultra, the feat of a go¬ 
vernor and a tribunal of juftice, the fee of a bilhop, luf- 
fragan of Reggio. Here are manufactures of illk, velvet, 
and cotton. Nine miles north-eaft of Squillace. Lat. 
38. 59. N. Ion. 34. 40. E. Ferro. 
CATA'O, a town of Afia, in Thibet: fifteen miles 
well-fouth-weft of Zolotou. 
CATAPAS'MA, or Catapastum, f. [from vjuaaU}. 
to l’prinkle.] The ancient Greek phyftcians meant by this, 
any dry medicine reduced to powder, to be (prinkled on 
the body. Catapafms are of various kinds, according to 
the intention of the phylician. Powders put in the drink 
were called diapafma ; though Pliny lays, that luch pow¬ 
ders as were valued for their grateful fmell were called 
diapafms. Oribalius Ihows from Antyllus, that empafrr.ata 
were ufed in order to reltrain fiveat, or any other evacua¬ 
tion by the pores ; or for exciting an itching. Catapafms 
were fprinkled on ulcers, but diapafms were prepared for 
the fake of their feent, and were applied to the arm-pits, 
and the inlide of the thighs, to remove their lcent. CceL 
Aurel. in Morb. Acut. lib. ii. cap. xxxviii. fays, that- 
fympafmata were luch powders, as, being endowed with 
an acrid quality, were fprinkled on the body to procure heat. 
CATAPEL'TA,/. among the ancients, an inftrument 
of punilhment. It confided in a kind of prels, compoied 
of planks, between which the criminal was crulhed. 
CATAPEL'TES, f. [from y.cD.a, againft, and Tn^rvi, a? 
fliield, Gr.] This word means a fling, a grenado, or bat¬ 
tery; and is alfo ufed to fignify the medicine which heals- 
the wounds and bruiles made by luch an inftrument. 
CATAPHO'NICS, f. The fcience which confiders the 
properties of reflected founds. See Acoustics. 
CATAPH'ORA, /. [Irom xala(p£gio, Gr. to make 
ileepy.] A caros, or preternatural propenfity to deep. 
CATAPHRAC'TA, f. [from xalat, and ty/zccu, to 
fortify, or arm.] In the ancient military art, a luit of de~ 
fenfive armour, formed of cloth or leather, fortified witli 
iron fcales or links, wherewith, fometimes only the bread,, 
fometimes the whole body, and fometimes the horfe too, 
was covered. It was in ule among the Samaritans, Per- 
fians. See. The Romans adopted it for their foot; and, 
according to Vegetius,. ufed it till the time of Gratian, 
when the military difeipline growing remifs, and field ex- 
ercifes and labour difeontinued, the Roman foot thought 
the cataphraCla as well as the helmet too great a load to 
bear, and therefore, threw both afide, choofing rather to 
