ACC 
condition, but took their meals fitting, as a poflure lefs 
indulgent. The Roman manner of difpofing themfelves 
at table was this: A low round table was placed in the cce- 
naculum, or dining-room ; and, about this, ufually three, 
fometimes only two, beds or couches; according to the 
number of which, it was called biclinium or triclinium. 
Thefe were covered with a fort of bed-clothes, richer or 
plainer according to the quality of the perfon, and fur- 
niHied with quilts and pillows, that the guefts might lie the 
more commodioufly. There were ufually three perfons 
on each bed; to crowd more, was efteemed fordid. In 
eating, they laydown on their left fides, with their heads 
refling on the pillows, or rather on their elbows. The 
firft lay at the head of the bed, with his feet extended be¬ 
hind the back of the fecond ; the fecond lay with the back 
of his head towards the navel of the firft, only feparated 
by a pillow, his feet behind the back of the third; and 
ho of the third, or fourth. The middle place was efteem¬ 
ed the moft honourable. Before they came to table, they 
changed their clothes, putting on what they called cocna- 
torii vejlis , the dining-garment; and pulled oft their flioes, 
to prevent fouling the couch. 
ACCUBITOR,/. an ancient officer of the emperors of 
Conflantinople, whofe bufinefs was to lie near the empe¬ 
ror. He was the head of the youth of the bed-chamber, 
and had the cubicularis and procubitor under him. 
To ACCUMB, v. a. [accumbo , Lat.] To lie at table ac¬ 
cording to the ancient manner. 
AC CUM BENT, adj. [ accumbens , Lat.] Leaning.—The 
Roman recumbent, or, more properly, accumbent, pofture 
in eating, was introduced after the firft Punic war. Ar- 
buthnot . 
To ACCUMULATE, v. a. [from accumulo, Lat.] To 
heap one tiling upon another; to pile up, to heap toge¬ 
ther. It is ufed either literally, as, to accumulate money; 
or' figuratively, as, to accumulate merit or wickednefs : 
If thou doft flander her, and torture me, 
Never pray more; abandon all remorfe; 
On horror’s head horrors accumulate ; 
For nothing canft thou to damnation add. Shakefpcare. 
ACCUMULATION, f. The aft of accumulating. 
The ftate of being accumulated. 
Accumulation of Degrees, in an univerfity, is the 
taking feveral of them together, or at fmaller intervals than 
ufual or than is allowed by the rules of the univerfity. 
ACCUMULATIVE, adj. That which accumulates. 
That which is accumulated. 
ACCUMULATOR, J. He that accumulates; a ga¬ 
therer or heaper together.—Injuries may fall upon the 
paftive man, yet, without revenge, there would be no 
broils and quarrels, the great accumulators and multipliers 
of injuries. 
ACCURACY ,f [ accuratio , Lat.] ExaCtnefs, nicety.—■ 
Qjricknefs of imagination .is feen in the invention, fertility 
in the fancy, and the accuracy in the expreffion. Dry den. 
ACCURATE, adj. \_accuratus , Lat.] ExatSl, as oppofed 
to negligence or ignorance, applied to perfons. ExaCt, 
without defect or failure, applied to things. Determinate; 
precifely fixed. 
ACCURATELY, adv. In an accurate manner; exact- 
y, without error, nicely.—That all thefe diftances, mo- 
ions, and quantities of matter, fhould be fo accurately and 
harmonioufLy adjufted in this great variety of our fyttem, 
is above the fortuitous hits of blind material caufes, and 
mu ft certainly flow from that eternal fountain of wifdom. 
Bentley. 
ACCURATENESS, f. Exaftnefs, nicety. 
To ACCURSE, v. a. To doom to mifery; to invoke 
mifery upon any one. 
ACCURSED, part. adj. That which is curfed or doom¬ 
ed to mifery. That which deferves the curfe ; execrable; 
hateful; deteftable; and, by confequence, wicked; ma¬ 
lignant.—In the Jewifh idiom, accurfcd and crucified were 
fynonymous. Among them every one was accounted ac- 
Vol. 1. No. 4. 
ACC Cl 
curfed who died on a tree. This ferves to explain the dif¬ 
ficult palfage in Rom. ix. 3. where the apoftle Paul wifhes 
himfelf “ accurfed after the manner of Chrift,” i.e. cru¬ 
cified, if happily lie might by fuch a death lave his coun¬ 
trymen. The prepofition wo here made ufe of, is ufed in 
the fame fenfe, 2 Tim. i. 3. where it obvioufly fignifies 
“ after the manner of.” 
ACCURSIUS, a law-profefTor in the 13th century, 
born in Florence. His authority was for fome time fo 
great, that he was called the Idol of the Lawyers.—Other 
three lawyers of note had the fame name. 
Accursius (Mariangelus), a famous critic of thei6th 
century, born at Aquilo in the kingdom of Naples. His 
Diatrebes, printed at Rome in folio, in 1524, on Ovid and 
Solinus, are a proof of his abilities in that kind of eru¬ 
dition. In his edition of Ammianus Marcellinus there 
are five books more than in any of the preceding ones; and 
he affirms he had corrected 5000 errors in that hiftorian. 
His predominant paftion was the fearching for and colleft- 
ing of old manuferipts: yet he made Latin and Italian 
verfes; was complete mailer of the French, German, and 
Spanifh, tongues; and underftood optics and mufic. He 
purged himfelf by oath, being charged for being a pla¬ 
giary with regard to his Aufonius; it being reported, that 
he had appropriated to himfelf the labours of Fabricio 
Varana, bifhop of Camerino. 
ACCUSABLE, adj. That which may be cenfured; 
blameable; culpable. 
ACCUSATION,A The a£t of accufing. The charge 
brought againfl any one by the accufer. In the fenfe of 
the courts it is a declaration of fome crime preferred be¬ 
fore a competent judge, in order to infliCt fome judgment 
on the guilty perfon.—Writers on politics treat of the be¬ 
nefit and the inconveniences of public accufations. Vari¬ 
ous arguments are alleged, both for the encouragement 
and difeouragement of accufations againfl great men. No¬ 
thing, according to Machiavel, tends more to the prefer- 
vation of a ftate, than frequent accufations of perfons 
trufled with the adminiflration of public affairs. This, 
accordingly, was very ftridtly obferved by the Romans, 
in the inftances of Camillus, accufed of corruption by 
Manlius Capitolinus, &c. Accufations, however, in the 
judgment of the fame author, are not more beneficial than 
calumnies are pernicious; which is alfo confirmed by the 
practice of the Romans. Manlius, not being able to make 
good his charge againfl Camillus, was call into prifon. 
By the Roman law, there was no public accufer for 
public crimes; every private perfon, whether interefled 
in the crime or not, might accufe, and profecute the ac¬ 
cufed to punilhment, or abfolution. Cato, the moft inno¬ 
cent perfon of his age, had been accufed forty-two times, 
and as often abfolved. But the accufation of private crimes 
was never received but from the mouths of thofe who were 
immediately interefled in them. None, for example, but 
the hufband could accufe the wife of adultery. 
The ancient Roman lawyers diftinguifhed between pojlu- 
latio , dclatio , and accufatio. For, firft, leave was defired to 
bring a charge againfl one, which was called pojlulare: 
then he againfl whom the charge was laid, was brought be¬ 
fore the judge ; which was called deferre, or nominis dcla¬ 
tio: lriftly, the charge was drawn up and prefented, which 
was properly the accufatio. The accufation properly com¬ 
menced, according to Paedianus, when the reus or party 
charged, being interrogated, denied he was guilty of the 
crime, and fubferibed his name to the dclatio made by his 
opponent. 
In Britain, by Magna Charta, no man fhall be impri- 
foned or condemned on any accufation, without trial by 
his peers, or the law; none fhall be vexed with any accu- 
1'ation, but according to the law of the land; and no man 
may be molelled by petition to the king, &C. unlefs it bo 
by indictment or prefentment of lawful men, or by pro- 
cefs at common law. Promoters of fuggeftions, are to 
find furety to purfue them; and, if they do not make them 
good, fhall pay damages to the party accufed, and alfo a 
R fine 
