A D U 
who committed adultery (hould be baniftted, and that the 
woman thould have her nofe and ears cut off. In the time 
of Henry I. it was punilhed with the lofs of eyes and ge¬ 
nitals. 
In England adultery is a crime left by our laws to the 
coercion of the fpiritual courts ; yet, confideredas a civil 
injury, the law gives a fatisfaftion to the hufband for it 
by action of trefpafs.w et amzlsagainft the adulterer, where¬ 
in the damages recovered are ul'ually very large and ex¬ 
emplary. 3 Blackjl. 139. 
As to the moral turpitude of this offence, forne have 
vainly endeavoured to deny or explain it away by various 
arguments, and even by an appeal to fcripture. On the 
part of the man who folicits the chaftity of a married wo¬ 
man, it certainly includes the crime of seduction, and 
is attended with mifchief ftill more complicated and exten- 
five: it creates a new fufferer, the injured hufband, upon 
whofe (implicity and affection is inflicted a wound the molt 
painful and incurable that human nature knows. The 
infidelity of the woman is aggravated by cruelty to her 
children, who are generally involved in their parents’ 
fhame, and always made unhappy by their quarrel. 
It has been argued, that thefe confequences ought lefs 
t<5 be attributed to the crime than to the difcovery. But 
in the firll place, the crime could not be difcovered un- 
lefs it were committed, and the commiflion is never fecure 
from difcovery. 2dly, If adulterous connections were 
allowable whenever the parties could hope to efcape de¬ 
tection, which is the conclufion to which this argument 
leads, the hufband would be left no other fecurity for his 
wife’s chaftity than in her want of opportunity or temp¬ 
tation : which would probably deter moft men from marry¬ 
ing ; or render marriage a ftate of continual jealoufy and 
alarm to the hufband, which would end in the flavery and 
confinement of the wife. 
The marriage-vow is “witneffed before God,” and ac¬ 
companied with circumftances of folemnity and religion 
which approach to the nature of an oath. The married 
offender, therefore, incurs a crime little fliort of perjury, 
and the fedu&ion of a married woman is little lefs than 
fubornation of perjury:—and this guilt is independent 
of the difcovery. 
But the ufual apology for adultery is the prior tranf- 
grefiion of the other party ; and fo far, indeed, as the bad 
elfeCts of adultery are anticipated by the conduCt of the 
hufband or wife who offends firfl, the guilt of the fecond 
offender is extenuated. But this can never amount to a 
jollification ; unlefs it could be fliewn that the obligation 
of the marriage-vow depends upon the condition of reci¬ 
procal fidelity; a conftruCtion which appears founded 
neither in expediency, nor in the terms of the vow, nor in 
the defign of the legiflature which prefcribed the mar¬ 
riage-rite. 
It has been controverted, whether adultery may be law¬ 
fully committed in war, with the enemies’ wives ? The 
anfwer is in the negative, and the authorifed praCtice of 
civilized nations is agreeable to this. It has alfo been a 
famous queflion, whether it be lawful for a woman to com¬ 
mit adultery with the confent of her hufband, and for the 
procuring fome great good to him ? St. Auftin apparent¬ 
ly allows of it; at leafl, does not condemn it. 
It has likewife been a difpute, whether it be lawful for 
one of the parties married to commit adultery, with the 
confent of the other, for the fake of having children ? Of 
which we have inftances in Abraham, who, on this ac¬ 
count, converfed with Hagar; and likewife among the 
Greeks and Romans. Pollman, a German profelfor, has 
a differtation on the hufband’s right to alienate his wife’s 
body to another’s ufe. 
It is much difputed, whether adultery diffolves the bond 
of matrimony, and be a fufhcient caufeof divorce, fo that 
the parties may marry again. This was allowed in the 
ancient church, and is ftill continued in the Greek as well 
x the Lutheran and Calvinift churches. Romanifls, how¬ 
ever, difallow of it, and the council of Trent even ana- 
A D V i 3 z 
thematizeifthofe who maintained it; though the canon of 
anathematization was mitigated in deference to the re¬ 
public of Venice, in fome of whofe dominions, as Zant, 
Ce'phalonia, &c. the contrary ufage obtains. Theeccle- 
fialtical courts in England fo far agree with the Papifts, 
that they only grant a divorce a menfa tt thoro , in cafe 
of adultery j fo that a complete divorce, to enable the 
parties to marry again, cannot be had without an act of 
parliament. 
Adultery is alfo ufed in ancient cuftoms, for the 
punillunent or fine impofed for that offence, or the privi¬ 
lege of profecuting for it. In which fenfe, adulterium 
amounts to the fame with what the Saxons call legerwita. 
Adultery is fometimes ufed, in a more extenfive 
fenfe, for any fpecies of impurity or crime againft the 
virtue of chaftity ; and in this fenfe divines underftand the 
feventh commandment. 
Adultery is alfo ufed, efpecially in fcripture, for 
idolatry, or departing from the true God to the worlhip 
of a falfe one. 
Adultery is alfo ufed, in eccelefiaftical writers, for a 
perfon’s invading or intruding into abifliopric during the 
former bifhop’s life. The reafon of the appellation is, 
that a bifhop is fuppofed to contract a kind of Ipiritual 
marriage with his church. 
Adultery is alfo ufed in ancient naturalifts, for the 
aft of ingrafting one plant upon another. In which fenfe 
Pliny fpeaks of the adulteries of trees, arborum adultcria, 
which he reprefents as contrary to nature, and a piece of 
luxury, or needlefs refinement. 
ADUMBRANT, adj. That which gives a flight re- 
femblance. 
To ADUMBRATE, v. a. \_adumbro, Lat.] To fhadow 
out; to give a flight likenefs; to exhibit a faint refem- 
blance, like that which ihadows afford of the bodies which 
they reprefent.—Heaven is defigned for our reward, as 
well as refcue; and therefore is adumbrated by all thofe 
pofitive excellencies which can endear or recommend. 
ADUMBRATION, f. The act of adumbrating, or 
giving a flight and imperfect reprefentation. The flight 
and imperfect reprefentation of a thing ; a faint fketch. 
ADUNATION,/i [from ad and unus, Lat.] The ftate 
of being united ; union: a word of little ufe. 
ADUNCITY,y. [ aduncitas , Lat.] Crookednefs; flex¬ 
ure inwards; hookednefs.—There can be no queition, but 
the aduncity of the pounces and beaks of the hawks, is the 
caufe of the great and habitual immorality of thofe ani¬ 
mals. Arbuthnot. 
ADUNQJJE, adj. [ aduncus , Lat.] Crooked; bending 
inwards ; hooked.—The birds that are fpeakers, are par¬ 
rots, pies, jays, daws, and ravens ; of which parrots have 
an adunque bill, but the reft not. Bacon. 
ADVOCACY,/". The aft of pleading; vindication; 
dffence; apology; a word in little ufe.—If any there are 
who are of opinion that there are no antipodes, or that 
the ftars do fall, they Ihall not want herein the applaufe or- 
advocacy of Satan. Brown. 
ADVOCATE, J. {advocatus, Lat.] He that pleads the 
caufe of another in a court of judicature. He that pleads 
any caufe, in whatever manner, as a controvertift or vindi¬ 
cator. It is ufed with the particle for before the perfon 
or thing, in whofe favour the plea is offered. The eccle- 
fiaftical or church advocate was originally of two forts : 
either an advocate of the caufes and intereft of the church, 
retained as a counfellor and pleader of its rights ; or an 
advocate or patron of the prefentation or advovvfon. Both 
thefe offices at firft belonged to the founders of Churches 
and convents, and their heirs, who were bound to protect 
and defend their churches, as well as to nominate and pre- 
fent to them. The Romans, in the firft ages of their irate, 
held the profeflion of an advocate in great honour; and 
the feats of their bar were crowded with lenators and con- 
fuls ; they, whofe voices commanded the people, thinking 
it an honour to be employed in defending them. They 
were Ityled comites, honorati, darjftmi, apd even patroni ; 
