ALE 
tlria, and fill the citterns under the city. On the fide of 
the khalis are gardens full of orange and lemon trees, and 
the fields are full of caper and palm trees. On the top 
of a hill is a tower, on which a centinel is always placed, 
to give notice, by means of a flag, of the fhips that are 
coming into the port. From this hill may be feen the fea, 
the whole extent of the city-, and the parts round it. 
In going along the fea-coaft, there is a large bafon cut 
out of the rock that lines the Ihore. On the fides of this 
bafon, two beautiful faloons are hewn out by the chiflel, 
with benches that run acrofs them. A canal made zig¬ 
zag, for the purpofe of flopping the fluid by its different 
windings, conveys into them the water of the fea, as pure 
and tranfparent as cryftal. Seated on the ftone bench, the 
water rifes a little above the waift; while the feet foftly 
repofe on a fine fand. The waves of the fea are heard 
roaring againft the rock, and foaming in the canal. The 
fwell enters, raifes you up, and leaves you ; and thus, al¬ 
ternately entering and retiring, brings a continual frefh 
fupply of water, and a coolnefs which is truly delicious 
under a burning (ky. This place is vulgarly called the 
Bath of Cleopatra. Some ruins announce that it was for¬ 
merly ornamented. Alexandria is about fifty leagues north 
of Cairo. Lat. 31.12. N. Ion. 31.15. E. 
Alexandria, a mountain of Myiia, on the fea-coaft, 
forming a part of mount Ida, where Paris gave judgment 
on'the three goddeffes. 
Alexandria, a ftrong and confiderable city of Italy, 
belonging to the duchy of Milan, with a good caftle, built 
in 1178 in honour of pope Alexander III. This pope 
made it a.bifnopric, with feveral privileges and exemp¬ 
tions. Prince Eugene of Savoy took this city in 1706, af¬ 
ter three days fiege. The’French took it in 1745; but 
the Icing of Sardinia, to whom it belongs by the treaty of 
Utrecht, re-took it in 1746. The fortifications of the 
town are trifling, but the citadel is confiderable. It is fif¬ 
teen miles fouth-eaft of Calftil, thirty-five nortji-by-weft 
of Genoa, and forty fouth-by-weft of Milan. Lat. 44. 
53. N. Ion, 8.40. E. The country about this town is call¬ 
ed the Alexandrin. 
Alexandria, a city of Arachofia, called alfo Alex- 
andropolis, on the river Arachotus.—Another Alexan¬ 
dria in Gedrofia, built by Leonatus, by order of Alexan¬ 
der.—A third Alexandria in Aria, fituated at the lake 
Arias ; but, according to Pliny, built by Alexander on the 
river Arius.—A fourth in the Baftriana.—A fifth Alex¬ 
andria, an inland town of Carmania.—A fixth Alexandria, 
or Alexandropolis, in the Sogdiana-—A feventhin India, 
at the confluence of the Arcefines and Indus.—An eighth, 
called alfo Alexandretta, near the Sinus Ifllcus, on the 
confines of Syria and Cilicia, now Scanderoon, the port- 
town to Aleppo.—A ninth Alexandria of Margiana, 
which, being demoliftied by the barbarians, was re-built 
by Antiochus the fon of Seleucus, and called Antiochia 
of Syria; watered by the river Margus, which is divided 
into feveral channels, for the purpofes of watering the 
country, which was called Zotale. The city was feventy 
ftadia in circuit, according to Pliny; who adds, that, after 
the defeat of CraflTus, the captives were conveyed to this 
place*by Orodes, the king of the Parthians.—A tenth, of 
the Oxiana, built on the Oxus by Alexander, on the con¬ 
fines of Badtria.—An eleventh, built by Alexander at the 
foot of mount Paropamifus, which was called Caucafus. 
•—A twelfth Alexandria in Troas, called'alfo Troas and 
Antigonia,—A 'thirteenth on the Iaxartes, the boundary 
of Alexander’s victories towards Scythia, and the laft that 
he built on that fide. 
ALEXANDRIAN, adj. in a particular, fenfe, isapplied 
to all thofe who profefled or taught the fcienees in the 
fchool of Alexandria. In this fenfe, Clemens is deno¬ 
minated Alexandrinus, though born at Athens. The 
fame may be laid of Apion, who was born at Oafis ; and 
Aroftarchus, by birth a Samothracian. The chief Alex¬ 
andrian philofophers were, Amonius, Plotinus, Origen, 
Porphry, Jamblicus, Sopater, Maximus, and Dexippus. 
Vol. I. No. iS. 
ALE * 277 
Alexandrian is more particularly underflood of a 
college of priefts, confecrated to the fervice of Alexan¬ 
der Severus after his deification. Lampridius relates, 
that, notwithftanding Severus was killed by Maximin, the 
fenate profecuted his apotheofis; and, for regularity of 
worfhip, founded an order of. priefts, or J'odales , under the 
denomination of Alexandrini. 
A lexandrian Laurel, f. in botany. SeeRuscus. 
Alexandrian Manuscript, a famous copy of the 
Scriptures, contifting of four volumes in a large quarto 
fize ; which contains the whole Bible in Greek, including 
the Old and New Teftament, with the Apocrypha, and 
fome fmaller pieces, but not quite complete. This, ma- 
nufcript is now preferved in the Britilh Mufeum. It was 
fent as a prefent to king Charles I. from Cyrillus Lucaris, 
patriarch of Conftantinople, by Sir Thomas Rowe, arn- 
baflador from England to the Grand Signior, about the 
year 1628. Cyrillus brought it with him from Alexan¬ 
dria, where probably it was written. 
ALEXANDRINE,_/! A kind of verfe borrowed from 
the French, firft ufed in a poem called Alexander. They 
confift, among the French, of twelve and thirteen fylla- 
hles, in alternate couplets; and, among us, of twelve.— 
Our numbers ftiould, for the mod part, be lyrical. For 
variety, or rather where the majefty of thought requires 
it, they may be ftretched to the Englifli heroic of five.feet, 
and to the French alexandrine of fix. Dryden. 
Then, at the laft and only couplet fraught 
With fome unmeaning thing they call a thought, 
A needlefs alexandrine ends the fong, 
That, like a wounded fnake, drags its flow length along; 
Pope . 
ALEXICACUS, adj. fomething that preferves the bo¬ 
dy from harm or mifehief. The Word amounts to much 
the fame as akxiterial. 
Alexicacus, in antiquity, was an attribute of Nep¬ 
tune, whom the tunny-fifliers ufed to invoke under this 
appellation, that their nets might be preferved from the 
fitpsa?, or fword filli, which ufed to tear them; and that 
he might prevent the afliltance which it was pretended the 
dolphins ufed to give the tunnies on this occafion. 
ALEXIPHARMIC, adj. [from to repel or drive 
away, and (papuxv.ov , poifon; called alfo andpharmaca, and 
caco alexiteria.j\ Medicines, fuppofed fit to preferve the 
body againft the power of poifons, or to correct or expel 
thofe taken into the machine. The words alexitcria and 
antidota have the fame import, as alfo has the term theri- 
aca ; hence fudorifics and diaphoretics may be confidered 
of thisclafs; and perhaps the whole power of the alexi- 
pharmi'cs can only be of any fervice by adting in one of 
thefe modes. The term has been alfo applied for amulets. 
ALEXIS, a Piedmontefe. There is’a book of “Se¬ 
crets,” which for a long-time has gone under his name. It 
was printed at Bafil in 1536,. and tranflated from Italian 
into Latin by Wecher; it has alfo been tranflated into 
French, and printed feveral times.with additions. There 
is a preface to the piece, wherein Alexis informs us, that 
he was born of a noble family; that he had from his moft 
early years applied himfelf to ftudy; that he had learned 
the Greek, the Latin, the Hebrew, the Chaldean, the Ara¬ 
bian, and feveral other, languages; that, having an ex¬ 
treme curiofity to be acquainted with the fecrets of nature, 
lie had collected as much as he could during his travels for 
fifty-feven years; that he piqued himfelf upon not com¬ 
municating his fecrets to any perfon; but that, when he 
was eighty-two years of age, having feen a poor man who 
had died of a ficknefs which might have been cured had 
he communicated his fecret to the furgeon who took care 
of him, he was touched with fuch a remorfc of conflu¬ 
ence, that he lived almoft like a hermit; and it was in this, 
folitude that he ranged his lecrets in order for publication. 
ALEX 1 TERIC AL, or Alexiteric, adj. [from 
aXe^civ, Gr.] That which drives away poifon; that which 
rdifts fevers. 
43 
ALE YN 
