402 
A M B 
miles E. of IfToire, and 300 from Paris. Lat. 45. 25. N. 
Ion. 3. 50. E. 
AMBIANCUTI'VA, a kingdom and town of Ethio¬ 
pia, on the river Nile. 
AMBIA'NI, or Amuianen'sis Civitas, now Amiens, 
a city of Picardy. It is called Samarobriva by Csefar and 
Cicero ; which, according to Valefius, lignifies the bridge 
of the Samara, or Somme. Ambiani is a later name, 
taken from that of the people, after the ufual manner of 
the lower age. 
AMBIDEX'TER,yi a perfon who can ufe both hands 
with the fame facility, and for the fame purpofes, that the 
generality of people do their right hands. As to the na¬ 
tural caufe of this faculty, fome, as Hsefer, attribute it to 
an extraordinary fupply of blood and fpirits from the heart 
and brain, which furnifh both hands with the neceflary 
firength and agility; others, as Nicholas Mafia, to an erect 
fituation of the heart, inclining neither to the right hand 
nor left; and others to the right and left fubclavian arte¬ 
ries being of the fame height, and fame difiance from the 
heart, by which the blood is propelled with equal force to 
both hands. But thefe are only conje&ures, or rather 
chimeras. Many think, that, were it not for education and 
habit, all mankind would be ambidexters; and, in fafr, 
we frequently find nurfes obliged to be at a good deal of 
pains before they can bring children to forego the ufe of 
their left hands. How far it may be an advantage to be 
deprived of half our natural dexterity, may be doubted. 
It is certain, there are infinite occafions in life, when it 
would be better to have the equal ufe of both hands. 
Surgeons and oculifts are of neceliity obliged to be ambi¬ 
dexters ; bleeding, &c. in the left arm or left ancle, and 
operations on the left eye, cannot be well performed but 
with the left hand. Various infiances occur in hiftory, 
where the left hand has been exercifed preferably to the 
right. But by the law’s of the ancient Scythians, people 
were enjoined to exercife both hands alike ; and Plato en¬ 
joins ambidexterity to be encouraged in his republic. 
Ambidexter, among the Englifh lawyers, a juror or 
embracer, who accepts money of both parties, for giving 
his verdift: an offence for which he is liable to be impri- 
foned, for ever excluded from a jury, and to pay ten times 
the fum he accepted of. 
AMBlDEXTE'RITY,yi The quality of being able 
equally to ufe both hands. Double dealing. 
AMBIDKX'TROUS, adj. Having, with equal facility, 
the ufe of either hand. Double dealing; pradtifing on 
both lides.—^Efop condemns the double practices of trim¬ 
mers, and all falfe, lluiffling, and ambidextrous , dealings. 
V EJiranee. 
AMBIDEX'TROUSNESS, f. The quality of being 
ambidextrous. 
AM'BIENT, adj. [' ambiens, Lat.] Surrounding; en- 
compafling; inverting. It is chiefly applied to fuch bodies, 
efpecially fluids, as encompafs others on all tides: thus, 
the air is frequently called an ambient fluid, becaufe it is 
diftufed round the earth : 
This which yields or fills 
Ail fpace, the ambient air wide interfus’d. Milton. 
AMBIGE'NjE OVES,/. in the heathen facrifices, an 
appellation given to fuch ewes as, having brought forth 
twins, were facrificed, together with their two lambs, one 
on each fide. 
AMBI'GENAI. HYPER'BOLA, f. a name given by 
Sir Ifaac Newton to one of the triple hyperbolas of the 
fecond order, having one of its infinite legs falling within 
an angle formed by the aflymptotes, and the other without. 
AMBIGU, f. [Fr.] An entertainment, confifting not 
of regular courfes, but of a medley of diflies fet on toge¬ 
ther: 
When firaiten’d in your time, and fervants few, 
You’d richly then compofe an ambigu ; 
Where firrt and fecond courfe, and your defert, 
All in one Angle table have their part. King. 
A M B 
AMBIGU'ITY,yi [from ambiguous .] Doubtfulnefs of 
meaning; uncertainty of iignification; double meaning. 
—With ambiguities they often entangle themfelves, not 
marking what doth agree to the word of God in itfelf, and 
what in regard of outward accidents. Hooker. 
AMBI'GUOUS, adj. \_ambigu, Fr. ambiguo, It. and Sp, 
of ambiguus, of ambo, both, and ago, Lat. to drive.] Doubt¬ 
ful; having two meanings; of uncertain fignification. Ap¬ 
plied to perfons ufing doubtful expreflions. It is applied 
to expreflions, or thofe that ufe them, not to a dubious or 
fufpended rtate of mind : 
Th’, ambiguous god, who rul’d her lab’ring breart, 
In thefe myfterious words his mind expreft; 
Some truths reveal’d, in terms involv’d the reft. Drydsn . 
AMBl'GUOUSLY, adv. In an ambiguous manner; 
doubtfully; uncertainly; with double meaning. 
AMBI'GUOUSNESS.yi The quality of being ambi¬ 
guous; uncertainty of meaning; duplicity of fignification. 
AMBI'LOGY, f. \_ambilogium, or ambiloquium, Lat. of 
ambo, both, and Aoy©-, a word or fpeech.] Talk of am¬ 
biguous or doubtful fignification. 
AMBI'LOQfJOUS, adj. [from ambo and loquor, Lat.] 
Uling ambiguous and doubtful exprelfions. 
AMBI'LOQyY, f. \_ambiloquium, Lat.] The ufe of 
doubtful and indeterminate exprelfions; difeourfe of 
doubtful meaning. 
AM'BIT,yi [ ambitus, Lat.] The compafs or circuit of 
any thing; the line that encompafles any thing. 
Ambit of a Figure, in geometry, is the perimeter or 
line, or fum of the lines, by which the figure is bounded. 
Ambit was particularly itfed, in antiquity, to denote a 
fpace of ground to be left vacant betwixt one building and 
another. By the laws of the twelve tables, houfes were 
not to be built contiguous, but an ambit or fpace of two 
feet and a half was to be left about each for fear of fire. 
The ambitus of a tomb or monument denoted a certain 
number of feet, in length and breadth, around the fame, 
within which the fandtity afligned to it was limited. The 
whole ground wherein a tomb was erefted was not to be 
fecreted from the common ufes; for this reafon, it was 
frequent to inferibe the ambit on it, that it might be known 
how far its fandiity extended : thus, in fronts pedes tot, in 
agrum pedes tot. 
AMBI'TION,yi \_ambitio, Lat. the defire of fomething 
higher than is poflefled at prefent.] The delire of prefer¬ 
ment or honour.—Who would think, without having fuch 
a mind as Antiphilus, that fo great goodnefs could not 
have bound gratefulnefs ? and fo high advancement not 
have fatisfied his ambition? Sidney.- —The delire of any 
thing great or excellent: 
Urge them, while their fouls 
Are capable of this ambition ; 
Left zeal, now melted by the windy breath 
Of foft petitions, pity, and remorfe, 
Cool and congeal again to what it was. Shahefpeare . 
It is ufed with to before a verb, and of before a noun.— 
I had a very early ambition to recommend myfelf to your 
lordftiip’s patronage. Addifon. —There was an ambition of 
wit, and an aiTedhition of gaiety. Pope. 
Ambition is one of thofe paflions that is never to be fa¬ 
tisfied. It fwells gradually with fuccefs; and every ac- 
c^uifition ferves but as a fpur to further attempts. “ If a 
man (it has been well obferved) could at once accomplifh 
all his defires, he -would be a miferable creature; for the 
chief pleafure of this life is to wifh and defire. Upon 
this account, every prince who afpires to be defpotic af- 
pires to die of wearinefs. Searching every kingdom for 
the man who has the leaft comfort in life, Where is he to 
be found?—In the royal palace.—What! his majefty ? 
Yes; efpecially if he be defpotic.” 
Marius, fo famous in the Roman hiftory, was a man that 
had but one paflion, the defire of aggrandizing himfelf, 
to which he never made any fcruple to facrifice every thing; 
for 
