A M B 
The vigorous refinance made by the Ambracians, how¬ 
ever, did not raife tiie courage of the nation in general, 
who were determined on a peace with Rome at all events. 
Fluvius, in the mean time, being defirous of getting pof- 
feflion of Ambracia before the 'condition of the peace, 
employed Amynander, king of the Athamanes, to perfuade 
the inhabitants to furrender. As Amynander had great 
intereft in Ambracia, having long redded there, he eafily 
perluaded them to capitulate on tlie 'following terms, viz. 
'1 hat the /Etolian garrifon fhould have leave to march 
out of the city; that the inhabitants fhould pay 500 ta¬ 
lents ; and that they fhould deliver to the conful all the 
prifoners and -deferters that were in the .city. The gates 
were then opened to Flu vias ; and he was prefented with 
a crow it of gold, together with many coftly flatties and 
pictures, of which there were great numbers in the city, 
it having been the capital of Pyrrhus, who had enriched 
it with every thing valuable and curious. From this time 
the city of Ambracia made no figure in hiflory. It is 
fcarcely known at prefent where the city flood ; but that 
called Arba, in Upper Albania, feems bed to agree with 
what is faid of the ancient fituation of this city. The ri¬ 
ver Arafthus, on which Ambracia was lituated, is now' 
called by the natives Spagmagmuri/i. 
AMBR A'RIA, / in botany. See Anthospermum. 
AM'BRAS, Am'ras, or Om'bra, a town of Auflria, 
with a cuttle or fort of the fame name, which was, as its 
name (fhade) rather imports, a fuminer retreat for the 
arch-dukes. The flatties, medals, treafuresof gold, pre¬ 
cious flones, and rarities, are immenfe ; among the laft, 
there is the trunk of an oak, inclofing the whole body of 
a deer, which is fuppofed to have periflied in the fnow, 
and to have been covered with the mud and wreck of the 
trees, &c. waftied front the mountains on the thaw. That 
a tree, thus depofited, and taking root, inclofed with its 
roots the body of the animal, and, in its further growth, 
railed the body up with it. Here is alfo a good library, 
with a gallery of buds and admirable paintings. 
AM'BRESBURY, Wilts, an ancient town, Handing on 
the river Avon, in a fine open champaign country, diflant 
from London 80 miles. It had its name from the valiant 
Ambrofius Aurelius, a Britifh prince, who rebuilt the 
monaflery after it had been deflroyed by the Saxons, and 
filled it with 300 monks, to pray for the fouls of thofe 
noble Britons who were (lain by the perfidious Hengift 
the Saxon, who maflacred here, in cold blood, 300 of the 
Britifh nobility, whom he had invited to meet him with¬ 
out arms, to treat of a league of amity, and to keep a feaft 
together. This treachery was revenged by the noble Au¬ 
relius, who, in the declenlicn of the Roman empire, af- 
fumed the government of Britain, and with the afliflance 
of the valiant Arthur, repelled all foreign invaders ; but 
was at length killed in a battle on Salifbury plain, and 
buried under Stonehenge, which is one mile from Am- 
brefbury. See Stonehenge. The monaflery was af¬ 
terwards converted into a nunnery ; and Eleanor, king 
Henry Ill’s queen, retired and died here; whole example 
induced the princefs Mary, king Edward IPs daughter, 
with thirteen noblemen’s daughters, to take the veil to¬ 
gether, i-n this houfe. In the wall of the abbey is ftill to 
be feen an old grave-flone, fuppdfed of queen Gunever, 
king Arthur’s wife. The town at prefent confifls of two 
flreets that interfedl each other ; at which place is the 
church. It is a great thoroughfare to Warminfter, Frome, 
Wells, Scc. and has two good inns. A charity-fchool 
was eredted and endowed here in 1715, for fifteen boys 
and as many girls. The town fuffered greatly by fire, in 
the year 1753. It is faid to be remarkable for a little fifh, 
taken in the river, of a very delicate flavour, called a 
loach; and near this town is dug the belt clay in the king¬ 
dom for making tobacco-pipes. It has a market on Fri¬ 
days ; and four annual fairs, viz. on May 17 ; June 22; 
October 6 ; and the firft Wednefday after the 12th of De¬ 
cember. Here is a noble feat which belonged to the duke 
of Queenfbury, and was built by Inigo Jones. The pre- 
A M B 407 
fent duke made great improvements in the gardens and 
grounds, having inclofed and. planted a large fteep lull, 
at the foot of w hich the Avon beautifully winds, as alfo 
through the great eft part of the gardens. It is now oc¬ 
cupied by feme emigrated nuns. 
AMBRO'NES, a Gaulifh people, who lived near the 
foot of the Alps, between Switzerland and Provence. 
They invaded the Roman territories in conjunftion with 
the Cimbri and Teutones; but were defeated w ith great 
(laughter by Marius, about Lot years before thrift. Their 
women, who had ftaid during the engagement in a kind of 
fortification made with their carts, on feeing their huf- 
bands flying, and the Romans at their heels, armed them- 
felves with axes, and, gnafhing with their teeth, fell with 
fury on the purfuers and the purfued. Their firft rage 
being fpent, they defired to furrender themfelves, upon 
the (ingle condition that their chaftity fhould not be vio¬ 
lated j but, this equitable requeft being denied, they firft 
killed their children, and then themfelves, not one re¬ 
maining alive out of the whole multitude. 
AMBRO'MA,y. in botany. See Abroma. 
AM'BROSE, [ag^ocrioc, Gr. immortal.] A proper 
name of men. 
Ambrose (St.), biftiop of Milan, one of the mod emi¬ 
nent fathers of the fourth century, born in Gaul, in the 
year 333 according to Dr. Cave, or in 340 as Mr. D11 Pin 
affirms. His father w-as at this time prafedus puztoria in 
Gaul, and redded at Arles, the capital of Gallia Narbo- 
nenfis. The birth of Ambrofe is faid to have been fol¬ 
lowed with a remarkable prefage of his future eloquence ; 
for, we are told, that a fwarm of bees came and fettled 
upon his mouth as he lay in his cradle. He focm made 
himfelf mafter of the feveral parts of fecular learning; and 
pleaded caufes before Probus with fo much eloquence,, 
that he was appointed his afleftor, and foon after governor 
of the provinces of Liguria and -./Emilia; he fettled at 
Milan; where, in the year 374, upon the death of Auxen- 
tius, bifhop of that city, there being a great conteft be¬ 
tween the Catholics and Arians concerning the choice of 
a new bifhop, Ambrofe thought it his duty, as governor, 
to go to the church, in order to compofe the tumult. He 
accordingly addrefled himfelf to the people in a pathetic 
fpeech, exhorting them to proceed to their choice in a 
calm and friendly manner. While he was fpeaking to 
them, the whole aflembly cried out with one voice, “ Let 
Ambrofe be biftiop!” Such a hidden and unexpected in¬ 
cident furprifed him extremely; fo that he retired imme¬ 
diately, and ufed every method to divert them from their 
refolution of chooftng him: but at laft he was obliged to 
comply ; and was baptifed (being but a catechumen be¬ 
fore), and ordained biftiop towards the latter end of the. 
year 374. About the year 377, the barbarous nations ma¬ 
king an incurfion into the Roman empire, he fled to Illyri- 
cuin, and afterwards to Rome. In the year 384, lie was. 
fent to the tyrant Maximus, who.had ufurped the empire, 
and prevailed on him not to pafs into Italy. The heathens, 
encouraged by thefe inteftine commotions, attempted to re- 
ftore their religion, and employed Aurelius Symmachus, 
prefect of Rome, a man of great eloquence, to plead their 
caufe. This gave rife to the famous conteft between St. 
Ambrofe and him about repairing the altar of Victory. 
But Symmachus, having loft his caufe, was expelled the 
city, and commanded not to approach within an hundred 
miles of it. The petition which he fent to Valentinian the 
younger, is ftill extant. We find in it the ftrongeft figures 
of rhetoric, and the greateft force of eloquence. St. Am¬ 
brofe wrote a confutation of this petition; but he has 
been thought guilty of many paralogifms ; and yet he 
protells, “ that he endeavoured only after the foli-dity of 
reafoning, leaving Symmachus all the glory of eloquence 
and politenefs; it being (fays he) the peculiar privilege 
'of the pagan philofophers to amufe the mind with colours 
as falfe as their idols ; and to fay great things, not being 
able to fay true- ones.” Ambrofe met with a good deal of 
oppofition from the Arians, againft whom he aCted with 
great 
