672 A N C 
iiland of Cyprus, fur whofe unkindnefs her' lover Tphis 
hanged himlelf at her door; and, looking on this iad ipec- 
tacle without emotion or pity, floe was turned into a ftone. 
ANAXMM ANDER, a very celebrated Greek philofo- 
pher, was born at Miletus in the 4zd Olympiad ; for, ac¬ 
cording to Apollodorus, he was fixty-four years of age in 
the fecond year of tire 58th Olympiad. He was one of 
the fir ft who publicly taught philofophy, and wrote upon 
philofophical fubjedts. He was the kinfman, companion, 
and dilciple, of Thales. He wrote alfo upon the fphere 
and geometry, dec. And he carried his researches into 
nature very far, for the time in which he lived. It is faid 
that lie difeovered the obliquity of the zodiac ; that he 
firft publifhed a geographical table; that he invented the 
gnomon, and fet up the firft fun-dial in an open place at 
.Lacedaemon. He taught, that infinity of things was the 
principal and univerfal element; that this infinite always 
preferved its unity, but that its parts underwent changes; 
that all things came from it; and that all were about to 
return to it. By this obfcure and indeterminate principle 
he probably meant the chaos of other philofophers. He 
held that the worlds are infinite; that the ftars are com- 
pofed of air and fire, which are carried about in their 
Spheres, and that thefe Spheres are gods; and that the 
earth is placed in the midft of the univerfe, as in a com¬ 
mon centre. Farther, that infinite worlds were the pro¬ 
duce of infinity ; and that corruption proceeded from re¬ 
paration. 
ANAXI'MENES, an eminent Greek philofopher, born 
at Miletus, the friend, Scholar, and fucceffor, of Anaxi¬ 
mander. He diifufed fome degree of light upon the ob- 
feurity of his mailer’s fyftem. He made the firft princi¬ 
ple of things to confift in the air, which he confidered as 
infinite or immenfe, and to which he aferibed a perpetual 
motion; that this air was the fame as fpirit or God, lince 
the divine power refided in it, and agitated it. The ftars 
were as fiery nails in the heavens ; the fun a flat plate of 
fire; the earth an extended flat Surface, &c. 
Anaximenes, the Ion of Ariftocles of Lampfacus, an 
orator, the difciple of Diogenes the Cynic, and of Zoilus 
the railer againft Homer. He was preceptor to Alexander 
of Macedon, and followed him to the wars. Alexander 
being incenfed againft the people of Lampfacus, they lent 
this philofopher to intercede for them. Alexander, know¬ 
ing the caufe of his coming, Swore that he would do the 
■very reverfe of whatever he delired of him. Anaxime¬ 
nes begged of him to deftroy Lampfacus. Alexander, 
unwilling to break his oath, and not able to elude this 
Stratagem, pardoned Lampfacus rrluch againft his will. 
ANAZAR'fiUS, or Anazar'ba, a town of Cilicia, 
on the river Pyrainus, the birth-place of Diofcorides, and 
of the poet Oppian. It was Sometimes called Cafarea, in 
honour either of Auguftus or of Tiberius. It was de- 
ftroyed by a dreadful earthquake in the year 525, along 
with feveral other important cities ; but they were all re¬ 
paired at a vaft expence by the emperor Juftin; w ho was 
So much attested with their misfortune, that, putting off 
the diadem, &c. he appeared for feveral days in Sackcloth. 
ANBLA'TUM,/i in botany. See Lathrasa. 
AN'BERTKEND, in the eaftern language, a celebra¬ 
ted book of the Brachmans, wherein the Indian philofo¬ 
phy and religion are contained. The word in its literal 
Senfe denotes the ciftern w herein is the water of life. The 
Anbertkend is divided into fifty beths or difeourfes, each 
of which confifts of ten chapters. It has been tranllated 
from the original Indian into Arabic, under the title of 
Morat al Maani , q.d. “ the marrow of intelligence.” 
ANCZE'US, the fon of Neptune and Aftypaloea, who 
went with the Argonauts, and fucceeded Tiphis as pilot 
of the fhip Argo. He reigned in Ionia, and was once told 
by a fiave, whom he prefied with hard labour in bis vine¬ 
yard, that he never vs ould tafte of the produce of his vines. 
Ancteits laughed at this prediction, caufed a cup of it to be 
brought immediately, and told him he was a falfe prophet. 
Mot yet, replied the Have, for many things fall out be- 
A N C 
tween the cup and the lip. Juft then he was informed that 
a wild boar had entered his vineyard; upon which he 
threw down the cup, and ran to drive away the animal, 
but was fiain in the attempt. 
ANCARA'NO, a town of Italy, in the march of An¬ 
cona, fituated in Lat.42. 48. N. Ion.14.54. E. 
AN'CASTER, [of an, and ccajler, Sax. a caflle,] Is a 
town in Lincolnfhire of great antiquity, which is taken by 
fome to be the Crococolana of Antoninus. At the fouth 
end of it are the remains of a caftle, encompafled by a 
ditch and rampart. The area againft tire eaft end of the 
church, where the caftle once flood, is large; and on the 
higheft ground of the area (land the ruins of a chapel, de¬ 
dicated to St. Mary, adjoining which is an hermitage. 
The townlet is divided into two lordlhips : the eaft tide, 
w’hereon ftood the caftle, "is in the townfhip of Wilsfordj 
the weft fide is in the townfhip of Ancafter, whereon ftands 
the church, which was built by the Romans ; it is a neat 
building, with a lofty fpire, dedicated to St. Martin, and 
is a vicarage. The town confifts chiefly of one ftreet, 
leading from north to fouth. On the weft fide of the 
town is a road, which was formerly defigned for the ufe 
of fuch as travelled after the gates were flint. To ths 
fouth of the caftle is a fine running fpring, called Lady’s 
Well; it was never known to rife more than an inch, or 
to fail of water; it takes its courfe towards the caftle, 
where emptying itfelf into a pool, it is no more feen. It 
is laid there is no other fpring from hence to Lincoln, vvhici* 
is fifteen miles. There have been vaft quantities of hu¬ 
man bones found in the town and adjacent villages, fome 
not more than a foot below the furface of the earth, and 
others at the depth of feven. This town abounds with 
the remnants of antiquity; the fale of which has, forma¬ 
lly years, been carried on by the inhabitants ; for, after a 
hafty fliower, the fhepherds and fchool-bovs go to leek 
them in the neighbouring declivities and quarries. This 
town gives the title of duke to the noble family of Bertie. 
Ancafter is diftant from Sleaford fix miles, Bofton twenty- 
three, Grantham eight, Newark fifteen, Folkingham ten, 
Nottingham thirty-two, Stamford twenty-fix, and London 
115. Lat. 52. 30. N. Ion.30. o.W. 
ANCE'NIS, a town feated on the river Loire, in the 
department of Lower Loire, twenty miles eaft of Nantz. 
AN'CESTOR,yi \_anccJlor , Lat. ancejlre, Fr.] One from 
whom a perfon defeends, either by the father or the mo¬ 
ther. It is diftinguiflied from predecejfor ; which is not, 
like ancejlor, a natural, but civil, denomination. An here¬ 
ditary monarch fucceeds to his ancejlors ; an eledtive, to 
his predccejfors. 
Mod nations have paid honours to their anceftors. It 
was properly the departed fouls of their forefathers that 
the Romans worfhipped under the denominations of lares, 
lemures, and houfekold gods. Hence the ancient tombs were 
a kind of temples, or rather altars, wherein oblations 
were made by the kindred of the deceafed. The Chinefe 
feem to have diftinguiflied themfelves above all other na¬ 
tions in the veneration they bear their anceftors. By the 
laws of Confucius, part of the duty which children owe 
their parents confifts in worfhipping them when dead. 
This fervice, which makes a conliderable part of the na¬ 
tural religion of the Chinefe, is faid to have been inftitu- 
ted by the emperor Kun, the fifth in order from the foun¬ 
dation of that ancient empire. 
Ancestor, in law, is one from whom an inheritance 
is derived. No perfon can be properly fuch an anceftor as 
that an inheritance in lands or tenements can be derived 
from him, unlefs he hath had aftual feifm of fuch lands, 
either by his own entry, or by the polfeilion of his own or 
his anceftors leftee for years, or by receiving rent front 
tiie lelfee of the freehold; or unlefs he hath had what is 
equivalent to corporal feifin in hereditaments that are incor¬ 
poreal ; fuch as the receipt of rent, the prefentation to a 
church, and fuch like. 2 BlackJL 209. 
AN'CESTREL, adj. Claimed from anceftors; relating 
to anceftors. 
3 AN'CESTRY, 
