8 o2 A P O 
city, in the name of a foreign church or bifhop, whofe 
office was to negociate, as proffer at the emperor’s court, 
in all eccleliaflical caufes in which his principals might 
be concerned. The inftitution of the office feems to have 
been in the time of Conflantine, when, th.e emperors be¬ 
ing become Chriftians, foreign churches had more oeca- 
fions to promote their (hits at court than formerly. How¬ 
ever, we find it eftabliffied by law in the time of Juftinian. 
In imitation of this officer, almoft every monaftery had its 
apocrifarius, or relident, in the imperial city. The title 
and quality of apocrifary became at length appropriated 
to the pope’s agent, or nuncio, as he is now called ; w ho 
redded at Conftantinople, to receive the pope’s dil'patches, 
and the emperor’s anlwers. 
APOCRUS’TiC, adj. [onrc,y.gur‘y-a, Gr. from avo v.qhu, 
to drive.] Remedies endued with a repelling and aftrin- 
gent power, by which they prevent the too great afflux 
of humours. 
APO'CRYPH A, f. [from airozgv tt\k>, Gr. to put out 
of fight.] Books not publicly communicated ; books 
whole authors are not known. It is tiled for the books 
appended to the facred writings, which, being of doubt¬ 
ful authors, are not admitted into the canon of fcriptures. 
—We hold not the apocrypha for facred, as we do the holy 
feripture, but for human competitions. Hooker. 
When the Jews pttblilhed their facred books, they gave 
the appellations of canonical and divine only to Inch as 
they then made public : Inch as were (till retained in their 
archives they called apocryphal, for no other reafon but 
becaufe they were not public; fo that they might be 
really facred and divine, though not promulged as fitch. 
Thus, in refpeCt of the Bible, all books were called apo¬ 
cryphal which were not inferted in the Jewifh canon of 
feripture. The Proteftants acknowledge fitch books of 
feripture only to be canonical as were fo elteemed to be 
in the firft ages of the church ; fuch as are cited by the 
earliell writers among the Chriftians as of divine autho¬ 
rity, and after the mod diligent enquiry were received and 
To judged to be by th.e council of Laodicea. The feveral 
epiftles above mentioned, and the book of Revelations, 
whatever the fentiments of lome particular perfons are 
or may have been of them, are allowed by all the re¬ 
formed churches to be parts of the canon of the New 
Teftament. The apocryphal books, however, according 
to the (ixth article of the church of England, are to be 
read for example of life and inftruflion of manners ; but 
it doth not apply them to efiablilh any dobtrine. 
APOCY'M A,y. [a7ro, and v.vy.a., Gr. a wave. ] In the 
materia medica of the ancients, a name given by the 
Greek authors to a fort of cement ufed to daub over the 
bottoms of their (hips, to preferve them from the injuries 
of the water: they called this alfo by the name of zo- 
piJJ'a ; and Avicenna and Serapion call it hetram, hetran, 
or alkctran. It was mixture of bees-wax and pitch melted 
together ; and, after it had been foaked fome time in lea- 
water, it was fuppofed to have peculiar virtues, and was 
ufed in many compofitions. 
APO'CRYPHAL, adj. Not canonical; of uncertain 
authority. Contained in the apocrypha.—To fpeak of 
her in the words of the apocryphal writers, wifdom is glo¬ 
rious, and never fadeth away. Addijon. —It is fometimes 
ufed for any account of uncertain credit. 
APO'CRYPH ALLY, adv. Uncertainly; not indifpu- 
tably. 
APO'CRYPH ALNESS, f. Uncertainty; doubtfulnefs 
©f credit. 
APO'CYLISM, f. in medicine, the infpiffated juice 
of vegetables. 
APOCY'NUM, /. [atro xvvoc) becaufe the ancients 
fuppofed this plant was fatal to dogs.] In botany, a genus 
of the pentandria digynia clafs, ranking in the natural or¬ 
der of contort,x. The generic characters are—Calyx : 
perianth one-leafed, five-parted, acute, fhort, perma¬ 
nent. Corolla: monopetalous, bell-fhaped, -femiquin- 
querid ; divilions revolute. Nectary of live glandular o- 
A P O 
val corpufcules, furrounding the germ. Stamina : fila¬ 
ments very fiiort; antherae oblong, eredt, acute, bifid at 
the bafe, converging. Piftillum : germs two, ovate 
flyles fhort; ftigma roundiffi, bifid at the tip, muricate, 
glued to the antherae. Pericarpimn : follicles two, long, 
acuminate, one-valved, one-celled. Seeds : numerous, 
very fmall, crowned with a long down. Receptacle fub- 
ulate, very long, rough, free.— Ejfential Char a tier. Co¬ 
rolla, bell-fhaped ; nectaries 5, alternate with the ftamens. 
Species. 1. Apocynum a nd ro fan ni folium, or tutfan- 
leaved dog’s-bane : ftem ftraightifh,. herbaceous ; leaves- 
ovate, fmooth on both (ides ; cymes terminating. Boc- 
cone affirms, that flies are deftroyed if they light on the 
flowers of this plant. The French inhabitants of Cana¬ 
da call it herbe a la puce-, and fay, that it is noxious to 
fome perfons, but harmlefs to others. Kahn relates, that 
he faw a foldier whofe hands were bliftered all over merely 
from plucking it ; whereas he frequently rubbed his own 
hands with the juice without feeling any inconvenience. 
It is a native of Virginia, as well as Canada; and flowers- 
from July to September. It was cultivated in 1731, by 
Mr. Miller ; but was in the Chelfea garden much earlier, 
for Mr. Ray mentions its being there in 1688, under the 
name of apocynum jlore lilii convallium parpurafeente. 
2. Apocynum cannabinum, or hemp dog’s-bane : (Jem 
ftraightifh, herbaceous, leaves oblong, cymes lateral long¬ 
er than the leaf. Roots perennial, creeping. Stems 
brown, about two feet high. Leaves fmooth, in pairs, 
abounding with a milky juice, like the former. To¬ 
wards the upper part of the flem, the flowers come cut 
from the wings of the leaves in fmall bunches; they are 
of an herbaceous white colour, and, being fmall, make 
no great appearance; this therefore is feldom admitted 
into gardens, except for the fake of variety. It flowers 
with the foregoing; and is a native of the fame coun¬ 
tries. The Indians of North America prepare the fralks 
of tliis fpecies as we do hemp, and make twine, bags, 
fiffiing nets and lines, and linen for their own wear. It was 
cultivated here in 1699, by the duchefs of Beaufort. 
3. Apocynum hypericifolium, or St. John’s-wort-leaved 
dog’s-bane: (fern ftraightifh herbaceous, leaves oblong 
cordate fmooth, cymes fborter than the leaf. Root peren¬ 
nial creeping. The whole plant is fmooth, and abounds 
in milk. It is a native of North America ; was cultivated 
in 1756, by Mr. Miller; and flowers in June and July. 
4. Apocynum venetum, or fpear-leaved dog’s-bane : 
flem ftraightifh herbaceous, leaves ovate-lanceolate. Root 
perennial, creeping. Stems about two feet high. Leaves 
oppofite, fmooth. The flowers grow ereft, at the top of 
the (terns in fmall umbels, and are much larger than the 
former forts. It varies with purple, and with white, flow¬ 
ers, and they (hew themfelves in July and Auguft. It is 
a native of the iflands in the Adriatic fea, near Venice; 
but is fuppofed to have been originally brought from fome 
other country. It was cultivated in 1690, in the royal 
garden at Hampton-court. 
5. Apocynum minutum, or petty dog’s-bane : (tern prof- 
trate, leaves haflate. Found at the Cape by Montin. 
6. Apocynum filiforme, or thread-leaved dog’s-bane: 
ftem prod rate herbaceous, leaves filiform, flowers umbel- 
led. Found at the Cape by Thunberg. 
7. Apocynum frutefeens, or fhrubby dog’s-bane : ftem 
erect fhrubby, leaves lanceolate-oval, corollas acute vil- 
lofc at the throat. Native of the Eaft-Indies, Ceylon, 
and the coaft of Guinea. 
S. Apocynum reticulatum, or net-leaved dog's-ban^: 
ftem twining perennial, leaves ovate veined. This plant 
has a twining ftem, by which it rifes to a conftderable 
height. The leaves are dark green, very fhining, with a 
beautiful net of milky veins. Native of the Eaft Indies 
and Cochinchina. Mr. Miller cultivated it by feeds from 
profefTor Van Royen. 
9. Apocynum lineare, or linear-leaved dog’s-bane : ftem 
twining herbaceous, leaves linear flat, umbels axillary 
compound. 10. Apocynum triflonun, or three-flowered 
dog’s-bane : ftem twining herbaceous, leaves lanceolate, 
2 umbels 
