ENCYCLOPAEDIA LONDINENSIS; 
OR, AN 
UNIVERSAL. DICTIONARY 
0 F 
ARTS, SCIENCES, and LITERATURE,. 
CON 
ON, a Latin infeparable prepofition, which, at the 
beginning of words, fignifies union or afl'ociation ; 
as concourfe, a running together ; to convene, to come to¬ 
gether. 
CON, [abbreviated from contra, againft, Lat.J A cant 
word for one who is on the negative fide of a queftion ; 
as, the pros and cons. Or rather, perhaps, the negative 
fide of tire queltion itfelf: 
Of many knotty points they fpoke. 
And pro and con by turns they took. Prior. 
To CON, v. a [ connan , Sax. to know ; as, in Chaucer, 
Old nuymen connen mochil thinge ; that is, Old women have 
much knowledge.] To know.- 
Of mufes, Hobbinoi, I conne no (kill 
Enough to me to paint out my unreft. Spenfer. 
To fhidy ; to commit to memory; to fix in the mind. 
It is a word now little in ufe, except in ludicrous lan¬ 
guage.—All this while John had conned over fuch a cata¬ 
logue of hard words, as were enough to conjure up the 
devil. Arbutbnot. 
The books of which I’m chiefly fond. 
Are fuch as you have whilom conn'd. Prior. 
To Con thanks , an old expreflion for to thank. It is the 
fame with the French /(avoirgre .—I con him no thanks 
for it in the nature he delivers it. Shakefpeare. 
CONAJO'HARY, a large and populous port town of 
the American States, on the fourh fide of Mohawk river, 
New York, thirty fix miles above Schenectady, and 318 
miles from Philadelphia. 
CONA'NICUT, an ifland near the coaft of America, a 
little to the eaft of Rhode Ifland. Lat. 4.1.25.N. Ion. 
7 t. 20 W. Greenwich 
CO'NANT (Dr. John), a learned Englifh divine, born 
in 1608. He took Ins degrees at Exeter College, Oxford; 
was, by the parliament conftituted one of the affembly 
of divines, though he feldom, if ever, fat with them ; and 
in 1657 was admitted vice-chancellor of the univerlity. 
On the reitoration he was one of the commiflkmers, and 
affifted at the conferences in the Savoy ; but was deprived 
by the aft of uniformity : after eight years he was con¬ 
firmed, and was made arch deacon of Norwich, and Pre¬ 
bendary of Worcefter. In 1686 he loft his fight; and 
died in 1693; leaving- a number of admired fermons, af¬ 
terwards publifherl in fix volumes. 
CONANVAN'GO, a northern branch of the Alleg¬ 
hany river, in Pennsylvania, which riles from Chataugh- 
que lake. 
Vox.. V. No.. 249. 
CON 
CON'CA (Sebaftian), called Cavalier, a celebrated’ 
hiftory and portrait painter, born at Gaeta in 1679, and 
difciple of Fi ancefco Solimena,who foon perceived fuch ta¬ 
lents in his pupil, and fuch a difpofition, that he took 
him to Monte Caflino, where he was to paint a chapel in 
frefco. On his return to Naples, he was, if poflible, flill 
more anxious to improve himfelf; and having a defire to 
fee Rome, he obtained permiflion from Solimena to in¬ 
dulge his inclination. He there fpent eight years in con- 
llant ltudy after the antiques, after Bucnaroti, Raphael, 
and the Caracci, and perfected himfelf in every part of 
his profeflion. The fame of his works foon made him 
known, and procured him the patronage of cardinal Ot- 
tobuoni, a princely cuco.urager of artifts ; and Conca 
having fhewn an elegant proof of his abilities in a com- 
pofition-reprefenting Herod inquiring of the wife men 
the place of the birth of the Mefiiah, the figures being 
as large as life, the cardinal thought it fo excellent a. 
performance, that he rewarded him in a munificent man¬ 
ner, and introduced him to pope Clement XI. who ap¬ 
pointed Conca to paint the picture of the prophet Jere¬ 
miah in the church of St. John Lateran ; which he exe¬ 
cuted with univerfal applaufe. On that occcafion the 
pope w'as defirous to give him forne particular mark of 
liisefteem; and therefore, in a general affembly of the 
academicians of St. Luke, he conferred on him the order 
of knighthood, and the cardinal prefented him with a 
rich diamond crofs, which Conca, out_of refpeCi to his 
patron, always wore at his bolbm. From that time lie 
was inceflantly employed, and his works were lolicitedby 
moll of the princes of Europe. The churches and cha¬ 
pels of mod parts of Italy are enriched with his pictures; 
of which lie painted an incredible number, as he lived to 
a very advanced age, and never difcontinued his labours. 
He was invited by Philip V. of Spain to vifit his court, 
but he could not be prevailed on to leave Rome. He 
painted two admirable pictures for the king of Poland, 
with figures as large as iife; in one was reprefented 
Alexander prefcnting Bucephalus to Philip; a grand 
compofltion, wirii-a multitude of figures, corredly de- 
figned, and charmingly grouped and difpofed'; adorned 
alio with molt elegant architecture, in true and beautiful 
perfpeCtive. T he other was the marriage of Alexander 
witli Roxana, which was in every refpeCt equal to the for¬ 
mer. He was at la ft lo ftrongly prcffed to go to Naples,, 
that he undertook the journey : and was received in that 
kingdom with all the refpeCt and honour due to his me¬ 
rit ; and there he finiftied feveral noble defigns, as alfo at 
Gaeta his native city. While he continued at Naples, in 
II * the;- 
