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C O N 
on which the fumes of mineral acids aft in (topping con- 
tagion, and purifying or preparing vital air, fee the ar¬ 
ticle Chemistry, vol. iv. p. 372, &c. 
CONTA'GIOUS, adj. [from contagio, Lat.] Infec¬ 
tious ; caught by approach ; poifonous; pestilential: 
We ficlcen foon from her contagious care, 
Grievp for her forrows, groan for her defpair. Prior. 
CONTA'GIOUSNESS, f. The quality of being con¬ 
tagious. 
■ To CONTA'IN, v. a. [contineo , Lat.] To h.old as a 
vefiel.—There are many other things which Jefus did, 
the which if they ftiould be written every one, I fup- 
pofe that even the world itfelf could not contain the 
books that fliould be written. John, xxi. 25. 
Gently inftrudted I (hall hence depart, 
Greatly in peace of thought, and have my fill 
Of knowledge what this veffel can contain. Milton . 
To comprehend ; to comprife : 
The earth, 
Though in companion of heav’n fo fmall, 
Nor glift’ring, may of folid good contain 
More plenty than the fun, that barren fhiries. Milton. 
To comprife, as a writing.—Wherefore alfo it is con¬ 
tained in the fcripture)§ 1 Pet. ii. 6.—To reftrain ; to 
withhold ; to keep within bounds.—All men (hould be 
contained in duty ever after, without the terror of war¬ 
like forces. Spenfer. 
To CONTA'IN, v. n. To live in continence.—I felt 
the ardour of my paflion increafe, till I could no longer 
contain. Arbuthnot. 
CONTAIN'ABLE, adj. Poffible to be contained.—■ 
The air, containable within the cavity of the eolipile, 
amounted to eleven grains. Boyle. 
CONTAINING,yi Contents^ 
I found 
This label on my bofom ; whofe containing 
Is fo from fenfe in hardnefs, I can 
Make no collection of it. Shakefpeare. 
To CONTA'MINATE, v. a. [i contamino , Lat.] To de¬ 
file ; to pollute ; to corrupt by bafe mixture.—He that 
lies with another man’s wife, propagates children in an¬ 
other’s family for him to keep, and contc'ninates the ho¬ 
nour thereof as much as in him lies. Ayliffe, 
A bafe pander holds the chamber-door, 
Whilft by a Have, no gentler than a dog, 
His faireft daughter is contaminated. Shakefpeare. 
CONTAMINA'TION,/! Pollution; defilement. 
CONTARI'NI (Vincent), profeffor of eloquence at 
Padua, died at Venice, his native place, in 1617, at the 
age of forty ; cultivated the belles lettres, like his friend 
Muretus, with great application and fuccefs. Of the 
feveral works he left behind him, the moft eft.eemed 
are his tract De re frumentaria , and that De militari Roma- 
wrum fipendio , Venice, 1609, in 4to. both of them againfl 
Julius Lipftus; and his Varice Lettioncs, 1606, 440. which 
contain very learned remarks. 
CON'TAY, a town of France, in the department of 
the .Somme, and chief place of a canton, in- the diflridt of 
Amiens: three leagues and a half north-north-eaft of 
Amiens. 
CONTCHOUDSO'NG, a town of Afia, in the coun¬ 
try of Thibet: 380 miles eaft-north-eaft of Laifa. Lat. 
30. 20. N. Ion. 115. 14. E. Ferro. 
CON'TECK,y. Contention: 
And afterwardes they ’gan with fowle reproch 
To ftirre up ftrife and troublous contecke broch. Spenfer. 
CONTE'MERATED, adj. \contancratus, Lat.] Vio¬ 
lated ; polluted, , 
To CONTEM'N, v. a. \_contemno, Lat.] To defpife; 
to lcorn ; to flight; to difregard ; to neglect; to defy ; 
Vox. V. No. 260. 
CON 
Pygmalion then the Tyrian feepter fway’d, 
One who contemn'd divine and human laws; 
Then ftrife enfued. Dryden. 
CONTEM'NER,y One that contemns; a defpifer ; 
a [Corner.— He counfels him to perfecute innovators of 
worfhip, not only as contemners of the gods, but difturbers 
oftheftate. South. 
To CONTEM'PER, v. a. [contcmpero, Lat.] To mo¬ 
derate ; to reduce to a lower degree by mixing fume- 
thing of oppofite qualities.—The leaves qualify and con- 
lempcr the heat, and hinder the evaporation of mdifture. 
Ray. 
CONTEM'PERAMENT, f. [from contcmpero, Lat.] 
The degree of any quality.—There is nearly an equal 
contemperament of the warmth of our bodies to that of the 
hotted part of the atmofphere. Derham. 
fo CONTEM'PERATE, v. a. To diminifh any qua¬ 
lity by fomething contrary ; to moderate ; to temper.-— 
The mighty Nile .and Niger do not only moiften and 
contemperate the air, but refrefh and Immediate the earth, 
Broom. 
CONTEMPERA'TION,/! The adl of diminifhiftg 
any quality fy admixture of the contrary; the adt of 
moderating or tempering.—The ufe of air, without 
which there is no continuation in life, is not nutrition, 
but the contemperalion of fervour in the heart. Brown.— 
Proportionate mixture ; proportion.—There is notgreater 
variety in men’s faces, and in the contempcrations of their 
natural humours, than there is in their phantafies. Hate. 
To CON'TEMPLATE, v. a. \_contemplbr, Lat.] To 
confider with continued attention; to ftudy; to medi¬ 
tate.—There is not much difficulty in confining the mind 
to contemplate what we have a great defire to know. Watts. 
To CON'TEMPLATE, z>. n. To mufe ; to think ftu- 
dioufly with long attention.—How can I confider what 
belongs to myfelf, when I have been fo long contemplating 
on you ? Dryden. 
So many hours muft I take my reft; 
So many hours muft I contemplate. Shakefpeare. 
CONTEMPLA'TION,y.Meditation;ftudious thought 
on any fubjedt ; continued attention.— Contemplation is 
keeping the idea, which is brought into the mind, for 
fome time adtually in view. Locke. —Holy meditation ; a 
holy exercife of the foul, employed in attention to fa- 
cred things: 
I have breath’d a fecret vow 
To live in prayer and contemplation, 
Only attended by Neriflfa here. Shakefpeare. 
The faculty of ftudy : oppofed to the power of adfion.—■ 
There are two functions, contemplation and pradtice, ac¬ 
cording to that general divifion of objedts; fome of which 
entertain our [peculation, others employ our adtions. 
South. 
C-ONTEM'PLATIVE, adj. Given to thought or 
ftudy ; ftudious ; thoughtful : 
Fixt and contemplative their looks, 
Still turning over nature’s books. Denham. 
Employed in ftudy; dedicated to ftudy.— Contemplative. 
men may be without the pleafure of difeovering the fe- 
crets of ftate, and men of adtion are commonly without 
the pleafure of tracing the fecrets of divine art. Grew .-— 
Having the power of thought or meditation.—So many 
kinds of creatures might be to exercife the contemplative 
faculty of man. Ray. 
CONTEM'PLATIVELY, adv. Thoughtfully; at¬ 
tentively ; with deep attention. 
CONTEM'PLATIVES, f. Friars of the order of 
Mary Magdalen, who wore black upper garments, and 
white underneath. 
CONTEMPLA'TOR, f [Lat.] One employed in 
ftudy; an enquirer after knowledge ; a ftudent.—In the 
Perfian tongue the word magus imports as much as a con- 
tcmplator of divine and heavenly fcience. Raleigh. 
M m CONTEM'- 
