c o u 
Without the knowledge 
Either of king or council , you made bold 
To carry into Flanders the great feal. Shakefpcare. 
In the city of London'there are common-council-men chofen 
in every ward, at a court of wardmote held by the aider- 
men of the refpe&ive wards on St. Thomas’s day yearly: 
they are to be chofen out of the moft fufficient men ; and 
fvvorn to give true counfel for the common profit of the 
city, &c. Lex Londinen. 117. In tire court of common, 
council are made laws for advancement of trade ; and 
committees yearly appointed. But a£ts made by them 
are to have the affent of the lord mayor and aldermen, 
by 21 Geo. I. c. 11. See the article London. 
COUN'CIL,/. in church hiftory, an alfembly of prelates 
convened for the purpofe of regulating the doctrine or dif- 
ciplinc of the church. The molt remarkable of them are 
as follow :—Council of the apoftles at Jerufalem, A. D. 
50.—Of the weftern bifliops at Arles in France, to fup- 
prefs the donatilts ; three fathers of the Englilh church 
went over to attend, A. D. 314.—The firft oecumenical, 
or general Nieene council, was held at Nice; Conftantine 
the Great prefided ; Arius and Eufebius were condemned 
by it for herely, A. D. 325.—.Of Sardis, three hundred 
and feventy biihops attended, A. D. 347.—Of Rimini, 
four hundred biihops attended, and Conftantine obliged 
them to fign a new confeflion of faith, 359.—The fecond 
general council at Conftantinople, three hundred and fifty 
biihops attended ; pope Damafus prefided, A. D. 381.— 
The third at Ephelus, pope Celeftine prefided, 431.— 
The fourth at Chalcedon, the emperor Marcian and his 
emprefs attended, A, D. 451.—The fifth at Conftanti¬ 
nople, pope Vigilius prefided, in 553.—The fixth at Con¬ 
ftantinople, pope Agatho prefided, 680.—Authority of 
the fix general or oecumenical councils were re-eftablilhed 
by Theodofius in 715.—The fecond Nieene council, or 
the feventh general, three hundred and fifty biihops re- 
ftored the worfliip of images, pope Adrian prefided, in 
787.—Of Conftantinople, the eighth general, Adrian II. 
and the emperor Bafil, prefided, 869.—The firft lateran, 
or ninth general, the right of inveftitures were fettled 
by treaty between pope Calixtus II. and the emperor 
Henry V. 1122.—The fecond lateran, tenth general, In¬ 
nocent II, prefided ; the prefervation of the temporal 
ties of ecclefiaftics was the principal fubjedt, which oc- 
calioned the attendance of above one thoufand fathers of 
the church, 1139.—’The third lateran, eleventh general, 
held by pope Alexander III. againft fchifmatics, 1179.— 
The fourth lateran, twelfth general, above four hundred 
bifliops and one thoufand abbots attended; Innocent III, 
prefided, 1213.—Of Lyons, thirteenth general, under In¬ 
nocent IV. 1245.—Again at Lyons, the fourteenth gene¬ 
ral, under Gregory X. 1274.'—Of Vienne, in Dauphiny, 
the fifteenth general, Clement V. prefided, and the kings 
of France and of Arragon attended ; the order of the 
knights templars was then fuppreffed, 1311.—Of Pifa, 
the fixteenth general, Gregory XII. and Benedict XIII. 
depofed, and Alexander eledted, 1409.—Of Conftance, 
the feventeenth general, John XXIII. refided, and Mar¬ 
tin V. was elected pope, 1414 ; John Hufs condemned.— 
Of Bafil, the eighteenth general, by Eugene IV.—The 
fifth lateran, the nineteenth general, begun by Ju¬ 
lius II. in 1512, continued under Leo. X. till 1517, for 
the fuppreflion of the pragmatic fandtion of France, 
againft the council of Pifa, &c.—Of Trent, the twen¬ 
tieth and laft general council, ftiled a>cumtnical y as regard¬ 
ing the affairs of all. the Chriftian world p it was holden 
to condemn the dodtrines of the reformers, Luther, Zu- 
inglius, and Calvin, in 1549. Dufrefnoy. —All other coun¬ 
cils and fynods, the lifts of which would make a volume, 
either refpedted national churches, or the ecclefiaftical 
government of particular cities. 
COUN'CIL of WAR,/ An affembly of the princi¬ 
pal officers of an army or fleet, occafionally called by the 
general or admiral to concert meafures for their conduct 
with regard to fieges, retreats, engagements, See. 
C O V 583 
COUN'CIL-BOARD,/ A council-table; a table at 
which matters of ftate are deliberated.—When fliip-mo- 
ney was trail faffed at the council-board , they looked upon 
it as a work of that power they w r ere obliged to truft. 
Clarendon. 
And Pallas, if flie broke the laws, 
Muft yield her foe the ftronger caufe ; 
A fliame to one fo much ador’d 
For wifdom at Jove’s council-board. Swift, 
COUN'SEL,/ [confilium, Lat.] Advice; direction.— 
There is as much difference between the counfel that a 
friend giveth, and that a man giveth himfelf, as there is 
between the counfel of a friend and of a flatterer. Bacon. 
Bereave me not, 
Whereon I live, thy gentle looks, thy aid, 
Thy counfel , in this uttermoft diftrefs. Milton. 
Confultation ; interchange of opinions : 
I hold as little counfel with weak fear 
As you, or any Scot that lives. Shakefpeare. 
Deliberation ; examination of confequences.—They all 
confefs, therefore, in the working of that firft caufe, that 
counfel is ufed. Hooker.■ —Prudence; art; machination.— 
O how comely is the wifdom of old men, and under- 
ftanding and counfel to men of honour. Ecclus. xxv. 5.—• 
There is no wifdom, nor underftanding, nor counfel, againft 
the Lord. Prov. xxi. 30.—Secrefy ; the fecrets entrufted 
in confulting.—The players cannot keep counfel ; they’ll 
tell all. Shakefpeare. —Scheme; purpofe; delign. Notin 
ufe. —The counfel of the Lord ftandeth for ever, the 
thoughts of his heart to all generations. Pfalm xxxiii. ir. 
—O God, from whom all holy defires, all good counfcls , 
and all juft works do proceed. Colnmon Prayer. —Tiiofe 
that plead a caufe ; the counfellors. This feems only an 
abbreviature ufual in converfation.—For the advocates 
and counfel that plead, patience and gravity of learning is 
an effential part of juftice ; and an overfpeaking judge is 
no well-tuned cymbal. Bacon. —What fays my counfel 
learned in the law ? Pope. 
To COUN'SEL, v. a. fonflior, Lat.] To give advice 
or counfel to any perfon.—There is danger of being un¬ 
faithfully counfclled, and more for the good of them that 
counfel than for him that is counfelled. Bacon. 
Truth Ihall nurfe her; 
Holy and heav’nly thoughts ftill counfel her. Shakefpeare. 
To advife any thing: 
The lefs had been our fliame, 
The lefs his counfelPd crime which brands the Grecian 
name. Dry den. 
COUN'SELLABLE, adj. Willing to receive and fol¬ 
low the advice or opinions of others.—Very few men of 
fo great parts were more counfellablc than he ; fo that he 
would feldom be in danger of great errors, if he would 
communicate his own thoughts to difquifition. Clarendon. 
COUNSELLOR,/ One that gives advice.—His mo¬ 
ther was his counfel/or to do wickedly. 2 Chron. xxii. 3. 
—She would be a counfellor of good things, and a com¬ 
fort in cares. Wifdom, v iii. 9. —Confidant; bofomfriend: 
In fuch green palaces the firft kings reign’d. 
Slept in their fhades, and angels entertain’d ; 
With fuch old counfellors they did advife, 
And by frequenting facred groves grew wife. Waller. 
One whofe province is to deliberate and advife upon 
public affairs.—Of counfellors there are two forts : the 
firft, confiliarii nati, as I may term them ; fuch are the 
prince of Wales, and others of the king’s fens : but the 
ordinary fort of counfellors are fuch as the king, out of a 
due confideration of their worth and abilities, and withal 
of their fidelity to his perfon and to his crown, calleth to 
be of council with him, in his ordinary government. Ba¬ 
con. —A perfon retained by a client to plead his caufe in 
a court of judicature, A barriller. By 5 Eliz. c. 14. 
counfellors 
