ENCYCLOPEDIA LONDXNENSIS; 
OR, AN 
UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY 
O F 
ARTS, SCIENCES, and LITERATURE. 
E R Y 
RXLE'BEN (John Chriftian Polycarp), a learned 
German naturalift born June 22, 1744, at Qued- 
lingburg, where his father was dean of St. Nicholas’s 
church. He ftudied medicine at Gottingen, took the de¬ 
gree of matter of arts in 1767, and foon after began to 
give lectures on natural hiftory and the veterinary art. 
Having publifhed introductory leCtures on both thefe 
fubjeCts, he undertook, at the expence of the Hanove¬ 
rian government, a veterinary tour through France, Hol¬ 
land, Denmark, and a great part of Germany ; in the 
courfe of which he derived much ufeful information from 
various men of eminence in that art, fuch as Bourgelat, 
Vitet, La Fofte, Camper, and Von Sind. On his return, 
lie taught, as profefibr of philofophy, befidesthe above 
branches of fcience, experimental philofophy, chernillry, 
mathematics, and the art of decyphering. In i774he was 
eleCted a member of the royal fociety of Gottingen ; and 
the fame honour was conferred on him by the royal agri¬ 
cultural fociety of Brunfwick Lunebourg at Zelle, the fo¬ 
ciety of experimental philofophy at Rotterdam, and the 
fociety offearchers into natureat Berlin. Erxleben’s judg¬ 
ment, acutenefs, and incelfant application to fhidy, ren¬ 
dered him one of thofe uncommon geniufes who make a 
proficiency in every branch of knowledge to which they 
apply. In 1771 lie conceived the defign of eftablifhing 
a veterinary fcliool at Gottingen ; but this laudable un¬ 
dertaking did not meet with that encouragement which 
it deferved. Erxleben gave to the literary world many 
ufeful productions ; of which thofe relating to natural 
hiftory deferve to be mentioned with particular refpeCt. 
An ulcer in the liver put an end to his exiftence on the 
18th of Auguft, 1777, when he had fcarcely attained to 
the thirty-third year of his age. His works are : 1. Prin¬ 
ciples of Natural Hiftory, Gott. 1768, Svo. Of this, two 
improved editions have been given by J. F. Gmelin, 1782 
and 1790, Svo. 2. The Principles of Natural Philofo¬ 
phy, Gott. 1772, 8vo. reprinted, with additions, by G. 
Ch. Lichtenberg, profelfor at Gottingen, 1787, 8vo. 3. 
An Introduction to the Veterinary Art, Gott. and Gotha, 
1769, Svo. 4. Practical InftruCtions in the Veterinary 
Art, 1771, Svo. 5. The Phyfical Library, 4 vols. 1779, 
8vo. 6. The Principles of Chemiftry, Gott. 1775, 8vo. 
I.SyJiema Rcgni Animalis, per Clajfcs, Ordines, Genera, Spe¬ 
cies, & Varietatcs, aim Synonwiia (3 Hijloria Animalium\ Claf. 
Jis 1. Mammalia, Lipf. 1777, Svo. 
ERYCfil'RA (Ferdinand count de Menefes), born at 
Lifbon in 1614, and brought up to arms. Fie was made 
governor of Peniche and Tangier, counfellor of ftate, and 
gentleman of the bed-chamber to the infant Don Pedro, 
Vol. VII. No. 403. 
♦. E R Y 
In the midft of all thefe occupations lie cultivated life 
rature, and wrote a number of works ; the principal of 
which are, r. A Hiftory of Tangier, folio. 2. Hiftory 
of Portugal, from 1640 to 1657, 2 vols. folio ; and, 3. 
The Life of John I. King of Portugal. Thefe works are 
full of ufeful information refpeCting Portugal, 
ERYCEI'RA (Francis-Xavier count de Menefes), 
great-grandfon of the preceding, and, like him, allied 
the profeffion of arms with the ltudy of letters. He was 
born at Lifbon in 1672, rofe to the rank of camp-mafter- 
general and counfellor of war, and died in 1743. He was 
member of various learned focieties, and received the 
homage of the literati of feveral countries ; among whom 
he lived with great affability and politenefs. He inherited 
a large and well-chofen library, to which he made great 
additions. He himfelf was the author of many valuable 
works. Of thefe the beft known are, 1. Memoirs on 
the Value of the Monies of Portugal, 4to. 1738. 2. 
Reflections on Academical Studies. 3. Parallels of il- 
luftrious Men and Women. 4. A Tranflation of the 
Henriade. 
ERYCI'NA, a furname of Venus from mount Eryx, 
where (he had a temple. Horace. 
ERYMAN'THUS, a mountain, river, and town of 
Arcadia, where Hercules killed a prodigious boar, which 
he carried on his fhoulders to Euryftheus, who was fo 
terrified at the fight, that he hid himfelf in a brazen vef- 
fel. Virgil. 
ERYN'GIUM, f Eringo, or Sea-holley ; in bo¬ 
tany, a genus of the clafs pentandria, order digynia, na¬ 
tural order of umbellatae or umbelliferae. The generic 
characters are—Calyx : receptacle common conic, chaff3 
feparating the feflile flofcules; involucre of the recepta¬ 
cle many-leaved, flat, exceeding the flofcules: perian- 
thium proper five-leaved, upright, fharp, exceeding the 
corolla, feated on the germ. Corolla: univerfal uniform, 
roundifh ; flofcules all fertile ; proper five-petalled ; pe¬ 
tals oblong, the tips bent inwards to the bafe, ftraitened 
longitudinally by a line. Stamina; filaments five, capil¬ 
lary, ftraight, exceeding the flofcules; antherae oblong- 
Piftillum: germ hifpid, inferior ; ftyles two, filiform, 
ftraight, length of ftamens; ftigmas Ample. Pericar- 
pium: fruit ovate, divifible in two directions. Seeds: 
oblong, columnar; in fome fpecies the feeds are depofit- 
ed from the cruft of the pericarp, in others they remain 
included in it.— EJfcntial Character. Flowers in a head \ 
receptaculum chaffy. 
Species. 1. Eryngium foetidum, or ftinking eringo; 
root-leaves lanceolate ferrate, floral leaves multifid, Item 
B dichotomous. 
