7 Co I D L 
felf, yet it muffin the end fall fomewhere. The cSurt alfo 
of Areopagus at Athens puniflied idlenefs, and exerted a 
right of examining every citizen in what manner he fpent 
his time; the intention of which was, that the Athenians, 
knowing they were to give an account of their occupa¬ 
tions, Ihould follow only fuch as were laudable, and that' 
there might be no room left for fuch as lived by unlaw¬ 
ful arts. The civil law expelled all fturdy vagrants from 
the city; and, in our own law, all idle perfons or vaga¬ 
bonds, whom our ancient ftatutes defcribe to be “fuch as 
wake on the night, and deep on the day, and haunt cuf- 
toma'oie taverns and ale-houfes, and rout about; and no 
man wot from whence they come, ne whether they go;” or 
i'uch as are more particularly defcribed by ftatute 17 Geo. II. 
c. 5. and divided into three claffes, idle and diforderly 
perfons, rogues and vagabonds, and incorrigible rogues; 
all thefe are offenders againfl: the good order, and ble- 
mifhes in the government, of any kingdom. They are 
therefore all punifhed by the ftatute lall mentioned; that 
is to fay, idle and diforderly perfons, with one month’s 
imprifonment in the houfe of correftion ; rogues and va¬ 
gabonds, with whipping, and imprifonment not exceeding 
iix months ; and incorrigible rogues, with the like dif- 
cipline, and confinement not exceeding two years; the 
breach and efcape from which confinement in one of an 
inferior clafs, ranks him among incorrigible rogues; and 
in a rogue (before incorrigible) makes him a felon, and 
liable to be tranfported for feven years. Perfons harbour¬ 
ing vagrants are liable to a fine of forty drillings, and to pay 
all expences brought upon the parifh thereby ; in the fame 
manner as, by our ancient laws, whoever harboured any 
ftranger for more than two nights, was anfwerable to the 
public for any offence that fuch his inmate might commit. 
Roufleau and Helvetius are very fevere upon tire higher 
orders, who claim a privilege to be idle: “No father (fays 
Rouffeau) can tranfmit to Iris fon the right of being ufe- 
lefs to his fellow-creatures. In a ffate of fociety, inhere every 
man muff be neceffarily maintained at the expence of the 
community, he certainly owes the ffate fo much labour 
as will pay for Iris fubfiftence, and this without exception 
of rank or perfons; rich or poor, ftrong or weak, every 
idle citizen is a knave. The man who earns not his lub- 
fiftence, but eats the bread of idlenefs, is no better than a 
thief; and a penlioner, who is paid by the ffate for doing 
nothing, differs little from a robber who is fupported by 
the plunder lie makes on "the highway.” Helvetius fays, 
“ In the lrive. of human fociety, to preferve order and juf- 
tice, and to bandit vice and corruption, it is neceffary that 
all tire individuals be equally- employed, and obliged to 
concur equally in the general good ; and that the labour 
be equally divided among them. If there be any, wlrofe 
riches and birth exempt them from all employment, there 
will be divifions and unltappinefs in tire lrive. Their 
idlenefs is deftruftive to the general welfare.” 
FDLER,y; A lazy perfon; a fluggard.—Many of thefe 
•poor fiflrernien and idlers, that are commonly prefented to 
his majefty’s (hips, are fo ignorant in fea-fervice, as that 
they know not the name of a.rope. Raleigh. 
I'DLING, f . The aft of wafting time rri idlenefs. 
I'DLY, adj. Lazily ; .without employment: 
I will flay nryfelf, 
For living idly here in pomp and eafe. Skakefpeare. 
Foolifhly ; in a trifling manner : 
And modern Afgil, wlrofe capricious thought 
Is yet with ftores of wilder notions fraught. 
Too foon convinc’d, flrall yield that fleeting breath, 
Which play’d fo idly with the darts of death. Prior.. 
Carelefsly ; without attention : 
But flrall w.e take the nrufe abroad. 
To drop her idly on the road ? 
And leave our fubjeft in the middle, 
As Butler did his bear and fiddle ? Prior. 
Ineffectually ; vainly.—Let this and other allegations, 
IDO 
fuitabje unto it, ceafe to bark any longer idly again ft the 
truth, the courle and paflage whereof it is not in them to 
hinder. Hooker. 
ID'MON, in fabulous hiftory, the fon of Apolio and 
Afteria, was the.prophet of the Argonauts. He was killed 
in hunting a wild boar in Bithynia, where his body re¬ 
ceived a magnificent funeral. He had predicted the time 
and manner of his death. 
I / DOL, f. \idole, Fr. from idolum, Lat.] An image wor- 
flripped as God.— t hey did facrifrce upon the idol- altar, 
which was upon the altar of God. 1 Mac. i. 59. 
A,nation,from one faithful man to fpring, 
Him on this fide Euphrates yet refiding. 
Bred up in zdW-worfhip. Milton. 
A counterfeit.—Woe to the wW-fhepherd that leaveth the 
flock.- Zech. ii. 17.—An image : 
Never did art fo well with nature ftrive. 
Nor ever idol feem’d fo much alive; 
So like the man, fo golden to the fight; 
So bafe within, fo counterfeit and light.. Dry dm . 
A reprefentation. Not in vfe-. 
Men, beholding fo great excellence 
And rare peiieftion in mortality, 
Do her adore with Tacred reverence. 
As th’ idol of her maker’s great magnificence. Fairy Queen, 
One loved or honoured to adoration: 
tie’s honoured and lov’d by all; 
The foldier’s god, and people’s idol. Denham. 
IDOL'ATER, f. One who pays divine honours to 
images; one who worfhips for God that which is not God. 
-—The ffate of idolaters is two ways miferable; fir ft, in that 
which they worfhip they find no fuccour ; and fecondly, 
at his hands, whom they ought to ferve, there is no other 
thing to be looked for but the effefts of moft juft difplea- 
fure, the withdrawing of grace, dereliftion in this world, 
and, in the world to come, confufion. Hooker. 
IDOL'ATRESS, f. A female who worfhips idols: 
Whofe heart, though large. 
Beguil’d by fair idolatrejjes, fell 
To idols foul. Milton. 
To IDOL'ATRIZE, v. a. To worfhip idols. Ainfwortli. 
—To pay idolatrous worfhip.—The Perfians did idolatrize 
unto the funne. Brown. 
JDQL'ATROUS, adj. Tending to idolatry ; compris¬ 
ing idolatry, or the worfiiip of falfe gods.—Neither may 
the piftures of our Saviour, the apoftles and martyrs of 
the church, be drawn to an idolatrous ufe, or be fet uo in 
churches to be worfhipped. Peacham. ' 
IDOL'ATROHSLY, adv. In an idolatrous manner. 
Not therefore wbatloever idolaters have either thought or 
done; but let whatfoever they have either thought or done 
idolatroujly, be fo far forth abhorred. Hooker. 
IDOL'ATRY, f. The worfhip of images; the worfhip 
of any thing as God which is not God.— Idolatry is not 
only am accounting.or worfhipping that for God which is 
not God, but it is alfo a worihipping the true God in a 
way unfuitable to his nature; and particularly by the me¬ 
diation of images and corporeal refemblances. South. 
Thou fir a 1 1 be worfhipp’d, kifs’d, lov’d, and ador’d ; 
And, were there fenle in his idolatry, 
My fubftance fhould be. ftatued in thy Head. Shahejpearc. 
The ftars were the firft objefts of idolatrous worfhip, 
on account of their beauty, their influence on tire pro¬ 
ductions of the earth, and the regularity of their motions, 
particularly the. fun and moon, which are considered as 
the moft glorious and refplendent images of the deity j 
afterwards, as their fentimen-ts became more corrupted,- 
they began to fonn images, and to entertain the opinion, 
that, by virtue of confecration, the gods were called down 
to inhabit or dwell in their ftatues. -IIenc,e Arnobius 
a takes 
