40 INF 
. in aft or impofe as a punifhment.—By luxury we condemn 
ourfelves to greater torments than have been yet invented 
by anger or revenge, or wfliSied by the greateft tyrants 
upon the word: of men. Temple. 
I know no pain, they can inflidl upon him. 
Will make him fay I mov’d him to thofe arms. Shakefpeare. 
INFLIC'TER, f He who punifhes.—Revenge is com¬ 
monly not bounded, but extended to the utmoft power 
of the inflidier. Government of the Tongue. 
INFLICTING, f. The act of impofing as a punifli- 
ment. 
INFLICTION, f. The aft: of uling punifhments.—Sin 
ends certainly in death; death not only as to merit, but 
alio as to aftuat inflidlion. South. 
So our decrees. 
Dead to inflidlion, to themfelves are dead ; 
And liberty plucks jultice by the nofe. Shakefpeare. 
The punilhmentimpofed.—How defpicable are the threats 
of a creature as impotent as ourfelves, when compared 
with the wrath of an Almighty Judge,-whofe power ex¬ 
tends to eternal inflidlions. Rogers. 
What, but thy malice, mov’d thee to mifdeem 
Of righteous Job, then cruelly to afflift him 
With all inflations? But his patience won. Milton. 
'INFLICTIVE, adj. Sjnflidiive, Fr. from inflidl.] That 
which impofes a punilhment. 
INFLUENCE, J. [Fr. from infuo, Lat.J Power of the 
celeftial afpefts operating upon terrellrial bodies and af¬ 
fairs : 
Comets no rule, no righteous order, own ; 
Their influence dreaded, as their ways unknown. Prior. 
Afcendant power; power of direfting or modifying.— 
Anciently followed by into-, now, lefs properly, by upon. — 
Incomparable lady, your commandment doth not only 
give me the will, but the power, to obey you ; fuch influ¬ 
ence hath your excellency. Sidney. —God hath his influence 
into the very eftence of all things, without which influence 
of Deity fupporting them, their utter annihilation could 
not chafe but follow. - Hooker. —Religion hath fo great an 
influence, upon the felicity of men, that it ought to be up¬ 
held, not only out of a dread of the divine vengeance in 
another w’orld, but out of regard to temporal profperity. 
Tillotfon. 
To INTLUENCE, v. a. To aft upon with direftive or 
impulfive power ; to modify to any purpofe ; to guide or 
lead to any end.—The Handing revelation was attefted in 
the moll fblernn and credible manner; and is fufficient to 
influence their faith and praftice, if they attend. Atterbury. 
By thy kind pow’r and influencing care. 
The various creatures move, and live, and are. Milton. 
INFLUENCING, f. The aft of biaffing the temper or 
conduft. 
INFLUENT, adj. \influens , Lat.] Flowing in.—The 
chief intention of chirurgery, as well as medicine, is 
keeping a juft equilibrium between the influent fluids and 
vafcular folids. Arbuthnot. 
INFLUENTIAL, adj. [from influence.'] Exerting in¬ 
fluence or power.—Our.now over-fhadowed, fouls may be 
emblemed by thofe crufted globes, whofe influential emif- 
flous are interrupted by the interpofal of the benighted 
element. Glantille. 
INFLUX, f. [ influxus, Lat.] Aft of flowing into any 
thing.—An elaftic fibre, like a bow, the more extended, 
it rellores itfelf with the greater force: if the fpring be 
deftroyed, it is like a bag, only paflive as to the influx of 
the liquid. Arbuthnot. —Infufion ; intromiflion.—There is 
another life after this.; and the influx of the knowledge of 
God, in relation to this everlafting life, is infinitely of 
moment /-/a/e.—Influence; power. Not ufled. —Thefe two 
do not fo much concern fea-fifh, yet they have a great in¬ 
flux upop. rivers, ponds, and lakes. Hale. 
INF 
INFLUX'IOUS, adj. Influential. Not ufled. —The moon 
hath an influxious power to make impreflions upon their 
humours. Howel. 
To INFO'LD, v. a. To involve; to inwrap ; to inciofe 
with involutions : 
For all the creft a dragon did infold 
With greedy paws, and overall did fpread 
His golden wings. Fairy Queen. 
INFO'LDING, fl. The aft of involving. 
To INFO'LIATE, v. a. [in folium, Lat.] To cover 
with leaves. Not much ufled, but elegant. —Long may his 
fruitful vine infoliate and claip about him with embrace- 
men ts. Howel. 
To INFO'RCE. See To Enforce. 
INFO'RCEMENT. See Enforcement. 
To INFO'RM, v. a. [informer , Fr. informo, Lat.] To 
animate ; to aftuate by vital powers : 
While life informs thefe limbs, the king reply’d, 
Well to deferve be all my cares employ’d. Pope. 
To inftruft; to fupply with new knowledge; to acquaint. 
Before the thing communicated was anciently put with ; 
now generally of ; fometimes in. —The drift is to inform 
their minds with fome method cf reducing the laws into 
their original caufes. Hooker. —The difficulty arifes not 
from what fenfe informs us of, but from wrong applying 
our notions. Digby. —To underhand the commonwealth, 
and religion, is enough : few inform themfelves in thefe to 
the bottom. Locke. —To offer an accufation to a magiftrate.. 
—Tertullus informed the governor againft,Paul. Adis. 
INFO'RM, adj. [from in, Lat. contrary to, and forma , 
a form.] Unfhapen, having no proper form, ugly. Scctt, 
INFOR'MAL, adj. Irregular ; not competent: 
Thefe poor informal women are no more 
But inftruments of fome more mightier member, 
That fets them on. Shakefpeare. 
This word is little ufed except among lawyers, and with 
regard to official proceedings. 
INFORMAL'ITY, J. The negleft of proper forms j 
irregularity. 
INFOR'MANT, f [French.] One who gives informa¬ 
tion or inftruftion.—He believes the fentence is true, as 
it is made up of terms which his informant underftands, 
though the ideas be unknown to him which his informant 
has under thefe words. Watts. —One who exhibits an ac¬ 
cufation. 
INFORMA'TION, j. [ informatio , Lat. from inform.] 
Intelligence given ; inftruftion.—The aftive informations 
of the intellect filling the paflive reception of the will, 
like form clofing with matter, grew aftuate into a third 
and diftinft perfeftion of praftice. South. 
But reafon with the fellow, 
Left you fhould chance to whip your information. 
And beat the meflenger who bids beware 
Of what is to be dreaded. ’ Shakefpeare. 
The aft of informing or accufing. 
Information, in law, an accufation or complaint 
exhibited againll a perfon for fome criminal offence, 
either immediately againft the king, or againft a private 
perfon ; which, from its enormity or dangerous tendency, 
the public good requires fliould be reltrained and punifh- 
ed. It differs from an indictment principally in this, that 
an indiftment is an accufation found by the oath of twelve 
men, whereas an information is only the allegation of the 
office who exhibits it. 3 New. Abr. 164. 
Informations are of two forts : firlt, thofe which are 
partly at the fuit of the king, and partly that of a fubjeft ; 
and, fecondly, fuch as are only in the name of the king. 
The former are ufually brought upon penal ftatutes, 
which inflift a penalty upon conviftion of the offender, 
one part to the ufe of the king and another to the ufe of 
the informer, and are a fort of qui-tam aftions, only car¬ 
ried on by a criminal inftead of a civil procefs 5 upon 
which 
