ORA 
Expire before the flowers in their caps, 
Dying or e'er they flcken. ShqRefpeace's Macbeth, 
The fhepherds on the lawn 
Or e'er the point of dawn 
Sat Amply chatting in a ruftick row'. Milton's Ode Nativ. 
Awake, for fliame ! or e'er thy nobler fenfe 
Sink in th’ oblivious pool of indolence ! Anti-Jacobin, 
O'R, f. [French.] Gold. A term of heraldry: 
The Ihow’ry arch 
With lifted colours gay, or, azure, gules. 
Delights and puzzles the beholders’ eyes. Phillips. 
OR', a river of England, in the county of Suffolk, 
which runs into the German Sea a little below Orford. 
OR', or O'RE, a lake of Norway, in the province of 
Aggerhuus : thirty-fix miles north of Chriftiania. 
O'RA , f. in antiquity, was a term equivalent to an 
ounce ; but it has been much debated among antiquaries, 
whether the ora, the mention of which fo often occurs, 
was a coin, or only money of account. Dr. Hickes ob- 
ferves, that the mode of reckoning money by marks and 
oras w'as never known in England till after the Danifli 
fettlement; and, by examining the old nummulary efti- 
mates among the principal Gothic ftates upon the Baltic, 
it>appears that the ora andfolidus were fynonymous terms, 
and that the ora was the eighth part of the mark. From 
feveral of the Danifli laws, it likewife appears that the 
Danifli ora, derived by corruption from aureus, was the 
lame as the Frank folidus of twelve-pence. As a weight, 
the ora was regarded as the uncia, or unit, by which the 
Danifli mark was divided ; and in Domefday-book the 
ora is ufed for the ounce, or the twelfth part of the num¬ 
mulary Saxon pound, and the Afteenth of the commercial. 
There was another ora, mentioned in the rolls of the ayth 
of Henry III. the value of which was flxteen pence; and 
this was probably derived from the half-mancus of the 
Saxons. Such, in all appearance, was the original of thefe 
two oras ; as there were no aurei of that period, to which 
thefe two denominations of money of Axteen and twelve 
pence can poflibly be afcribed. It is obferved farther, 
that the name ora diftinguilhes the gold coins in feveral 
parts of Europe to this day. The Portuguefe moidore is 
nothing elfe but moeda d'oro, from the Latin moneta do 
auro: the French Louis d'ores come from the fame ufe of 
the word, and owe their appellation to the ora. Clarice on 
Coins. 
O'RA CABE' 9 A, a bay on the north coaft of Jamaica. 
O'RA FLOC'ZI. See Jalonitza, vol. x. 
O'RABY, a town of Sweden, in the province of Scho- 
nen : thirty-two miles fouth of Chriftianftadt. 
O'RACH, a town of Bofnia, the capital of a fangia- 
cate: thirty-Ave miles fouth-ealt of Bofnaferai, and ninety- 
fix fouth-louth-weft of Belgrade. 
O'RACH, f. in botany. See Atriplex. 
■—■-, Berry-bearing. See Blitum. 
■---, Creeping, Ihrubby. See Atraphaxis. 
-, Wild. See Chenopodium. 
ORACHAU', a lake of Silefia, in the principality of 
Glogau : Ave miles north-north-eaft of Kontop. 
ORACLE, f. [Fr. oraculum, Lat.] Something delivered 
by fupernatural wifdom.—The main principle where¬ 
upon our belief of all things therein contained dependeth, 
is, that the Scriptures are the oracles of God himfelf. 
Hooker. —The place where, or perfon of whom, the de¬ 
terminations of heaven are enquired: 
God hath now fent his living oracle 
Into the world to teach his final will; 
And fends his fpirit of truth henceforth to dwell 
In pious hearts, an inward oracle 
To all truth requifite for men to know. Milton, 
Any perfon or place where certain decifiong are obtained : 
There mighty nations fhall enquire their doom, 
The world’s great oracle in times to come. Pope. 
ORA 073 
In fcripture-language, the fan flu ary, or mod holy place, 
wherein the ark was depoAted.—He built twenty cubits 
on the Aides of the houfe, both the floor and the walls 
with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, 
even for the oracle, even for the mod holy place, x Kings 
vi. 16.—And the priefts brought in the ark of the cove¬ 
nant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the 
houfe, to the mod holy place, even under the wings of 
the cherubitns. i Kings viii. 6.—The mercy-feat, or cover 
of the ark.—The candlefticks with their lamps, that they 
fhould burn after the manner before the oracle, z Chro>r. 
iv. 20.—Hear the voice of my fupplications, when 1 cry 
unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy 
oracle. Pf. xxviii. z. —One famed for w'ifdom; one whole 
determinations are not to be difputed. 
Oracle, in its common acceptation in ancient hiftory, 
was an anfwer, ufually couched in very dark and ambi¬ 
guous terms, fuppofed to be given by daemons of old, 
either by the mouths of their idols, or by thofe of their 
priefts, to the people, who confulted them on things to 
come. Oracle is alfo ufed for the daemon who gave the 
anfwer, and the place where it was given. 
Seneca defines oracles to be enunciations by the mouths 
of men of the will of the gods: and Cicero Amply calls 
them Deorumoralio, “ the language of the gods.” Among 
the Pagans they were held in high eftimation ; and they 
were conlulted on a variety of occaAons, pertaining to 
national enterprifes and private life. When they made 
peace or war, enabled laws, reformed ftates, or changed 
the conftitution, they had in all thefe cafes recourfe to 
the oracle by public authority. Alfo, in private life, if a 
man wifhed to marry, if lie propofed to take a journey, 
or to engage in any bulinefs of importance, he repaired 
to the oracle for counfel. Mankind have had always a 
propenfity to explore futurity; and, conceiving that fu¬ 
ture events were known to their gods, who poifefted the 
gift of prophecy, they fought information and advice 
from the oracles, which in their opinion were fuperna¬ 
tural and divine communications. The inftitution of 
oracles feemed to gratify the prevalent curiofity of man¬ 
kind, and proved a fource of immenfe wealth, as well as 
authority and influence, to thofe who had the command 
of them. Accordingly, every nation in which idolatry 
has fubflfted, had its oracles, by means of which impoi- 
ture prabtiled on fuperftition and credulity. 
The moft ancient oracle was that of Dodona; but the 
mod famous was that of Delphi, to which article we refer 
for further particulars on this fubjebf, fo famous in Pagan 
antiquity. Another celebrated one was the oracle of 
Trophonius, in the neighbourhood of Lebadia, a city of 
Bceotia, which was held in high eftimation. It received 
its name from Trophonius, brother of Agamedes, who 
lived in a fubterraneous dwelling near Lebadia; and pre¬ 
tended to the faculty of foretelling future events. He 
died in his cave, and was deifled as an oracular god. 
Thofe who repaired to this cave for information, were 
required to offer certain facriflces, to anoint themfelves 
with oil, and to bathe in a certain river. They were then 
clothed in a linen robe, took a honeyed cake in their 
hands, and defeended into the fubterraneous chamber by 
a narrow paftage. Here it was that futurity was unfolded 
to them, either by viflons or extraordinary founds. The 
return from the cave was by the fame palfage, but the 
perfons confulting were obliged to walk backwards. 
They generally came out aftonilhed, melancholy, and de- 
jebted; hence the proverb si; T^oCpaniwv pt/zavlivlui. The 
priefts on their return placed them on an elevated feat, 
called the feat of Mnemofyne, or Memory, where an ac¬ 
count was taken of what they had feen and heard. They 
were then condubted to the chapel of Good Genius by 
their companions, where, by degrees, they recovered 
their ufual compofure and cheerfulnefs. 
Beftdes thefe three principal oracles of Greece, it is 
proper to take notice of that of Amphiaraus at Oropius 
in Attica. It. was fo called from Amphiaraus, the fon of 
Oicleus, 
