14 S E L 
“ Selden,” says Dr. Aikin, “ was one of the most learned 
men-of his time, and though the nature of his subjects, and 
a harsh and difficult style, have thrown his works out of the 
ordinary course of reading, yet he has been a considerable 
benefactor to literature, and his merit, as such, has been freely 
acknowledged by the most eminent scholars at home and 
abroad. Grotius, Salmasius, Bochart, Gerard Vossius, Gro- 
novius, Daniel Heinsius, and many other writers of great 
celebrity, have mentioned him with high encomium, and in 
England he was looked up to as the head of a literary body. 
He was liberal in his patronage of men of letters, and appears 
to have been free from the jealousy and arrogance too fre¬ 
quently accompanying the learned character. Lord Claren¬ 
don, though widely different from him in political sentiments, 
has, in his own life, spoken of him in terms of profound re¬ 
spect and admiration; and from personal knowledge, has 
testified to the amiable qualities of his heart, and urbanity of 
his manners, as well as to the powers of his understanding.” 
SE'LDOM, adv. [pelban, rarely ; pel bop, more rarely ; 
pelbopc, Sax., most rarely .] Rarely; not often; not fre¬ 
quently. 
SE'LDOM, adj. [selten, Dutch and Germ.] Rare; not 
frequent.—The seldom discharge of a higher and more 
noble office. Milton. —His sickness in the later years of his 
life gave him but short and seldom truce. Fell. 
SE'LDOMNESS, s. Uncommonness; infrequency; rare¬ 
ness ; rarity. Unused. —The strength of delight is in its 
seldomness or rarity. Brown. 
SE'LDSHOWN, adj. Seldom exhibited to view. Obso¬ 
lete, but elegant. 
Seldshown flamins 
Do press among the popular throngs. Shalcspeare. 
SEI.E, a hamlet of England, in Hertfordshire, adjacent 
to the town of Hertford. 
SELE, a river of Italy in the west of the kingdom of 
Naples, which rises among the Appennines, and flowing 
through the Principato Citra, discharges itself into the gulf 
of Salerno. 
To SELE'CT, v. a. \_selectus, Lat.] To chuse in pre¬ 
ference to others rejected.—The footmen, selected out of all 
the provinces, were greatly diminished, being now scarce 
eight thousand strong. Knolles. 
SELE'CT, adj. Nicely chosen; choice; culled out on 
account of superior excellence. 
To the nuptial bow’r 
I led her, blushing like the morn: all heaven, 
And happy constellations, on that hour 
Shed their selectest influence. Milton. 
Select from vulgar herds, with garlands gay, 
A hundred bulls ascend the sacred way. Prior. 
SELECTI JUDICES, in the Roman Republic, were per¬ 
sons appointed by the praetor with the mutual consent of 
contending parties, and bearing in many respects a remark¬ 
able resemblance to our juries; for they were first returned 
by the praetor, then their names were drawn by lot, till a 
■certain number was completed ; then the parties were allowed 
their challenges; next they struck what we call a tales; 
and, lastly, the judges, like our jury, were sworn. 
SELE'CTION, s. [selectio, Lat.] The act of culling or 
chusing; choice.—While we single out several dishes, and 
reject others, the selection seems but arbitrary. Brown. 
SELE'CTNESS, s. The state of being select. 
SELE'CTOR, s. One who selects. 
SELEFKEH, a town of Caramania, in Asia Minor, si¬ 
tuated near the mouth of a river called Ghiuk Sooyoo, the 
ancient Calidcadnus. It is the residence of an Aga, under the 
governor of Cyprus; but the modern town is merely an assem¬ 
blage of mud and wooden huts. It is chiefly distinguished 
by being on the site of the ancient Seleucia, considerable 
vestiges of which are still discovered. They are scattered 
over a large extent of ground, on the western side of the 
river. Here are found the remains of a theatre, partly cut 
out of the side of a hill, and facing the south east; and in 
S E L 
front of it a long line of considerable ruins, with porticos and 
other large buildings. Farther on is a temple, which had 
been converted into a Christian church, and several large 
Corinthian columns, about four feet in diameter a few of 
which are still standing. A quarter of a mile to the south¬ 
ward of the theatre, near a marble quarry which seems to 
have supplied all the - materials of the town, is an extensive 
cemetery, containing several sarcophagi of coarse work¬ 
manship ; and in a vein of soft stone on the northern side 
of the hill, are some catacombs, which, as usual, have been 
all opened and emptied. At these two places appear a va¬ 
riety of inscriptions. Near the catacombs there is an enor¬ 
mous reservoir, hewn out of this soft stone. The roof is 
supported by parallel rows of square pillars. Its dimensions 
are 150 feet by 75, and 35 in depth. On a hill west of 
the town are the remains of the citadel, of an oval form,, 
surrounded by a double ditch, and a well built wall, 
flanked by towers. The interiorisfull of ruined houses, among 
which are some columns. Lat. 36. 20. N. long. 33. 55. E, 
SELENiE, [EeXrjvai, Gr.] in Antiquity, a kind of cakes 
used in sacrifices, and so called from their being broad and 
horned, in imitation of the new moon. 
SELENDERS, in the Manege, axe "chaps or mangy sores 
in the bending of a horse’s hough, as the maunders are in 
the knees. 
SELENGA, a considerable river of Siberia, in the south¬ 
ern part of the government of Irkoutsk. It rises beyond the 
frontier, in the country of the Mongols, where it receives 
the smaller streams of the Kharatale and the Iga. On ap¬ 
proaching the frontiers of the empire, it begins to be navi¬ 
gable, then flows from south-east north-west, and falls by 
three mouths into the lake Baikal. The Russians have 
founded several towns on its right bank, particularly Ver- 
schnei Oudinsk, Selenginsk, and Kiachta, distinguished as 
the theatre of the commerce with China. A great quantity 
of a species of white fish, called omouli, is taken in the 
Selenga, particularly towards the end of August. 
SELENGINSK, a town of Asiatic Russia, in the go¬ 
vernment of Irkoutsk, on the right bank of the Selenga. 
It is situated in a barren and desolate country, consist¬ 
ing chiefly of naked and sandy mountains; and it is ten 
miles farther down the river before any lands are found 
fit for the purposes of agriculture. The origin of this place 
was in 1666, when an ostrog, or wooden fort, was built 
on the spot, which was afterwards converted into a regular 
fortress, and gave rise to the town. It does not now con¬ 
tain more than three churches, and 150 houses. Notwith¬ 
standing its dreary situation, it is supported by being a 
thoroughfare for the Chinese trade carried on at Kiachta, 
A considerable quantity of rhubarb is also brought from the 
bordering country of Mongolia. Lat. 51. 6. 6. N. long. 
107. 3. E. 
SELEN1EH, or Selanieh, a village of Lower Egypt, 
on the right bank of the Nile; 9 miles south-east of Mehal- 
let Kebeer. 
SE'LENITE, or Seleni'tes, s. [selenite, Fr.» selenites, 
Lat. from <re\v}vrj, Gr., the moon.] A sort or fossil. See 
Minerology, p. 449. 
SELENITIC, adj. Pertaining to selenites. 
SELENOGRA'PHICAL, or Selenogra'phic, adj. 
lenographique, Fr.] Belonging to selenography. 
SELENOGRAPHY, s. [selenographie, Fr., areXvjvp and 
ypeupw, Gr.] A description of the moon.—Hevelius, in his 
accurate selenography, or description of the moon, hath 
well translated the inown appellations of regions, seas and 
mountains, unto the parts o'fthat luminary. Brown. 
SELEONES, one of the smaller Shetland isles. Lat. 60. 
40. N. long. 1. 22. W. 
SELEUCIA, in Ancient Geography, a famous city of 
Asia, built by Seleucus, one of Alexander’s generals, and 
situated on the western bank of the Tigris, about 45 miles 
north of ancient Babylon, was the capita) of the Macedonian 
conquests in Upper Asia, and is said to have been the first 
and principal cause of the destruction of Babylon. Pliny 
reports, that the intention of the first of the Selucidse was 
to 
