AUX
3,57
AXI
Slate, or at least considerably altered on the principles of solution.The wings, viscera, and bones, were so formed, as greatly to re-semble thcr-e of a living' duck ; and the actions of eating anddrinking shewed the strongest resemblance, even to muddling thewater with its bill. M. Le Droz, of la Chaux de Fowls, in theprovince oj Ncuichatel, has also executed some curious pieces ofmechanism. One was a dock, presented to the king of Spain ,which had among other curiosities, a sheep that imitated the bleat-ing of a natural one, and a dog that watched a basket of fruit, andwhich barked and snarled, if any one attempted to take it away.If it were actually taken, lie continued to hark till it was restored.A son of tins gentleman has also made some very extraordinarypieces of machinery, particularly an oval gold snuff-box, about 4inches long, 3 broad, and 1£ thick. It is double, having an hori-zontal partition, with a lid to eacli of its parts. One contains snuff,but in the other, as soon as the lid is opened, there rises up a verysmall bird, (for it is only 3 of an inch from the beak to the extre-mity of the tail,) of green enamelled gold, silting on a gold stand,which immediately wagging its tail, and shaking its wings, andopening its bill oi white enamelled gold, pours forth a clear melo-dious song, capable of tilling a room of 20 or 30 feet square withits melody. The same gentleman exhibited an automaton inEngland of the ligure of a man as large as the life. It held in itshand a metal style, under which was a card of Dutch vellum. Aspring was then touched, and the internal machinery being thusset a going, the ligure began to draw elegant portraits and like-nesses of the king and queen facing each other, and it was curiousto observe, with what precision the ligure lifted up his pencil, inthe transition of it from one point of the drait to another, withoutmaking the least slur whatever ; for instance, in passing from theforehead to the eje, nose, and chin ; or from (he waving curls ofthe hair to the ear, &c. 'Die first card being linished, the figurerested, and a second, and so on till live separate cards were put toit, on all which it delineated different subjects, but live or six werethe extent of its delineating powers.
AUTONOMIA , [from ao7s,-, and law,] a power of beinggoverned by our own laws and magistrate.-.
AUTONOMY , [redwo.uia,] the living according to one’s mindand prescription.
AUTOPSY, [a-Jlo F‘“,] ocular demonstration; seeing a tilingone’s self.
AUTOPORITE3, or AUTOPYROS, [from andwheat,] in the ancient diet, a species of bread, wherein the wholesubstance of the wheat was retained, without retrenching any partof the bran.
AUTR1CUM, 1 . the capital of the Camilla', now Chartres ;Lon. 1 . 32. E. Lat. 4S. 47. N, and, 2 . the ancient name of Auxerre .
AUTUMN , Uuituninus, Lat.] the season of the year betweensummer and winter; popularly, autumn comprises August, Sep-tember, and October. Astronomically, autumn begins when theSun enters Libra, and ends at the next solstice.
Autumnal Signs, in astronomy, are the signs, Libra, Scorpio,and Sagittarius, through which the Sun passes during the au-tumn.
AUVA1L, a town of Germany, in Westphalia .
AUVERGNE, a late province of France , about 100 miles inlength, and 73 in breadth. It now forms tiie two departments ofCantal and I’uy-de-Doine.
AUX, in astronomy, see Auges.
AUXERRE, an ancient town of France in the department olYonne. Lon. 3° 34' 6 ” E. Lat. 47° 47' 37" N.
AUXESIS, in mythology, a goddess worshipped by the inha-bitants of Eglina, and mentioned by Herodotus and Pausa-nias.
AUXILIARY Verbs, in grammar, are prefixed to other verbs,to form their moods and tenses. In the English language, theauxiliary verb am supplies the want of passive verb.-'.
AUXILIUM, AD FlUC'M MlI.IT EM FACIENDUM, ft JllitWI ma-ritundam, was a writ directed to the sheriff of every county, wherethe king or oilier lord had any tenants, to levy of them reasonableaid, towards the knighting of llis eldest son, or the marriage of hiseldest daughter.
Av x ilium Cur it., signifies an order of court, for the scminon-intr of one patty at the suit of another.
AUXO, in mythology, the name of one of the two (Racesworshipped- by the Athenians, Idee IIegemone.
VOL. I.— NO. 23.
AUXOIS, a late territory of France, in Burgundy , now in thedepartment of Cote d’Or .
AW, or LOCI1-AW, a beautiful and extensive lake in Argyl?..shire.
AWARD, in Taw, the judgment of an arbitrator, or Of one v hois not appointed by the law a judge, hut chosen by the partiesthemselves for terminating their difference.
AWK, in ornithology. See Arc a.
AWL, [ a-lc,ale , Sax .] a pointed instrument tobore holes.
Awls, among shoemakers, are usually a little llat and bended
in the blade, and the point ground to art acute angle.
AWLAN, a small imperial town of Germany , in the circle ofSuubia. Lon. 10 . 15. E. I/at. 48. 56. N.
AWME, or AUME, a Dutch measure for liquids, contain-ing eight steckans, or one-seventh of an English ton.
AWN, in botany. See Arista.
Awn of wine, 360 pounds.
AWN ING, in the. sea-language, is the hanging a sail, tarpaulin,or the like, over any part of the ship, to keep off the sun, ruin, orwind.
AWNSEL Weight. See Auncel Weight.
AWRISII, a river in the county of Durham, which runs intothe Tees at Eggleton.
AX, a river of England, which rises in Dorsetshire , and fallsinto the sea at Axmouth, in Devonshire .
AX A, the ancient name of Axmiksteu.
AXAMENTA, in antiquity, the verses or songs of the Salii,which they sung in honour of all men.
Ax amenta, or Assamenta, in ancient music, hymns performedwholly with human voices.
AX BRIDGE, a town of Somersetshire .
AX E, a river in Somersetshire .
Axe, or Ax, [cax,acse, Sax . ascia, Lai.] an instrument consist-ing ol a metal head, with a sharp edge, lixed in a helve or handle,to cut with ; it differs from the hatchet, in that it is made largerand heavier, to hew large stuff; and its edge tapering into themiddle of its blade.
AXEY, a town in the island of Axiiolm.
AXIIOLM, a river island in the N. W. part of Lincolnshire.
AXILLA, [ axilla , Lat.] the cavity under the upper part of thearm, called the arm-pit.
Axilla, in botany, is the space comprehended between thesteins of plants and their leaves.
AXILLARY Artery is that part of the subclavian branch ofthe ascending trunk of the aorta which passes under the arm-pits.
Axillary Glands are situated under the arm-pits, envelopedin fat, and lie close by the axillary vessels.
Axillary Nerve, called also the auricular nerve, arises fromthe last two cervical pairs: runs into the hollow of the axilla, be-hind the head of the os humeri, between the musculus teres major.and minor, &c.
Axillary Vein, is one of the subclavian veins; which, passingunder the aim-pits, divides itself into several branches; superior,inferior, external, internal, &c. which are spread over the arm.
AXIM, a small territory of Africa , on the Gold Coast. Theclimate is so excessively moist, that it is proverbially said to rain.11 months and 29 days of the year. It has also a river, and a ca-pital, of the same name.
AXIMA, a town in Mont Blanc.
AX1NOMANCY, Axinomantia, [from «®i»>i, an axe, andf/MVTim, a divination,] an ancient species of divination, or a method-of foretiling future events by means of an axe or hatchet.
AXIOM, [axioma, Lat. <**:.»•.«», from Gr.] a propositionevident at tirst sight, that cannot be made plainer by demonstra-tion.
Axiom, in philosophy, is such a plain, self-evident, and receivednotion, that it cannot lie made mot\ plain and evident by’ demon-stration ; because it is itself better kno wn than any thing that canbe brought to prove it; as, that nothing can act where it is not:that a thing cannot he, and not. he, at the same time: that thewhole is greater than a part thereof; and that from nothin", no-thing can arise. By axioms, called also maxims, are understoodall common notions of the mind, whose evidence is so clear andforcible, tint a man cannot deny them, without renouncing com-mon sense auu natural reason. r l he rule whereby to know v.p.axiom, is this: whatever proposition expresses the immediatei Y clear