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works. He was at the siege of Rochelle in 1628 ; returned toI’aris ; and, a few days alter his return, at an assembly of men of•learning in the house of Monsignor Bagni the 1’opeU Nuncio, wasprevailed upon to explain his sentiments with regard to philoso-phy, when the nuncio urged him to publish his system. Uponthis he went to Amsterdam, and from thence to Franeker , wherehe began his “ Metaphysical Meditations,”' and drew up his“ Discourse on Meteors.” lie made a short tour to England ;and not far from Loudon, made some observations concerning thedeclination of the magnet, lie returned to Holland , where hefinished his “ Treatise on the World .” His hooks made a greatnoise in France ; and in Holland his system hid fair to discard theold philosophy. Voetius , being rector of the university ofUtrecht, procured Ids philo-ophy to be prohibited, and wroteagainst him ; hut he immediately published a vindication of it.In 1647 he returned to France , where the king settled a pensionof 3000 livres upon him. Christina, Queen of Sweden, invitedhim into that kingdom, received him with the greatest civility, andengaged him to attend her every morning at live o’clock, to in-struct her in philosophy. She also desired him to revise and di-gest all his unpublished writings, and to form a complete body otphilosophy from them. She likewise proposed to allow him a re-' venue, and to form an academy of which he was to be the direc-tor. But these designs were frustrated by his death in 1650. Ilisbody w as interred at Stockholm , and 17 years afterwards removedto Paris , where a magnificent monument was erected to him inthe church of St. Genevieve du Mont. Dr. Halley, in a paperconcerning optics, observes, that though some ot the ancientsmention refraction as an effect of transparent mediums, DesCartes was the first who discovered the laws of refraction, and reduceddioptrics to a science. As to his philosophy, Dr. Keil, in his in-troduction to his examination of Dr. Burnet’s theory of the earth,says, that Des Cartes was so far from applying geometry to natu-ral philosophy, that his whole system is one continued blunder ouaccount of his negligence in that point; the laws observed by theplanets in their revolutions round the sun, not agreeing with histheory of vortices. Ilis philosophy has accordingly given way tothe more accurate discoveries and demonstrations of the New-tonian system. Ilis principal works are, 1. Principia Philoso-phic. 2. Dissertatio de Metliodo rccte regenda: Rationis, See.3. Dioptricax 4. Meditationes. 5. Geometry. 6. Letters.

CARTESIANS, a sect of philosophers, w ho adhered to. thesystem of Des Cartes , founded on the two following principles,the one metaphysical, tlu: other physical. The metaphysical oneis, I think therefore I am : the physical, that nothing exists hutsubstance. Substance he makes of two kinds; the one a substancethat thinks, the other a substance extended ; wlienee actual thought,and actual extension, are the essence of substance. The essenceof matter being thus fixed in extension, the Cartesians concludethat there is no vacuum, nor any' possibility thereof in nature; butthat the universe is absolutely full: mere space is excluded bythis principle; because extension being implied iu the idea otspace, matter is so too. Des Cartes defines motion to be thetran.-lation of the bodv from the neighbourhood of others that arein contact with it, and considered as at rest, to the neighbourhoodof other bodies; by which he destroys the distinction betweenmotion that is absolute or real, and that which is relative or appa-rent. He maintains that tl'.e same quantity of motion is alwayspreserved in the universe, because God must be supposed to actin the most constant and immutable manner: and hence also hededuces his three laws of motion. Upon these principles DesCartes explains mechanically how tile world was formed, and howthe present phamomena of nature came to arise. lie supposesthat God created matter of an indefinite extension, which he sepa-rated into small square portions or masses, full of angles : that lieimpressed two motions on this matter; the one, by vyhich eachpart revolted about its own centre; and another, by which an as-semblage or system of them turned round a common centre.From whence arc*- as many different vortices, or eddies, as therewere different masses of matter, thus moving about commoncentres. The consequence of these motions in each vortex, ac-cording to Des Cartes , is as follows: the parts of matter couldnot tints move and revolve amongst one another, without havingtheir ancles gradually broken ; and this continual friction of partand angles must produce three elements : the first of these, an insfinitely fine dust, formed of the angles broken oil'; the second, tit

spheres remaining, after all the angular parts are thus removed ;and those particles not yet rendered smooth and spherical, butstill-retaining some of their angles, and humous parts, form thethird element. Now the first or subtilest element, according todie laws of motion, must occupy the centre of each system, orvortex, by reason of the smallness of its parts : and this is the mat-ter which constitutes the sun, and the fixed stars above, and thefire below. The second element, made tip of spheres, forms theatmosphere, and ail the matter between the eartli and the fixetistars; in such sort, that the largest spheres are always next thecircumference of the vortex, and the smallest next its centre. Thethird element, formed of (lie irregular particles, is the matter thatcomposes the earth, and all terrestrial bodies, together with co-mets, spots in the sun, &c. lie accounts for riieEgjvhy of ter-restrial bodies from the centrifugal force of the ether revolvinground the earth: and upon the same general principles lie pre-tends to explain the phenomena of the magnet, and to accountfor ail the other operations in nature. Eor his system of Astrono-my , see Astronomy.

CARTHAGE , a famed city of antiquity, the capital of AfricaPropria; and which for many years, disputed with Rome the so-vereignty of the world. According to Velleius Paterculus , thiscity was built 65, according to Justin and Trogus 72, according toothers 100 or 140 years, before the foundations of Rome were laid.

It is on all hands agreed, that the Phoenicians were Lite founders .

It was situated on a peninsula of the Mediterranean, 36 miles N.W. of 'Funis, and 352 E. of Algiers : directly opposite to Rome.Lon. 10. 25. E. Eat. 36. 30. N. On the ruins of Carthage therenow stands a small village, called Melclia. The few remains ofCartilage consist only of some fragments of walls and 17 cisternsfor the reception of rain water. There are three eminences, whichare so manv masses of fine marbles pounded together, and were inail probability the sites of temples and other distinguished build-ings. The present ruins are not the remains of the ancient city'destroyed by the Romans ; who after taking it entirely erased it,anil ploughed up tire very foundation : so strictly they adhered tothe inhuman advice perpetually inculcated by Cato the Elder,

“ Delenda est Carthago.” They are the rums of the secondcity, which was destroyed by the Saracens.

Carthage, Gape, a piomontory of Africa, 10 miles E. of Tu-nis, near the site of old Cartilage .

Carthage, New, a rich trading town of Mexico .

CARTIIAGENA, a province of South America , and one oftlie most considerable in New Castile.

C’arthagena, the capital of the province. Lon. 75. 22 \V.Lat. 10. 27. N.

Cartiiagena, a territory of Spain, in the kingdom of Murcia .

Carthagena, the capital of the above territory, 27 miles S. ofj Murcia . Lon. 0. 36. AV. Lat. 37. 38. N.

CART11AMUS, in botany: a genus of the polygainiaa’qualis order, and syngenesia class; natural order, Compositor.Calyx ovate, imbricate, and augmented with subovate foliaceousappendices at top. 'Fen species.

CARTHUSIANS , a religious order founded A. D. 1080, bvone Brudo; so called from the desert of Chartreux, the place oftheir institution. Their rule is extremely severe.

CARTILAGE , in anatomy, a body approaching much to thenature of bones ; but lubricous, llexible, and elastic. See Ana-tomy.

CARTILAGINOUS , in ichthyology, fishes whose musclesare supported by cartilages instead of holies.

CARTOON, or CARTON, is a design drawn on strong pa-per, to be afterwards chalked through, and transferred on the freshplaster of a wall, to he painted in fresco. It is also used for adesign coloured, for working in mosaic, tapestry, See. the word isfrom the Italian Curtoni, {curia, paper, and oni, large,) denotingmany sheets of paper pasted on canvas, on which large designs are‘ made, whether coloured or with chalks only. Of these many areto be seen at Rome, particularly by Doinenichio. Those byAndrea Mantegna, which are at Hampton Court , were made forpaintings in the old ducal palace at Mantua . But the most famousperformances of this sort are the Cartoons of Raphael, so deserv-edly applauded throughout Europe by all true admirers of the artof design, for their matchless merit, particularly with regard tothe invention, aud to the noble expression of such a variety ot'characters, countenances, and most expressive attitudes, as they

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