CHOlilON. See Foetus and Midwifery.

CHOROBATA, or CHOROBATES, a kind of water levelamong the ancients of the figure of the letter T, according to Vi-truvius’s description.

C'llOROE! DES. See Cmoroides.

CHOBOGRAPII ER, [from x“fii a region, and to de-scribe,] lie that describes particular regions oT countries.

CIlOROGRAPIl Y, the art or practice of describing particu-lar regions, or laying down the limits and boundaries of particularprovinces.

CIIOROIDF.S, or CIIOROEIDES, [from %w<ri chorion, andciof, likeness,] in anatomy, a term applied to several paits of thebody, bearing some resemblance to the chorion ; a°,

1. Choroides, the inner membrane which invests the brain,more usually called Pia Mater. See Anatomy.

2. Choroides, the inner tunic of the eye. It is soft, thin, andblack; and its inner or concave surface is very smooth and polish-ed. See Anatomy.

3. Choroides, Plexus. See Anatomy.

CIIOROMETRY, [from x^j’i and to measure,] the art

of surveying countries.

CHORUS, ( chorus , Lat.) in dramatic poetry, one or more per-sons present on the stage during the representation, and supposedto be bystanders without any share in the action. Tragedy in itsorigin was no more than a single chorus, who trod the stage alone,and without any actors, singing dithyrambics or hymns in honourof Bacchus. Thespis, to relieve the chorus, added an actor, whorehearsed the adventures of some of their heroes ; and [Escliylus,finding a single person too dry an entertainment, added a second,at the same time reducing the singing of the chorus, to make moreroom for the recitation. But when once tragedy began to be form-ed, the recitative, which at first was intended only as an accessorypart to give the chorus a breathing time, became a principal partof the tragedy. At length, however, the chorus became insertedand incorporated into the action; sometimes it was to speak, andthen their chief, whom they called corypharis, spoke in behalf ofthe rest: the singing was performed by the whole company; sothat when the coryphaeus struck into a song, the chorus immedi-ately joined him.

Chorus, in music, is when, at certain periods 6f a song, thewhole company are to join the singer in repeating certain couplets,-©r verses.

CIIOSE, [Fr. i. c. a thing,] is used in common law' wilh diversepithets ; as chose local, chose transitory, and chose in action.

E Chose in Action is a thing incorporeal, and only a right,as an obligation for debt, annuity, &c. In general all causes ofsuit for any debt, duty, or wrong, are to be accounted choses inaction, or iivsuspence ; because they have no real existence, norcan properly be said to be in our possession.

2. Chose Local is such a tiling as is annexed to a place, as amill and the like.

3. Chose Transitory is a thing which is moveable, and maylie taken away, or carried from place to place.

CHOUS, in the eastern military.orders, messengers of the divanof Janisaries.

CHOWAN, a county of N. Carolina, in Edenten district.

Chowan, a considerable river of N. Carolina, formed by thecontinence of the Black water, Meherrin and Nodaway rivers.

CHOWDER BEER, a cheap and easily prepared drink,highly commended for preventing the scurvy in long voyages, orfor the cure of it, where it may have been contracted. It is pre-pared as follows: take 12 gallons of water, in which put 3[lb. ofblack spruce; boil it for three hours, and having taken out thespruce, mix with the liquor 7lb. of melasses, and boil it up ;strain it through a sieve, and when milk warm put to it about fourspoonfuls of yeast to work it. In two or three days stop the bungof the cask ; and in live or six days, when line, bottle it for drink-ing. Two gallons of melasses, treacle or coarse sugar, are suf-ficient for a hogshead of liquor.

CliOWEK, a town of lndostan, in the Deccan, 15 miles S.°f Bombay.

C1IR EVASTA, a large river of European Turkey, in Albania,anciently called Apsus.

CHRISM, [x,=‘T|«(i, an ointment,] oil consecrated by thebishop, and used in the Romish and Greek churches, in the ad-ministration of baptism, continuation, ordination, and extreme

unction. It is prepared on holy Thursday with much ceremony.In Spain it was anciently the custom for the bishop to take } p: asol for the chrism distributed to each church, on account of thebalsam that entered its composition. Du Cange observes, thatthere are two kinds of chrism ; the one prepared of oil and bal-sam, used in baptism, confirmation and ordination ; the other of oilalone, consecrated by the bishop, used anciently for the catechu-mens, and still in extreme uctinn.

CIIR1SOM. See Chrism. A child that dies within a monthafter its birth. So called from the chrisom-cloth, a cloth anointedwith holy unguent, which the children anciently w ore till theywere christened.

CRHIST, [Xjir#*, Gr. the anointed,] an appellation synony-mous with Messiah, usually added to Jesus; and together there-with, denominating the Saviour of the world. See Messiah.

CHRISTENING. See Baptism.

CHRISTIAN Religion, that instituted by Jesus Christ.See Christianity!

Christians, those who profess to believe and practise theChristian religion, and are baptised in the name of Jesus Christ.When Christianity was first planted in the world, those who em-braced it were known among themselves by the names of disciples,believers, elect, saints, brethren, &c.

Christians, Nominal, those who profess Christianity, butwhose sentiments or practices do not concord with the SacredScriptures.

Christians, Real, those who not only profess Christianity,but whose principles and practice correspond with the Scriptures,aiui therefore these are in reality disciples, and followers of Christ.'Flie disciples and followers of Christ and his apostles were firstdenominated Christians at Antioch, A. D. 41. 1 lie first Chris-

tians distinguished themselves in the most remarkable manner bytheir conduct and their virtues. The faithful, whom the preach-ing of St. Peter had converted, hearkened attentively to the ex-hortations of the Apostles, who failed not carefully to instructthem, as persons who were entering upon an entirely new life.They attended the tempi? daily, doing nothing different from theother Jews, because it was not yet time to separate from them. Butthey made a still greater progress in virtue ; for they sold all thatthey possessed, and distributed their goods in proportion to thew ants of their brethren. The primitive Christians were not onlyremarkable for the practice of every virtue, but were also veryeminently distinguished by many miraculous gifts and graces be-stowed by God upon them. Tiie Jews were the first and mostinveterate enemies the Christians had. They put them to deathas often as they had it in their power; and when they revoltedagainst the Romans in the time of the emperor Adrian, Barcho-chebas, the head of that revolt, employed against the Christians ,the most rigorous punishments to compel them to blaspheme andrenounce Jesus Christ. And we find that, even in the 3d century,thev endeavoured to get into their hands Christian women, in or-der to scourge and stone them in their synagogues. 'I hey cursedthe Christians solemnly three times a-day in their synagogues, andtheir rabbins would not suffer them to converse with Chri-tiunsupon any occasion. Nor were they contented to hate and detestthem ; but they dispatched emissaries all over the world to defamethe Christians, and spread all sorts of calumnies against them.They accused them, among other things, of w orshipping the sutand the head of an ass. They reproached them with being -anidle, and an useless race of people. They charged them withtreason, and endeavouring to erect anew monarchy against that ofthe Romans. They affirm, that, in celebrating their mysteries,tiiey used to kill a child and eat its flesh. 1 hey accused them ottiie most shocking incests, and of intemperance in their feasts ofcharity. But the lives and behaviour ot the first Christians weresufficient to refute all that was said against them, and evidentlydemonstrated that these accusations were mere calumny and theeffect of inveterate malice. Pliny the younger, who was governorof Pontus and Bithvnia between the years 103 and 105, gives thefollowing very particular account of the Christians in that pro-vince, in a letter which he wrote to the emperor lrajan: ‘ 1 1 takethe liberty, Sir, to give you an account of every difficulty whicharises to me; I have never been present at the examination of theChristians; for which reason 1 know not what questions havebeen put to them, nor in what manner they nave beenpunished. My behaviour towards those who have been accused