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FLO

FLORA, the reputed goddess of flowers; she was, according tothe poets, the wile ot' Zephyrus. Her image in the temple otCastor and Pollux was dressed in a close habit, and she held inher hands the flowers of pease and beans.

Flora, among botanists, is used for a catalogue of the plantsand trees growing spontaneously in any particular country or dis-trict.

F LOR AC, a town of France, in the department of Lozere ,near the Tarn, 13.'. miles S. ot Mende .

FLORAL GAMES, or FLORALES LUDI, in antiquity,were games held in honour of Flora. They were celebrated withshameful debaucheries.

FLORAL1A, in anticjuity, a general name for the feasts,games, and other ceremonies, held in honour of the goddessFiora.

FLOREN, or FLORENCE , [so named, says Camden, be-cause made by Florentines,] a gold coin of Edward 111. in valuesix shillings, livery pound weight of standard gold was by act18 Edw. ill. to be coined into 50 Florences, to be current at sixshillings each ; which made in tale 15 pounds; or into a propor-tionate number of half Florences or quarter-pieces, by indentureof the mint.

F Lorens, St. a town of France, in the department of Maine and Loire, on the Loire , 20 miles S. W. of Angel’s.

FLORENCE, the capital of the duchy of Tuscany , and oneof the linest cities in Italy . It is surrounded on all sides but onewith high lulls, which rise insensibly, and at last join with the loftyApennines . The citv is divided into two unequal parts by theArno, over which there are no fewer than four bridges in sight ofeach other. The bridge of the Trinita is uncommonly elegant,being built entirely of white marble, and ornamented with fourbeautiful statues representing the Seasons. The quays, the build-ings on each side, and the bridges, render that part of Florence through which the river runs by far the finest. The streets,squares, and front of the palaces, are adorned with a great numberof statues; many of them by Michael Angelo, BandineHi, Dona-tello, Giovanni of Bologna*, Benvenuto , Cellini, &c. Some ofthe Florentine merchants formerly were men of vast wealth, andlived in a most magnificent manner. One of them, about the mid-dle of the 15th century, built that noble fabric, which, from bisname, is still called the Palazzo Pitti . He was ruined by theprodigious expence of this building, which was purchased bv theMedici family, and has continued ever since to be the residence°f the grand dukes. The gardens belonging to it are on the de-clivity of an eminence. On the summit there is a fort calledBelvidere. From this, and some of the higher walks, there is acomplete view of the city, and of the beauteous vale of Arno, in^hich it stands. This palace has been since enlarged. The furni-bire is rich and curious, particularly some tables of Florentine'• v ork, which are much admired. The most precious ornaments,however, are the paintings. The walls of the Imperial Chambera ye painted in fresco, by various painters ; the subjects are allego-^col, in honour of Lorenzo of Medicis , surnamed the Magnificent.

* he famous gallery attracts every stranger. One of the most in-teresting parts of it is the series of Roman emperors, from Julius’-■aisar to Gallienus , with a considerable number of their em-presses, 'I'bis series is almost complete; but wherever the bustan emperor is wanting, the place is filled up by that of someother distinguished Roman. The celebrated Venus of Medicis ,Rich is esteemed the standard of taste in female beauty and pro-portion, stands in a room called the Tribunal. The inscription11 ds base mentions its being made by Cleomenes an Athenian,k’f son of Apollodorus . it is of white marble, and surroundedA other master-pieces of sculpture, some of which are said to be,, e "'ot’ks of Praxiteles and other Greek masters. In the sameom are many valuable curiosities, besides a collection of admir-as ik by the best masters, There are various other rooms,

t j , e V-shmet of Aru, of Astronomy , of Natural History, of Me-Rm.’ 01 Porcelain, of Antinuitie-,* &c. It lies 45 miles S. ofA|S' ,a > and 125 N. of Rome. Lon. 11, 15. E, Lat. 43.47- N.(y ' , H'ENN FS, a town of France , in the department of theFt iri> ‘ ni ! 1,s oi Ghurleroy, and 1G S, W, of Namur .fa , ir*'^RRNSAC, a town »f France , in the department of Ile-Fl Di>l*- H '-9. erau l | * miles S. of Bezieres.vor J 'kN IIA, in ancient geography, a town of Etruria , nowVo, ~ tr—, N0 , ^ 8 * 1

a’.ied Florenza, or Fiorenza, by the Italians, and Florence by theEnglish. See Florence .

FLORENT1N, or ST. FLORENTIN, a town of France ,in I he department of Yonne, and late duchy of Burgundy , 15miles N. E. of Auxerre, and 80 S. E. of Paris .

FLORENT1NO, one of the three provinces of Tuscany . Theapital is Florence .

FLORES, one of the. Azores , so named from the multitude offlowers found growing spontaneously on it. Lon. 31° 11' 22" W.from Greenwich, Lat. 3y° 26' 20" N.

FLORET, [ Jleurettc , Kr,] a small imperfect flower.

FLORID STYLE, a style too much enriched with figuresand flowers of rhetoric. This seems to be the fault of many au-thors and orators of the present age.

FLORIDA, a country of N. America , bounded on the N. byGeorgia, on the E. by the Atlantic, on the S. by the Gulfs ofMexico and Florida, and on the \V. by the Mississippi . The cli-mate in summer is extremely hot; in winter commonly temperate,though sometimes the rivers are covered with ice. The soil isfertile, and the country' abounds with fruit-trees, many <4 whichbeing in flow er at the time of its discoverjqgave rise to the name ofFlorida . Oranges, peaches, plums, mulberries, cocoamuts,melons, vines, olives, chesnuts, cabbage-trees, &e. grow naturallyin great plenty ; as well as cotton, flax, hemp, sassafras, oaks, palms,pines, cedars, cypres.es, &c. Cochineal and indigo also abound;and the coasts furnish great quantities of fish, oysters, &c. Theforests abound with most of the wild beasts common in America .The original Indians are numerous and active. Florida is COOmiles long, and 130 broad; lying between 82° mid 92° Lon.YV. ami between 25° and 31°. Lat. N. It is divided into East andW est.

Florida, Gulf of, lies on the S. E. coast of Florida , betweenthe Gulf of Mexico and tin* Atlantic.

FLORILEGIUM, or FLORILEGE, a name the Latins havegiven to what the Greeks call Anthology ; viz. a col-

lection of choice pieces, containing the finest and brightest thingsin their kind.

FLORILEGIUM, or ANTHOLOGIA, is particularly usedfora breviary, in the Eastern church, compiled by Arcadius , forthe convenicncy of the Greek priests and monks, who cannot carry'with them in their travels and pilgrimages, ail the volumes whereintheir office is dispersed. It contains the general rubrics, psalter,canticles, the horologium, and the office of the feria;, &c.

FLORIN, a term sometimes used for a coin, and sometimesfor a money of account. As a coin, it is of different values, ac-cording to the different metals, and different countries where it isstruck, The gold florins are most of them of a very coarse alloy, •some of them not exceeding 13 or 14 carats, and none of them 17 j.As a money of account, it is used by the Italian, Dutch, and Ger-man merchants and bankers, but admits of different divisions indifferent places. See Money.

Florin, a town of Sardinia , eight miles S. of Saffari.

FLORIN1ANI, or FLDR1ANI, a sect of heretics, of thesecond century, so named from its author Florinus. PliiiaAriiusays, that they were the same with the Garpophurians. lie adds,that they were also called soldiers, uiililes, quia de militaribus fue-runt. St. Irenams calls them Gnostics ; St. Epiphanies, Phibio-nites; and Theodoret , Uorboritcs, on account of the impurities oftheir lives, &c. though for what particular reasons it is not easy tosay, nor perhaps would it he worth an inquiry.

FLORINUS, or FLOR1ANUS, a heretic of the second cen-tury, and a priest of tiie Roman church, deposed for his errorsalong with Blastus. He made God the author of evil; or ratherasserted, that the things forbidden by God are not evil,

FLORIST, a cultivator of flowers; also applied to an authorwho writes what is called the flora of anv particular place. SeeFlora.

FLORY, FLOWRY, or F-LlyURY, in heraldry, a cross thathas the flowers at the end circumflex and turning flown; difleringfrom the potence, in as much as the latter stretches out more likethat which is called the patee,

FLOS, a Fi.owkr, in botany. See Botany, and Flower ,

Flos Fosmineus, a flower which is furnished with the pointa! orfemale organ of generation, but wants the stamina or male organ. Fe-male flower’s maybe produced apart from the male, either on thej V same