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Plato, and Cicero observe, courage exerted for a selfish purpose,or without a regard to justice, ought to be called audacity ratherthan fortitude. This virtue takes diiferent names, according as itacts in opposition to different sorts of evil; but some of thosenames are applied with considerable latitude. With respect todanger in general, fortitude may be termed intrepidity ; with re-spect to the dangers of war, valour ; with respect to pain of bodyor distress of mind, patience; with'respect to labour, activity;with respect to injury, forbearance ; with respect to our conditionin general, magnanimity. The motives to fortitude arc many andpowerful. This virtue tends greatly to the happiness of the indi-vidual, by giving composure and presence of mind, and keepingthe other passions in due ■subordination. To public good it is es-sential ; for without it, the independence and liberty of nationswould be impossible. It gives to a character that elevation, whichpoets, orators, and historians, have in all ages vied with one ano-ther to celebrate. Nothing so effectually inspires it as rationalPiety ; the fear of God is the best security against every otheriear. A true estimate of human life.; its shortness and uncertain:-; the numberless evils and temptations to which by a long con-tinuance in this world we must unavoidably be exposed ; withmany similar considerations which Christianity afford-, and espe-cially the assurances of the Divine favour, are the only tcertain 'foundations of genuine fortitude in all exigencies.

FORTROSK, a town of Scotland in Ross-^hire, on the Frith^f Moray, nearly opposite to Fort George, 10 miles N. E. of In-verness .

FOR l’UNA, a goddess worshipped with great devotion byhie ancient Greeks and Romans ; who believed her to presideover human affairs, and to distribute wealth and honour at herPleasure. See Fortune.

Fortunate Islands, in ancient geography, certain islands,concerning the situation of which authors are not agreed ; famous inthe mythology, for the golden apples of the llesperides. Thecommon opinion is, that they are the Canary Islands .

FORTUNE., jjruyji,] a name which among the ancients seemsto have denoted a principle of fortuity, whereby things came topass, without being necessitated thereto : hut what and whencethat principle is, they do not seem to have ever precisely thought,ttence their philosophers often intimate, that men'only framed thePhantom Fortune to hide their ignorance; and that they call For-mic whatever befals a man without his knowing for what purpose.Deuce Juvenal (Sat. x. ver. 36(3,) affirms, they were men whoblade a deity of Fortune: and Mr. Spence says, that he has seenan ancient gem, in which Cybele, the mother of the gods, is repre-ie “ted as turning away her liead from Fortune, in attitude of dis-c^ning and rejecting her; (Polymetis, p. 150, 154, &c.) In thej’P-nion of the heathens, therefore, fortune was only the arrival ofbugs ina sudden and unexpected manner, without any apparent(fuse or reason-, so that the philosophical sense of the word coin-culfis with what is vulgarly called chance. But in religion it hadhirther force ; altars and temples in great numbers were consecra-t'd to Fortune, as a deity. This intimates, that the heathens hadRuined, and even deified, Chance ; and conceived her as a sortr goddess, who disposed of the fate of men at her pleasure,j Dice that innovation of Horace, O diva, gratum epue regis Antimn,th ^ 16 °de of the first hook, where lie recommends Augustus ,cliff 1 l >re Paring for a visit to Britain , to her protection. From thesetl brent sentiments it may he inferred, that the ancients at oneto' 16 Fortune for a peremptory cause, bent upon doing goodsome, am) persecuting others; and at others tor a blind mcon-b’o \ CUUSe ’ ivithout any view or determination at all. If then thealt- ^ rtlllle had "° certain idea in the mouth oi those who erectedhii* 1 )* 0 • ler * ml| ch less can it be ascertained what it denotes in theP&i S ^i° se vd'o now use the word in their writings. HoraceFortune preceded, by Necessity, holding nails and wedgeser hands, with a cramp-iron and melted lead to fasten it; rarelyL.i'Psnied with Fidelity , unless when she abandons a family ;f r i ln . l hatease Fidelity never fails to depart with her, as well as''Tit' 1 -’ ‘’he is disrespectfully spoken of by most of the Romanbtisrp’f n< ! ^presented as blind, inconstant, unjust, and delighting inSt a f. 1 ■ 'Fhe most celebrated temple of Fortune was at Prameste.bestin'' ^aks of several Fortunes there, and calls them the Prac-j,- * s °rores. I.ih, i. Svlv. ill. ver. 80.

Itidh. Island , or Good Fortune Island, an isle in theDea, i-j. \y. of Sumatra. Lon. 20. 25. E. Lat. 1.35.S.

FORTUNETELLER, one who cheats common people, bypretending to the knowledge of futurity. Fortune-tellers are to hepunished with a year’s imprisonment, and standing four times onthe pillory. Stat. 9 Geo. 11. cap. 5.

FORTY-DAYS COURT, the court of attachment or wood-mote, held before the verderors of the forest once every 40 days,to inquire concerning all offenders against vert and venison. See .Attachment.

FORUM, in Roman antiquity, was a public place within thecity, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered tothe people.

Forum was also used for a place of traffic, answering to. ourmarket-place. These were generally called fora venalia; in con-tradiction to the former, which were called fora civilia. TheGrecian A^nga; exactly correspond with the Roman fora, beingplaces where courts and.markets were held. At Athens they hadmany fora, but the. chief'of them were the old and the. new.

Forum is also used among casuists, &c. for jurisdiction; as, Inforo legis, jkc. The following metaphorical uses of the word areaho common in the Classics, as Cicero, Suetonius , Floras, &c.

1. Forum Agere, denoted the bringing on causes out of Rome ,ina Roman province; signifying the same with agere conven-tual.

.2. Forum Indicere, was the act of the prator appointing theplace in Rome where causes were to he tr'.fcd.

Fokum, in ancient geography, prelixed to a proper name, de-noted a market-town or borough.

Forum Arm, a town of the Volsci, in Latium , on the Via Ap-piu, a little beyond the Tres Tahernar; mentioned by St. Luke,as well as by Cicero .

Forum Do.mitu, a town of Gallia Narbonensis ; now Frontigrnan, or Fronligniac, in Languedoc .

Forum Fulvii, a town of Liguria , snrnamed Valentinum; fromwhich it is conjectured that it is now Valenza in the dticbv of Mi-lan.

Forum Tiberji, a town of Gallia Belgica, on the left or W.side of the Rhine : Now called Kaysersthul.

Forum Vulcani, the Gampi Phiegraei of Pliny , a place, inCampania , near Pufeoli, and distant from it two miles towardsNaples . It is now called Solfatara.

I DS, a marquisate of Italy, in Tuscany .

Fos di Nova, the capital of the above marquisate : four miles E.of Sarzana .

FOSS, in fortification, a hollow place, commonly full of water,lying between the scarp and counterscarp, below the rampart; andturning round a fortified place ora post that is to be defended.

FOSSA , in oiir ancient customs, was used tosignifv a ditch fullof water, wherein women, convicted of felony, were drowned.

FOSS-WAY, one of the four principal high-ways of England,that anciently led through the kingdom ; supposed to he made bythe Romans, having a ditch upon one side.

FOSSANO, a town of Italy in Piedmont, seated on the Stura;famed for its medicinal springs, whence its ancient name FoilsSantis, since corrupted into its modern one. It lies five miles E.of Savigliano.

FOSSAR1I, in antiquity, officers in the eastern church, whosebusiness was to inter the dead.

FOSSE, in geography, a town of Germany, in Westphalia ,lately in the bishopric of Liege. It is seven miles W. of Na-mur. 4

Fosse, the name of two rivers of England ; viz. 1. in Lanca-shire, running into Levcn Sands; -2.. in Yorkshire , running intothe Ouse near York .

FOSSIL, tyomlh, Lat .fossile, FA.] in natural history, denotesin general all things dug out of the earth: whether they he nativesthereof, as metals, stones, salts, earths, and'other minerals; or ex-traneous, reposited.in the ho.vels of the earth by some extraordirnary means) as. earthquakes, the deluge, &c. See Metal ,Stone, Shell, kc.

FOSSOMBRONE, a town of Italy, in the duchv of Urbino ,16 miles S. W. of Pesaro .

FOSTER, James, D. D. a most distinguished and populardissenting minister, born at Exeter in 1697. He began to preachin 1718; and strong disputes arising soon after, among the dissenters,concerning the Trinity and subscription to tests, his judgementdetermining him to the obnoxious opinions, the clamour grew.

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