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In the plantain-tree the flowers are all hermaphrodite; in some, 1however, the anlhera or male organ, in others the stigma or femaleorgan, proves abortive. The flowers in the former cla^s are styledfemale hermaphrodites; in the latter, male hermaphrodites. Her-maphrodites are thus as frequent in the vegetable kingdom as theyare rare in the animal one. See Botany.

11 ERMAS, in botany, a genus of the moncecia order, and po-lygamiu class of plants. ’ Hermaphrodite ; umbel terminating; in-volucre universal and partial; umbellets with truncate rays, thecentral one Uoriferous; petals five; stamina five, barren ; seeds inpairs, suborbiculate: male, umbels lateral, with universal and par-tial involucres; umbellets many-flowered ; petals five; staminalive, fertiie. There are five species.

11 Eli MATA, a kingdom and town in Borneo .

HERMES , ['ei’mhe, Gr. from hpww;, an interpreter,] theGreek name of the god Mercury. See Mercury, and'l'HOTH.

Hermes, surnamed Trismegistus , i. e. thrice greatest, anEgyptian or Phoenician priest or philosopher, and according losome a king; which triple office, they say, was the reason of thissurname; though Suidas alleges, it was given him because hetaught the doctrine of the Trinity. It is more probable, however,that he was so named on account of his great learning; for he is'said to have wrote thirty-six books on divinity and philosophy,and six on physic. Clemens Alexandrines has given a catalogueof bis works; but none of them are extant, except a piece entitledl’oemander, which is reckoned spurious, lie taught the Egyp-tians chemistry, the art of land-measuring, the cultivation of theolive, the division of time into hours, and the use of hieroglyphics,lie is supposed to have flourished under Nines or Osins, aboutA. M. 2076.

Hermes , or Herma, among antiquaries, a sort of square or cu-bical figure of the god Mercury, usually made of marble, thoughsometimes of brass or other materials, without arms or legs, andplanted by the Greeks and llonians in their cross-ways.

1IERMET1CAL ART, a name given to chemistry, on a sup-position that Hermes Trismegistus was the inventor of the art, ortiiat he excelled therein. See Hermes .

Hermetical Philosophy, is that which undertakes to solveand explain all the phenomena of nature, from the three chemicalprinciples, salt, sulphur, and mercury.

Hermetical Physic, or Medicine, is that system or hypo-thesis in the art of healing, which explains the causes of diseases,and the operations of medicine, on the principles of the hermeticalphilosophy, and particularly on the system of alkali and acid. Ithas been long exploded.

Hermetical Seal, a manner of closing glass-vessels, for che-mical operations, so very accurately, that nothing can exhale, noteven the most subtile spirits. It is performed by heating the neckof the vessel in the flame of a lamp till it be ready to melt, andthen with a pair of pincers twisting it close together. r l'his che-mists call putting on Hermes ’s seal. Vessels are also sealed her-metically; by stopping them with a stopple of glass, well luted,into the neck of the vessel; or, by turning another ovum philoso-phiemn upon that wherein the matter is contained.

HERMHARPOCRATES, or 11ERMARPOCRATE5, inantiquity, a deity, or figure of a deity, composed of Mercury andUarpocrates the god of Silence.

HERMJANI, or HERM1ATIT.E, a sect of heretics in thesecond century, thus called from their leader llermias, and alsodenominated Seleuciani. One of their distinguishing tenets was,that God is corporeal- Another, that Jesus Christ did not ascendinto heaven with his body, but left it in the sun.

HERMIONE, iii fabulous history, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen, who was betrothed to her cousin Orestes , but after-wards married to Pyrrhus, whom Orestes therefore killed in thetemple of Apollo, and recovered Ilermione.

Iiermione, in ancient geography, a considerable city of Argo-iis. It was in ruins, except a few temples, in the time ot Pausa-nias. It gave name to the

HERMION 1CUS SINUS, a part of the Sinus Argolicus.

HERMIT , is derived from the Greek a desert, and,

therefore should rather be written Eremite '. Paul, surnamed theHermit, is usually reckoned the first hermit; though St. Jerome atthe beginning of the life of that saint, says, it is not known whowas the first." Some think John the Baptist , others Elijah; others

make St. Anthony the founder of (lie eremitical life; but etherssay that he only re-kindled and heightened the fervour thereof,and that his disciples owned St. Paul of Thebes fur the first thatpractised it. The persecutions of Decius and Valerian are suppos-ed to have been the occasion. Several of the ancient hermits,though they lived in descits, had numbers of religious accom-panying them. There are also various orders and congrega-tions oi rehgious distinguished by the title of hermits; as, hermitsof St. Augustine, of St. John Baptist, of St. Jerome , of St.Paul, &c.

HERMITAGE, the cell or habitation ofa hermit; also any re-ligious cell, built and endowed in a recluse place, and annexed tosome large abbey, of which the superior was called a Hermit .

IIERMOGENES, the first and most celebrated architect cfantiquity, was, according lo Vitruvius , born at Alanbada, a city inCaria. He built a temple of Diana at Magnesia ; another of Bac-chus at Tros ; and was the inventor of several parts ot architecture,lie wrote a book on the subject, which is lost.

I1ER.MOGEN IANS, a sect of ancient heretics, so denominat-ed from tlieir leader Ilermogcnes, an African born in the secondcentury. Their opinions were warmly opposed by TerUillian. .

HEllMON, or AERMON, in ancient geography, a mountainof the Amorites, called Sanior by the Phoenicians , and Sanir orSenir by the Amorites, on the E. oi Jordan. It is also called Sionby Moses; but must not be confounded with ttie Sion of Jerusa-lem . It is comprised by profane writers under Libanus, or Antili-banus, with which it is joined on the E.

HKRMUS, in ancient geography, a river of Ionia.

HERNANDR1A, Jack-in a-eox Tree; a genus of the tri-andria order, and monoecia class of plants; natural order, Tricoc-ca\ Male, calyx three-parted; corolla three-petaled; female,calyx truncate, quite entire; corolla six-petaled ; drupe hollow,with an open month, and a moveable nucleus. There are twospecies, viz. II. sonora, whistling hernandria; and H.ovigera, egg-fruited hernaudria. The first is an upright lofty tree; the flow ersare of a pale yellow colour, in panicled racemes ; the calyxes ofthe fruit are also yellow ; the seeds are very oily. It is very common in the West Indies . Dr. Patrick Browne attributes thewhistling noise to the cups that sustain, and partly envelope, thenuts; these, he adds, are very large, and as thev move in the wind,produce sound enough to alarm unwary travellers.

HERNIA , a descent of a portion of the intestines or omentumout of their natural place; or rather, the tumour formed by thatdescent, popularly called a rupture. The word originally signifiesthe same with tumor scroti, called also ramex. Priscian says, thatthe ancient Marsi gave the appellation hernia to rocks; whencesome think hernias thus called on account of their hardness. Sca-linger derives it from the Greek qmj, a branch. See Surgery.

HERNiARfA, Rupture-wort; a genus of the digynia or-der, and pentandria class of plants; natural order, Sarmentaceie.Calyx five-parted; corolla none; stamina five, barren, besidesthe fertile ones; capsule one-seeded. There are four species. Asnone of these plants possess any beauty, they are rarely cultivatedin gardens.

ilERNOSAND, or IIERNOSUND, a sea-port of Sweden on an island in the gulph of Bothnia . It has a great trade in linen.Lou. 17.° SOR'E. Lat.62. 38. N.

HERO, [heros, Lat. a man eminent for braverv ; a manof die highest class in any respect, as “ a hero in learning.” A he-ro is thus distinguished, by E. Bouhours, from a great man, thattiie former is more daring, tierce, and enterprising, and the lattermore prudent, thoughtful, and reserved. In this sense we sav,Alexander was a hero, Julius Ciesar a great man.

Hero, in Pagan mythology, a great and illustrious person, of amortal nature, but supposed to partake of immortality, and afterhis death to be placed among the number of the gods. TheGreeks erected columns and other monuments over the tombs oftheir heroes, and established a kind of worship in honour of themanes both of .their heroes and heroines. The Romans also raisedstatues in honour of their heroes; but there were six of a superiororder, who were supposed to be admitted into the community ofthe twelve great gods; viz. Heroines, Bacchus, Aesculapius, Ro-mulus, Castor, and Pollux. Authors distinguish between theworship which the ancients paid to their heroes, and that offered totheir gods. The latter consisted of sacrifices and libations; the6 former

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