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flesh or bark; mouth beset with oviparous polypes. There areSlx species.
Isis , in mythology, a celebrated deity of the Egyptians, daugh-* er of Saturn and Rhea, according to Diodorus of Sicily . Somesuppose her to be the same with" lo. Plutarch says Isis marriedfl f: r brother Osiris , and mentions some other absurd traditions re-jecting her. These two ancient deities, as some observe, com-prehended all nature, and all the gods of the heathens. Isis wasyj® Venus of Cyprus, the Minerva of Athens, the Cybele of thetflrygians, the Ceres of Eleusis, the Proserpine of Sicily , theDiana of Crete, the Beilona of the Romans, &c. Osiris and Isis reigned jointly in Egypt, but Typhon, the brother of Osiris , rc-fled and murdered him. The ox and the cow were the sym-bols of Osiris and Isis ; because while on earth, they had diligentlya P.plied themsel ves to agriculture. Isis was supposed to be thefboon, and O siris the sun ; she was represented as holding a globej? Aer hand, with a vessel full of ears of corn. The Egyptians be-ll j v ed, that the inundations of the Nile proceeded from the tears'h'cli Isis shed for the murder of Osiris. The word Isis ', accordingo some, signifies ancient. The inscriptions on the statues of thesh -1 ess ' vere °fl en * n these words: f ‘ I am all that has been, thatt, a ‘ be, and none among mortals lias hitherto taken off my veil.”cr worship was universal in Egypt .
A SI ;b a river that rises in Gloucestershire , and flows through a part* Wiltshire , and falls into the Thames.
|«LA, a river of Forfarshire, and another of Banffshire .
*bLAM, the true faith according to the Mohammedans._bLAND, [ insula , Lat. isola, Italian; caiiuid, Erse. It isP'oiiounced iland,] a tract of land surrounded by water. It standsj.°btradistinguished from Continent , or Terra Firma. Islands?bi their situation enjoy many 7 great advantages, the principal oft llc A are these; 1st. Many benefits are derived to the inlvabi-■Co • an ' s ' an fl fr°tn its unit)'. The very largest country on a■itnient is still but a part, which implies dependence, and is ueces-ijg'v attended with a train of imperfections; from all of which, the^ ople who live in an island (at least in a large one) are, or may be,tin ^ ree ‘ All countries on the continent'are exposed to con-Ual dangers, against which their inhabitants must be perpetuallyjHon their guard. This renders a large military force requisite.atl "'ivolves them in continual negotiations, leagues, and alli-\ v ® s ’ a fl of which, however, cannot exempt them from frequentbad”’ ^- r ^ le m * ser ‘ es that attend them, and which have commonly'ail 011 their internal policy. 2d. The climate is generally
a cc "V. 1 ^ salubrious from the vapours of the surrounding sea, whichr ate r< ln g.t° the latitude abates the violence of heat, and mode-less i| r 'S our of cold, both of which are sensibly and constantlyhave ■ 1 011 C011 tfl'ents under the same elevation of the pole. WeStogi a [btnarkable instance of this in the islands called ancientlyTh e J at es> ' n th e modern Latin Insulas Arearum, by us the Ilieres.In t d are three in number, lying in 43° Lat. N." before Toulon .fectm' 1 ’ the fruits of France and Italy arrive at the highest per-gro^ 11 ). alK l ufl the medical herbs of Italy, Greece, and Egypt ,in "J b• Yet the climate is wonderfully temperate and pleasanta SreaT^r nS ‘- ^ There is commonly a greater variety, and alwaysthe cir er fertility, in the soil, occasioned chiefly by the warmth ofl)°th bumambient air, frequent showers, and, in consequence ofc °nsi > ( ] ? ei . n ,S con tinua!ly impregnated with vegetable salts. 4. A''hich'^p e at l vanta g e arises from accessibility on every side, bya nd hn lS ail L S are °P en to receive supplies from other countries,feanuf.^f t ' le conven 'ency of exporting their commodities andat all se C Ures t 0 t afl markets, and, in comparison of the continent,a ° l, inieiv 0ll f' bhe opposite sides of an island may in regard to*ts p ro " ' e be considered as two countries; each has its ports,S l 'eiicfc 0 r coull nodities, its proper correspondences; in conse-*° r the n W f 'b it promotes the cultivation, and procures ventlllfi diate c tures, of a large district behind it; while the inter-
r' es e two Ul r IKl s l ,ace fl |U ' s ;i profit in that inland trade, which‘ av °urabl e su PPb’- The winds contrary on one side are
P°asts, ; s 011 fl le other; and th e sea, the common road to bothi Ul 'd, vvh' 0I i*' llilla ''-’ plowed by vessels outward and homewardar act« r i z ' • beeps up that active and enterprising spirit whichJ lK 'Host eff S t ant ' eis ' 5. An island has the most extensive andrepairs, n , ec ll .al frontier, on all sides, subsisting for ever, withoutl0ln this vei- W f 1 ° U - t ex P ellce: and, which is still more, derivesV °L. in_frontier a great part of the subsistence of its inhabi-
tants, and a valuable article in its commerce, from its fisheries. Itis commonly said the sea is a mine, but its treasures are more last-ing and more certain, procured by labour solely, and fit for use orfor sale as soon as procured, quickly 7 consumed, and thereby thesource of continual employment to a stout, hardy, laborious race ofmen, who likewise find employment, for numbers, and are in vari-ous respects otherwise beneficial members of the community. Thedefence by this natural barrier, is not only permanent, but in every 7respect more to be relied on, than any that could be raised by theskill and industry of men at the greatest expence. AH these be-nefits are insured to the inhabitants of every island, if they placetheir hopes in the assiduous cultivation of their own country, bendall their endeavours to raising and extending thc-ir commerce, andput their trust, (under Providence,) in the natural safeguard ot ahardy race of men accustomed to robust exercises, and in whatnecessarily arises from their way of life, a naval force. The firstinhabitants of islands come in vessels, are fora time dependent oilthe country from whence they came, arrive at independence byenlarging their correspondence; and thus commerce is natural,and essential to islanders; which is the reason that they thrive salong as they cultivate it, and decline in proportion as it decays.Several naturalists are of opinion, that the islands were formed atthe deluge: others think, that there have been new islands formedby the casting up of vast heaps of clay, mud, sand, &c. othersthink they have been separated from the continent by violentstorms, inundations, and earthquakes. These last have observed,that the East Indies, which abound in islands more than any otherpart of the world, are likewise more annoyed with earthquake',,tempests, lightnings, volcanoes, &c. than any other part. Othersagain conclude, that islands are as ancient as the world, and thatthere were some at the beginning: and, among other arguments,support their opinion from Gen. x. 5, and other passages of Scrip-ture. Yarenius thinks that there have been islands produced eachof these ways. St. Helena , Ascension, and other steep rockyislands, lie supposes to have become so by the sea overflowin'*their neighbouring champaigns; but by the heaping up hugequantities of sand, and other terrestrial matter, he thinks the islandof Zealand, Japan, &c. were formed. Sumatra and Ceylon, andmost of the East India islands, he thinks, were rent off from themain land ; and concludes, that the islands of the Archipelago were formed in the same way, imagining it probable that Deuca -lion’s flood might contribute towards it. The ancients had a no-tion that Delos, and a few other islands, rose from the bottom ofthe sea; which, how fabulous soever it may appear, agrees withlater observations. Seneca takes notice, that the islands Therasiorose thus out of the iEgean sea in his time, of which the marinerswere eye-witnesses. It is indeed very probable, that many islandshave existed not only from the deluge, but from the creation ofthe world; and we have undoubted proofs of the formation ofislands in all the different ways abovementioned. Another wav,however, in which islands are frequently formed in the South Sea,is by the coralline insects. Oil this subject the following curiousdissertation by Alexander Dalrymple , Esq. bath appeared in thePhilos. Trans, for 17b7. “ These islands are .generally long
and narrow: they are termed by a narrow bar of land, incloskgthe sea within it; generally, perhaps always, with some ingress atleast on the tide ; commonly with an opening capable of receivinga canoe, and frequently sufficient to admit even larger vessels.The origin of these islands will explain their nature. What ledme first to this deduction was an observation of Abdul Roobin, aSooloo pilot, that all the islands lying off the N, E. coast of Bo-reno had shoals the eastward of them. These islands being cover-ed to the W. by Borneo , the winds from that quarter do not attackthem with violence. But the N. E. winds, tumbling in the bil-lows from a wide ocean, heap up the coral with which those seasare filled. 'Phis, obvious after storms, is perhaps at all other timesimperceptibly effected. The coral-banks, raised in- the same man-ner, become dry. These banks are found of all depths, at all dis-tances from the shore, entirely unconnected w ith the land, and de-tached from each other: although it often happens that they aredivided by a narrow gut without bottom. Coral-banks also grow,by a quick progression, towards the surface; but the winds, heap-ing up the coral from deeper water, chiefly accelerate the forma-tion of these into islands. They become gradually shallower; and,when once the sea meets with resistance, the coral is quickly thrown