NOTO, or NOTO NUOVO, i: e. New Noto, a town ofSicily, capital of the valley of Noto. Lon. 14. 0. E. Lat. 36.50. N.
Noto, Val di, or the Valley of Noto, one of the three val-leys or provinces into which Sicily is divided; lies between thesea and the val'eys of Detnona, and Mazara .
NO'IONECTA, the Boat-fly; a genus of insects belongingto the order hemyptera. Snout inflected f antenna: shorter thanthe thorax ; four wings folded cross-wise, coriaceous on the upperhalf; hind-legs hairy, formed for swimming. There are seven-teen species in two divisions, viz. A. Lip elongated, conic. B.Conic, spinous at the sides.
N. Glauca, has a head somewhat round, of which the eyeseems to take up the greatest part. Those eyes are brown andvery large, the rest of the head being yellow. In the fore-part ithas a sharp trunk that projects, and is inflected between the fore-feet. On tlie sides are seen the antenna:, very small, yellowish,and that spring from under the head. The thorax, which is broad,short, and smooth, is yellow on the fore and black on the back-part. The escutcheon is large, of a rough black, and as it werenappy. The elytra, rather large, and crossed over each other,are. a mixture ot brown and yellow, not unlike the colour of rust,which makes it look cloudy. The under-part of the body isbrown ; and at the extremity of the abdomen are to be seen a fewhairs. This insect is seen in stagnating waters, where it swims onits back, and presents its abdomen upwards; for which reason ithas been called by the Greek name of nolonecta. The hinderteet, longer than the rest, serve it as paddles. It is very nimble,and dives down when you go to take hold of it; after which, itrises again to the surface of the water. It must be cautiously han-dled if one would avoid being pricked by it, for the point of itsrostrum is exceeding sharp and intolerably painful, but it goes offin a few minutes. The larva very much resembles the perfect in-sect. It is very common in the ponds of water in Ilyde-park,and in several other places about London .
NOTORIOUS, that is publicly known, and therefore needsno proof.
NOTOXUS, a genus of insects of the order coleoptera. An-tenna; iiliform; feelers four, hatchet-shaped; jaw one-toothed;thorax a little narrowed behind. There are about thirteen spe-cies. N. monoceros, has a thorax projecting like a horn overthe head ; shells pale, with a black band and dot. It inhabits Eu-rope on umbelliferous plants.
NOTRE DAME, our Lady, an appellation frequently givento the Iioly Virgin ; and hence we meet with churches of uotredame, as that at Paris ; also feasts, nunneries, &c. of notre dame.
NOTTEBURG, a town of Russia, in Ingria , on an island inthe lake Ladoga . Lon. 31. 40. E. Lat. 60. 6. N.
NOTTINGHAM, or NOTTINGHAMSHIRE , a countyof England, bounded on the E. by Lincolnshire , on the S. E. andS. bv Leicestershire, on the W. by Derbyshire , and on the N.and W. by Yorkshire . It extends in length 48 miles, 25 inbreadth, and 1010 in compass. No county in England enjoys apleasanter and healthier air. The soil differs widely in differentparts of the county. Towards the W. where lies the forest ofSherwood, it is sandy; and therefore that part of the county iscalled by the inhabitants The Sand : but the S. E. parts, wateredby the Trent and the rivulets, are clayey, and therefore are calledThe Clay. The latter is fruitful both in corn and pasture; theformer produces little besides wood, coal, and some lead. Thecounty has a variety of commodities and manufactures, as wool,leather, tallow, butter, cheese, coal, marl, cattle, malt, liquorice,stockings, glass, earthenwares, and strong ale. The principalrivers are the Trent and Idle. The Trent enters the county onthe S. W. and passing through it to the N. E. enters Lincolnshire .Tire Idle traverses the N. part of the county. The spaciousforest of Sherwood lies in the W. part of the county, and indeedtakes up the greatest part of it.
Nottingham, the capital of the above county, is a handsomecity and a county of itself. The name is derived from the Saxonword SiwUoigliam, which signifies caves, from the caves andapartments anciently dug in the rocks on which the town stands.I bese, being soft, easily yield to the spade and pick-axe ; whencethe townsmen have excellent cellars for the vast quantities ot maltsliquors made here, and sent, as well as their malt, to most parts ofEngland. Lon. 1. 5. W. Lat. 53. 0. N.
VOL. iv.— no. 160.
Nottingham Island, an island in Hudson’s Bay. Lon. 78.30. W. Lat. 78. 30. N.
NOTUS, or AUSTER. See Acster.
NOVALLE, a town of Italy, between Padua and Treviso ; 10miles S. of Trevigio. Lon. 12. 5. E. Lat. 45. 35. N.
NOVANIUM, an ancient municipal town of Dalmatia , builtby the Romans, in the territory now called Imoschi .
NOVARA, an ancient and" strong city of Italy , capital of thelate Novarese, now included in the department of the Sesia.- Itlies 8 miles N. E. of Vercelli, and 23 W. S. W. of Milan . Lon.8. 35. E. Lat. 45. 25. N.
Novara, or the Novarese, a late province of Italy ; formerlyincluded in the duchy of Milan .
NOVATIAN, a heresiarch of the third century, who mademuch noise, was first a Pagan philosopher) He was baptized inbed when dangerously ill; recoverin':, be was afterwards ordainedpriest of the church of Rome , his bishop having obtained this fa-vour for him, which the clergy and people were not disposed togrant. By his wit, knowledge, and eloquence, he might havebeen peculiarly serviceable to the church, had he not with cow-ardice shrunk from persecution. His ambition to be made abishop likewise misled him. On the death of Fabian, bishop ofRome , he wrote a letter to St. Cyprian ; but the promotion ofCornelius to that dignity excited his envy and jealousy to such apitch, that lie separated from the new bishop, and from all whatprofessed to believe, what Novatian strenuously denied, that thechurch could receive those again who bad been guilty of idolatry.He soon got a number of followers among the laity, and someeven among the clergy. Novatus, a priest of Carthage , joinedhim, with his adherents. He got himself Consecrated bishop ofRome in a most infamous and clandestine manner, by three weakmen whom he had imposed upon, and one of whom did penancefor his concern in the business. But he never was acknowledgedas bishop of Rome , Cornelius being confirmed, whilst he was con-demned and excommunicated. He still, however, taught his doc-trine, and at length became the head of the party which bears hisname. Besides the letter mentioned above, St. Jerome says hewrote on the Passover, on the Sabbath , on Circumcision, on thePligh Priests, on Prayer , on Jewish Meals, and on Firmness ofMind, &c. with ; large treatise on the Trinity. None of themappear under his own name, anil some are thought spurious.
NOVATIAN I, N OVATIANS, a sect of ancient heretics, thatarose in the end of the third century, so called from Novatian.They were called also Cathari , from xai*?®', pure, q. d. Puritans.Novatian first separated from the communion of pope Cornelius,on pretence of his being too easy in admitting to repentance thosewho had fallen off in times of persecution. Novatus coming toRome , joined Novatian ; and both maintained, that there was noother admission into the church hut by repentance in baptism;grounding their opinion on that of St. Paul: “ It is impossible forthose once enlightened, and who have tasted the heavenly gift, ifthey fall away, to renew themselves by repentance.” Not thatthey denied but a person, fallen into any sin, might obtain pardonby repentance ; for they themselves recommend repentance in thestrongest terms: but their doctrine was, that the church had it notin its power to receive sinners into its communion, as having noway of remitting sins but by baptism ; which once received couldnot he repeated. In process ot time the Novatians moderated therigour of their master’s doctrine, and only refused absolution tovery great sinners. The two leaders were proscribed, and declar-ed heretics, not for excluding penitents from communion, but fordenying that the church had a power of remitting sins.
NOVATION, [novutio, Lat.] the introduction of somethingnew.
NOVATION, or INNOVATION, in civil law, denotes thechange of one kind of obligation for another; as when a promise isaccepted instead of a written obligation.
NOVATUS, a priest of Carthage , in the third century, who,to avoid being punished for a crime, joined with‘the deacon,named Felirissimus, against St. Cyprian. lie went to Rome in251; and there found Novatian, with whom he contracted afriendship; and afterwards promoted his consecration to the see ofRome . This produced a very great schism. See Novatians.
NO\ I L, a fictitious history, written with a view to exhibit theemotions of the human heart; the happiness and misery of privatelife ; the effects of indulging the passions, and especially that ofX love: