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at Woolwich academy ; and soon after was chosen F. R. S. Inteaching he had a dignity and perspicuity, tempered with suchmildness, as engaged the attention and friendship of his scholars,and gained applause from his superiors. His application and closeconfm'-ment, however, injured his health ; his spirits sunk gradu-ally, till he became incapable of reading the letters of his friends.At length his physicians advised his native air for his recovery,and he set out in Feb. 1761 ; but was so fatigued that upon hisarrival at Bosworth, lie grew continually worse till lie died, May14, aged 51.

Simson, Dr. Robert, professor of mathematics in the univer-sity of Glasgow , was born in 1687, of a respectable family, whichhad held a small estate in the county of Lanark for some genera-tions. lie was educated in the universiiy ot Glasgow , under someof his relations, lie soon became, an adept in the philosophy andtheology of the schools, in the oriental languages, and in botanicaland historical knowledge. During his theological studies, mathe-matics took hold of his fancy. When tired with speculations, inwhich he did not meet with certainty to reward his labours, hehad recourse to mathematics which never failed to refresh him.At last a prospect began to open of making mathematics his pro-fession for life. His original incitement to this science, to refreshliis mind in the n)i<ht of severer tasks, gave a particular turn to hisstudies. He preferred the ancient method ot studying pure geo-metry, and even felt a di-like to the Cartesian method of substitut-ing symbols for operations of the mind, and still more to their sub-stitution for tbe very objects of discussion, for lines, surfaces, so-lids, and their affections. He was rather disposed in the solutionof an algebraic problem, where cjuantity alone was considered, tosubstitute figure and its affections for the algebraic symbols, andto convert the algebraic formula into an analogous geometricaltheorem. And lie came at last to consider algebraic analysis aslittle better than a kind of mechanical knack, in which we proceedwithout ideas of any kind, and obtain a result without meaning,and without being conscious of any process of reasoning,, andtherefore without any conviction of its truth. And surely, if ge-nuine unsophisticated taste alone is to be consulted, Dr. Simsonwas in the riglii ; for though the reasoning in algebra is as strict asinthepure-f geometry of Euclid or Apollonius , the expert ana-lyst has little perception ol it as be goes on, and his final equationis not felt by himself as the result of ratiocination, any more thanif he had obtained it by Pascal’s arithmetical mill. Such, how-ever, was the strong bias of Dr. Simson to the analysis of the an-cient geometricians. It increased as he went forward ; and his vene-ration for the ancient geometry was carried to a ..degree of idola-try. His chief labours were-exerled in efforts to restore the worksof the ancient geometricians; and he bestowed little pains upon mo-dern discoveries. The noble inventions of tluxions and loga-rithms attracted the notice of Dr. Simson ; but he contented him-self with demonstrating their truth on the genuine principles ofdie ancient geometry. About the age of 25, Dr. Simson waschosen regius professor of mathematics in the university of Glas-gow. He went to Loudon immediately after, and there formedacquaintance with the most eminent men of that bright era ofBritish science. Among these he always mentioned Dr. HalleyY*'h particular respect. He also admired the wide and masterlysteps which Newton took in his investigations. lie often re-marked. “ That the 39th proposition of the first hook of the Prin-was the most important proposition that had ever been exhi-jted to the physico-mathematical philosopher;’’ and he used tounstrate the superiority of the geometrical over the algebraicanalysis, by comparing the solution given by Newton of the in-erse problem of centripetal forces in the 42 d proposition of that°°k with the one given by John Bernouilli in the Mem, of thec ad. of Sciences at Paris for 1713. Returning to his academicalt Y‘ air . Dr. Simson discharged the duties of a professor for morefjj. an years. In his prelections he followed strictly the Eucli-s - 11 method in elementary geometry. He made use of Tlieodo-as an introduction to spherical trigonometry. In the highercin"!' elr ^ ' )e P re l ec tcd from his own Conics; and he gave a spe-the linear problems of the ancients, by explaining thePlicar^ 163 em’d 10 ' 1 ! aiu l the cissoid, with their proper ap-

C€ j v j lon ' 1') the advanced class he gave Napier’s mode of con-Jtlr logarithms, i. e. quantities as generated by motion; andotes’s view of them, as the sums of ratiuncula:; demon-

strated Newton ’s lemmas on the limits of ratios; then gave theelements of the fluxionary calculus; and finished his course withselect propositions in optics, gnomonics, and central forces. Hismethod of teaching was simple and perspicuous, and his mannerimpressive. He directed his efforts to the restoration of the an-cient geometricians, and particularly favoured the world with one ofthe best editions of Euclid ’s elements. All the lovers of true geo-metry will acknowledge their obligations to him for the edition ofthe Elements and Data which lie published about 1758. Thetext is corrected with the most judicious and scrupulous care, andthe notes are inestimable. He died in 1768, and his posthumous-works were printed at Glasgow , in 1776.

SiN. See Theology.

Sin, the name of one of the chief Japanese deities, in their an-cient Sintoo religion.

SINAI, or SINA, a famous mountain of Arabia Petra, uponwhich God gave the law to Moses. It stands in a kind of penin-sula, formed by the two arms of the Red Sea , one of whichstretches out towards the N. and is called the Gulpli of Koisum;the other extends towards the E. called the Gulph of Elan, or theElanitic Sea, At this day the Arabians call Mount Sinai by thename of Tor. i. e. the mountain by way of excellence: of Gibelor Libel Mousa, the mountain of Moses. It is 260 miles fromCairo , and generally it requires a journey of ten days to travelthither.

SINAPIS, Mustard; in botany, a genus of plants belongingto the class tetradynamia, and order siliquosa ; natural order Sili-quoss. Calyx spreading; corolla claws erect; gland between,die shorter stamens and pistil, and between the longer stamensand calyx. There are nineteen species.

S. Alba, White Mustard, is generally cultivated as a salad-herb for winter and spring use, and is well known.

S. Nigra, Common Mustard, which is frequently foundgrowing naturally iu many parts of Britain , but is also cultivatedin fields for the seed, of which the sauce called mustard is made.'Phis rises with a branching stalk four or five feet high ; the lowecleaves are large, rough, and very like those of turnip; the upperleaves aie smaller and less jagged. Mustard , by its acrimony andpungency, stimulates the solids, and attenuates viscid juices: and.hence stands deservedly recommended forexciting appetite, as-sisting digestion, promoting the fluid secretions, and for the other-purposes of the acrid plants called antiscorbutic. It imparts it»taste and smell in perfection to aqueous liquors, and by distilla-tion with water yields an essential oil of great acrimony. To rec-tified spirit its seeds give out very little either of their smell ortaste. Subjected to the press, they yield a considerable quantityot mild insipid oil, which is as free from acrimony as that of al-monds. They are applied as an external stimulant to benumbedor paralytic limbs; to parts affected with fixed rheumatic pains ^and to the soles ot the feet, in the low stage of acute diseases, forraising the pulse: in this intention, a mixture of equal parts of the-powdered seeds and crumb of bread, with the addition sometimes,of a little bruised garlic, are made into a cataplasm with a suffi-cient quantity of vinegar.

SINAPISM, [from Siniqyis, Lat.] in pharmacy, an external,medicine, in form of a cataplasm composed chiefly of mustard-seed pulverized, and other ingredients.

SINCIPUT, in anatomy, the forepart of the head reaching,from the forehead to the coronal suture.

SINDE, orTATTA. See Tatta.

S1NDELFINGEN, a town of Suabia, in Wurtemburg , 6.miles S. W. of Stutgard, and 30 of Baden.

S1NDY, a province of Hindoostan Proper, bounded on theW. by Makran, a province of Persia ; on the N. by the territo-ries of the king of Candahar ; on the N. E. by those of the Seiks lon the E. by a sandy desert; and on the S. E. by Cutcb. It ex-tends along the course of the Simle or Indus from its. mouth toBehker, near Moultan. It is 300 miles long; and m its widestpart about 160 broad. In soil, climate, and suiface, Sindy re-sembles Egypt ; the lower part of it being composed of rich ve-getable mould, and extended into a wide valley ; while the upperpart of it is a narrow slip, confined on one side’by mount:, ; ns, andon the other by a sandy desert, the Indus winding through thisvalley, and annually overflowing it.

SINE, or RIGHT SINE OF AN ARCH, in trigonometry*

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