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the tenants were bound to it; and also love socome, where theydid it voluntarily out of love to their lord.

SOCON USCO,a province of Mexico , in Guatimala, boundedon the N. by that of Chiapa ; E. by Vera Paz and Guatimala: S.by the Pacific Ocean, and W. by ditto and Guaxaca . The cli-mate is very hot; the rainy season lasts from April to September,and storms are frequent. The chief produce is indigo and cocoanuts.

Soconusoo, or Guevethan, the capital of the above pro-vince, 444 miles S. E. of Mexico . Lon. 85. 25. W. Lat.15. 24. N.

SOCORRO, an island in the North Pacific Ocean ; 20 milesin circumference. Lon. 108. 35. W. Lat. 18. 30. N.

SOCOTARA, SOCOTORA, or SOCOTRA, an island be-tween Asia and Arabia Felix ; about 50 miles long, and 22 broad ;noted for its fine aloes, named Socotrine Aloes. The religion ofthe natives is a mixture of Mohammedanism and Paganism ; butthey are civil to strangers who call in their passage to the East In-dies. It abounds in fruit and cattle ; and they have a king oftheir owm, who is dependent on Arabia. It is 75 miles from CapeGuardafu. Lon. 54. 0. E. Lat. 12. 15. N.

SOCRATES , the greatest, the wisest, and the best, of theancient philosophers, was born at Alopece, a village near Athens ,in the 4th year of the 77lh Olympiad. Iiis parents were of lowrank ; his father Sophroniscu;, being a statuary, and his motherPhaniarete a midwife. Sophroniscus brought up his son, contraryto his inclination, in his own manual employment ; in which So-crates , though his mind was continually aspiring after higher ob-jects, was not unsuccessful ; for he formed statues of the Graces,which were allowed a place in the citadel ol Athens . Grito ob-serving his genius, and admiring his discourses, called him fromthis employment to the study ot philosophy. He also joined hiscountrymen in arms, and distinguished himself in several actions,in which he saved the lives of Xenophon and Alcibiades , withwhom he contracted a close friendship,. On his return to Athens he displayed in his manners a remarkable contrast to his contem-poraries, by the plainness of his dress and the frugality of his liv-ing. In his philosophical lectures he endeavoured to effect a ge-neral reformation by recommending virtue. He was followed bya number of illustrious disciples, whom he instructed sometimes inthe groves of Academus, and at others in the Lyceum, or on thehanks of the Illyssus. The independence of his mind, and thepowerful eloquence of his discourses, excited against him manyenemies, particularly Melitus and Anilus, at whose instigationAristophanes ridiculed him in a comedy called the Clouds. So-crates was next accused before the council of five hundred of cor-rupting the Athenian youth, of introducing innovations in religion,and of ridiculing the gods. These absurd charges were supportedhy the perjury of witnesses, and the judges being mostly enviousof iiis reputation condemned him to death. The solemn celebra-tton 0 f (j )e Delian festival hindered the execution for a month,Vdiich time he employed in discoursing with his friends on the im-mortality of the soul and other sublime subj'-cts. He was urged:° n'ake his escape, which he easily might have done, as the gao-. < ® r * permission had been obtained, but be nobly refused, saying,Where am I to go to avoid death ?” When the term of the fes-''"al was ended, he drank off the poison with perfect composure,j 1 . r making a libation to the gods, and in a few moments he ex-P| r ed. Thus perished, 400 years B. C. and in the 70th year of• s age, Socrates , whom the oracle had pronounced the wisest,l n in Greece. The Athenians repented of. their ingratitude,Uj u* s enemies were universally hated, and died miserably. Thebv sa yuigs of Socrates have been faithfully transmitted to usWit most eminent disciples, Xenophon and Plato . By his

-vLmtippe, rendered proverbial by the violence of her temper,several children.

"dtl ^'®AT1C PHILOSOPHY, the doctrines and opinions,S ' le 8 a rd to morality and religion, maintained and taught byParti? 3 " die character of Socrates , left us hy the ancients,nave*?? ar '^ ^ his scholar Plato, Laertius , &c. he appears toWori,| '.'A one die best and the wisest persons in all the heathensonhv i° * 1! . m ls ascribed the first introducing of moral philo-

cr ate's’fi , lc [’ ' s ' v, 'at is meant by that usual saying, “That So-from in ca hed philosophy down from heaven to earlh that is,Vm ,? contc mp'ation of the heavens and heavenly bodies,0i - iv.— no, i98, 1

he led men to consider themselves, their own passions, opinions,faculties, duties, actions, &c. He wrote nothing himself, yet allthe Grecian sects of philo.-ophers re er their origin to his discipline,particularly the Piatnnisis, Peripatetics, Academics, Cyrenaics ,Stoics , &c. but the greatest part of his philosophy we have in theworks of Plato .

SODA, in medicine, a heat in the stomach, or heart-burn.

Soda, in chemistry, called also fossil or mineral-alkali, becauseit was thought peculiar to the mineral-kingdom, was known to theancients (though not in a state of purity) under the names ofand nitrnm. The soda of commerce is obtained from the ashesof different species of the salsola, a genus of plants which growupon the sea-shore, especially from the salsola soda, from w hichthe alkali lias obtained its name. The soda of commerce is alsocalled barilla, because the plant from which it is obtained bearsthat name in Spain . Almost all the alga’, especially the fuoi, con-tain also a considerable quantity of soda. The ashes of theseplants are known in that country by the napie of kelp ; in France they are called varec. The soda, or barilla of commerce, is farfrom being pure ; besides carbonic acid it contains common salt,and several other foreign ingredients; but it may be obtained per-fectly pure by the processes for purifying potass. See Potass.Soda and potass resemble eacli other so nearly, that they wereconfounded together till Du Hamel published his dissertation oncommon salt in the Memoirs of the French Academy for 1736.He first proved that the base of common salt is soda, and that sodais different from potass. His conclusions were objected to byPott, but finally confirmed by Margraff in 1758. Soda is of agreyish-white colour, and agrees exactly with potass in its taste,smell, and action upon animal bodies ; but its specific gravity isonly 1.336. Heat produces on it exactly the same effects as uponpotass. When exposed to the air, it absorbs moisture and car-bonic acid, and is soon reduced to the consistence of paste ; butit does not liquefy like potass ; in a few days it becomes dry again,and crumbles into powder. It has a strong affinity for water, dis-solves in it like potass ; and may also be obtained in crystals byevaporating its aqueous solution. It is not altered by light ; nordoes it combine with oxygen, hydrogen, azote, carbon, charcoal,or metals. Its action upon phosphorus and sulphur is the samewith that of potass. The sulphuret and hydrogenated sulphuretof soda possess the properties of the sulphuret and hydrogenatedsulphuret of potass, and are formed in the same manner. In itsaction on metals, metallic oxides, and in its affinities, il also agreeswith potass. In short, the two fixed alkalies, in a state of purity,resemble each other very nearly in almost every particular. Itsimportance in manufactures is not inferior to that of potass. Forseveral purposes, as for soap and glass, it answers even betterthan potass. Soda was long regarded as a simple body ; it lias,however, at length been decomposed by Mr. Davy. See Potass.For the affinities of soda, see Chemistry. Few articles are ofgreater importance to the arts, manufactures, and domestic oeco •nomy, than soda. It is indispensably necessary for making hardsoap ; and also forms an excellent substitute for this article ; asfour ounces of the former, and six of the latter, are fully equal to16 ounces, or one pound, of soap, for cleansing 141ks. of cloth, byhand ; while it softens the hardest water : thus, a saving will arisein the expence, of from one-third to one-half, accordingly as thatoperation is performed by the hand, or by machines. The su-perior effects of soda are fully evinced in the cleansing of fleecyhosiery, flannels, or worsted stockings ; which, when managedwith warm water, soap, and pot-ash, acquire an unpleasant odour,and are apt to shrink, in consequence of the rubbing, particularlyif they be immersed in cold water : whereas, by using the fossil-alkali these inconveniences are said to be completely avoided,and neither the quality'.of the goods will be impaired ; nor thehands of the women when the soda is judiciously employed, beinjured in the same manner, as generally happens by the commonlev. Farther, as frequent bathing or washing of-the body greatlyconduces to health, it lias been recommended to dissolve a smallportion of soda in the water thus employed ; or, at least to pass atowel wetted with a solution of soda and soap, over tlie surface ;for such practice opens the pores, and removes the disagreeableodour arising from profuse perspiration : a similar application willbe productive of equal advantage to horses that are employed forracing, post-chaises, or other purposes, where great exerit’ons arei’ required*