ounces, that of the female rather less; the length of the male isabout eight inches and a quarter; the bill is brown or yellow. Thewhole plumage is black, very resplendent, with changeable blue,purple, and copper: each feather marked with a pale yellowspot. The stare can be taught to speak French, German, Latin ,Greek, &c. and to pronounce phrases of some length. Its pliantthroat accommodates itself to every inflection and every accent.It can readily articulate the letter R, and acquires a sort of warb-ling which is much superior to its native song. These birds arespread through an extensive range in the ancient continent. Theyare found in Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, the Isle of Malta ,the Cape of Good Hope , and are everywhere nearly the same ;whereas those American birds which have been called stares, pre-sent a great diversity of appearance.
STUTGARD, STUTGART, or STUTTGART ), a hand-some city of Germany, in Suabia , capital of the late duchy of Wir-temberg; 3b miles E. of Baden , 40 S. S. E. of Heidelburg, 40N. W. of Ulm, and 50 N. E. of Strasburg. Lon. <J. 10. E. Eat.48. 50. N.
STYLE, a word of various significations, originally deducedfrom a kind of bodkin wherewith the ancients wrote on
plates of lead, or on wax, the. and which is still used to write onivory-leaves and paper prepared for that purpose, &c.
Style, in language, is the peculiar manner in which a man ex-presses his conceptions. It is a picture of the ideas which rise inhis mind, and of the order in which they are there produced. Thequalities of a good style may he ranked under two heads; perspi-cuity and ornament. Perspicuity ought to be essentially connect-ed with every kind of writing; and to attain it, attention must bepaid, first to single words and phrases, and then to the construc-tion of sentences. With respect to words and phrases, it requiresthere three qualities; purity, propriety, and precision. With re-gard to sentences, it requires a clear arrangement of the words, andunity in the sense; to which, if strength and harmony be added,the style will become ornamented. One of the most importantdirections to be observed by him who wishes to form a good style,is to acquire clear and precise ideas on the subject concerningwhich he is to write or speak. To this must be added frequencyof composition, and an acquaintance with the style of the bestauthors. A servile imitation, however, of any author, is carefullyto be avoided ; for he who copies can hardly avoid copying faultsas well as beauties. A style cannot be proper unless it be adaptedto the subject, and likewise to the capacity of our hearers, if weare to speak in public. A simple, clear, and unadorned, style,such as that of Swift, is fittest for intricate disquisition ; a style ele-gant as Addison’s, or impetuous like Johnson’s, is most proper forfixing the attention on truths, which, though known, are muchneglected. We must not be inattentive to the ornaments of style,if we wisli that our labours should be read and admired: but lie isa contemptible writer, who looks not beyond the dress of language,who lays not the chief stress upon his matter, and who does not re-gard ornament as a secondary and inferior recommendation. SeeOratory.
Style, is a part of the pistil of plants, and is of various figures,but always placed on the germen : it gives origin to the stigma.
Style, in dialing, denotes the gnomon or cock of a dial raiseden the plane thereof to project a shadow.
Style, in jurisprudence, the particular form or manner of pro-ceeding in eacli court of jurisdiction, agreeable to the rules andorders established therein; thus we say, the style of the court ofRome , of chancery, of parliament, of the privy-council, &c.
Style, in music, denotes a particular manner of singing, play-ing, or composing; being properly the manner that eacli personhas of playing, singing, or teaching; which is very different bothin respect of different geniuses, ot countries, nations, and of thedifferent matters, places, times, subjects, passions, expressions, &c.
Style, New, in chronology, the Gregorian method of compu-tation.
Style, Old, the Julian method of computing time. See Ca-lendar.
STYLEPHORUS, in natural history, a genus of fishes of theorder apodes. Eyes pedunculated, standing on a short thick cy-linder; snout lengthened, directed upwards, retractile towards thehead, by means of a membrane; mouth without teetli; three pair*t branohise beneath the throat; pectoral fins small; dorsal ex-
tending completely along the back; caudal short, with spiny rays;body very long and compressed.
S. Chordatus, is the only species of this very curious genus;it was discovered by Dr. Shaw, who read a description of it beforethe Limuuan Society in 1788. The stylephorus chordatus is a na-tive of the West Indian Sea. It was taken between the islands ofCuba and Murtinico, near a small cluster of little islands about nineleagues from shore, and was seen swimming near the surface. Thewhole length of this uncommon animal from the head to the extre-mity of the caudal process is about thirty-two inches, of which theprocess itself measures twenty-two. See Plate CXXI.
STY LETT, or STILETTO, a small dangerous kind of poi-nard, which may be concealed in the hand, chiefly used in trea-cherous assassinations.
STYLITES, an appellation given to a kind of solitaries, wiio'spend their lives seated on the tops of columns, to be, as they ima-gine, the better disposed for meditation, &c. Of these we findseveral mentioned in ancient writers, and even as low as the ele-venth century.
STYLUS, in botany, the slender part of the pistillum, resem-bling a pillar, which stands upon the seed-bud, and elevates thestigma.
STYLOCERALOIDES, STYLO-GLOSSUS, STYLO-IlYOllYKUS, STYLOIDES, STYLO-PIIARYNGJEUS,tlie names of different muscles in the human body. See Ana-tomy.
STYPTICS, [rvnhxof,] in pharmacy, medicines which, bytheir astringency, stop lnemorrhagies, &c. See Materia MfDICA.
STYRAX, the Storax-tr.ee ; in botany, a genus of plantsbelonging to the class decandria, and order monogynia; naturalorder, Bicornes. Calyx inferior; corolla funnel-form; drupetwo-see.led. It has four species.
S. Officinale, the Officinal Storax, usually rises abovetwenty feet high ; it sends off many strong branches, which are co-vered with a rougliisli bark of a grey colour: the leaves are broachelliptical, entire, somewhat pointed, on the upper surface smooth)and of a light green colour, on the under surface covered with awhitish down; they are placed alternately, and stand upon shodfootstalks: the flowers are large, while, and disposed in clustersupon short peduncles, which terminate the branches: the coroll®is monopetalous, funnel-shaped, divided at the limb into fi velance-shaped segmenls: the filaments are ten, placed in a regularcircle, and seem to adhere towards the base: the antherai are eredand oblong: the germen is oval, and supports a slender style, wit' 1a simple stigma; the fruit is a pulpy pericarpium, which contain*one or two nuts of an oval compressed figure. The resinous dru|5called storax issues in a fluid state from incisions made in the trunkor brandies of the tree.
STYRSA, an island near the W. coast of Sweden , in the Nod* 1Sea. Lon. 11, 52. E. Eat. 57. 33. N.
STYX, in mythology, a celebrated river of hell, round wliio* 1it flows nine times. The gods held the waters of the Styx in sue* 1veneration, that to swear by them was reckoned an oath altoged’dinviolable. If any of the gods had perjured themselves, Jup* tetobliged them to drink the waters of the Styx, which lulled the 11 'for one whole year into a senseless stupidity, for the nine followingyears they were deprived of the ambrosia and the nectar of 111gods, and after the expiration of tfie years of their punishm e|1 .’they were restored to the assembly of the deities, and to all t* 1 ® 1 .original privileges. It is said that this veneration was shew 1 1the Styx, because it received its name from the nymph Styx, w 1 ’’with her three daughters, assisted Jupiter in hiswaragainsttheTha 1 !LStyx, a sea-nymph, daughter of Oceanus and Tellus. .married the giant Pallas, son of Crius and Eurybia, by wlionj 8had three daughters, all aoddesses, Victory, Strength, and V®* 0 ,.
SUABIA, or SWABIA, a circle of Germany , bounded on 1N. by Franconia , and the Lower Rhine; on the W. byLower Rhine and Alsace; on the S. by Switzerland ; and on 1E. bv Bavaria . ^ <
SUADA, the goddess of persuasion, among the Roman 3called Pitlio by the Greeks. . 0 f
SUANES, SUANETI, SUANI, or SOANES, a P^fP* ar eAsia, who inhabit one of the four divisions of hneritia. 1 11L ’ 3chiefly employed in agriculture and rearing cattle. g(jl3A^’