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312

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upon roads or vessels, upon canals, and also for measuringthe relative force of men and other animals. These effectsare usually manifested by the compression or distension ofa strong spring, or by a steel-yard upon the principle of abent lever balance; but in both these constructions the instru-ment is subject to great vibration, owing to the inequalities

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EARS. See Crosettes and Ancones.

EAGLE, in architecture, a figure of that bird, ancientlyused as an attribute of Jupiter, in the capitals and friezes ofthe columns of temples consecrated to that deity.

Also a lettern, or reading-desk, used in churches, fromwhence the lessons are read. It is so called from its form,which is that of an eagle with outspread wings, on whichthe book is laid, sometimes represented as trampling underJoot a serpent. The material is generally brass, and theimage is supported on a stern of similar material, pierced andotherwise enriched. See Lettern.

EARTH -TABLE, the course of masonry or other worklevel with the ground.

EARTHEN FLOORS. See Floors.

EATING-ROOM. See Dining-Room .

EAVES , (from the Saxon) the margin or edge of theroof of a house, which overhangs the walls, in order to throwoff the water from the face of the masonry or brickwork.

Eaves Lath, or Eaves Board, an arris fillet, or thickfeather-edged board, placed at the eaves of a roof, for raisingthe bottom of the first course of slates above the slopingplane of the side of the roof, so as that the next course maybe properly bedded: that is, when the lower ends rest firmlyupon those which form the eaves-course. It is sometimesalso called eaves catch.

EBONY, a species of hard, heavy, and durable wood,which admits of a fine polish or gloss. The most usualcolour is black, red, or green; but the best is a jet black,free from veins and rind, very heavy, astringent, and of anacrid pungent taste. Ebony is wrought into toys, and ismuch used for mosaic and inlaid work.

ECATiE A, statues erected to the goddess Hecate , forwhom the Athenians had a great veneration, believing herto be the overseer and protectress of their families.

ECBATANA, the capital of ancient Media, and the resi-dence of the Median and Persian kings. It was situated ina plain, about twelve stadia from mount Orontes. Diodorus says, it was 250 stadia in circuit. The walls were seyen innumber, built upon a circular plan, rising gradually aboveeach other, by the height of each wall conforming in a greatmeasure to the situation of the ground. In the book ofJudith, we read that they were 60 cubits in height, and50 in breadth; that the towers over the gates were 100cubits in height, and the breadth of the foundation 60 cubits,and that the walls were built of hewn and polished stones,each stone being 6 cubits in length and 3 in breadth. Theroyal palace and treasury were within the inmost of theseven walls. Diodorus says, the timber of the palace wascedar or cypress ; and various parts of it were cased withgold or silver. There are no monuments remaining of thissuperb palace, where the monarchs of Asia generally passedtheir summer; and it is rather to be lamented that a disagree-ment should exist among modern travellers, about the site onwhich this stately metropolis stood.

A very ingenious a PP}^\o

in the resistance and

indications very uncertain. _ _

the Dynamometer was made by Sir John Mac nel ^ oa iiti° aRoad Indicator, in experiments on the comparativeof different descriptions of roads.

DYPTERON. See Dipteron.

ECC

of worship employed by the early Christians, to s „, •origin and progress of buildings devoted to this p ^ geD eraa cursory glance at their history, and to descri _ (

their form, distribution, and structural arrange aie ^ r ^ 0 nInformation on such subjects is to be sought jji«

the patristic writings, the early ecclesiastical his aeO eta ,Aespecially Eusebius , and the early Christian wr J te „y aff 01Collateral evidence corroborative of the testiff j, e atfrom such sources, is to be found amongst cotempo ^ (0 ‘authors in their occasional and incidental i re j^ 1 ceS f

bee*'

subjects. --

carefully collated" tJiIS , ma tter from all sources has- b y

fhe patient and lem-ncW m,lc i valuable information g a,l ‘ j e d? .Ws most of ' Bingham, who has

to which we shall lint'* 6 Wor ! < ’ the Origines Ec cks 1 t jiCfollowing pages. ' 6 OGCas ion frequently to refer

during the^el churches for the first threeprobable that dn • P ' seci,ti °n, we know but little- t b*Christian chuS the earliest period,

? J e numbered but ft., ln , a n °rtnal state, so to spea > jjjtJ*influence, when “tint V a< * voc j ltes > and they poor andit is probable » 1,1 ;j!1 y wise, not many noble were

warn, ngement*/^’ ! bat Christians had no

but that a dweUin<r.F art8 * n tileir P iaces of public n ofsuch house, was )0use °i' soni emember, or even a P, ^r'

tain that no struct apart Por the purpose. It

during the first dlt"™ 9 Were buiIt foT the es P ecm Z Z a!lthey have attracted 1SI ° n °f tb ’ s period ; for not on 1 o

been destroyed tnsr f a , UtntJon and suspicion, but

Christians were W ‘ tb tbe worshippers : th f the/

did not bring t), em „Jf ed tos ecrecyand obscurity, at le iir d)ir >to notice althc f^ves offensively or ostentatiously j ot

tbe ir faith when sbr lnking from an open a

were to be “ a ed u P on f° r It; for be it remernbe jfIn the SaerpZw ? e . 1- P ents , and harmless os doves-^ 0 tthe Apostles ’’ and • rit ' n ^ s ' more especially in the ,v

no * oofrequenuZm e P istles t0 the Tario °? ^fjo***

quentiy meet with the word church, ox »

-7T h render ^

in the moving force, w hicu o‘

. bu*'0 te '

The site of Ecbatana has been a matter of C ^Pthe dispute has arisen solely because those who l iave (V ) 1 icli t" ethe question, either did not know the evidence onquestion must be decided, or did not unders tanroute of commerce between the low country i° ta ble'l arLSeleucia, and the modern Bagdad and the hio ‘ c oU ntI 5of Iran , is determined by the physical character ot ^and has continued the same from the earliest recoi ^of those countries, to the present day. The p la . uC ja n’ 1in the “ Itinerary” of Isidore, as lying between ^ aV , e llei' s 8Ecbatana, are the places indicated by modernlying on the route between Bagdad and Haroad an - ■ 0 f ®ECCENTRICITY, the distance between theellipsis; it is otherwise called elliptieity. TTi)d er 1 Is

ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE- ^ p la^title it is our intention to inquire into the nature 0 ' n9 jde r .

n V* 1 a > .1 t m. to

ill