Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/71

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A G I

A G M

cf fevfen, are ufed to have their finews ftrctchcd, and to be anointed with ungents, to make them fupple. The confe- quenee of this, and of their praiSUfing from this early time all ibrts of motion is, that they are able to turn and wind their body about every way. Baldieus, de Ind. Orient. AG1LLARIUS (t>7.)— The Agillarius, or heyward of a town, or village, was to fupervife the greater cattle, or common herd of beafts, and keep them within their due bounds ; and was otherwife called huhukus* q. d. cow-ward, (whence the reproachful term coward.) — If he were a cottager, or other fcrvile tenant, he was exempted from the cuftumary fervices, as being prefumed to be always attending on his herd, as a fhepherd on his flock, who had therefore the like privilege. The Agillarius of the lord of a manor , or a religious houfe, was an officer appointed to take care of the tillage and harveft work, to pay the labourers, and fee there were no incroach- ments made, or trefpa-fles committed : the fame in effect with what has been otherwife called field/man, and tithing- man ; and among us bailiff. Kenn. Gloil". ad Paroch. Ant. in voc. Sec Bailiff, &c. AGIO {Cycl.y — It is to be obferved, that in cities where there are banks, money in bank is ufually worth more than cur- rent cafh, or money in Tpecie,

This difference is various, at different times and places : at Amfterdam it was formerly 6 per cent a. Of late days it has been 3 or 4 per cent, fo that, e. gr. 103 or 104 florins, arc to be given current money, to have ioq florins in bank. At Venice the Agio is fixed at 20 per cent x \ — [ a Le Negoc. d'Amftcrd. c. r. p. 2. feq. b Savar. Di&. Coram, T. 1. p. 47, feq. Agio is alfo ufed for the profit arifing from difcounting a note,

bill, or the like. Agio is alfo ufed, though with fome impropriety, for the rate of exchange of a fum negotiated, whether to profit or lufs. Agio of affurance is ufed, by fome, for what we more ufually

call policy of affurance. Savar. Diet. Com. T. 1. p. 1, 48. AGIOS YMANDRUM, a wooden inftrument ufed by the Greek and other churches, under the dominion of the Turks, to call together aflemblfes of the people.

The wbrd is compounded of ay>»j, holy, and vwj.yn, fignt- fico, I fignify, denote.

The Agiofymandrum was introduced in the place of bells, which the Turks prohibited their Chriftian TubjedTs the uie of, left they fhould make them fubfervient to fedition. Vid. Hojfm. Lex. Univ. T. 1. p. 109. AGIST. To egtji the for eft, agijlare fore/lam, is to take in cattle to pafture within the bounds of the foreft, for one month, viz. fifteen days before Michaelmas, and as many after ; when the running of cattle can be no prejudice to the game. See Agistment.

In a like fenfe, they alfo fay, agijlare bofcum, filvam, ca?n- pum, agijlare animalia, Sec.

Our graziers ftill call the cattle, which they take in to keep by the week, Gifements, or "Juicements. — To gifi, or juicf ground, is when the lord, or owner, feeds it not with his own ftock, but takes in other cattle to agift, or feed on it. Spelm. GlofT. p. 22. Du Cange, Gloil*. Lat. T. 1. p. 109. Raft. Terms de Ley, fol. 14. voc. Agift. Cozvel, Irrterpr. in voc. Kenn. GlofT. ad Paroch. Ant. in voc. AGISTMENT {Cycl)— The duty and levy for repairing the banks and walls in Romney-marfh was particularly called Agift amentum ; and the act of laying flich a proportion of this duty on the feveral eftates was called Agiftatio. Spclm. GlofT. p. 22. Du Cange, GlofT. Lat. T. 1. p. 109. AGITATION, (Cycl.) in phyfics, is often ufed for an inteftine commotion of the parts of a natural body. Fermentation and effervefcence are attended with a brifk Agi- tation of the particles : heat is fuppofed, by fome, to confift in the Agitation of the parts of the hot body : and hence fome attempt to demonftrate the quantity of heat in bodies of the like texture, to be in a ratio compounded of the denfity uf the bodies, and the duplicate ratio of the Agitation of their particles. — Hence alfo a method is deduced, of meafuring the degree of Agitation of the particles of the air a . — Mercury, by a brifk Agitation in vacuo, produces light ; and hence that new fpecies of phofphorus, called mercurial b . — [ a Vid. Herman. Phoron. 1. 2. c. 24. p. 366. feq. b V. Hawkjb. Phyf. Median. Exper. fee. 1. n. 4, p. 15. Jour, des Scav. T. 6r. p. 513. It. T. 66. p. 104.

Sound is produced by a tremulous Agitation, excited firft in the fonorous body, and communicated thence to the ambient air. V. Herman, ubi fupra, 1. 2. c. 23. p. 377. Agitation is one of the chief caufes or inftruments of mixtion : by the Agitation of the parts of the blood and chyle, in their continual circulation, fanguification is, in good moafure, effected. Butter is made out of milk by the fame means : in which operation, a feparation is made of the oleous parts from the ferous, and a conjunction of the oleoits together. DigefHon itfelf is only fuppofed to be an infenfible kind of Agitation. The readier! way to diflblve fugar in wine, or other liquor, is to give the veflel a hafty turn, together With a fmart knock againft any hard and Tteady body, whereby all the parts of the fugar. and liquor are put into a (

V. Grew, Difc. of Mixt. lech 1. c, 4.

vehement Agitation. p. 230. Agitation is reputed one of the fymptoms of infpiration ", Petit informs us, that, in the lart century, there arofe in a church in Italy, for the fpace of a year, a vapour of an ex- traordinary kind, which put all the people into trembling and Agitations, and, unlefs they got away betimes, fet them a dancing, with ftrange contortions and gefticulationa. This Teems to verify what has been related of the temple of Delphi b . — [ a V. A6t. Erud. Lipf. an. 1692. p; 230* Nouv. Rep. Lett. T. 42. p. 332. Lett. Edit*. T, 9. p. 66. b Petit, de Sybilla, 1. 1. Nouv. Rep. Lett. T. 8. p. 1113.J Agitation is alfo ufed in medicine, for a fpecies of exercife^ popularly called fwinging.

The antients held Agitation of the body necefiary : in cafes where the patient could not be moved from one place to an- other, they fufpended him in his bed, and fwang him back- wards and forwards. Celf. de Medic. 1. 2. Jour, des Scav. T. 57. p. 25.

Maurice prince of Orange found this method a relief againft the fevere pains of the gout and ftone. Ad. Erud. Lipf. an. 1705. p. 42.

Bartholine mentions fits of the tooth-aeh, dcafnefs, &c. re- moved by vehement Agitations of the body. Bartb. Aft. Med. T. 5. obf. 126. p. 321. Agitations of the arms, and other parts, are found of efpe- cial ufe for dilTolving concretions in the body. Call. Lex. Med. • J

Among the Jews, there was one kind of facrifice offered by Agitation, i. c. by waving towards the eaft, weft, north, and fouth, to denote that God was to be ferved in every part of the earth. —This, in our verfion, is rendered a wave- offering. Vid, Exod. c. xxix. v. 24. It. c. xxxv. v. 22. Levit. c. ix. v. 21. Hoffm. Lex. Univ. T. 1. p. no. AGITATIVE, fometbing that agitates or fhakes another. See

Agitation. Agitative force of a pendulum, is that which produces mo- tion in it.

The agitative force of the pendulum arifes from three things. ,i7«tj. The power of gravity, ido. The weight faftened at the end of the rod. yio. The diftance of that weight from the point of fufpenfion ; or, which amounts to the Tame thing, the length of the rod, or pendulum. V. Hift. Acad. Scienc. an. 1714. p. 127. AGITATOR, in antiquity, a charioteer j or he who drove or directed a chariot, or horfes in a race. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 60. See Charioteer;

In which fenfe, Agitator amounts to the fame with what the Remans called auriga, and we a coachman, driver, &c. Agitator was more particularly ufed for him who drove in the public Curule games in the circus. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. r. p. 60. Schoetg. Lex. Ant. p. 157. feq. in voc. AurigiS,

The Agitators were diftinguiflied, by their habits, into Ruf- fati, Albaii, Prajini, and Vensti, which gave the riTe and denomination to To many factions. Befides which, they had other marks, or enfigns of their family, correfponding to what we call arms.

The conquerors, befides the ordinary rewards, hrav'us, as crowns, &c. had ftatues erected to them in the circus ; on the bafes whereof, their titles, atchievements, &c. were in- fcribed ; feveral of which are ftill found among antient in- fcriptions, drawn in the following formulas ; Vicit Sejuge, Septejugc, BigaSy Trigas, uno a?ino, alieno Principio, duobus introjugis, &c.

It has been difputed, whether the Agitators were on the foot- ing of mimes and pantomimes, and by law held infamous ? BrilTonius fbews the negative ; they did not become fo till after the introduction of Chriftianity \ By a canon of the antient church, they were excluded from the communion, while they followed the profeffion b . Some alledge, for a reafon of the cxclufton, that they ufed to pracTife magic and enchantments, to retard and hinder their adverfaries. Add, that the circus, wherein they performed, was adorned with the ftatues of falfe gods, and the whole tenor of the ThewS had a face of idolatry. — [ a Briffon. Select, ex. Jur, Civ. Ant. 1. 1. c. 10. b V. Jour, des Scav. T. 34. p. 638. & Hoff?n. Lex. Univ. T. 1. p. 110.] Miliarian Agitators, Agitatores ?niliarii i were thofe who drove in the forum at Conftantinople, a place adorned with ftatues, &c. after the manner of the circus at Rome, having a milium, or miliarium, in the middle. Bideng, de Circ. c. 52. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 60. AGLAOPHOTIS, in botany, a name ufed, by fome, for

piony. Ger. Emac. Ind. 2. AGLIA, ccyht-n, among antient phyficians, a whitlfh cicatrix, or Tpot in the eye, Tormed by a congeition of humours. Caft. Lex. Med. p. 24. AGMEN, in antiquity, properly denotes a Roman army in march. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 60. feq. Aquin. Lex. Milit, T. 1. p. 32. Teq.

In which Tenfe, it {binds contradiftinsuifhed from ades, which denoted the army in battle array ; though, on fome occancm?,, we find the two words ufed' indifferently for each other.

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