ACT
miott bears to an Anchor, as 1)ioms has imagin'd. Some have thought the Acromion to be of a Nature diffe- rent from that of other Bones ; in regard, during Infancy, it appears to be no more than a Cartilage, which oflifies by little and little, and about the Age of rwenty Years be- comes hard and firm, like a common Bone. See Bone, and Ossifying
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ACT
Acts, in the Plural, denote the publiclc Deliberations, and Resolutions of an Affembly, Senate, Council, Convo- cation, or the like ; enter'd in a Rcgifter. See Regis- ter, tic.
ASs of Parliament arc particularly denominated Sta- tutes. See Parliament, and Statute.
The ASs of the Royal Society are called TranfaSions 5
n Natural Hiflory, tic. the fame with thofe of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Taris, Me-
fee alfo Acrospireb. moires : Thole^ot _thc Societies of Scrim, Leipfic, &c.
'Plumule. See Plumule -.
limply Alls, ASa Eruditorum, Sic. See Society, Aca- demy, Transaction, Journal, tic.
The A3s of the antient Councils were called Canons. See Canon.
The EdiSs and Declarations of the Council of the Ro- man Emperors, were called Confiftory ASs, ASa Con-
an Officer of the Navy. See
ACROSPIRED, is ufed in refpea of Barley 5 which, in the Operation of making Malt, is apt, after coming, or fprouting at the lower, or Root-End, to become Acnfpirei, i.e. to fprout alfo at the upper, or Blade-End. See Malt. ACROSTiCK, a kind of Poetical Compofition, the Ver- fes whereof are difpofed in fuch manner, as that the initial
Letters make up fome Perfon's Name, Title, or a particular M°™>-
Motto. See Poem, and Poetry. Clerk of the Acts,
The Word is derived from the Greek &?«, fummus, that Clerk, and Navy. . which is at one of the Extremes, and n'x®-, Verfus. Acts are alfo Matters of Faft tranfmitted to Poftenty in There are alfo Acrofiicks, where the Name or Title is in certain authentick Books, and Memoirs.— In this Senle, we the middle or fome other Part of the Verfe.— And others fay. 'be ASs oj the Afoftles, ASs of the Martyrs, &c. which go backwards ; beginning with the firft Letter of the The ASs of Pilate relating to Jefus, is a falfc and fup- laft Verfe, and proceeding upwards. pollutions Relation of our Saviour's Trial before Tilate ; Some Refiners in this trifling way, have even gone to tmpioufly fram'd by the Enemies of Chnflianity ; and fill'd •Pentacroflicks ; where the Name is to be repeated five with the bfeckeftBlafphcmy.—— The Emperor Mammm, times See Pentacrostick. by a folcmn Edict, order d it to be fent into all the Provinces The Name Acrofiicks is alfo applied by fome Authors to of the Empire ; and enjoin'd the Schoolmafters to teach and two antient Epigrams in the firft Book of the Anthology ; explain it to their Scholars, and make 'em learn it by heart, the one in honour of Sacchas, the other of Apollo I each The Piece was wrote with lo much Careleflnefs or Igno- confifls of 25 Verfes : the firft whereof is the Propofition ranee, thar our Saviours Death was therein referred to the or Argument of the whole, and the other 24 compofed of IVth Confulate of Tiberius, that is, to the VHth of his four Epithets, beginning each with the fame Letter ; and Empire ; which is eleven Years before our Saviour's Paflion, thus following in the Order of the 24 Verfes of the Greek and five before dilate was made Governor of Judea, See Alphabet : So that the firft of the 24 Letters comprehends Eufehus, L. IX. c. 4. and 6. R'iffin. L. I. c. 5, tic. four Epithets beginning with a 5 the fecond as many, with The true and genuine ASs of Tilate, were lent by him & ; and fo of rhe reft, to o ; which makes <j6 Epithets for to Tiberius, who reported 'em to the Senate ; but were re- each God. See Epigram. jeered by that Affembly, becaufe nor immediately addrefsd
ACROTERIA, or Acroters, in Architecture, little Pedeftals, ufually without Bafes, placed at rhe Middle, and at the two Extremes of Frontifpicces, or Pediments; and fer- ving to fupport Statues. Sec Pedestal, and Statue.
to them : as is teftified by Tertullian, in his Apol. C. 5, and 20, zi. Eufeb. Hifl. L. II. c. 2. juftin Martyr, Sic. There are alfo fpurious ASs of the Apcjlles compofed in Hebrew by one Abdias ; tranilated into Greek by his Difci-
Thofe at the Extremes ought to be half the Height of pie E'ltropws ; and thence into Latin, by Julius Africa-
the Tympanum ; and that in the Middle, according to Vi- trtivms, one eighth Part more. See Pediment, £0fc,
Acroteria fometimes alfo fignify Figures, whether of Stone or Metal, placed as Ornaments, or Crownings, on the Tops of Temples, or other Buildings. See Crowning.
Sometimes it alfo denotes thofe iharp Pinacles, or fpiry Battlements, which Hand in ranges about flat Buildings, with. Rails and Balluflers. See Pinnacle, and Battlement.
nits. Woiffgang LaztUS publifh'd the Piece in 1551, from a Manulci'ipr near 700 Years old ; fuppofing it an authentick Work. — A Di lei pic of M&net^ named Leitcius, or Se!etictts> is alfo faid to have compofed ABs of the Apjlles, towards the Clofe of the Hid Century.
There have formerly appear'd numerous other Pieces in this Way ; as, the Acts of St. Thomas, the ABs of St. An- drew, the ABs ofSt.Vani and Thecla, the Alls of St. Mat-
The Word, in its original Greek, fisnifies the Extremity thew, ABs of St. Peter, ABs of St. John, Ails of St. Phi-
of any Body ; as the Tip of a Rock, &c,
ACT, Actus, in Pbyficks, an effective Exercife or Ap- plication of fome Power, or Faculty. See Action.
In this Senfe, the Word AB t ftands oppofed to "Power, tPotentia, which is the Capacity of acting. See Power, and Potentia.
Tho the Word AB\ properly and primarily, be only ap- plicable where the Power might exifl without being drawn forth into AB ; yet the Schoolmen extend it further ; defi- ning it by the Prefence of any Power or Perfection, even tho it could not be abfent. — In this Senfe, God himfeif is faid to be a mod pure AB 5 in regard his Perfections are always and neccffarily prefent. And thus, Form is call'd an JIB ; inafmuch as the Prefence hereof complcats the Power and Perfection of Matter. — Form, fay fome, is Matter re- duced into AB. See Matter, and Form.
Even Exigence is termed an AB 5 by reafon when this is given a Being, nothing further is wanted. See Perfec- tion, and Existence.
In this Senfe, the Greeks call AB, srfol^ttc, a Term de- noting an actual Poffeffion of Perfection, by the Latins ren- der'd 'PerfoBibabia. See Entelecheia.
Metaphyficians give various Divisions of AB, viz. into
lip; all which have been declared Apocryphal. — The laft were the Production of the Heretick \Pcuciiis : Thofe of St. thecla were the Work of a Prieft in Afia Minor ^ whom St. John degraded for his Offence.
Act, in the Univerfities, is a Thcfis maintsin'd in pub- lick, by a Candidate for a Degree ; or, to /hew the Ca- pacity and Proficiency of a Student. See Thesis, De- gree, $3c. '
The Candidates for the Degree of Batchelor and Mafler of Arts, are to hold ^bilofophy ABs ; thofe for Batchelor of Divinity are to keep Divinity ABs, &c. See Univer- sity, Doctor, Batchelor, &c.
At Oxford, the Time when the Maflcrs or Doctors com- pleat their Degrees, is alfo called the AB ; which is held with great Solemnity : At Cambridge they call it Commence- ment. See Commencement.
Act of Faith, or Auto de Fe, is a folemn Day held by the Inquifition, for the Punifhment of Hereticks, and the Abfolution of the Innocent Accufed. See Inquisition.
They ufually contrive the Auto to fall on fome great Fef- tival ; that the Execution may pafs with the more Awe and Regard.
The Criminals are firft led to Church ; where their Sen- 5 read to 'em, either of Condemnation or Abfolution.
Infinite) as the AB of Creating 5 and Finite, as the AB of tence is i
Roving. — 'Tranfient, or thofe exercis'd in other Beings, as — Thofe condemned to Death, are here furrender'd up by
Heating 5 and frnmanent, which remain in their own Sub- ject, as Thinking. — Elicit, and Commanded, &c. See E- licit, &c.
Act, in Logick, is particularly underftood of an Opera- tion of the Mind. See Operation.
Thus, to Difcern and Examine, are ABs of the Under- ftanding : To Judge and Affirm, are ABs of the Will. See Understanding, Will, Liberty, Judgment, &c.
There are Voluntary ABs, and Spontaneous ones which {eem produced without the Privity or Participation of the Soul. Sec Voluntary, and Spontaneous.
Act, in a Legal Senfe, is an Inftrumenr, or other Mat-
the Inquifitors to the Secular Power, with an earneft Intrea- ty that no Blood may be fhed. — If they perfiti: in their fup- pofed Errors, they are burnt alive.
Acts, in Poetry, are certain Divifions, or principal Parts in a Dramatic Poem, contrived to give a Refpite or Breath- ing-time, both to the Actors and Spectators. See Drama, Tragedy, and Comedy.
In the Interval between the ABs, the Theatre remains empty, and without any Action vifible to the Spectators 5 tho 'tis fuppofedall the while there is onepaffing out of fight. See Action.
Tis not however, purely for the fake of the Refpite, that
ter in Writing j of ufe to declare or jaftify the Truth of a thefe ABs are obferv'd ; but to give Affairs a greater degree
thing. i n tn i s Senfe, Records, Decrees, Sentences, Re- of Probability, and render rhe Intrigue more affecting. For
ports, Certificates, &c. are call'd ABs.— Authentick ABs 5 the Spectator who fees the Action prepared that is to pafs Solemn ABs, &c. in the Interval, cannot forbear airing, in his Imagination,
1 the
