ACT
the Part of the abfent Aclors ; by which means, he is the more agreeably furprized, when a new AB coming upon the Stage, he fees the Effects of that Action, which before he could but guefs at. See Probability, i$c.
To this it may be added, that Authors contrive to have the moil dry and difficult Parts of the Drama tranfafted between the ABs ; that the Sptftators may have no Notion of thefe, excepting what their Fancy prefents them with at a diftance 5 and that nothing may appear upon the Stage, but what is natural, probable, and entertaining.
The ancient Greek Poets were unacquainred with this Di- vision of a Play into ABs ; tho their Epifodes or Chorus's ferv'd aim oft the fame Purpofe. See Episode, and Cho- rus.
'Tis true, they confider'd their Pieces as confifting of cer- tain Parts or Divisions, which they called Trota/is, Epita- JIs, Catafla/zs, and Catajirophe : But there were no real Di- visions or Interruptions anfwering to 'em in the Reprefen- tation. See Protasis, Epitasis, &c.
'Twas the Romans who firft introduced ABs into the Drama ; and in Horace's Time, the Five ABs were grown into a Law, as appears by the Verfe,
Neu Irevior quinto, neu Jit prodaBior, aftu.
This Law Sands unrcpeal'd to this Day $ tho it feems to draw its Force from the Authority of Horace, rather than that of Reafon or Nature.— All Piays are held irregular that have either more or fewer. See Farce.
Some indeed have afterted, that every juft Action confifts of five diilincr. Parts j and have undertaken to mark out the prccife Share of the Action, which each of the five ABs ought to bear.
The firft, fay they, is to propofe the Matter or Argument of the Fable, and to fhew the principal Characters. — The fecond to bring the Affair or Bufinefs upon the Carpet. — The third to furnifh Obstacles and Difficulties. — The fourth either points a Remedy for thofe Difficulties, or finds new in the Attempt. — The fifth puts an end to all by a DifcO- very.
Be this as it will, 'tis certain, on the Principles of that great Matter of the Drama, Ariftotle, we may have a juft and regular Play, tho only divided into three ABs.
The ABs are fubdivided into Scenes. See Scene.
ACTIA, in Antiquity, Actian Games, Ludi Actiaci, folemn Games, inftituted, or according to fome only refto- red, by Augufius, in memory of the Victory over Anthony at ABiiim. See Game.
S-me will have 'em held every third Year ; but the more common Opinion, is that they only return'd every fifth, and were celebrated in honour or Apollo.
By the way, it ia a grofs Overfight in fome Authors, to imagine that Virgil insinuates 'em ro have been inftituted by JEneas j from that PafTage JEn. III. v. a8o.
ABiaque Iliads celelramits littora Ludis.
'Tis true, the Poet there alludes to the ABian Games ; but he only does it by way of Compliment to Augujliis, to attribute that to the Hero from whom he defcended, which was done by the Emperor himfelf ; As is obferved by Servius.
Actian TearSy Anni Actiaci, were a Series of Tears, commrncing from the jEra of the Battle of ABium^ called the JEra of Align 'fins. See Year, and Epoch a.
ACTION, Actio, in Phyficks, the Produaion of an AB } or the manner of an aBive Caufe. See Act, and Active.
The Idea of ABion is fo familiar to us, that a Defini- tion may as eafily obfeure as explain it. Some Schoolmen,
however, attempt to exprefs its Nature by " A Manifeita- " tion of the Power or Energy of a Subftance $ made either
- c within, or without it." Thus, fay they, when the
Mind aBs, what does it more, than perceive a vital Power exerting it felf 5 as, in reality, the Several ABions of the Mind, are no other than fo many Indications of its Vitality.
'Tis a Point controverted among the Schoolmen, whether or no ABion, thus taken, be a thing diftinct both from the Agent, and the Term or EfTecr.. — The Modifts Stand for the Affirmative, and the Nominalifts aSTert the Negative.
Thefe latter oblerve, that the ABion may be confider'd two ways, Entitatively and Connotatively. — ABion Entita- tively taken, is what we call a Caufe, or what may act: : ABion Connotatively confider'd, is the fame Caufe, only con- fider'd as acting, or connoting the Effect it produces. Now, fay they, a Caufe may be without an ABion, connotatively taken, /. e. may be confider'd as not producing an EffecY ; but cannot be without it entitatively, for that would be to be without it felf Hence they conclude, that the Caufe differs from the ABion connotatively, not entitatively taken; and the Agent is the Caufe of the ABion, confider'd conno- tatively, not entitatively.
ABmis are divided, with refpecT. to their Principle, into Univocal, where the Effect is of the fame Kind wirh the Caufe $ as the Production of Man by Man : and Eqiuvocal y
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ACT
where it is different ; as the Production of Frogs by the Sun. See Univocal, and Equivocal ; fee alio Gene- ration, arc— And again, into Vital; as Nutrition, Refpiration, the ABum of the Heart, fifr. See Nutri- tion, Respiration, Heart, &c. And km Vital; as
Heating. See Vital, Heat, l£c.
With refpect to their Subject, ABions are divided into Immanent ; which are rcceiv'd within the Agent that pro- duced them : as are all vital Aflions, Cogitation, £i?c. See
Thinking, Willing, f$c- And Trail/lent, which pafs
into another. See Transient, (3c.
In refpefl of Duration, ABions are again divided into Inftantaneous, where the whole Effea is produced in the fame Moment ; as the Creation of Light : And SucceJJive, where the Effect is produced by degrees ; as Corruption, Fermentation, Putrefaction, Diffolution, &c. See Fermen- tation, Putrefaction, Dissolution, i$c.
The Cartejians refolve all Phyfical ABion into Metaphy- seal : Bodies, according to them, do not aB on one ano- ther ; the ABion all comes immediately from the Deity : The Motions of Bodies, which fcem to be the Caufe, being only the Occafions, thereof. See Occasional Caufe.
'Tis one of the Laws of Nature, that ABion and Reac- tion are always equal, and contrary to each other. See Re- action, and Nature.
For the ABions of ■Powers, &c. See Power, Weight, Motion, Resistance, Friction, igc.
For the Laws of the ABion of Fluids, &c. See Fluid, Specific Gravity, &c.
Action, in Ethicks, or Moral Action, is a Voluntary Motion, of a Creature capable of diflinguifliing Good and Evil ; whofe Effect, therefore, may be juflly imputed to the Agent. See Moral.
A Moral ABion may be more fully defined to be whate- ver a Man, confider'd as endued with the Powers of Under- standing and Willing, and with refpect to the End he ought to aim at, and the Rule he is to regard in acting ; refolves, thinks, does, or even omits to do ; in fuch manner as to be- come accountable for what is thus done or omitted, and the Confcquences thereof. See Office.
The Foundation, then, of the Morality of ABions, is, that they are done Knowingly and Voluntarily. See Un- derstanding, and Will,
All Moral ABions may be divided, with refpect to the Rule, into Good and Evil. See Good, and Evil.
Action, in Oratory, is an Accommodation of the Perfon of the Orator to his Subject ; or, a Management of the Voice and Gellure, fuited to the Matter Ipoken or deliver'd. See Oratory.
ABion makes one of the great Branches or Divifions of Rherorick, as ufually taught. See Rhetorick.
The Antients ufually call it 'Pronunciation. See Pronun- ciation.
ABion is a collateral or fecondary Method of exprefiing our Ideas ; and is fufceptible of a kind of Eloquence as well as the primary. — It is an Addrefs to our external Senfes ; which it endeavours to move, and bring into its Party, by a well-concerted Motion and Modulation, at the fame time that the Reafon and Understanding are attack'd by force of Argument. Accordingly, Tully very pertinently calls it Ser- mo Corporis, the Difcourfe of rhe Body ; and Corporis Elo- quentia, the Eloquence of the Body. — The Roman Mimes and Pantomimes, we read, had fuch a Copia in this kind, fuch a Compafs even of mute ABion, that Voice and Lan- guage feem'd ufelefs to 'em : They could make themfelves understood ro People of all Nations ; and Rofcilts, the Co- median, is patticularly fam'd, as being able ro exprefs any Sentence by his Geftures, as fignificantly and varioully as Cicero with all his Oratory. See Mime, Pantomime, $$c.
gnintilian gives us a System of the Rules at ABion ; ta- ken not only from the Writings of the antient Orators, but from the belt Examples 1 of the Forum. See his Injlitut. Orat. L. XI. c. 3. de Pronuntiatione.
The Force and Effect of ABion, at lead as practis'd among the Antients, appears to be very great ; fcarce any thing was able ro withstand it. What we ufually attribute to Eloquence, was really the Effect of the ABion only, as fome of the greatest Matters in that way have frankly ac- knowledg'd, — ^Demojlhenes exprefly calls it, " the Begin- " ning, the Middle, and the End of the Orator's Office j" and Cicero profeffes, that " it does not fo much matter " what the Orator fays, as how he fays it." Neqtle tantum refert qualia flint qn<£ dicas, quant quomodo dicanmr. De Orat.— Hence, the great Greek Orator is reprefented as pracli- fing and adjufling his ABion in the Glafs : Demofthenes grande quoddam intitens ffcculum comfonerc ABionzmJblebat. J^tiintil.
Every Part of the Body is by them lilted into the Service, and marmall'd in its ptoper Place : The Hand, the Eye, Head, Neck, Sides, Cheeks, Noftrils, Lips, Arms, Shoul- ders, (£c. 'Pr/eciptnm in ABione, Caput eft. Cum
gcftti concordet, iS Lateribus ohfequatur. Oculi, Lachryma:,
Super-
