| XXX | (22) | XXX |
ACT (22 games infUtuted by Auguftus, in memory of bis victory over Marc Anthony at Aftium, held every fifth year,, and celebrated in honour of Apollo, fmce called Acliur. Hence Adi an years, an sera commencing from the battle of Adium, called the JEra of Au■ACTION, 'guflus. in a general fenfe. See Act, Action, in mechanics, the motion produced by the impulfe of one body upon another. See Mechanics. Action, in ethics, denotes the external figns or expreffions of the fentiments of a moral agent. See Et h i cs, Metaphysics. Action, in poetry, the fame with the fubjed or fable. Critics generally diftinguilh two kinds, the principal and the incidental. The principal adion is what is generally called the fable; and the incidental an epifode. See Dr.Ama. Action, in oratory, is the outward deportment of the orator, or the accommodation of his countenance, voice, and gefture, to the fubjed of which he is treating. See Bloquence. Action, in a theatrical fenfe, is much the fame with adion in'oratory; the one adapts his adion to an affirmed chabader, the other is fuppofed to feel in reality what he fexpreffes. Action, in painting and fculpture, is the pofture,of a ftatue or pidure, ferving to exprefs fame patlion, 6 c. Action, among phyficians. See Motions. Action, in commerce, is a term ufed abroad for a part or lhare in a company’s flock or capital. Action, in Scots law, is a demand made before a judge for obtaining what we are legally intitled to demand, and is more commonly known by the name of law-fuit or procefs. See Law, tide, Attions. ACTIONARY, or Actionist, a proprietor of flock in a trading company. ACTIONS, among merchants, fometimes fignify moveable efleds; and we fay the merchant’s creditors have feized on all his adions, when we mean that they have taken pofleffion of all his adive debts. ACTIVE, denotes fomething that communicates adion or motion to another; in which acceptation it ftands oppofed to paffive. Active, in grammar, is applied to fuch words as exprefs adion; and is theref ore oppofed to paffive. The adive performs the adion, as the paffive receives it-. herwr. principles, in chemiftry, fuch as are fuppofed to ad without any affiflance from others ; as mercury, falpliur, <fcc. See Chemistry. / ACTIVITY, in general, denotes the power of ading, or the adive faculty. See Active. Sphere of Activity, the whole fpace in which the virtue, power, or influence of any objed is exerted ACTIUS, in mythology,: a firname of Apollo, from Adium, Where he was worfhipped. ACTOR, in general, fignilies a perfon who ads or performs fomething. Actor, in the drama, is a perfon who reprefents fome part or charader upon the theatre. The drama in its original only cqnfifled of a Ample chorus, who
) A C U fung hymns in honour of Bacchus ; fo that the primitive adors were only lingers and muficians. Thefpis was the firA who introduced a perjona, or aftor, to eafe the chorus, by reciting the adventures of fome of their heroes. iEfchylus introduced a fecond, and changed the ancient recitals into dialogues. Sophocles added a third, in order to reprefent the variety of incidents in a more natural manner. And here the Greeks flopped; at leaft we do not find, in any of their tragedies, above three perfons in the fame Icene, though, in their comedies, they took a greater liberty. The ancient adors were malked, which muft have been a great difadvantage to their adion, as they were thereby deprived of all the variety of expreffion the countenance is capable of. Adors were as much honoured at Athens, as they were defpifed at Rome. The French have, in this particular, adopted the manner of the Romans, and the Englilh that of the Athenians. See Drama. ACTORUM tabula, in antiquity, were tables inflkuted by Servius Tullius, in which the births of children were regiflered. They were kept in the treafury of Saturnus. ACTRESS, a woman who performs a part upon the ftage. Women adors wene unknown to the ancients. ACTUAL, fomething that is real and effedive, or that exifts truly and abfolutely. ACTUARIAL naves, a kind of fliips among the Romans, chiefly defigned for fwift failing ACTUARIES, ofActarius, a notary or officer appointed to write the ads or proceedings of a court, or the like. In the Eaftern empire, the aduarii were properly officers who kept the military accounts, received the corn from ie fufceplores, or ftore-keepers, and delivered it to the foldiers. ACTUATE, to bring into ad, to put a thing in motion, Or to-ftir up a perlpn to adion. ACTUS, in ancient.architcdure, a meafure in length equal to 120 Roman feet. In ancient agriculture, the word fignified the length of one furrow, or the diftanee a plough goes before it-turns. Actus minimus, was a quantity of land 120 feet in length, and four in breadth. Actus major, or Actus quadratus, a piece of ground in the fquare form, whofe fide was equal to 120 feet, equal to half the jugerum. Actus intervicenalis, a fpace of ground four feet in breadth, left between the lands as a path or way. ACUANITES, or Acuanit*:, a branch of thofe ancient heretics who bore the general name of Maniehees. This branch took their diflinguiffiing title from Acua, a difciple of Thomas. ACUBENE, in aflronomy, the Arabic name of a ftar of the fourth magnitude, in the fouthern forceps of Cancer; by Bayer marked A. See Astronomy and Cancer. ACUHYTLI, a barbarous name of afpecies of ferpent. ACUITION. See Acutition. ACULEATE, or Aculeati, a term applied to any plant or animal armed with prickks. ACU-
