A, in almost all languages, is the first letter of the alphabet, because, if pronounced open, as in father, it is the simplest and easiest of all sounds. This is the only mode of pronouncing it in almost every language except the English. To produce this sound, the mouth is merely opened, without the contraction or extension necessarily accompanying the utterance of either of the other vowels. A is the letter with which children generally begin to speak, and it serves to express many and even opposite emotions, e. g. admiration, pain, astonishment, laughter, (with the preceding H,) disgust, pleasure, according to the mode in which it is uttered. For the same reason, a is found, in all original languages, in many words which infants utter to designate the objects with which they are most nearly connected, e. g. in the names by which they call their parents. Hence, in Hebrew, am is mother, ab father; in old Greek and Gothic, atta is father; in Latin, mamma signifies the breast. Many philologists are of opinion, that a (as in father) was the original vowel in most of those words which designate objects expressive of great strength, quickness, &c., as these first attracted the attention of men; and it is true, that, in original languages, a appears in very many words belonging to the class just mentioned, e. g. the numerous rivers, Aa (pronounced like a as in father) in Switzerland and Germany, θαλαττα (thalatta, Greek for sea.) A (as in father) is very rarely the predominating sound in the cries of animals. In these, the sounds ee, ow, u, and a, (as in fate,) generally prevail. We do not include the sounds of singing birds, which are inarticulate music, like that of wind instruments. The regularly arched roof of the human mouth, and the 1

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other fine organs of speech, with which the Creator has blessed mankind above all lower orders of animals, are necessary to pronounce the melodious sound a (open.) A is, generally speaking, the favorite sound of singers, because it is the most musical and full of those which the mouth of man can utter. Several diphthongal sounds, as i (in pine), are, in singing, to be resolved into a (open) and another simple sound. The frequent occurrence of a (open) in the Italian language, is one of the many causes which render the Tuscan dialect so favorable for music. The English language is the only one among the cultivated modern tongues, which has four (according to others still more) sounds for the single character a. Most of the modern languages, as French, Italian, German, & c., have only the open or Italian a, pronounced short or long. Other languages have also the sound of the English a, as in all, e. g. the dialect of Finland. In Greek, this letter, when prefixed to a word, has the power of negation, like the syllable un in English, and hence it was called alpha privativum. In many English words derived from the Greek, the a has the same power.-Among the Greeks and Romans, a was used as an arithmetical sign : by the former, for 1; by the latter, for 500. (See Abbreviations.)—Ã, in music, the sixth diatonic interval of the first or lowest octave of the modern scale: a indicates the same interval in the second octave. As the capital A is used in the first instance, and the small a in the next, the former is called the great octave, the other the small. a, with a line above, denotes the same interval in the third, and a, with two lines, the same interval in the fourth octave. The first of these, from each denomination of the note in the oc

tave being designated by a line, is termed the one-lined octave, the other the twolined, and so on. A, major, is that key, in modern music, in which the sixth diatonic interval is assumed as the fundamental tone of the major key. To maintain the natural characteristic of the major, F, G, and c must be made sharp, F# G# C#. According to Schubart's Characteristics of Music, this key conveys the expression of innocent love, content, and cheerfulness. (See Key.) If any numeral figure is added to the letter A, when prefixed to a vocal composition, it denotes the number of voices for which the piece is intended: thus, A 3 signifies for 3 voices.

AA, the name of a great number of rivers in Switzerland, Germany, France, and Holland; so, also, Aach, which is, in German, originally the same name with Aa, only pronounced with an aspirated termination. (See article A.)

AACHEN. (See Aix la Chapelle.)

AARGAU, ARGOVIA, ARGAU, formerly a part of the cantons Berne and Zurich, but since 1798 a separate canton. In 1803 it received a large accession of territory. Capital, Arau; population, 132,763. Several liberals have fled, in modern times, from Germany, and lived for a while in A., protected by government. (See Swiss Confederacy.)

AARON, (Heb. a mountaineer,) the brother of Moses, and first high-priest of the Israelites. (See Moses.)

AARON, or HARUN AL RASCHID. (See Harun and Caliph.)

ABACUS signified, among the ancients, a kind of cup-board, or buffet. They were, in times of great luxury, plated with gold. It also signified a table covered with dust, on which the mathematicians drew their mathematical figures, as the pupils of the Lancastrian schools do at present. It also signified an ancient instrument for facilitating arithmetical operations, which was, with the ancients, very necessary, as their way of writing numbers rendered any calculation very difficult. In architecture, Vitruvius tells us, it was originally intended to represent a square tile laid over an urn, or rather over a basket. The form of the abacus is not the same in all the orders of Greek architecture. Modern architects have given different significations to the word abacus. (See Architecture.)

ABATIS, (Fr.) Trees cut down and laid with their branches turned towards the enemy, in such a way as to form a defence for troops stationed behind them. They are made before redoubts, or other works,

to render attacks difficult; or sometimes along the skirts of a wood, to prevent the enemy from getting possession of it. In this case, the trunks serve as a breastwork, behind which the troops are posted, and for that reason should be so disposed that the parts may, if possible, flank each other. Abatis may sometimes be of essential service by retarding the progress of the enemy.

ABAUZIT, Firmin, was born in Languedoc, 1679. In consequence of the revocation of the edict of Nantes, his mother, who was a Protestant, took refuge with her son in Geneva. He engaged with such eagerness in his studies, that he made great proficiency in languages, theology, antiquities, and the exact sciences. At the age of nineteen, he travelled into Holland, where he became acquainted with Bayle and Basnage. Thence he passed into England, where he was favorably noticed by Newton, and invited to remain by king William on very advantageous conditions. He determined, however, to return to Geneva, and, devoting himself to study, he rendered important assistance to a society engaged in translating the New Testament into French. In 1727, he was appointed public librarian in Geneva, and was presented with the freedom of the city. He died in 1767. Abauzit was a profound scholar, a true philosopher, and a sincere Christian. His conversation was unostentatious, but instructive and animated. He was simple in his manners, independent and decided in his opinions, but a friend to universal toleration. He defended the Principia, and even detected an error in that work, when very few men could understand it. Newton declared him "a fit man to judge between Leibnitz and himself." Rousseau describes him as the "wise and modest Abauzit:" and Voltaire pronounced him "a great man." His knowledge was extensive in the whole circle of antiquities, in ancient history, geography, and chronology. In theology his researches were deep, and his moderation enabled him to avoid the violence of theological parties. His works are chiefly on theological subjects. An Essay on the Apocalypse, Reflections on the Eucharist, and On the Mysteries of Religion, are his principal writings.

ABBAS, ABBASSIDES. (See Caliph.)

ABBÉ, before the French revolution, was the title of all those Frenchmen who devoted themselves to divinity, or had at least pursued a course of study in a theological seminary, in the hope that the king would confer on them a real abbey; that is, a certain part of the revenues of a monastery. (See Abbés commandataires.) Or