slips, occur when the soil has been weakened by long-continued and deep-penetrating rains, when it slides down into the valleys, with all the houses, trees and entire forests which stand thereon, and causes the most horrible destruction.

AVANTURINE. (See Quartz.) AVANT-LA-LETTRE (French; before the letter). It is customary to strike off from a copper-plate a number of impressions before the name, dedication, or any other words are cut under the engraving; and, as these impressions are of course the best, they are distinguished in Europe by the name avant-la-lettre, and bear always a higher price than the common impressions. Some avant-la-lettre are extremely dear. (See Proof Impression.)

AVARES; a nation, the remains of the Scheu-Schen, driven from their country by the Turks. They came, 100 years later than the Bulgarians, to the regions around the Don, the Caspian sea and the Wolga. A part remained in Circassia, where they still exist; another portion advanced to the Danube in 555, and settled in Dacia, served in Justinian's army, aided the Lombards in destroying the kingdom of the Gepidæ, and gradually conquered (especially under the powerful khan Bajan, in 582) the region of Pannonia. Under his successors, they made themselves masters of Dalmatia, pressed into Thuringia and Italy, where they fought with the Franks and Lombards, and extended their dominion over the Sclavonians dwelling on the Danube, and farther north, as well as over the Bulgarians, on the Black sea. But they were soon divided, and lost Dalmatia in 640. Limited to Pannonia, they were at length overcome by Charlemagne, 796, and expelled from Moravia and Petschenegern. After 827, they disappear from history.

AVATAR, in Hindoo mythology; an incarnation of the Deity. Innumerable incarnations have taken place, according to the Hindoos, but ten are peculiarly distinguished, and four of them are the subjects of Puránas, or sacred poems. These ten are the incarnations of Vishnú, the supreme God. The Matsya avatar was the descent of the Deity in the form of a fish; Kachyapa, or Kúrma, in that of a tortoise; Varáha, as a boar; Nara-singha, as a monster, half man, half lion; Vamana, as a dwarf; Parasù-Ráma, as the son of Jamadagni. All these took place in the Satya Yuga, or golden age. The others are more recent. The seventh incarnation is called Ráma-chandra avatár, the descent of Vishnu to destroy a giant.

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Their contests are the subject of the celebrated epic called the Ramayana. The eighth avatár, called Bala-Rama, was in order to chastise other giants; the ninth, Buddt'ha, had a similar object. The Kalki, or tenth avatár, is yet to come, at the end of the Kali Yuga, or the iron age. (See Indian Mythology.)

AVELLINO (Furca Caudina); a passage lying between a city of the same name (25 miles N. E. from Naples) and Benevento, in the valley Di Gargano. A Roman army, having entered this pass with its rear exposed, was surrounded by the Samnites, who better understood mountain warfare, and, having laid down its arms, was sent under the yoke, like slaves, B.C.321. The surrounding country yields the mountain productions of the south (which often serve the frugal peasants for bread), sweet chestnuts and walnuts on the north side of the mountains, where they are protected against night frosts and too early blossoming. The gloomily-built city Avellino, with 11,300 inhabitants, in the Principato Ultra, contains manufactories of maccaroni, in which mountainmaize is used with chestnuts, &c. They belong to the princes Caraccioli, who have established a granary there for their vassals, and derive considerable revenues from the profitable business of dyeing, which is favored by the soft water of the surrounding country.

AVE MARIA, also AVE MARY, among the Catholics; the beginning of a prayer to the holy Virgin, whence the whole prayer is called Ave Maria. Ave, in Latin, means hail. Ave, Maria! is Hail, Mary! It is the beginning of the salutation which the angel addressed to the Virgin, when he announced to her that she should be the mother of the Savior (Luke i. 28. Ave, gratia plena: Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus). The name Ave Maria is also given to those little balls in rosaries, each of which denotes a prayer, called Ave Maria (see Rosary); while the larger balls denote a Pater-noster. As, in Italy, a bell tolls at sun-down, which admonishes the people to address their prayers to the Queen of heaven, the close of the 24th hour, which, according to the Italian division of time, coincides always with sun-down, is called Ave Maria; and it is usual to say, at Ave Maria, half past Ave Maria, &c., instead of at 24 o'clock, half past 24, &c.

AVENTINE, John (properly, Thurmayr), a historian, born at Abensberg, in Bavaria, in 1477, studied at Ingoldstadt and at Paris, and afterwards gave lectures at

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Cracow and Ingoldstadt. In 1512, he was appointed tutor to two Bavarian princes, with one of whom he visited foreign countries. In 1517, he was appointed Bavarian historiographer, and wrote his famous Annales Bojorum (last edition by Gundling, Leipsic, 1710, folio), and his Bavarian Chronicle, both standard works for German history. His Rudimenta Grammatica Latina were published in 1512, and contributed much to advance the study of philology in Germany. He died Jan. 9, 1534.

AVENZOAR, Or EBN ZOHAR; an Arabian physician of the 12th century, born at Seville, in Spain, where his father practised medicine. He became eminent in his profession, travelled much, and passed through many adventures, among which was a long imprisonment at Seville. He had the care of an hospital, and composed a work entitled Al Theiser, containing a compendium of medical practice, and including many facts and observations not found in preceding writers, which were probably the result of his own experience. He died at Morocco, in 1169. The report of his having lived to the age of 135 is probably an error, arising from his having been confounded with his son, of the same name and profession, who lived at Morocco, and was the author of a treatise on the regimen of health.

AVERAGE, common, customary, or petty. In case of shipments of goods, the bills of lading often contain a stipulation that the shipper shall, besides a certain rate or amount of freight-money, also pay "primage and average." The word average, in this place, originally denoted several petty charges, such as towage, beaconage, &c., which are to be borne by the ship, freight and cargo, the kind and amount of which are very various, being determined by the marine ordinances of some countries, and, in others, by the usage of particular ports. There is often a great variety in the usages at the different ports of the same country in this respect. But the practice has come very much into use in Great Britain, and is general in the United States, to allow a certain rate per cent. on the amount of the freight for primage and average, where the bill of lading provides for the payment of these. The printed form of bills of lading usually contains the words primage and average, with a blank space, so that, when filled up, it reads either with or without primage and average, according to the agreement of the parties. The laws of the United States have not hitherto

regulated the amount of these charges.— Average, general or gross, consists of expenses incurred, sacrifices made, or damage sustained, for the common benefit of ship, freight and cargo, and comprehends jetson (the loss sustained by throwing overboard a part of the cargo, or of the provisions, tackle or furniture of the ship, for the general safety), or the cutting away of a mast, and also ransom paid to pirates, compromise with captors (if permitted by the laws), the damage occasioned by purposely running the vessel on shore, and, by the usage of some countries, the expense of getting a stranded vessel afloat, though it was accidentally stranded, and the expenses of delaying the voyage to seek a port to refit. The expenses and damage that are the subjects of contribution in general average, must be divided among all the parties to whom the ship, freight and cargo belong, in the proportion of their several interests. Contribution for jetson was provided for in the maritime laws of Rhodes, and thence adopted into the Roman code.-Average, particular, is the loss, expense and damage sustained on a ship, freight or cargo, which is to be borne by the party to whom the interest belongs, without any claim upon the other interests for contribution, and, in general, comprehends loss or damage that happens accidentally, and is not incurred voluntarily and purposely. It is also called partial loss, which description is likewise applied to a loss of only a part of the value of the interest at risk, in distinction from a total loss.

AVERNUS; a lake in the kingdom of Naples, between ancient Cuma and Puteoli. It is circular, in some places 180 feet deep, and surrounded by hills of a moderate height, which used to be covered with immense woods, so that gloom and darkness surrounded the lake, and accumulated effluvia filled the air with contagion. These woods no longer stand, but the regions about the lake are still unhealthy. In ancient times, a savage people fled hither, who only ventured out by night. Their conduct struck terror into the neighboring people, whose stories gave rise to the fable of the Cimmerians, who lived in perpetual darkness; and the idea arose, that the dead were here called up from the infernal world. Homer makes this lake the entrance to hell, and describes the visit of Ulysses to it. Virgil has followed in his steps. Afterwards, certain priests also took up their residence at this lake, who dealt in conjurations, exorcised spirits, &c., and carried on

their occupation only by night. Hence this wood became the grove of Hecate.

AVERROES (corrupted from Ebn or Ibn Rushd), the most renowned of the Arabian philosophers, and instructer of Moses Maimonides, was born at Cordova, in Spain. His father, chief magistrate there, instructed him in the Mohammedan laws, and appointed Tophail to teach him theology and philosophy. His talents and knowledge procured him the succession to his father's office. The king of Morocco appointed him cadi in the province of Mauritania. But his success was envied, and he was accused of rejecting the established religion, and, in consequence, deprived of his offices, and banished to Spain. He returned to Cordova, where he was assisted by his scholar Maimonides; but was soon persecuted there, also, and fled to Fez. Here he was condemned, by a spiritual court, to recant, and undergo a public penance. Upon this, he went back to his own country, where the caliph Almansor, after a time, restored him to his dignities. He died, after an active life, at Morocco, A. D. 1217 or 1225. A. regarded Aristotle as the greatest of all philosophers, and explained his writings, with only a slight deviation from his views. The Alexandrian doctrines, also, had much influence upon him. Against the orthodox Arabians, particularly against Algazal, he set himself up as a defender of philosophy on rational principles. He was called, among the Arabians, by way of eminence, the Interpreter (of Aristotle). They adhered very closely to his translation of Aristotle, made from the Syriac. He wrote, also, a compendium of physic, called Colliget, or Universal, and many treatises in theology, philosophy, jurisprudence and medicine.

AVESNES, or AVENNES; one of those many fortresses which protect France on the side of Germany, and which mostly originated under the restless Louis XIV. It was also one of the fortresses kept by the allies by the terms of the peace of 1815. Lon. 4° E.; lat. 50° 7' N.

AVEYRON, département de l'; a French department in the former Guyenne and Garogne. (See Department.)

AVICENNA, or EBN-SINA, an Arabian philosopher and physician, was born at Assena, near Bochara, A. D. 980. He possessed a ready genius and a strong memory, and, after going through a course of study with various masters, became a pupil at the school of Bagdad, where he exhibited indefatigable industry and

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no inconsiderable portion of fanaticism. According to his own account, he read the metaphysics of Aristotle 40 times without understanding them. He completed his studies at the early age of 18, and began to practise as a physician. He soon acquired a degree of reputation which reached the ears of the various Eastern princes, all of whom were desirous of retaining him in their service; but he finally went into that of the sultan Nedjmeddevle, who appointed him his physician and grand vizier. His undue love of pleasure, however, soon made him lose his post and his master's favor; and the remainder of his life was spent in great adversity, as he was charged with the crime of heresy, in addition to other accusations. He died at Hamadan, in abject circumstances, A. D. 1036, aged 58. A. left many writings, mostly commentaries on Aristotle. They consist of 20 books on the Utility of the Sciences; the Heads of Logic; and various pieces in metaphysics and morals. Of his medical works, the principal is called Canon Medicina, which is thought very lightly of by Haller and Freind. His works were printed in the original Arabic, at Rome, in 1497, more than one Latin version of which has been translated, the latest being that of Vopucius Fortunatus, (Louvain, 1651.)

AVIENUS, Rufus Festus; a Latin poet of the 4th century. The works attributed to him are, Latin versions of the Phenomena of Aratus, and Pericgesis of Dionysius, &c. Some of these productions still remain, and show him to have been a tolerable versifier. The best edition of his works is that of Cannegetier, 1731. Very little is known of his history.

AVIGNON, chief city of the department of Vaucluse, in the south-eastern part of France, on the Rhone, with narrow and crooked streets, contains a great number of churches and sacred buildings, among which is the church of the Franciscans; several scientific institutions, and among them an athenæum and a medical library; 2800 houses and 24,000 inhabitants; respectable silk manufactories, silk-dyeing establishments, and other works. The country is agreeable, and extremely fruitful in corn, wine, olives, the Avignon berry (of a yellow color), kermes, sumach, and the richest fruits of the south. Here Petrarch lived several years: here he saw his Laura, who formed the subject of his most beautiful verses, and whose tomb is still to be found in the Franciscan church. The fountain of Vaucluse is five leagues

from A. This city and its district, in the middle ages, was a county which the popes, who had already received the county of Venaissin, in 1273, from king Philip the Bold, as a present, bought of Joanna, queen of Sicily and countess of Provence, in 1348, for 80,000 florins. Joanna had fled to Provence because Louis I, king of Hungary, wished to take revenge on her for the death of his brother, her husband, whom she had caused to be murdered. The papal government retained the two provinces, under the rule of a vice-legate, till 1790, when, after many stormy scenes, the city, with its district, was annexed to the French republic, and, in 1791, was formally united with it. At the peace of Tolentino, the pope renounced A. and Venaissin. Louis XIV and Louis XV several times took possession of A., when offended with the popes. From 1305 to 1377, seven popes in succession fixed their residence in this city. The Catholic historians commonly call this period the Babylonish captivity of the popes. Near A. are found many Roman antiquities.

AVOIRDUPOIS (French, avoir du pois); a kind of weight, of which a pound contains 16 ounces, and is in proportion to a pound troy as 17 to 14. All the larger and coarser commodities are weighed by avoirdupois weight. The avoirdupois ounce is less than the troy ounce in the proportion of 72 to 79; though the pound, as we have said, is greater. (See Measures.)

AVON; the name of four rivers in England:-1. Rising in Leicestershire, runs S. W., and falls into the Severn at Tewksbury. Stratford-on-Avon, a town on this river, is the birth-place of Shakspeare. 2. In Monmouthshire. 3. In Wiltshire, enters the English channel at Christchurch bay, in Hampshire. 4. The Lower Avon, which rises near Tetbury, in Gloucestershire, and falls into the Severn N. W. of Bristol, being navigable as far as Bath.

AWARD. (See Arbitration.) A-WEIGH; the state of the anchor when it is drawn out of the ground in a perpendicular direction.

AXEL. (See Absalom.)

AXIM; a part of the fertile territory of Ahanta, on the Gold Coast. The Dutch have a fort here, called fort Anthony, situated on the most western promontory of cape Three Points. The Portuguese founded the first settlement here, but were driven from it by the Dutch, in 1642.-Axim is likewise the name of a

river which runs through the capital of this country, called, also, Arim.

AXINITE ; a crystallized substance, found principally in Dauphiny, in France, and latterly in Cornwall, in the neighborhood of St. Just. The colors are generally a light violet-brown. Its name is derived from the general form of the crystals, the edges of which bear some resemblance to the edge of an axe.

AXIOM (principle); a universal proposition, which the understanding must perceive to be true as soon as it perceives the meaning of the words, though it cannot be proved, because it is impossible to make it plainer. It is therefore called a self-evident truth. To these propositions belong, indisputably, those in which the subject and predicate are either the same or are only expressed in different words, since we cannot think a thing is really different from itself: for instance, A is A; Every quantity is like itself; A thing is like itself; A thing cannot, at the same time, be and not be ; &c. To axioms belong also propositions, of which the predicate expresses only some idea which enters necessarily into our conception of the subject. Such is the proposition, A triangle has three sides, because the subject, triangle, cannot be conceived otherwise than three-sided. All reasoning must start from axioms. There has been much dispute what proposition is to be regarded as absolutely first in all human knowledge. Some have considered as such the position, It is impossible for a thing to be and not to be at the same time; others, Whatever is, is; others, Every thing either is or is not; others, the principle of the sufficient reason, We cannot regard any thing as true without proofs, or any thing false against established proofs. All these positions are fundamental truths. They all have this in common, that we cannot help regulating our thoughts, in the judgment of truth, conformably to them, They are all necessarily believed to be true. Many principles, however, are esteemed, by one class of men, self-evident, which another will not admit. There can never, therefore, exist perfect uniformity in human reasoning. There is only one science, which starts from axioms acknowledged by all mankind, and which, therefore, is of a more general character than any other—viz. mathematics. But about some principles of every other science, which are generally considered axioms, great doubts have existed. Thus it is regarded as an axiom of moral philosophy, that There exists a

distinction, in the nature of things, between moral good and evil. This cannot be proved, but it is generally admitted; and all our social, political and religious relations are regulated by this principle; yet there have existed men of acute minds, who have disavowed this axiom altogether, and made interest the sole rule of conduct. Many of them lived in the time of Helvetius. (q. v.) It has always been a great question in philosophy, whether these axioms are innate, or drawn from experience.-Bacon calls axiom a general principle, obtained by experiment and observation, from which we may safely proceed to reason in all other instances; and Newton gives the name of axiom to the laws of motion, which, of course, are ascertained by the investigation of nature; he also terms axioms those general, experimental truths, or facts, which form the ground-work of the science of optics. Dugald Stewart thinks that, in this, and other instances, Newton followed Bacon's phraseology "too implicitly."

AXIS, in geometry; the straight line which divides the area of a curved figure (e. g., of a circle, ellipse, &c.) into two parts, similar and similarly situated, on both sides of the line. Further, a straight line, drawn from a point in the periphery through the centre of a sphere, is its axis; and a straight line drawn from the vertex of a cone through the centre of its base, is the axis of the cone.-The axis of the world is the imaginary line drawn through its two poles and its centre.

AXUM, AXOMA, AXOMIS, or AKSUM; a city in Tigre, a province of Abyssinia. Neither Herodotus nor Strabo mentions A., though, in the 1st century after Christ, it was repeatedly spoken of, and particularly after the time of Ptolemy, as the chief city of an important kingdom, which, through Adulis, was connected with Arabia and Ethiopia. At the time of the periplus of the Red sea, A. was the great depôt of the ivory trade. The importance of this city and its kings was first made known to us by a stone (Arumitic marble) with a Greek inscription, first explained by Salt, who discovered it, and afterwards by Buttmann and Niebuhr (Museum der Alterthumswissenschaften, v. Wolf und Buttmann, 2d vol., sec. 575). This inscription, like similar ones that have since come to us from that quarter, contains an account of the clemency of one Aizanas (a boasting king, who called himself a son of Mars) towards several inferior kings, whom he conquered. The interest in this inscription was

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increased by the explanation which it afforded of the second half of the Adulian marble. (q. v.) A., the place where it was found, still exhibits many remains of its former greatness. Among its ruins are shown the royal throne and groups of obelisks, originally 55 in number, one of which Salt declared to be the most beautiful that he had seen. Cotton goods and the finest parchment are still manufactured here.

AYACUCHO, BATTLE OF. This engagement is one of the most celebrated in the history of South America, having been decisive of the independence of Upper and Lower Peru. For several months before this event, the Colombian auxiliary army, under general Sucre, and the royalist army, under the viceroy La Serna, had been moving in face of each other with various success, but, on the whole, to the disadvantage of the Colombians. Sucre and his men were anxious for battle; and at length La Serna determined to engage them on the plain of Ayacucho, Dec. 9, 1825. The royalist force consisted of 9,310 men, that of the patriots of 5,780 men. Generals Sucre (the commander in chief), La Mar, Cordova and Miller distinguished themselves on this occasion, and the battle terminated in the total defeat of La Serna, who was taken prisoner, with the loss of 1800 men in killed and wounded, and in the capitulation of Canterac, the second in command. only 370 were killed. The intelligence of this splendid victory filled all Spanish America with rejoicings, as it effectually accomplished the delivery of Peru from the Spaniards. (See Peru, Bolivia, Sucre.)

Of the patriots,

AYCINENA, Mariano, became governor (gefe supremo) of the state of Guatemala, in the republic of Central America, in January 1827, after the murder of Cirilo Flores, the vice-chief, and the removal of the actual governor by president Arce. He is one of the most influential members of the Guatemaltecan party. (See Central America.)

AYESHA; daughter of Abubeker, the favorite wife of the Arabian prophet, though she bore him no child. After his death, she opposed the succession of Ali, raised an army against him, and was taken prisoner, but dismissed with that spirit of chivalry which had already arisen among the Arabians, and communicated itself afterwards to the Christians. She died in 677, it is said, 67 years old.

AZIMUTH of a star; the arc of the horizon comprehended between the merid