and is called by its name. Acrostic verse is no longer cultivated by the poets. Edgar Allan Poe wrote some striking acrostics, varying the form with great ingenuity.
ACT, in dramatic language, a portion of a play performed continuously, after which the representation is suspended for a little. As early as the time of Horace there were five acts in a drama, but this number is frequently modified on the modern stage.
In parliamentary language, an act of congress, legislature, etc.
In law: (1) Anything officially done by the court, as the phrases "Acts of Court," "Acts of Sederunt," etc. (2) An instrument in writing for declaring or proving the truth of anything.
ACT OF SETTLEMENT, an act of the Parliament of England in 1701, vesting the hereditary right to the English throne in Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her Protestant descendants, constituting the source of the sovereignty of the house of Hanover or Brunswick, the present ruling line. The act prohibited the king (or queen) from going to war in defense of non-English powers without the assent of Parliament.
ACTA SANCTORUM, or MARTYRUM, the collective title given to several old writings, respecting saints and martyrs in the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches, but now applied especially to one extensive collection begun by the Jesuits in the 17th century. Commenced by the Jesuit Roeweyd, continued by J. Bolland, the work was carried on after the latter's death by a society of learned Jesuits, who were styled Bollandists until 1794. In recent times, the undertaking has been resumed, until over 60 volumes have been published.
ACTÆA, a genus of plants belonging to the order ranunculacæ, or crowfoots. One species, the A. spicata=the bane-berry, or herb-christopher, is indigenous to many lands. It bears black berries, which are poisonous. With alum, they yield a black dye. The roots are antispasmodic, expectorant, and astringent. A. racemosa, the snakeroot, receives its English name from being used in the United States as an antidote against the bite of the rattlesnake.
ACTINIA, in zoölogy, a genus of polyps with many arms radiating from around their mouth, in a manner somewhat resembling the rays of the sun surrounding his disc, or a double flower. Prom this arrangement of the tentacles, coupled with the bright colors of these animals, they are called also animal flowers. Though simple and not aggregated, they still have a somewhat close affinity to the coral-building polyps.
ACTINOGRAPH, an instrument for recording the variations of chemical influence of the solar rays and of other radiations.
ACTINOLITE (Greek aktis, genit. aktinos—a ray, and lithos=a stone. The translation of the German strahlstein=radiated stone), a variety of amphibole. It is the actinote of Haüy. Its affinity and composition are indicated by Dara's compound name for it—magnesia-lime-iron amphibole. It is bright green, or grayish-green, the green color being imparted by the iron it contains.
ACTINOMETER, an instrument for measuring the chemical effects of radiation from any source, especially the sun.
ACTINOMYCOSIS, the name now given to a disease long known to occur in cattle, but confounded with tubercle or sarcoma. In 1877, Bollinger, of Munich, showed that little yellow grains are always present, consisting of a minute fungus, with its mycelium arranged in a radiate manner. To this fungus he gave the name actinomyces; and further observation has confirmed his view that it is the cause of the disease. Actinomycosis is most common in cattle; occurs also in pigs, and (rarely) in man.
ACTINOTHERAPY, the method of treating diseases by chemical or actinic rays. See PHOTOTHERAPY.
ACTINOZOA, a class of animals included in the radiata of the system of Cuvier, but combined with hydrozoa to form the class coelenterata in the systems of Frey, Leuckart, and Huxley. It contains the sea-anemones and coral polyps.
ACTION, in law, a judicial proceeding before a court of justice to secure redress for the infringement of a right. In courts of equity a corresponding proceeding is termed a suit. Actions are classified as civil and criminal. Civil actions are instituted to enforce a private right or to obtain redress for a private wrong. Civil actions are personal, when claiming recovery of personal property or damages in lieu thereof; real, when concerning the recovery of land, rents, etc.; or mixed, when partaking of the character of both. Criminal actions are brought by the state against some person accused of having committed a crime. Statutory actions are based on statutes, while common-law actions are enforced without the aid of a statute.
