CON
■a l;. Principle, the fame Author finds five Labial
f Tis l> A "• /• and '" i five ' Palatal ones i 4 /. s, h
■Ciafi'"-" 0ffj, rs , i, 2, j, oh; two Liquids, I and r; two 8 j t0U int oanQ mix with each other, as //, unign; which thatr" ^ . s p ecu iiar to the French Language, and the
i u^ds, ift. tnat w and B a 1 e P rD per!y two Nafal Cc«-
,( . the w, a b pafs'd thro' the Nofe, and the n a ^,
fi"f/ ' m anner, pronounc'd thro' the Nofe; and in eft'eft,
S ]. in a Cold pronounce barket for market, deed for
• ill That amon g t ' ie Confidants, fome are rowi, others
"' J', their difference confifling in this, That the former
preceded with a fmall Emiflion of the Voice which foft-
are f, m • which the latter have not. The weak are l>, c, d,
It may be here ob ' erv "' that w " e n we fpeak of a Perfon's
Hine thro' the Nofe; it mult be underftood in a Senfe "ite different from what the Words feem naturally to im- \ rr . Since the Nofe in this Cafe concurs lefs to the Pro- • c;j t ion than if he did not fpeak thro' the Nufe; in re- "atil the Air not being able to make its way thro' the Nofe, ' rturn'd into the Mouth, where it forms a dull obtufe Sound, call'd Nafal. See Votes.
From the whole we may conclude, that the Exccfs of Con- fatnts in one Language above another on!y confi'ls in this, Zt there are more Modifications of Sound receiv'd and efla- klllh'd in the one than the other : For all Men having the fjms Organs, may form the fame Modifications; fo that 'tis entirely owing to Cuttom, nothing to Nature, that the En- ,l'lli have not the 9 of the Greeks, the Jin and Heth of the gihevs, the ch of the Germans, the gn of the French, the j| of the Italians, the 11 of the Welch, &c.
That the Cbineje have no r, the Iroquois no Labial Confi- rms, the Httros abundance of Afpirates; and the Arabs and Georgians abundance of Double Confinants : which lafl is owing to this, that they make feveral Organs concur fl,onsly and equally to the Modification of a Sound; where- as, in the reft, only one Organ is moved very ftrongly and fenfrbly, and the reft weakly.
Tis hence alfo vifible, that in all Languages the Afpirates, or Guttural Letters, are real Confinants; fince the Throat modifies the Sound as much as the Palate, Tongue, or Lips. See AstiKATE.
Laffly, to find all the Confinants that may be fortn'd in any Language; there needs nothing but to obferve all the Modifications that the Sound of Speech will admit of, by which we (hall have all the Confinants practicable.
CONSOH.T, in Mufick. See Concert.
CONSPIRACY, in Law, is taken for a Combination or Confederacy to do fomething evil, or illegal : tho in the ori- ginal Senfe of the Word, and in its ufe in other Languages, itlignifies an Agreement, either for good, bad, or Matters indifferent.
In our Statutes and Law-Books, Confpiracy, in a general Senfe, is confounded with Maintenance and Champarty. See Maintenance, and Champarty.
In its fpecial Signification, it is ufed for a Confederacy of two, at lead, falfly to indift one, or procure one to be indic- ted of Felony. See Indictment.
The Punifhmenr of this Confederacy, at the King's Suit, anticntly was : that the Party attainted lofe his Frank-Law; to the End that he mayn't be impannel'd on Juries, and the Jra; that his Lands, Goods, and Chattels be eftreated; his 'tees tafed, and his Body committed to Prifon.
Even Conspiracies in Cafes of lefs moment, as thofe of Victuallers, touching felling of Victual, fliall be grievoufly mm ,, Hen. VIII.
CONSPIRING 'powers, in Mechanicks, are all fuch as 1 in Directions not oppofite to one another. See Power, l "i Motion.
CONSTABLE, or Lord High CONSTABLE, an an-
ItllV 1 ° f the Crown '■> now difufed 'n England, but .1 '""lifting in France, where the Conftable commands '»« Marefchals, and is the firlt Officer in the Army.
Mine derive the Word from the Saxon, and make it ori- gmally fignify the Stay or Hold of the King. But others, Jl,g e mo J e probability, derive it from Comes Stabuli, the
( 9M )
COK
lim L rr tnac the Dignity wmch at firlt was Civil, in to became Military, and the Matter of the Stables made u «ieral of the Army. See Master. ihe 5? Fnn *on of the Conftable of England, confided in Arm j tIle comm °n Peace of the Land, in Deeds of and A and c Matters of War. To the Court of the Conftable "acls n° j MarmaIs > belong'd the cognizance of Con- Wv'ra of A ™s without the Realm, Combats, Bla-
Th fi T*' ® e - withinit - See Marshal. <ju ero j .. "'ll Conftable of England was created by the Con- &ar*Vnr P^ cc continu'd hereditary till the 13th of y vm. w hen it was laid afide, as being fo powerful as
to become troublefom to the King. Since that time, the Conftable is only created occafionally.
From thofe mighty Magiflrates, the Conftables of E gland, are derived thofe interior ones, fince call'd rhe Conftables of Hundreds and Francbifes 5 firlt ordain'd in the /3th 1 ear of Edward I. by the Statute of IVincbefter; which, for the Conlervation of the Peace, and View of Armour, appointed that two Conftables mould be chofe in every Hundred and Franchlfe. See Hunbret, and Franchise.
Thefe are what we now call Cimftabulani Cafitalrs, ot High Conftables; in regard, continuance of Time and'in- creafe ot People, £j?c. have occafion'd others o ( " like na- ture, but inferior Authority, in every Town, call'd Pem- Conftables, or Sub-Conftabnluni.
The appointing of a f-ctty-Conftable belongs to the Lords of divers Mannors, Jure Feudl.
Befides thele, we have Conftables denominated from par- ticular Places, as Conftable of the Tower, of Dover Caflle, of Wtndfor-Caftle, of the Caflle of Carvervan, and many other of the Caitles of Wales; who: Office is the fame with that of the Caftellaui, or Governors or Catties. See Tow- er, ££c.
CONSTAT, in Law, a Certificate given out of rhe Court of Exchequer, of all there is upon reeord relating to any Matter in queftion.
It is alfo tiled for an Exemplification or Copy of the lnro,» meat of Letters Patent.
CONSTELLATION, in Aflronomy, an Affemblage or Syfrem of leveral Stars, exprefAl an ' repref.-nred under the Name and Figure of fome Animal or other thing; ca I'd alfo an Aflerifm. S^e Star.
The Antients portion'd out the Firmament into feveral Parts, or Co'tfiellattons j reducing a certain number of Stars under the Representation of certain Images, in order to aid the Imagination and the Memory to conceive and retain their Number, Difpofition, and even to diMinguifh the Virtues which they attributed to 'em : In which Sencc a Man is faid to be born under a happy Coxfteltatien, i. e. under a happy Configuration of the heavenly Bodies.
The Divifion of the Heavens into ConftellstionS is very antienr; and, for ought appears, as old as Aiironomy it felfj at leaft, it was known to the inoft antient Authors exranr, whether facred or profane. In the mod antient Book of Job, mention is made of the Names of fome of 'em; wit- nefs that fublime Expostulation, Cauft thou ieftrain the fixeet Influence of the Pleiades, or loo fen the Hands of Ori- on? And the fame may be obferv'd of the oidett among the Heathen Wrirers Homer and He/iod.
The Divifion of the Antients only took in the vifible Fir- mament, or lo much as came under their notice : This they distributed into 48 Onftellations; twelve whereof took up the Zodiack : The Names they gave them are Aries, /au- ras, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, L.b a, Scorpitis, Sagit- tarius, Aquarius, Capricernus, 'Pifces j from whence the Signs of the Ecliptick and Zodiack, take tneir Names; tho now no longer contiguous to the ConftciUit,ons which denomi- nate them. See Sign.
The other Stars, on the Northern Side of the Zodiack, were difpos'd into 21 Conjlcllations, viz. Ufi Major and Minor, 'Draco, Cepheus, Soores, Corona Septentt tonaliSy Hercules, Lyra, (ygnus, Ccffiofeia, Terfern, Andromeda, Triangulum, Auriga, 'Pcgajus, Equuletis, fDelfhims, Sa- gitta, Aquila, Ophincbus or Serpentarius and Serpens ': To which have been fince added Antinous, and Coma 'Berenices*
The Stars on the South Side of rhe Zodiack, were dillri- buted into fifteen Conftellations; their Names, Cetus, Eri- danus Fluvius, Lepus, Orion, Canis Major and Minor, Ar- go, Hydra, Crater, Corvus, Centaurus, Lupus, Ara, Corona Meridionalis, and Pifcis Attftralis : To which have been fince added twelve others; viz. Pbienix, Grus, Indus, 'Pa- ve, Pifces Auftralis, Pifces Vclans, Toucan, Hydras, and Xiphias. See each Conitellation, and the Stars contain' d in it, under its proper Head.
Of thefe Conftellations, the fifteen Iaft, with the greateft Parr of Argo, Navis, Centaurus, and Lupus are not vifible in our Horizon.
The orher Stars, not comprehended under thefe Conftella* tions, yet vifible to the naked Eye, the Antients called Iu- formes, or Sporades, fome whereof the modern Aftronomers, have fince reduced into new Figures, or Conftellations. See Informes.
Thus, Hevelius, v.g. between Leo and Uifa Major, makes Leo Minor; and between Urfa Minor and Auriga, over Ge- mini, makes Lynx; under the Tail of Urfa Major, Canes Venatici, &c.
In thefe Conftellations, the Stars are ordinarily difiinguifh'd by that Part of the Image wherein they are found. Bayer diftinguilhes 'em further by the Letters of the Greek Al- phabet : And many of 'em, again, have peculiar Names, as ArSiurus, between the Feet of Bootes; Gemina, or Lucida, in the Corona Septentrionalis 5 Palilitium, in the BtM'%
Eye,
