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( 498 ) MAR
MARASMUS, in Medicine; an extreme Macies or Confumption of the whole Body. A Hectic Fever ufual- ly produces a Marafmus. The word is Greek, being de- rived from theVerb (mi&itttrfo rjafie. See Consump tion. MARAVEDISj a little Sfawfh Copper Coin, worth fomewhat more than a French Denier. The Spaniards al- ways count by Maravedis, both in Commerce, their Fi- nances, <££?<:. tho the Coin itfelf has but little Courfe among them. 6*t Maravedts are equivalent to a Real of Silver : fo that the Piafter, or Piece of Eight Real, contains 504, and 4PHloles of 4 Pieces of Eight, 2016" Maraz-edis. See Coin and Money. This Smallnefs of the Coin produces vaft Numbers in the Spanifj Accounts and Calculations j info- much that a Stranger or Correfpondent would think himfelf indebted feveral Millions for a Commodity, that coils but a few Pounds. In the Laws of Spain, we meet with feveral Kinds of Maravedis; Alphonfme Maravedis, White Maravedis, Maravedis of Good Money , Maravedis Combrennos, Black Mara- vedis, OldMaravediu When we find Maravedis alone, and without any Addition, it is to be underftood of thofe men- tioned above. The reft were different in Value, Finenefs of Metal, Time, &c. "Mariana afferts, that this Coin is older than the Moors, that it came from the Goths, and was worth ten Denarii in the time of the Romans.
The Word is Arabic, and took its Rife from the Almo- raoides Moors , who paffing out of Africa into Spain, impofed their own Name on this Coin, which by Corruption was afterwards changed into Maravedis. Mention is made of it in the Decretals, as well as other Latin Writers, under the Name of Maralntini.
MARBLE, a Kind of Stone, extremely hard, firm and folid, dug out of Pits or Quarries: It takes a beautiful Foliih, cuts very hardly, and is much ufed in Ornaments of fine Buildings, as Columns, Altars, Statues, ££>c. There are an infinite Number of different Kinds of Marble, u- fually denominated either from their Colour, their Coun- try, or their Defects; fome are of one fimple Colour, as white or blade, others ftreak'd or variegated with Stains, Clouds, Waves, Veins, i$c. All Marbles are opake, ex- cepting the white, which, when cut into thin Slices, be- comes transparent. They are alfo different in Weight and Hardneis, and are to be confider'd with regard to their Colour, their Country, their Grain, and their De- feels.
Under the Genus of "Marble are comprehended Porphyry, which is the hardeft, and which was antiently brought from Numidia in Africa 5 the moft beautiful is that, whofe Red is the molt vivid, and the Stains the whiter! and the fmalleft. See Porphyry. The Serpentme,-which is agreen- i/h brown, fo call'd, becaufe figur'dwith little Stains. It is form'd of a great Number of Grains of Sand condens'd 5 it is of various Kinds, viz. Egyptian, Italian, Violet, and Green. See Gran ate and Serpentine, gaffer, of which there are various Kinds, the Antient,the Florid, the Black, White, £<?c. See Jasper. Alabafter, of which there are various Kinds, both White and Variegated. They are all foft when taken out of the Quarry, but harden in the Air. Marbles again may be confider'd either as Antient or Mo- dern. By Antient we mean thofe, whofe Quarries are loft or inacceffibleto us, and whereof we have only fome Pieces remaining. The Modern are thofe, whofe Quarries are ilill open, and out of which Blocks continue to be dug. Marbles denominated from their Countries. African Marble is either of a reddiJli Brown, ftreaje'd with Veins of White, or of a Carnation, with Veins of Green. Bngiijh White Marble is vein'd with Red. Marble »f Auvergne in F ranee, is of a pale Red, mingled with Vio- let, Green, and Yellow. Marble of Brabancon in Hainault, is Black, vein'd with White. Marble of Brcffe in Jfa/y, is Yellow with Spots of White. Marble Brocatelle, is min- gled with little Shades of IfabeUa, Yellow, Pale and Gray. It comes from Tortofa in Spain, where it is dug out of an antient Quarry: There is alfo anotherKind of antient lirocatelle dug near Adrianofle. Marble of Carrara, on the Courts of Genoa, is very white, and the fitteft of all others for Works of Sculpture. Marble of Champagne, refembles the Brocatelle, being mix'd with blue in round Stains like Partridges Eyes. CipoUino, or CipoUin Marble, is of a Sea- green Colour, mix'd with large Waves or Clouds of white or pale green. Scamozzi takes this to be the fame with that which the Antients call'd Angnjfum ££? Tberium Mar- mor 3 becaufe difcover'd in Egypt in the Times of the Emperors Augufius and "Tiberius. Marble of Dhian, near Liege, is of a" pure black, very beautiful, and very com- - mon. Marble of Gmchenet, near Dinan, is of a reddi/h, Brcwn, with white Spots and Veins. Marble of Languedoc, is of a vivid red, with large white Veins or Stains, 'and is very comnlon 5 there is fome, whofe White borders pretty much on the Blue, but 'this is of lefs Value. Lti- wabbdb Marble, Marble fo call'd, becaufe mingled with Spots, gray, black, and white, wreath'd fomewhat like Periwinkle-Shells, This is antient, and its Quarry is loft.
Marble of Margoffe, m the Milaneze^ has a white Ground with brownifh Veins, refembling the Colour of Iron-Ruft. This is very common, and extremely hard. Marble of Lavee. t in Maine t has a black Ground, with little narrow Veins of white; there is another Kind -of it red, with Veins of a dirty white. Marble of Namur is black, like that of Dinan, but lefs beautiful, as inclining a little to the blue, and travers'd with little Streaks of grey. This is very common, and is frequently ufed in Paving. Parian Marble is Antique, and much celebrated in Authors; it is of a beautiful White : The grcateft part of the Grecian Statues were made of.it. Varro calls it Lychnites, becaufe the Workmen dug it out of the Quarry by Lamp-Light* Marble of Porta Santa, at Rome call'd Sema, is mingled with large Clouds and Veins of red, yellow, and grey. Marble Portor has a black Ground* with Clouds and Veins of yellow. It is dug out of the foot of the Alps towards Carrara. Marble of Ratrice, in Flainault, is of a dirty red, mix'd with blue and white Clouds and Veins : this is pretty common, but is different in Beauty. Marble of Sa- voy, is a deep red mix'd with other Colours; each Piece whereof feems cemented onto the reft. Marble of Sicily is a browni/h red, flain'd with oblong Squares of White and IfabeUa, like ftriped Taffeta's. The Antient has very vivid Colours, and the Modern comes pretty near it. Mar- hie of Sign an, in the Pyreneans, is ordinarily of a greeni/h. brown, with red Stains; tho this is fomewhat various in its Colours. Marble of Then, near Namur in Liege, is a pure black, foft and cufy to work, and receives a more beau- tiful Polifli than thofe of Namur and Dinan.
Marble Bigio Nero t or black-grey, is antique. White- vein'd Marble has large Veins, with grey and blue Stains on a white Ground. It comes from Carrara. White Mar- ble j that dug out of the Pyrcneaiis on the fide of Bayonne, is inferior to that of Carrara, its Grains being larger, and ihining, like a kind of Salr. It is fomething like the an- tient white Greek Marble, whereof their Statues were made, but is not fo hard or beautiful. Antient black and white Marble is now very rare, its Quarries being entirely loft 5 it is divided between a pure white and a bright black in Plates. Blue Turquin Marble, is mix'd with a dirty kind of white, and comes from the Coaft of Genoa. Marble Fior di Fe>jica, comes from Italy, confifts of red and white Stains, fomewhat yellowi/h. Tellow Marble, is a kind of yellow IfabeUa without Veins; it is anticjue, and now very rare. Black Attic Marble, is of a pure black, without Stains, and fofter than the modern black. There was fome ot it brought from Greece, call'd Mannor Lucttikum$ but this was not fo much prized as that which the E^yp- tians brought from JEihiopia, approaching to an Iron Co- lour, and call'd Bafaltes, or Touch-ftone, becaufe it ferved them for the Tryal of Metals. White and black Marble has a pure black Ground, with fome very white Veins. Marble Occhio di Pa-vone, or Peacocks Eye, is mingled with red, white and blueilh Clouds, fomewhat refembling the Eyes at the end of a Peacock's Tail. Green Marble an- tique, is a Mixture of Grafs-green and Black, in Clouds ot unequal Forms and Bigneffcs, and is very rare, the Quarries being loit. The modern Green, improperly cal- led Egyptian, is brought from Carrara, on the Coaft; of Genoa 5 it is a deep Green fpotted with Grey. Marble denominated from its Defers, ^ Rigid Marble, that which, being tco hard, works with, difficulty, and is liable to fptinter, as the Black of Namur. Thready Marble, is that full of Threads or Filaments. Brittle Marble, is that which crumbles under the Inftm- ment, as the white Greek Marble, that of the Pyreneans, &c. Terras Marble, that with foft Places in it, which mult be filled up with Cement, as that of Languedoc.
There are two Defects frequent in Marbles, which aug- ment the Difficulty of cutting and polifliing them. The one, what they fometimes call Nails, anfwering to the Knots in Wood 5 the other, call'd Emeril, is a Mixture of Copper or other Metals, making black Stains in the Marble. The Knots are common to all Marbles, the Eme- ril only in the white.
The Stuck whereof they make Statues, Buds, Baffo-Re- lievos, and other Ornaments of Architecture, is only Marble pulveriz'd, mix'd in a certain Proportion withPlaifter; the whole well fitted, work'd up with Water, and ufed like common Plaiftcr. There is alfo a kind of artificial Mar- ble, made of Gyffum, or a tranfparent Stone, refembling Marlei which becomes very hard, receives a tolerable Poli/b, and may deceive the Eye. There is alfo a kind of artificial Marble form'd by corrofive Tinctures, which penetrating into white Marble, to the depth of a Line, imi- tates the various Colours of other Marbles. Polifh'd Mar- ble is that which, being well rubb'd with Free ftone, and afterwards with Pumice-ftone, is at laft polifh'd with Emery, if the Marble be of feveral Colours, and with Tin, if it be white. In, Italy they polifh with a Piece of Lead and Emery.
There
