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Beams of the Sun ; then gave the Name of Now, or Nov* Lun*, to the Day of the firft appearing of the New Moon ; and Idus, fay they, took the Name when ihe was full, and appeared in her Beauty, from the Greek word inf®-, that is, .Beauty. From thence they dra.v an Argument for the In- equality of the Days of the Nones 1 for as it falls out by the Compofition of the Motions of the Sun and the Moon, that the Moon comes out of the Beams of the Sun, fome- times fooner, and fometimes later, and that thisDiverfity is commonly included in the fpace of two Days ; it is like- ly, they fay, that in the time that Romulus inflituted his Calendar, the Moon was kept a longer time hid under the Beams of the Sun, in the Month of March, May, Ju- ly, and OBober : wherefore he allowed feven Days to rhe Nones in thofe four Months, and five Davs only to the o- thers, during which, it may be, the Moon got off from thcie Beams, and appeared fooner. Others draw the word Idas from Idulium, which was the Name of the Vic- tim offered to Jupiter, the Day of the Ides, that was confecrated to him. Some derive it from the Tufcan word/ft'*, which fignifies, amongft that Nation, the fame as Idus among the Romans. They allowed eight Days for the Ides : Thus the eighth Day of the Month, in thofe four Months, andthefixth, in the other eight, were accounted the eighth of the Ides, and fo on, always decreafing to the 12th or 14th, which was called the Pridie, or Eve of the Ides, and on the 15th or 15th was the Day of the Ides. This way of accounting is Hill in ufe in the Roman Chan- eery, and in the Calendar of the Breviary.
The Ides of May were confecrated to Mercury ; the Ides of March were ever clleeined unhappy, after Cejar's Mur- der on that Day ; the Time after the Ides of June was reckoned fortunate for thofe who entered into Matrimony ; the Ides of Awruji were confecrated to Diana, and were ob- ferved as a F'eafl-Day by the Slaves. On the Ides of Sep- tember Auguries were taken for appointing the Magistrates, who formerly entered into their Offices on the Ides of May, afterwards on thofe of March. SceRofwus, and others, who have written of the Roman Antiquities.
IDIOM, Dialeil, the Language of fome particular Province, differing, in fome refpects, from the Language of the Nation in general, whence it is derived. The word comes from the Greek, [Am, Propriety, of *iJi@-,pro- fer,felf.
lDIOI'ATHT, a Difeafe or Indifpofition proper to fome particular Member, or Part of the Body, not caufed by any other Difeafe, or preceding Affecf ion, nor having any thing to do with the reit of the Body. It is oppofed to Sympathy, which happens when the Indifpofition takes its Rife from a Diforder in fome other Part of the Body. 1 hus a Cataract in the Eye is an Idiopathy : an Epilepfy is either Idiopathic or Sympathies Idiopathic when it happens purely thro' fome Fault in the Brain, Sympathic when it is preceded by fome other Diforder. The word is derived from toe Greek, i'J)©-, proper, particular, and roB©-, Paf- Jion, A-ffeBion.
IDIOSYNCRASY, in Phyfic, is a Temperament peculiar to fome Body, in confequence whereof, whether in Sickncfs or in Health, it has a more than ordinary Aver- sion or Inclination to certain things, or is more affecfed with them, than others ufually are. The word is derived from the Greek, 'iJi©-, proper, pyp, with, and *epns,Craf.s, Mixta e, Temperament.
IDIOT A lnijuirenda vel Examinanda, is a Writ iffued out to the Efcheator or Sheriff of any County, where the King has notice that there is an Ideot naturally born, fo weak of Underllanding, that he cannot govern or manage his Inhe- ritance, direcfing him to call before him the Party fuf- pecfed, and examine him : for the King has the Protection of his Subjects, and by his Prerogative the Government of the Lands and Subftance of fuch as are naturally de- fective in their own Difcretion.
1D10TISM, in Grammar, is an Inflexion of fome Verb, a particular Conflrucfion of fome Phrafe or Parti- cle that is anomalous, and deviates from the ordinary Rule of the Language of the Nation, but which is in ufe in fome particular Province of it. Several Authors have written of the Idiotifms in the Greek and Latin Lan- guages ; that is, of the particular Turns in thofe Tongues which vary the molt from each other, and from the more popular among the modern Tongues : But the Examples of thefe Idiotifms being borrowed from the belt Authors, Idiotifm, in thisSenfe, cannot properly be called an Irregu- larity. The wordis derived from the Greek, iA®"» proper.
IDOL, a Statue or Image of forac falfe God, to whom Divine Honours are paid, Altars and Temples erected, and Sacrificesmade. Thus the Coloffus at Rhodes was an Idol of the Sun, the Palladium an Idol of Minerva, &c. The word comes from the Greek etStohssr, of «</*©-, Imago, Figttra.
'IDOLATRY, the Worfhip and Adoration of falfe Gods, or the giving thofe Honours to Creatures, or the
Works of Man's Hand, which are only due to God. Se- veral Authors have written of the Origin and Caufes of Idolatry, and among the red. Vojfms, Seiden, Goodwin, and Temijon i but 'tis Hill a Doubt who was the fait Auihor of it. 'Tis generally allowed, however, that it hid not its Beginning till after the Deluge, and many are of Opi- nion tiiat lielus, who is fuppofed to be the fame with N-m- rod, was thefirit Man that was deified. But whether they had not paid Divine Honours to the Heavenly Bodies be- fore that time, cannot be determined, our Acquaintance with thofe remote Times being extremely (lender. All that can be faid with Certainty, is, That 42^ Years after the Deluge, when God lead lhara and his Family out of Chaldea, and Abraham -patted over Mefopotamia, Canaan,* the Kingdom of the Phdijtines and Egypt, it does not ap- pear that Idolatry had then got any footing in any of thofe Countries, tho' fome pretend that Abraham himfelf was an Idolater. The firlt mention we find made of it, is in Genefis, chap, xxxix, ver. 19. where Rachel is faid to have taken the Idols of her Father ; for tho' the meaning of the Hebrew word LDJ3T1 be difputed, yet 'tis evident they were Idols. Laban calls them his Gods, and Jacob calls them ftrangeGods, and looks on them as Abomina- tions. Clmterius, Germ. Antiq. I. 1. maintains Cain to have been the firtt Idolater, and the falfe Gods that he wor- shipped to have been the Stats, to whom he fuppofed God had left the Government of the lower World : but this is mere Conjecture. The principal Caufes that have been affigned for Idolatry, arc thefe : (1.) The indelible Idea which every Man has of a God, and the Evidence which hegives of it to himfelf. (2.) An inviolable Attach- ment to Senfe, and an Habitude of judging and deciding by it, and it only. (5.) The Pride and Vanity of the human Soul, which is not fatisfied with fimple Truth, but mingles and adulterates it with Fables. (4.) The Ignorance of Antiquity, or of the firlt Times, and the firft Men, whereof we have but a very dark and confufed Knowledge by Tradition, they having left no written Mo- numents or Books. (5.) The Ignorance and Changes of Languages, (if.) The Style of the Oriental Languages, which is figurative and poetical, and perfonifies every thing, f 7.) The Superftition, Scruples, and Fears, in- fpired by Religion. (8.) The Flattery of Writers. (9.) The falfe Relations of Travellers. (10.) The Fiflions of Poets, (n.) The Imaginations of Painters and Sculp- tors. (12.) A fmattering of Phyfics, that is, a flight Acquaintance with natural Bodies, and Appearances, and their Caufes. (14.) The Ettablifhment of Colonies, and the Invention of Arts, which have been perverted by bar- barous People. (1 5.) The Artifices of Priells. ( 1 6.) The Pride of certain Men, who have affected to pafs for Gods. (17.) The Affection and Gratitude bore by the People to certain of their Great Men and Benefactors. (18.) The Scriptures rhemfelves ill underllood. The word comes from the Greek ei/wAoA«7ptjf, which is compofed of «/©- Imago, Image, and AarfnW, fervire, to ferve.
IDYLLION, in Poetry, is a little gay Poem, containing the Defcription or Narration of fome agreeable Ad- ventures. Theocritus is the oldeft Author who has written Idyllions. The Italians imitate him, and have brought the Idyllion into modern Ufe. The Idyllions of Theocritus have a world of Delicacy ; they appear with a clownifh, rullic kind of Simplicity, but are full of the molt exquil rite Beauties ; they fecm drawn from the Bread of Na- ture herfelf, and to have been dilated by the Gra- ces. The Idyllion is a kind of Poetry, which paints the Objects it defcribes ; whereas the Efic Poem re- lates them, and the Dramatic afts them. The modern Writers of Idyllions don'r keep up to that original Simplici- ty obferved by Theocritus ; the People of our Days would notbearan amorous Fiction, refembling the clumfy Gal- lantries of our Peafants. Boilean obferves that the fhorteft Idyllions are ufually the belt. The word is derived from the Greek uSurhicv, of a^O , Figure, Reprefentation 5 in regard this Poetry confifls in a lively natural Image, or Repre- fentation of Things.
JEAT, fometimes called Black Amber, is a Mineral, or a fofitle Stone, extremely black, formed of a lapidific or bituminous Juice in the Earth, in the manner of Coal : It works like Amber, and has moll of its Quali- ties. It abounds in Dauphine, but the bell in the World is faid to be produced in fome of the Northern Parts of England. There is alfoa fact. itious Jet made of Glafs, in imitation of the Mineral Jet. This is drawn out into long hollow Strings, which are cur, and formed at pleafure. It is much ufed in Embroideries, and in the Trimmings of Mourning, and may be made of any Colour, tho 'tis ufually black and white.
JECTIGATION, in Phyfic, is a Trembling or Palpi- tation felt in the Pulfe of a lick Perfon, which Ihcws that the Brain, which is the Origin <;jf the Nerves, is attacked and threatned with ConvulfiVjns.
JECUR,
