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MOOTING, the chief Exercife of the Students in the Inns of Court ; being the arguing of Cafes, which young Utter Barrillers, ££c. perform at appointed Times, the better to enable them tor Practice, and the Defence of their Clients Caufes. See Inns of Court.
Such, as from their Learning and Standing are call'd by the Benchers to argue Moot Cafes, are call'd Utter Barrifiers} the reft, who for want of Experience, Qfc. are not ad- mitted, are call'd Inner Barriflers, See Barrister.
The riace where Moor Cafes were argued, was anuently call'd a Moot-Hall.
In the Inns of Court there is a 'Bailiff, or Surveyor of the Moots, yearly chofen by the Bench to appoint the Moot-Men for the Inns of Chancery^ and to keep Account of Perfor- mance of Exercifcs, both there and in theHoufe.
MOOT-MEN are thofe who argue Moot-Cafes, SecMoor.
Out of thefe Moot-Men are chofe Readers for the Inns of Chancery ; where, in Term-time and in Vacations, they ar- gue Cales in the prefenceof Attorneys and Clerks.
MORAL, any thing relating to the Manners, or the Conduit of Life. See Manners.
Thus, befides the Theological Virtues, as Faith, Flope, Charity, ££ c. we fay there are alfo Moral Virtues, as Jnft>.ce, Temperance, &c. See Virtue.
Moral of a Fable, is the Initruction drawn from it. See Fable.
Thus when Fkcdrus at the end of a Fable adds, Hoc Wis diHtim qui, g?c, that makes what we call the Moral. This, the Greeh call'd hau$*09 when at the end of the Fable, and <Btyf*$iov. at the beginning. The Latins call it^ffabu- latio.
Moral Senfe, the Faculty whereby we difcern, or per- ceive what is Good, Virtuous, Beautiful, &c. in Actions, Manners, Characters, ££c.
A late Author has endeavoured to prove, that it is a pe- culiar Senfe whereby we get the. Ideas of thefe Things ; and denominate ita Moral Senfe. See Moral Sense.
Moral Theology is that which treats of Cafes of Con- ference j caYi'd alio Cafuijtry. See Casuistry.
Moral Certainty, or Afiurancc, is ufed to fignify a very flrong Probability ; in contra -diumclion to a Mathematical Demonftration. See Certainty.
Moral bnpojjibtlity, is what we otherwife call a very
§reat, and aimoitinfuperable Difficulty ; in oppofirion to a hyfical, or Natural Impoffibility. See Impossibility.
Moral Thilofophy, a Science whofe Object is to direct, and form our Manners; to explain the Reafon, and Ma- ture of Aclions ■•> and to teach and initrucl: us how to acquire that Felicity or Happinefs which is agreeable to human Nature. See Philosophy.
Moral Fbdojophy is the fame with what we otherwife call Ethics. See Ethics.
Moral Action*, or Acts, are fuch asrender the Rational or Free Agent Good or Evil ; and, co frequently, Rewardable and Puniihable becaufe he doth them. See Good, £S?c.
MORALITY is a Conformity to thofe unalterable Ob- ligations which refult from the nature of our Existence, and the neceffary Relations ot Life j whether to God as our Creator, or Mankind as our Fellow-Creature.
MORASSE, a Marjbj Fen, or low moift Grounds, which drain the Waters from above, without having any defcent to carry them off again.
Somner derives the Word from the Saxon Merfe : Salma- fitts from Mare, a Collection of Waters ; others from the German Marafi , a muddy Place 5 and others from Marefe, of Maricetum, a Marifcis, i.e. Rufhes.
In Scotland, Ireland, and the North of England, they have a peculiar kind of Moraf/es, call'd Moffes, or Feat- Moffes, whence the Country- People dig their Peat or Turt. See Turf.
The Earl of Cromartie gives a particular Account of thefe MofTes in the Fh'tlafaph. TranfaB. They are cover'd with aheathyScurf, under which is a black, moiir, fpongy Earth, in fome Places fhallower, in others deeper, ordi- narily from three or four to feven or eight Feet depth, tho' in fome few Places twice or thrice as much.
This black, fpungy Earth they cut into oblong Squares with Iron Spades fitted to that end, eight or nine Inches long, and four or five broad ; as the Men cut 'em up, they are carried and fpread on a dry Ground, to be dried in the Wind and Sun. Some of thefe become harder, fome fofter, according to the nature of the Mold or Earth : The more black and folid, the better Fire ; and they are the leatl efteemed which are greyeft, the Iightefr, and moft fpungy.
When they have cut off one Surface of four or five Inches deep, they proceed downwards to another, and Co to a third and a fourth, till they come to the hard Channel, un- lefs they be ftop'd with Water, which they alfo ordinarily remove by making a Channel, if they can j but where they cannot, there the Water Magnates. In fuch wafted Pits, or Peat-Dikes, as they call 'em, where Water hinders the
cutting the fpungy F.arth to the Bottom, the Pi'fs will b& filPd up again in Com- Years with new fpungy Earth * which in prucefs ot Time conns to rhe continence of Peat'Mofsdsatfirfti and a fcurfy Heath-Turf grows over the Top of it. When the Dikes are dug down to the hard Channel, the MofTes don't renew, as in rhe other Cafe 3 tho' it has been obferv'd, that if they be cut down to the Channel, provided the Heathy-Turf cut ofV from the Top be but laid on the Channel, in courfe of Time the Mofs grows again.
Thefe MofTes always ftand on Plains ; tho* they are frequently ibund on Hills, and near the Top of 'em too* Yet, as that curious Nobleman obferves, the MofTes have always a defcent to 'em, and generally from em j info- much that he never knew any, where the Water might Mag- nate. 'Tis the Water draii ing from above that feems to be the Parent of Peat. In many of thefe Moflesarc found Quantities of } ir nd Oak Wood, iifually in whole Trees; for the fmaller BrauJus are jeldom found unconfum'd. This Wood is as good tor ufe as any old Wood rs 5 only that having imbibed a deal of MoihW, it takes fome time to dry, in order to fit it for ufe.
There are many Places, where Wood will not grow s where yet the MofTes are well ftock'd with thefe Under- ground Timber ; but yet it appears there muft have been Woods formerly : Elfe how come they in the MofTes ? To prove this, that Noble Lord gives us the Hiitory and Origin of a Mofs, in great meafure from his own Experi- ence. In the Pariffi of Locbtmrn, in the Year 10*51, he faw, near the Top of a very hh?h Hill, a Plain about d Mile over, then cover'd with a firm {binding Wood, but which uas fo very old, that not only the Trees had no Leaves or Bark on, but the out fide for the fpace of an Inch inward was dead, white Timber, tho' with-'n they were firm. Coming by the fame Place 15 Yeais after, he' could not difcover the leaft Appearance of a Tree, but inftead thereof a plain green Ground eover'd with a Mofs 5 the Trees being all fallen, and having lain fo thick over one another, the Green had over-run the whole Timber, by means of the MoiHure draining from the Hill above i^ and ftagnating on the Plain. He adds, that none could pafs over it 5 the Scurf not being firm enough to fapport 'em. In thirty Years more he found the whole Piec» »f Ground turn 'd into a common Feat-Mofs, and the Country-Pf.ople digging Turf ard Peats.
This accounts for the Generation of MofTes, and whence it is that many of them are furnifh'd with Timber.
MGRaTUR, or Dif.MORATua, in Law, fignifiesasmuch us be Demurs 5 by reafon ihe Party here goes not forward^ but reiis, or abides upon the Judgment of the Courr, who take time to deliberate, argue, and advife thereon. See Demurrer.
When *he Council of rhe Party are of opinion, that the C^unt or Plea of the adverfe Party is inefficient in Law 5 then he Demurs, or abides in Law, and refers the fame to the Judgment of the Court.
MORBID, Morrious, in Medicine, is apply'd to fig- nify thofe Parts, Humours, £i?r. wherein a Dfeafelks- See Disease.
Morbid, in Painting, is particularly apply'd to fat Fle/h veryitrongly expreffed.
MORBILLI, in Medicine, a Difeafe popularly call'd the Meafle>. See Measles.
MOH liUS, a Term purely Latin, iignifying ~Vtjeafe t See Disease.
Mtififius Comitialis, is the Epilepfy ; thus call'd by the Romans, becaufe when in any of their public Affembiies Perfons fell down with this Diftemper, they immediately broke up, and diflolved the Comitia, which was the common Appellation for fuch Courts. See Epilepsy.
Morbus Renins, ~} cJ& Vii ' D l t: ' E "
Morbus Virpineus, >-See 2 Chlobosis.
Morbus Galiicus, J c Venereal Difeafe.
MORISCO, orMoRisu, a kind of Painting, Carving, l$c. done aftei the Manner of the Moors 5 confuting of fe- veral Grotefque Pieces and Compartiments promifcuoudy intermingled, not containing anv perfect Figure of a Man g or other Animal, but a wild Reiemblanceof Birds, Beafts, Trees, ££V. See Grotesk.
Thefe are alfo call'd Jrabefques, and are particularly ufed in Embroideries, Damask-Work, &c. See Arabesk.
Moref que Dances, vulgarly call'd Morrice-Dances, are thofe altogether in imitation of the Moors, as Sarabands, Chacons, &c t which are ufualty performed with Caltagnets, labours, &c. Sec Castagnettas.
MORN PNG, the beginning of the Day ; or the Time of the Sun-rifing. See Day and Rising.
The Aftronomers reckon Morning, Mane f from the lime of Mid-night, to that of Mid-day. Thus an Eclipfc iafkid to begin at 1 1 a clock in rhe Morning, ££c.
MoRNiNG-Srar is the Planet Venus, when a little to the
Eaftward of the Sun ; that is, when fhe nfes a little before
7 I him.
