NEG
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NEM
Nec^/eiinSea-Compaffcs are ufually made in a Rhom- boidal, or oblong Form. Sec their Structure under the Article Compass.
A Needle, on Occafion, may be prepared without touching it on a Load- Hone: For a fine Steel Needle, gently laid on the Water, or delicately fufpended in the Air, will direcrt itfelf to the North and South.
Thus, alfo, a Needle heated in the Fire, and cooled again, in the Direction of the Meridian, or even only in an erect Situation, acquires the fame Faculty. See Magne- tism, POLE,£Sfc.
The Needle is not found to point precifely to the North, except in very few Places ; but deviates from it, more or lefs, in different Places, and that too at different Times 5 which Deviation is call'd the
Declination of the Needle, the Variation of the Hori- zontal Needle from the Meridian ; or the Angle it mates with the Meridian, when freely fufpended in a Horizontal Plane. See Declination.
Inclinatory, or Dipping-Needle, fee Diw in g -Needle.
NEEP-T/.&5, feeNEAP-T«&.
A Ship is faid to be Beneeped when /he wants Water to bear her off the Ground.
NEFASTUS, a Latin Term. The Romans ufed the Term Dies Nefajii, for thofe Days wherein it was not allow'd to adminiftcr Juftice, or hold Courts 5 nor for the Pretor to pronounce the three folemn Words or Formula's of the Law, do, dico, uddico, I give, I appoint, I adjudge. See Fas- tvs.
Thefe Days were diftinguifh'd in the Calendar by the Letter N, or by N. F. Nsfaftas Prima j as when the Day was only Nefafttts, for the firft Part thereof. See Day.
NEG AT ION, in Logic, an Act whereby the Mind fe- parates one Idea from another; or affirms the one is diffe- rent from the other. As, the Soul is not the Body.
NEGATIVE, a Term that denies, or implies a Denial, of any thing.
Logicians, SyC. fay, A Negative cannot be proved but by converting it into an Affirmative.
NEGATivEHeref/cj, in the Language of the Inquifition, are thofe, who being accufed of Herefy, by Witneffes, whofe Evidence they don't deny, ftill keep on the Negat tioity make open Profcffion of the Catholic Doctrine, and declare their abhorrence of Herefy.
There are alfo Negative Schifms, and Fnjitive ones. In tbeNegatrae, 'tis fufficient to reject the Errors of a Church withuuifeparating from it, or fetting up a ditlinct Society.
Negative Tarns, the Laws whereby certain Perfons are excluded from Honours, Dignities, &c. without in- flicting any direct and pofitive Pains.
Negative Quantities, in Algebra, thofe affected with the Sign — ■. See Quantity.
Negative Quantities, are the Effects of pofitive ones ; where Pofitive end, there Negative ones commence. See Positive.
Negative Pregnant, in Law, a. Negative which implies or brings forth an Affirmative : As if a Man being im- pleaded to have done a thing on fuch a Day, and in fuch a Place, denies he did it, Modo £5 forma declarata 3 which implies nevcrihelefs rhat he did it in fome fort.
NEGATIVELY, Negative, in the School-Philofo- phy, is varioufly ufed in coniradiitindtion to Pofitively. See Positively.
NEGRO'S, aKind of Slaves, which make a confiderable Article in the modern Commerce.
TheNeiro's, properly call'd Blacks, or Moors, are a People of Africa, whoie Country extends on each fide the River Niger, and is call'd Nigritia ; Tho, whether the People com- municated their Name to the River, i$c. or received it therefrom, is not eafily determined.
The Origin of Negro's, and the Caufe of that remarkable Difference in Complexion from the reft of Mankind, has much pcrplex'd the Naturalifls; nor has any thing fatis- factory been yetoffer'd on that head. See Blacks.
They are brought from Guinea, and other Coaftsof Africa, and lent into *he Colonies in America, to cultivate Sugar, Tobacco, Indigo, $£c.
This Commerce, which is fcarce defensible on the foot either of Religion, or Humanity, is now carried on by all the Nations that have Settlements in the Weft-Indies j par- ticularly the Englijh, Dutch, Spaniards, and Fort ttguefe ; the Spaniard:, indeed, have few Negro 9 1 at firft hand, but have always treated with other Nations, to furnifh them there- with : Thus they were formerly furnifhed by the Com- pany of the Grilles, eftablifhed at Genoa 3 fince by the AJ/t- enta in France ■-, and fince the Peace of Utrecht, by the Eng- life South-Sea Company. See AssiENTAand Company.
The befl Negro's are brought from Cape Verd, Angola, Se- negal, the Kingdom of Joloffes, that of Galland, Darnel, the River Gambia,, &c.
A Negro between 17 or 18 and 30 Years of Age, was an- tiently only valued at about 45 s. in the Commodities pro-
per for that Country, which are Brandies, Iron, Linncn Paper, ISrafs-Pots, Bafons, &c. But their Value is now much enhanced, and it is feldom they meet with a o 00 d Negro for five Pounds. They frequently g : ve feven or eight.
There are various ways of procuring them : Some, to avoid Famine, fell themfelves, their Wives and Ch.idren, to their Princes, or great Men, who have wherewithal] to fubfift them. Others are made Prifoners in War; and great numbers feiVd in Excursions, made foi that very purpofe by the petty Princes upon one anoth'er*sT< rruories? in which 'tis ufual to fweep away all both Old and Xoune Male and Female. b *
The left's make a frequent Practice of furpilizing one another while the European Veffcls are at Anchor, and dragging thofe they have thus caughr to 'em, and felling them in fpire of themfelves ; and 'tis no extraordinary thing to fee the Son fell, after this manner, his Father or Mother, and the Fathei his own Children, for a few Bottles of Brandy, or a Bar of Iron,
As foon as the Ship hasirs Complement, it immediately makes off 5 the poor Wretches, while yet in fiyht of their Country, falling into fuch deep Grief and Defpair in the Paffage, that a great pan of 'em langui/h, fall into Sldtnefs, and die : others of 'em di r patch themfelves, by refufingan* Food; others by flopping their Breath, in a manner peculiar to themfelves, by turning and folding their Tongue, which immediately I Wangles them 5 others dafh out their Brains againft the Ship 5 and others jump overboard.
The only fure means to preferve em, is to have fome Mufical Instrument play to 'em, be it ever fo mean. Buc this exceffive Love fur their Cuuntry ..bates as they oct- further off. _ y &
At their arrival in the Colonics, each Negro Is fold fur "8 or 40 Pounds. They make the chief Riches of the Inha- bitants of the Iflands, £?c. A Man, v. g, who has twelve Negroes, is efteem'd a rich Man.
NEIF, Naf, Nativa, in our antiert Cuitoms, a Bond- Woman, or She-Villain. SeeN'ATivus.
Antiently, Lords of Manors fold, gave, or affigned their Neifs andNativ.es. See Slave, Villain. ££fe.
Writ of Neifty, is an anricnt Writ whereby the Lord claim'd fuch a Woman for lis Neif.
NE tnjttfte Vexes, a Writ which lies for a Tenant againft: the Lord forbidding him to diftrain on the Tenant who has formerly prejudiced himfelf by doing or paying more than he needed.
NE5UEAN Games, one of the four kinds of Games, or Combats, celebrated among the antient Greeks. See Games.
Some fay, they were inftiruted by Hercules, on occafion of his killing the Nem.san Lion ; and that it was on that account they had their Name, as alfo the Place of Cele- bration, the Fbreftof Nettuea.
Others relate, That the feven Chiefs fent to Thebes, under the Conduct of Fo'yuces, being extremely pinch'd in their Journey with Thirif, met with Hypjipyle of Letnnos, who had in her Arms Ophcltes Son of Lycitr%tts t Priefi: .of Jupiter and Eurydics. They begging her to fhew 'em fome Wa- ter, (he laid the Child down on the Grafs, and conducted 'em to a Well. In her Abfenee, a venomous Serpen; kill'd the Child 5 upon which the Nurfe, out of an excefs of Grief, grew defperatc. The Chiefs, at their return with her, kill'd the Serpent, buried the young Opbches, and to divert Hypfpyle, inftiruted the Nemaan Games.
Faufamas refers the Fnflitution thereof to Adraftus, and the Pvelloration thereof to his Defendants.
Laftly, Hercules, on his Victory over the Nemaan Lion, augmented the Games, and confecrated them to Jupiter Nemccus. JEHanfays, 'Twas indeed the feven Chiefs going to the Siege of Thebes, that inilituted them; but adds that 'twas in favour of FronaBes.
They 1 pointing fhould be Victors in the Games.
They were held every three Years, in the Month call'd Fanemos by the Corinthians, and Boedromion by the Athenians. The Argianswei-Q the Judges, and fat clothed in black, toexprefs the Origin of the Games. As they were inftitu- ted by Warriors, none at firft were admitted to 'em but Military Men, and the Games themfelves were only Eaueftrian and Gymnic 5 at length they were open to the People, and other Kinds introduped.
The Conquerors were crown'd with Olive, till the time of the War with the "Mcdes ; when,a Blow they receiv'd in that War, occafion'd them to change the Olive for Srnal- lage, a funeral Plant. Tho otSers maintain, that the Crown was originally Smallage, on account of the Death of Ophehes, otherwife call'd Arcbemorus ; this Plant bein^ fup- pofed to have receiv'd the Blood which run from the Wound made by the Serpent.
hey were open'd with Sacrificing to Nemaan Jove, ap- ting him a Pried', and proposing Rewards for fuch as
NEMINE
