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SOD
tions. A particular Body of the moft confiderable hereof, bear the Expences of Profecutions, f$c, without any Contri- bution from the reft : Thefe chiefly apply themfelves to the Prof'ecuting Perfons for Swearing, Drunkennefs, and Pro- phaning the Sabbath. Another Body of about 50 Perfons, apply themfelves to the fiippreffing Lewdnefs 5 and by them above 500 lewd Houfes have been actually fupprefs'd. A third Body confifts of Conftables. A fourth, of Informers. Betides thefe, are Eight other regular, mix'd Bodies ofHoufe- keepers, and Officers, who infpect the Behaviour of Confta- hies and other Officers, affift in fearching diforderly Houfes, X£c. feizing Offenders, giving Information, i£c.
There are feveral other Societies of this kind at jBriftol, Canterbury-, Nottingham, ckc.
The Society for propagating the Go/pel in foreign 'Parts, was instituted by King William, in 1701, for fecuring a Main- tenance for an Orthodox Clergy, and making other Provisions (or the Propagation of the Gofpel in the Plantations, Colo- nies, Factories, &c. To that end, He Incorporated the
Arclibifhops, feveral Bifhops, and other of the Nobility, Gentry and Clergy, to the number of 90, into a Body, with Privilege to purchafe Two thouLind Pounds a Year, inheri- tance and Eftates for Lives or Years, with other Goods, to any Value. They meet yearly on the third Friday in Fe- bruary, tochufe a President, Vice-Preiident and other Offi- cers ; and the third Friday in every Month to tranfact Bufi- nefs, depute fit Perfons to take Subscriptions for the laid Uies j and of all Monies fb received, to give account to the Lord Chancellor, &c. They have a {landing Committee at the Chapter- houfe, to prepare Matters for the monthly Meet- ing, which is held at St. Martin's Library.
The Society for 'Propagating Chriftian Knowledge, was begun in 1699 by fbme Perfons of Worth, %$c. Its original Defign was to propagate Religion in the Plantations, to fe- cure the pious Education of the Poor at Home, and to re- claim thofe that err in the Fundamentals of Chriftianity.
In the Year 1701, they had procured confiderable Chari- ties, and had tranfmitted the lame to the Plantations, in Libraries, Bibles, Catechifms, £jfc. with a voluntary Main- tenance for feveral Minifters, to be employ'd in the Plan- tations- But the Society for Propagating the Gofpel in foreign Parts, being then inltituted, they were Incorporated, by Charter, into the fame ; and thus difcharged, as a particular Society; from the further Purfuit of that Branch of their original Defign : Whereupon they wholly turned themfelves to the other 5 and are now very confiderable, by great Ac- ceffions from among the Clergy and Laity.
They meet weekly, to concert Meafures for raifing Cha- rity for Education of poor Children, and fetting up Schools for that Purpofe 5 as alio for the more regular Dil'pofal of
tious Books and Catechifms 5 for Inftruction of the Ignorant, rroneous, &c. By the Affiftance of Members of other re- ligious Societies, they have procured Subfcriptions for the Education of above Three thoufand Children, who are placed out in Schools about Londm, and taught Reading, Writing, Pfalmody, X§c They have difperfed great Numbers of good Books among the Poor, in the Fleet, Army, £$c. and have procured feveral to be tranflated into pVeljh and other foreign Languages, and difpers'd accordingly. See Charity School.
Ofthe/^WKind, are divers religious Societies, properly thus called ; firft fet on foot in London about the Year 1678, by a few young Men, who agreed to meet weekly, for Prayer, Pfalmody and fpiritual Conference. They are now increafed to Forty diftinct Bodies, who have fet up public Prayers in many Churches where it was not, procured frequent Admi- niftrations of the Sacrament j and maintain Lectures on that Subject, in one Church or another almoft on every Sunday- evening.
Royal Society. See Royal Society.
SOCINIANS, a late Sea of Antitrinitarians, who, in thefe Ages, have revived fome of the Errors of 'Paulut SamofatemiS, 'Photinus and Arius ; whence they are alfo oc- cafionally call'd Arians, 'Photwians, &c. tho' in many re- flects different from any of them. See Arian,Photinian,
Faufius Sccinus, a Gentleman of Sienna, whence they take their Name, was not the firft Author of the Sect 5 for he fays himfelf, in his Letter to Martin Vadau, wrote in 15-48, that he advances no Dogma but what had been pub- limed by others before him, even in Poland, e'er he came to fettle there. The Truth is, he may be rather faid to have refined, by his SubtiLties, on the Notions that already pre- vailed there in hisTime, than to have^nvented a new.Syftem.
In his Life, wrote by a 'Pol'tp Knight, we read, that he had not applied himfelf to the Study of Theology and Divi- nity, nor had ftudied any thing but Logic ; till 35 Years of Age ; but had fpent the greateft part of his Life at the Court of the Great Duke tfitfufcOny. Upon his retiring thence, he began to think of Religion : and, prepofTefTed as he was with theWritings of his Unkle Laolius Socinus, he form'd a Syftem thereon. Zcelius had explained the firft Words in the Gofpel
of S. John, Inprincipio erat Sermo 5 by thefe, In prtncipio Evangelii erat Sermo $ as if the 'Beginning, there fpoke of, .were only the beginning of the Gofpel.
This Interpretation, never heard of in all Antiquity, is followed by Faufius, in his Comment on the Fourteen firft Verfes of that Gofpel. He adds, that he who is called Word, had not been from all Eternity, nor even before the Creation of the World 3 but that by Word, mull be meant the Man ffefus Chrijl, God born of the Virgin, under the Emperor Auguftus. But this is a Paradox, which all his Followers do not equally come into. However, they all deny, not only the Divinity of Jeftis Cbrift, but the Exiiience of the HoIyGboft, the Myfiery of the Incarnation, Original Sin, and Grace.
Their Sentiments are explain'd at length, in their Gate- chifm printed feveral Times, under the Title of Cate* chefs Ecclefiarttm Pohnicarum unitm 1)eiim 'Patrem ffli- ttfqtie filium Unigenitum, una cum Santlo Spiritu ex facra fcriptura confitentum. Still, they are divided on feveral Articles. Some of them leave Socintts, as to what regards the Worfhip offered to ffefus Chrift 5 not being able to con- ceive how divine Worfhip fhould be given a mere Man.
TheHerefy of the Secinians fpread exceedingly in Poland 9 Lithuania, Iranflhania, and the neighbouring Places. Racow was their chief School 5 and there all their firft Books were publifhed. But they were exterminated our of Poland in 1655" 5 fince which time they have chiefly fhelter'd in Holland; where, however, their public Meetings have been prohibited : But they find means to conceal them- felves under the Name of Arminians and Anabaptifs. See Unitarian.
SOCLE or ZOCLE, in Architecture, a flat,fquare Member under the Bafes of Pedeftals, of Statues, Vafet, &c. which it ferves as a Foot, or Stand. See Pedestal, Statue, &c.
The Word is French, form'd from the Italian Zoccola, or the Latin Soccus, the Shoe of the ancient Actors. Vitrzivius calls i t Quadra.
A continued Socle., is a kind of continued Stand, orPedeftal, without either Bate, or Cornice ranging round the whole Building ; called by Vitrtivius, Stereobata, and the French, Soubaiffement. See Stereobata.
SOCOME, in our Law-Books, &c. a Cuflom of grinding at the Lord's Mill. There is 'Bond Socome, where the Te- nants are bound to it, and Love Socome, where they doit freely, out of Love to the Lord.
SOCRATlC-tphilofophy, the Doctrines and Opinions, with regard to Morality and Religion, maintained, and taught by Socrates. See Philosophy.
By the Character of Socrates, left us by the Ancients, particularly his Scholar 'Plato, Laertius, %?c. He appears to have been one of the beft, and the wifeft Perfons in all the Heathen World.
To him is afcribed the firft introducing of Moral Philofo- phy ; which is what is meant by that popular Saying, Socrates frft called Philofophy down from Heaven to Earth 5 that is, from the Contemplation of the Heavens and heavenly Bodies, he led Men to confider themfelves, their own Pafli- ons, Opinions, Faculties, Duties, Actions, £•?<;.
While young, he was exceedingly fond of natural Know- ledge^ he witneftes of himfelf m'Plato : But in his older Age, he caft afide this part of Philofophy as obTcure, uncertain, impracticable, and even uielefs and impertinent 3 and ap- plied himfelf wholly to moral or active Philofophy.
'Twas he, firft, who when all the other 'Pbikfophers boafted they knew all Things, own'd, ingenuoufly, he knew nothing j but this, that he knew nothing. Which '■pyrrho, the Father of the Sceptic c Phihfophy , improved on, when he faid he knew nothing , not even this, that he knew nothing. Yet in an Anfwer of the Oracle, it was pronounced 5 A'; ( / 1 f«j' a,Tccv}cav Sty^ctTHf <ro^4rctj@-. That Socrates was the Wiieft of all Men. See PyrrhoniAn.
He was acculed by Anyms, Melitus and Lycon, three Perfons, whofe Hatred he had incurred, by his ievere De- clamations againft the Poets, of which Number two of the firft were, and the Third an Actor. His Accufation was, That he corrupted the Athenian Youth, and broached new Superfti tions. He was condemned to drink Cicuta, by 281 Votes, as we are told by ^iiintilian.
After his Death, his Fellow-citizens repented to that degree, that the Gymnafia, Courts of Juftice,£S?c. were all fbut up ; Melitus put to Death, Anytus banifh'd, and a Statue erected to Socrates. He wrote nothing himfelf ; yet almoft all the Sects of Philofbphers refer their Origin to his Dis- cipline; particularly the 'Platonifls, 'Peripatetick.Sj Acade- micks, Cyrenaicks, Stoicks, Z$c. But the greateft Part of his 'Philofophy, we have in the Works of 'Plato. See Platonic philofophy ; fee alfb Academic, Peripate- tic, Stoic, &c.
SODOMY, an unnatural Crime, thus called from the City of Sodom, which was deftroy'd by Fire for the fame. See Buggery.
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