TAL
Tdik } after Poffibility cf_ TJfue, extintl j is where Land being given to a Man, and his Wife, and the Heirs of their two Bodies ; the one over-lives the other, without Iffue be- tween them begotten ; upon which the Survivor {hail hold the Land for Term of his own Life in quality of Tenant in Taile, after the Pojfibility of Iffue, extintl ; and notwithstanding that he does Wafte, he (hall never be impeached of it : And when he dies, he in the Reveriion /hall not have a Writ of Entry, in Confimili Cafe, but may enter, and his Entry is lawful.
Secondly, T*ail, or Taile is ufed for what we vulgarly call a Talley, um faille de Sots, for a Cloven Piece of Wood to nick up an Account on. See Tally.
TAILLOIR, in Architecture, a Term fome of our Writers, after the French, ufe for Abacus. See Abacus.
TAINT, in Law, Ggnifles, either, fubftantively, a Con- viction ; or, adjeclively, a Perfbn convicted of Felony, Trea- fon, i$c. See Attaint.
TAKE and Leave t in the Sea Language. The Sailors fay, a Ship can take and leave upon her whenfhe will ; when ihe fails fo well that fhe can come up with another, or out- fail her at Pleafure.
TALBOT, a Sort of Dog, frequent in Coat Armour, noted for its quick Scent, finding out the Tracks, Lodg- ings, and Forms of Beaffs, and purfuing them with open Mouth, and continual Cry, with fuch Eagernefs, that if not taken off by the Huntfmen, they are often fpoil'd.
TALC, or TALK, in Natural Hiflory, a fhinin?, fquam- mous, fiffile Stone, eafily Separable into thin tranfparent Scales, or Leaves. See Stone.
Anciently, Talc was only found in Spain 5 but fince, Mines thereof have been found in Cyprus, Cappadocia, and iince that, in Arabia and Africa ; at prefent, they dig it in the Alps and Apennines, feveral Mountains in Germany, and even in England, particularly in Northampton/hire,
We ufually diftingu-ifh. two Kinds of Talc, viz,. White Sale of Venice, and Red cf Mufcovy.
That from Venice is the molt eitcem'd : 'Tis brought in large Ihining greeni/h Stones ; but becomes white, and ex- ceedingly tranfparent when wrought. It appears fatty to the Touch, tho' there is fcarce any Stone dryer j yet in Spight of its Drynefs, it pulverizes with Difficulty; nor is it eaixly calcined.
Its chief Ufe is as a Screen or Cover for Paintings in Mi- niature and Craions ; to which Purpole thin Slices thereof are ufed : 'Tis fometimes alio uled for a Fucus ; in order to which, by Reafon of the Difficulty of pulverizing it, £-?e. they content themfeLv.es to rafp it with the Skin of a Sea- Dog, and to pals the Rafping thro' a Sieve.
Pliny, in his Natural Hiftory, lib. 56. cap. 22. obferves, that the Romans built Temples, and Places therewith, and paved the Colifieum of the fame.
The Talc brought from Mufcovy is reddifhwhen in the Stone 5 but it feldom comes to us otherwife than in Leaves, which are very hard, fmooth, polifh'd, and exceedingly tranfparent : 'Tis Found in Quarries in Mufcovy and Perjia t and is ufed to make Lanrhorns, to cover Paintings, &c.
The Word is German, where it fignifies the fame Thing.
Some Chymifts, and other Empiricks, have held, that Talc might be ufed for many more important Purpoles 5 and pretend to draw from it that precious Oil, ib much boafted of by the Ancients, particularly the Arabs, call'd Oil of Talc, which is f'uppos'd a wonderful Colmetic, and Preferver of the Complexion : But the Truth is, the Word Talc, among them, fignify'd no more than an equal Difpo- fition of the Humours, which kept the Body in good Tem- perament, and perfect Health. Now, as nothing contributes more than Health to the preferving of Beauty, this has given Occaiion to the Chymifts to fearch this Oil of T'alc, which is to maintain the Body in this Difpofition, and to engage the Ladies to be at the Expence of the Search.
Some have alio pretended, that yellow or ruddy Talc con- tain'd the Seeds of Gold 5 and that a Menftruum might be drawn from it, to tranfmute Metals into Gold and Silver, to fix Mercury, {£c. ; but this is mere Charletanery.
TALENT, Taknntm, a Weight and a Coin, both very famous among the Antients ; but very different in different Countries. See Coin and Weight.
The Value of the Talent is very hard to affign in Bnglip Moneys as beins ufed among all the People throughout the Eaft ; and its Value, and the Manner of Computation, different among each. A Difficulty abundantly fhewn by BudtfUS, in his learned Treatife de Affe.
There were various Kinds of Talents, both with regard to Weight, and to Species ; the Value of thefe laft flill in- creasing, as the Metal whereof itconfifted was higher : tho' the Talent Weights, did all contain the fame Number pf Pounds and Drachms.
For as the French have a Pound Parifis, and a Pound Tournois, each whereof contains alike 20 Sols j yet thefe compar'd together, the Paris Pound contains 2$ Sols of the Tournois Pound, the Paris Sol exceeding that of Tours by
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TAL
one quarter ; fo all Talent Weights were equally 60 MiiWS and the Mina IOO Drachma: ; but rhe Drachma of one 1 lace exceeding that ot another, there hence aroie a Diffe- renee in the Talents. See Mina.
The Attic Drachma, for Inltance, was 6 Attic Oboli, and that of JEpnct 10 of the fame Oboli ; whence the Xmum latent, computed on the Foot of the Attic Weieht, was 100 Mina: ; whereas reckon'd on the Foot of its own Drachma, 11 was no more than 6a. See Drachma.
The common Attic Talent then (the Talent Weight we mean) contain'd 60 Attic Mina:, or (,z and half Attic Pounds, or 6000 Attic Drachma: ; equal, according to Dr. Arbltthnot's Reduction, to 56 Pounds n Ounces Englijb Troy Weight. Some Authors, as Trifcian, mention another Attic Talma of 100 Mina:; but this is to be underftood of ancient Mina:, as they ttood before Solon ; each only worth 75 Drachmae.
The Syrian Talent contained 15 Attic Mina; ; That of Alexandria 96 Attic Minx, or 91 Lib. Troy. The Baby- Ionic, Terfian and Antiocbw Talents were the 'fame with the /Egyptian.
Among the Romans, there were two Kinds of Talents, the little and the great Talent : The little was the common Talent ; and whenever they lay, limply, Talent, they are to beunderilood of this: The tittle Takm was 60 Mina: or Ro- man Pounds, the Mina or Pound eltimated at 100 Drachma: or Denarii : It was alfo eltimated at 24 great Sefterces, which amounted to 60 Pounds.
The great Talent exceeded the lefs by one third Part. Stulreus computes, that the little Talent of Silver was worth 75 Pounds Sterling; and the greater 99/. 6s. g d. Sterling. The greater Talent of Silver he makes worth 7^ Pounds Sterling; the greater of Gold worth n 25 Lib. Sterling.
Talent, as a Species, or Money, among the Hebrews, was a Gold Coin, the fame with the Shekel of Gold, call'd alio Stater, and weigh d only 4 Drachms. See Shekel.
In the Scripture it is alfo call'd Solidus, Shilling. The Hebrews reckon'd by thefe Talents as we do by Pounds, Igc. Thus a Million of Gold, or Million of Talents of Gold, among them, was a Million of Shekels, or Numtili ; the Nummus of Gold being the fame Weight with the Shekel, viz. 4 Drachms.
TALES, in Law, a Supply or Addition of Men impan- nel'd on a Jury of Inqueft, and not appearing, or at their Appearance, challenged by either Party as not indifferent. See Jury.
In fuch Cafe, the Judge, upon Motion, grants a Supply to be made by the Sheriff, of one, or more Tales, fuch there prefent, equal in Reputation to thofe impannell'd.
This Act of fupplying is call'd a Tales de Circumftan- tibus.
He that has had one fuch Tales, either upon Default, or Challenge, may not have another containing & many as the former : For the firft Tales muff be lefs than the principal Pannel, except in a Caufe of Appeal ; and fb every Tales lefs than other, till the Number be made up of fuch as are unexceptionable.
Thefe, call'd Tales, or Talefmen, and corruptly Tallymen, are, on fbme Occafions, call'd Meliores.
TALIO, Lex Talionis, or Tana Talionis. a Retribution, or Puniftiment, whereby an Evil is return'd perfectly like that committed againft us, by another ; which is what we ufually exprefs by the Words Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth.
The Tana Talionis was enjoyn'd by the Law of Mofes, juft as 'tis in the Gofpel : It was efteem'd a natural Piece of Juftice ; and yet the Romans fet it afide; inafmuch as fuch a Parity orEquality of Punifliment could not always be obferved. For this Reafon, the Prator allowed fuch as had fuffer'd any Injury, to make an Ellimatc thereof in Money, that Juflic'e might be done him that way ; only referving to himfelf the Power of moderating the fame.
And this was what was conflantly praftifed, and thus the Tana Talionis, became quite difufed.
The Lex Talionis, is never obferved in the Civil Juftice, but with regard tofalfe Witncffes.
TALISMANS, certain Figures engraven, or cut, under feveral fuperftitious Obfervat'ions of the Characters and Difpofitions of the Heavens ; to which fome Afirologers, hermctical Philofophers, and other Adepts, attribute marvel- lous Virtues, particularly that of calling down Cceleftial In- fluences.
The Author of a Book, intitled, TalifmanS Jvfifiez, fays, a Talifman is the Seal, Figure, CharaQer or Image of a heavenly Sign, Conftellation or Planet, engraven on a Sym- pathetic Stone, ot on a Metal correfponding to the Star, &c. in order to receive its Influences. The TalifmanS of the Samotbracians, ib famous of old, were Pieces of Iron, form'tl into certain Images, and fet in Rings, i^c.
They were held Prcfervatives againft all Kinds of Evils ; there were other TalifmanS taken from Vegetables, and others from Minerals, In the general, we ufe to diftinguifh three
Kinds
