ASSUMP'SIT (Lat. 3d pers. sinf;. perf. of assumrri: to undertake). The technical name of a form of action at common law. It was first used as a form of action on the case (see Case) after the Statute of Westminster II. (1285), in which the plaintiff pleaded that the defendant undertook to perform some act by doing or giv- ing something, the breach of which undertaking resulted in damage to the plaintiff. If the de- fendant's ju-omise or undertaking did not amount to the assumption of a comm<mlaw duty, a breach of which would be a tort (q.v.), it was necessary for the plaintiff to allege and prove that he' had given consideration — that is, that he had given up a right or suffered a detriment in return for the defendant's promise — in order to show that he had suffered damage. This w-as the origin of the modern doctrine of considera- tion in the law of contracts. The action of as- sumpsit is now limited as an action on contract, and as quite distinct from actions on the case, notwithstanding their common origin. The term assumpsit is also applied in substantive law, though less frequently, to the promise, contract, or obligation of one against whom the action of assuni])sit would lie. Exprens or special as- sumpsit is the form of assumpsit brought to re- cover damages for ihe breach of a bilateral contract, either express or implied in fact — that is, a contract in which the promise of one ])arty to the contract is given in exchange for the promise of the other, the mutual promises being expressed in spoken or written language, or im- plied from the acts and conduct of the parties. It was not the proper form of action in which to recover on contracts under seal, the action in that ease being in debt or covenant. Common, general, or indehitatus assumpsit is a form of assumpsit in which the use of that action was extended, for reasons now purely historical, so as to apply in nearly every case in which the common-law action of debt would lie. It was used to recover a liquidated sum of money, as distinguished from mere damages, as in an action to recover the purcliase price of goods sold and delivered, or for money lent. The obligation to pay the liquidated sum may arise from con- tract, express or implied ; or, in the al)sence of contract, it may be an obligation imposed on the defendant by law, sometimes incorrectly termed a contract implied in law, and known to modern legal writers as a quasi contract (q.v.). Thus, indebitatus assumpsit was at common law the proper form of action in which to recover a penalty imposed by statute or money paid by mistake.
In modern times the use of this form of as- sumpsit has been still further extended, so as to cover nearly all cases wlierc the defendant is under an obligation to pay a sum of money to the plaintifl', even though unliquidated, pro- vided the money is not pa3-able as damages. The various forms of declaration in indebitatus as- sunijisit were known as common counts (q.v.). The usual plea to the declaration in assumpsit is at common law non assumpsit, under which the defendant may give in evidence most defenses. Consult Gould, Treatise on the Principles of I'lcading in Civil Actions (Chicago, ISOil).
ASSUMPTION OF MO'SES. The title of
a pseudo cpigraphical or apmryphal book giving
an ima;;iniiry account of the reception of Moses
into heaven. .Tude, verse 9. is alleged to be a
quotation from it. It was written in Hebrew or
Aramaic, by a Pliarisee, in Palestine, between
A.D. 14 and 30, and is preserved only in a Latin
translation.
ASSUMPTION OF THE VIR'GIN MA'RY.
A festival of the Roman Catholic and Greek
Churches, celebrated, according to Butler, hetciie
the sixth century, in both the East and the West,
in commemoration of the assumption of the Vir-
gin ilary into Hcaen. Botli cliuiclies keep Au-
gust loth, in memory of Mary's translation into
glory, body and soul, by Clirist and the angels.
ASSUR, as'sHTTr. See Asstbia.
ASSU'RANCE. See Insubaxce.
ASSURBANIPAL, as'soor-ba'ne-piH'. See
Saeda.xai'ai.i'.s ; .Assyria.
AS'SUS, or AS'SOS. An ancient Hellenic
seaport city in the Mysian Territory, Asia Minor,
on the nortli sliore of the Adramyttium Gulf, op-
posite, and 7 miles distant, from the coast of the
Island of Mitylene (ancient Lesbos). The city
rose in terraces from the shore, on a trachyte
cone, 700 feet high, crowned by a temple of
Athene, commanding a magnificent view. The
site, now partly occupied by the village and sea-
port of Behram or Bekhram, is noted for its
intei-esting archanological remains and historical
associations. Strabo mentions the independent
attitude of Assus during the latter Persian in-
vasion. During the governorship of the eunuch
Hernieas — a pupil of Plato — Xenocrates and Aris-
totle were invited guests at his court, and Aris-
totle married the ruler's niece. Later, Assus
jxissed under the domination of Lysimachus and
of the Kings of Pergamum, On their way from
Troas to ilitylene. Saints Paul and Luke visited
Assus, as recorded in Acts xx. 13. After the
Byzantine period it sank into oblivion. Assus
became a prolific quarry of building-stone, espe-
cially for the docks built at Constantinople after
the Crimean War, but the scattered remains of
the walls, the baths, the market-place, the Tem-
ple of Augustus, treasury, gymnasium, and the
Temple of Athene, attest'the city's ancient mag-
nificence. The American archa-ological school at
.•Vthens has done much to make the treasures of
Assus known. Consult Clark. "Investigation of
Assus" in Classical Series I. of the Archceological
Institution of America (Boston, 1882).
ASSWAN, a-swiln'. See As.suan.
ASSYR'IA (Gk. 'Aaavpia, in O. Pers. inscriptions Al,ura, E. Syr. Athor, W. Syr. Olhur, Ar. Athi'ir. Assyr. Asshur. Later abbreviated to Syria). An ancient country in Mesopotamia. It took its name from the city of Ashur (Asshur, Assur), which was the earliest capital of the district. 'The country occupied the northern part of the iMesopotamian plain, and was bounded on the north by the mountains of Armenia ; on the south by Susi'ana and Jlabylonia : on the east by Media;
and on the west, according to some authorities,
by the Tigris, according to others, by the water-
shed of the Euphrates; and this limit seems to be
the more correct, for many Assyrian ruins are
found to the west of the Tigris. Assyria was thus
about 3.')0 miles long from north to south, with
a breadth varying from 170 to 300 miles, and em-
braced an area of about 7.5.000 square miles. This
plain is diversified by mountain chains on the
north and east, and watered by the Tigris and its
