A, abbreviat. A, KEGIA MONACENSIS. ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA. BAYERISOMA MUENCHEN THE firk letter of the alphabet, in all the known languages of the world, that of Ethiopia excepted, in which it is the 13th. It has defervedly the first place in the alphabet, on account of its fimplicity, very little more being neceflary to its pronunciation than opening the mouth. In the English language A is the mark of three different founds, termed, by our grammarians, the broad, the open, and the flender A. The first resembles that of the German A, is found in feveral monofyllables, as wall, falt, &c. and is pronounced as au in caufe. It is probable that the Saxons expreffed only this broad found of the letter, as it is ftill commonly retained in the northern diftricts of England, and univerfally throughout Scotland; as, tauk for talk, wauk for walk or wake. The open A resembles that of the Italians in adagio, and is the fame with that of a in father, rather, &c. The flender found is peculiar to the English language, and refembles the found of the French diphthong ai in pais, or their a masculine, or perhaps it is a middle found between them; it is exemplified in place, wafte, &c. alfo in toleration, juftification, and all other words ending with ation. A is fometimes added afterwards in burlesque poetry; in which case it only makes an additional fyllable without any alteration of the fenfe, as the interjection O very often does in our ballads. It is alfo fometimes redundant, as in the words arife, awake, &c. which are not different in fignification from rife, wake, &c. It is fometimes a word, either noun or interjection; in which last case it is commonly an expreffion of grief, and joined with the afpirate, as ah! When a noun, it is only with respect to itself; as great A, little a, &c. A is very frequently used as an article; in which cafe it has no plural fignification, and is used to denote the number one, as a house, a field, &c. When placed as an article before any of the vowels, y and w only excepted, it is joined with the letter n; as an island, an orator, &c.-In the three following cafes it is a prepofition. 1. When it goes before a participle, or noun derived from a participle; as, I am a doing this or 2. When used before local furnames, as Cornelius a Lapide, Thomas a Kempis, &c. 3. When it is used in compofition; as, a foot, a fleep, &c. In fome inftances it denotes the proportion of one thing to another; as, fo much a week, a man, a head, &c. that. A, among the ancients, was a numeral letter, and A fignified 500; and when a dafh was added on the top, A, in the Julian calendar, is the firft of the feven A is also an abbreviation used with different intentions. Hence, A, among logicians, is used to denote an univerfal affirmative proposition; according to the verse, Afferat A, negat E, verum generaliter ambe. Thus, in the firft figure, a fyllogifm confifting of three univerfal affirmative propofitions, is faid to be in Barba-ra; the Athrice repeated, denoting so many of the propofitions to be univerfal, &c. See BARBARA, A, among the Romans, was used in the giving of votes or fuffrages. When a new law was propofed, cach voter had two wooden ballots put in his hand; the one marked with a capital A, fignifying antiquo, q. d. antiquam volo; and the other with V. R. for uti rogas. Such as were against the law, caft the first into the urn; as who should say, I refuse it, I antiquate it; or, I like the ancient law, and defire no innovation. A, in the trials of criminal caufes, alfo denoted abfo lution: Whence Cicero, pro Milone, calls A, littera falutaris, a faving letter.Three ballots were distributed to each judge, marked with the letters, A for abfolvo, I acquit; C for condemno, I condemn; and N. L. for non liquet, It is not clear. From the number of each caft into the urn, the prætor pronounced the prifoner's fate. If they were equal in number, he was abfolved. A, in the ancient infcriptions of marbles, &c. occafionally ftands for Auguftus, ager, aiunt, &c. When double, it denotes Augufti; when triple aurum argentum, as; and fometimes its meaning can only be known by the reft of the infcription. Ifidore adds, that when it occurs after the word miles (foldier), it denotes him young. On the reverse of ancient medals, it denotes them ftruck by the city of Argos, fometimes by that of Athens; but on coins of modern date, it is the mark of Paris. A, as an abbreviation, is alfo often found in modern A, the letter a, with a line above it thus, a, is used A, put to bills of Exchange, is in England an abbreviation for accepted, and in France for accepte. It is likewife ufual among merchants to mark their fets of books with the letters A, B, C, &c. inftead of the numbers, 1, 2, 3, &c. A.A.A. The chemical abbreviation for Amalgama, or Amalgamation. AA, the name of feveral rivers in Germany and Swif. ferland. AACH, a little town in Germany, in the circle of Suabia, near the fource of the river Aach, and almott equally distant from the Danube and the lake Conftance. It belongs to the House of Austria. E. Long. 9, 0. Lat. 47-55 AAHUS, a little town in Germany, in the circle of Weftphalia and bishopric of Munfter. It is the capital of Aahus, a small district; has a good caftle; and lies north-eaft of Coesfeldt. E. Lon. 7. 1. N. Lat. 52. 10. AAM, or HAAM, a liquid measure in common use among the Dutch, and containing 128 meafures called mingles, each weighing nearly 56 ounces averdupoife; whence the Aam contains 288 English, and 148 pints Paris measure. AAR, the name of two rivers, one in Swifferland, and another in Wellphalia in Germany. It is alfo the name of a small ifland in the Baltic. AARASSUS (anc. geog.), a town of Pifidia, in the Hither Afia, thought to be the Anaffus of Ptolemy. AARON, high-prieft of the Jews, and brother to Mofes, was by the father's fide great grandfon, and by the mother's grandfon of Levi. By God's command he met Mofes at the foot of mount Horeb, and they went together into Egypt to deliver the children of Irael: he had a great share in all that Mofes did for their deliverance; the fcriptures call him the prophet of Mofes, and he acted in that capacity after the Ifraelites had paffed over the Red Sea. He afcended mount Sinai with two of his fons, Nadab and Abihu, and feventy elders of the people; but neither he nor they went higher than half way, from whence they faw the glory of God; only Mofes and Joshua went to the top, where they ftaid forty days. During their abfence, Aaron, overcome by the people's eager intreaties, fet up the golden calf, which the Ifraelites worshipped by his confent. This calf has given rife to various conjec Some rabbies maintain that he did not make the golden calf; but only threw the gold into the fire, to get id of the importunities of the people; and that certain magicians, who mingled with the Ifraelites at their departure from Egypt, cait this gold into the figure of a calf. According to fome authors, the fear of falling a facrifice to the refentment of the people by giving a refufal, made Aaron comply with their defire and they allege alfo, that he hoped to elude their request, by demanding of the women to contribute their ear-rings, imagining they would rather choofe to remain without a vilible deity, than be deprived of their perfonal ornaments. This affair of the golden calf happened in the third month after the Ifraelites came out of Egypt. In the first month of the tures. following year, Aaron was appointed by God high- Aaron, prieft; which office he executed during the time that Aarlens. the children of Ifrael continued in the wilderness. He died in the fortieth year after their departure from Egypt, upon mount Hor, being then 123 years old; A. M 2522, of the Julian period 3262, before the Chriftian æra 1452. With regard to the attempts of the Egyptian magicians to imitate the miracles performed by his rod, fee fome remarks under the article MAGICIAN. AARON and JULIUS (Saints), fuffered martyrdom together, during the perfecution under the Emperor Diocletian, in the year 303, about the fame time with Saint Alban the protomartyr of Britain. We are nowhere told what their British names were, it being ufual with the Chriflian Britons, at the time of baptifm, to take new names from the Greek, Latin, or Hebrew. Nor have we any certainty as to the particulars of their death; only that they fuffered the mott cruel torments. They had each a church erected to his memory; and their feftival is placed, in the Roman martyrology, on the firft of July. AARON, or Harun. Al Raschid, a celebrated khalif, or Mahometan fovereign of the Saracen empire; whole hiftory is given under the article BAGDAD. AAROM Harifchon, a learned rabbi and CARAITE in the 15th century, wrote an Hebrew grammar, printed at Conftantinople in 1581; probably the fame with Aaron the caraite, who wrote a commentary on the five books of Mofes, which is in MS. in the French king's library. His AARSENS (Francis), Lord of Someldyck and Spyck, was one of the greatest ministers for negociation the United Provinces could ever boast of. father, Cornelius Aarfens, was Regifter to the States; and being acquainted with Mr Pleffis Mornay, at the Court of William Prince of Orange, he prevailed upon him to take his fon under him, with whom he continued fome years. John Olden Barnevelt, who prefided over the affairs of Holland and all the United Provinces, fent him afterwards agent into France, where he learned to negociate under those profound politicians Henry IV. Villeroy, Silleri, Roffie, Jaonnin, &c. and he acquitted himself in fuch a manner as to obtain their approbation. Soon after, he was invefted with the character of ambaffador, being the first who was recognifed as fuch by the French court; at which time Henry IV. declared, that he fhould take precedence next to the Venetian minifter. He refided in France 15 years; during which time he received great marks of eficem from the king, who created him a knight and baron; and for this reafon he was received amongft the nobles of the province of Holland. However, he became at length fo odious to the French court, that they defired to have him recalled. He was afterwards deputed to Venice, and to feveral German and Italian princes, upon occafion of the troubles in Bohemia. He was the firft of three extraordinary ambaffadors fent to England in 1620, and the second in 1641; in which latter embafly he was accompanied by the Lord of Brederode as first ambassador, and Heemfvliet as third, to treat about the marriage of Prince William, fon to the Prince of Orange. He was likewife ambassador-extraordinary at the French court in 1624; and the Cardinal de Richlieu having jult |