in general, is a title of authority; as, the grand master of Malta, the master of St Lazarus, &c.

The Romans had a great many officers thus denominated; as, the master of the people, or dictator; the master of the cavalry, foot, census, &c.

**Master of arts**, is the first degree taken up in universities.

**Masters in chancery**, in ordinary, of which there are twelve, the master of the rolls being chief, are usually chosen out of the barristers of the common law, and sit in chancery, or at the rolls, as assistants to the lord chancellor and master of the rolls.

**Master of the horse**, a great officer of the crown, who orders all matters relating to the king's stables, races, breed of horses; and commands the equerries and all the other officers and tradesmen employed in the king's stables. His coaches, horses, and attendants are the king's, and bear the king's arms and livery.

**Master of the revels**, an officer who orders all things relating to the performance of plays, masks, balls, &c., at court.

**Master of the rolls**, a patent officer for life, who has the custody of the rolls of parliament and patents which pass the great-seal, and of the records of chancery, as also commissions, deeds, recognizances, which, being made of rolls of parchment, gave rise to the name.

In absence of the chancellor, he sits as judge in the court of chancery: at other times, he hears causes in the rolls chapel, and makes orders; but all hearings before him are appealable to the chancellor.

**Master of the wardrobe**, an officer under the lord chamberlain, who has the care of the royal robes, as well as the wearing apparel, collar, george, and garter, &c. He has also the charge of all former kings and queens' robes remaining in the Tower, all hangings, bedding, &c., for the king's house, the charge and delivery of velvet and scarlet allowed for liveries. He has under him a clerk of the robes, wardrobe-keeper, a yeoman, &c.

**Masterwort**, in botany. See **Imperatoria**.

**Mastication**, the action of chewing, or of agitating the solid parts of our food between the teeth, by means of the motion of the jaws, the tongue, and the lips, whereby it is broken into small pieces, impregnated with saliva, and so fitted for deglutition and a more easy digestion.

**Mastic**, in the materia medica, a solid resin, of a pale, yellow, white colour, brought to us principally from the island of Chios, in drops or tears as it naturally forms itself in exuding from the tree, about the bigness and much in the form of a pea. It is to be chosen clear, pellucid, and of a pale yellowish colour, well scented, and brittle. We meet with a kind of cement sometimes kept in the shops under the name of mastic. It is composed of mastic, and several other ingredients, and is formed into cakes for use. This is intended for the service of the lapidaries, to fill up cracks in stones, and for other such purposes: but is by no means to be used as mastich for any of the medicinal purposes.

Mastich is detergent, astringent, and stomachic; it is greatly recommended in inveterate coughs and against spitting of blood. It strengthens the stomach, assists digestion, and stops vomiting.

**Mastigadour**, or **slabbering-bit**, in the mangle, a snaffle of iron, all smooth, and of a piece, guarded with pate: nothers, and composed of three halves of great rings, made into demi-ovals, of unequal bigness; the lesser being inclosed within the greater, which ought to be about half a foot high.

**Masulipatan**, a city and port town of the hither India: E. long. 81°, and N lat. 16° 18'.

**Mataman**, a country in the south-west of Africa, bounded by Benguelo, on the north; by Manomotapa, on the east; by Cafraria, on the south; and by the Atlantic ocean, on the west.

**Matapan cape**, in the Morea, the southernmost promontory of Europe, situated in F. long. 22°, N. lat. 36°.

**Match**, a kind of rope slightly twisted, and prepared to retain fire for the uses of artillery, mines, fireworks, &c.

It is made of hempen tow, spun on the wheel like cord, but very flack; and is composed of three twits, which are afterwards again covered with tow, so that the twits do not appear: lastly, it is boiled in the lees of old wines. This, when once lighted at the end, burns on gradually and regularly, without ever going out, till the whole be consumed: the hardest and driest match is generally the best.

**Matching**, in the wine trade, the preparing vessels to preserve wines and other liquors, without their growing sour or vapid. The method of doing it, is as follows: melt brimstone in an iron ladle, and when thoroughly melted, dip into it flips of coarse linen-cloth; take these out, and let them cool: this the wine coopers call a match; take one of these matches, set one end of it on fire, and put it into the bung-hole of a cask; stop it loosely, and thus suffer the match to burn nearly out: then drive in the bung tight, and let the cask abide for an hour or two. At the end of this time examine the cask, and you will find that the sulphur has communicated a violent purgent and suffocating scent to the cask, with a considerable degree of acidity, which is the gas and acid spirit of the sulphur. The cask may after this be filled with a small wine, which has scarce done its fermentation; and bunging it down tight, it will be kept good, and will soon clarify: this is a common and very useful method; for many poor wines could scarce be kept potable even a few months without it.

**Dura Mater.** See Anatomy, p. 284.

**Pia Mater.** See Anatomy, p. 285.

**Matran**, the capital of a kingdom of the same name, situated on the south coast of the island of Java. This city is said to lie in E. long. 110°, S. lat. 7° 45'.

**Materia subtilis**, denotes a fine subtile matter, which the Cartesians suppose to pervade and penetrate freely the pores of all bodies, to fill up all their pores so as not to leave the least vacancy or interstice between them: they had recourse to this machine to support the doctrine of an absolute plenum, and to make it consistent with the phenomenon of motion, &c.

**Materia medica**, comprehends all the substances either used in medicine in their natural state, or which afford preparations that are so; these belong partly to the animal, partly to the vegetable, and partly to the fossil kingdom.

The preparations and virtues of all which are delivered under their respective articles, but in as concise and scrupulous a manner as we possibly could; since we cannot but remark, that it is too frequent in writers on the materia medica, to give us rather encomiums than impartial accounts of the simples they treat of.

**Mathematics**, originally signified any discipline or learning; but, at present, denotes that science which teaches, or contemplates, whatever is capable of being numbered or measured, in so far as computable or measurable; and accordingly is subdivided into Arithmetic, which has numbers for its object, and Geometry, which treats of magnitude. See Arithmetic and Geometry.

Mathematics are commonly distinguished into pure and speculative, which consider quantity abstractedly; and mixed, which treat of magnitude as subsisting in material bodies, and consequently are interwoven everywhere with physical considerations.

Mixed mathematics are very comprehensive; since to them may be referred Astronomy, Optics, Geography, Hydrostatics, Mechanics, Fortification, Navigation, &c. See the articles Astronomy, Optics, &c.

Pure mathematics have one peculiar advantage, that they occasion no disputes among wrangling disputants, as in other branches of knowledge; and the reason is, because the definitions of the terms are premised, and every body that reads a proposition has the same idea of every part of it. Hence it is easy to put an end to all mathematical controversies, by shewing either that our adversary has not stuck to his definitions, or has not laid down true premises, or else that he has drawn false conclusions from true principles; and in case we are able to do neither of these, we must acknowledge the truth of what he has proved.

It is true, that in mixed mathematics, where we reason mathematically upon physical subjects, we cannot give such just definitions as the geometricians: we must therefore rest content with descriptions, and they will be of the same use as definitions, provided we are consistent with ourselves, and always mean the same thing by those terms we have once explained.

Dr. Barrow gives a most elegant description of the excellence and usefulness of mathematical knowledge, in his inaugural oration, upon being appointed professor of mathematics at Cambridge.

The mathematics, he observes, effectually exercise, not vainly delude, nor vexatiously torment, studious minds with obscure subtleties; but plainly demonstrate every thing within their reach, draw certain conclusions, instruct by profitable rules, and unfold pleasant questions. These disciplines likewise endure and corroborate the mind to a constant diligence in study; they wholly deliver us from a credulous simplicity, most strongly fortify us against the vanity of scepticism, ef- factually restrain us from a rash presumption, most easily incline us to a due assent, perfectly subject us to the government of right reason. While the mind is abstracted and elevated from sensible matter, distinctly views pure forms, conceives the beauty of ideas, and invests the harmony of proportions. The manners themselves are visibly corrected and improved, the affections compoed and rectified, the fancy calmed and settled, and the understanding raised and excited to more divine contemplations.