a town in the Netherlands, in the duchy of Brabant, and capital of the duchy of Aershot. It is seated on the river Demer, ten miles east of Malines or Mechlin, and eight north of Louvain. E. Lon. 5. 4. N. lat. 51. 15.

ÆRUGINOUS, in ornithology, the trivial name of a species of falco. See Falco.

ÆRUGINOUS, an epithet given to such things as resemble or partake of the nature of the ruff of copper.

ÆRUGO, in natural history, properly signifies the rust of copper, whether natural or artificial. The former is found about copper mines, and the latter made by corroding copper plates with acids.

ÆRUSCATORES, in antiquity, a kind of strolling beggars, not unlike gypsies, who drew money from the credulous by fortune-telling, &c. It was also a denomination given to gripping exactors, or collectors of the revenue. The Galli, or priests of Cybele, were called ærufactores magne matris, and ærufactores, on account of their begging or collecting alms in the streets; to which end they had little bells whereby to draw people's attention to them, much like some orders of mendicants abroad.

ÆRY, or AIRY, among sportsmen. See Airy.

ÆS, properly signifies copper, or money coined of that metal. See Copper.

Æs Flavum, yellow copper, among the Romans, an appellation given to the coarser kinds of brass.

Æs Calcarium, a term used by the German mineralists, for a substance which sometimes occurs to those who work upon cobalt, and is used for the making the fine blue colour called fustal.

Æs Ufatum, a chemical preparation, made of thin leaves of copper, sulphur, and nitre, placed stratum super stratum in a crucible, and set in a charcoal fire, till all the sulphur is consumed; after which, the copper is taken out of the crucible, and reduced to powder. Some quench the leaves of copper in vinegar, and repeat the calcination.—Its principal use is in colouring glass, to which it gives a beautiful tincture. The surgeons use it as a detergent, and some have given it internally; but it is certainly a very dangerous medicine, and should be avoided.

ÆSCHINES, a Socratic philosopher, the son of Charinus a sausage-maker. He was continually with Socrates; which occasioned this philosopher to say, that the sausage-maker's son was the only person who knew how to pay a due regard to him. It is said that poverty obliged him to go Sicily, to Dionysius the Tyrant; and that he met with great contempt from Plato, but was extremely well received by Aristippus; to whom he showed some of his dialogues, and received from him a handsome reward. He would not venture to profess philosophy at Athens, Plato and Aristippus being in such high esteem; but he set up a school to maintain himself. He afterwards wrote orations for the Forum. Phrynicus, in Photius, ranks him amongst the best orators, and mentions his orations as the standard of the pure Attic style. Hermogenes has also spoken very highly of him.—He also wrote several dialogues, of which there are only three extant: 1. Concerning Virtue, whether it can be taught. 2. Eryxias, or Erasistratus; concerning riches, whether they are good. 3. Axiochus; concerning death, whether it is to be feared. Mr Le Clerc has given a Latin translation of them, with notes, and several dissertations, intitled Syntese Philologicae.

ÆSCHYLUS, the tragic poet, was born at Athens. Authors differ in regard to the time of his birth, some placing it in the 63rd, others in the 76th Olympiad; but according to Stanley, who relies on the Arundelian marbles, he was born in the 63rd Olympiad. He was the son of Euphorion, and brother to Cynegirus and Aminias, who distinguished themselves in the battle of Marathon, and the sea-fight of Salamis, at which engagements Æschylus was likewise present. In this last action, according to Diodorus Siculus, Aminias, the younger of the three brothers, commanded a squadron of ships, and behaved with so much conduct and bravery, that he sunk the admiral of the Persian fleet, and signalized himself above all the Athenians. To this brother our poet was, upon a particular occasion, obliged for saving his life: Ælian relates, that Æschylus being charged by the Athenians with certain blasphemous expressions in some of his pieces, was accused of impiety, and condemned to be thrown to death: they were just going to put the sentence in execution, when Aminias, with a happy presence of mind, throwing aside his cloak, showed his arm without a hand, which he had lost at the battle of Salamis, in defence of his country. This sight made such an impression on the judges, that, touched with the remembrance of his valour, and with the friendship he showed for his brother, they pardoned Æschylus. Our poet, however, resented the indignity of this prosecution, and resolved to leave a place where his life had been in danger. He became more determined in this resolution when he found his pieces less pleasing to the Athenians than those of Sophocles, tho' a much younger writer. Some affirm, that Æschylus never sat down to compose but when he had drank liberally. He wrote a great number of tragedies, of which there are but seven remaining: and notwithstanding the sharp censures of some critics, he must be allowed to have been the father of the tragic art. In the time of Thespis, there was no public theatre to act upon; the rollickers driving about from place to place in a cart. Æschylus furnished his actors with masques, and dressed them suitably to their characters. He likewise introduced the buskins, to make them appear more like heroes.—The ancients give Æschylus also the praise of having been the first who removed murders and shocking fights from the eyes of the spectators. He is said likewise to have lessened the number of the chorus. M. Le Fevre has observed, that Æschylus never represented women in love, in his tragedies; which, he says, was not suited to his genius; but, in representing a woman transported with fury, he was incomparable. Longinus says, that Æschylus has a noble boldness of expression; and that his imagination is lofty and heroic. It must be owned, however, that he affected pompous words, and that his sense is too often obscured by figures; this gave Salmatus occasion to say, that he was more difficult to be understood than the scripture itself. But notwithstanding these imperfections, this poet was held in great veneration by the Athenians, who made a public decree that his tragedies should be played after his death. He was killed in the 69th year of his age, by an eagle letting fall a tortoise upon his head as he was walking in the fields. He had the honour of a pompous funeral from the Sicilians, who buried him near the river Gela; and the tragedians of the country performed plays and theatrical exercises at his tomb.—The best edition of his plays is that of London, 1663, fol. with a Latin translation and a learned commentary by Tho. Stanley.

Æschynomene, Bastard sensitive-plant; a genus of the decandria order, belonging to the diadelphia clas of plants. Of this genus they are reckoned five species:

1. The aspera (as well as the rest of this genus) is a native of warm countries. It rises to the height of four or five feet, having a single herbaceous stalk, which is rough in some parts. The leaves come out on every side towards the top, forming a sort of head; the flowers come out between the leaves, two or three together upon long footstalks; they are yellow, and shaped like those of pea; after the flower is past, the germen becomes a flat jointed pod, which, when ripe, parts at the joints, and in each division is lodged a single kidney-shaped seed.

2. The Americana, seldom rises more than two feet in height. The flowers come out from the leaves on branching footstalks, five or fix together; these are much less than the former, and of a paler yellow colour. The seed is lodged in pods like the other.

3. The arborea, grows to the height of six or seven feet, with a single stem; the flowers come out two or three together, of a copper colour, and as large as those of the aspera.

4. The sebana hath woody stems, and branches garnished with smooth leaves. The flowers are small, of a deep yellow colour, and come out in long spikes hanging downward. The seed is contained in a smooth pod, not jointed.

5. The pumila, rises to the height of about three feet; has flowers of a pale yellow colour, which come out sometimes single, at other times two or three upon each foot stalk. The seeds are contained in a long falcated pod having 13 or 14 divisions, each of which lodges a single seed.

6. The grandiflora, rises six or eight feet high, with a woody stem, sending out branches towards the top, garnished with obtuse leaves. The flowers are large, yellow, and succeeded by large pods containing kidney-shaped seeds.

Culture. These plants are propagated by seeds, which should be sown early in the spring, on a hotbed; and when the plants have strength enough to be removed, they should each be put into a separate pot filled with light earth, and plunged into a hot-bed. As they increase in size, they must be removed into larger pots; but if they are too large, the plants will not thrive. They must be brought forward early in the year, otherwise the second kind will not perfect its seed.

Æsculapius, or Æres, in mythology, a deity who presided over the coinage of copper-money.

Æsculapius, in the heathen mythology, the god of physic, was the son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis. He was educated by the centaur Chiron, who taught him physic; by which means Æsculapius cured the most desperate diseases. But Jupiter, enraged at his restoring to life Hippolitus who had been torn in pieces by his own horses, killed him with a thunderbolt. According to Cicero, there were three deities of this name: the first, the son of Apollo, worshipped in Acadia, who invented the probes, and bandages for wounds; the second, the brother of Mercury, killed by lightning; and the third, the son of Arisippus and Arsinoe, who first taught the art of tooth-drawing and purging. At Epidaurus, Æsculapius's statue was of gold and ivory, with a long beard, his head surrounded with rays, holding in one hand a knotty stick, and the other entwined with a serpent; he was seated on a throne of the same materials as his statue, and had a dog lying at his feet. The Romans crowned him with laurel, to represent his descent from Apollo; and the Phalaians represented him as beardless. The cock, the raven, and the goat, were sacred to this deity. His chief temples were at Pergamus, Smyrna, Trica a city in Ionia, and the isle of Coos; in all which, votive tablets were hung up, shewing the diseases cured by his affluence. But his most famous shrine was at Epidaurus; where, every five years, games were instituted to him, nine days after the Isthmian games at Corinth.

Æsculapius's Serpent, or Coluber Æsculapii. See Coluber.

Æsculus, the Horse-chestnut; a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the heptandra clas of plants. Of this genus there is but one known species, viz. the hippocastanum, or common horse-chestnut. It was brought from the northern parts of Asia about the year 1550, and sent to Vienna about 1588. It had the name of caffiana from the shape of its fruit; and the title of equini was added on account of its being a proper food, when ground, for horses. This tree makes a noble appearance all the month of May, the extremities of the branches being terminated by fine spikes of flowers spotted with rose-colours, so that the whole tree seems covered with them. It is quick in its growth; so that in a few years it arrives at a size large enough to afford a good shade in summer, as also to produce plenty of flowers. They have however this great inconvenience, that their wood is of no use, being unfit even for burning; and their leaves beginning to fall in July, soon deprive the trees of their beauty. There is something very singular in the growth of these trees, which is, that the whole shoot is performed in less than three weeks after the buds are opened.—The nuts are reckoned good food for horses. In Turkey, they are ground, and mixed with the provender of these animals, especially those which are troubled with coughs or broken-winded. Deer are also very fond of the fruit; and at the time of their ripening keep much about the trees, but especially in strong winds, when the nuts are blown down, which they carefully watch, and greedily devour as they fall. A variety of this species grows naturally in North America, where it rises to the height of 20 feet, but does not spread its branches to any great extent. The flowers are wholly red, whence it is called the scarlet horse-chestnut: they are tubulated, and smaller than those of the other kind; but, for want of brims to expand, make an indifferent appearance. Culture. These trees are propagated by sowing the nuts, which ought to be done early in the spring; but the nuts should be preserved in sand during the winter, otherwise they are apt to grow mouldy and rot. The tree will thrive in most soils and situations, but best in sandy loam; and, if it inclines to moisture, the leaves will continue in verdure much longer than in a very dry ground. When the nuts succeed, and have a proper soil, the plants will shoot near a foot the first summer; so that where they grow pretty thick together, it will be proper to transplant them the following autumn. They ought then to be planted in rows three feet asunder, and one foot distance from one another in the rows. In this nursery they may continue two years, and then be transplanted where they are designed to remain. In transplanting them, the roots ought to be preserved as entire as possible, and none of the branches broken on any account. When such an accident happens, the branch is to be cut over close by the stem, that the wound may heal over. Another particularity with respect to this tree, besides its quickness of growth, is, that as soon as the old leaves fall off, the new bud for the next year is formed, which continues swelling till autumn, at which time the folding leaves are covered with a tenacious juice, which serves as a pigment to defend the tender bud from the winter frosts; but, upon the first return of warmth in the spring, this melts and runs off, leaving the bud at full liberty to expand. The scarlet horse-chestnut must be propagated from nuts procured from America, for they do not come to perfection in this country. They should be planted in pots early in the spring, and the pots plunged in a moderate hot-bed to forward their growth; towards the end of May, the pots should be put into the earth, in a south-east border, and duly watered in dry weather. They must be screened from the frost during the first winter or two, being impatient of cold whilst young; though when they have attained strength, it seldom hurts them: the following spring they should be carefully separated, and planted a foot distance from each other in a sheltered situation.

ÆSOP, the Phrygian, lived in the time of Solon, about the 50th Olympiad, under the reign of Croesus the last king of Lydia. As to genius and abilities, he was greatly indebted to nature; but in other respects not so fortunate, being born a slave and extremely deformed. St Jerom, speaking of him, says he was unfortunate in his birth, condition in life, and death; hinting thereby at his deformity, servile state, and tragic end. His great genius however enabled him to support his misfortunes; and in order to alleviate the hardships of servitude, he composed those entertaining and instructive fables which have acquired him so much reputation. He is generally supposed to have been the inventor of that kind of writing; but this is contested by several, particularly Quintilian, who seems to think that Hesiod was the first author of fables. Æsop, however, certainly improved this art to a very great degree; and hence it is that he has been accounted the author of this sort of productions:

Æsopus auctor quam materiam repertit, Hanc ego polivi versibus senaris.

Phaed. Profl. ad lib. i.

If any thoughts in these lambs thine, Th' invention's Æsop's, and the verse is mine."

The first master whom Æsop served, was one Carasius Demarchus, an inhabitant of Athens; and there in all probability he acquired his purity in the Greek tongue. After him he had several masters; and at length came under a philosopher named Idmon or Iadmon, who enfranchised him. After he had recovered his liberty, he soon acquired a great reputation amongst the Greeks; so that, according to Meziriac, the report of his wisdom having reached Croesus, he sent to inquire after him, and engaged him in his service. He travelled through Greece, according to the same author; whether for his own pleasure, or upon the affairs of Croesus, is uncertain; and passing by Athens soon after Pittacus had usurped the sovereign power, and finding that the Athenians bore the yoke very patiently, he told them the fable of the frogs who petitioned Jupiter for a king. The images made use of by Æsop are certainly very happy inventions to instruct mankind; they possess all that is necessary to perfect a precept, having a mixture of the useful with the agreeable. "Æsop the fabulist (says Aulus Gellius) was deservedly esteemed wise, since he did not, after the manner of the philosophers, rigidly and imperiously dictate such things as were proper to be advised and persuaded; but, framing entertaining and agreeable apologies, he thereby charms and captivates the human mind." Æsop was put to death at Delphi. Plutarch tells us, that he came there with a great quantity of gold and silver, being ordered by Croesus to offer a sacrifice to Apollo, and to give a considerable sum to each inhabitant; but a quarrel arising betwixt him and the Delphians, he sent back the money to Croesus; for he thought those for whom the prince designed it, had rendered themselves unworthy of it. The inhabitants of Delphi contrived an accusation of sacrilege against him; and pretending they had convicted him, threw him headlong from a rock. For this cruelty and injustice, we are told, they were visited with famine and pestilence; and consulting the oracle, they received for answer, that the god designed this as a punishment for their treatment of Æsop: they endeavoured to make an atonement, by raising a pyramid to his honour.

ÆSOP (Clodius), a celebrated actor, who flourished about the 670th year of Rome. He and Roscius were contemporaries, and the best performers who ever appeared upon the Roman stage, the former excelling in tragedy, the latter in comedy. Cicero put himself under their direction to perfect his action. Æsop lived in a most expensive manner, and at one entertainment is said to have had a dish which cost above eight hundred pounds; this dish, we are told, was filled with singing and speaking birds, some of which cost near 50l. The delight which Æsop took in this sort of birds proceeded, as Mr Bayle observes, from the expense. He did not make a dish of them because they could speak, this motive being only by accident, but because of their extraordinary price. If there had been any birds that could not speak, and yet more scarce and dear than thieves, he would have procured such for his table. Æsop's son was no less luxurious than his father, for he dissolved pearls for his guests to swallow. Some speak of this as a common practice of his; but others mention his falling into this excess only on a particular day, when he was treating his friends. Horace speaks only of one pearl of great value, which he dissolved in vinegar, and drank. Æsop, notwithstanding his expenses,