*Armenian stone*, in *Natural History*, a mineral substance, which is but improperly called a stone; being no other than an ochreous earth, and properly called *blue ochre*. It is a very valuable substance in painting, being a bright and lively blue. It was in so high esteem as a paint among the ancients, that counterfeiters were continually attempted to serve in its place. Theophrastus had recorded it as a thing judged worthy a place in the Egyptian annals, which of their kings had the honour of inventing the fictitious kind; and he tells us the genuine native substance was a thing of that value, that presents were made of it to great persons, and that the Phoenicians paid their tribute in it.—It is a very beautiful earth, of an even and regular texture; and of a fine blue, sometimes deeper, sometimes paler, and frequently mixed with green. It is soft, tender, and light; of an even, but somewhat dusty surface; it adheres firmly to the tongue, and is dry, but not harsh to the touch. It easily breaks between the fingers, and does not stain the hands. It is of a brickish disagreeable taste, and does not ferment with acids. It is a very scarce fossil; but is found very pure, though but in small quantities, in the mines at Goffelaer in Saxony. It is frequently found spotted with green, and sometimes with black; and very often is mixed among the green ochre, called *berggruen* by the Germans, which has thence been erroneously called by its name. See further the article **BICE**.

**ARMIERS,** a town of Hainault, in the French Netherlands, sited on the river Sambre. E. Long. 3. 45. N. Lat. 50. 15.

**ARMIGER,** a title of dignity, belonging to such gentlemen as bear arms; and these are either by courtesy, as sons of noblemen, eldest sons of knights, &c.; or by creation, such as the king's servants, &c. See **ESQUIRE**.

**ARMILLARY,** in a general sense, something consisting of rings or circles.

**ARMILLARY Sphere,** an artificial sphere composed of a number of circles of the mundane sphere, put together in their natural order, to ease and assist the imagination in conceiving the constitution of the heavens, Armillary and the motions of the celestial bodies. The armillary sphere revolves upon its axis within a silvered horizon, which is divided into degrees, and moveable every way upon a bras supporter. The other parts are the equinoctial, zodiac, meridian, the two tropics, and the two polar circles. See **GEOGRAPHY**.

**ARMINIUS,** in Roman antiquity, a feast held among the Romans, in which they sacrificed, armed, to the sound of trumpets.

**ARMINIANS,** a religious sect, or party, which arose in Holland, by a separation from the Calvinists. They followed the doctrine of Arminius (see the next article) who, thinking the doctrine of Calvin, with regard to free-will, predestination, and grace, too severe, began to express his doubts concerning them in the year 1591; and upon further inquiry adopted sentiments more nearly resembling those of the Lutherans than of the Calvinists. After his appointment to the theological chair at Leyden, he thought it his duty to avow and vindicate the principles which he had embraced; and the freedom with which he published and defended them exposed him to the resentment of those that adhered to the theological system of Geneva, which then prevailed in Holland; but his principal opponent was Gomar, his colleague. The controversy which was thus begun, became more general after the death of Arminius, in the year 1609, and threatened to involve the United Provinces in civil discord. The Arminian tenets gained ground under the mild and favourable treatment of the magistrates of Holland, and were adopted by several persons of merit and distinction. The Calvinists, or Gomarists, as they were now called, appealed to a national synod: accordingly the synod of Dort was convened by order of the States General, in 1618, and was composed of ecclesiastical deputies from the United Provinces, as well as from the reformed churches of England, Hesse, Bremen, Switzerland, and the Palatinate. The principal advocate in favour of the Arminians was Episcopus, who, at that time, was professor of divinity at Leyden. It was first proposed to discuss the principal subjects in dispute, and that the Arminians should be allowed to state and vindicate the grounds on which their opinions were founded: but some difference arising as to the proper mode of conducting the debate, the Arminians were excluded from the assembly; their case was tried in their absence; and they were pronounced guilty of petitionary errors, and condemned as corruptors of the true religion. In consequence of this decision, they were treated with great severity: they were deprived of all their posts and employments; their ministers were silenced, and their congregations were suppressed. However, after the death of Prince Maurice, who had been a violent partisan in favour of the Gomarists, in the year 1625, the Arminian exiles were restored to their former reputation and tranquillity; and under the toleration of the state, they erected churches and founded a college at Amsterdam, appointing Episcopus to be the first theological professor. The Arminian system has very much prevailed in England since the time of Archbishop Laud, and its votaries in other countries are very numerous.

The distinguishing tenets of the Arminians may be comprised