denotes something that communicates action or motion to another; in which acceptation it stands opposed to passive.

Active, in Grammar, is applied to such words as express action; and is therefore opposed to passive. The active performs the action, as the passive receives it. Thus we say, a verb active, a conjugation active, &c. or an active participle.

Active Verbs, are such as do not only signify doing, or acting, but have also nouns following them, to be the subject of the action or impression: Thus, To love, to teach, are verbs active; because we can say, To love a thing, to teach a man. Neuter verbs also denote an action, but are distinguished from active verbs: in that they cannot have a noun following them: such are, To sleep, to go, &c. Some grammarians, however, make three kinds of active verbs: the transitive, where the action passes into a subject different from the agent; reflected, where the action returns upon the agent; and reciprocal, where the action returns mutually upon the two agents who produced it.

Active Power, in Metaphysics, the power of executing any work or labour; in contradistinction to speculative powers*, or the powers of seeing, hearing, remembering, judging, reasoning, &c.

The exertion of active power we call action; and as every action produces some change, so every change must be caused by some effect, or by the cessation of some exertion of power. That which produces a change by the exertion of its power we call the cause of that change; and the change produced, the effect of that cause. See Metaphysics.

Active Principles, in Chemistry, such as are supposed to act without any assistance from others; as mercury, sulphur, &c.

Activity, in general, denotes the power of acting, or the active faculty. See Active.

Sphere of Activity, the whole space in which the virtue, power, or influence, of any object is exerted.

Actium, in Ancient Geography, a town situated on the coast of Acarnania, in itself inconsiderable, but famous for a temple of Apollo, a safe harbour, and an adjoining promontory of the same name, in the mouth of the Sinus Ambracius, over against Nicopolis, on the other side of the bay: it afterwards became more famous on account of Augustus's victory over Antony and Cleopatra; and for quinquennial games instituted there, called Actia or Ludi Actiaci. Hence the epithet Actius, given to Apollo (Virgil). Actica æra, a computation of time from the battle of Actium. The promontory is now called Capo di Figalo. The medals of Actium were silver, gold and bronze; and the ordinary type is a flying pegasus.

Actius, in mythology, a surname of Apollo, from Actium, where he was worshipped.

Acton, a town near London, where is a well that affords a purging water, which is noted for the pungency of its salt. This water is whitish; to the taste it is sweetish, with a mixture of the same bitter which is in the Epsom water. The salt of this water is not quite so soft as that of Epsom; and is more calcareous than it, having more of the salt of lime: for a quantity of the Acton water being boiled high, and mixed with a solution of sublimate in pure water, threw down a yellow sediment. The salt of the Acton water is more nitrous than that of Epsom; it strikes a deep red, or purple, with the tincture of logwood in brandy, as is usual with nitrous salts; it does not precipitate silver out of the spirit of nitre, as common salt does: 1 1/2 lb. of this water yields 48 grains of salt.

Actor, in general, signifies a person who acts or performs something.

Actor, among civilians, the proctor or advocate in civil courts or causes; as, Actor ecclesiae has been sometimes used for the advocate of the church; actor dominicus for the lord's attorney; actor villa, the steward or head bailiff of a village.

Actor, in the drama, is a person who represents some part or character in the theatre. The drama consisted originally of nothing more than a simple chorus, who sung hymns in honour of Bacchus; so that the primitive actors were only singers and musicians. Thespis was the first that, in order to ease this unformed chorus, introduced a declaimer, who repeated some heroic or comic adventure. Æschylus, finding a single person tiresome, attempted to introduce a second, and changed the ancient recitals into dialogues. He also dressed his actors in a more majestic manner, and introduced the cothurnus or buskin. Sophocles added a third, in order to represent the various incidents in a more natural manner: and here the Greeks stopped, at least we do not find in any of their tragedies above three persons in the same scene. Perhaps they looked upon it as a rule of the dramatic poem never to admit more than three speakers at a time on the stage; a rule which Horace has expressed in the following verse:

Nec quarta loqui persona laboret.

This, however, did not prevent their increasing the number of actors in comedy. Before the opening of a play, they named their actors in full theatre, together with the parts they were to perform. The ancient actors were masked, and obliged to raise their voice extremely, in order to make themselves heard by the innumerable crowd of people who filled the amphitheatres: they were accompanied with a player on the flute, who played a prelude, gave them the tone, and played while they declaimed. Horace speaks of a kind of secondary actors in his time, whose business was to imitate the first; and lessen themselves, to become better foils to their principals.

The moderns have introduced an infinite number of actors upon the stage. This heightens the trouble and distress that should reign there, and makes a diversity, in which the spectator is sure to be interested.

Actors were highly honoured at Athens. At Rome they were despised, and not only denied all rank among the citizens, but even when any citizen appeared upon the stage, he was expelled his tribe, and deprived of the right of suffrage by censors. Cicero, indeed, esteems the talents of Roscius: but he values his virtues still more; virtues which distinguished him so remarkably above all others of his profession, that they seemed to have excluded him from the theatre. The French have, in this respect, adopted the ideas of the Romans; and the English those of the Greeks.

Actor, the name of several persons in fabulous history. One Actor among the Aurunci is described by Virgil as a hero of the first rank. Aen. xii.

Actorum tabulae, in antiquity, were tables instituted by Servius Tullius, in which the births of children were registered. They were kept in the treasury of Saturn.