a canonical book of the Old Testament, comprehending the history of the Jews from the time of Cyrus's edict for their return, till the twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimanus. It specifies the number of Jews who returned, and Cyrus's proclamation for the rebuilding of the temple, together with the laying of its foundation, the obstruction which it met with, and the finishing of the sacred edifice in the reign of Darius.

The books of Ezra, called in the English version the First and Second Books of Esdras, though held by some, particularly the Greeks, as canonical, are thrown by the English church into the number of apocryphal books, as they are only extant in Greek.

F.

THE fourth consonant and sixth letter of the alphabet. The letter F is borrowed from the digamma or double gamma, Φ, of the Æolians, as is evident from the inscription on the pedestal of the Colossus at Delos; and though this letter is not found in the modern Greek alphabet, yet it was in the ancient one, whence the Latins received and transmitted it to us. It is formed by a strong expression of the breath, and joining at the same time the upper teeth and under lip. It has but one sort of sound, which has a great affinity with v and ph, the latter being written for it by us in all Greek words, as philosophy, though the Italians write the same term filosofia. The Romans for some time used an inverted Φ, instead of V consonant, which had no peculiar figure in their alphabet. Thus, in inscriptions we meet with TERMINAΠΤ, DIΠΠ, and so on. Lipsius and others say, that it was the Emperor Claudius who introduced the use of the inverted digamma or Φ; but it did not long subsist after his death; for Quintilian observes, that it was not used in his time. F or Φ, in Music, is the fourth note in rising in this order of the gamut, ut, re, mi, fa. It likewise denotes one of the Greek keys in music, destined for the bass. F, in physical prescription, stands for Fiat, or Let it be done; thus, f. s. a. signifies fiat secundum artem. F was also a numeral letter signifying forty; according to the verse,

Sexta quaterdenos gerit qua distat ab alpha.

And when a dash was added at top, thus, Φ, it signified forty thousand. In the civil law, two Φ's joined together thus, ΦΦ, signify the Pandects. In the law of England, F was a stigma or brand put upon felons (by stat. 4 Henry VII. c. 13) with a hot iron, on their being admitted to the benefit of clergy.