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ELASTICITY OF FLUIDS is accounted for from their particles being all endowed with a centrifugal force; when Sir Isaac Newton (prop. xxxii. lib. 2.) demonstrates, that particles, which naturally avoid or fly off from one another by such forces as are reciprocally proportioned to the distances of their centre, will compose an elastic fluid, whose density shall be proportional to its compression; and vice versa, if any fluid be composed of particles that fly off and avoid one another, and hath its density proportional to its compression, then the centrifugal forces of those particles will be reciprocally as the distances of their centres.

ELASTICITY OF THE AIR is the force wherewith that element dilates itself, upon removing the force whereby it was before compressed. See AIR and ATMOSPHERE. The elasticity or spring of the air was first discovered by Galileo. Its existence is proved by this experiment of that philosopher-An extraordinary quantity of air being intruded by a syringe into a hollow glass or metal ball, till the ball, with this accession of air, weighs considerably more in the balance than it did before; upon opening the mouth thereof, the air rushes out, till the ball sink to its former weight. From hence we argue, that there is just as much air gone out, as compressed air had been crowded in. Air, therefore, returns to its former degree of expansion, upon removing the force that compressed or resisted its expansion; consequently it is endowed with an elastic force. It must be added, that, as the air is found to rush out in every situation or direction of the orifice, the elastic force acts every way, or in every direction. The doctrine of the elasticity of the air is a considerable branch of pneumatics. The cause of this elasticity has been commonly ascribed to a repulsion between its particles; but this can give us only a very slight idea of the nature of its elasticity. The term repulsion, like that of attraction, requires to be defined; and in all probability will be found in most cases to be the effect of the action of some other fluid. Thus, we find, that the elasticity of the atmosphere is very considerably affected by heat. Supposing a quantity of air heated to such a degree as is sufficient to raise Fahrenheit's thermometer to 212°, it will then occupy a considerable space. If it is cooled to such a degree as to sink the thermometer to 0°, it will shrink up into less than half its former bulk. The quantity of repulsive power, therefore, acquired by the air, while passing from one of these states to the other, is evidently owing to the heat added to or taken away from it. Nor have we any reason to suppose, that the quantity of elasticity, or repulsive power, it still possesses, is owing to any other thing than the fire contained in it. The VOL. VIII-PART 1.

supposing repulsion to be a primary cause, independent of all others, has given rise to many erroneous theories, and been one very great mean of embarrassing philosophers in their accounting for the phenomena of electricity. ELATE, adj. & v.a. Lat. elatus, part. of verb ELA'TION, n. s. Seffero, to exalt, &c., from e, forth, and fero, latum, to bring. Elevated; lofty; flushed with station or dignity. The verb seems to be derived from the adjective.

This king of kinges proud was and elat;
He wend that God that sit in majestee
Ne might him nat bereve of his estat.

Chaucer. Cant. Tales.
God began to punish this vain elation of mind by
withdrawing his favors.
Atterbury.
Oh, thoughtless mortals! ever blind to fate!
Too soon dejected, and too soon elate!
Pope.

I, of mind elate, and scorning fear,
Thus with new taunts insult the monster's ear.
Id. Odyssey.

Or truth, divinely breaking on his mind,
Elates his being, and unfolds his power.

Thomson.

Fair was the blossom, soft the vernal sky : Elate with hope we deemed no tempest nigh: When lo! a whirlwind's instantaneous gust Left all its beauties withering in the dust.

Beattie.

ELATE, in botany, a genus of the monœcia order and triandria class: CAL. none: COR. tripetalous, with three stamina or with one pistil; FRUIT an oval acuminated plum. Species one only, an Indian tree.

ELATER, in zoology, a genus of insects, belonging to the order of coleoptera. The antennæ are setaceous; and an elastic spring or spine projects from the hinder extremity of the breast or under side of the thorax. By means of this kind of spring, the animal, when turned upon its back, contrives to leap up into the air, and so turn itself. It varies in size; and when the insect is young, and newly metamorphosed, its elytra are of a beautiful deep red; but in a few days they change to a much darker hue, and are nearly of a chestnut color. In the state o larvæ it inhabits the trunks of decayed trees, and is there transformed. With the help of its wings it issues from its prison, flutters upon flowers, wanders over the fields, and conceals itself in thickets or under the bark of trees.

ELATE'RIUM, n. s. Lat. An inspissated juice, light, of a friable texture and an acid and pungent taste. It is procured from the fruit of a wild cucumber. It is a very violent and rough purge.

ELATERIUM, Eλarnpiov, in botany, a genus of the monandria order, monccia class of plants; natural order thirty-fourth, cucurbitaceæ, male or female: CAL. none: COR. salver shaped: CAPS.

B

inferior, unilocular, and bivalved. Species one only, a common plant.

ELATH, or ELOTH, in ancient geography, a part of Idumæa, situated upon the Red Sea, which David in his conquest of Edom took, 2 Sam. viii. 14, and there established a trade to all parts of the world. Solomon built ships in Elath, and sent them thence to Ophir for gold, 2 Chron. viii. 17, 18. It continued in the possession of the Israelites about 150 years, till the time of Joram, when the Edomites revolted and recovered it, 2 Kings viii. 20; but it was again taken from them by Azariah, and by him left to his son; 2 Kings xiv. 22. In the time of his grandson Ahaz, however, Rezin king of Syria took it, Ib. xvi. 6; and the Syrians kept it long; till after many changes, under the Ptolemies, it came at last into the possession of the Romans. ELATINE, in botany, a genus of the tetragynia order and octandria class of plants; natural order fifteenth, inundatæ : CAL. tetraphyllous; the petals four: CAPS. quadrilocular, quadrivalved, and depressed. Species two, natives of the south of Europe.

ELATOSTEMA, in botany, a genus of the pentandria order and monoecia class of plants; male and female: CAL. none: COR. quinquepartite; the stamina are five filaments: PERICARP. a very small oblong, bivalve, monospermous capsule: SEEDS single and egg-shaped.

ELBA, a small island of the Mediterranean, near the coast of Tuscany, in circuit about sixty miles. Its breadth is very various; its general aspect is mountainous, and its climate mild. Here are cultivated fruits, vines, corn, and maize. The horned cattle are few, the live stock being composed of horses and mules. The exports consist of wine, fruit, and iron ore, for which the island has been noted since the days of Virgil (Æn. x. 173); there are also mines of copper, and extensive quarries. It was in 1801 vested in the possession of Tuscany, and has acquired historical celebrity as the residence of Buonaparte from May 1814 to 26th February 1815, when he sailed on his last expedition to France. It has two harbours, Porto Ferrajo, the capital, and Porto Longone. The former is remarkable for the gallant defence which was made of it, by the English against the French in 1801. Elba reverted to the grand duke of Tuscany, after the departure of Napoleon. Population about 14,000. Several islets around it are uninhabited. Long. of Porto Ferrajo, 10° 19′ 35′′ E.; lat. 42° 49′ 6′′ N. ELBE, a large river of Germany, anciently the Albis, which, rising on the confines of Silesia, runs through Bohemia, Misnia, Upper Saxony, Anhalt, Magdeburg, Brandenburg, and Danneberg; and afterwards dividing the duchy of Lunenburg from that of Mecklenburg, as well as that of Bremen from Holstein, falls into the German Ocean, about seventy miles below Ham

burgh. It is navigable for great ships higher than any other river in Europe, and employs between Magdeburg and Hamburgh 500 vessels. The navigation up to Hamburgh is difficult on account of numerous sand banks, and the occasional violence of the wind; particularly the westerly winds which increase the bulk of the waters, and cause inundations; an easterly wind on the other

hand sometimes presses its waters to the sea, and deprives the canals dependent on it of the necessary supplies. Its navigation has likewise been much impeded by the tolls imposed by the princes of the different provinces through which it passes, there having been more than thirty between Pirna in Saxony, and Hamburgh; but this has been greatly remedied of late.

ELBERFELD, a thriving town on the Wupper, in the province of Berg, district of Dusseldorf, Prussia. The manufactures of Siamoise, lace, riband, linen, and stuffs, employ the greater part of a population of 18,000 persons. Here are also hardware and bleaching establishments of considerable extent. It is eighteen miles east of Dusseldorf, and twenty north-east of Cologne.

ELBERT, a county of Georgia, on the tract of land between Tugulo and Broad rivers. The south-east corner of the county is at their confluence; on the north-west it is bounded by Franklin county. The chief town is Petersburgh.

ELBING, a trading city of Polish Prussia, in the circle of Marienburg, situated in a fruitful level, on a bay of the Baltic Sea, called the Frischaff, or Erische Haffe, near the mouth of the Vistula. The town is large, populous, and very well built. It is divided into the old and new town, which were once well fortified, but in 1772 the works were demolished. The old town has a handsome tower, with a good college. The stadthouse and the academy are fine buildings, with pleasant gardens. The best warehouses are in the suburbs. No vessels larger than 100 tons burden can approach the town; but Elbing has a good export trade in corn potash, linen, butter, and cheese; and supplies from its manufactories considerable quantities of soap, starch, oil, and tobacco to the neighbourhood. Population 16,800. It is thirty miles south-east of Dantzic, and 100 north by west of Warsaw.

ELBOEUF, a thriving manufacturing town of France, on the Seine, in Normandy. There has been a celebrated manufacture of woollen cloths here since 1667; it has also manufactures of carpets and stockings. Ten miles south of Rouen, and sixty-five north-west of Paris. EL'BOW, n. s., v. a. & v. n. EL BOW-CHAIR, N. S. EL BOW-ROOM.

Sax. elboge, from elb, an ell, and bogen,

bending, the ell being originally the length of the arm, and the bend being then at the elbow. The first joint of the arm below the shoulder; any angle. As a verb active, to push with the elbow: hence, to encroach upon; to drive. As a neuter verb, to point outwards in angles; to clash with. An elbow-chair is one that accommodates the elbows: elbow-room, room to extend the elbows; space enough to act in.

Straight will he come; Wear thy good rapier bare, and put it home: Quick, quick; fear nothing, I'll be at thy elbow. Shakspeare. Othello.

Now my soul hath elbowroom;

Id.

It would not out at windows nor at doors. Fruit trees, or vines, set upon a wall between elbows

Bp. Hall. Satires. He that elbows in all his philosophic disputes must needs be very proud of own sufficiencies.

Mannyngham. 1681. If fortune takes not off this boy betimes, He'll make mad work and elbow out his neighbours. Dryden.

A politician must put himself into a state of liberty to provide elbowroom for conscience to have its full play in. South.

What would you say should you see the sparkler shaking her elbow for a whole night together, and thumping the table with a dice-box?

Addison. Guardian.

Swans and elbowchairs, in the opera of Dioclesian, have danced upon the English stage with good success.

In some fair evening on your elbow laid, You dream of triumphs in the rural shade.

Gay.

And thas upon his elbow he arose,

Burns.

And looked upon the lady in whose cheek
The pale contended with the purple rose,

As with an effort she began to speak. Byron. ELBOW, that eminence whereon the arm rests, is by the Latins called cubitus, and the Greeks Εγκων and ολέκρανον. See ANATOMY.

ELCESAITES, in church history, a sect of heretics, who appeared in the reign of Trajan. They worshipped one God, observed the Jewish sabbath, circumcision, and the other ceremonies of the law; but they rejected the Pentateuch, the prophets, and the writings of the apostles, particularly those of St. Paul.

ELCHE, a large town of Spain, in the province of Valencia, situated in a plain, abounding with palm trees. It was the Illici of the Romans, and has still an ancient ducal palace. It has also some good streets and squares, but its general aspect is dull. The great church is a fine building, with a noble dome, and the barracks extensive and well built. There are here several poor houses and convents; the manufactures are confined to soap and leather, which, with dates, palms, and other fruit of the neighbourhood, constitute its articles of trade. has several marble fountains. Population 18,000. ELD, v.a., v.n.&n_s. Sax. eald; Scot. eld; EL'DER, adj. & n. s. Goth. ald, from 'the Sax. EL'DERLY, adv. verb yldan, or ildan, to EL ́DERSHIP, A. s. remain, stay, continue, EL'DEST. last, endure, delay, deier,' says Mr. Tooke, of which it is the past participle.' Chaucer uses eld, however, both as a verb active and neuter; see below: as a substan

It

tive, it signifies old age; decrepitude; and hence, jective OLD, which see, and in elder, eldest, we old people. It is clearly the parent of our adretain the original comparative and superlative. Elder, as a substantive, expresses seniority of age or office: it is also the name of a tree. Eldership is seniority, primogeniture. Elderly, approaching old age.

Elizabeth thi cosyn,-sche also hath conseyved a sone in hir eelde, and this monethe is the sixte to hir that is clepid bareyn. Wiclif. Luke i.

Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren. 1 Tim. v. 1. The time eke that ychaungith all, And all doth waxe and fostrid be, And alle thing destroith he; The time that eldith our ancestours, And eldith kings and emperours. Chaucer.

Id.

Romaunt of the Rose. The time that hath alle in welde To elden folke had made her elde. For elde is comen unwarely upon me, hasted by the harmes that I have, and sorowe hath commaunded his age to be in me. Colvile.

Her heart with ioy unwonted inly sweld,
As feeling wondrous comfort in her weaker eld.
Spenser. Faerie Queene.

Many nations are very superstitious and diligent observers of old customs, which they received by continual tradition from their parents, by recording of their bards and chronicles, in their songs, and by daily use and ensample of their elders.

Id. Ireland. At the board, and in private, it well becometh very children's innocency to pray, and their elders to say Amen. Hooker.

The controversy sprang up between Beza and Erastus, about the matter of excommunications, whether there ought to be in all churches an eldership, having power to excommunicate, and a part of that eldership to be of necessity certain chosen out from amongst the laity.

Id.

Thy blazed youth, Becomes assuaged, and doth beg the alms Of palsied eld. Shakspeare.

Let still the woman take

An elder than herself; so wears she to him,
So sways she level in her husband's heart. Id.
Our elders say,

The barren, touched in this holy chase,
Shake off their steril curse.

Id.

We will establish our estate upon Our eldest Malcolm, whom we name hereafter The prince of Cumberland.

Id.

Raleigh.

the

The branches are full of pith, having but little wood: the flowers are monopetalous, divided into several segments, and expand in form of a rose: these are, for the most part, collected into an umbel, and are succeeded by soft succulent berries, having three seeds in each. Miller.

They count him of the green-haired eld.
Fame's high temple stands;
Stupendous pile; not reared by mortal hands!
Whate'er proud Rome, or artful Greece beheld,
Or elder Babylon, its frame excelled.

Chap.

Pope.

I lose my patience, and I own it too, Where works are censured, not as bad, but new; While, if our elders break all reason's laws, Those fools demand not pardon but applause. With musing-deep, astonished stare, I viewed the heavenly-seeming fair; A whispering throb did witness bear, Of kindred sweet,

When with an elder sister's air

Id.

She did me greet. Burns. ELDER, in botany. See SAMBUCUS. ELDERS, OF SENIORS, in ancient Jewish polity, were persons the most considerable for age, experience, and wisdom. Of this sort were the seventy men whom Moses associated with himself in the government; such, likewise, afterwards were those who held the first rank in the synagogue, as presidents.

ELDERS, in the Presbyterian discipline, are officers, who, in conjunction with the ministers and deacons, compose the kirk-session, which formerly used to inspect and regulate matters of religion and discipline; but whose principal business now is to take care of the poor's funds. They are chosen from among the people, and are received publicly with some degree of ceremony. In Scotland, there is an indefinite number of elders in each parish; generally about

twelve.

When a vacancy happens, it is filled up by an election made by the remaining members of the session. There is no legal limitation of the number of elders: but the general understanding is, that they are not to be multiplied unnecessarily, and as their office is a gratuitous one, and is attended with some little trouble, there is never much temptation to increase them, except when there is some particular point to be carried. They are commonly selected out of that respectable class of persons who are above the lower orders, and

yet rather below the higher rank of the society of the place, though there is no definite rule, and no absolute exclusion of any body, whose circumstances and character are respectable. The heritors are the proprietors of the real property within the parish. It is by them and their

tenants that the sum raised for the maintenance of the poor, called the assessment, must be paid. This assessment is divided between the proprietors, and the tenants, according to rules which it is needless to explain here; but the general import of which is, that the proprietors are entitled to obtain relief of what is laid upon them, to the extent of one-half, from their lessees. These heritors are conjoined with the kirk-sessions, in the administration of the poor's funds; that is, they are legally entitled to act along with them, but, as the first report by the general assembly states, 'the heritors, in practice, seldom or never interfere in regulating the concerns of the poor or the poor's funds, except in parishes where assessments are levied.' The ordinary funds for the support of the poor, consist of the alms collected at the church door, parochial fines, and other dues, and any sum that may have been gifted to the parish. The last are commonly small; so

that the chief fund arises from the church-door collections. The direct tax, called an assessment, is only resorted to when these resources fail. It is in this apparatus that the excellence of the Scottish system is said to consist.

The elders are held to be a class of persons admirably fitted for investigating every claim that can be made for admission upon the poor'sroll. They reside within the parish; they either know the claimant personally, or can easily inquire into his character and circumstances; and they are in that station of life to which such an employment, instead of being nauseous, is a fair ground of parochial power and importance.

ELEATIC PHILOSOPHY, among the ancients, a name given to that of the stoics, because taught at Elea.

ELEATIC SECT. The founder of this sect of philosophers is supposed to have been Xenophanes, who lived about the fifty-sixth Olympiad, or about A. A. C. 350. It was divided into two parties, which may be denominated metaphysical and physical; the one rejecting, and the other approving, the appeal to fact and experiment. Of the former kind were Xenophanes, Parmenides, Melissus, and Zeno of Elea. They are supposed to have maintained principles similar to those of Spinoza; they held the eternity and immutability of the world; that whatever existed was only one being; that there was neither any generation nor corruption; that this one being was immoveable and immutable, and was the true God; and whatever changes seemed to hap pen in the universe, they considered as mere appearances and illusions of sense. However, some learned men have supposed, that Xenophanes and his followers, speaking metaphysically, understood by the universe or the one being, not the material world, but the originating principle of all things, or the true God, whom they expressly affirm to be incorporeal. Thus Simplicius represents them as merely metaphysical writers, who distinguished between things