A F F
A F F
• The 1 degrees and terms of Affinity are chiefly, father in law,
- . e. hufband's or wife's father, in Latin Socer; ftep father, i. e ■
mother's hufband, Vitricus ; mother in law, ;. e. hufband's or "wife's mother ; ffep-mother, /. e. father's wife, Noverca ; fon-in-Iaw, Genet ; daughter-in-law, Nurus ; ftep-daughter, i . e. hufband's or wife's daughter by another marriage, Privigna ; ftep-fon, (". e. hufband's or wife's fon by a former marriage, Pri- vignus ; which two laft confidered in relation to each other are called Comprivigzm ; fon-in-law, i.e. daughter's hufband ; bro- ther-in-law, i. e. hufband's brother, or fitter's hufband, Levir ; wife's brother ; brother's wife ; fifter-in-law, *". e. hufband's or wife's fifter, Gloff. V. Cah. loc. cit. As to the doctrine of the- canonifts concerning impediments to marriage arifing from Affinity, See. Lang, Tract. deNupt. StDivort. p. 21. Aft. Erud. Lipf. an. 1716. p. 78. Henning, de Grad. Matrim. Jour, des Scav. T. 49. p. 17. Aft. Erud. Lipf. 1705. p. 44.
In the Lutheran church, marriage within the fecond degree of Affinity, either in the direft or collateral line is prohibited; fo that a man is not here allowed even to marry the widow of his wife's brother, without a particular difpenfation. Lang. loc. cit. Jour, des Scav. T. 62. p. 166. ,
It is difputed, whether Affinity in the firft degree be an im-; - pediment by the divine, or only by the pofitive laws ? The negative is generally allowed ; which is the foundation of the difpenfations granted for marriages within it, by the pope, in the Romifh countries, and by the fovereign, in proteftant ones. V. Jour, des Scav. T. 83. p. 180. It. T. 1. p. 180. Nouv. Rep. Lett. T. 2. p. 688. fcq.
The Lutheran doftors have had a long difpute concerning the marriage of Comprivigni : i. e. fuppofing a man who had children by a former wife, marries a woman who has child- ren by a former hufband, whether this fecond marriage be- comes an impediment to that of the children by the firft ? The civil and canon laws, 'tis certain, know no fuch impediment. Among the divines of the Lutheran perfuafion, there are four different opinions concerning the point. — Some declare abfo- lutely, and without exception, againft all marriages between Comprivigni ; of which number is Cramer, who holds fuch •marriages prohibited by the divine law. Others aflert, that
■ they are all,' without exception, lawful. Others take a middle courfe; maintaining, that fuch perfons may lawfully marry when there are no children by the fecond marriage ; but that
■ the birth, or even conception of a child by this marriage, is an impediment 'to the children of the former. Laftly, others maintain that even in this cafe, marriage is not exprefsly forbid by the divine law, but that it is neverthe-
, lefs better to abftain from it, by reafon of the general pro- hibition, ad proximam fanguinis iui nan accedes. M. Befger has a differtation exprefsly on the fubjeft, wherein, ■ after fitting the feveral opinions on the point, he declares for the laft. Difq. de Matrim. Comprivign. Lipf. 1706. 4 . extrafts of it are given in Jour, des Scav. T. 44. p. 330. — 333. and in Mem. de Trev. an. 1710. p. 247. — 252. The foundation of this third opinion is a motive of decency, which it ' is apprehended does not allow, that a child born of the fecond marriage, mould bear the title of brother or fifter, with regard to two others who are married together. The difficulty arifes from the text in Leviticus ; the naked- nefs of thy father's wife's daughter begotten of thy father, (fhe is thy fifter) thou {halt not uncover ; which as com- monly underftood, only forbids marriage between brothers and fitters of the fame fathers. Bohlius alledges that the text in Leviticus is to be underftood thus, thou (halt not marry the daughter of a woman, who has had children by thy father; grounding his opinion on this, that theHcbrewword Moledech (ufed byMofes in the phrafe, thou (halt not marry her who is Moledech Abicha) is to be translated by the participle aftive, in Latin, parientis patri iuo, bringing forth children to thy father ; in as much as it may be taken for the par- ticiple of the aftive conjugation Hiphil. Levit. c. xviii; v. 11. Fabricius, Vanerius, Strychius and Thomafius have efpoufed this opinion, which yet the journalifts De Trevoux pretend, deftroys itfelf. Calavius, Carpzovius, Lud. De Dieu, and Cothman, profeffor at Roftoch, are the principal who have oppofed it. V. Mem. de Trev. 1710. p. 249. feq. Affinity, in the civil law, is divided into civil, that between
free perfons, and fervile, that between flaves. Legitimate Affinity is that contracted by a proper and
legal matrimony ; or between flaves by Contubernium. Illegitimate Affinity, that contracted out of legal marriage. Affinity may be contracted by an unlawful commerce; thus a perfon who has impregnated two fifters, is prohibited mar- rying either of them ; thus an Affinity may commence be- tween hufband and wife, by his lying with her fifter a . The duke of Wirtemberg-Montbeliard having had children by one fifter as a miftrefs, and afterwards taking the other fifter for wife, the Affinity contracted by means of the former was made an objection to the validity of the marriage of the latter, _ and the legitimacy of her children, and confequently their right of inheriting. But it was replied, that the laws of Affinity are not binding on fovereign princes of the pro- teftant profeffion, but may be difpenfed withal by them j and that the duke had given himfelf a difpenfation b . [ a Hen-
ning. de Grad. Matrim. c. 3. Aft. Erud. Lipf. 1719. p; 117. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 54. "V. Jour, des 'Scav. T. 83. p. 179.] True Affinity is that fubfifting, while the marriage between the two parties fubfifts.
S^uajt Affinity, that fubfifting either after the diffolution of the marriage, as between a hufband, and his wife's daughter begot by another after her being divorced from him j or before the marriage is folemnized, as that between a father and a daughter, only efpoufed, or betrothed to his fon. V. Jour, des Scav. T. 58. p. 19.
Aftihity of the fr/} kind, that between the hufband, and his wife's kindred by blood ; or between the wife, and her huf- band's kindred by blood.
Affinity of the fecond kind, that between the hufband, and his wife's relations by marriage ; or between the wife, and her hufband's relations by marriage.
Affinity of the third kind, that between the hufband, and the relations of his wife's relations by marriage; or between the wife, and the relations of her hufband's relations by marriage. Contius, Hotoman, and many others, have written exprefsly on the fubjeft of Affinity. V. Bibl. Thuan. T. 1. 225. Lipen. Bibl. Jur. p. 11.
Affinity is fometimes alfo ufed abufively, for the relation be- tween the hufband and wife. Cah. Lex. Jur. p. 52. This is more properly called union, communion, propin- quity, &c.
Affinity is alfo ufed figuratively, for a conformity, or agree- ment .between one thing and another.
In which fenfe the word (lands oppofed to diverfity, variety, oppofition, £sV.
Bifbop Wilkins gives tables, wherein things are claffed ac- cording to their Affinities. V. Real. Charaft. P. 2. p. 22. Henckelius has a treatife exprefs, on the Affinity between vegetables and minerals. Lipf. 1722. 8°. V. Aft. Erud. Lipf. an. 1723. p- 409. feq.
Affinity is more particularly ufed, infpeaking of the relation or fimijitude beetween languages, occafioned by their being derived from the fame fource.
There is an Affinity between dialefts of the fame mother- tongue, but none between mother-tongues themfelves, as be- ing fuppofed of entirely different origins. JVallis, ap. Greenw. Engl. Gram. prcf. p. 20. . Grammarians and etymologifts find many Affinities between languages, and imagine many more ; Hebrew being the re- puted fource of all others, there are few languages, but what have been obferved to bear a near Affinity to it, not only the Greek, the Latin, the Runic, Saxon, Swedifh, German, and Welch ; but even the Chinefe and the Lap- ponic. V. Thomaffi. Meth. Etud. Gram. 1. 1. c. 7. Pref. p. 107. It. I. 3. c. 9. feq. Rowl. Mon. Antiq p. 275. Befides the conformity between words of different languages, Grammarians confider the Affinity between words of the fame language formed from each other, e. gr. adjectives from fub- ftantives, participles from verbs, tsrV. Hence the clafs of paronyma, or conjugates. V. WalUs, Gram. Angl. c. 14. p. 102. fcq.
Pafferat has a celebrated work on the Affinity between letters*, on which he put fo great value, that he wifhed no other piece of his had ever feen the light b . — [ a De Literarum inter fe cognati one & per?nutatione, 1606. 8°. See an account of it. in Bibl. Anc. Mod. T. 7. p. 346. & Colom. Bibl. Choif. p. 44. b Gillot. Lett. 52. 1. 1. a M. Dela Scala. V. Scalig. Epift. 355. 1.4. ad Labb.]
Affinity is fometimes ufed in chemiftry, and other parts of na- tural knowledge, for the fimilitudes, or like properties and powers of bodies.
M. Geoffroy has given a table of the different degrees of Affinity between moft of the bodies employed in chemiftry, combined various ways ; whereby we may foretel the refult of any mixture, what will be the iflue of the combat, which will furmount, and which give way to the other. V. Mem. Acad. Scienc. An. 1718^.256,269. Some objections to this table, with an illustration of it, are given in the memoirs for the year 1720. p. 24. andtheHift. p. 42. See Relation.
AFFIRMATION {Cyd.)— The fign of Affirmation, in logic, is the copula it, which denotes the connection between the two notions. — This copula is either exprefled, or implied ; in Latin, it is often implied, as in Sol lucet, q. d. Sol ejl lucens. V. Wolf. Logic. §. 206.
Some mechanical philofophers pretend to reduce the judg- ment of the mind in affirming, to a difpofition, or modifica- tion of the brain, arifing horn the fynchronifm of the two vi- brations of the fibres thereof, one of which reprefents the fubjeft, the other the attribute of the Affirmation, or nega- tion ; or, in other words, from the fynchronifm, or equa- lity of the vibrations excited in the fibres of the brain, whereby the idea of the fubjeft is produced, with the vibration in the fibres of the brain whereby the idea of the attribute is excited. V. Ajiruc, Quseft. Med. de Natur. & Prseternat, Judic. p. 14. feq. Jour, des Scav. T. 68. p. 168.
. But we apprehend, that it would be extremely difficult, if not impoflible, to fhew how a child learns to know, that two and two is four, by mechanical vibrations.
Af-
