MAG
(478)
MAC
MA Confonant, and the Twelfth Letter in the Englifi Alphabet. It is pronounced by ^ {hiking the upper Lip againfl: the lower ; in which the Pronunciation of this Letter agrees with that ofi: the only Difference between the two confining in a little Motion made in the Nofe in the Pronunciation of M, and not in h: whence it happens that thofe who have taken Cold, for M ordinarily pronounce Bj the Nofe in that cafe being disabled from making the neceffary Motion. See B.
Quintilian obferves, that the M fometimes ends Latin Words, but never Greek; the Greeh always changing it in that Cafe into N, for the fake of the better Sound.
M is alio a Numeral Letter, and among the Antients was ufed for a Thoufand ; according to the Verfe, M Caput eft Numeri quern fcimus Mille tcnere.
"When a Dafli is added a top of it, it figniftes a thou- fand times a thoufand ; m-
The Letter Min Agronomical Tables, and other things of that kind, is ufed for Meridional or Southern.
M, in Medicinal Frefcription, is frequently ufed to fig- nify aManipule, or Handful ; and is fometimes alfo put at the end of a Recife, for Mfee, mingle ; or Mixtura, a Mixture.
M, in Law, was the Brand or Stigma of a Perfon con- victed of Murder, and admitted to the Benefit of his Clergy. It was burnt on the Brawn of his left Thumb.
MACARONIC, or MACARONIAN; a kind of Bur- lefque Postry ; conlifling of a Jumble of Words of diffe- rent Languages, with Words of the vulgar Tongue lati- niz'd, and Zsf/B Words moderniz'd. For Inftance, a bold Fellow, in the Macaronic Stile, fays J
Enfdavi omnes Scadrones £S? Regimandos, &c.
Another Example :
Archeros Fiftoliferos furiamque Manantam, Etgrandem ejmentam qua mopinum facia RueU<e eft; Toxinumqus alto troublantem Corda Chchero i &c.
Macarone, among the Italians, as has been obferved by C<eltus Rhodiginus, Signifies a coarfe clownilh Man ; and becaufe this kind of Poetry, being patch'd out of feveral Languages, and full of extravagant Words, is not fo po- lite and fmooth as thofe of Virgil, &c. the Italians, a- mong whom it had its Rife, gave it the Name of Maca- ronum and Macaronic Poetry. Others rather chufe to de- rive it d Macaronibus, from Makarons j a kind of little Cakes made of Meal not boulted, with Eggs and Cheefe } ac- counted a great Dainty among the Country People in Ita- ly ; which, from their being compofed of various Ingre- dients, occafion'd this kind of Poetry, which confiils of Latin, Italian, Spanifij French, Evglijh, &c. to be called hy their Name.
Theoph.Folingitts, a BenediBin Monk of Mantua t was the firft who invented, or at lcall cultivated, this kind of Verfe: For tho we have a Macaronea Arminenfis in a very old Letter, beginning, EJi Author Tiphis Lconicus atque Fa- ranfusj yet it feems to have been the Work of Guarinus Capelhs Sarfmas, who in the Year 1525 printed fix Books ot Macaronic Poetry, in Cabrintm Gagamog* Regent .- but as both thefe came out after the firit Edition of Felingius t ■which was publifh'd under the Name of Merlin Coccaye, in 1 520 ; fo were they likewife much inferior to him both in the Stile, Invention and Epifodes wherewith he has en- rich'd the Hiilory of Baldus ; which makes the Subject of his Poem. The famous D. Rabelais tranflated the Maca- ronic Stile out of the Italian "Verfe into French Profe, and on the Model thereof form'd fome of the beft things in his Fantagruel. Merlin Coccaye met with fo much Succefs in his new Way, that he compofed another Book partly in Macaronic Stile, call'd II Chars del tri per imp ; but with very different Succefs. After this, appear 'd in Italy, Ma- caronics de Syndicatu,^ Condemnations DoBoris Samfonis Lent' hi, a low Performance ; and Macaronis Forza, an excellent one, by Stefonio a Jefuit. In 1620, Bajani published a Camavale Tabula Macaronea. The laft Italian who wrote in this way, was Cefar Urfmius, to whom we owe Capricia Macaronica Magijlri Stopini Pott* Fouzanenfts, printed in i6%6. The firlt who fuccceded in the Macaronic Stile a- mong the French was Antonius de Arena Fro-venfalis de Bra- gardifma Villa de Sokriis, in two Poems, which he has left us ; de Arte Vanfandt, & de Gucrra Neapolitana Romana ££? Gemtenft. He was follow'd by another Lawyer, who wrote H'Jioria Bravitfima Caroli V. Imperat. a Frovincialibus Fayjanit triumphanter ' fugati. Some time after Remi BeHeau, a- mong his other French Poefies, printed ViBamcn Mctrificum de Belh Hironotico, t£ Rufticorum Pigliamine ad Sodales ; a Piece much valued. This was fucceeded by Cacafanga Reiftra Sidjfa Lanfqmmtorum per M. J. B. Lichiardum Spal-
/peranum Toetam ; to which Stephen Tabouret retum'd an Anfwer in the fame Strain. Laltly, John Edivard da Moiiri enter'd the Lifts, and left us inter terifniatafua Carmen /!- renaicum de quorundam Nugherulorum Ftaffa infupportabili. The Recitus VeritablUs fuper tcrribiH efmeuta Faij^norum de Rucllio, is one of the belt Pieces of this kind.
We have but little in Engli/h in the Macaronian Way 5 nothing fcarce, but fome little loofe Pieces collected 'in Cambden's Remains : which is no Difcredit to our Authors: for one may fay of fuch Pieces in general,
Turpe eft Dijfciies habere Nv.gas,
Et Stultus Labor eft Ineptiarum.
The Germans and Netherlanders have had their Macaronic Poets i witnefs the Certamen Catholicv.m cum Calvinijlis t of one Martinius Hamcenius Fnfius, which contains above; twelve hundred Verfes, all the Words whereof begin with the Letter C.
MACE, a Medicinal Bark, the outermofl of the three which covers the Nutmeg. It is of an aftringent and drying Nature, and is ufed as a Corrector in Cardiac and Cathartic Compofitions. See Nutmeg.
MACERATION, in Pharmacy and Chymiftry, is un- derstood of a certain Preparation of Medicines, mherwife exprefs'd by the Word Dige/iion. Others however re- train the Word to that particular kind of Digeilion, which is performed in a thick Matter 5 as when, for inOance, having mix'd Rofes with Fat to make Unguent. Rofatum^ the Mixture is expofed for fome Days to the Sun, that the Virtue of the Rofes may be the better communicated to the Fat. See Bigeftion.
MACHINE, in the general, fipnifies any thing that ferves to augment or regulate moving Powers ; or Machine may be defined any Body defined to produce Motion^ . fo as to fave either Time or Force. There are fix prin- cipal Machines, to which all the others may be reduced 5 viz- the Balance, Lever, Wheel, Pulley, Wedge, and Screw. Thefe are call'd Simple Machines ; and of thefe all other compound ones coniilK For the Djifrine of thefe, fee Balance, Lever, &c. See alfo Mechanic Pozvers.
The Number of compound Machines is now almoll in- finite; and yet the Antients feem to have out-done the Moderns in this refpe£r. Their Machines of War, Ar- chitecture, i£c. being defcribed as vafMy fuperior to curs.
Machine for Building, is an Affemblage of Pieces of Wood fo difpofed, as that by means of Ropes and Pul- leys, a fmall Number of Men may raife vaii Loads, and lay 'em in their Places; as Cranes, &c. J Tis hard to conceive what Machines the Antients muft have ufed to raife thofe immenfe Stones found in fome of the antique Buildings.
Hydraulic, or Water Machine, is either ufed to fignify a fimple Machine, ferving to conduct or raife Water ; as a Sluice, Pump, l$c. or feveral of thefe acting together, to produce fome extraordinary Effect; as the ^Machine of Marly ; the Frimum Mobile whereof is an Arm of the River Seine, which by its Stream turns feveral large Whee]? 3 which work the Handles, and thefe with Pittons raife the Water up into the Pumps, and with other Piflons force it up in Pipes againft the Afcent of a Hill to a Refervoir'in a Stone Tower, 6z Fathom higher than the River; fufhxient to fupply Verfailles with a conflant Stream 200 Inches in Diameter.
Machines of War : Thefe among the Antients were of three kinds ; the iirfl: ferving to launch Arrows, as the Scorpion ; Javelins,as the Catapulta ; Stones, as the Balifta ? or fiery Darts, as the Pyraboli ; the fecond ferving to beat down Walls, as the battering Ram and Terebra ; and the third to fhelter thofe who approach'd the Enemies Wall 5 as the Tortoife or Teftudo, and the Towers of Wood. The Machines of War now in ufe, confift in Artillery, Bombs, Petards, £fc. Tho it muLt be obferved, that in ftrictnefs, a Machine is fomething that coniifts mere in Art and Invention, than in the Strength and Solidity of the Materials ; and for this reafon it is that the Inventots of Machines are call'd Ingenieurs or lngeneers. See En- gine. The Word comes from the Greek, wh^pw, Machine, Invention, Art.
Machine, in Dramatic Poetry, a Term ufed, when the Poet brings fome Divinity or fupernatural Being up-* on the Stage ; to perform fome Exploit, or folve fome Difficulty out of the reach of Human Power. The Ma- chines of the Drama are Gods, Angels, Ghofls, ££?c. which are Co called from the Machines ot Contrivances by which they are prefented upon the Stage, and afterwards removed again. Hence the Life of the Word has alfo paffed into the Epic Poem ; tho' the Reafon of its Name be there wanting : The Word, however, is us'd in the fame Senfe in both, viz. for the Intervention cr MjriP.rv
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