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mas, King of Corinth, about 1550 Years before Chrift : however ^this be, 'twas in the IJtkmta of Corinth they were celebrated, and hence arofe their Name, Archias and o- thers fay, the Conqueror's Prize at thefc Games was a Crown of Parlley. Plutarch and Strabo fay, it was at firft a Crown of Pine, that this was afterwards changed for one of Parlley, but that at length the Pine was relumed ; and to this was added a Reward of 100 Silver Drachma:. Thefe Games were held every three "Years, and elteemed fo facred, that after the Deftruclion of Corinth, the Sicyo- wiewjwerc charged with the keeping them up. They were fo celebrated, and the Concourfe at them was fo great, that only the Principals of the molt remarkable Cities could have place in them. The Athenians had only as much room allotted them as the Sail of a Ship, which they fent yearly to Delos, could cover.
ITALIAN, the Language fpokcin Italy. This Tongue is derived principally from the Latin, and of all the Lan- guages formed from the Latin, there is none that carries with it a more vifible Charatfer of its Original than the Italian. It is accounted one of the molt perfect among the modern Tongues, containing Words and Phrafes to reprefent all Ideas, to expre fs all Sentiments, to deliver one's felf on all Subjecls, to name all the lnflrumcnts and Parts of Arts, &c. 'Tis complained indeed, that it has too many Diminutives and Superlatives, or rather Aug- mentatives ; but without any great reafun : forifthofe words convey nothing further to the Mind befides the fuft Ideas of 'Things, "they are no more faulty than eur i'leonafms and Hyperbole's. The Character of the ft»- lian Tongue it mult be owned, however, is very different from that of our own, which is the Rcafon perhaps why we are fo apt to find fault with it : for though the Italian be proper for all kinds cf Writing, for all_ Stiles, and for all Subjects ; yet there are many of their cele- brated Authors 'that don't fucceed when tranilated into Eng- lifb, and which an Engtijhman cannot read, with pleafure, even in their Original. The Language correfponds to the Genius of the -People, they are ilow and thoughtful, and accordingly their Language runs heavily, though fmooth- ly, and many of their Words are lengthened out to a great degree. They have a good Tafte in Muiic, and to grati- fy their Paffion this way, have altered abundance of their primitive Words, leaving out Confonants, taking in Vow- els, foftening and lengthening out their Terminations for the fake of the Cadence. Hence the Language is ren- dered extremely mufical, and fucceeds better than any o- ther in Opera's, and fome Parts of Poetry, but it fails in Strength and Nerves; hence alfo a great part of its Words, borrowed from the Latin, become fo far difguifed, that they are not cafily known again. The Multitude of Sove- reign States into which Italy is divided, has given occafion to a great Number of different Dialects in that Language ; which, however, are all gnod in the Place where they are tifed. ThtTufcafi is ufually preferred to the other Dia- lects, and the Roman Pronunciation to that of the other Cities; whence came the Italian Proverb, Lingua Toj 'can a m Bocca Romana. The Italian is generally pretty well un- derlicod throughout Europe, and is frequently fpoken in Germany^ Poland, and Hungary. At Cotijiantinople, in Greece, and in the Ports of the Levant, the Italian is ufed as commonly as the Language of the Country ; indeed in thofe Places it is not fpoke fo pure as in Tufcany,^ but js corrupted with many of the proper Words and Idioms of the Place, whence it takes a new Name, and is called Frank Italian. See Lan?ua«e.
ITALIAN HOURS', are the 24 Hours of the natural Day, accounted from the Sun-fetting of one Day to the fame again the next Day. This way of reckoning was ufed by'the Jeim of old, and by the Italians to this day.
ITALIC, the Name of a Character in Printing. See Tr'mtir.g.
Itahc, the Name of a Sect of antient Phnofophers, founded by Pythagoras ; they were fo called, becaufe that Philosopher taught in Italy, fpreading his Doctrine among the People of Tarentum, Mctapont, Heraclea, Naples, &c. See Tythagoric. _ ;
ITCH, a Difeafc of the Skin, wherein it is corrupted bv the ouzing out of certain fharp falinc Humours, which oather into Pufkiles, and occafion a Pruritus or Itching. There are two kinds of Itch, a humid and a dry kind. The latter has been ufually fuppofed to be owing to an atrabi- larious Humour, and the former to a faline Pituita : They are both contagious. Dr. Bononio has given a much more rational Account of the Caufe of this Dillemper than any Author before him. He. examined feveral Globules of the Matter pick'd cut of the Puflules of itchy Perfons with a Micrnfcope, and found them to he minute living Creatures, in fhape refembling aTortoife, of brisk Mo- tion with fix Feet, a fharp Head, and two little Horns at the end of the Snout. Hence he makes no fcruple to impute this contagious Difeafe to the continual biting of
thefe Animalcules in the Skin, by means of which fume Portion of the Serum ouzing out thro the fmall Apertures of the Cutis, little watry Bladders are made, within which the Infects continuing to gnaw, the Infected are forced to fcratch, and by fcratching increafe the Mifchief ; breaking not only the little Puftules, bur the Skin too, and fome little Blood-VelTels, and fo make Scabs, crulty Sores, 15c. Hence we may eafily perceive how the Itch comes to be catching, fince thefe Creatures, by fimple Contact, eafily pals from one Body to another, their Mo- tion being wonderfully fwift, and they crawling on the Surface of the Body, as well as under the Cuticula. Hence alfo we learn the reafon of the Cure of this Difeafe by Lixivial Wafhcs, Baths and Ointments, made of Salts, Sulphurs, Mercury, &c. thefe being very powerful in killing the Vermine lodged in the Cavities of the Skin, which fcratching will never do 5 they being too minute to be caught under the Nails. And if in Practice it is found that this Difeafe, after it feem'd to be cured by Unction, frequently returns again ; this is eafily accounted for, fince tho' the Ointment may have killed all the living Creatures,, yet it may not, poffibly, have deltroy'd all their Eggs laid, as it were, in the Neits of the Skin ; from which they afterwards breed again, and renew the Dillemper.
ITINERANT JUDGES, or Jttjliees, are fuch as were formerly fent with Commiffions into divers Countries, to hear chiefly fuch' Caufes as were call'd Pleas of the Crown ; the fame with Jit/rices in Eyre: which fee.
ITINERARY : The Defcription that aTraveller makes of the Courfc of his Journey, and of the Curiofities, &c. that he obferved. The Itinerary of Antonine /hews all the grand Roman Roads in the Empire, and all the Sta- tions of the Roman Army. It was made by order of the Emperor Antoninus- Pius, but is now very defective, ha- ving fuffer'd extremely under the hands of the Copills and Editors.
JUBILEE, a Church-Solemnity, or Ceremony obferved at .Rome, wherein the Pope grants a Plenary Indulgence to the Univerfal Church ; as many of them, at lealt, as vi- iir the Churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome. The jubilee was firit eftablifh'd by Boniface VIII. in 1300. m favour of thofe who ftiould go ad Limina Apoftolorum, and was only to return every hundred Years. The firft Cele- bration brought in fuch ftore of Wealth to Rome, that the Germans call'd this the Golden Year. This occafion'd Clement VI. to reduce the Period of the jubilee to 50 Years-. Urban VL appointed it to be held every 35 Years, that being the Age of our Saviour ; and Sixtus IV. brought it downto every 2 5, that every Perfon might have the Be- nefit of it once in his Life. Boniface IX. granted the Privilege of holding Jubilees to feveral Princes and Mona- steries : For Jnflance, to the Monks of Canterbury, who had a Jubilee every 50 Years.
Jubilees are now become more frequent, and the Pope grants them as often as the Church or himfelf have occa- fion for them. There is ufually one at the Inauguration of a new Pope. To be entitled to the Privileges of the Ju- bilee, the Bull enjoins Falling, Alms, Prayers. It gives the Priefls a full Power to abfolve, in all cafes, even thofe otherwife referved to the Pope? to make Commutations of Vows, i£c. in which it differs from a Plenary Indul- gence. During the Time of Jubilee, all Indulgences are fufpended.
One of our Kings, viz. Erfwardll. caufed his Birth-Day to be obferved in manner of a Jubilee, when he becama 50 Years of Age; but not before or after. This he did* by releafing Prifoners, pardoning all Offences but Trea- fon, making good Laws, and granting many Privileges to the People.
There are particular Jubilees in certain Cities, when fe- veral of their Feafls fall on the fame Day : At Pay in Kc- lay, for inflance, when the Feait of the Annunciation hap- pens on Good Fridays and at Lyons, when the Feaft of St. John BaptiB concurs with the Feaft of Corpus Chrijii. In 1640 the Jefuits celebrated a folemn Jubilee at Rome : that being the Centenary, or hundredth Year* from their Inftitution; and the fame Ceremony was obferved in all their Houfcs throughout the World.
Jubilee, among the Jevis, was underftood of every fiftieth Year, being that following the Revolution of feven Weeks of Years ; at which time all the Slaves were made free, and all Inheritances reverted to their antient Owners.
The word Jubilee, according to fume Authors, comes from the Hebrew Jobel, which fignifies fifty. But this mult be a Miftake ; for the Hebrew 72.V, Jobel, does not fignify fifty ; neither does its Letters, taken as Cyphers, or ac- cording to their Numerical Power, make that Number ; being 10, 6, 2, and 30, that is 48. Others fay, that Jobel fignifies a Ram, and that the Jubilee was proclaim'd with a Ram's-horn,in memory of the Ram thar appear'd to Abra- ham in the Thicket. Mafms derives the Word from Jubal, the firft Inventor of Mufical Initruments : which for that rest-
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