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The Enemies of Religion, even under the old Law, made their utmoft Efforts to deprive the World of the Holy Scriptures: In that cruel Perlecution which Antiochus rais'd againft the Jews, the Books of the Law were very lolici- touily (ought after, torn, and burnt, and filch as kept them put to Death ; as we read in the firft Book of Maccab. cap. iv. 59, and o"o.
Tiioclefian renew'd the fame Impiety, by an Edict pub- lifh'dinthe 19th Year of his Empire, commanding all the facred Books to be brought to the Magistrates, and burnt.
Many weak Chriftians, and even fome Bifhops, overcome by the Fear of Punifhment, carry'd in their Books to the Perfecutors ; which the Church detelting, made very fevere Laws againft them, and gave them the infamous Name of Traditores, from Lrado, I deliver.
As the great Pretence of the Schifm of the Donatifts was, that the Catholicks tolerated the Traditores ; it was decreed in the Council of Aries, held in 314, that liich as fliould be found yuilty of having deliver'd up any of the Holy Books, or Vefftls, mould be depos'd from the Order of the Clergy, &c
TRADUCIANS, Traduciani, a Name theM?.g^ anciently gave to the Catholicks, becaufe of their teaching, that original Sin was tranfinitted from Father to Children, or that it was communicated to the Children by the Father in the Way of Generation. See Original' Sin.
The Word is form'd of the Latin, tradux, which was made Ufe of to exprefs that Communication ; and which comes from traduco, I tranfmit, or make pafs from one to another.
At prefenr, fome give the Appellation Traducian to fuch as hold that the Souls are tranfmitted to the Children by the Father.
TRADUCTION, the Tranflatwg, or turning out of one Language into another. See Translation.
The Word is form'd of trans, beyond, and disco, I lead, draw.
TRAFINE, among Surgeons, an Inftrument, call'd alfo Trepanum, Anabapifton, Modiolus, ckc. See Trefanum and Modiolus.
TRAFFIC. See Trade and Commerce.
The principal Traffic in Mufcovy-, and the North, is in Furs and Skins ; The great Traffic of the Hutch in the Eaft is in Spices ; The Traffic of Money is moilly carry'd on at the Exchange.
The Word is form'd from the French, Trafic, and that from the Italian, Trafico, which is again borrow'd from the Arabic.
TRAGACANTH, or Adraganth, a kind of Gum cozing out at Incifionsmadein the Trunk and larger Branches of a Plant, or little Shrub, of the lame Name. See Gum.
The naked Hillocks of Mount Ida in Candia, M.Tourne- fort tells us, produce a deal of the Plant Trcgacantha, which gives the Gum ipnntaneoully towards the End of June, and in the following Months ; when the nutritious Juice of the Plant, thicken'd by the Heat, burfts moll of the Veffels it is contain'd in.
This Juice coagulates in Threads, which make their Way into the Pores of the Bark, where being pufli'd forwards by new Juice, they get thro' the Bark, and are at length har- den'd in the Air, either into little Lumps, or into twilled Pieces in Form of little Worms, more or leis long accord- ing to the Matter they are form'd of.
It fliould feem too that the Contraction of the Fibres con- tributes to the Expreflion of the Gum : Thofe fine Fibres, like thofe of Hemp, laid bare and trampled under Foot by Men and Horfes, contract themfelves, and facilitate the Expreffion of the extravafated Juice.
The Plant grows alfo in feveral Places of the Levant, par- ticularly about Aleppo.
The Word is form'd of the Greek, ley-'P^ Goat, and aratQss, Thorn, by Reafbn the Plant is befet with Thorns.
The Gum is of different Colours, and Qualities; lbme being white, other-fome greyifh, fome red, and fome almoft black The white is the belt. It muft be chofen clear, fmooth, and twilled like little Worms.
It diffolves eafily in any aqueous Menfiruum, which it will give the Confluence of a Syrup to, in the fmall Propor- tion of a Dram to a Pint, It is fmooth and foftening, and therefore good to obtund the Acrimony of any Humours, which makes it of Service in fuch Coughs as proceed from Catarrhs and Defluxions of Rheum. It is alfo very lengthening in fome Seminal Weaknefles, and prevalent againft the Whites in Women.
TRAGEA, in Pharmacy, a Term frequently ufed to ex- press Powders grofly beat ; but now obfolete. See Powder..
TRAGEDY, a Dramatic Poem, reprefenting fome fignal Action, perform'd by illuftrious Perlbns, and which has frequently a fatal IfTue or End, See Drama.
Ariftotle more Scientifically defines Tragedy, the Imitation of one grave and entire Action, of ajuft Length; and which,
without the Affiftance of Narration, by raffing of Terror and Compaifion, refines and purges our Paffions.
This Definition has given the Criticks lbme Perplexity ; and Copieille declares he cannot reconcile Anjlotle with himlelf; The Inftances Arijlotle cites, he thinks, ruin his own Definition. He even denies the purging our Paifions to be the End oi'Tragedy.
Our Efrglift Authors are more favourable to the Definition : By the purging our Paffions, they underftand not the extir- pating them, but the reducing them to juft Bounds ; for by fhewing the Miieries that attend a Subjection to them, it teaches us to watch them more narrowly ; and by feeing the great Misfortunes of others, it lefTens theSenfe of ourown.
Tragedy, in its Original, M. Hedelin, oblerves, was only a Hymn lung in Honour of ' 'Bacchus, by ieveral Perfons, who, together, made a Chorus of Mufic, with Dances and Inltruments. See Chorus.
As this was long, and might fatigue the Singers, as well as tire the Audience ; they bethought thcmlelves to divide the finging of the Chorus into feveral Parts, and to have certain Recitations in the Intervals.
Accordingly, Tkefpis firft introduced a Perfon upon the Stage with this View : JEfchylus finding one Perfon infurH- cient, introduced a Second to entertain the Audience more agreeably, by a kind of Dialogue: He alio cloath'd his Perfons more decently, and firft put them on the Buskin. See Cothurnus.
The Perlbns who made thefe Recitations on the Scene, were call'd Atlors ; fb that Tragedy at firft was without Actors. And what they thus rehearkd, being things added to the finging of the Chorus, whereof they were no neceffary Parr, were call'd Epifodes. See Episode.
Sophocles found that two Perlbns were not enough for the Variety of Incidents; and accordingly introduced a Third; And here the Greeks ieem to have ftopp'd ; at leaf): 'tis very rare that they introduce four Speakers on the lame Scene. See Person.
Tragedy and Comedy were at firft confounded with each other; But they were afterwards feparated ; and the Poets applied themfelves to the cultivating of Tragedy, neglecting Comedy. See Comedy.
When Tragedy was got into a better Form; they changed the Mealure of its Verfe, and endeavour'd to bring the Action within the Compafs of a Day, or of a Revolution of theSun. See Unity.
For the feveral 'Farts of Tragedy; fee Act, Scene, Action, Fable, Character, Manners, &c.
The EngUp received the firft Plan of their Drama from the French ; among whom it had its firft Rife towards the End of the Reign of Charles V. under the Title of Chant' Royal, which were Pieces in Verfe, compoled in Honour of the Virgin, or fome of the Saints, and lung on the Stage; call'd by the Title of Chant-Royal, becaufe the Subject was given by the King of the Year ; or the Perfon who had bore away the Prize the Year preceding. See Chant.
The Humour of thefe Pieces run wonderfully among the People, infomuch that in a little time there were form'cr. Ieveral Societies, who began to vie with each other: One of thefe, to engage the Town from the reft, began to intermix various Incidents, or Epifode?, which they diftributed into ABs, Scenes, and as many different Perfons as were neceffary for the Reprefentation.
Their firft Effay was in the Sourg S. Maur ; and their Subject the Paflion of Our Saviour. The Prevot of *Pari$ prohibiting their continuing of it, they made Application to Court; and to render it the more favourable to them, erected themfelves into a Fryary or Fraternity, under the Title of Brothers of the 'Paffion ; which Title has given fome Occafion to fufpecf. them to have been an Order of Religious, or Friars of the Paffion.
The King, on feeing and approving fome of their Pieces, granted them Letters of Eftablifhment in 1402 : upon which they built a Theatre; and for an Age and a Half, acted none but grave Pieces, which they called Moralities', till the People growing weary of them, they began to intermix Farces or Interludes taken from profane Subjects,
This Mixture of Farce, and Religion, difplealing many ; they were re-eftablifh'd by an Arret of Parliamentin 1548. on Condition of their acting none but profane, lawful and decent Subjects, without intermedling with any of the Myfteries of Religion ; and thus were the Brothers of the Paffion defpoil'd of their religious Character ; upon which they mounted the Stage no more in Perfon ; but brought up a new Set of Comedians, who acted under their Direction.
Thus was the Drama eftablifh'd ; and on this Foundation arrived in England. In procefs of Time, as it was improv'd, it became divided into Branches, agreeable to the Practice of the Ancients, and the Nature of Things, vip, ' m %o Tragedy and Comedy, properly fb call'd, and this laft again, was fub~divided into pure Comedy and Farce ; fee each under its proper Head, Comedy, &c-
TRAGI-
