Succumbs to long infection and despair Id. Prophecy of Dante. INFECTION, in medicine. See CONTAGION. INFEC ́UND, adj. Į Lat. infœcundus. UnINFECUNDITY, n. s. 3 fruitful; unproductive; infertile. How safe and agreeable a conservatory the earth is to vegetables, is manifest from their rotting, drying, or being rendered infecund in the waters, or the air; but in the earth their vigour is long preserved. Derham's Physico-Theology. INFELICITY, n. s. Fr. infelicité; Lat. infelicitas. Unhappiness; misery; calamity. All that she can devyse both be nyght and dey Shall be to make her childryn heirs of that she may And eke sowe sedes of infelicite, Wher of wold growe devysioune betwene yewe and me. Chaucer. The Merchantes Second Tale. Whatever is the ignorance and infelicity of the present state, we were made wise and happy. Glanville. Here is our great infelicity, that, when single words signify complex ideas, one word can never distinctly manifest all the parts of a complex idea. Watts. INFER', v. a. Fr. inferer; Lat. infero. INFERENCE, n. s. To induce; to bring on; INFER'IBLE, adj. to offer, or produce. Inference, a conclusion drawn from previous arguments. Inferible, deducible from the premises. Though it may chance to be right in the conclusion, it is yet unjust and mistaken in the method of inference. Glanville. These inferences or conclusions are the effects of reasoning; and the three propositions, taken all together, are called syllogism or argument. Watts. The reasoning power vouchsafed, of course inferred The power to clothe that reason with his word. Couper. Conversation. Such was the theoretical inference of the house of commons in 1648, the logical dependance of which upon the foregoing proposition, I say I should be glad to see logically disproved. The practical inferences were not tardy in their arrival after the theory. Canning. INFERIÆ, sacrifices offered by the Greeks and Romans to the Dii manes, or the souls of deceased heroes (See MANES), or even any rela-tion or person whose memory was held in veneration. These sacrifices consisted of honey, water, wine, milk, the blood of victims, variety of balsamic unguents, chaplets, and loose flowers. The victims upon these occasions were generally of the smaller cattle, though in ancient times they sacrificed slaves or captives. The sacrifices were usually black and barren. The altars were holes dug in the ground. The honey, water, wine, &c., were used as libations, and were poured on the tombs of children by children, on those of virgins by virgins, and on those of married men by women. The inferiæ were offered on the ninth and thirtieth days after interment amongst the Greeks, and repeated in the month Anthesterion. INFERIORITY, n. s. INFERIOR, adj. & n. s. INFERNAL, adj. INFERNAL-STONE, N. S. Fr. inferieur; Lat. inferior. Lower state Sof dignity, place, or value: lower in excellence; subordinate: inferior, one in a lower rank: infernal, hellish; detestable. Infernalstone, or the lunar caustic, is prepared from an evaporated solution of silver, or from crystals of silver it is a very powerful caustic, eating away the flesh and even the bones to which it is applied. : Ye furies all Whiche for ben undie us, nigh the nether pole, Where Pluto reigneth-o kyng infernall! Sende out thine Arpies. Chaucer. The Remedie of Love. render it capable of withstanding the shock of cavalry, they gave the soldiers breast-plates and helmets, as defensive armour, together with long spears, halberts, and heavy swords, as weapons of offence. They formed them into large battalions, ranged in deep and close array, so that they might present on every side a formidable front to the enemy. The men at arms could make no impression on the solid strength of such a body. It repulsed the Austrians in all their attempts to conquer Switzerland. It broke the Burgundian gendarmerie, which was scarcely inferior to that of France, either in number or reputation; and, when first called to act in Italy, it bore down, by its irresistible force, every enemy that attempted to oppose it. These repeated proofs of the decisive effects of infantry, exhibited on such conspicuous occasions, restored that service to reputation, and gradually re-esta blished the opinion which had been long exploded, of its superior importance in the operations of war. But, the glory the Swiss had acquired having inspired them with such high ideas of their own prowess and consequence as frequently rendered them mutinous and insolent, the princes who employed them became weary of depending on the caprice of foreign mercenaries, and began to turn their attention towards the improvement of their national infantry. The German powers, having the command of men whom nature has endowed with that steady courage and persevering strength which form them to be soldiers, soon modelled their troops in such a manner, that they vied with the Swiss both in discipline and valor. The French monarchs, though more slowly and with greater difficulty, accustomed the impetuous spirit of their people to subordination and discipline; and were at such pains to render their national infantry respectable, that, as early as the reign of Louis XII., several gentlemen of high rank had so far abandoned their ancient ideas as to condescend to enter into their service. The Spaniards, whose situation made it difficult to employ any other than their national troops in the southern parts of Italy, which was the chief scene of their operations in that country, not only adopted the Swiss discipline, but improved upon it, by mingling a proper number of soldiers, armed with heavy muskets, in their battalions; and thus formed that famous body of infantry, which, during a century and a half, was the admiration and terror of all Europe. The Italian states gradually diminished the number of their cavalry, and, in imitation of their more powerful neighbours, brought the strength of their armies to consist in foot-soldiers. From this period the nations of Europe have carried on war with forces more adapted to every species of service, more capable of acting in every country, and better fitted both for making conquests, and for preserving them. INFANTRY, HEAVY-ARMED, among the ancients, were such as wore a complete suit of armour, and engaged with broad shields and long spears. They were the flower and strength of the Grecian armies, and, had the highest rank of military honor. INFANTRY, LIGHT, among the moderns, have only been in use since the middle of the seventeenth century. They have no camp equipage to carry, and their arms and accoutrements are much lighter than those of the infantry. Light infantry are the eyes of a general, and wherever there is found light cavalry, there should be light infantry. They should be accustomed to the pace of four miles an hour, as their usual marching pace, and be able to march at five miles an hour upon particular occasions. Every regiment has a company of light infantry, whose station is on the left of the regiment, the right being occupied by the grenadiers. INFARCTION, n. s. Lat. in and farcio. Stuffing; constipation. An hypochondriack consumption is occasioned by an infarction and obstruction of the spleen. INFATUATE, adj. Į Harvey. Lat. infatuo, from in INFATUATION, n. s. and fatuus; Fr. infatuer. To strike with folly; to deprive of understanding; deprivation of reason. had long overspread the infatuated, gentile world: It is the reforming of the vices and sottishness that a prime branch of that design of Christ's sending his disciples. Hammond. Where men give themselves over to the defence of wicked interests, and false propositions, it is just with God to smite the greatest abilities with the greatest infatuations. South. The people are so universally infatuated with the notion, that, if a cow falls sick, it is ten to one but an old woman is clapt up in prison for it. Addison on Italy. The carriage of our atheists or deists is amazing: no dotage so infatuate, no phrensy so extravagant as theirs. Bentley. away All are the sons of circumstance; Let's seek out, or prepare to be Tortured for his infatuation, and Condemned without a crime. INFAUST'ING, n. s. act of making unlucky. word. Byron. Sardanapalus. Lat. infaustus. The An odd and inelegant As the king did in some part remove the envy from himself, so he did not observe, that he did withal bring a kind of malediction and infausting upon the marriage, as an ill prognostick. INFEA'SIBLE, adj. În and feasible. Impracticable; not to be done. Bacon. This is so difficult and infeasible, that it may well drive modesty to despair of science. Glanville. INFECT, ". a. INFECTION, n. s. INFECTIOUS, adj. INFECTIOUSLY, adv. INFECTIOUSNESS, n. s. INFECTIVE, adj. Fr. infecter; Lat. infectus. To act upon by contagion; to affect with communicated qualities; to hurt by contagion; to taint; to poison; to pollute; to fill with something contagious. Infection, taint; poison; morbid miasma. Infectious, influencing by communication. Infective, having the quality of acting by contagion. But wel wote I, my lady graunted me To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. What a strange infection Id. Is fallen into thy ear! Id. Cymbeline. The transmission or emission of the thinner and more airy parts of bodies, as in odours and infections, is, of all the rest, the most corporeal; but withal there be a number of those emissions, both wholesome and unwholesome, that give no smell at all. Bacon. Some known diseases are infectious, and others are not: those that are infectious are such as are chiefly in the spirits, and not so much in the humours, and therefore pass easily from body to body; such as pestilences and lippitudes. Id. The love-tale Infected Sion's daughters with like heat. Milton. True love, well considered, hath an infective power. Sidney. One of those fantastical mind-infected people, that Id. children and musicians call lovers. Of discontents infecting the fair soil, Byron's Sardanapalus. For the mind Succumbs to long infection and despair Id. Prophecy of Dante. INFECTION, in medicine. See CONTAGION. INFECUND, adj. Į Lat. infœcundus. UnINFECUNDITY, n. s. fruitful; unproductive; infertile. How safe and agreeable a conservatory the earth is to vegetables, is manifest from their rotting, drying, or being rendered infecund in the waters, or the air; but in the earth their vigour is long preserved. Derham's Physico-Theology. INFELICITY, n. s. Fr. infelicité; Lat. infelicitas. Unhappiness; misery; calamity. All that she can devyse both be nyght and dey Shall be to make her childryn heirs of that she may And eke sowe sedes of infelicite, Wher of wold growe devysioune betwene yewe and me. Chaucer. The Merchantes Second Tale. Whatever is the ignorance and infelicity of the present state, we were made wise and happy. Glanville. Here is our great infelicity, that, when single words signify complex ideas, one word can never distinctly manifest all the parts of a complex idea. Watts. INFER', v. a. Fr. inferer; Lat. infero. INFERENCE, n. s. To induce; to bring on; INFERʼIBLE, adj. to offer, or produce. Inference, a conclusion drawn from previous arguments. Inferible, deducible from the premises. To glorify the Maker, and infer Milton. Though it may chance to be right in the conclusion, it is yet unjust and mistaken in the method of inference. Glanville. These inferences or conclusions are the effects of reasoning; and the three propositions, taken all together, are called syllogism or argument. Watts. The reasoning power vouchsafed, of course inferred The power to clothe that reason with his word. Couper. Conversation. Such was the theoretical inference of the house of commons in 1648, the logical dependance of which upon the foregoing proposition, I say I should be glad to see logically disproved. The practical inferences were not tardy in their arrival after the theory. Canning. INFERIE, sacrifices offered by the Greeks and Romans to the Dii manes, or the souls of deceased heroes (See MANES), or even any rela tion or person whose memory was held in veneration. These sacrifices consisted of honey, water, wine, milk, the blood of victims, variety of balsamic unguents, chaplets, and loose flowers. The victims upon these occasions were generally of the smaller cattle, though in ancient times they sacrificed slaves or captives. The sacrifices were usually black and barren. The altars were holes dug in the ground. The honey, water, wine, &c., were used as libations, and were poured on the tombs of children by children, on those of virgins by virgins, and on those of married men by women. The inferiæ were offered on the ninth and thirtieth days after interment amongst the Greeks, and repeated in the month Anthesterion. consider in due order. Byron. Prophecy of Dante, Canto 4. There are other inferior properties which I shall Canning. Microcosm. INFERNAL REGIONS. See ELYSIUM, HELL, and TARTARUS. INFERTILE, adj. Į Fr. infertile; Lat. in INFERTILITY, n. s. and fertilis. Unfruitful; unproductive: want of fertility. The same distemperature of the air that occasioned the plague, occasioned the infertility or noxiousness of the soil, whereby the fruits of the earth became either very small, or very unwholesome. Hale's Origin of Mankind. Ignorance being of itself, like stiff clay, an infertile soil, when pride comes to scorch and harden it, it grows perfectly impenetrable. Government of the Tongue. INFEST', v. a. Fr. infester; Lat. infesto. To harass; to disturb; to plague. Unto my feeble breast Come gently; but not with that mighty rage Spenser. They ceased not, in the mean while, to strengthen that part which in heart they favoured, and to infest by all means, under colour of other quarrels, their greatest adversities in this case. Hooker. They were no mean, distressed calamitous persons that fled to him for refuge; but of so great quality, as it was apparent that they came not thither to project their own fortune, but to infest and invade his. Bacon's Henry VII. But thou didst plead Divine impulsion, prompting how thou mightest Find some occasion to infest our foes. Milton. Samson Agonistes. Envy, avarice, superstition, love, with the like cares and passions infest human life. Plagues and palsy, Addison. Disease and pestilence, consume the robber, Infest his blood, and wither every power. Browne's Athelstan. Another military provision was conventional and by tenure, upon the infeudation of the tenant, and was usually called knight's service. Hale. IN'FIDEL, n. s. Į Fr. infidelle; Lat. infiINFIDELITY, n. s. § delis. An unbeliever; generally applied to one who rejects Christianity: infidelity, want of faith; disbelief in revealed religion: treachery; breach of contract or trust. Exhorting her, if she did marry, yet not to join herself to an infidel, as in those times some widows christian had done, for the advancement of their estate in this world. Hooker. What think you we are Turks or infidels? Shakspeare. One would fancy that infidels would be exempt from that single fault, which seems to grow out of the imprudent fervours of religion; but so it is, that infidelity is propagated with as much fierceness and contention, as if the safety of mankind depended upon it. Addison's Spectator. And well prepared by ignorance and sloth, By infidelity and love o' the world, To make God's work a sinecure. Cowper. The Petit-Maitre Clergyman. As the black eunuch entered with his brace Of purchased Infidels, some raised their eyes A moment without slackening from their pace. INFINITE, adj. IN'FINITELY, adv. INFINITENESS, n. s. INFINITES'IMAL, adj. INFINITIVE, adj. INFINITUDE, N.S. INFINITY, n. s. Byron. Don Juan. Fr. infini; Lat. infinitus. Unbounded ; unlimited; without. >end; to a great degree. Infinitesimal, infinitely divided. Infinitive, in grammar, affirms, or intimates the intention of affirming, which is one use of the indicative; but then it does not do it absolutely.-Clarke. Infinitude, infinity; immensity; boundlessness: used in an hyperbolical sense for an endless number. An huge great beast it was, when it in length Was stretched forth, that, nigh filled all the place, And seemed to be of infinite great strength. Spenser, Faerie Queene. This is Antonio, Shakspeare. There cannot be more infinities than one; for one of them would limit the other. Raleigh's History. Let us always bear about us such impressions of reverence, and fear of God, that we may humble ourselves before his Almightiness, and express that infinite distance between his infiniteness and our weaknesses. Taylor. Confusion heard his voice, and wild uproar Stood ruled stood vast infinitude confined. Milton. But what created mind can comprehend Their number or the wisdom infinite That brought them forth, but hid their causes deep? Id. Though the repugnancy of infinitude be equally incompatible to continued or successive motion, or continued quantity, and depends on the incompossibility of the very nature of things successive.or extensive with infinitude; yet that incompossibility is more conspicuous in discrete quantity, that ariseth from parts actually distinguished. Hale. The cunning of his flattery the readiness of his tears, the infiniteness of his vows, were but among the weakest threads of his net. Sidney. We see all the good sense of the age cut out, and minced into almost an infinitude of distinctions. Addison's Spectator. Thou sovereign power, whose secret will controuls The inward bent and motion of our souls! article. Life is the triumph of our mouldering clay; Death of the spirit infinite! divine! Young. Then sweet to muse upon his skill displayed (Infinite skill) in all that he has made! Cowper. Retirement. Can it fall out? Infinity with immortality? Byron. Cain. And here I cannot forbear reflecting on the infinite improvements made by moderns in the method of elucidating and confirming all matters of opinion. Canning. Microcosm. INFINITE signifies that which has neither beginning nor end; in which sense God alone is infinite. Infinite is likewise applied to that which has had a beginning, but will have no end, as angels and human souls. This makes what the schoolmen call infinitum a parte post. INFINITE QUANTITIES. The very idea of magnitudes infinitely great, or such as exceed any assignable quantities, does include a negation of limits; yet if we nearly examine this notion, we shall find that such magnitudes are not equal among themselves, but that there are really, besides infinite length and infinite area, three several sorts of infinite solidity; all of which are quantitates sui generis, and that those of each species are in given proportions. Infinite length, or a line infinitely long, is to be considered either as beginning at a point, and so infinitely extended one way, or else both ways, from the same point; in which case the one, which is a beginning infinity, is the one-half of the whole, which is the sum of the beginning and ceasing infinity; or, as may be said, of infinity a parte ante, and a parte post, which is analogous to eternity in time and duration, in which there is always as much to follow as is past, from any point or moment of time; nor does the addition or subduction of finite length, or space of time, alter the case either in infinity or eternity, since both the one and the other cannot be any part of the whole. INFINITESIMALS, n. s. Among mathematicians, are defined to be infinitely small quantities. In the method of infinitesimals, the element by which any quantity increases or decreases, is supposed to be infinitely small; and is generally expressed by two or more terms, some of which are infinitely less than the rest; which being neglected, as of no importance, the remaining terms form what is called the difference of the in this manner, as less than the other terms of proposed quantity. The terms that are neglected the elements, are the very same which arise in consequence of the acceleration or retardation of the generating motion during the infinitely small time in which the element is generated; so that the remaining terms express the elements that would have been produced in that time, if the generating motion had continued uniform: therefore those differences are accurately in the same ratio to each other, as the generating motions or fluxions. And hence, though in this method the conclusions are accurately true, without even infinitesimal parts of the elements are neglected, an infinitely small error, and agree precisely with those that are deduced by the method of fluxions. See FLUXIONS. INFIRM', adj. & v. a. INFIRM ARY, n. s. INFIRM'ITY, n. s. INFIRM'NESS, n. s. Fr. infirme; Latin infirmus. Weak; feeble; disabled in body; weak of mind; not Infir stable or solid: to weaken or enfeeble. mary, a house for the reception of the sick. Infirmity, weakness of sex, age, or temper; failing; fault; disease or malady. Infirmness, weakness. There is a leche in Room that hath ymade a cry To make an oyntment to cure all tho ben blynde, And al maner infirmytees that groweth in mankynde. Chaucer. The Merchantes Second Tale. A friend should bear a friend's infirmities; But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. Shakspeare. Infirmity, Which waits upon worn times, hath something His wished ability. seized Id. Winter's Tale. I am afraid to think what I have done : Look on't again, I dare not. -Infirm of purpose; Give me the dagger. Id. Macbeth. Here stand I your brave; A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man. Shakspeare. Some contrary spirits will object this as a sufficient reason to infirm all those points. Raleigh. These buildings to be for privy lodgings on both sides, and the end for privy galleries, whereof one should be for an infirmary, if any special person should be sick. Bacon. |