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[ 2 91
E A G
I of the Alphabet, and the ad Vowel.
and VOWEL.
r that admits 'of fome Variety in the
, in moll Lan-guages; whence Gram-
itd to many different E's, or Kinds
mr. have their loano and Afort n. p qz.
* and as, Pf1i~lon and Eta.
The Latins have an opener e, called vaJfius; fuch was
the la in the WVord Here Mailer; and another clofer, as
that in the Adverb Here Yefierday. This latter e and i, were
frequently ufed for each other: Thus for here, they wrote
Leri: And in divers Places we meet with fibe, quiafe, &c.
forl]bi, quafi, &c.
the Roman e, was likewife Sometimes wrote a: For
which Reafon, there are fome Antiquaries, who take that
Medal of Gal/ian, GALLIANX. AUGUST.E, not to be
any Satyrical Medal, as the reft have imagined; nor to be
a Dative Feminine, but a Vocative Mafculine, Galliane
Augfje, wrote with an A.
. In Engi jj we eafily diffinguilh three E's, or Sounds of
E: The Firfi, Mute, and not heard at all; as in Amfierdam,
efe, Blue, &c. The Second, clofe or fhort, pronounced
with the Lips near Shut; as in Epuity, Nettle, &c. The
Third, open or long; as in Fear, Eafe, &c.
The French have, at leaft, fix Kinds of E; the Firfi,
pronounced like A; as in emporter, frient, &c. The Se-
-ond, a final Mute, in the lafi Syllable of divers Words not
jronounced at all; as in bonne, donne, &c. The Third, an
imperfea Mute, pronounced much like the Diphthong ea,
&c. as in ye, def te. The Fourth, e ferme, or e mafculine,
marked at the Ends of Words with an Accent e. The Fifth,
is e ouvert, or long e, having the fame Sound with ai, as in
sner, feje, &c, In the middle of Words it is Sometimes
mark'd with a Circumflex, and in the End, with an Accent
Z. The Sixth, is an Intermediate e, between the ouvert and
ferme; as in Cabaret, Lettre, &c. Some add a Seventh
Kind of e, not reducible to any of the former, as that in
Grammarien, Hijiorien, &c. And others admit of only
three Kinds, viz. the Mute, open, and Ihut; but they mnake
Variation therein; which amounts to the fame thing.
As to the Form of the Letter B, we borrow it from the
Jatins, who had it from the Greeks, and they from the
!Phgenicians, by Cadmus, who firfu brought it them. Now
the Phenicians had the fame CharaaIers with the Hebrews.
Accordingly, the Form of the Antient Hebrew He, was the
fame with that of our E, as may be feen in the Hebrew
:Medals, and the Jefuite Souciet's Differtation thereon, p. 143.
All the Difference between them confifis in this, that the
Rebrews reading from Right to Left, turn their Letters that
Way; whereas the Moderns, reading from Left to Right,
write their Letters accordingly.
The little e, was form'a of the great one, in writing it
fafl, and making the crofs Strokes at Top and Bottom
without taking Pen off Paper, and then adding the Stroke
in the Middle E.
The Greek n, H. Eta, was no original Letter; but added
to the Alphabet in after Times. Of this we have Proofs
flill extant in the ancient Monuments; particularly, the
.Farnefe Columns, brought to Rome from the Via Alpia,
where the Epjflon E, is ufed in lieu of the H. e. gr.
DEMETPOU   KOPEs for DHMETPO0     KORHII. 'Tis faid to
have been added by Simonides.     Bibliand.a de Ration.
Comm0tn. Linguar. p. 40.
The Pronunciation of the I, feeins to have been varied:
V'erentianus informs us, that it was pronounced like the
Latin e; but the Greeks themselves, for feveral Ages, pro-
nounced it like an *. 'Tis difputed how the Latins render
it in their Language. The common Opinion is, that they
render it by an e: As in aingveGua  An-m, HOAX enouc)
40wxov@1   &c. which they rendred Demetrius, Beta, He-
7nera, ?3efeus,  'khefawras, &c. Tho' there are Perfons,
exceedingly well verfed in Antiquity, who hold that they
pronounced it like an i.
Lved. de Dieu, one of the moll Learned Grammarians of
his Age, obferves as much in his Animadverfions on Genejis
VI. 24. Adding, that 'tis for this Reafon, that the He-
bre'ws, e. gr. the Paraphrafl 7onathan, exprefs it by a
}HI irt as, Mnsot, X1
7 Rod. Wetflen proves the fame in his Learned Orations
on the true Pronunciation of the Greek Tongue, from an
Infinity of Inflances.  Citing  to this Purpofe a M. S.
Pfalter of the VI1th Century, where all the Z's are expref-
fed by i's. In Effiec, Wetflen proves, not only that the
Latins pronounced and wrote it as an i, which might
a       from its bein fo eafily confounded with an 7; but
alfo that they rendre~it by an e and ia; that it was often
ufed for V and ElI; and that in the Time of Plato, this
Letter had a Kind of intermediate Sound between the
£ and t.  See that Author.    See alfo  nojus de Ldold.
L . I. C 6 .
E on the Keys of an Organs or Harplichord, denotes the
Tones E, mi, la.
On the Compafs, in Sea-Charts, -'c. it marks the Eall
Point, or Wind. E. Eafl. E S E. Eafi South Eafl. N E.
North Eaff, 5c. See WINDS and Com 'PAss.
In Calendars, E is the 5th of the Dominical Letters. See
DOMINIC AL-Letters.
Among Authors, E. gr. flands for Exempla gratia; for
Inflance. See CHARACTER.
In feveral Didfionaries, we find it noted, that the Letter
E, among the Antients, was a Numeral Letter, lignifying
z50, according to the Verfe
E  quoque Ducentos & kuinquaginta tenebit.
But it has already been obferved, that this Ufe of Nu-
meral Letters was unknown among the Antients. Ifidore
IHiJfallenfis, an Author of the VIlth Century, fays as much
in exprefs Terms, in the firff Book of his Origines, Cap. III.
In Effea, it was firft introduced in the Times of Barbarifm
and Ignorance.
EAGLE, Atquila, M.7Ds, in Natural Hiflory, the largell,
firongefl, and fwiftefl of all the Birds that live by Prey.
See BIRb.
It has a long, hooked Beak; yellow, fcaly Legs; thick,
crooked Talons; and a Ihort Tail. Its Plumage is che nut,
brown, ruddy and white. Its Beak, black at the Tip; and
in the middle, blue, tho' in fome yellow.
Its Airy, or Nefi, is ufually on the highell Rocks, fome-
times on the Tops of old Trees. It feeds its young till fuch
Time as they are able to fly, and then drives them  out of
the Neils. Its Food is Birds, Hares, Lambs, KidsI and
Fawns; nay, Sir Robert Sibbald affures us, Child.en too,
when it can catch them, of which he gives an Inflance in
the Orcades Iflands. 'Prod. Nat. Hill. Scot. L. III.p. z, & 14.
Ray mentions an Eagle's Neil, found near the River
D)erwent, in i668. It confifled of large firong Sticks, one
End whereof was laid on the Crag of a Rock, and zhe other
on two Beech-Trees: It was two Yards Square: In it
were found one Eaglet, with the Carcaffes of one Lamb,
one Hare, and three Grygalli. Synofts. 7etifeod. '1v. j. 6.
The Eagle frequently watches the fifhing Hawk, and alioon
as it perceives it to have itruck a Fifh, takes Wing, purfhes
the Bird till it lets fall its Prey, and often catches it ere it
reaches the Earth or Water. Philof. Jranyf,7. No. 2or.
It lives very long, and as Naturalifts aflure us, rarely dies
but of Hunger; the upper Part of its crooked Beak growing
fo long, with Age, that it clofes up the lower, and Co
difables it from opening and taking in Food.
Its Sight is quick, firong and piercing to a Proverb. The
Reafon why the Eagle, the Fibres of whofe Optic Nerves are
not fironger than thofe of other Animals, is able to face the
Sun, and endure its brightefi Rays, the Jefuite Aegelzus,
in his Opticks, alfures us, is, that it has two Sets of Eye-
lids, the one thick and clofe, and the other thinner and
finer, which lafI it draws over the Eye, when it looks at any
luminous Body, and thus breaks the Force of its Rays.
The Falconers have train'd up Eagles to the Game; but
they only fucceed in Mountainous Countries. On Plains they
can't keep any time on the Wing, and when they loop, or
light, are weak, fo that the Saker beats them. See FALCON.
Ariftotle, and Pliny, reckon up Six Kinds of Eagles, to
which they give Names correfponding to the Difference of
their Plumage: As the Eagle-Royal, called by Arijiotle,
vvao7ot and atpaect, from  the ruddy, golden Colour of its
Feathers, which are likewife fpotted as it were with Stars.
The !Black-Eagle, valeria, the fmallefl and moff vigorous
of all. The White-tail'd Eagle, or Tygargus. The middle
fazed Eagle, with    a large Tail, living   in Moraffes;
Morphnvs: The Sea-Eagle, Halieetus: And the bearded
Eagle, Offlifraga.
EAGLE, in Heraldry, is the Symbol of Royalty, as being,
according to Philofiratus, the King of Birds; and for that
Reafon dedicated, by the Antients, to W7uirer.
The Eagle, is the Arms of the Emperor, and the King
of 'Poland. It is accounted one of the moft Noble bearings
in Heraldry, and, according to the Learned in that Art,
ought never to be given, but in Confideration of fingular
Bravery, Generofity,   c   On which Occafions, either a
whole EaglZe, or an Eagle Nailan7t, or only the Head, or
other Parts, agreeable to the Exploit, may be granted.
The Eagle is fometimes reprefenredwith one Head, and
fometimes with two, tho' never more than one Body, two
Legs, and two Wings open'd, or firetch'd out, in which
Pofure, it is faid to be Dread or difplay'd: Such is that
of the Empire, which is blazon'd a ftread Eagle, Sable,
:diade'd, lanjged, beak'd and membred, Gules.
The
Ei