education consisted in giving their youth right ideas of men and things: the iren or master proposed questions, and either commended the answers that were made him, or reproved such as answered weakly. In these questions, all matters, either of a trivial or abstruse nature, were equally avoided; and they were confined to such points as were of the highest importance in civil life; such as, Who was the best man in the city? Wherein lay the merit of such an action? and, Whether this or that hero's fame was well founded? Harmless raillery was greatly encouraged; and this, joined to their short manner of speaking, rendered laconic replies universally admired. Music was much encouraged; but in this, as in other things, they adhered to that which had been in favor with their ancestors; nay, they were so strict therein, that they would not permit their slaves to learn either the tune or the words of their most admired odes; or, which is all one, they would not permit them to sing them if they had learned them. Though the youth of the male sex were much cherished and beloved, as those that were to build up and continue the future glory of the state, yet in Sparta it was a virtuous and modest affection, untinged with that sensuality which was so scandalous at Athens. The good effects of this part of Lycurgus's institutions were seen in the union that reigned among his citizens; and which was so extraordinary, that, even in cases of competition, it was hardly known that rivals bore ill-will to each other; but, on the contrary, their love to the same person begat a secondary friendship among themselves, and united them in all things which might be for the benefit of the person beloved.

Till a man was thirty years old, he was not capable of serving in the army, as the best authors agree; though some think that the military age is not well ascertained by ancient writers. They were forbidden to march at any time before the full moon; the reason of which law is very hard to be discovered, if indeed it had any reasons at all, or was not rather founded on some superstitious opinion, that this was a more lucky conjuncture than any other. They were likewise forbidden to fight often against the same enemy; which was one of the wisest maxims in the political system of Lycurgus: and Agesilaus, by offending against it, destroyed the power of his country, and lost her that authority which for many ages she maintained over the rest of Greece; for, by continually warring against the Thebans, to whom he had an inveterate hatred, he at last beat them into the knowledge of the art of war, and enabled them, under the command of Epaminondas, to maintain for a time the principality of Greece. Maritime affairs they were forbidden to meddle with, though the necessity of things compelled them, in process of time, to transgress this institution, and by degrees to transfer to themselves the dominion of the sea as well as of the land; but, after the Peloponnesian war, they again neglected naval affairs, from a persuasion that sailors and strangers corrupted those with whom they conversed. As they never fortified Sparta, they were not ready to undertake sieges; fighting in

the field was their proper province, and, while they could overcome their enemies there, they rightly conceived that nothing could hurt them at home. In time of war, they relaxed somewhat of their strict manner of living, in which they were singular. The true reason for this was, in all probability, that war might be less burdensome to them; for, as we have more than once observed, a strong desire to render them bold and warlike was the reigning passion of their legislator. They were forbidden to remain long encamped in the same place, as well to hinder their being surprised, as that they might be more troublesome to their enemies, by wasting every corner of their country. They slept all night in their armour; but their outguards were not allowed their shields, that, being unprovided of defence, they might not dare to sleep. In all expeditions they were careful in the performance of religious rites; and, after their evening meal was over, the soldiers sung together hymns to their gods. When they were about to engage, the king sacrificed to the Muses, that, by their assistance they might be enabled to perform deeds worthy of being recorded to latest times. Then the army advanced in order to the sound of flutes which played the hymn of Castor. The king himself sung the pean, which was the signal to charge. This was done with all the solemnity imaginable; and the soldiers were sure either to die or conquer: indeed they had no other choice; for if they fled they were infamous, and in danger of being slain, even by their own mothers, for disgracing their families. In this consisted all the excellency of the Spartan women, who, if possible, exceeded in bravery the men, never lamenting over husbands or sons, if they died honorably in the field; but deploring the shame brought on their house, if either the one or the other escaped by flight. The throwing away a shield also induced infamy; and, with respect to this, mothers, when they embraced their departing sons, were wont to caution them, that they should either return armed as they were, or be brought back so when they were dead; for such as were slain in battle were nevertheless buried in their own country. When they made their enemies fly, they pursued no longer than till victory was certain; because they would seem to fight rather for the honor of conquering, than of putting their enemies to death. According to their excellent rules of war, they were bound not to spoil the dead bodies of their enemies; but in process of time, this, and indeed many other of their most excellent regulations, fell into desuetude. He who overcame by stratagem offered up an ox to Mars; whereas he who conquered by force, offered up cnly a cock: the former being esteemed more manly that the latter. After forty years service, a man was, by law, no longer required to go into the field: and consequently, if the military age was thirty, the Spartans were not held invalids till they were seventy.

Gold and silver were, by the constitutions of Lycurgus, made of no value in Sparta. He was so well apprised of the danger of riches that he made the very possession of them venal; but as there was no living without some sort of money,

that is, some common measure or standard of the worth of things, he directed an iron coinage, whereby the Spartans were supplied with the useful money, and at the same time nad no temptation to covetousness afforded them; for a very small sum was sufficient to load a couple of horses, and a great one must have been kept in a barn or warehouse. The coming in of all foreign money was also prohibited, that corruption might not enter under the name of commerce. The most ancient method of dealing, viz. by barter, or exchange of one commodity for another, was preserved by law in Sparta long after it had been out of date every where else. Interest was a thing forbidden in the Spartan commonwealth; where they had also a law against alienation of lands, accepting presents from foreigners, even without the limits of their own country, and when their authority and character might well seem to excuse them.

Though the Spartans were always free, yet it was with this restriction, that they were subservient to their own laws, which bound them as strictly in the city as soldiers in other states were bound by the rules of war in the camp. In the first place, strict obedience to their superiors was the great thing required in Sparta. This they looked upon as the very basis of government, without which neither laws nor magistrates availed much. Old age was an indubitable title to honor in Sparta; to the old men the youth rose up whenever they came into any public place; they gave way to them when they met them in the streets, and were silent whenever their elders spoke. As all children were looked upon as the children of the state, so all the old men had the authority of parents; they reprehended whatever they saw amiss, not only in their own, but in other people's children; and by this method Lycurgus provided that, as youth are every where apt to offend, they might be nowhere without a monitor. The laws went still further; if an old man was present where a young one committed a fault, and did not reprove him, he was punished equally with the delinquent. Amongst the youths there was one of their own body, or at most two years older than the rest, who was styled iren; he had authority to question all their actions, to look strictly to their behaviour, and to punish them if they did amiss; neither were their punishments light, but, on the contrary, very severe, whereby the youth were made hardy, and accustomed to bear stripes and rough usage. Silence was a thing highly commended at Sparta, where modesty was held to be a most becoming virtue in young people; nor was it restrained only to their words and actions, but to their very looks and gestures: Lycurgus having particularly directed that they should look forward, or on the ground, and that they should always keep their hands within their robes. A stupid inconsiderate person, one who would not listen to instruction, but was careless of whatever the world might say of him, the Lacedemonians treated as a scandal to human nature; with such a one they would not converse, but threw him off as a rotten branch and worthless member of society.

The statues of all the gods and goddesses were

represented in armour, even to Venus herself. the reason of which was that the people might conceive a military life the most noble and honorable, and not attribute, as other nations did, sloth and luxury to the gods. As to sacrifices they consisted of things of very small value; for which Lycurgus himself gave this reason,-That want might never hinder them from worshipping the gods. They were forbidden to make long or rash prayers to the heavenly powers, and were enjoined to ask no more than that they might live honestly and discharge their duty. Graves were permitted to be made within the bounds of the city, contrary to the custom of most of the Greek nations; nay, they buried close by their temples, that all degrees of people might be made familiar with death, and not conceive it such a dreadful thing as it was generally esteemed elsewhere; on the same account the touching of dead bodies, or assisting at funerals, made none unclean, but were held to be as innocent and honorable duties as any other. There was nothing thrown into the grave with the dead body; magnificent sepulchres were forbidden; neither was there so much as an inscription, however plain or modest, permitted. Tears, sighs, outcries, were not allowed in public, because they were thought dishonorable in Spartans, whom their lawgiver would have to bear all things with equanimity. Mourning was limited to eleven days; on the twelfth the mourner sacrificed to Ceres and threw aside his weeds. In favor of such as were slain in the wars, however, and of women who devoted themselves to a religious life, there was an exception allowed as to the rules before mentioned; for such had a short and decent inscription on their tombs. When a number of Spartans fell in battle, at a distance from their country, many of them were buried together under one common tomb; but, fell on the frontiers of their own state, then their bodies were carefully carried back to Sparta and interred in their family sepulchres.

they

Many authors, both ancient and modern, have celebrated the constitution and government of Sparta as superior to those of all other nations. Upon this subject we need only quote the sentiments of the reverend and ingenious David Williams, who, in his Claims of Literature, p. 33, states the comparative merits of the constitution of Sparta and Athens in few words :- How different (says he) the state of society in Athens and Lacedemon! branches of a common stock and inhabiting the same climate! In the one, the admiration of genius and the love of literature heightened into delirium; in the other, all talents but those of war checked and extinguished. In Athens, the lives of men of genius were those of gods; in Lacedæmon, glory and fame could be obtained only in blood."

SPARTA, the daughter of Eurotas and wife of Lacedæmon who gave their name to Sparta.

SPARTACUS, a Thracian shepherd who commenced gladiator, and was one of those kept in the house of Lentulus, at Capua, who it would seem had been slaves: for, having escaped with thirty of his associates, they soon increased to 10,000 men, and raised a formidable rebellion against the Romans. Emboldened by increasing

numbers they not only plundered the country of Campania, but attacked the Roman army under the two consuls and defeated them. At last Crassus was sent against them with dubious hopes, and after a very bloody battle defeated them; Spartacus being killed in battle upon heaps of Romans whom he had slain, A. A. C. 31, with his own hand. See ROME. In this battle no fewer than 40,000 of the rebels were slain.

SPARTÆ, or SPARTI, in the mythology, the men who sprang from the dragon's teeth which Cadmus sowed. See CADMUS.

SPARTI. See SPARTE.

SPARTIANUS (Ælius), a Latin historian, who flourished about A. D. 290, and wrote the lives of all the Roman emperors from Julius Cæsar to Dioclesian. He was a relation of Dioclesian, and dedicated his work to him. Of these lives only six are extant; viz. those of Adrian, Verus, D. Julianus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and Geta; which are published among the Scriptores Historiæ Augusta.

SPARTIUM, broom, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the class of diadelphia, and order of decandria; and in the natural system arranged under the thirty-second order, papilionaceæ. The stigma is longitudinal and woolly above; the filaments adhere to the germen. The calyx is produced downwards. There are sixteen species; viz. 1. S. angulatum; 2. aphyllum; 3. complicatum; 4. contaminatum. 5.cytisoides; 6. junceum; 7. monospermium; 8. patens; 9. purgans; 10. radiatum; 11. scoparium; 12. scorpius; 13. sepiarium; 14. sphærocarpon; 15. spinosum; and 16. supranulium. All these are exotics chiefly from Spain, Portugal, Italy, &c., except the scoparium.

1. S. junceum, Spanish broom, grows naturally in the southern provinces of France as well as other parts of the south of Europe. It grows on the poorest soils, on the steepest declivities of the hills, in a stony soil, where hardly any other plant could vegetate. In a few years it makes a vigorous shrub; insinuating its roots between the interstices of the stones, it binds the soil and retains the small portion of vegetable earth scattered over these hills which the autumnal rains would otherwise wash away. It is most easily raised from seed, which is usually sown in January, after the ground has received a slight dressing. This shrub serves two useful purposes. Its branches yield a thread of which linen is made, and in winter support sheep and goats. In manufacturing thread from broom the youngest plants are cut in August, or after harvest, and gathered together in bundles, which at first are laid in the sun to dry; they are then beaten with a piece of wood, washed in a river, and left to steep in the water for four hours. The bundles thus prepared are taken to a little distance from the water and laid in a hollow place made for them, where they are covered with fern or straw, and remain thus to steep for eight or nine days; during which time all that is necessary is to throw a little water once a day on the heap without uncovering the broom, After this the bundles are well washed, the green rind of the plant in epidermis comes off, and the

fibrous part remains; each bundle is then beaten with a wooden hammer upon a stone to detach all the threads, which are at the same time carefully drawn to the extremity of the branches. After this operation the faggots are untied and spread upon stones till they are dry. The twigs must not be peeled till they are perfectly dry; they are then dressed with the comb, and the threads are separated according to their fineness and spun upon a wheel. The lines made of this thread serve various purposes in rural economy. The coarsest is employed in making sacks and other strong cloths for carrying grain or seeds. Of the finest is made bed, table, and body linen. The peasants in several places use no other; for they are unacquainted with the culture of hemp or flax, their soil being too dry and too barren for raising them. The cloth made with the thread of the broom is very useful, it is as soft as that made of hemp; and it would perhaps look as well as that made of flax if it were more carefully spun. It becomes white in proportion as it is steeped. The price of the finest thread is generally about a shilling a pound. The other use of this broom is to feed sheep and goats in winter. In the mountains of the ci-devant Languedoc these animals have no other food from November to April, except the leaves of trees preserved. The branches of this broom, therefore, are a resource the more precious, that it is the only fresh nourishment which at that season the flocks can procure, and they prefer it at all times to every other plant. In fine weather the sheep are led out to feed on the broom where it grows; but in bad weather the shepherds cut the branches and bring them to the sheep folds. But the continued use of this food produces inflammation in the urinary passages. This is easily removed by cooling drink, or a change of food, or by mixing the broom with something else. It differs much from the broom that is common every where in the north of Europe, though this too, in many places, is used for food to cattle. Both produce flowers that are very much resorted to by bees, as they contain a great quantity of honey juice. This should be another inducement to cultivate the Spanish broom.

2. S. scoparium, the common broom, has ternate solitary leaves; the branches angular and without prickles. It is used for various purposes. It has been of great benefit in dropsical complaints. The manner in which Dr. Cullen administered it was this:-He ordered half an ounce of fresh broom tops to be boiled in a pound of water till one-half of the water was evaporated. He then gave two table spoonfulls of the decoction every hour till it operated both by stool and urine. By repeating those doses every day, or two days, he says some dropsies have been cured. Dr. Mead relates that a dropsical patient, who had taken the usual remedies and been tapped three times without effect, was cured by taking half a pint of the decoction of green broom tops with a spoonfull of whole mustard seed every morning and evening. · An infusion of the seeds drunk freely (says Mr. Withering) has been known to produce similar happy effects; but whoever expects these effects to follow in every dropsical case will be greatly

deceived. I knew them succeed in one case that was truly deplorable; but out of a great number of cases in which the medicine had a fair trial this proved a single instance.' The flower buds are in some countries pickled and eaten as capers; and the seeds have been used as a bad substitute for coffee. The branches are used for making besoms and tanning leather. They are also used instead of thatch to cover houses. The old wood furnishes the cabinetmaker with beautiful materials for veneering. The tender branches are in some places mixed with hops for brewing, and the macerated bark may be manufactured into cloth.

SPARUS, in ichthyology, gilthead; a genus of animals belonging to the class of pisces and the order of thoracici. The fore-teeth and dogteeth are very strong; the grinders are obtuse and thick set; the lips are folded over; there are five rays in the gill membrane; and the opercula are scaly; the body is compressed; the lateral line is crooked behind; and the pectoral fins are roundish. Gmelin enumerates thirty-nine species, of which only three are found in the British seas; viz. 1. S. auratus, the gilt-bream. The head and sides of it are gilt, and there is a golden spot between the eyes shaped like a half moon; there is also a black purple spot on the gills; and it weighs from eight pounds to ten pounds. It is one of the pisces saxatiles, or fish that haunt deep waters on bold rocky shores. They feed chiefly on shell-fish which they comminute with their teeth before they swallow, the teeth of this genus in particular being adapted for that purpose: the grinders are flat and strong, like those of certain quadrupeds; besides which there are certain bones in the lower part of the mouth that assist in grinding their food. They are coarse: they were known to the Romans who did not esteem them unless they were fed with Lucrine oysters, as Martial informs us, lib. xiii. ep. 90. In the account of captain Cook's voyage, published by Mr. Foster, we are informed that the giltheads are sometimes poisonous, owing to their feeding on certain species of the raja which have an extremely acrid and stimulating property. 2. S. dentatus, toothed sea-bream, is black above and of a silvery appearance below. The eyes and gills are very large. There are nine rows of teeth in the lower jaw and one in the upper. 3. S. pagrus, the sea-bream, is of a reddish color. The skin forms a sinus at the roots of the dorsal and anal fins. The body is broad; the back and belly ridged. There is only one dorsal fin. SPASM, n. s. Fr. spasme; Gr. onάopa. Convulsion; violent and involuntary contraction of any part.

spontaneously disposed to alternate with relaxation, is properly termed spasm. When the contractions alternate with relaxation, and are frequently and preternaturally repeated, they are called convulsions. Spasms are distinguished by authors into clonic and tonic spasms. In clonic spasms, which are the true convulsions, the contractions and relaxations are alternate, as in epilepsy; but in tonic spasms the member remains rigid, as in locked jaw.

SPASMUS CYNICUS, or sardonic laugh, is a convulsive affection of the muscles of the face and lips on both sides, which involuntarily forces the muscles of those parts into a species of grinning distortion. If one side only be affected, the disorder is nominated tortura oris. When the masseter, buccinator, temporal, nasal, and labial muscles, are involuntarily excited to action, or contorted by contraction or relaxation, they form a species of malignant sneer. It sometimes arises from eating hemlock or other acrid poisons, or succeeds to an apoplectic stroke. SPAT, n. s. Sax. гpatan. The young shell

fish.

A reticulated film found upon sea-shells, and usually supposed to be the remains of the vesicles of the spat of some sort of shell-fish. Woodward on Fossils.

SPATHELIA, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the class of pentandria, and order of trigynia: CAL. pentaphyllous; the petals are five: CAPS. three-edged and trilocular: SEEDS solitary. There is only one species. S. simplex, a native of Jamaica, introduced into the botanic gardens of this country in 1778 by the ingenious Dr. Wright, late of Jamaica.

SPATIATE, v. n. Lat. spatior. To rove; range; ramble at large. A word not used.

Wonder causeth astonishment, or an immoveable posture of the body, caused by the fixing of the mind upon one cogitation, whereby it doth not spatiute and transcur. Bacon. Confined to a narrow chamber, he could spatiate at large through the whole universe. Bentley. SPATTER, v. a. Sax. rpat, spit. To sprinkle with dirt, or any thing offensive.

His forward voice now is to speak well of his friend; his backward voice is to spatter foul speeches, and to detract. Shakspeare.

They, fondly thinking to allay Their appetite with gust, instead of fruit Chewed bitter ashes, which the' offended taste Milton. With spattering noise rejected.

The pavement swam in blood, the walls around Addison. Were spattered o'er with brains. SFATULA, n. s. Lat. spatha, spathula. A spattle or slice.

Spatula is an instrument used by apothecaries and surgeons in spreading plaisters or stirring medicines together. Quincy. In raising up the hairy scalp smooth with my spatula, I could discover no fault in the bone. Wiseman's Surgery. SPAV'IN, n. s. Fr. espavent; Ital. spavano. A disease in horses in which a bony excrescence,

or

crust as hard as a bone, grows on the inside of the hough, not far from the elbow, and is generated of the same matter by which the bones or ligaments are nourished.