pnugues/EB7 huggingface dataset:
CATADROMUS, from καrα, and <5gsμw, I run, in Antiquity, a rope stretched in a sloping direction in the theatres, down which the funambuli walked to show their skill. Some have taken the word to signify the hippodrome or decursorium, wherein the Roman knights used to exercise themselves in running and fighting on horseback. But the most natural meaning is that of a rope fastened at one end to the top of the theatre, and at the other to the bottom, to walk or run down, which was the highest glory of the ancient schoenobates, er funambuli. Elephants were also taught to descend the catadromus. Suetonius speaks of the exploit of a Roman knight, who passed down the catadromus mounted on an elephant’s back.
CATAGOGION, a heathen festival at Ephesus, celebrated on the 22d of January, in which the devotees ran about the streets, dressed in various antic and unseemly modes, with huge cudgels in their hands, and carrying with them the images of their gods; while in this guise they ravished the women they met with, abused and often killed the men, and committed many other disorders, to which the religion of the day gave a sanction.
CATAGRAPHA, in Antiquity, denote oblique figures or views of men’s faces; answering to what the moderns call profiles.

Catagrapha are said to be the invention of Simon Cleonaeus, who first taught painters to vary the looks of their figures, and sometimes direct them upwards, sometimes downwards, and sometimes sidewards or backwards.
CATANA, or Catina, in Ancient Geography, a town of Sicily, situated opposite to Aetna, to the south-east, and one of the five Roman colonies. It was anciently founded by the people of ·Naxus, seven years after the building of Syracuse, and 728 years before Christ. Catana was the country of Charondas the famous lawgiver. The town is still called Catanea or Catania. See Catania.
CATANDUANES, a large island of the Philippine group, lying to the east of the island of Luzon, about thirty-six miles in length by above twenty in breadth. It is subject to the Spaniards. The inhabitants are a barbarous race, and live by hunting and fishing. Long. 124. 30. E. Lat. 29. 40. N.
CATANIA, a city in the island of Sicily, the chief of the intendancy and district of the same name. It is one of the oldest cities of Europe, though, from its situation under Mount Aetna, exposed to the tremendous operations of nature, by which it has been several times visited. It is now a large and well-built city. The streets are broad, straight, and well paved with lava. The market-place or square is spacious, and surrounded with magnificent buildings. There is a well-conducted university, two colleges, a museum, a cabinet of natural history, and several appropriate institutions for instruction. The environs, except [7:6:240]where buried by the lava of 1669, are fertile and well cultivated. It contains a population of 45,000, but, including ’ the suburbs, of 74,000 persons. These find employment in various manufactures, particularly in those of linen and of silk. There is also an export trade in corn, wine, soda, nuts, hemp, flax, liquorice, and fruits. There is no harbour, and merely a roadstead, but boats discharge their cargoes at a mole. It is 120 miles from Palermo. Long. 15. 5. 15. E. Lat. 37. 28. 20. N.

Catania, one of the intendancies into which the island of Sicily is divided, and which comprehends the valleys of Demona and Mazza, and the whole Mount of Aetna. It is bounded on the north by Messina, on the east by the sea, on the south by Seragossa, on the west by Calatanisetta, and on the north-west by Palermo. It is divided into the three districts of Catania, Caltagerone, and Nicoia, and contains 289,406 inhabitants.
CATANZARO, a city of Italy, the capital of the Neapolitan province of Calabria Ulteriore. It is situated between the rivers Alti and Corace, on an elevation about five miles from the Gulf of Squillace. It is walled, and has a castle. It is the seat of a bishop, of the civil, criminal, and appeal courts, and of some institutions for education; and it contains 11,464 inhabitants, some of whom are employed in silk manufactures. Long. 16. 50. E. Lat. 38. 58. N.
CATAPHRACTA (from κατα and φgx,<Mω, I fortify or arm), in the ancient military art, a piece of heavy defensive armour, formed of cloth or leather, fortified with iron scales or links, with which sometimes the breast, sometimes the whole body of the rider, and sometimes the horse also, were covered. It was in use among the Sarmatians, Persians, and other barbarians. The Romans early adopted it for their foot, and, according to Vegetius, retained it till the time of Gratian, when the military discipline becoming relaxed, and field exercises and labour being discontinued, the Roman foot thought the cataphracta, as well as the helmet, too heavy a load to bear, and therefore threw it aside, choosing rather to march against the enemy bare-breasted; so that in the war with the Goths multitudes were destroyed.

Cataphractae Naves, ships armed and covered in fight so that they could not be easily damaged by the enemy. They were covered over with boards or planks, on which the soldiers were placed to defend them; the rowers sitting underneath entirely sheltered from the enemy’s weapons.
CATAPHRACTUS denotes a thing defended or covered on all sides with armour.

Cataphractus, or Cataphractarius, more particularly denotes a horseman, or even horse, armed with a cataphracta. The cataphracti equites were a sort of cuirassiers, not only fortified with armour themselves, but having their horses guarded with solid plates of brass or other metal, usually lined with skins, and wrought into plumes or other forms. Their use was to bear down all before them, to break in upon the enemy’s ranks, and spread terror and havoc wherever they went, as being themselves invulnerable and secure from danger. But their disadvantage consisted in their unwieldiness; for, if once unhorsed, or on the ground, they were unable to rise, and thus fell a prey to the enemy.
CATAPHRYGIANS, a sect in the second century, so called as being of the country of Phrygia. They were orthodox in every thing, except this, that they took Montanus for a prophet, and Priscilla and Maximilia for true prophetesses, to be consulted in every thing relating to religion, supposing that the Holy Spirit had abandoned the church.
CATAPULTA, in Antiquity, a military engine contrived for throwing arrows, darts, and stones, against the enemy. Some of these engines were of such force that they would throw stones of a hundredweight. Josephus takes notice of the surprising effects of these engines, and says that the stones thrown out of them beat down the battlements, knocked off the angles of the towers, and would level a whole file of men from one end to the other, were the phalanx ever so deep.

Catapulta for Arrows, Spears, or Darts. Some of the spears and darts thrown by these engines are said to have been eighteen feet long, and to have been thrown with such velocity as to take fire in their course. This, however, is absurd; but it is by no means improbable that spears, with fire-brands attached to them, were projected from these engines.
CATARACT, in Hydrography, a precipice in the channel of a river, caused by rocks or other obstacles stopping the course of the stream, whence the water falls with great noise and impetuosity. The word is derived from καταggaotfω, I tumble down with violence; compounded of κaτa, down, and gaotfw, dejicio, I throw down. Strabo calls that a cataract which we call a cascade ; and what we call a cataract the ancients usually called a catadupa. Herminius has an express dissertation, “De admirandis mundi Cataractis supra et subterrancis ;” where he uses the word in a new sense, meaning by cataract any violent motion of the elements.
CATARA, a town of Dalmatia, and capital of the territory of the same name, with a strong castle and a bishop’s see. It is subject to Venice, and is seated on a gulf of the same name. Long. 19. 19. E. Lat. 42. 25. N.
CATARRH, in Medicine, a distillation or defluxion from the head upon the mouth and aspera arteria, and through them upon the lungs.
CATASTASIS, in Poetry, the third part of the ancient drama, being that in which the intrigue or action set forth in the epitasis is supported, carried on, and heightened, till it be ripe for the unravelling in the catastrophe. Scaliger defines it the full growth of the fable, while things are at a stand, and in that confusion to which the poet has brought them.
CATASTROPHE, in Dramatic Poetry, the fourth and last part in the ancient drama, or that immediately succeeding the catastasis, or, according to others, the third only, the whole drama being divided into protasis, epitasis, and catastrophe, or, in the language of Aristotle, prologue, epilogue, and exode. The catastrophe clears up every thing, and is nothing else but the discovery or winding up of the plot. It has its peculiar place, for it ought to be entirely contained, not only in the last act, but in the very conclusion of it; and, when the plot is finished, the play should be so likewise.
CATEAU, Le, a city of France, in the department of the North, and arrondissement of Cambray. It stands on the river Selles, and contains 741 houses, with 4133 inhabitants. The finest thread for making lace, and for the finest cambric, is spun here, and occupies a long space of time, as well as the minutest degree of care.
CATECHESIS, in a general sense, denotes instruction given to any person in the first rudiments of an art or science, but more particularly of the Christian religion. In the ancient church catechesis was instruction given viva voce, either to children or adult heathens, preparatory to their receiving baptism. In this sense catechesis stands contradistinguished from mystagogica, which formed a higher kind of instruction given to those already initiated, and containing the mysteries of faith. The dispensers of such instruction are called catechists, and those who receive it catechumens.
CATECHETIC, or Catechetical, something that relates to oral instruction in the rudiments of Christianity. Catechetic schools were buildings appointed for the office of the catechist, adjoining to the church, and called catechumena ; such was that in which Origen and many other famous men read catechetical lectures at Alexandria.
CATECHISM, in its primary sense, means instruction or institution in the principles of the Christian religion, delivered viva voce, and so as to require frequent repetitions, from the disciple or hearer, of what has been said. The word is formed from xαrηχtω, a compound of %αrα, and r l χοi, q. d. circumsono, alluding to the noise or din made in this sort of exercise, or to the zeal and earnestness with which things are to be inculcated over and over on learners. Anciently the candidates for baptism were only to be instructed in the secrets of their religion by tradition, viva voce, without writing; as had also been the case among the Egyptian priests, and the British and Gaulish druids, who only communicated the mysteries of their theology by word of mouth.

Catechism is more frequently used in modern times . for an elementary book, in which the principal articles of religion arc summarily delivered in the way of question and answer.
CATECHIST (×aτtχ t ιδrης, catecheta), he who catechises, that is, he who instructs novices in the principles of religion.

Catechist more particularly denotes a person appointed by the church to instruct those intended for baptism, by word of mouth, in the fundamental articles of the Christian faith. The catechists of churches were ministers usually distinct from the bishops and presbyters, and they had their auditors or catechumena apart. Their business was to instruct the catechumens, and prepare them for the reception ofbaptism. The catechists, however, did not constitute any distinct order of the clergy, but were chosen out of. any other order. The bishop himself sometimes performed the office; at other times presbyters, or even readers or deacons, were the catechists. Origen seems to have had no higher degree in the church than reader when he was made catechist at Alexandria, being only eighteen years of age, and consequently incapable of the deaconship.
CATECHUMEN, a candidate for baptism, or one who prepares himself for receiving that rite.

The catechumens, in church history, were the lowest order of Christians in the primitive church. They had some title to the common name of Christian, being a degree above pagans and heretics, though not consummated by baptism. They were admitted to the state of catechumens by the imposition of hands and the sign of the cross.

The children of believing parents were admitted as cate- 1 chumcns whenever they were capable of receiving instruction; but at what age those of heathen parents might be admitted is not so clear. As to the time of their continuance in this state, there were no fixed general rules, but the practice varied according to the difference of times and places, and the readiness and proficiency of the catechumens themselves.

There were four orders or degrees of catechumens. The first consisted of those instructed privately without the church, and kept at a distance for some time from the privilege of entering the church, to make them the more eager and desirous of doing so. The next degree consisted of the audientes, so called from their being admitted to hear sermons and the Scriptures read in the church, but they were not allowed to partake of the prayers. The third sort of catechumens included the genuflectentes, so called because they received imposition of hands kneeling. The fourth order was that of the competentes et electi, denoting the immediate candidates for baptism, or such as were appointed to be baptized at the next approaching festival; before which, strict examination was made into their proficiency in the several stages of catechetical exercises.

After examination, they were exercised for twenty days together, and were obliged to fast and confess; some days before baptism they went veiled, and it was customary to touch their ears, saying, Ephatha, be opened; as also to anoint their eyes with clay; both ceremonies being in imitation of our Saviour’s practice, and intended to shadow out to the catechumens their condition both before and after their admission into the Christian church.
CATEGORICAL, in a general sense, is applied to those things ranged under a Category. Categorical also imports a thing to be absolute, and not relative; in which sense it stands opposed to hypothetical. We say, a categorical proposition, a categorical syllogism, and the like.

A categorical answer denotes an express and pertinent answer made to any question or objection proposed.
CATEGORY, in Logic, a series or order of all the predicates or attributes contained under any genus. The scłiool philosophers distribute all the objects of our thoughts and ideas into certain genera or classes, which the Greeks called categories, and the Latins predicaments. See Aristotle’s Philosophy.
CATERPILLAR, in Zoology, the name of all winged insects when in their reptile or worm state. See Entomology.
CATERVA, in ancient military writers, a term used in speaking of the Gaulish or Celtiberian armies, denoting a body of 6000 armed men. The word caterva, or catervarius, is also frequently used by ancient writers to denote a party or corps of soldiers in disorder or disarray, and therefore it is distinguished from cohort or turma, which means troops in a certain order.
CATHARINE. Knights of St Catharine of Mount Sinai, an ancient military order, instituted for the assistance and protection of pilgrims going to pay their devotion to the body of St Catharine, a virgin of Alexandria, distinguished for her learning, and said to have suffered martyrdom under Maximin. The body of the martyr having been discovered on Mount Sinai, caused a great concourse thither of pilgrims; and travelling being very dangerous, by reason of the Arabs, an order of knighthood was instituted in 1063, on the model of that of the holy sepulchre, and under the patronage of St Catharine, the knights of which obliged themselves by oath to guard the body of the saint, keep the roads secure, observe the rule of St Basil, and obey their grand-master. Their habit was white, and on it were represented the instruments of martyrdom by [7:6:242]which the saint had suffered, namely, a half wheel armed with spikes, and traversed with a sword stained with blood.

Catharine. Fraternity of St Ca tharine at Sienna, a sort of religious-society, instituted in that city in honour of St Catharine, a saint famous for her revelations, and for her supposed marriage with Jesus Christ, whose wedding-ring is preserved as a valuable relic. This fraternity yearly endows a certain number of destitute virgins, and has the privilege of redeeming annually two criminals condemned for murder, and the same number of debtors by paying their debts.
CATHARTICS, in Medicine, remedies which promote evacuation by stool.
CATHEDRA, in a general sense, a chair. The word is more particularly used to denote a professor’s chair or a preacher’s pulpit.

Cathedra is also used for the bishop’s see, or throne in a church.
CATHEDRAL, a church in which is a bishop’s see or seat. The word comes from the Greek καdi¾<z, a chair, from w⅛iζομaι, sedeo, I sit. The denomination of cathedral seems to have taken its rise from the manner of sitting in the ancient churches, or assemblies of primitive Christians. In these the council, that is, the elders and priests, was called presbyterium ; at the head of that body was the bishop, who held the place of chairman, cathedralis, or cathedrati-cus ; and the presbyters, who sat on either side, were also called by the ancient fathers assessores episcoporum. The episcopal authority did not reside in the bishop alone, but in all the presbyters, of whom the bishop was the president. A cathedral, therefore, originally was different from what it is now; the Christians, till the time of Constantine, having no liberty to build any temple; and hence, by their churches they only meant their assemblies, and by cathedrals nothing more than consistories.
CATHEM, Kadhema, or Kouext, a sea-port town of Arabia, in the province of Lachsa, situated on a small river which flows into the Persian Gulf. At this port some of the English East India cruizers frequently lie for the purpose of receiving overland dispatches from Europe. A scheik exercises authority in the town, near which is a pearl fishery. It is 132 miles south of Bussora, and 420 south of Ispahan. Long. 48. 10. E. Lat. 29. 13. N.
CATHERINE’S, St, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, contiguous to the coast of Brazil. It is six miles in breadth from east to west, and twenty-four in length from north to south. A channel, in some places scarcely a mile and a half in breadth, separates it from the main land. The soil of this island is extremely fertile, and produces in abundance rice, maize, mandioca, coffee of excellent quality, oranges equal to any in the world, and a variety of other fruits. Small quantities of sugar and indigo are also raised. The climate is genial, and accordingly a profusion of the finest flowers, amongst which are myrtles and a beautiful specimen of the passion flower, variegate the ground. All the land capable of improvement is in a high state of cultivation. From the demand for timber for ship-building, the extensive tracts of wooded land have been cleared; and that article, at least of a good quality, has now become scarce. There is much low swampy land, which is favourable for the production of rice. Flax, of which the fishermen make their lines, nets, and cordage, is also raised. The surrounding seas abound in excellent fish, which are accordingly very cheap on the island, as are most other articles of food. The climate is healthy, the solstitial heats being moderated by breezes from the south-west and north-east, which generally prevail here. The island is divided into four parishes, and contains above 30,000 inhabitants. It is defended by several fortresses, the most considerable of which is Santa Cruz. Long. 47. 15. W. Lat. 27. 10. S.

Catherine’s, St, the capital of the foregoing island, and situated on its eastern shore. It has a harbour which is guarded by the fort of Santa Cruz, and may be entered by ships of three hundred tons burden. The town consists of several streets. The houses are well built, and generally of two or three stories in height. It is an agreeable retirement for merchants who have secured an independence, and wish to enjoy it undisturbed. The trade of this place is inconsiderable, as the produce does not much exceed the demand of the inhabitants. The latter are estimated at about 6000.
CATHETUS, in Geometry, a line or radius falling perpendicularly on another line or surface. Thus the catheti of a right-angled triangle are the two sides that include the right angle.

Cathetus of Incidence, a right line drawn from a point of the object, perpendicular to the reflecting line.

Cathetus of Reflection, or of the Eye, a right line drawn from the eye, perpendicular to the reflecting plane.

Cathetus of Obliquation, a right line drawn perpendicular to the speculum, in the point of incidence or reflection.

Cathetus, in Architecture, a perpendicular line supposed to pass through the middle of a cylindrical body, as a baluster, column, &c.
CATHNESS. See Caithness.
CATHOLIC, in a general sense, denotes any thing that is universal or general.

Catholic Church. The rise of heresies induced the primitive Christian church to assume to itself the appellation of catholic, to distinguish itself from all sects, who, though they had party names, sometimes sheltered themselves under the name of Christians.

The Romish church distinguishes itself now by the name of Catholic, in opposition to all those who have separated from her communion, and whom she considers as heretics and schismatics, regarding herself as the only true and Christian church. In the strict sense of the word, there is no Catholic church in being, that is, no universal Christian communion. See Roman Catholic. Catholic King is a title which has long been hereditary to the king of Spain. Mariana pretends that Reccarede first received this title after he had destroyed Arianism in his kingdom, and that it is found in the council of Toledo for the year 589. Vasce ascribes the origin of it to Alphonsus in 738. Some allege that it has been used only since the time of Ferdinand and Isabella; and Co-lombierc says it was given them on occasion of the expulsion of the Moors. The Bollandists pretend it had been [7:6:247]borne by their predecessors the Visigoth kings of Spain, and that Alexander VI. only renewed it to Ferdinand and Isabella. Others say that Philip de Valois was the first who was honoured with the title, which, it seems, was given him after his death by the ecclesiastics, on account of his favouring their interests. In some epistles of the ancient popes, the title catholic is given to the kings of France and of Jerusalem, as well as to several patriarchs and primates.
CATILINE, Lucius Sergius, a Roman of a noble family, who, having spent his whole fortune in debauchery and vice, formed the design of oppressing his country, destroying the senate, assassinating the consuls, seizing the public treasury, setting Rome on fire, and usurping a sovereign power. In order to prosecute this design, he drew into his plot some young noblemen, whom he prevailed upon, it is said, to drink human blood as a pledge of their union. His conspiracy, however, was discovered by the vigilance of Cicero, who was then consul; upon which, retiring from Rome, he, with several of the conspirators, put himself at the head of an army, and fought with incredible valour against Petreius, lieutenant to Antony, who was the colleague of Cicero in the consulship; but he was defeated and killed in battle.