pnugues/EB7 huggingface dataset:
HELMONT, John Baptist Van, a famous Brabançon physician, and leader of distinction in the chemical school of medicine, was born at Brussels in the year 1577, and descended of a noble family. At Louvain and other places he studied medicine with so much avidity, that he had perused Hippocrates, Galen, and the Greek and Arabian physicians at a very early period of life. When not more than seventeen years of age, he read public lectures at Louvain, and was created doctor of physic in the year 1599, when only twenty-two. Having, in 1609, married a wife who was both rich and noble, he retired with her to Vil-forde, where he practised as a physician, without taking any fees. He was accustomed to boast of the thousands whom he cured every year; but his success in his own family was by no means great, for his eldest daughter died of a leprosy, and he lost two sons by the plague. He published a variety of works, by which he acquired great re putation. He was invited to the court of Vienna by the Emperor Rodolph, but he declined accepting the invitation. He died in the year 1644, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. Van Helmont was a man of acute genius, clear-sighted in detecting the mistakes of others, and extremely fond of forming hypotheses of his own, which were not always supported by conclusive arguments. He affirmed with great boldness, evinced extreme credulity, and showed excessive fondness for narrations, however extravagant, which seemed to favour his own preconceived opinions. Perhaps his greatest foible was the liberal manner in which he praised himself, in reference to his own pretended nostrums and specifics. His ideas were far from being perspicuous, chiefly owing to his habit of employing terms and phrases which he had not properly defined. He added much, however, to the stock of chemical facts at that time known, and paved the way to more interesting discoveries; and he contributed more than any of his predecessors to subvert the Galenical theory of humours and qualities, which he certainly combated with many forcible arguments. His theory of ferments was in a great measure espoused by Sylvius. His son Francis Mercury published a collected edition of his works, Amsterdam, 1648, in 4to, which has often been reprinted since, under the title of Opera Omnia, and has been [7:11:228]translated into Dutch, French, and English. Of all his productions, the most curious are, 1. Febrium Doctrina inaudita, Antwerp, 1614, in 8vo; and, 2. De Magnetica Vulnerum naturali ct legitima Curatione, contra Ĵoh. Roberti, Soc. Jesu, Paris, 1621, in 8vo.
HELMSLEY, a town of the wapentake of Rydall, in the north riding of the county of York, and 218 miles from London. It is on the river Rye, in a beautiful valley. It is well built, and had formerly a strong castle, which was demolished by Cromwell. There is a good market, which is held on Saturday. Near it are the ruins of Revaulx Abbey, converted into a splendid modern mansion. The population amounted in 1801 to 1449, in 1811 to 1415, in 1821 to 1520, and in 1831 to 1485.
HELMSTEDT, a city of the duchy of Brunswick, in Germany, the capital of the circle of the same name. It stands near the river Elze, and is fortified. It contains two churches, an orphan-house, three hospitals, 659 houses, and 5420 inhabitants. It was formerly the scat of a university of great celebrity. There are manufactures carried on of flannels and other woollen goods, and bleacheries, tanneries, and some distilleries. Long. 10. 56. 55. E. Lat. 51. 13. 45. N.
HELMUND, Heermund, or Hirmund, a river of Khorassan, and the largest of any in that country, has its rise to the west of Cabul, in the hill called Kohi Baba. It runs south-west through the Hazara country, and passing southward, it crosses the great roads from Candahar to Herat at Greeshk, a distance of 260 miles, and its course is through very high and steep hills. It falls into the lake of Seestan, after a course of 360 miles. It is a very large river in summer, from the melting of the snows; and it is a common practice with the inhabitants to try to shoot arrows across, or to sling stones, which they are not able to accomplish. In the cold weather it is only breast deep. There are two boats at the Grceshk Pass, but for the greater part of the year the river is fordable. Its stream is swelled by several considerable tributaries.
HELOISE, celebrated on account of her unfortunate affection for her tutor Abelard, and for her Latin letters to him after they had retired from the world. She died abbess of Paraclete in 1163. See Abelard.
HELOS, in Ancient Geography, a maritime town of Laconia, situated between Trinasus and Acriae. In Pausanias’s time it was in ruins. This district was called Helo-tea, and the people Helotes, Helotae, Helei, and Heleatae, by Stephanus, and Ilotae by Livy. Being subdued by the Lacedaemonians, they were all reduced to a state of public slavery, or made the slaves of the public, on the condition that they could neither recover their liberty nor be sold out of the territory of Sparta. Hence the term g∕λωrsusiv, in Haipocration, for being in a state of slavery; and hence also the Lacedaemonians called the slaves of all nations whatsoever helotes. The epithet is Heloticus.
HELOTS, in Grecian antiquity, the slaves of the Spartans. The freemen of Sparta were forbidden the exercise of any mean or mechanical employment, and therefore the whole care of supplying the city with necessaries devolved upon the Helots.
HELSINGBORG, a city of Sweden, in the province of Malmoe. It stands at the entrance, and the narrowest part, of the Sound. It is a lively place of trade, being the principal entrance to Sweden from the Danish dominions. There is no harbour; but the vessels are moored to the mole, or bridge of boats. It contains 350 well-built houses, and 2150 inhabitants. It is in long. 12. 38. 27. E. and lat. 56. 2. 55. N.
HELSINGFORS, a circle of the Russian government of Finland, on the Gulf of Bothnia, extending over 6808 square miles, and comprehending three cities or towns, 6692 villages or farms, 21,952 families, and a population of 175,000 persons. The northern part is mountainous; but the southern is low and level, and produces sufficient corn for the demand of the inhabitants. It yields for exportation some hemp and flax, and a little iron for home use. The capital, of the same name, is situated on the sea-shore, and, since it has come under the Russian dominion, has been regularly fortified. The harbour is deep, safe, and spacious, and is frequented by foreign ships, as well as by those belonging to the city. The chief trade consists in the export of planks, masts, spars, corn, and salted fish. It contains three churches, 1100 houses, and 9105 inhabitants. Long. 26. 55. E. Lat. 60. 5. N.
HELSTONE, a town in the county of Cornwall, in the hundred of Kerriar, 276 miles from London. It stands on the river Loe, which forms a harbour near the town. It is one of the chief markets for tin, and has a stannery for affixing a stamp to prove its purity. The tower of the church, ninety feet in height, is a conspicuous sea-mark. It consists of four streets crossing each other at right angles, with a stream of water running through them. It is a borough governed by a mayor and aldermen, and returns one member to the House of Commons, chosen by about 300 voters. It has a good market, which is held on Saturday. The inhabitants amounted in 1801 to 2248, in 1811 to 2297, in 1821 to 2671, and in 1831 to 3293.
HELVETIC, something which has a relation to the inhabitants of the Swiss cantons, who were anciently called Helvetii.
HELVETII, a people of Belgica, in the neighbourhood of the Allobroges and the Provincia Romana. They were famed for bravery and a predilection for war. The Civitas Helvetia was divided into four pagi or cantons, situated to the south and west of the Rhine, by which they were divided from the Germans; and extending towards Gaul, from which they were separated by Mount Jura on the west, and by the Rhone and the Leman Lake on the south, and therefore called a Gallic nation. (Tacitus, Caesar, Strabo, Ptolemy, Pliny.)
HELVIDIANS, a sect of ancient heretics, denominated from their leader Helvidius, a disciple of Auxentius the Arian, whose distinguishing principle was, that Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not continue a virgin, but had other children by Joseph.
HELVOETSLUYS, a town in the circle of Brill, in the province of Holland. It is a fortified naval station, with a good but small harbour, with docks and storehouses for equipping ships of war. It is the place of direct communication with England by the packets, which sail to and from Harwich twice in each week. The population, in 1831, was 1641 persons. Long. 4. 7. 52. E. Lat. 51. 49. 29. N.

HEMEL-Hempsted, a town of the hundred of Dacorum, in the county of Herts, twenty-three miles from London, on the river Gade, with a market on Thursday. The inhabitants amounted in 1801 to 2722, in 1811 to 3240, in 1821 to 3962, and in 1831 to 4759.
HEMEROBAPTISTS, a sect amongst the ancient Jews, so called from their washing and bathing every day, in all seasons, and observing this custom with the greatest solemnity, as a religious rite necessary to salvation. Epiphanius, who mentions this as the fourth heresy amongst the Jews, observes, that in other points these heretics entertained much the same opinions as the Scribes and Pharisees, only that they denied the resurrection of the dead, in common with the Sadducees.

The sect who pass in the East under the denomination of Sabians, calling themselves Mendai Iiaki, or ' “the disciples of John,” and whom the Europeans entitle “the Christians of St John,” because they yet retain some knowledge of the gospel, are probably of Jewish origin, and seem to have been derived from the ancient Hemerobaptists; at least it is certain that the John whom they consider as the founder of their sect bears no similitude to John the Baptist, but rather resembles the person of that name whom the ancient writers represent as the chief of the Jewish Hemerobaptists. These ambiguous Christians dwell in Persia and Arabia, but principally at Bassora; and their religion consists in bodily washings, performed frequently and with great solemnity, and attended with certain ceremonies, which the priests mingle with this superstitious service.
HEMERODROMI, compounded of ⅛μεαα, day, and δξομος, course, amongst the ancients, were sentinels or guards appointed for the security and preservation of cities and other places. They went out of the city every morning as soon as the gates were opened, and kept all day patrolling round the place; sometimes also making excursions into the country, to see that there were no enemies lying in wait to surprise them.

Hemerodromi were also a sort of couriers amongst the ancients, who only travelled one day, and then delivered their packets or dispatches to a fresh man, who run his day, and so on to the end of the journey. The Greeks had couriers of this kind, whom they derived from the Persians, as appears from Herodotus. Augustus also established couriers, who, if they did not relieve each other from day to day, yet did it from space to space, and that space was not very great.
HEMEROTROPHIS, in Antiquity, a measure of capacity, the same with the choenix. It was so called from its containing only one day’s food. The word is compounded of iιμfξα, a day, and τ1οφr ∣ , food.
HEMI, a word employed in the composition of different terms. It signifies the same with semi or demi, viz. half; being an abbreviate of ⅛μufaς, which signifies the same thing. The Greeks retrenched the last syllable of the word ⅛μusυς in the composition of words; and, after their example, we have done so too in most of the compounds borrowed from them.
HEMIBOLON, a weight often mentioned by the ancient writers in medicine, and expressing the half of their obolus, or the twelfth part of a drachm, that is, five grains.
HEMICYCLE, Hemicyclium, compounded of hμus ∖ iς, half, and κ∪κλog, circle ; a semicircle.

Hemicycle is particularly applied, in Architecture, to vaults in the cradle form, and arches or sweeps of vaults constituting a perfect semicircle. To construct an'arch of hewn stone, they divide the hemieycle into so many voussoirs, taking care to make them an uneven number, that there may be no joint in the middle, where the keystone should be.

Hemicyclium was also a part of the orchestra in the ancient theatre. Scaliger, however, observes that it was no standing part of the orchestra, being only used in dramatic pieces, where some persons are supposed to have arrived from sea, as in Plautus’s Rudens.

The ancients had also a sort of sun-dial called Hemicyclium, It was a concave semicircle, the upper end or cusp ol [7:11:230] which looked to the north. There was a style or gnomon issuing from the middle of the hemicycle, of which that point corresponding to the centre of the hemicycle represented the centre of the earth; and its shadow was projected on the concavity of the hemicycle, which represented the space between one tropic and another, the sun’s declination, the day of the month, hour of the day, and so forth.
HEMINA, in Roman antiquity, a liquid measure, which, according to Arbuthnot, was equal to half a wine pint English measure, its contents being 2∙818 solid inches.
HEMISPHERE (Hemisphoerium, compounded of ⅛u,∕oυς, half, and ffφα ∣ ξa, sphere), in Geometry, is one half of a globe or sphere, when divided by a plane passing through its centre.

Hemisphere, in Astronomy, is particularly used for one half of the mundane sphere. The equator divides the sphere into two equal parts, called the northern and southern hemispheres. The horizon also divides the sphere into two parts, called the upper and the lower hemispheres. Hemisphere is also used for a map or projection of half the terrestrial globe, or half the celestial sphere, on a plane. Hemispheres are frequently called plamspheres.
HEMISTICH, in Poetry, denotes half a verse, or at least a verse not completed. Of this there are frequent examples in Virgil’s Aeneid ; but whether they were left unfinished by design or not is disputed amongst the learned.
HEMITONE, in the ancient music, was what we now call a half note or semitone.
HEMS, an ancient city of Syria, on the borders of the desert. The present town stands on a fine plain, watered by a rivulet, and does not occupy above one fourth of the space within the walls. It was the ancient Emesa in the time of the Roman empire, and appears to have been fortified with walls about three miles in circumference. It successively changed masters in the various revolutions which took place in this part of Asia, and fell into decay. It contains many ruins and relics of antiquity. It is 120 miles south of Aleppo, and eight north of Damascus. Long. 37. 20. E. Lat. 34. 25. N.
HEMSKERCK, Egbert, called the Old, a celebrated Flemish painter of humorous conversations. We have no information as to the time in which he flourished, or the school in which he was taught. Though the taste of his compositions is but low, yet it ought to be considered that he took his subjects from nature; from persons in the meanest occupations, whose dress, actions, and manners could not furnish the imagination with any ideas of elegance; and to express their passions and humours undisguised seems to have been the utmost of his ambition. By frequenting fairs, merry-meetings, gaming-houses, and inns, he acquired a surprising power of connecting humorous circumstances. He designed and drew correctly, and his pictures have a strong effect, from his accurate management of the chiaroscuro. Some of his pictures have suffered from unskilful cleaners, and many things are sold as his which dishonour him; but his genuine works, well preserved, have a clearness and force equal to any of the Flemish artists.
HEN. See Ornithology. Hen and Chickens, a group of small islands near the coast of New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean. Long. 180. 1. W. Lat. 35. 53. S. This is also the name of a group of islands in the Eastern Seas. Long. 118. 3. E. Lat. 5. 30. S.
HENDECAGON, in Geometry, a figure having eleven sides and as many angles.
HENDON, a village of the hundred of Gore, in the county of Middlesex, on the river Brent, seven miles from London. Within the parish are many elegant villas, and a public classical school for the education of independent dissenters. The population amounted in 1801 to 1955, in 1811 to 2589, in 1821 to 3100, and in 1831 to 3110.

HENED-Penny, in our old writers, a customary payment of money, instead of hens, at Christmas. Du Cange is of opinion that it may be hen-penny, gallinagium, or a composition for eggs; but Cowel thinks it is misprinted hened-penny for heved-penny or head-penny.
HENERY Isle, a small island lying due south from Bombay. It is about 600 yards in circumference, and nearly of a circular form. It is fortified and well inhabited. In 1790 it belonged to Ragojee Angria, and was a principal rendezvous of private vessels, though within sight of Bombay. Near it is another small island named Ke∏cry, which is also fortified, and of considerable strength. It was taken possession of and fortified by Sevajee in 1679. In 1790 it belonged to the Peshwa, and was also the haunt of pirates. Henery is situated in long. 72. 50. E. and lat. 18. 42. N.
HENGTCHEOU, a city of China of the first rank, in the province of Houquang, situated on the river Heng. It has a manufactory of paper, and there are also silver mines in the neighbourhood. Long. 112. E. Lat. 26. 36. N.
HENNEBON, a city of the arrondissement of L’Orient, in the department of Morbihan, in France. It stands on the navigable river Blavet, about nine miles from the sea. It has a good harbour for small vessels, and an extensive corn-market. The population amounts to 4678. Long. 3. 22. 32. W. Lat. 47. 48. 1. N.
HENNEGAU, a province in the Netherlands. It is formed from the former French department of Jemmappes, with almost all of the ancient courtships of Hennegau and Tournay, and some few communes from Liege, from Namur, and from Brabant. The French department of the Ardennes bounds it on the south, south-west, and westsides; and it is otherwise enclosed by the other Netherland provinces. It extends over 1745 square miles. It is divided into three arrondissements, viz. Mons, Tournay, and Charleroy, and these are subdivided into 29 cantons and 423 communes, containing, in 1833, 604,957 inhabitants. In the northern and western parts the province is hilly and very woody. On the plains, and especially near Toumay, the soil is generally very fertile; and in the other parts, though stony, it may, by good cultivation, be highly productive. It produces so much corn as to spare three tenths of the crop for exportation. Like the rest of Flanders, it also yields great abundance of most excellent hemp, and possesses good wet and dry pasturage. It has some mines of iron, and several of coal, of which substance nearly two millions of chaldrons are extracted annually. The manufactures are extensive, consisting of carpets, cloths, cottons, printed calicoes, lace and lace-making thread, hosiery, glass, paper, ironmongery, and various smaller commodities. The inhabitants all adhere to the Roman Catholic church, and are under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of Tournay, whose diocese comprehends 343 parishes, with their respective churches.
HENNERSDORF, a city of the kingdom of Saxony, in the bailiwick of the Elster and circle of Voightland. It contains 620 houses, with 4300 inhabitants, employed in making nankeens and other cottons, in gold and silversmiths’ work, and in clock and watchmaking.
HENOTICUM ('Eιm⅛, union, from εις, ενας, one), in Ecclesiastical History, a famous edict of the Emperor Zeno, published a. d. 482, and intended to reconcile and reunite the Eutychians with the Catholics. It was procured from the emperor by means of Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, with the assistance of the friends of Peter Mongusand Peter Trullo. The sting of this edict consists in this, that it repeats and confirms all that had been enacted in the councils of Nice, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, against the Arians, Nestorians, and Eutychians, without making any particular mention of the council of Chalcedon. It is in form of a letter, addressed by Zeno to the bishops, priests, monks, and people of Egypt and Libya. It was opposed by the Catholics, and condemned in form by Pope Felix II.
HENRICANS, in Ecclesiastical History, a sect so called from Henry its founder, who, though a monk and hermit, undertook to reform the superstition and vices of the clergy. For this purpose he left Lausanne in Switzerland, and removing from different places, at length settled at Toulouse in the year 1147, and there exercised his ministerial function, till being overcome by the opposition of Bernard, abbot of Clairval, and condemned by Pope Eugenius III. at a council assembled at Rheims, he was, in 1148, committed to prison, and there he soon ended his days. This reformer rejected the baptism of infants, severely censured the corrupt manners of the clergy, treated the festivals and ceremonies of the church with the utmost contempt, and held clandestine assemblies foi inculcating his peculiar doctrines.
HEPATIC, in Medicine and Anatomy, any thing belonging to or connected with the liver.
HEPATOSCOPIA (formed of ¼αs, liver, and <jχmω, I consider), in Antiquity, a species of divination, in which predictions were made by inspecting the livers of animals.

Hepatoscopia is also used as a general name for divination by entrails.
HEPHAESTIA, in Grecian antiquity, an Athenian festival in honour of Vulcan, the principal ceremony of which consisted of a race, performed in the following manner: The antagonists were three young men, one of whom, by lot, took a lighted torch in his hand, and began his course; if the torch was extinguished before he finished the race, he delivered it to the second, and he in like manner to the third; and the victory was his who first carried the torch lighted to the end of the race. To this successive delivering of the torch we find many allusions in ancient writers, particularly the poets.