XANTHOXYLUM. Tooth-ach-tree. In botany, a genus of the class diœcia, order pentandría. Calyx five-parted, corolless. Female: pistils five; capsules five, one-seeded. Two species: X. trifoliatum, a Chinese shrub: X. clava Herculis, a native of Jamaica.

XANTIPPE, the wife of Socrates, and a woman of a violent temper. The philosopher was not unacquainted with her disposition before he married her. Xenophon asked him, "why he in that case married her?" "Because sheexercises my patience," said Socrates," and in bearing her ill-humour, I am able to support every thing else from others."

XATIVA, a town of Spain, in Valencia. Having taken the part of Charles III. in 1707, Philip V. ordered it to be demolished, and a new town to be built, called St. Philip. It is seated on the side of a hill, at the foot of which runs the Xucar, 32 miles S. W. of Valencia, and 50 N.W. of Alicant. Lon. 0. 14 W. Lat. 39. 4 N.

XAVIER, or SABI, the capital of the kingdom of Whidah, on the slave coast of Guinea. It is noted for its great market, which is held at the distance of a mile from the walls. The market-place is surrounded by suttlers' booths, which are only permitted to sell certain sorts of meat, as beef, pork, and the flesh of goats and dogs. Here slaves of both sexes are bought and sold, as well as oxen, sheep, dogs, hogs, fish, and birds. Here are to be found various commodities of Whidau manufacture. and every thing of European, Asiatic, or African production Xavier is seated one mile from the river Euphrates.

XEBEC, or ZEBEC, a small three-masted ressel, navigated in the Mediterranean sea, and on the coasts of Spain, Portugal, and Barbary. The sails of the xebec are in general similar to those of the poleacre, but the hull is extremely different from that and almost every other ves. sel. It is furnished with a strong prow: and the extremity of the stern, which is nothing more than a sort of railed platform or gallery, projects farther behind the counter and but tock than that of any European ship. Being generally equipped as a corsair, the xebec is constructed with a narrow floor, to be more swift in pursuit of the enemy; and of a great breadth, to enable her to carry a great force of sail for this purpose without danger of overturning. As these vessels are usually very low built, their decks are formed with a great convexity from the middle of their breadth towards the sides, in order to carry off the water which falls aboard more readily by their scuppers. But as this extreme convexity would render it very difficult to walk thereon at sea, particularly when the vessel rocks by the agitation of the waves, there is a platform of grating extending along the deck from the sides of the vessel towards the middle, whereon the crew may walk dry-footed whilst the water is conreyed through the grating to the scuppers. The xebecs, which are generally armed as vesgels of war by the Algerines, mount from 16 to

24 cannon, and carry from 300 to 450 men, two-thirds of whom are generally soldiers.

XENOCRATES, a celebrated ancient Grecian philosopher, was born at Chalcedon in the 95th Olympiad. At first he attached himself to schines, but afterwards became a disciple of Plato, who took much pains in cultivating his genius, which was naturally heavy. As long as Plato lived, Xenocrates was one of his most esteemed disciples; after his death he closely adhered to his doctrine; and, in the second year of the 110th Olympiad, he took the chair in the academy, as the successor of Speusippus.

Xenocrates was celebrated among the Athenians, not only for his wis om, but for his vir tues. He was an admirer of the mathematical sciences and was so fully convinced of their utility, that when a young man, who was unacquainted with geometry and astronomy, desired adinission into the academy, he refused his request, saying, that he was not yet possessed of the handles of philosophy. In fine, Xenocrates was eminent both for the purity of his morals and for his acquaintance with science, and supported the credit of the Platonic school by his lectures, his writings, and his conduct. He lived to the first year of the 116th Olympiad, or the 82d of his age, when he lost his life by accidentally falling, in the dark, into a reservoir of water.

XENOPHANES, the founder of the Eleatic sect of philosophy among the Greeks, was born at Colophon probably about the 65th Olympiad. From some cause or other he left his country early, and took refuge in Sicily, where he supported himself by reciting, in the court of Hiero, elegiac and iambic verses, which he had written in reprehension of the theogonies of Hesiod and Homer. From Sicily he passed over into Magna Græcia, where he took up the profession of philosophy, and became a celebrated preceptor in the Pythagorean school. Indulging, however, a greater freedom of thought than was usual among the disciples of Pythagoras, he ventured to introduce new opinions of his own, and in many particulars to oppose the doctrines of Epimenides, Thales, and Pythagoras. Xenophanes possessed the Pythagorean chair of philosophy about seventy years, and lived to the extreme age of a hundred years, that is, according to Eusebius, till the 81st Olympiad. The doctrine of Xeuophanes concerning nature is so imperfectly preserved, and obscurely expressed, that it is no wonder that it has been differently represented by different writers. Perhaps the truth is, that he held the universe to be one in nature and substance, but distin guished in his conception between the matter of which all things consist, and that latent divine force which, though not a distinct substance, but an attribute, is necessarily inherent in the universe, and is the cause of all its perfection. Xenophanes was the author of several poetical works, among which are mentioned a poem on the foundation of Colophon,

some of the elegies above referred to, and a treatise concerning nature; all of which, however, with the exception of a few fragments, are lost.

XENOPHON, an Athenian, son of Gryllus, celebrated as a general, an historian, and a philosopher. In the school of Socrates he received those precepts which afterwards so eminently distinguished him. Being invited by Proxenus, one of his intimate friends, to accompany Cyrus the younger in an expedition against his brother Artaxerxes, king of Persia, he previously consulted Socrates, who strongly opposed it. Xenophon, however, ambitious of glory, hastened with precipitation to Sardis, where he was introduced to the young prince. In the army of Cyrus, Xenophon shewed that he was a true disciple of Socrates. After the decisive battle in the plains of Cunaxa, aud the fall of Cyrus, the prudence and vigour of his mind were called into action. The ten thousand Greeks who had followed the prince were now at the distance of above 600 leagues from home, surrounded on every side by a victorious enemy, without money, without provisions, and without a leader. Xenophon was selected from among the officers to superintend the retreat. This celebrated retreat was at last happily effected by the Greeks, who returned home after a march of 1155 parasangs, or leagues, which was performed in 215 days, after an absence of 15 months. He had no sooner returned from Cunaxa, than he sought new honours in following the fortune of Agesilaus in Asia, where he conquered with him in the Asiatic provinces, as well as at the battle of Coronæa. His fame, however, did not escape the aspersions of jealousy: he was publicly banished from Athens for accompanying Cyrus against his brother; and being now with out a home, he retired to Scillus, a small town in the neighbourhood of Olympia. In this solitary retreat, he dedicated his time to literary pursuits, but his peaceful occupations were soon disturbed by a war which arose between the Lacedæmonians and Elis. From the latter place he retired to the city of Corinth, where he died in the 90th year of his age, 359 years before the Christian era. The works of Xenophon are the Anabasis, the Cyropædia, his Hellenica, Memorabilia, besides other tracts. The simplicity and the elegance of Xenophon's diction have procured him the name of the Athenian Muse, and the bee of Greece. His sentiments, as to the divinity and religion, were the same as those of the venerable Socrates.

The best editions of the works of Xenophon are those of Franck fort in 1674, and of Oxford, in Greek and Latin, 5 vols. 8vo. 1703. His Cyropædia, Anabasis, and Memorabilia Socrates, have been published separately at Oxford; and there is a good translation of the Cyropædia by Spelman.

XERES-DE-BADAJOZ, a town of Spain, in Estremadura, and in the territory of Tra-laGuadiana, seated on the rivulet Ardilla, 27

miles S.E. of Badajoz. Lon. 6. 32 W. Lat. 38.9 N.

XERES-DE-GUADIANA, a town of Spain, in Andalusia, seated on the Guadiana, 18 miles N. of Ayamonte. Lon. 7. 15 W. Lat. 37. 30 N.

XERANTHEMUM, in botany, a genus of the class syngenesia, order polygamia superflua. Receptacle chaffy; down chaffy and bristly; calyx imbricate, radiate, with the ray coloured. Three species only, natives of the south of Europe: X. annuum; X. inapertum ; X. orientale.

This genus has a near resemblance to the elichrysum, Linn. or eternal flower, the species of which have been often included under it : they differ chiefly in having a simple or feathery down, instead of a chaffy or bristly. See ELICHRYSUM.

XERASIA. (from Engos, dry.) An excessive tenuity of the hairs similar to down.

XEROPHYTA, in botany, a genus of the class hexandria, order monogynia. Corol sixparted, equal; the divisions narrower; stigma clavate; capsule inferior, three-celled, many. seeded. One species, a Madagascar shrub, with flowers at the end of the branchlets.

XERXES, the fifth king of Persia, and second son of Darius Hystaspes. He reduced Egypt under his power, of which he left his brother Achemene governor. Encouraged by this success, he marched against the Greeks with an army of 800,000 men, and a fleet of 1000 ships. He threw a bridge over the Hel lespont, and cut through mount Athos. Bat being arrived at the straits of Thermopyla, Leonidas with only 300 Lacedemonians disputed the passage with him for a long time, making an immense slaughter of the Persians. The Athenians soon after gained the famous naval battle of Salamine, obliging Xerxes to retire into his own dominions, leaving his ge neral, Mardonius, in Greece to command the remains of his troops. Notwithstanding he was vain and insolent enough to desire to con trol the elements, by ordering the sea to be whipped and chains to be thrown into it, yet he was capable of making a salutary reflection, as was seen by his shedding tears one day on beholding his vast army from an eminence. On his being asked the cause, he said, it was the thought of mortality, which in a few years would not leave one of that immense body alive.

He

XIMENES (Francis), archbishop of Toledo, born at Torrelaguna, in Castile, in 1437. King Ferdinand confided to him the admini stration of state affairs; which he conducted with great ability and integrity. Julius II. in 1507, created him cardinal of Spain. founded the college of Alcala, and the magnificent library there. In the war his sovereign undertook against the Moors, the cardinal entered victoriously into Oran, at the head of the troops. He gained great popularity by the precautions he took against an apprehended famine, and by preserving great quantities of

corn in granaries at his own cost. Upon the death of Ferdinand, he was left regent, the heir Charles being at that time in Flanders. The grandees of Spain became his enemies, as he had not only diminished the influence they had been accustomed to derive from their large possessions, but reduced numerous pensions and useless places. He was a patron and protector of literature. He died, as it is said, of poison, in 1517. He caused to be printed at Alcala, the great Polyglot Bible, which bears the name of the Complutensian edition. This work is now very scarce and valuable.

XIMENESIA, in botany, a genus of the class syngenesia, order polygamia superflua. Receptacle chaffy; downless; seeds of the margin naked, emarginate, of the centre winged on the margin; calyx many-seeded, nearly equal. One species, à Mexicau plant, with opposite leaves and peduncled flowers.

XIMENIA, in botany, a genus of the class octandria, order monogynia. Calyx four-cleft; petals four, hairy, revolute; drupe one-seeded. Three species, trees of the West Indies and America.

XIMO, an island of Japan, the second in size and eminence, situate to the S. W. of Niphon, from which it is divided by a narrow channel. It is about 450 miles in circuit.

XIPHIAS. Sword-fish. In zoology, a genus of the class pisces, order apodalia. Head furnished with a long, hard, sword-shaped upper jaw; mouth without teeth; gill-membrane eight-rayed; body rounded, without apparent scales. Two species.

1. X. gladius: with the dorsal fin falcate. The name is evidently derived from the peculiar conformation of the upper jaw, which projects about four times the length of the lower one, is compressed at the top and bottom, and sharpened towards the point. This enormous snout is three feet long, resembling a sword in shape; its substance is rough and hard, and capable of piercing and sinking small vessels in the sea, as is asserted by Pliny, and as is probably correct.

The sword-fish grows to the length of twenty feet; the head alone being in some instances known to weigh upwards of seventy pounds. The body is long and slender, thick towards the head, but tapering off into a small size as it approaches the tail: colour above black, on the belly of a silvery white: mouth without teeth; the lower jaw terminates like the upper one, in a sharp spear-like point, but greatly inferior in length: the dorsal fin takes its rise above the gills, and continues till it nearly reaches the tail; it is supported by twenty-six rays; the first of which is by far the strongest and highest, the others gradually diminishing, till the four last, which again rise higher, and give the appearance of a second fin. The tail branches into a fork or crescent: there are on each side, a little above the tail, two triangular protuberances, formed by the skin, resembling the spurious fins of the thunny: the pectoral fins are placed at the gills; the first ray of these is also by far the longest, which gives them

the appearance of a scythe. The anus is placed about one third part of the body from the tail, and below it are two anal fins connected by a common membrane. The sword-fish is exceedingly voracious, and is a great enemy of the thunny, which discovers its fear as soon as it approaches. Ovid and Belon take notice of its hostilities against this timid prey.

This fish sometimes frequents the British seas, but is much more common in the Mediterranean; the Straits of Messina are particularly famous for it; and it was probably upon a promontory there that the speculatores, or persons employed to watch and give notice of its approach, were stationed. Willoughby informs us that he went himself to Scylla to be a spectator of the Italian method of killing this animal: the spies above, on seeing the sword, make signals to the boats below, directing the sailors where to steer: as soon as the vessel reaches the spot where the fishes reside, one of the most skilful of the fishermen gets upon a mast, erected for the purpose, and directs the boat till it comes within reach of the particular fish at which he intends to aim; he then descends, and pierces it with a spear, fastening the instrument to a rope; when the animal is allowed to struggle till overcome with fatigue and pain; after which it is either taken up into the boat, or drawn ashore, according to its size. Flesh good.

2. X. platypterus. Indian sword-fish. Dorsal fin very broad; thorax with two very long pointed appendages. Body silvery blueish white; upper part of the back, head and tail deep brown; dorsal fin pale-brown, finely spotted with roundish black marks; skin smooth, without the appearance of scales; tail semilunar. Inhabits the Brasilian and East India seas; grows to the length of twenty feet or more; is a very powerful fish; frequently attacks whales, and pierces the sides of ships with its swordlike snout, as part of the bottom of a large East Indiaman with the sword of this fish driven completely through is now in the British Museum. The fish was killed by the violence of the effort, and the vessel probably saved from foundering by its not having power to withdraw it. See Nat. Hist. Pl. CXC.

XIPHIAS, in astronomy. See DORADO. XIPHIDIUM, in botany, a genus of the class triandria, order monogynia. Corol sixpetalled, equal; capsule superior, three-celled, many-seeded. Two species; one an herb of Cumana, the other of Guiana.

XIPHIUM (Bulbous). See IRIS.

XIPHOID. (from us, a sword, and os, likeness.) A term given by anatomists to parts which had some resemblance to an ancient sword, as the xiphoid cartilage.

XIPHOID CARTILAGE. See CARTILAGO ENSIFORMIS.

XYLOALOES. See LIGNUM ALOES. XYLOBALSAMUM. See BALSAMUM

GILEADENSIS.

XYLOCARPUS, in botany, a genus of the class octandria, order monogynia. Calyx four-toothed; corol four-petalled; nectary eight