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..f.ers; .nd thofe for boa" either out of Eogliíh aCh,
or 6r.rarlcrs from N orway.
() .~T. in bOlany . Se< AVENA.
o:\'rl {, is.l folerno aflirmiltion. in which lh! perrons fworn
invoke the Alnlighty l O witn·.fs thu their tefiimony is
true; renouncing all d aim lO his merey, and calling for
his veng::aoce, ir it be falfe.
OllAOIAH, or th_ P rophuJ oj OBADIAH, a e.nonieal
book of the Old TeCl:ament'. which is contained in ('oe
fin ole! chapter; and is partl y an inveftive againH lhe
cr~"dty of lhe Edomites, who mocked and deridcd the
ehildren of Ifrael, .. ,hey p<lfed in.o e3p.ivi,y, and
with Other ent:mies, thcir confeder:ues, invadcd and
opprelfcd thofe Ilrange,., and divid<d .h< f?oil , monp,1l
themCelves) and pard y a prediélion of the deliver~nce
of Ifnel, and of the v:élory aod triumph of the whole
church over her enemies .
OBELISK, in arehite{lure, • tluneated, qu.draogul..,
and Oc:nder pyramid', raifed as an ornament, .and rre·
qucntly charged eilher Wilh ¡n[criptioos or hiero·
glyphie•.
ObeliO" appe.r to be of very antiquity, .od
lo be 6dl ..ifed to ".nfmit to poClerity preeep" of
philofophy, ",hieh were cut in hieroglyphieal eharoélers:
arterw<lros lhey were ufed to immortalize the great
allioos of heroes, and the memory or perrons beloved.
The firll obeliCk mentioned io billory "'as .hat of Ra–
roefe. kiog of Egypt, in .he time of the Troj.o war,
whieh w•• fo"y eubi.. high. Phiu., another king of
Egvpt. roifed one of fony_Gve eubi,,; .nd Ptol<my
P hi l, delphu•. aoother of eighty·eight eubits, in me–
mory of ArGnoe. AuguCbs ereélcd one at Rome io
1he Campus Martius, :vhich rerved to mark lhe hours
00 an horizontal dial, drawn on the pavement. They
were e.lled by the Egyptian priell. the 6oge" of the
fun , beeaufe .bey "'ere made in Egypt alfo to ferve
as O:yles or gnomons to mark the hours on the ground.
The Arab. Ilill e~1I them Pharaoh'. needles: wheoee
,he Italiao. eall them aguglia, and the Freoeh ai–
~uiJ\<5 .
OIlERSTEIN, the capital of the eounty of the fame
name, in the Palatinate of the Rhine. 1hirty miles ean
of Triers .
OIlERWESEL, or W"EL, a to"'n of G ermany, io
the eleflorate of Trie:r" thirty.Ceven miles nortbo eall:
of ,he eity of Triers.
OBjECT, io philofophy, fomething appr. hended, or
preft nted to the minu, by fenCatioD or by imagioatioD.
S ee ~1ETArHYSlcs .
OBjEe"-GLA" 'Fa td_/<"0pf. See O'T,e •.
Oi.!JECTION, fom«hing urged.o overthrow. pofi.ion,
oc a diffieulty ..if.d agaioll ~o .lIegation or propofi–
tion o( a perrO" we are dirpuling withal.
Ol3jECTIVE is ufed, iD the fehools, in fpeakiog of a
1hing which exifis no otherwire than as ao objtét
known . The exiOeoec of fueh • thing i. faid to be
ohi~{live.
013L .'\.TI, in ehureh hiClory, "'ere fecul.r perfons. who
devoled themrelves and their elbnes tOfom e monaClery,
into ",hieh they were admiued a. a kind oflay brothers.
Tbe form of their admiffion, was, putting the bell.
o TI S
ropes of the ehureh round their Decks, as a mlrk oC
Cc.:rvitude. "hey \Yore a religious babil, but di1f~reat
(roln th~t or the monks.
OI3LATION, a fdenliee, or. offeriog nude '0 Goj.
OBLIGATION, in Seo15 law . See LAwTIt. XK .
OBLIQ!d E, in g<ometry, fom e.hiog , or .hat de-
viatcs trom the perpendicular. l 'hus anobliquc angle
is either ao aCUle or obture one, i. e. aay aogle ex.:ept
a right onc.
OSLIQ..,UE CASES, in grammar. are all the cares except
the n.)miní\tive .
OBLIQ..,u"E LINE, thu which falliog on another Jine,
m.. ol>liqlle annles witli ¡t, VIZ. one acute, and the
olh(!r obture.:.
.,UE PLANf.S. in.dialling"are thofe which recline
from the zenil:-., or incline towtlrds the hornoo. Se:
DIALt.ING .
OBLIQ..US SAILINC, in navigation. See NA·VIC.ATIOS.
OBLIQU ITY o/ th_ <cliplie. See AST RON O" Y .
OBLIQIJUS, in .ndtorny, • o. me giveo to feveral
murcies: particuhnly in the . eye.s. aod abdomen.
See ANATO"Y, P...• U
OBLONG, io general, denotes a 6gure .hat is long..
.han broad: fueh i. a p.rallelogr.m. elJipfis, b e.
OBOLUS, in antiquity, an ancient Athenian coin.
Among aneien. phyfieians, obolus Itkewife denoled
a weighl, t'qual to ten graios.
OBREP nTIOUS, an appellationgiven toletlers patent,
or otner inflruOlt:nts, obtained o( a ruperíor by fu rprife.
or by concealine from him the truth.
OBSCURE, fomethiog tha< is dark and reBe{l. little
light, or that is not e1ear and intelligiblc.
OllSECRATION. io rhelOrie, a figure whereby the
otator implores tbe affillance o f Cod, or mano
OBSEQY lES, tbe fame wi.h fuoeral folemoitie.. See
FUN¡R4L.
OBSERVATION, among n.vigators, figni6e. the takiog
the (un's or lh~ Har's meridiaa aJitude. in order thefe..
by '0 fiod the latitude.
OBSERVATORY, a place dellined for obf..ving the
heavenly bodies; bciog,generally • buildiog ereéled
on fome eminence, covered with a terrace for making
aUronomical obfervations.
Tbe more obeerv.tories are, t. The
Gr.enwieh.obfervatory, built io 1676, by order of
Ch.r1es 11. at the folieitation. of Sir jon•• Moar
and Sir Chrilloph<r Wreo ; aod furniChed with the
moll aCCUl'ate innrumems. particuladya noble fextaot
of fe ven reet radiu" with lclefcopic fights.
2 . The pariCh·obferva.ory, built by the late Loui.
XIV. io the Fauxbourg SI. j aques.
le is a very finguL"r, but withal a very magnificeot
building; .he derogn of monfieur Perault: lt i. eighty
{eet high; and at top is aterras.
The differenee in looglt ude betweeo .hi••od the
CreenwiC'h. obren'atory is 2 0 20' weCl.
In it 1S a cave, or cella r. 170 (eet defeear, for ex–
periments that are tObe rt):tde fu rrom lhe fun. 6c.
particu l.trly ruc-h as relate to congeh.tio05, refrigera–
tions, indurations, conrervations, 6c.
3. T yeho Brahe's oofcrratory, which " .. in the
liule