eld in high esteem by
Erasmus; sent to England by the Pope, he became Latin secretary to Henry
and a prebendary of Salisbury; _d_. 1517.

AMMONITES, a Semitic race living E. of the Jordan; at continual feud
with the Jews, and a continual trouble to them, till subdued by Judas
Maccabaeus.

AMMONITES, a genus of fossil shells curved into a spiral form like
the ram-horn on the head of the image of Ammon.

AMMO`NIUS SACCAS, a philosopher of Alexandria, and founder of
Neo-Platonism; Longinus, Origen, and Plotinus were among his pupils; _d_.
243, at a great age.

AMNION, name given to the innermost membrane investing the foetus in
the womb.

AMOEBA, a minute animalcule of the simplest structure, being a mere
mass of protoplasm; absorbs its food at every point all over its body by
means of processes protruded therefrom at will, with the effect that it
is constantly changing its shape.

AMOMUM, a genus of plants, such as the cardamom and grains of
paradise, remarkable for their pungency and aromatic properties.

AMORITES, a powerful Canaanitish tribe, seemingly of tall stature,
NE. of the Jordan; subdued by Joshua at Gibeon.

AMORY, THOMAS, an eccentric writer of Irish descent, author of the
"Life of John Buncle, Esq.," and other semi-insane productions; he was a
fanatical Unitarian (1691-1789).

AMOS, a poor shepherd of Tekoa, near Bethlehem, in Judah, who in the
8th century B.C. raised his voice in solitary protest against the
iniquity of the northern kingdom of Israel, and denounced the judgment of
God as Lord of Hosts upon one and all for their idolatry, which nothing
could avert.

AMOY` (96), one of the open ports of China, on a small island in the
Strait of Fukien; has one of the finest harbours in the world, and a
large export and import trade; the chief exports are tea, sugar, paper,
gold-leaf, &c.

AMPERE`, ANDRE MARIE, a French mathematician and physicist, born at
Lyons; distinguished for his discoveries in electro-dynamics and
magnetism, and the influence of these on electro-telegraphy and the
general extension of science (1775-1836).

AMPERE, JEAN JACQUES, son of the preceding; eminent as a
litterateur, and a historian and critic of literature; attained to the
rank of a member of the French Academy (1800-1864).

AMPHIC`TYONIC COUNCIL, a council consisting of representatives from
several confederate States of ancient Greece, twelve in number at length,
two from each, that m