RETRAHENS auriculam, in anatomy, a muscle of the external ear, consisting of a parcel of fleshy fibres, which in fome bodies are divided into three diftin&t mufcles arifing from the os temporale, and fixed to the hind part of the concha. But thefe muscles are fo fmall in men, that the auricle is feldom moveable at all. See the article EAR. RETRAXIT, in law, is where a plaintiff comes in perfon to the court where his action is brought, and declares he will not proceed in it, in which cafe the action is barred for ever.

A retraxit differs from a nonfuit in this, that it is always where the plaintiff or demandant is perfonally in court. See the

article NON-SUIT.

RETREAT, in war, the retiring or moving back again of any army or part thereof.

RETREAT, OF RELAY, in masonry, a lit

tle recefs or diminution of the thicknefs of a wall, rampart, &c. in proportion as it is raifed. The retreat, properly, is the diminution of a wall withoutfide, or the contraction of its upper courses more than the foundation. Where the foundation is very long, they usually make two or three retreats. RETRENCHMENT literally fignifies fomething cut off or taken from a thing; in which fenfe it is the fame with fubtraction, diminution, &c.

RETRENCHMENT, in the art of war, any kind of work raised to cover a post, and fortify it against the enemy, fuch as fafcines loaded with earth, gabions, barrels of earth, fand-bags, and generally all things that can cover the men and ftop the enemy. But retrenchment is more particularly applicable to a fofs bordered with a parapet; and a poft fortified thus is called poft retrenched, or frong post. Retrenchments are either general or particular general retrenchments are new fortifications made in a place befieged, to cover the befiegers when the enemy become masters of a lodgment on the fortification, that they may be in a condition of difputing the ground inch by inch, and of putting a top to the enemy's progrefs in expectation of relief. See the article RETIRADE.

Particular retrenchments are fuch as are made in the bastions when the enemy are. mafters of the breach. These can never be made but in new full bastions, for in empty, or hollow ones, there can only be made retirades. The particular re

trenchments are made several ways, according to the time they have to cover themselves: fometimes they are made before-hand, which are certainly the best. The parapets of fuch retrenchments ought to be five or fix feet thick, and five feet high, with a large and deep fofs, from whence ought to run out fmall fougades and countermines. See FouGADE. RETRIBUTION, retributio, a handfome prefent, gratuity, or acknowledgment, given inftead of a formal falary, or hire, to perfons employed in affairs that do not fo immediately fall under eftimation, nor within the ordinary commerce in money.

RETRIEVE, to recover, get again, or repair a thing loft or damaged.

To retrieve, in falconry, fignifies to fpring or find partridges again which have been once sprung before. RETROACTIVE, in law, that which has an influence or effect on time past. RETROCESSION, retroceffio, the act of going backwards; more ufually called retrogreffion, or retrogradation. See the next article. RETROCESSION of the equinox. See the article PRECESSION. RETROGRADATION, or RETROGRESSION, the act or effect of a thing moving backwards.

The retrograde motion of the planets is an apparent motion, whereby they seem, to an observer placed on the earth, to move backwards, or contrary to the figns. See the articles PLANET, ORBIT, &c. As to the retrograde motion of the fun, when in the torrid zone, and has his declination AM (plate CCXXXII. fig. 3.) greater than the latitude of the place AZ, but either northern or fouthern as that is, the fun will appear to go backwards, or to be retrograde both before and after noon.

For draw the vertical circle, ZGN, to be a tangent to the fun's diurnal circle in G, and another, ZON, through the fun rifing in O. It is evident all the intermediate vertical circles cut the fun's diurnal circle twice; firft, in the arch GO, and the fecond time in the arch GI. Wherefore, as the fun afcends through the arch GO, it continually arrives at farther and farther verticals. But, as it continues its afcent through the arch G I, it returns to its former verticals; and, therefore, is feen retrograde for fome time before noon. The fame, as may be shewn after the fame man

ner,

This

on the day following the eighth day af ter Trinity: on the day next after the fifteenth day from Trinity: on the day next after three weeks from Trinity. In the common pleas, on the day after Trinity in eight days of Trinity: in fif teen days from Trinity: in three weeks from Trinity. Michaelmas term has fix returns, viz. on the day next after three weeks from St. Michael: on the day next after one month of St. Michael: on the day following the fecond day after All-fouls on the day next after the fecond day after St. Martin: on the day following the octave of St. Martin: on the day next after fifteen days of St. Martin. In the common pleas, in three weeks from St. Michael: in one month from St. Michael: on the day after Allfouls: on the day after St. Martin: on the octave of St. Martin: in fifteen days from St. Martin. It is to be obferved, that, as in the king's bench, all returns are to be made on fome particular day of the week in each term, care must be taken not to make the writs out of that court returnable on a non-judicial day; such as Sunday, and All-faints, in Michaelmas term, the purification in Hillary, the afcenfion in Eafter, and Midfummer-day, except it fhould fall on the first day of Trinity term. See the article TERM. RETURN, in building, is a fide or part that falls away from the forefide of any strait work.

ner, it does for fome time after noon. The retrograde motion of the nodes, is a motion of the line of nodes, whereby it continually shifts its fituation from east to weft, contrary to the order of the figns; completing its retrograde circulation in the compass of about nineteen years, after which time either of the nodes, having receded from any point of the ecliptic, returns to the fame again. RETROGRESSION of curves, their bending or turning backwards. See the articles FLEXURE and INFLECTION. RETROMINGENTS, in natural history, a class or divifion of animals, whose characteristic it is that they ftale, or make water, backwards, both male and female. RETURN, returna, or retorna, in law, is used in divers fenfes. 1. Return of writs by sheriffs and bailiffs is a certificate made by them to the court, of what they have done in relation to the execution of the writ directed to them. is wrote on the back of the writ by the officer, who thus fends the writ back to the court from whence it issued, in order that it may be filed. 2. Return of a commiffion, is a certificate or answer fent to the court from whence the commiffion issues, concerning what has been done by the commiffioners. 3. Returns, or days in bank, are certain days in each term, appointed for the return of writs, &c. Thus Hillary term has four returns, viz. in the king's bench, on the day next after the octave, or eighth day after Hillary day on the day next after the fifteenth day from St. Hillary: on the day after the purification, and on the next after the octave of the purification. In the common pleas, in eight days of St. Hillary: from the day of St. Hillary, in fifteen days: on the day after the purification: in eight days of the purification. Eafter term has five returns, viz. in the king's bench, on the day next after the fifteenth day from Eafter: on the day next after three weeks from Eafter: on the day next after one month from Easter: on the day next after five weeks from Eafter: and on the day next after the day following afcenfion-day. In the common pleas, in fifteen days from the feast of Eafter: in three weeks from the feaft of Eafter: in one month from Eafter day in five weeks from Eafter day: on the day after the afcenfion-day. Trinity term has four returns, viz. on the day following the fecond day after Trinity:

RETURNS of a trench, in fortification, are the turnings and windings which form the lines of a trench. RETURNS of a mine, in fortification, are the windings of the gallery. See the articles GALLERY and MINE.

RETURNO HABENDO, or RETURNUM AVERIORUM, is a writ which lies for a perfon who has avowed a diftrefs by him made, and proved the same to be lawfully taken, for returning to him the cattle diftrained which were before replevied by the party diftrained.

The fame writ is alfo granted when the action is removed by recordari or accedas ad curiam, into the court of common pleas; and he whole cattle were distrained, makes default and does not profecute his action. RETURNUM IRREPLEGIABILE, a writ for the final return of cattle to the owner, when found to be unjustly diftrained. REVE, REEVE, or GREVE, the bailiff of a franchise, or manor, thus called, efpe16 D 2

cially

cially in the weft of England. Hence hire-reve, theriff, port-greve, &c. See the article GREVE. REVEILLE, a beat of drum about break of day, to give notice that it is time for the foldiers to arife, and that the centries are to forbear challenging. REVEL, a port-town of Livonia, fituated at the fouth entrance of the gulph of Finland: eat long. 24°, north lat. 59°. REVELATION, the act of revealing, or making a thing public that was before unknown it is also used for the difcoveries made by God to his prophets, and by them to the world; and more particularly for the books of the Old and New Teftament. See the articles BIBLE, INSPIRATION, FAITH, PROPHECY, &c. The principal tefts of the truth of any revelation are, its being worthy of God, and confiftent with his known attributes, its being agreeable to the clear dictates of unprejudiced reafon, and its having a tendency to refine, purify, and exalt the mind of man to an imitation of the Deity in his moral perfections.

velation ought to over-rule all our opinions, prejudices, and interefts, and has a right to be received with full affent: and fuch a fubmiffion as this, of our reafon to faith, takes not away the landmarks of knowledge.

REVELATION of St. John, the fame with the apocalypfe. See APOCALYPSE, REVELS, entertainments of dancing, masking, acting comedies, farces, &c. antiently very frequent in the inns of court, and in noblemens houses, but now much difufed. The officer who has the direction of the revels at court, is called the mafter of the revels. REVENUE, the annual income a person receives from the rent of his lands, houses, intereft of money in the stocks, &c. REVENUE, in hunting, a fleshy lump formed chiefly of a cluster of whitish worms on the heads of deer, supposed to occafion their cafting their horns by gnawing them at the roots.

Mr. Locke, in laying down the diftin&t provinces of reafon and faith, obferves, 7. That the fame truths may be difcovered by revelation, which are discoverable to us by reason. 2. That no reveJation can be admitted against the clear evidence of reason. 3. That there are many things of which we have but imperfect notions, or none at all; and others, of whofe paft, prefent, or future existence, by the natural ufe of our faculties we cannot have the least knowledge : and thefe, being beyond the discovery of our faculties, and above reason, when revealed become the proper objects of our faith. He then adds, that our reafon is not injured or disturbed, but affifted and improved by new discoveries of truth coming from the fountain of knowledge. Whatever God has revealed is certainly true: but whether it be a divine revelation or no, reason must judge, which can never permit the mind to reject a greater evidence to embrace what is lefs evident. There can be no evidence that any traditional revelation is of divine original, in the words we receive it, and the fenle we understand it, fo clear and fo certain, as that of the principles of reason: and, therefore, nothing that is contrary to the clear and felf-evident dictates of reafon, has a right to be urged or affented to as a matter of faith, wherein reafon has nothing to do. Whatfoever is divine re

REVENUE is also used for a new tail of a partidge, growing after the lop of a former; this is measured by fingers; and thus they say a partridge of two, three, or four fingers revenue.

REVERBERATION, reverberatio, in phyfics, the act of a body repelling or

reflecting another after its impinging thereon. See the article REPULSION. REVERBERATION, in chemistry, denotes a kind of circulation of the flame by means of a reverberatory, or the return of the flame from the top of the furnace back to the bottom, chiefly used in calcination. Reverberation is of two kinds : the first with a close fire, that is, a reverberatory furnace, where the flame has no vent at top, being covered with a dome or capital, which repells its action back on the matter or the veffel that contains it, with increased vehemence. After this manner is refining, the diftillation of acids, fpirits, &c. performed. Reverberation with an open fire is that performed in a furnace or reverberatory, whose registers are all open, used in cal. cination, &c. See the next article. REVERBERATORY, or REVERBERATING FURNACE, a chemical furnace built clofe all around, and covered at the top with a capital of brick or tiles, fo as not to give any vent to the heat or flame, but to determine it to reverberate or turn back from the brick-work with new force upon the matter placed at bottom, When the fire has no vent or paffage atop, it is a whole reverberatory. When

the