Perfia, where they ftill continue diftinguished by the name of SIMEON; and fo far down as the 17th century, thefe patriarchs persevered in their communion with the church of Rome, but feem at present to have withdrawn from it. The great Neftorian pontiffs, who form the oppofite party, and look with a hoftile eye on this little patriarch, have fince 1559 been diftinguished by the general denomination of Elias, and refide conftantly in Mouful. Their fpiritual dominion is very extenfive, takes in a great part of Afia, and comprehends alfo within its circuit the Arabian Nef torians, and the Chriftians of St Thomas, who dwell along the coaft of Malabar. It is to the lafting honour of the Neftorians, that of all the Chriftian focieties eftablished in the Eaft, they have been the moft careful and fuccefsful in avoid. ing a multitude of fuperftitious opinions and practices that have infected the Greek and Latin churches. About the middle of the 17th century, the Romish miffionaries gained over to their communion a small number of Neftorians, whom they formed into a church; the bishops of which refide in the city of Amida, or Diarbekir, and all affume the name of Jofeph. Nevertheless the Neftorians in general perfevere, to our own times, in their refufal to enter into the communion of the Romish church, notwithstanding the earneft entreaties and alluring offers that have been made by the Pope's legate, to conquer their inflexible conftancy,

NESTORIUS, from whom the fect of NESTORIANS derive their name, was born in Germanica, a city of Syria, and educated and baptized at Antioch; and foon after his baptifm he withdrew to a monaftry in the suburbs of that city. Upon his being admitted priest he foon acquired fo great reputation by his eloquence and the regularity of his life, that the emperor Theodofius deemed him a fit perfon to fill the fecond fee in the Chriftian church, and he was accordingly confecrated bifhop of Conftantinople in 429. He became a violent perfecutor of heretics, but contending for the doctrine that "the Virgin Mary cannot with propriety be called the Mother of God," he was deprived of his fee by the counsel of Ephefus. He then retired to his ancient monaftery at Antioch, whence he was taken by the emperor's order, and banished in 435 to Tarfus. That city being deftroyed by the barbarians, he was removed to Panopolis, a city of Thebais; where he was not fuffered to remain long, but was compelled to go from place to place, till being in one of his jour neys mortally bruised by a fall, death removed him from the fury of his perfecutors. Such of his writings as remain, prove that he was unjustly condemned. He rejected the errors of Ebion, Pulus, Samofatenus, and Photinus. He maintained in exprefs terms, that the divine Word was united to the human nature in Jefus Chrift in the moft strict and intimate fenfe poffible; that these two natures, in this ftate of union, make but one Chrift and one perfon; that the properties of the Divine and buman natures may both be attributed to this perfon; and that Jefus Chrift may be faid to have been born of a virgin, to have fuffered and died; but he never would admit that God could be faid to have been born, to have suffered, or to have died.

NESTOS. See NESSUS, N° 2; and NASTUS, NESTOSA, a town of Spain, in Biscay. NESTVED, a town of Denmark, in the ifle of Zealand, near the S. coaft on the Nes; which running through it divides it into 2 unequal parts called Great and Little Neftved. Thefe have 2 churches. In 1259, a bloody battle was fought near it; and in 1271, it was greatly damaged by fire. It lies 22 miles E. of Corfoer, and 38 W. of Copenhagen. Lon. 11. 51 E. Lat. 55, 15. N. NESTUS, or NESSUS, a river which rifes in NESUS, Mount Rodope, feparates Thrace from Macedonia, and falls into the Ægean fea, above the island Thafos. It is now called NESTO. (1.) NET, adj. or NEAT, in commerce, fomething pure, and unadulterated with any foreign mixture. Thus, wines are faid to be net wher not falfified or balderdashed: and coffee, rice, pepper, &c. are net when the filth and ordures are feparated from them. See NEAT. A diamond is faid to be net when it has no ftains or flaws; a cryftal when transparent throughout.

(2.) NET is also used for what remains after the tare has been taken out of the weight of any merchandise; i. e. when it is weighed clear of all pack. age. See TARE. Thus we fay, a barrel of cochineal weighs 450 lb.; the tare is 50 lb. and there remains net 400 lb

(3.)* NET. n. f. [nati, Gothick; net Saxon.] r. A texture woven with large interftices or meshes, used commonly as a fnare for animals.

Poor bird! thou'dft never fear the net, nor lime, The pitfall nor the gin. Shak. Macbeth. -Impatience entangles us like the fluttering of a bird in a net, but cannot at all ease our trouble. Taylor's Holy Living. 2. Any thing made with interficial vacuities. He made nets of chequered work for the chapiters. 1 Kings vii. 17. The vegetable tribes,

Wrapt in a filmy net, and clad with leaves.

Thomfon (4.) A NET is chiefly ufed for catching fish or fowls. See BIRD CATCHING, § 2-4; and FISHERY, 7, 12. The taking fowls by nets is the readieft and moft advantageous of all others. where numbers are to be taken. The making the nets is very eafy, and what every true fportsman ought to be able to do for himself. All the neceffary tools are wooden needles, of which there fhould be several of different fizes, fome round and others flat; a pair of round pointed and flat fciffars; and a wheel to wind off the thread. The packthread is of different ftrength and thickness, according to the fort of birds to be taken; and the general fize of the meshes, if not for very small birds, is two inches from point to point. The nets fhould neither be made too deep nor too long, for they are then difficult to manage; and they muft be verged on each fide with twifted thread. The natural colour of the thread is too bright and pale, and is therefore in many cafes to be altered. The moft ufual colour is the ruffet; which is to be obtained by plunging the net, after it is made, into a tanner's pit, and letting it lie there till it is fufficiently tinged: this is of a double fervice to the net, fince it preferves the thread as well as alters the colour. The green colour is given by chopping fome green wheat and boiling it in water, and

then

(1.) NETHE, a river of France, in the depart ment of the Dyle, and late prov. of Auftrian Brabant, which runs into the Dyle, 6 miles NW. of Malines.

(2.) NETHE, a river of Scotland. See NITH. *NETHER. adj. [neother, Saxon; neder, Dutch. It has the form of a comparative, but is never ufed in expreffed, but only in implied comparison; for we fay the nether part, but never fay this part is nether than that, nor is any pofitive in ufe, though it feems comprised in the word beneath. Nether is not now much in ufe.] 1. Lower; not upper. -No man fhall take the nether or the upper mill ftone to pledge. Deut. xxiv. 6.--In his picture are two principal errors, the one in the complexion and hair, the other in the mouth, which common ly they draw with a full and great nether lip. Peacham.

This odious offspring,

Thine own begotten, breaking violent way,
Tore thro' my entrails; that with fear and pain
Distorted, all my nether fhape thus grew
Transform'd.
Milton's Paradife Loft.
The upper part whereof was whey,
The nether, orange mix'd with grey. Hudibras.
A beauteous maid above, but magic arts,
With barking dogs deform'd her nether parts.
Rofcommon

As if great Atlas from his height
Should fink beneath his heav'nly weight,
And with a mighty flaw, the flaming wall
Should gape immenfe, and rufhing down o'er-
whelm this nether ball.
Dryden.

Two poles turn round the globe.
The firft fublime in heaven, the last is whirl'd
Below the regions of the nether world. Dryd.
2. Being in a lower place.-

This fhews you are above,
You juftices, that these our nether crimes
So fpeedily can venge.

Shak. King Lear.

Numberless were those bad angels feen Hov'ring on wing under the cope of hell, 'Twixt upper, nether, and surrounding fires.

Milton.

3. Infernal; belonging to the regions below.No lefs defire

To found this nether empire, which might rife, In emulation, oppofite to heaven. Milton. The gods with hate beheld the nether sky, The ghofts repine. Dryden's En. (1.) NETHERLANDS, the name given till lately to an extenfive country of Europe, anciently called BELGIUM, but afterwards denominated Low Countries or Netherlands, from their low fituation. They he between 20 and 7° lon. E. and between 50° and 53° 30' lat. N. and are bounded by the German fea on the N. by Germany on the E. by the ci-devant Lorrain and France on the S. and by France and the British feas on the W.; extending near 300 miles in length from N. to S. and 200 miles in breadth from E. to W. They confifted of 17 pro vinces; 10 of which were called the Auftrian and French Netherlands, and the other seven the United Provinces.

(2.) NETHERLANDS, CLIMATE, SURFACE, SOIL, &c. OF THE. The climate differs in the feveral provinces; in thofe towards the S. it refembles that of England, though the seasons are more reVOL. XVI. PART 1.

1

gular. In the N. provinces the winter is generally very sharp, and the fummer fultry hot; but the extreme cold and exceffive heat feldom continue above five or fix weeks. The air is reckoned very wholesome, but is fubject to thick fogs in winter, through the moiftness of the country, which would be very noxious, were it not for the dry eafterly winds, which, blowing off a long continent for two or three months in the year clear the air, and occation very fharp frofts in January and February; during which, the ports, rivers, and canals, are commonly fhut up. The face of the country is low and flat; for, except feme fmall hills and a few rifing grounds in Utrecht and Guelderland, and in the parts lying toward Germany, there is no hill to be feen in the whole 17 provinces. This is the reason that they have been called the Low Countries. The foil is in general fertile but varies in the different provinces. French Flanders abounds in grain, vegetables, flax, and cattle, but is in want of wood.

The

(3.) NETHERLANDS, HISTORY OF THE. greatest part of Belgium was conquered by the Romans; and that part which lies towards Gaul continued under their fubjection till the decline of that empire. Early in the 5th century it was over-run by the Vandals: In 445, Clodio with his Francs became mafters of it. In 451 Attila, king of the Huns, ravaged it with an army of 600,000 barbarians, and burnt most of the towns: yet in this barbarous age, chriftianity, which was introduced into it in the 3d century, was established, and many churches built in it. Under the Franch monarchy, it was part of the kingdom of Metz and Auftrafia. It was afterwards divided into various ftates, duchies and counties, under different dukes and counts; fuch as BRABANT, LUXEMBURG, FLANDERS, HOLLAND, HAINAULT, &c. (See thefe articles.) Philip the Hardy, D. of Burgundy, and fon of John K. of France, married Margaret daughter of Lewis E. of Flanders, and fucceeded him in 1383. His fon Antony added Brabant and Limburg, in which he fucceeded his aunt, in 1406. Maximilian of Auftria, fon of the Emperor Ferdinand III. acquired, by marrying Mary duchefs of Burgundy, the duchies of Brabant, Limburg, and Luxemburg; the counties of Flanders, Burgundy, Hainault, Holland, Zealand, and/ Namur; and the lordship of Friefland. Philip of Austria, fon to Maximilian and Mary, married Jane the daughter of Ferdinand king of Arragon and of Ifabella queen of Caftile; by which means their fon Charles inherited not only almost all Spain, and the great countries then lately discovered in America, but also the whole provinces of the Netherlands, and was chofen emperor. (See CHARLES V.) Towards the end of 1527, he added to his dominions the temporalities of the bishoprick of Utrecht on both fides of the Yffel; and Henry of Bavaria, being diftreffed through war with the duke of Guelderland, and tired with the continued rebellion of his own fubjects, furrendered to the emperor the temporalities of his diocefe, which was confirmed by the pope, and the Rates of the country. In 1536, Charles V. bought of Charles of Egmont the reverfion of the duchy of Guelderland and of the county of Zutphen, in cafe that Prince should die without iffue. The

B

fame

ces

fame year the city of Groningen fubmitted to Charles V.; and in 1543 he put a garrifon into the city of Cambray, and built a citadel there. Having thus united the 17 provinces in one body, he ordered that they fhould continue for ever under the fame prince, without being feparated or difmembered; for which purpose he published, in Nov. 1549, with the confent and at the requeft of the ftates of all the provinces, a perpetual and irrevocable edict, by which it was enacted, that to keep all these provinces together under the fame prince, the right of reprefentation, with regard to the fucceffion of a prince or princefs, fhould take place for ever, both in a direct and collateral line, notwithstanding the laws of fome provinces to the contrary. Charles alfo propofed to incorporate thefe provinces with the Germanic body, and to make them a circle of the empire, under the tirle of the circle of Burgundy, to engage the princes of the empire to preferve thofe provinces. But the people of the Netherlands, jealous of their liberty, did not like that incorporation; and when they were asked to pay their fhare towards the expences of the empire, they refused it; whereupon the princes of Germany refused to take any part in the wars in Flanders, and confidered thofe provin as not belonging to the Germanic body. Philip I. and his fon Charles V. being born in the Netherlands, had that natural affection for them which men have for their native country; and knowing how jealous the inhabitants were of their liberty, and of the privileges granted to them by their former princes, they took care to preferve them, and willingly allowed the ftates, as the guardians of the people's liberty and privileges, to fhare the fupreme authority with them. But Philip II. fon of Charles V. had not the fame affection, nor those generous fentiments, which his father had endeavoured to infpire him with: and, when he removed to Spain, he left them to the weak government of a woman, to the proud and haughty fpirit of Card. Granville, and to the wild ambition of fome lords of these provinces, who, availing themselves of the blunders of the council of Spain, found their intereft in the difturbances they produced. Philip, alfo, inftead of the mild measures which his predeceffors had fuccessfully employed, as beft fuiting the genius and temper of the people, had recourse to the most violent and cruel proc edings; which, far from removing the evil, ferved only to render it incurable. The Spaniards whom he fent thither, being born and educated in an abfolute monarchy, jealous of the liberties, and envious of the riches of the people, broke through all their privileges, and ufed them almoft as ill as they had done the natives of America. This occafioned a general infurrection. The counts Hoorn, Egmont, and the prince of Orange, appearing at the head of it, and Luther's reformation gaining ground about the fame time in the Netherlands, his difciples joined the malecontents: whereupon Philip introduced an inquifition to fupprefs them, and many thousands were put to death by that court, befides thofe that perifhed by the fword; for thefe perfecutions and tyrannies had occafioned a civil war, in which feveral battles were fought. The counts Hoorn and Eginent were taken and beheaded: but William I.

prince of Orange, retiring into Holland, did, by the affiftance of England and France, preferve Holland and fome of the adjacent provinces, which entered into a treaty for their mutual defence at Utrecht in 1579, and they have ever fince, till the revolution in 1796, being ftyled the UNITED PROVINCES; but the other provinces were reduced to the obedience of Spain by the duke of Alva and other Spanish generals. However, their ancient privileges were in a great measure reftored; every province was allowed its great council or parliament, whofe concurrence was required to the making of laws, and raising money for the government, though these affemblies were too often obliged to follow the dictates of the court. The late Emperor Jofeph II. endeavoured to deprive them even of the form of their free conftitution; and he might very probably have fucceeded, had he not attempted at the fame ume a reformation of the church. The people were fo bigoted to the Romish fuperftition, that though they had tamely fubmitted to many encroach ments on their civil rights, no fooner did the monarch encroach upon the property of the church than they refifted his authority, and claimed all their ancient privileges, political and religious. Thus religious bigotry for once faved a free people from the iron rod of defpotifm. The provinces under the government of France were, till the late revolution, under the fame fevere arbitrary dominion as the other fubjects of that crown. Spaniards continued poffeffed of almost 8 of these provinces, until the duke of Mariborough, general of the allies, gained the memorable victory of Ramillies. After which, Bruffels the capita, and great part of thefe provinces, acknowledged Charles VI. their fovereign; and his daughter Ma ria Therefa, the late emprefs queen, remained poffeffed of them till the war that followed the death of her father, when the French made an entire conqueft of them, except part of the province of Luxemburg; but they were reftored by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, and the French retained only a part of 5 provinces. (See N° III.) which they retained ever after. But the many revolutionary tranfactions, that took place, in confequence of the FRENCH REVOLUTION and the late WAR, have occafioned very great changes throughout the whole of the Netherlands. See $4.

The

(4.) NETHERLANDS, MODERN DIVISIONS AND PRESENT STATE OF THE. Previous to the French revolution, the Netherlands were divided into three grand divifions, called Auftrian, Dutch and French Netherlands; but this extensive country, is now in name (as it has long been in effect) united to France, and may with great propriety be styled wholly French Netherlands: For,

I. NETHERLANDS, AUSTRIAN, comprehending the whole ci-devant provinces in Flanders, Brabant, Leige, Namur, Hainault, Auftrian Gueldres, Maeftricht, Venloo, Luxemburg, and Limburg, after being repeatedly over-run and conquered by the French republicans, in 1793, 94, and 95, were by a decree of the convention in Dec. 1796, and the request of the inhabitants, annexed to the then French Republic, and divided into 9 departments; viz. the DYLE, ESCAUT, LYS,

GEMAP

GEMAPPES, FORETS, SAMERE and MEUSE, OURTE. the LOWER MEUSE, and the Two NETHES. (See thefe articles.) Thefe provinces were ceded by the emperor to the French Republic, at the treaty of Luneville, in 1801, and confirmed by that of Amiens in 1802.

II. NETHERLANDS, DUTCH, or the UNITED PROVINCES, were alfo totally over-run and conquered by the French Republicans, in 1795, in many places with the voluntary confent of the deluded inhabitants, who now too late regret their confidence in French philofophers and philanthropifts. See UNITED PROVINCES. In 1796, they were erected into a democratic ftate after the French model, entitled the BATAVIAN REPUBLIC; and divided into the following 8 Departments: the EEMS, YSSEL, RHINE, Amftel, TEXEL, DELFT, the DOMMEL and SCHELDT, and the MEUSE; moft of which are defcribed in their order. Of these the capitals are Lewarden, Zwoll, Arnheim, Amsterdam, Alkmaer, Delft, Herzogenbosch, and Middleburg.

III. NETHERLANDS, FRENCH, comprehended the ci-devant county of Artois and Cambrefis, and part of Hainault, Flanders and Luxemburg; which 3 laft were thence diftinguished by the epithet of French. Thefe having been united to France before the revolution, formed an integral part of the republic, and were included in the departments of the NORTH and the MOSELLE,

* NETHERMOST. adj. [fuperl. of nether.] Thou haft delivered my foul from the nethermoft hell. Pfalm lxxxvi. 13.

Undaunted to meet there whatever pow'r, Or spirit, of the nethermost abyss Might in that noise refide. Milton. -All that can be faid of a liar loged in the very netbermoft hell, is this, that if the vengeance of God could prepare any place worse than hell for finners, hell itself would be too good for him. South.-Heraclitus tells us, that the eclipfe of the fun was after the manner of a boat, when the concave, as to our fight, appears uppermoft, and the convex nethermost. Keil ag. Burnet.

NETHES, THE TWO. See DEUX NATTES. NETHINIMS, among the Jews, the pofterity of the Gibeonites, who were condemned by Joshua to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of God.

NETHY, a river of Inverness-fhire, which rifes in the hills of Badenoch, runs through the parish of Abernethy, (to which it gives name,) for 7 miles, and falls into the Spey, near the church.

NETIESS, a town of Bohemia in Schlan. NETO, a river of Naples, which runs between Calabria Citra, and Calabria Ultra, and falls into the fea, 7 miles NNW. of Cotrona.

NETÓPION, or a name given by the ancients NETOPIUM, to a very fragrant and coftly ointment, confifting of a great number of the fineft fpicy ingredients. See MEDICINE, Index. Hippocrates, in his Treatife of the Difeafes of Women, frequently prefcribes the Netopion in difeafes of the uterus; and in other places he speaks of its being poured into the ear as a remedy for deafnefs; thefe compofitions, by their attenuating qualities, dividing the viscous and thick humours. Netopion is alfo fometimes used to ex

prefs the unguentum Ægyptiacum, and fometimes fimply for oil of almonds.

NETPHE, 2 towns of Germany, in the circle of Westphalia and principality of Siegen : viz. I. NETPHE, LOWER, 4 miles E. of Siegen: 2. NETPHE, UPPER, 5 miles E. of Siegen. NETSBUCKTOKE, a bay on the E. coaft of Labrador, called alfo SANDWICH BAY. Lon. 57. W. Lat. 53. 45. N.

(1.) NETSCHER, Gafpard, an eminent painter born at Prague, in Bohemia, in 1639. His father dying while he was an engineer in the Polifh fervice, his mother was obliged, on account of her religion, to leave Prague with her 3 fons. When the had proceeded three leagues, the ftopped at a caftle; which being foon after besieged, two of her fons were ftarved to death; but the efcaped out of the fortrefs by night, and faved her only remaining child. Carrying him in her arms, the reached Arnheim in Guelderland, where the fupported herself, and bred up her fon. At length a physician took young Netfcher under his patronage, with the view of giving him an education proper for a phyfician: but Netfcher's genius leading him to painting, he could not forbear fcrawling out defigns upon the paper on which he wrote his themes; whereupon he was fent to a glazier, who was the only perfon in the town that understood drawing, and afterwards to Deventer, to a painter named Terburg, who was an able artist; and having acquired under him a great command of his pencil, went to Holland, where he worked a long time for the dealers in pictures, at very low prices. He then refolved to go to Rome; and for that purpofe embarked on board a veffel bound for Bourdeaux. But his marrying in that city prevented his travelling into Italy: and therefore returning into Holland, he fettled at the Hague; where he applied to portrait-painting, and acquired such reputation, that he.was much employed, and his portraits are still to be feen all over Europe. He died at the Hague in 1684.

(2, 3.) NETSCHER, Theodore and Conftantine, fons of Gaipard, were both also good portraitpainters.

NETSCHKAU, a town of Upper Saxony, in Vogtland, 3 miles SE. of Greitz, and 12 SW. of Zwickau.

NETTE, a town of Germany, in Osnaburg. (1.) * NETTING, n. S. A reticulated piece of work.

(2.) NETTINGS, in a ship, are a fort of grates made of fmall ropes, leized together with ropeyarn or twine, and fixed on the quaters and in the tops; they are fometimes ftretched upon the ledges from the wafte trees to the rool-trees, from the top of the forecastle to the poop, and sometimes are laid in the wafte of a fhip to ferve inftead of gratings.

(1.) * NETTLE. n. f. [netel, Sax.] Aftinging herb well known.

The ftrawberry grows underneath the nettle.
Shak.

Some fo like to thorns and nettles live,
That none for them can, when they perish,
grieve.
Waller.

(2.) NETTLE, in botany, fee URTICA. B 2

3. NET