Encyclopaedia Britannica; or, A dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan … > Volume 2, C-L

C H O ( 194
Ch.orbs, or Cords, in mufic, are firings, by the vi¬
bration of which the fenfation of found is excited, and
by the divifions of which the feveral degrees of tune
are determined.
Chord is alfo ufed in mufic for the note or tone to be
touched or founded : in this fenfe the fifth is faid'to
confift of five Chords or .founds.
CHORDAPSUS, in medicine, a difeafe of the inteflines,
when to the touch they feel like flretched cords : k is
ithe fame with the iliac pafiion.
CHORDEE, in medicine and forgery, a fymptom at¬
tending a gonorrhoea, confiding in a violent pain un¬
der the frenum, and along the du<ft of the urethra,
during the erection of the penis, which is incurvated
downwards. Thefe ereflions are frequent and invo¬
luntary. See Medicine.
CHOREUS, in ancient poetry. See Trochee.
CHORGES, or Gorges, a town of Dauphiny, in
France, about fix miles eafl: of Gap : E, long. 6°,
and N. lat. 440 36'.
CHORIAMBUS, in ancient poetry, a foot confiding of
four fyllables, whereof the fird and lad are long, and
the two middle ones are fhort; or, which is the fame
thing, it is made up of a trochaeus and iambus : fuch
is the word nobflatas.
CHORION, in anatomy, the exterior membrane which
inveds the foetus in the uterus.
CHOROBATA, or Chorobates, a kind of water-
level among the ancients, of the figure of the letter T,
according to Vitruvius’s defcription.
CHOROGRAPHY, the art of making a map of fome
country or province.
CHORUS, in dramatic poetry, one or more perfons
prefent on the dage during the reprefentation, and fup-
pofed to be by danders without any fhare in the aftion.
Tragedy in its origin was no more than a fingle cho-
'-rus, who trod the dage alone, and without any a&ors,
fmging dithyrambics or hymns in honour of Bacchus.
Thefpis, to relieve the chorus, added an a&or, who
rehearfed the adventures of fome of their heroes; and
iEfchylus, finding a fingle perfon too dry an entertain¬
ment, added a fecond, at the fame time reducing the
finging of the chorus, to make more room for the re¬
citation. But when once tragedy began to be formed,
the recitative, which at fird was intended only as an
acceffory part to give the chorus a breathing time, be¬
came a principal part of the tragedy. At length,
however, the chorus became Inferted and incorporated
into the aftion : fometimes it was to fpeak, and then
their chief, whom they called corryphssus, fpoke in
behalf of the red : the finging was performed by the
whole company ; fo that when the coryphseus ftruck
into a fong, {Im chorus immediately joined him.
The chorus fometimes alfo joined the acftors in the
courfe of the reprefentation, with their plaints and la¬
mentations on account of any unhappy accider.rs that
befel them : but the proper fundlion, and that for
which it feemed chiefly retained, was to Ihew the in¬
tervals of the a As : while the aftors were behind the
,'fcenes, the chorus engaged the fpedlators ; their fongs
) C H O
ufually turned on what was exhibited, and were not
to contain any thing but what was fuited to the fub-
je(5t, and had a natural conneftion with it ; fo that the
chorus concurred with the adtors for advancing the
adlion.. In the modern tragedies the chorus is laid a-
fide, and the fiddles fupply its place. Mr Dacier looks
on this retrenchment as of ill confequence, and thinks
it robs tragedy of a great part of its luftre ; he there¬
fore judges it neceflary to re eflablilh it, not only on
account of the regularity of the piece, but alfo to cor-
redt, by prudent and virtuous reflexions, any extra¬
vagancies that might fall from the mouths of the adtors,
when under any violent paffion.
Mr Dacier obferved alfo, that there was a chorus,
or grex, in the ancient comedy; but this is fupprdfed
in the new comedy; becaufe it was ufed to reprove
vices by attacking particular perfons ; as the chorus
of the tragedy was laicFafide to give the greater pro¬
bability to thofe kind of intrigues which require fe-
crecy.
Chorus, in mufic, is when, at certain periods of a fong,
the whole company are to join the finger in repeating
certain couplets, or verfes.
CHOTZIM, a frontier-town of Moldavia, on the con¬
fines of Poland, fituated on the river Niefter, and fub-
jedt to the Turks : E. long. 27°, and N. lat. 48°.
CHOUG, a town of Syria, upon the road from Aleppo
to Sayde, called by fome travellers Shoggle.
CHOUGH, in ornithology. See Corvus.
CHREMNITZ, the principal of the mine-towns in Up¬
per Hungary, fituated about fixty-eight miles north-
eafl of Prefburg, and fubjedt to the houfe of Auftria*
E. long. 19°, and N. Jat. 48° 4?'.
CHREMPS, in ichthyology. See Sparus.
CHRISM, oil confecrated by the bifbop, and ufed in the
Romiftr and Greek churches in the adminillration of
baptifm, confirmation, ordination, and extreme unc¬
tion.
Ordir of CHRIST, a military order, founded by Dio-
nyfius I. king of Portugal, to animate bis nobles a-
gainft the Moors.
The arms of this order are gules, a patriarchal crofs,
charged with another crofs argent: they had their re-
fidence at firft at Caflromarin, afterwards they re¬
moved to the city of Thomar, as bei.ng nearer to the
Moors of Andalufia and Eftremadura.
Christ is alfo the name of a military order in Livonia,
inflituted in 1207, by Albert bilhop of Riga. The
end of this inflitution was to defend the new Chriftians,
who were converted every day in Livonia, but were
perfecuted by the heathens. They wore on their
cloaks a fword with a crofs over it, whence they were
alfo denominated brothers of the fword.
Christ burgh, a town of Poland, near the lake Drau-
fen, and about three Poliflr miles from Marienburgh.
Christ church, a borough town of Hampfliire, thir¬
ty miles fouth-weft of Wincefter, near the lea-coaft :
W. long. 20, N. lat. 50° 40'. It fends two mem¬
bers to parliament.
Christin botany. See Rhamnus.
Mofi