ASP (Vipera aspis), a species of venomous snake, closely allied to the common adder of this country, which it represents throughout the southern parts of Europe, being specially abundant in the region of the Alps. The term “Asp” (άσπί$) seems to have been employed by Greek and Roman writers, and by writers generally down to comparatively recent times, to designate more than one species of serpent; thus the asp, by means of which Cleopatra is said to have ended her life, and so avoided the disgrace of entering Rome a captive, is now generally supposed to have been the cerastes, or horned viper (Vipera IIassel-quistii), of Northern Africa, a snake about fifteen inches long, exceedingly venomous, and provided with curious horn-like protuberances over each eye, which give it a decidedly sinister appearance. The species, however, to which the word “asp” has been most commonly applied, is undoubtedly the L·aje (Naja haje) of Egypt, a poisonous snake, from three to four feet long, with the skin of its neck loose, so as to render it dilatable at the will of the animal, as in the cobra di capello of India, a species from which it differs only in the absence of the spectacle-like mark on the back of the neck. Like the cobra, also, the haje haβ its fangs extracted by the jugglers of the country, who afterwards train it to perform various tricks. The asp (Pethen, is mentioned in various parts of the Old Testament. This name is twice translated “adder,” but as nothing is told of it beyond its poisonous character and the intractability of its disposition, it is impossible accurately to determine the species which the sacred writers had in view.

פתן. Deut. xxxii, 33; Job xx, 14, 16; Psalm lviii, 4; xci, 13; Isaiah xi, 8. A very venomous serpent, whose poison is so subtle as to kill within a few hours with a universal gangrene. This may well refer to the _bæten_ of the Arabians, which M. Forskal describes as spotted with black and white, about one foot in length, and nearly half an inch in thickness, oviparous, and whose bite is death. It is the _aspic_ of the ancients, and is so called now by the literati of Cyprus, though the common people call it _kufi_, (κȣ́φη,) _deaf_. With the PETHEN we may connect the _python_ of the Greeks, which was, according to fable, a huge serpent that had an oracle at mount Parnassus, famous for predicting future events. Apollo is said to have slain this serpent, and hence he was called “Pythius.” Those possessed with a spirit of divination were also styled Πυθωνες. The word occurs in Acts, xvi, 16, as the characteristic of a young woman who had _a pythonic spirit_. It is well known that the _serpent_ was particularly employed by the Heathens in their enchantments and divinations. See SERPENT]. Pethen, פתן, is variously translated in our version; but interpreters generally consider it as referring to the asp. Zophar alludes to it more than once in his description of a wicked man: “Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.” The venom of asps is the most subtle of all; it is incurable; and, if the wounded part be not instantly amputated, it speedily terminates the existence of the sufferer. To these circumstances, Moses evidently alludes in his character of the Heathen: “Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.” To tread upon ...

ASPARAGUS. The young shoots of Asparagus officinalis (Nat. Ord. Liliace<x) have from very remote times been in high repute as a culinary vegetable, owing to their delicate flavour and diuretic virtues. The plant grows wild on the south coast of England; and on the waste steppes of Russia it is so abundant that it is eaten by cattle like grass. In common with the marsh-mallow and some other plants, it contains a chemical principle called asparagin, to which it owes its medicinal qualities. The roots of asparagus were formerly used as an aperient medicine, and the fruits were likewise employed as a diuretic. Under the name of Prussian asparagus, the spikes of an allied plant, Ornitho-galuτn pyrenaicum, are used in some places.

ASPASIA, a beautiful lietoera of Athens, celebrated in history by her connection with Pericles, was a native of Miletus, and settled in Athens, following the example of her countrywoman, Thargelia, who had become very famous during the time of the Persian wars. Her beauty, but still more her remarkable accomplishments, gained for her an extraordinary reputation, which was increased after her association with Pericles, who, having divorced his wife, united himself to Aspasia as closely as was possible under Athenian law, according to which marriage with a barbarian was illegal and impossible. Much of the administration of Pericles has been ascribed to her eloquent instruction and political sagacity, and her enemies did not scruple to lay to her charge the Samian and Peloponnesian wars. Although this exaggerates her power, yet her talents must have been extraordinary, for she drew to her house the most noble and learned in Athens, who were willing to learn from her. Even Socrates was not exempt from her influence. The political supremacy of Pericles, which exposed him to many assaults, attracted enmity to Aspasia. She was accused of impiety and other base crimes, and would probably have been condemned, had not the judges been swayed by the tears and entreaties of Γericles himself. After the death of that statesman’s two sons by his lawful wife, he procured the passing of a law, by which the children of irregular marriages might be rendered legitimate. His son by Aspasia was thus allowed to assume his father’s name. After the death of Pericles, Aspasia is said to have formed a similar connection with one Lysicles, wealthy, but of ignoble birth, whom she raised by her instructions to a prominent place in the state. This episode is somewhat obscure, especially as ...

ASPASIUS, a Peripatetic philosopher, and one of the most prolific commentators on Aristotle, flourished probably towards the close of the 1st century a.d., or perhaps during the reign of Antoninus Pius. His commentaries on the Categories, De Interpretatione, De Sensu, and other works of Aristotle, are frequently referred to by later writers, but have not come down to us. Certain commentaries on Plato, mentioned by Porphyry in his life of Plotinus, have also been lost. Commentaries on the 2d, 4th, 7th, and 8th books of the Nicomachean Ethics, which pass under his name, were printed along with those of Eustratius and others by Manutius at Venice in 1536. They were translated into Latin by Felicianus in 1541, and have been frequently republished. The authenticity of part, and even of the whole, of these ethical commentaries has been disputed; and recently some fragments of another commentary by Aspasius on the Ethics have been printed. See Classic. Jour., vols, xxviii,, xxix.

ASPASIUS, a celebrated rhetorician and sophist, was born at Ravenna, and flourished during the early part of the 3d century a.d. He was the son (or, according to Suidas, the scholar) of the rhetorician Demetrianus; and, after a careful training in all the branches of a rhetorician’s art, began to teach at Rome. For many years he filled the chair of rhetoric which had been founded by Vespasian. He travelled extensively in the suite of the emperor, as whose secretary he acted, for some time. His orations, which are praised for their style, have been lost.

ASPEN TREE, called also the trembling-leaved poplar (Populus tremula), is a native of Britain, and is found generally in moist places, sometimes at a considerable elevation, 1600 feet or more, in Scotland. It flowers in Britain in March and April. The name “trembling” is applied to it on account of the constant movement of the leaves even with a gentle breeze. This mobility depends on the leaves being suspended by leaf-stalks flattened laterally, and when subjected to a slight wind, by their friction on each other they give rise to a rustling sound. It is supposed that the mulberry trees (Becaim) mentioned in 1st Chronicles xiv. 14, 15, were really aspen trees. The wood of the tree is white, and is made use of by turners. In France sabots are made of it; and the charcoal made from the wood is used in the manufacture of gunpowder. The leaves are in some countries of Europe employed as food for cattle, sheep, and goats.

ASPENDUS (or, as the name appears on the more ancient coins, Estfendys), a city of Pamphylia, in Asia Minor, situated on an isolated hill near the river Eurymedon (Capri-su) at the extremity of the plain of Perga. It was founded by a colony from Argos, five centuries before the Christian era, and attained to great prosperity, as is attested, not only by the statements of Greek and Roman writers, but also by the noble ruins that still occupy the site. Of these the most remarkable is the theatre, which is regarded as more perfect than any other in Asia Minor, requiring but little restoration to render it fit once more for its ancient use. In the first precinct there are twenty-one rows of seats, and in the second eighteen, nearly all of them entire. The date of the building is assigned by an inscription to the time of Antoninus and Lucius Verus. An aqueduct of magnificent proportions, built, like the theatre, of the silicious conglomerate of the neighbourhood, still stretches across the plain; and the ruins of an agora and other erections are found on the hill. That the city was rich in valuable statues is mentioned by Cicero, who rhetorically accuses Verus of having plundered it of them all. It only appears occasionally in ancient history, as when its inhabitants surprised and assassinated Thrasybulus, and again when they surrendered to Alexander; but the populousness of the place is proved by the fact that it was able to furnish 4000 hoplites.

ASPER, Hans, a Swiss painter, was born in 1499 at Zürich, where he died on the 21st March 1571. He wrought in a great variety of styles, but excelled chiefly in flower and fruit pieces, and in portrait painting. Many of his pictures have perished, but his style may be judged from the illustrations to Gessner’s Historia Animalium, for which he is said to have furnished the designs, and from portraits of Zwingle and his daughter Regula Gwalter, which are preserved in the public library of Zürich. It has been usual to class Asper among the pupils and imitators of Holbein, but an inspection of his works is sufficient to show that this is a mistake. Though Asper was held in high reputation by his fellow-citizens, who elected him a member of the Great Council, and had a medal struck in his honour, he seems to have been frequently in embarrassed circumstances, and there is reason to believe that he died a pauper.