ARMOUR

(Lat. armatura.) A term applied to those artificial means by which man is wont either to protect himself or to annoy his enemy, hence called defensive ami offensive. Defensive armour includes those arms specially used for the defence or protection of the body, as cuira es, helmets, <kc. The materials used in their construction are exceedingly multifarious, varying in many instances according to the products of the country in which they are fabricated, but depending in general on the judgment and experience of the inhabitants. Offensive arms, or those used in attack, are of different kinds: 1. For cutting, such as the sabre; -2. For thrusting, such as the straight sword, the mortar,bayonet,rocket,pike,howitzer,lance, . .•"3.; For and throwing,lastly, for such shooting,as the such as guns, pistols, carabines, rifles, and cannons. Lucretius traces the progre of offensive arms very m' nutely" Armaautiqna:— manu&, ungues dentesqne fuere, Et lapides et item sylvarum fragmina, rami Kt fl.unms!, atque ijnes potlquam stmt cugnita prinvjm; Poster i us ferri vis est, ffirisque reperla; Et prior terU erat quam ferri cognims us us." The history of armour is identified with that of every na tion; and an elaoorate discu ion of this subject woul< throw great light upon questions of mythology, poetry, ju risprudence and civil polity, and strikingly display tin progre of civilisation. Into such, details, however, our limits nece arily preclude us from entering, and we can fer the reader to Mcyrick's worktpon tins subject ( 3 vols. 4to. London, 1S24), which the stuleht of the poln - [s. 102]