canon

cănon, ŏnis, m. (acc. canona, Plin. 34, 8, 19, § 55; acc. plur. canonas, Aus. Ep. 136; in Cic. Fam. 16, 17, 1, used as a Greek word), = κανών [κάννα, κάνη, a reed, cane].

• I A marking or measuring line; hence, a rule, canon, model (cf. Lidd. and Scott, under κανών).—
• II Esp.
• • A A wooden channel in hydraulic instruments, Vitr. 10, 13 Rod.—
  • B Under the emperors, an annual tribute, established by law, in grain, gold, silver, clothing, etc., Spart. Sev. 8; Lampr. Elag. 27.—
  • C In eccl. Lat., a catalogue of sacred writings, as admitted by the rule, the Canon, Aug. Doctr. Christ. 2, 8; Hier. Prol. Gal. Aug. Civ. 17, 24; 18, 38; cf. Isid. Orig. 6, 15 and 16.—
  • D Also in late Lat., from their shape, in plur.: cănŏnes, um, cannon: et illic figere gunnas suas, quas Galli canones vocant, quibus validius villam infestare posset, Thom. Walsingham in Henry V. p. 398.

canōn, onis, Akk. ona, m. (κανών), I) die Regel, Norm, Richtschnur, Plin. u. Auson. – II) insbes.: A) die Kanzelle einer Wasserorgel (ein Kanal von Brettern, der über der Windlade für jede clavis angebracht ist), Vitr. 10, 10, 3. – B) die jährliche festgesetzte Abgabe (an Getreide, Gold, Silber, Kleidern usw.) während der Kaiserzeit, die ständige Abgabe, Normalabgabe, der Kanon, Spart. Sev. 8, 4. Aurel. bei Vopisc. Firm. 5, 4. Ps. Ascan. Cic. II. Verr. 2, 5. Cod. Theod. 11, 14, 2: c. frumentarius, Lampr. Heliog. 27, 7. – C) das Verzeichnis der Bücher des Alten u. Neuen Testaments, die als göttliche Offenbarung galten u. die inspirierte heilige Schrift bildeten (im Ggstz. zu den profanen oder apokryphischen), der Kanon, Augustin. de civ. dei 15, 23 u. 18, 38. Iulian. epit. nov. 115. § 430 u. 447. Isid. 6, 15 u. 16: c. ecclesiasticus, Augustin. ep. 64, 3: chronici canones, Hieron. vir. ill. 81: evangelici canones, Hieron. vir. ill. 55.

1 canon [CL < κανών] 1 canon, rule (eccl.), (basis of) canon law. b (w. sententiae latae or sim.) canon whereby offender is automatically excommunicated. c (pl. w. apostolorum) canons (apocryphal) of the apostles. 673 placuit convenire nos juxta morem ~onum venerabilium tractaturos de necessariis ecclesiae negotiis (Conc. Hertford) Bede HE IV 5; 680 ut ‥ decreta ~onum et patrum statuta tractarentur Aldh. Ep. 4 p. 481; contra ~onum decreta et regularis vitae normam Id. VirgP 58; c720 adfirmant quod ~ones synodales precipiant ut ‥ (Eangyth) Ep. Bonif. 14 p. 25; 803 (9c) contra sacras [sic] ~ones CS 310 (= Conc. HS 544); constituunt etenim perverso kānŏne [gl.: regula] Coeddam Frith. 400; c1072 episcopales leges que non bene nec secundum sanctorum ~onum precepta usque ad mea tempora in regno Anglorum fuerunt ‥ emendandas judicavi (Lit. Regis) GAS 485; emendet juxta sanctorum ~onum doctrinam [AS: swa canon tæce] (Quad.) Ib. 131; dicitur episcopos in terra vestra [Hibernia] sine certo episcopatus loco constitui ‥, quod nimirum sacris ~onibus omnino contrarium est Anselm (Ep. 435) V 383; 1177 hoc habet lex, ‥ hoc habet ~on, hoc habent omnia jura (Conventio) G. Hen. II I 150; licet secundum ~ones et leges Romanas tails filius sit legitimus heres, tamen secundum jus regni ‥ nullo modo tamquam heres in hereditate sustinetur Glanv. VII 15; etsi ecclesiae in nullius bonis sint velut res sacre, tamen cum adjecta causa de jure ~onum vendicari possunt Ric. Angl. Summa 4; 1235 inventus in actu ipso transgressionis ~onis et concilii inventus est in crimine inobedientie ‥ non solum ‥ prepositis sed Deo precipienti ut obediamus prepositis Gros. Ep. 11 p. 52; cur? [v. l. crux] quia salvavit te cānon jus operantem Garl. Mor. Scol. 305; quidam prelati propugnant cānŏnis ense Id. Tri. Eccl. 36; s1263 clericos captivantes ab ipso canone sunt excommunicati Leg. Ant. Lond. 67 (cf. (v. 1b infra)); hec constitucio provisa fuit pro contrarietate legum et ~onum, quia ‥ nati ‥ ante matrimonium, dum tamen matrimonium consequatur, ‥ quoad gradus promocionis ad ecclesiasticam dignitatem secundum ~onem legitimi reputantur, quoad successionem vero in bona paterna secundum consuetudinem Anglie illegitimi Fleta 432; sicut dicit preallegatum [sic] ~on Ockham Pol. I 60; papa, si efficiatur hereticus, non solum sacris ~onibus conciliorum generalium sed eciam ~onibus summorum pontificum est subjectus Ib. 297; si ~on non contineat preceptum nec prohibicionem, continet tamen definicionem, sed talis ~on non est moribus utencium approbatus, tunc non punitur transgressor ipsius ~onis. ‥ potest tamen esse quod aliquis violet ~ones credens quod ecclesia Romana non habet potestatem ~ones condendi; et talis punitur ut hereticus Lyndw. 38u; 1434 miror, cum cănŏnes fidei normas comitentur, / cur magis annales magis in pactis varientur (Vers. Abbatis) Amund. II 103; 1452 sacrorum ~onum professor MunAcOx 659; 1600 contra ~ones et constitutiones ecclesiae Anglicanae StatOx.  b isti malefactores inciderunt in ~onem date sententie Brakelond 147*; s1237 incidit in ~onem late sentencie Graystanes 4; 1299 mandamus quatinus ‥ malefactores ‥ in sentenciam excommunicacionis majoris a ~one ‥ latam denuncies incidisse Reg. Cant. I 357; 1326 quidam, ~ones late sentencie non intelligentes, verba prescripta ‥ sophistice ‥ exponunt Lit. Cant. I 201; 1446 sentenciam majoris excommunicacionis contra tales a ~one generaliter latam incurrendo Eng. Clergy 207.  c sedit Leo IX [1048–54], qui l ~ones apostolorum suscepit R. Niger II 153; dicta et scripta apostolorum que non habentur in ~onibus apostolorum, de quibus solet esse magna dubitacio et altercacio an sint et qualiter sint recipienda Ockham Pol. I 168; quod ~onibus apostolorum, quamvis non inserantur in Biblia, est adhibenda ‥ credulitas Id. Dial. 842. 2 rule, table (math.). b aphorism (med.). c (title of book). incipit liber ezeig, id est chanonum, Alghoarizmi per Adelardum Bathoniensem ex Arabico sumptus et per Rodbertum Cestrensem ordine digestus (Rob. Angl. (I)) EHR XXVI 498; s221 Ypolitus ‥ temporum ~onem conscripsit et hucusque perduxit M. Par. Maj. I 135; astrologia practica docet et preparat instrumenta et ~ones et tabulas quibus certificantur ad omnem horam ea que in celestibus renovantur et in aere Bacon Tert. 106; ut docet ~on ad hoc faciens quod ‥ Wallingf. Quad. 103.  b ~ones sunt pro conservando dentes: caveant cibum cito corruptibilem ‥ Gad. 119v. 1.  c sic medici multi Tegni, sic Avicenna ~onem ‥ edidit R. Bury Phil. 10. 160. 3 canon, officially recognized body of Scriptures. b ‘canon’ (catalogue) of the saints. per utrumque testamentorum ~onem Aldh. Met. 4; virum ‥ ‘sapientem et gnarum’ ‥, juxta quod legis divine ~on preficiendos animabus describit [cf. Deut. i 13] Ad. Marsh Ep. 10; 1253 statuit universitas ‥ quod nullus ‥ incipiat in theologia ‥ nisi legerit aliquem librum de ~one Biblie vel librum Sentenciarum vel historiarum StatOx 49 (cf. Ad. Marsh Ep. 192: nisi ‥ unum librum ~onis aut Sentencias legerit); 1329 colleccionem multorum cum ~one Evangeliorum DCSal. p. 376; quedam dicta et scripta eorum [Apostolorum] in ~one Biblie continentur; quedam vero non habentur ibidem. illa autem scripta que sunt in ~one Biblie majoris auctoritatis sunt quam illa que sunt alibi Ockham Pol. I 168; liber ille [Enoch] reputatus est apocryphus, nec ecclesia eum recipit in ~onem Scripturarum (Kyn.) Ziz. 5.  b eum in ~one sanctorum connumerandum decernebant Ælnoth Cnut II 21. 4 canon of the mass (portion of service including the words of consecration). b (?) portion of missal. in ~one quotidiano, quando missarum sollemnia celebrantur Aldh. VirgP 42; pulsetur classicum; ad ~onem supra formas prosternantur Lanfr. Const. 93; sequitur ~on; ita enim Grecis dicitur, nobis autem regula, quod per eam regulariter sacramenti hujus fit confectio Beleth RDO 46. 53; officium misse quinquepartitum est: pars ‥ quarta est totus ~on ‥ usque post sumptionem eucharistie Gir. GE II 20 p. 267; spiritualium misteria secretorum inter ipsa reverenda ~onis secreta ei divinitus patuisse Ad. Eyns. Hug. V 15 p. 181; sacerdos stans ad primam missam ad ~onem misse et ceteri sacerdotes ad altaria cessaverunt, stantes inmotis labiis Brakelond 135; 1214 precipimus quod omnes [ecclesie] habeant ~onem misse secundum consuetudinem ecclesie Cantuariensis correctum et ut verba ~onis in missa rotunde dicantur et distincte Conc. Syn. 29; quo caro sacratur est cānon, regula dictus Garl. Myst. Eccl. 607; perlecto ~one et peracta consecratione Cust. Westm. 215; ad totum ~onem misse ‥ debent proni esse Obs. Barnwell 108; 1396 tractatus super ~onem misse Meaux III lxxxvi.  b 1285 quod una missa singulis annis in festo Pasche ‥ celebretur et quod nomen nostrum et nomen M. uxoris nostre n martyrologio et in ~one conscribantur in memoriam eternam MonA VI 460b; 14‥ nomina dictorum W. et J. in omni missali in ecclesia Westmonasterii in margine ~onis scribentur (W. Worc. Anecd.) BBExch 529. 5 canon, prescribed payment. a1093 istae sunt antiquae praestationes et ~ones quas praefate ecclesiae solvebant antiquitus, sc. xxx panes decoctos ‥ (Reg. S. Andr.) E. Ch. Scot. 11; 1157 Ailmerus sacerdos, qui ‥ in prefata ecclesia tanquam persona curam administrationis gesserat, ‥ eam de manu abbatis postmodum tenendam de ecclesia de Monteburg suscepit, solvendo eidem ecclesie annuum ~onem, viz. xij denariorum Ch. Sal. 28; 1195 nos ‥ dedisse infirmarie Glaston’ annuum ~onem ij marcarum ‥ percipiendum de ecclesia B. Stephani in Bristoll’ Cart. Glast. I 155; Alexander abbas noster [ob. 1210] in transactionem, sub annuo ~one ij m. ipsis canonicis reddendarum, ‥ consentivit Meaux I 325; 12‥ si nos ‥ capellam de D. contigerit evincere, eam sub annuo ~one iij s. et j libre cere nobis solvendo ‥ eis tenendam concedemus Reg. S. Thom. Dublin 371. 6 canon (cleric attached to collegiate church); cf. canonicus 5. b (fig.) colleague. 1201 prior de Meuton’ posuit loco suo Willelmum ~onem suum CurR I 446; 1335 nuncii ‥ regis Francie ‥ de licencia nostra mittant magistrum Guillelmum ‥ †canomen [? l. ~onem] Cadomensem ‥ ad partes Scocie RScot 323b; 1452 infra ecclesiam cathedralem Eboraci loco ~ones [sic] sepeliri consueto corpus meum tumulari ordino MunAcOx 641.  b 1432 duo predestinati cives sanctorum et domestici Dei, Ennok sc. et Ely, congratulantes de tanti regis adventu ‥ et quasi ‥ expectantes ipsum futurum ~onem et consortem suum, pro statu suo prospero precabantur (J. Carpenter) MGL III 462.

2 canon, ~onus [cf. It. cannone] , cannon. b cannoneer. 1382 ij ~ones vocati gunnes (KR Ac 400/10) EHR XXVI 696; 1388 Willelmo W. de London, foundour, pro iiij ~onibus grossis de cupro ordinatis ‥ pro lapidibus rotundis jactandis ‥ et pro uno ~one grosso cum j foramine pro lapidibus grossis et x aliis foraminibus pro pellottis vel quarellis grossis Ib. XXVI 697–8; 1388 iij parvos ~ones de cupro vocatos handgunnes (Ib. 400/27) Ib. XXVI 699n; a1396 de duobus ~onis vocatis gunnes cum duabus truncis (Ib. 400/22) Ib. XXVI 698; s1407 faciet liberacionem plenam ~onum seu instrumentorum Anglice gunnes vocatorum Chr. S. Alb. 25; s1417 valebat ‥ illic figere vel locare gunnas suas, quas Galli ~ones vocant, quibus validius villam infestare posset Ib. 112 (cf. Wals. HA II 322); 1418 equos ad tractandum carectas ac ~ones, balistas ‥ ac alias artillarias nostras pro stuffura ‥ de Berewyk RScot 223a; 1453 [navis] ix ~onibus et iiij barellis pulvere vocat’ gunpowdir plenis ‥ fulsita Pat 477 m. 29; s1460 existentes in Turri Londonie sagittabant cum ~onibus die et nocte (Chr. Lond.) EHR XXVIII 126.  b 1485 [officium] capitalis ~onis sive vibrellatoris CalPat 48.

cănōn, ŏnis, m. (κανών), loi, règle, mesure : Plin. 34, 55 || tuyau de bois dans une machine hydraulique : Vitr. Arch. 10, 13 || contribution, redevance annuelle sur lʼor, lʼargent, le grain : Spart. Sev. 8 || ensemble des livres sacrés reconnus par lʼÉglise comme dʼinspiration divine : Eccl.

canon , onis. m.
規矩。尺。上之税。

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CANON

CANON(κανών), derived probably from κάννα, a reed, meant a straight rod; hence the following special applications. 1. In the Homeric shield (the ancilia, too, had them: see Dion. H. 2.71, 387 R), bars to which the τελαμὼν or shoulder-belt was attached (Hesych. s. v.), generally of wood, but in Nestor's shield of gold (Hom. Il. 8.192; Buchholz, Hom. Real. 2.1, 363); or two parallel bars used as handles, through one of which the warrior placed his arm while he grasped the other. This was prior to the invention of regular handles (ὔχανα) by the Carians (Hdt. 1.171; Ebeling, s. v., where see Scholiasts). Others again suppose the κανόνες to be a framework of the shield, over which the leather was placed. But this would be superfluous in the golden shield of Nestor (Seiler, Hom. W., s. v.).2. In Hom. Il. 23.761, by some supposed to be the shuttle to which the threads of the woof (πηνίον) were attached, and by which they were drawn through and out of the warp (μίτος). This was the ordinary view, and it is still held by Buchholz (Hom. Real. 2.1, 186). But the Scholiast says, κανών· σ κάλαμος περὶ ὃν εἱλεῖται ὁ μίτος ὁ ἱστουργικός. Rightly; for with Blümner (Technologie, 1.130) and Marquardt (Privatleben, 506 ff.) we should consider the κανὼν to be the straight round rod to which the alternate threads of the warp were attached by means of strings, which strings had loops at either end, one loop fastening the string to the κανών, the other fastening it to the warp. Of course, in weaving there must be two κανόνες. This arrangement of strings and loops was called μίτος by the Greeks, licia by the Romans. The κανὼν was originally made of reed, and we find arundo in this sense in Ov. Met. 6.55Now, if we bear in mind that πηνίον is not the woof, but the spool or shuttle to which the threads of the woof were attached, we shall find the Homeric simile quite explicable and apposite.3. A carpenter's rule, very like our own, to judge from the representation of it we find on carpenters' tombs, which show that it was graduated. [See REGULA] It differed from στάθμη, amussis (cf. Vitr. 7.3, 5), in that the latter was a flexible string, the former generally a rigid ruler (Arist. Rhet. 1.1, 5), though sometimes it was made of lead and could be bent, μολύβδινος κανών (Arist. Eth. N. 5.10, 7). The carpenter used to correct errors in the κανὼν by the aid of his eye and the στάθμη (Soph. Frag. 421). Both the στάθμη (Schol. on Hom. Il. 15.410) and the κανὼν (Anth. P. 6.205, 4; cf. Eur. H. F. 945) were rubbed over with some coloured substance, generally vermilion (μίλτος, rubrica). Κανὼν is also used as a ruler for drawing straight lines with pen and ink (Anth. Pal. 6.63, 2; 64, 4).4. In descriptions of machinery κανὼν is used just as indefinitely as we use rod: e. g. in the account of the organ made by Ctesibius, given in Heron's Pneumatika, we find κανὼν used at one time for a piston rod, next for the beam of a lever, again for the fulcrum upon which the lever works, and also the rods which connect the keys and the pipes or perhaps the rods of the stops. (See Chappell, Hist. of Music, 1.343, 376, and his elucidation of the puzzling passage κανόνας συμφραδμόνας αὐλῶν in the Emperor Julian's riddling epigram, Anth. P. 9.365, 7.) Κανὼν is used just as indefinitely in the description of the military engines in Heron: e.g. Belop. 124, 125; and also regula in Lat. (Vitr. 10.15, 17).5. The beam (not tongue) of a balance (Anth. Pal. 11.334: ἔστησ' ἀμφοτέρων τὸν τρόπον ἐκ κανόνος). It is generally called ζυγόν. 6. Horizontal curtain-poles, gilt and silvered, in the description given by Chares ap. Athen. 538 d, of the marriage tent which Alexander got made.

In the figurative sense κανὼν came to be used for anything which served as a model or rule: e. g. in Athletics, Pollux 3.152 tells us that the average or normal jump (τὸ μέτρον τοῦ πηδήματος) was called κανών, or what was normal. In Ethics, for the rule of right, the Ethical Standard (Eur. Hec. 602: cf. Arist. Eth. Nic. 2.3, 8, κανονίζομεν τὰς πράξεις ἡδονῇ καὶ λυπῇ), or the measure of attainment assigned or permitted to an individual. (St. Paul, 2 Cor. 10.13-16: cf. Hor. Ep. 1.7, 98, Metiri se quemque suo modulo ac pede verum est.) In Grammar, for the rules of that science; see Theodorus of Alexandria, ap. Bekker, Anecdota Graeca, 975-1065, and esp. 1180: κανών ἐστι λόγος ἔντεχνος ἀπευθύνων ὁμοιότητα πρὸς τὸ καθόλου τὸ διεστραμμένον τῆς λέξεως, τουτέστι λόγος μετὰ τέχνης διὰ τῶν ὁμοίων ἐπ' εὐθείας ἄγων ἢ ἐλέγχων πρὸς τὰ πλείονα τὸ διεστραμμένον καὶ ἡμαρτημένον τῆς λέξεως· τὰ γὰρ πλείονα τῶν ἐλαττόνων κανόνες. Cf. Etym. M. p. 489, 29 (Gaisf.). Also cf. Auson. Epigr. 136 fin. As regards style in Literature, very few rules can be laid down. The opinion of the wise man, the (φρόνιμος, in style, as in each branch of art, is the only criterion of good and bad. In this respect Cicero calls Tiro (Fam. 16.17, 1) the κανὼν of his writings. Hence of first-class authors as the standard or model in various respects: e. g. Dion. H. vol. 6.775 (Reiske), Ἡρόδοτός τε γὰρ τῆς Ἰάδος ἄριστος κανών, Θουκυδίδης δὲ τῆς Ἀτθίδος: 813, Thucydides is κανόνα τῆς ἱστορικῆς πραγματείας: cf. 1083. In reference to Music, Euclid has a treatise called κανόνος κατατομή: the 19th theorem of which, the main point at which he is arriving, is τὸν κανόνα καταγράψαι κατὰ τὸ καλούμενον ἀμετάβολον σύστημα. Here the κανὼν is the string which is regarded as the unit. Euclid takes for this the note external to the tetrachords, the προσλαμβανόμενος (on the meaning of this term see F. A. Gevaert, Histoire, &c. de la Musique, Gand, 1875, p. 90, note 2),--A natural. He determines the length of the strings requisite to produce the other notes of the Diatonic scale as fractions of this. Κανὼν was also applied to the table thence derived, which expressed the relations of the intervals of sounds. (See Saglio, Dict. s. v., and Lunn in Smith's Dict. of Christian Antiquities, s. v.) Ptolemy advised his pupils to discover the intervals by measurement, and recommended the κανὼν ἁρμονικός, consisting of a rule and movable bridges to be placed under the strings; and, the legends notwithstanding, in all probability Pythagoras obtained the measurement of the intervals in the same manner (Chappell, Hist. of Music, 1.8, 73, 74). Lastly, we may mention that the wind-chest of Ctesibius's hydraulic organ was called the regulator of the music (κανὼν μουσικός, Vitr. 10.8). In Philosophy, that branch of Logic which dealt with the tests of truth was called by the Epicureans τὸ κανονικόν. (See Zeller, Stoics, &c. Eng. trans. pp. 400-1.) Epicurus wrote a book called περὶ κριτηρίου ἢ κανών (Diog. 50.10.27). In Sculpture, the rules of the proportions of the human figure were first definitely laid down by the sculptor Polycletus of Sicyon, who flourished 452-412. To exemplify these rules he made a statue of a Persian δορυφόρος (Cic. Brut. 296), which is now lost. Both the rules and the statue were called κανών (Galen, iv. pp. 354-5, Kühn). The rules, too, are lost to us: for the measurements and method given by Vitruvius (Vitr. 3.1, are in error. (See G. Schadow, Polyclet., Eng. trans., London, 1883; and A. Blanc, Grammaire des Arts du Dessin, pp. 40-47, Paris, 1867.) The head is a bad unit of measurement; it does not vary with the growth of the body: the hand does so vary; accordingly it is the right unit to adopt, and it was adopted by Polycletus, theoretically (Galen, vol. 5.449, ed. Kühn) and practically (Plin. Nat.34. § § 55, 56, compared with 65), as well as by the Egyptians (Blanc, l. c. 44-46). For elaborate accounts of the science of artistic proportion and its history, with numerous illustrations, see Schadow, l. c.; and J. Bonomi, The Proportions of the Human Figure(London, 1872).

Rules often take the form of tables or lists, and so we find κανὼν sometimes in this sense. But the older writers did not use it as such; and the Alexandrine grammarians no more used the word κανὼν for a catalogue of classic writers than they made any such catalogue. This idol of the tribe has been exhibited in its worthlessness by G. Steffen, De Canone qui dicitur Aristophanis et Aristarchi(Leipzig, 1876). But in Astronomy we have κανόνες πρόχειροι of Ptolemy (vol. vi. ed. Halma), handy tables, giving the mean motions of each of the planets and the differences of their observed positions therefrom, so that their actual (i. e. from Ptolemy's point of view, geocentric) position could be discovered for any date, and conversely the date be found given their position. These were helps to chronologists. And specially in Chronology there was a table of kings (κανὼν βασιλικός) made out by Hipparchus and Ptolemy (vol. iii. ed. Halma, init.), with the length of their reigns in whole years. Ptolemy took the first year of Nabonassar, king of Babylon, as his era (ἐποχή, stopping point) of the Babylonian kings, the accession of Cyrus the Great of the Persian kings, the accession of Philip Arrhidaeus of the Macedonian kings, and the battle of Actium of the Roman emperors as kings of Egypt. Such chronological tables were in vogue in Plutarch's time, but he will not give up the story of the meeting of Solon and Croesus for any so-called chronological tables (χρονικοῖς τισι λεγομένοις κανόσιν, Sol. 27) of Dion. H. (Ant. Rom. 1.74).

In the fiscal affairs of the later Roman empire canon was used for regular payments of tribute (e. g. Cod. Th. 11.1, 30, 31 et passim throughout the title), especially for the corn supply to the capital (canon P. R., Spart. Sev. 8; canon frumenti urbis Romae or urbicarius, Cod. Th. 14.15, 3); also for the ordinary annual income a state derived from its landed property (Cod. Th. 15.1, 32, and Gothofred's note): opposed to extraordinary taxation, tributum superindictum (ib. 6.26, 4; 11.1, 36).

For the multitudinous applications of Canon and its derivatives in the Christian Church,--Canon of the Mass, Canon of Scripture, &c.--the reader is referred to Ducange, to Smith's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, and to Addis and Arnold's Catholic Dictionary.

[L.C.P]

Canon

(κανών). A word probably derived from κάννα, “a reed,” and properly meaning a straight rod. Its special applications are as follows:

(1) In the Homeric shield, the κανόνες are the bars to which the shoulder-belt (τελαμών) was attached; or two parallel bars used as handles, through one of which the warrior placed his arm while he grasped the other. See the accompanying illustration.

(2) In weaving, a straight round rod to which the alternate threads of the warp were attached by means of strings having loops at each end, one loop fastening the string to the κανών, the other fastening it to the warp. This arrangement of strings and loops was called μίτος by the Greeks and licia by the Romans.

(3) A carpenter's rule, much like our own. See Regula.

(4) The beam of a balance, more often called ζυγόν (Anth. Pal. xi. 334).

(5) Horizontal curtain-poles of silver-gilt ( Chares ap. Athen. 538 d).

(6) In a figurative sense, κανών came to be used for whatever served as a rule, model, or norm. Thus, of grammatical rules (Auson. Epigr. 136), of the laws of style (Cic. Ad Fam. xvi. 17, 1), of logical tests of truth (Diog. Laert.x. 27), and of the rules of sculpture (Galen. iv. 354-355 Kühn).

(7) In the fiscal affairs of the later Empire, canon was used of the regular payments of tribute, especially of corn sent to the capital (Cod. Th. xiv. 15, 3).