Chapter Inkle and Yarico to Interdict of I by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Insane Root (The). Hemlock. It is said that those who eat hemlock can see subjective things as objects. Thus, when Banquo had encountered the witches, who vanished as mysteriously as they appeared, he said to Macbeth, "Were such things [really ] here, ... or have we eaten the insane root, that takes the reason prisoner," so that our eyes see things that are not. (Macbeth, i. 3.)
    Other plants "take the reason prisoner," as the Pruna insana, the "Indian nut," "Hoary nightshade."

Inscription of a Coin (See Legend .)

Insolence (Latin, in-soleo.) Unusual conduct, that is, not according to the common courtesies of social life.

Inspired Idiot (The). Oliver Goldsmith was so called by Walpole.

Instinct Something pricked or punctured into one. Distinguish is of the same root, and means to prick or puncture separately. Extinguish means to prick or puncture out. In all cases the allusion is to marking by a puncture. At college the "markers" at the chapel doors still hold a pin in one hand, and prick with it the name of each "man" who enters. The word is used to express a natural impulse to do something; an inherent habit.

"Although reason may ... be blended with instinct the distinction between the two is sufficiently precise. Reason only acts upon a definite and often laboriously acquired knowledge of the relation between means and ends." - Romanes: Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. xiii. p. 157 (ninth edition).

Institutes (3 syl.). Elementary law treatises, as the Institutes of Gaius and those of Florentius, Callistratus, Paulus, Ulpian, and Marcian. The Institutes of Justinian were compiled by Antoninus Pius, and for the most part are mere rechauffees of the preceding ones, giving the words and opinions of the respective authors.

Instructions to the Committee A Parliamentary dodge for empowering a Committee of the House to do what a Committee would not otherwise be empowered to do.
   An "Instruction" must be supplementary and auxiliary to the Bill under consideration.
   It must fall within the general scope and framework of the Bill in question.
   It must not form the substance of a distinct measure.

Insubri The district of Lombardy which contained Milan, Como, Pavia, Lodi, Novara, and Vercelli.

Insult To leap on the prostrate body of a foe. To treat with contumely.

Insulter One who leaps upon you or against you. Thus Terence says, "Insultare fores calcibus" (Eunuchus, ii. 2, 54). It will be remembered that the priests of Baal, to show their indignation against their gods, "leaped upon the altar which they had made" (1 Kings xviii. 26). Zephaniah (i. 9) says that God will punish all those that leap on the threshold." (See Desultory.)

Intaglio (Italian). A design cut in a gem, like a crest or initials in a stamp. The design does not stand out in relief, as in cameos, but is hollowed in.

Intellect The power of reading mentally; hence the power of understanding and quickly grasping what requires intelligence and thought. (Latin, intus lego, I read within me.)

Intendance Militaire Corps charge de tout ce qui concerne l'administration et la compatibilité de la guerre.
   The Intendants Militaire control the accounts, payments, food, dress, encampments, transport, hospitals, marches, etc., of the army.

Intentions Hell is paved with good intentions. In Spanish: "El infierno es bleno de buenas intenciones. " Good intentions without corresponding deeds are self-accusers.

Inter Alia (Latin). Among other things or matters.