Amber (Heb.^':Jn,c£a^??;ar,Ezek.i,4,27; viii, 2) is a yellow or straw-colored gummy substance, originally a vegetable production, but reckoned to the mineral kingdom. It is found in lumps in the sea and on the shores of Prussia, Sicily, Turkey, etc. Ex- ternally it is rough ; it is very transparent, and on be- ing rubbed yields a fragrant odor. It was formerly supposed to be medicinal, but is now employed in the manufacture of trinkets, ornaments, etc. {Penny Cyclo- iia, s. v).
Ambo, a raised platform or reading-desk, from which, in the primitive Church, the gospel and epistle were read to the people, and sometimes the sermon preached. Its position appears to have varied at dif- ferent times ; it was most frequently on the north side of the entrance into the chancel. The singers also had their separate ambo. — Bingham, Oritj. Eccl. bk. iii, ch. vii.
Baldus and Durandus derive the name from the circumstance of there being a double flight of steps to the ambo; others, with more probability, from the Greek civafiaivio, to ascend. Treatises on this subject
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In the above passages of Ezekiel, the Hebrew word is translated by the Sept. yXacrpoi', and Vulgate elec- trum, which signify not only " amber," but also a very brilliant metal, composed of silver and gold, much prized in antiquity (Pliny, xxxiii, 4, p. 23). Others, as Bochart (Ilieroz. ii, p. 877), compare here the mix- ture of gold and brass, aurhhalcum, of which the an- cients had several kinds ; by which means a high de- gree of lustre was obtained ; e. g. as pyropum, ccs Corinthiurri, etc. (Smith's Diet, of Class. Antiq. s. v. Bronze). Something similar to this was probably also denoted by the difficult term xa\ico\lj3avov, " fine brass," in Rev. i, 15 (comp. Ezra viii, 27). See Brass. The Hebrew word chashmal probably signifies smooth (i. e. polished) brass. — Calmet, s. v. See Metal.
Ambidexter. See Left-handed.
Ambivius (a Latin name, signifying doubtful as to the way; Gra;cized 'AfifiiovioQ), surnamed Mar- cos, procurator of Juda?a, next after Coponius, and before Kufus, A.D. 9 to 12 (Josephus,.lw<. xviii, 2, 2).
Ambo in the ( liurch of St. Clement at Rome.
are by Geret, De vet. ecclesim ambonibus (Onold. 1757) ; Weidling, De ambonibus vet. ecelesice (Lips. 1687). See Lesson ; Pulpit.
Ambrose, deacon of Alexandria, flourished chief- ly about the year 230 ; he was a man of wealth, and by his wife, Mavella, had many children. For some time he was entangled in the errors of the Valentin- ians and Marcionites, but Origen brought him to the true faith. With Origen he became closely intimate, and they studied together. He is said to have fur- nished Origen with seven secretaries, whom he kept constantly at work. Ambrose died about 250, after the persecution of Maximinus, in which he confessed the faith boldly with Protoctetes, a priest of Gesarea in Palestine. His letters to Origen, which St. Jerome commends highly, are lost. The Roman Church com- memorates him as confessor on March 17. — Euseb. Ch. Hist, vi, 18 ; Landon, Eccl. Dictionimj, i, 302.
Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was born about 340, at Treves (Augusta Trevirorum), where his father re- sided as prefect of the Prfetorium, among the Gauls. It is said that while he was yet an infant a swarm of bees settled upon his mouth, which his father inter- preted as a portent of future greatness. After his fa- ther's death his mother took him to Rome, where he received the education of an advocate under Anicius Probus and Symmachus. For some time he pleaded at the bar, and his success, together with his family influence, led to his appointment (about A.D. 370) as consular prefect of Liguria and Emilia, a tract of Northern Italy which extended, as near as can be as- certained, to Bologna. It is said that Anicius Probus, the prefect, when he sent him to his government, did so in these remarkable words, which may well be called prophetic, "Go, then, and act, not as a judge, but as a bishop." Ambrose made Milan his residence ; and when Auxentius the bishop died, the people of Milan assembled to elect a successor. This the cruel divisions made in the Church by the Arian heresy rendered no easy matter ; and the contest was carried on between Catholics and Arians with such violence that Ambrose was obliged to proceed himself to the church to exhort the people to make their election quietly and in order. At the close of his speech the whole assembly, Arians and Catholics, with one voice demanded him for their bishop. Believing himself to be unworthy of so high and responsible an office, he tried all means in his power to evade their call, but
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