BASILICA: 1. Legal codes. Since the great codification of the Roman law by Justinian, the Corpus juris civilis, was written in Latin, it could not meet the needs of the East, and required Greek translations. To do away with the uncertainty which had arisen from such versions, in 878 the emperor Basil the Macedonian had a handbook put together, covering forty titles, and put out a revision in 885. A further revision and codification of the older laws, edited once more under Leo the Wise (886), bears the Greek name of ta basilika. It is in sixty books, based on Justinian's compilation from the older versions and commentaries, with extracts from his later constitutions known as the Novellæ, and from Basil's handbook mentioned above.

(E. Friedberg.)

2. Early form of Christian churches. See Architecture, Ecclesiastical.

Bibliography: C. E. Zacharia, Historiæ juris Græco-Romani delineatio, pp. 35–36. Heidelberg, 1839; Mortreuil, Histoire du droit Byzantin, part ii, pp. 1 sqq., part iii, pp. 230 sqq., Paris, 1843–46; Krumbacher, Geschichte, pp. 171, 257–258, 606, 607, 609, 610, 977.

BASILIDES, bas-i-lɑi´dîz, AND THE BASILIDIANS.

Basilides.

Basilides, a famous Gnostic, was a pupil of an alleged interpreter of St. Peter, Glaucias by name, and taught at Alexandria during the reign of Hadrian (117–138). He may have been previously a disciple of Menander at Antioch, together with Saturnilus. The Acta Archelai state that for a time he taught among the Persians. He composed twenty-four books on the Gospel, which, according to Clement of Alexandria (Stromata, iv, 12), were entitled "Exegetics." Fragments of xiii and xxiii, preserved by Clement and in the Acta Archelai, supplement the knowledge of Basilides furnished by his opponents. Origen is certainly wrong in ascribing to him a Gospel. The oldest refutation of the teachings of Basilides, by Agrippa Castor, is lost, and we are dependent upon the later accounts of Irenæus, Clement of Alexandria, and Hippolytus. The latter, in his Philosophumena, gives a presentation entirely different from the other sources. It either rests on corrupt accounts, or, more probably, on those of a later, post-Basilidian phase of the system. Hippolytus describes a monistic system, in which Hellenic, or rather Stoic, conceptions stand in the foreground, whereas the genuine Basilides is an Oriental through and through, who stands in closer relationship to Zoroaster than to Aristotle.

His System.

The fundamental theme of the Basilidian speculation is the question concerning the origin of evil and how to overcome it. The answer is given entirely in the forms of Oriental gnosis, evidently influenced by Parseeism. There are two principles, untreated and self-existent, light and darkness, originally separated and without knowledge of each other. At the head of the "kingdom of light" stands "the uncreated, unnamable God." From him divine life unfolds in successive steps. Seven such revelations form the first ogdoad, from which issued the rest of the spirit-world, till three hundred and sixty-five spirit-realms had originated. These are comprised under the mystic name Abrasax, whose numerical value answers to the number of the heavens and days. Being seized with a longing for light, darkness now interferes. A struggle of the principles commences, in which originated our system of the world as copy of the last stage of the spirit-world, having an archon and angel at its head. The earthly life is only a moment of the general purification-process which now takes place to deliver the world of light from darkness. Hence everything which is bad and evil in this system of the world becomes intelligible when regarded in its proper relations. Gradually the rays of light find their way through the mineral kingdom, vegetable kingdom, and animal kingdom. Man has two souls in his breast, of which the rational soul tries to master the material or animal. For the consummation of the process an intervention from above is necessary, however. The Christian idea of the manifestation of God in Jesus Christ is the historical fact which Basilides subjects to his general thoughts. God's "mind" (Gk. nous) descended upon Jesus as dove at the Jordan, and he proclaimed salvation to the Jews, the chosen people of the archon. The suffering of Jesus, Basilides admitted as a historical fact, but he did not understand how to utilize it religiously. The Spirit of God is the redeemer, not the crucified one. Jesus suffered as man, whose light-nature was also contaminated through the matter of evil. But the belief in the redemption which came from above lifts man beyond himself to a higher degree of existence. How far the individual can attain it depends on the degree of pure entanglement in former degrees of the spirit-world. In the perfected spirit-world the place will be assigned to each which belongs to him according to the degree of his faith.

The Basilidians.

Among the Basilidians, Basilides' son, Isidore, occupies a prominent place. Of his writings ("On the Excrescent Soul," "Exegetics," "Ethics") some fragments are extant. The sect does not seem to have spread beyond Lower Egypt. In opposition to the rigid ethics of their master, the Basilidians seem often to have advocated libertinism. According to Clement of Alexandria they celebrated the sixth or the tenth of January as the day of the baptism of Jesus. On the importance of this fact for the origin of the ecclesiastical festival of the Epiphany, cf. H. Usener, Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen, i (Bonn, 1889).

G. Krüger.

Bibliography: The fragments of Basilides are collected in J. E. Grabe, Spicilegium SS. Patrum, ii, 35–43, Oxford, 1699; in A. Stieren's edition of Irenæus, i, 901–903, 907–909, Leipsic, 1853; and in A. Hilgenfeld, Ketzergeschichte des Urchristentums, pp. 207–217, Leipsic, 1884. The sources are Irenæus (Hær., I, xxiv, 1; cf. ii, 16 et passim), Clement of Alexandria (Strom., ii, 8; iii, 1; iv, 12, 24, 26; v, 1), Origen (Hom. i on Luke; com. on Romans, v), Eusebius (Chron., an. 133; Hist. ecc1., IV, vii, 7), the Acta Archelai (lv), Epiphanius (Hær., xxiii, 1; xxiv; xxxii, 3), and Hippolytus (Philosophumena, vii, 2–15). Consult A. Neander, Genetische Entwicklung der vornehmsten gnostischen Systems, Berlin, 1818 (the most exhaustive treatment); F. C. Baur, Die christliche Gnosis, Tübingen, 1835; J. L. Jacobi, Basilidis philosophi gnostici sententias ex Hippolyti libri, Berlin, 1852 (valuable); G. Uhlhorn, Das basilidianische System, Göttingen, 1855: H. L. Mansel, Gnostic Heresies, London, 1875 (has able lecture on Basilides); Hort, in DCB, i, 268–281 (very thorough); A. Hilgenfeld, in ZWT, xxi (1878), 228–250; idem, Die Ketzergeschichte des Urchristentums, pp. 207–218, Leipsic, 1884; G. Salmon, The Cross-references in the Philosophoumena, in Hermathena, xi (1885), 389–402; H. Stähelin, Die gnostischan Quellen Hippolyts, in TU, vi, 3, Leipsic, 1890; Schaff, Christian Church, ii, 466–472; Harnack, Litteratur, i, 157–161; ii, 1, 289–297 Krüger, History, pp. 70–71; Moeller, Christian Church, i, 141–144; J. Kennedy, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1902, pp. 377–415.

BASNAGE, bɑ̄´´nɑzh´: The name of a family of Normandy which has produced several men prominent in the history of French Protestantism.

1. Benjamin Basnage was for fifty-one years pastor at Sainte-Mère-Église, near Carentan (27 m. s.e. of Cherbourg), where he was born in 1580 and died in 1652. During the religious wars he was repeatedly chosen by his coreligionists, on account of the constancy of his character and his great learning, to represent them in political and ecclesiastical assemblies. He was president of the general synod at Alençon in 1637 and as deputy at Charenton in 1644 he did much to defend the rights of the Protestants and to reconcile the theologians. In the year of his death he was ennobled by the government of Louis XIV. Of the many polemical tractates which he wrote, the best known is De l’état visible et invisible de l’Église et de la parfaite satisfaction de Jésus Christ, contre la fable du purgatoire (La Rochelle, 1612).

2. Henri Basnage, younger son of Benjamin, was born at Sainte-Mère-Église Oct. 16, 1615; d. at Rouen Oct. 20, 1695. He was one of the most eloquent advocates in the parliament of Rouen and one of the most famous jurists of his time. He defended the cause of the Reformed Church courageously, and his reputation was such that after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes he was almost the only Protestant who could follow the profession of law in Rouen.

3. Samuel Basnage, son of Antoine, younger son of Benjamin, was born at Bayeux 1638; d. at Zütphen 1721. He was first pastor at Vauxcelles, then at Bayeux till 1685. He went with his father to the Netherlands and became pastor there of the Walloon congregation at Zütphen. Of his theological writings the most important are: Morale théologique et politique sur les vertus et les vices des hommes (2 vols., Amsterdam, 1703); and Annales politico-ecclesiastici (3 vols., Rotterdam, 1706).

4. Jacques Basnage (de Beauval), son of Henri, was born at Rouen Aug. 8, 1653; d. at The Hague Dec. 22, 1723. He first studied the classical languages at Saumur under Tanneguy, father of the famous Mme. Dacier; afterward theology at Geneva under Turretin and Tronchin, finally at Sédan under Jurieu. In 1676 he was chosen pastor at Rouen; after the suppression of the church at Rouen in 1685, Louis XIV granted him permission to retire to Holland. In 1691 he was made pastor of the Walloon congregation at Rotterdam, and in 1709 of the French congregation at The Hague. The prime minister Heinsius respected him highly and employed him in different diplomatic missions. The fame of his diplomatic ability reached the court at Versailles, and when, in 1716, the Abbé Dubois was sent to The Hague by the Duke of Orléans, then regent, in behalf of the triple alliance, he was instructed to associate with Basnage. When an insurrection of the Camisards in the Cévennes was feared, the regent applied to Basnage. He supported energetically the zealous Antoine Court, then twenty years old, in restoring the Protestant Church in Southern France, but, partial to the principles of passive obedience, as preached by Calvin, he severely condemned the insurrection of the Camisards and even blamed the first preachers in the Desert. About this time the States General of the Netherlands appointed him historiographer. His numerous works are partly dogmatic or polemic, partly historical. The former include especially his writings against Bossuet: Examen des méthodes proposées par Messieurs de l’assemblée du clergé de France, en 1682, pour la réunion des Protestants à l’Église romaine (Cologne, 1682); Réponse à M. l’évêque de Meaux sur la lettre pastorale (1686). His historical works are: Histoire de la religion des Églises réformées (2 vols., Rotterdam, 1690; 1725); Histoire de l’Église depuis Jésus Christ jusqu’à présent (1699); Histoires du Vieux et du Nouveau Testament, représentées par des figures gravées en taille-douce par R. de Hooge (Amsterdam, 1704); Histoire des Juifs depuis Jésus Christ jusqu’à présent (1706).

G. Bonet-Maury.

Bibliography: J. Aymon, Tous les synodes nationaux des églises réformées, The Hague, 1710; P. Bayle, Dictionnaire historique et critique, Amsterdam, 1740; D. Houard, Dictionnaire de la coutume de Normandie, Rouen, 1780; Lamory, Éloge de Basnage, in Bulletin d’histoire du protestantisme français, vol. x, p. 42; xiii, pp. 41–48; E. and É. Haag, La France protestante, 2d ed. by M. Bordier, 5 vols., Paris, 1877–86; F. Puaux, Les Précurseurs français de la tolérance, ib. 1881; J. Bianquis, La Révocation de l’édit de Nantes, Rouen, 1885.

BASSERMANN, HEINRICH GUSTAV: German Lutheran; b. at Frankfort-on-the-Main July 12, 1849. He was educated at the universities of Jena, Zurich, and Heidelberg in 1868–73, but served in the campaign of 1870–71 in the First Baden Dragoons. He was assistant pastor at Arolsen, Waldeck, from 1873 to 1876, when he became privat-docent of New Testament exegesis at the University of Jena. In the same year he was appointed associate professor of practical theology at Heidelberg, and full professor and university preacher in 1880. He wrote: Dreissig christliche Predigten (Leipsic, 1875); De loco Matthæi v, 17–20 (Jena, 1876); Handbuch der geistlichen Beredsamkeit (Stuttgart, 1885); Akademische Predigten (1886); System der Liturgik (1888); Geschichte der badischen Gottesdienstordnung (1891); Sine ira et studio (Tübingen, 1894); Der badische Katechismus erklärt (1896–97); Richard Rothe als praktischer Theolog (1899); Zur Frage des Unionskatechismus (1901); Ueber Reform des Abendmahls (1904); Wie studiert man evangelische Theologie? (Stuttgart, 1905); and Gott: Fünf Predigten (Göttingen, 1905). From 1879 he edited the Zeitschrift für praktische Theologie in collaboration with Rudolf Ehlers. Died in Samaden (70 m. s.s.e. of St. Gall), Switzerland, Aug. 30, 1909.

BASTHOLM, CHRISTIAN: Danish court preacher, and an influential representative of the prevalent rationalism of his time; b. at Copenhagen Nov. 2, 1740; d. there Jan. 25, 1819. He had a varied education, and was specially attracted to philosophy and natural science, but was persuaded by his father to embrace a clerical career without any real love for Christian doctrine or the Church. He was preacher to the German congregation at Smyrna from 1768 to 1771. His renown as a great orator won him in 1778 the position of court preacher, to which other court offices were subsequently added. Full of the ideas of the "Enlightenment," he felt called upon to be a missionary in their cause to his countrymen, and published a number of works in popular religious philosophy and history which have long since fallen into oblivion. His greatest success was his text-book of sacred oratory (1775), which so impressed Joseph II that he introduced it into all the higher educational institutions of the empire, though its recommendations seem laughable today. He published a history of the Jews (1777–82), attempting to "rationalize" it after Michaelis, and a translation of the New Testament with notes (1780). A small treatise on improvements in the liturgy (1785) aroused a storm of controversy; his idea was to make the service "interesting and diversified," after the model of balls and concerts; to exclude from hymnody not only everything dogmatic but all that was not joyous; and to eliminate from the sacramental rites whatever was contrary to sound reason. In the days of the French Revolution, he offered so many concessions to the antireligious spirit that he made himself ridiculous even in the eyes of freethinkers; and his book on "Wisdom and Happiness" (1794) taught a Stoicism only colored by Christianity. In 1795 he lost his library by fire, and with the new century withdrew from public life and authorship to live quietly with his son, a pastor at Slagelse, absorbed in the study of philosophy and science.

(F. Nielsen.)

BATES, WILLIAM: English Presbyterian; b. at London Nov., 1625; d. at Hackney July 14, 1699. He was graduated at Cambridge 1647, and was vicar of St. Dunstan's-in-the-West, London, until 1662, when he lost the benefice for non-conformity; he was one of the commissioners to the Savoy Conference (q.v.) in 1661 and represented the nonconformists on other occasions in negotiations with the Churchmen; was chaplain to Charles II and had influence in high places both under Charles and his successors. He is said to have been a polished preacher and a sound scholar. Perhaps the best known of his works is The Harmony of the Divine Attributes in the Contrivance and Accomplishment of Man's Redemption (2d ed., London, 1675). A collected edition of his works, with memoir by W. Farmer, was published in four volumes at London in 1815.

BATHING: The bath in the East, because of the heat and the dust, is constantly necessary for the preservation of health, and to prevent skin-diseases. The bathing of the newly born is mentioned in Ezek. xvi, 4; bathing as part of the toilet in Ruth iii, 3; II Sam. xii, 20; Ezek. xxiii, 40, and elsewhere. As the Law attached great religious value to the purity of the body, it prescribed bathing and ablutions for cases in which it was apparently impaired (see Defilement and Purification, Ceremonial). Ablution was required when one approached the deity (cf. Gen. xxxv, 2; Exod. xix, 10; Lev. xvi, 4, for the high priest on the Day of .Atonement). Bathing in "living" (i.e., running) water was regarded as most effective in every respect (Exod. ii, 5; II Kings v, 10; Lev. xv, 13). More accessible and convenient were the baths arranged in the houses. To a well-furnished house belonged a courtyard, in which was a bath—according to II Sam. xi, 2, an open basin. Susannah (verses 15 sqq.) bathes in a hedged garden and uses oil and some kind of soap; the Hebrew women used bran in the bath, or to dry themselves, (Mishnah Pesahim ii, 7). The feet, being protected by sandals only, were exposed to dust and dirt, and no attentive host omitted to give to his guests water for their feet before he entertained them (Gen. xviii, 4; xix, 2; I Sam. xxv, 41; cf. Luke vii, 44; John xiii, 1–10). The washing of hands before meals was customary for obvious reasons; but it is not expressly attested before New Testament time, and then as a religious enactment which the Pharisees rigidly observed (Matt. xv, 2; Luke xi, 38); so in general with reference to washings and bathings the punctilious were at that time more exacting. The efficacy of warm springs was recognized at a very early period (cf. Gen. xxxvi, 24, R. V., and the name Hammath, Josh. xix, 35; xxi, 32). They were found near Tiberias (Josephus, War, II, xxi, 6; Ant., XVIII, ii, 3; Life, xvi; Pliny, v, 15), Gadara, the capital of Peræa, and Callirrhoë, east of the Dead Sea (Josephus, War, I, xxxiii, 5; Pliny, v, 16). Public baths are mentioned in Josephus, Ant., XIX, vii, 5, but their existence in Palestine can not be proved before the Greco-Roman time.

C. von Orelli.

Abuses connected with the public baths in early Christian times called forth protests from many of the heathen and led some of the emperors to attempt restrictive precautions. The Church Fathers also raised their voices, but it is noteworthy that though there was public censure (e.g., of women, particularly of virgins who were immodest in the bath), there was no formal, ecclesiastical prohibition of the public baths. The use of the bath was remitted during public calamities, penance, Lent, and for the first week after baptism. From the time of Constantine it was usual to build baths near the basilicas, partly for the use of the clergy, and partly for other ecclesiastical purposes.

Bibliography: For Hebr. custom consult DB, i, 257–258. On the Christian, DCA, i, 182–183; the article "Baden" in KL, i, 1843–46, covers both subjects.

BATH KOL: Literally "daughter of the voice," an expression which signifies in itself nothing more than a call or echo, for which it is also used. When the term is applied to a divine manifestation, it implies that it was audible to the human hearing without a personal theophany. In the Old Testament the notion is found in Dan. iv, 28 (A. V. 31), "a voice fell from heaven." In the New Testament similar ideas are the heavenly voice at the baptism of Jesus (Matt. iii, 17; Mark i, 11; Luke iii, 22), at his transfiguration (Matt. xvii, 5; Mark ix, 7; Luke ix, 35), before his passion (John xii, 28), and the voices from heaven heard by Paul and Peter (Acts ix, 4; cf. xxii, 7 and xxvi, 14; x, 13, 15). A voice from the sanctuary is mentioned by Josephus (Ant., XIII, x, 3; cf. Bab. Soṭah 33a; Jerus. Soṭah 24b), and was called bath kol by the rabbis, who were of opinion that such heavenly voices were heard during all the time of Israel's history, even in their own time. According to Bab. Soṭah 48b; Yomah 9a, this "voice" was the only divine means of revelation after the extinction of prophecy. They narrate legendary stories of such divine voices which settled religious difficulties. Different from the bath kol proper is the idea that natural sounds or words heard by accident are significant heavenly voices. This superstition was not uncommon, as Jerus. Shabbat 8c shows. Rabbi Joshua was of the opinion that such things must not influence any legal decision (Bab. Baba Meẓi‘a 59b; Berakot 51b). Rabbi Johanan lays down as general rule that that which was heard in the city must be the voice of a man, in the desert that of a woman, and that either a twofold "Yea" or twofold "Nay" is heard (Bab. Megillah 32a).

G. Dalman.

Bibliography: F. Weber. System der altsynagogalen palästinischen Theologie, pp. 187, 194, Leipsic 1880: W. Bacher, Agada der Tannaiten, i, 88. note 3, Strasburg,1884; idem, Agada der palästinischen Amoräer, i, 351, note 3, ii, 26, ib. 1892–96; S. Louis, Ancient Traditions of Supernatural Voices: Bath Kol, in TSBA, ix, 18; JE, ii, 588–592.

BATIFFOL, PIERRE HENRI: French Roman Catholic; b. at Toulouse Jan. 27, 1861. He was educated at the Seminary of St. Sulpice, Paris (1878–82), and the University of Paris (1882–86; Docteur és lettres, 1892), and since 1898 has been rector of the Institut Catholique at Toulouse. He was created a domestic prelate to the Pope in 1899, and in theology is an orthodox Roman Catholic, inclining toward the critical school in matters of history. Since 1896 he has been the editor of the Bibliothéque de l’enseignement de l’histoire ecclésiastique, founded by him in that year, and since 1899 has also edited the monthly Bulletin de littérature ecclésiastique. He has written L’Abbaye de Rossano, contribution à l’histoire de la Vaticane (Paris, 1892); Histoire du brevière romain (1893); Six leçons sur les Évanegiles (1897); Tractatus Origenis in libros sanctarum scripturarum (1900); Études d’histoire et de théologie positive (1902); and L’Enseignement de Jésus (1905).

BATTEN, LORING WOART: Protestant Episcopalian; b. in Gloucester County N. J., Nov. 12, 1859. He was educated at Harvard University, the Philadelphia Divinity School, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was ordered deacon in 1886 and ordained priest in the following year, and was instructor and professor of the Old Testament in the Philadelphia Divinity School from 1888 to 1899, when he became rector of St. Mark's, New York City. He is also lecturer on the Old Testament in the General Theological Seminary, New York City. In addition to numerous briefer studies, he has written The Old Testament from the Modern Point of View (New York, 1889) and The Hebrew Prophet (London, 1905).

BATTERSON, HERMON GRISWOLD: Protestant Episcopalian; b. at Marbledale, Conn., May 27, 1827; d. in New York City Mar. 9, 1903. He was educated privately, was rector at San Antonio, Texas, 1860–61, and at Wabasha, Minn.,1862–66. In 1866 he removed to Philadelphia and was rector of St. Clement's Church there 1869–1872, of the Church of the Annunciation 1880–89; became rector of the Church of the Redeemer, New York, 1891, but soon retired. He published The Missionary Tune Book (Philadelphia, 1867); The Churchman's Hymn Book (1870); A Sketch Book of the American Episcopate (1878; 3d ed., enlarged, 1891); Christmas Carols and Other Verses (1877); Gregorian Music, a manual of plain, song for the offices of the American Church (New York, 1884; 7th ed., 1890); Vesper Bells and Other Verses (1895).

BAUDISSIN, WOLF WILHELM, GRAF VON: German Protestant; b. at Sophienhof, near Kiel, Germany, Sept. 26, 1847. He was educated at the universities of Erlangen, Berlin, Leipsic (Ph.D., 1870), and Kiel from 1866 to 1872, and was privat-docent at Leipsic in 1874–76, when he accepted a call to the University of Strasburg as associate professor of theology. Four years later he was promoted to full professor, but in the following year went to Marburg as professor of Old Testament exegesis. He remained at Marburg, where he was rector in 1893–94, until 1900, when he went to Berlin as professor of Old Testament exegesis, a chair which he still holds. In theology he is an adherent of the historical school of investigation, and seeks to elucidate the religion of the Old Testament by other Semitic faiths. He has written: Translationis antiquæ arabicæ libri Jobi quæ supersunt nunc primum edita (Leipsic, 1870); Eulogius und Alvar, ein Abschnitt spanischer Kirchengeschichte aus der Zeit der Maurenherrschaft (1872); Jahve et Moloch, sive de ratione inter deum Israelitarum et Molochum intercedente (1874); Studien zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte (2 vols., 1876–1878); Die Geschichte des alttestamentlichen Priesterthums untersucht (1889); August Dillmann (1895); Einleitung in die Bücher des Alten Testaments (1901); and Esmun-Asklepios (Giessen, 1906).

BAU´ER, BRUNO: A modern Biblical critic, of the most extreme radicalism; b. at Eisenberg (35 m. s. of Halle), in the duchy of Altenburg, Sept. 6, 1809; d. at Rixdorf, near Berlin, Apr. 15, 1882. He was educated in Berlin precisely in Hegel's most brilliant period. He took his place at first in the conservative wing of the Hegelian school, of which his teacher Marheineke was the leader, and reviewed the Leben Jesu of David Friedrich Strauss, who had been his fellow student, unfavorably, accusing Strauss of "entire ignorance of what criticism means." He undertook also to defend Marheineke's position by issuing (1836–38) the Zeitschrift für spekulative Theologie. In 1838 he published the Kritik der Geschichte der Offenbarung (2 vols., Berlin). A year later Altenstein, minister of public worship and instruction, appointed him to a position is the University of Bonn, and his prospects seemed promising. But he was already in a fair way to break with his past, as shortly appeared in his Kritik der evangelischen Geschichte des Johannes (Bremen, 1840) and Kritik der evangelischen Geschichte der Synoptiker (3 vols., Leipsic,1841), which went beyond Strauss, and, adopting the theory of Wilke that Mark is the original gospel, derived the whole story, not, with Strauss, from the imagination of the primitive Christian community, but from that of a single mind. This extreme carrying out of Hegelian principles naturally aroused wide-spread excitement. Eichhorn, who had succeeded Altenstein as minister, put the question to the Prussian universities whether the holder of such views could be allowed to teach. The answers were not unanimous; but Bauer injured his own cause by a still more amazing and reckless onslaught on traditional theology (Theologische Schamlosigkeiten, in the Hallische Jahrbücher für deutsche Wissenschaft, Nov., 1841), and was deprived of his academic post in March, 1842. His literary activity continued incessant. Living on his small estate at Rixdorf, he poured forth a succession of volumes on the history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries between 1843 and 1849. In 1850 he came back to his old field, and in the next three years had renewed his attack on the gospels and included the Acts and the Pauline epistles, considering even the four admitted by the Tübingen school as second-century Western products. In the place of Christ and Paul, to him Philo, Seneca, and the Gnostics appeared the real creative forces in the evolution of Christian conceptions. He continued his attempts to prove the connection between Greco-Roman philosophy and Christianity in Christus und die Cäsaren (Berlin, 1877). Here he places the genesis of the Christian religion practically as late as the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and the original gospel in that of Hadrian, after which "clever men" were busy for some forty years in the composition of the Pauline epistles. Only the framework of the new religion was Jewish; its spirit came from further west; Christianity is really "Stoicism becoming dominant in a Jewish metamorphosis." Bauer left practically no followers in Germany for such remarkable theories. His fantastic hypercriticism found a home for a time in Holland with Allard Pierson, Naber, and Loman; and still later it made some attempts to gain a foothold in Switzerland with Steck's assault upon Galatians.

(J. Haussleiter).

Bibliography: Holtzmann, in Protestantische Kirchenzeitung, 1882, pp. 540–545; F. C. Baur, Kirchengeschichte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts, Leipsic, 1862; O. Pfleiderer, Die Entwicklung der protestantischen Theologie in Deutschland seit Kant, pp. 295–297, Freiburg, 1891. On the teaching of Bauer and the opposition it aroused consult E. Bauer, Bruno Bauer and seine Gegner, Berlin, 1842; O. F. Gruppe, Bruno Bauer und die akademische Lehrfreiheit, ib. 1842.

BAUER, WALTER FELIX: German Protestant; b. at Königsberg Aug. 8, 1877. From 1895 to 1900 he studied at the universities of Marburg, Berlin, and Strasburg, and since 1903 has been privat-docent for church history at the University of Marburg. He has written Mündige und Unmündige bei dem Apostel Paulus (Marburg, 1902) and Der Apostolos der Syrer in der Zeit von der Mitte des vierten Jahrhunderts bis zur Spaltung der syrischen Kirche (Giessen, 1903).

BAUM, baum, HENRY MASON: Protestant Episcopalian; b. at East Schuyler, N. Y., Feb. 24, 1848. He was educated at the Hudson River Institute, Claverack, N. Y., but did not attend a college. He received his theological training at De Lancey Divinity School, Geneva, N. Y., and was ordained to the priesthood in 1870. He was successively rector of St. Peter's Church, East Bloomfield, N. Y. (1870–71), missionary to Allen's Hill, Victor, Lima, and Honeoye Falls, N. Y. (1871–1872), rector of St. Matthew's Church, Laramie City, Wyo. (1872–73), in charge of St. James's Church, Paulsborough, N. J. (1873–74), rector of St. Matthew's Church, Lambertville, N. J. (1875–76), and rector of Trinity Church, Easton, Pa. (1876–80). From 1880 to 1892 he was editor of The Church Review, and in 1901 founded the Records of the Past, which he edited until 1905. He has taken a keen interest in the preservation of the antiquities of the United States, and was the author of the act passed by the Senate in 1904 for the protection of these archeological remains. In that year he also founded the Institute of Historical Research at Washington, and has since been its president. In theology he is a firm believer in the historical accuracy of the Bible. He has written Rights and Duties of Rectors, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen in the American Church (Philadelphia, 1879) and The Law of the Church in the United States (New York, 1886).

BAUM, JOHANN WILHELM: Protestant German theologian; b. at Flonheim (17 m. s.s.w. of Mainz) Dec. 7, 1809; d. at Strasburg Nov. 28, 1878. When he was thirteen years of age, he was sent to Strasburg to the house of his uncle, where he prepared himself for the ministry. Having completed his studies, he was made teacher at, the theological seminary at Strasburg in 1835. This position he resigned in 1844 and accepted the position of vicar of St. Thomas's in that city, whose first preacher he became in 1847. At the close of the Franco-Prussian war, the German government appointed him professor in the University of Strasburg. He belonged to the liberal Protestant party of his country, and made himself known by his writings on the history of the Reformation, as well as that of his own time, including Franz Lambert von Avignon (Strasburg and Paris, 1840); Theodor Beza nach handschriftlichen Quellen dargestellt (2 vols., Leipsic, 1843–45); Johann Georg Stuber, der Vorg࣫nger Oberlins im Steinthale and Vorkämpfer einer neuen Zeit in Strassburg (Strasburg, 1846); Die Memoiren d’Aubigné's des Hugenotten von altem Schrott und Korn (Leipsic, 1854); Capito und Butzer, Strassburgs Reformatoren (Elberfeld, 1860), being the third part of Leben und ausgewählte Schriften der Väter und Begründer der reformirten Kirche. Besides these works written in German, he published in French Les Églises réformée s de France sous la croix (Strasburg, 1869); Les Mémoires de P. Carriére dit Corteis (Strasburg, 1871); Le Procés de Baudichon de la Maisori-Neuve (Geneva, 1873). For a number of years Baum assisted his colleagues Reuss and Cunitz in the edition of Calvin's works published in the Corpus reformatorum.

Bibliography: Zur Erinnerung an J. W. Baum, Reden, Strasburg, 1878; M. Baum, J. W. Baum, ein protestantisches Charakterbild aus dem Elsass, Bremen, 1880.

BAUMGARTEN, MICHAEL: German theologian and active promoter of free church life; b. at Haseldorf, near Hamburg, Mar. 25, 1812; d. at Rostock July 21, 1889. He was educated at Altona, Kiel, and Berlin, becoming in the last-named place an outspoken adherent of Hengstenberg. But the study of Dorner during a period of seven years (1839–46) spent at Kiel as a teacher convinced him that the traditional orthodox view of the person of Christ was inadequate to explain the mystery of redemption; he passed from Hengstenberg to Schleiermacher, with his principle that Christianity is not a doctrine but a life, and then to Hofmann, in whose Weissagung und Erfüllung he saw a theology that could lead him further on his road. In his treatise Liturgie und Predigt (Kiel, 1843) he lays down his programme, to which as an old man he was still proud of having adhered. Here he classes as stumbling blocks in the Church's way a variety of ancient institutions, laws, and customs, viz.: the misleading notion of a "Christian State"; the use of compulsion in the Church (as in the case of baptism); the power of civil rulers within the Church, in allowing which the Reformers had brought back a Byzantine system; the diversity of teaching among Protestants; and the failure to recognize the menace of the Roman errors. About the same time (1843–44) appeared his commentary on the Pentateuch, to which Delitzsch appealed when in 1850 he recommended his friend to succeed him in the Rostock professorship, but which none the less he sharply criticized in some points. In the eventful years 1846–50 he was pastor of St. Michael's church at Sleswick, and was one of the leaders of the clergy of Sleswick Holstein in their struggle for the German right to the duchies. After the battle of Idstedt, he was obliged to escape from Sleswick with his family to Holstein, where his call to Rostock found him. Here he was expected to take part in the upbuilding of the Church of the duchy, which was under Kliefoth's leadership; but two men more diametrically opposed in their whole way of looking at things could scarcely have been found. Baumgarten frankly expressed his own view of the earliest history of the Church in his Apostelgeschichte (2 vols., Halle, 1852), and of its modern needs in his Nachtgesichte Sacharjas (Brunswick, 1854). It was not difficult to make a collection of heretical propositions from the writings of a man who cared so little to express himself in time-honored formulas, and who was wrestling with such modern problems; and the attempt was soon made. The Grand Duke dismissed him from the theological commission in 1856; the consistory examined his works, it must be admitted without strict adherence to constitutional rules or to the principles of fairness, found a whole series of departures from the received doctrine, and deprived him of his position. He declined an invitation to go to India as a missionary, preferring to remain and carry on the struggle for a complete reconstruction of the Evangelical Church in Germany. With this aim he was for thirteen years a zealous member of the Protestant Union from 1863 to 1876, but left it when it showed intolerance in the Heidelberg case. His life grew more and more lonely, though he could always count on a few faithful friends, like Studt, Ziegler, and Pestalozzi. He was a member of the Reichstag from 1874 to 1881, in which he showed himself a determined opponent of Stöcker and of the Jesuits, and stood for his principles of religious liberty and complete separation of Church and State. He was a man of great natural endowment, fitted for useful constructive work in theology, if the unfortunate circumstances in his career had not forced him to expend his energy in the combat to which most of his numerous later writings have reference.

(J. Haussleiter.)

Bibliography: His autobiography was edited and published posthumously by K. H. Studt, 2 vols., Kiel, 1891.

BAUMGARTEN, OTTO: German Protestant; b. at Munich Jan. 29, 1858. He was educated at the universities of Strasburg, Göttingen, Zurich, and Heidelberg, and from 1882 to 1887 was pastor at Baden-Baden and Waldkirch, while from 1888 to 1890 he was chaplain to the orphan asylum at Berlin-Rummelsburg. In 1890 he became privat-docent at the University of Berlin, and in the same year was called to Jena as associate professor of practical theology, where he remained until 1894, when he went to Kiel as full professor of the same subject. He is also university preacher and chaplain of the academic sanitarium at the same institution of learning. He has written: Volksschule und Kirche (Leipsic, 1890); Der Seelsorger unserer Tage (1891); Predigten aus der Gegenwart Tübingen (1902); Neue Bahnen: Der Religions-Unterricht vom Standpunkte der modernen Theologie aus (1903); Predigt-Probleme, Hauptfragen der modernen Evangeliums-Verkündigungen (1903); and Die Voraussetzungslosigkeit der protestantischen Theologie (Kiel, 1903).

BAUMGARTEN, SIEGMUND JAKOB: German theologian; b. at Wollmirstädt (8 m. n. of Magdeburg), Saxony, Mar. 14, 1706; d. at Halle July 4, 1757. He studied at the Halle Orphan Asylum, of which his father had been first inspector, and at the University of Halle. He became inspector of the Halle Latin School in 1726, assistant preacher to the younger G. A. Franks in 1728, associate on the theological faculty in 1730, and ordinary professor in 1743. He was a good teacher and his lectures were usually attended by from 300 to 400 hearers. His learning was vast and he was an industrious writer, publishing voluminous works on exegesis, hermeneutics, morals, dogmatics, and history, such as Auszug der Kirchengeschichte (4 vols., Halle, 1743–62); Evangelische Glaubenslehre (3 vols., 1759–60); Geschichte der Religionsparteien (1760); Nachricht von merkwürdigen Büchern (12 vols., 1752–57); and the first sixteen volumes in the Allgemeine Welthistorie (1744 sqq.). By adopting the formal scheme of the philosophy of Wolff and applying it to the theological ideas in which he was educated, Baumgarten came to form a transition from the Pietism of Spener and Francke to the modern rationalism. His enthusiastic disciple, J. S. Semler, who was called from Altdorf to Halle on his recommendation, edited many of his works and wrote his biography (Halle, 1758).

(F. Bosse.)

BAUMGARTEN-CRUSIUS, LUDWIG FRIEDRICH OTTO: German theologian; b. at Merseburg (56 m. s.s.e. of Magdeburg), Prussian Saxony, July 31, 1788; d. at Jena May 31, 1843. He studied theology and philology at Leipsic and became university preacher there in 1810; in 1812 extraordinary professor of theology at Jena, ordinary professor, 1817. He gave lectures on all branches of so-called theoretic theology except church history, especially New Testament exegesis, Biblical theology, dogmatics, ethics, and history of doctrine. Gentle and sympathetic, and shrinking from theological strife, he was misunderstood in his time. His exegesis was painstaking, free from prejudice, and acute; as historian of dogma he understood the origin and development of religious ideas and doctrines as few others have done; and as systematic theologian he was profound and truly evangelical. His principal works were: Einleitung in das Studium der Dogmatik (Leipsic, 1820); Lehrbuch der christlichen Dogmengeschichte (Jena, 1832); Compendium der christlichen Dogmengeschichte (Leipsic, 1840), completed by K. A. Hase (1846); Theologische Auslegung der johanneischen Schriften (2 vols., Jena, 1843–45).

(F. Bosse.)

Bibliography: H. C. A. Eichstädt, Memoria L. F. O. Baumgartenii-Crussii, Jena, 1843; K. A. Hase's preface to his completion of the Kompendium der Dogmengeschichte, Leipsic, 1846; ADB, ii, 161 sqq.

BAUR, FERDINAND CHRISTIAN, AND THE LATER TÜBINGEN SCHOOL.

The treatment of both Ferdinand Christian Baur and the Later Tübingen School in the same article is justified by the fact that the period of distinctive theological and philosophical views which characterized the school in its palmy days really ceased with the death of its founder, or at least lost the former local identification. Considering the Tübingen School in this strictly limited sense, its history, together with that of Baur himself, may be divided into three periods—that of preparation, or of the history of dogma, before 1835; that of prosperity, or of Biblical criticism, 1835–1848; and that of disintegration, or of church history, after the latter date.

I. The Period of the History of Dogma.

1. Baur's Early Life and Activity.

Baur was born at Schmiden, near Cannstatt (4 m. n.e. of Stuttgart), June 21, 1792; he died at Tübingen Dec. 2, 1860. He was the son of a Württemberg pastor and was educated first at Blaubeuren and then (1809–14) at Tübingen. Here, besides following the usual thorough course in philology, he was strongly attracted by the study of philosophy. Fichte and Schelling were then at the height of their influence; but that it did not draw the young student away from the standpoint of the older Tübingen School, in which he had been brought up, may be seen from his first published writing, a review of Kaiser's Biblische Theologie in 1817, which condemned rationalistic caprice in the treatment of the Old Testament. After a short employment as tutor in the Tübingen seminary during the same year, he was named professor in the lower seminary which had grown out of his old school at Blaubeuren. The nine years of his stay here were active and happy ones. Though his work was mainly philological and historical, he showed his interest in the philosophical and theological movements of the time. The doctrines of Schleiermacher received his attention, and found an echo in his three-volume work Symbolik und Mythologie (Stuttgart, 1824–25). In this book, remarkable for its time, he indicated his future course in the phrase, "Without philosophy, history seems to me dumb and dead." The attention it attracted won Baur a place in the theological faculty of Tübingen on its reorganization (1826) after the death of his old teacher Bengel. His impressive and inspiring personality at once drew the young men to him, and his influence in the faculty was contested only by Dr. Steudel, the sole survivor of the old school body.

2. Baur's Relation to Schleiermacher and Hegel.

The fact that in the course of his further intellectual development Baur gradually came into conflict with the theology of Schleiermacher may be partly explained by the difference in the mental constitutions of the two men. There was no trace in Baur's method of the fusion of sentiment and reason which characterized the other; only the intellectual side was allowed to be heard. His strong point was his faculty of conceiving historical phenomena objectively, amid the surroundings and from the standpoint of their age. His relation to the philosophy of Hegel is somewhat difficult to determine exactly; but it may be safely asserted that his fundamental views on the essence of religion and the course of history were taken from the Hegelian system. The transition from Schleiermacher to Hegel was a gradual process which took place between 1826 and 1835, in the nine years which have been called the period of preparation. It is probable that at first Baur was unconscious of its extent, and it was not until he applied the Hegelian principles to the canon that they brought him into sharp conflict with traditional orthodoxy. His Symbolik was logically followed by his works on Manicheanism and Gnosticism (Tübingen, 1831 and 1832)—phenomena lying on the border between theology and philosophy, between Christianity and paganism. In his tractate on the opposition between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, in answer to Möhler (Tübingen, 1834), Hegelian terminology begins to appear distinctly, though the foundation still rests on Schleiermacher. The influence of the Hegelian system on Baur was a very fructifying one. No department of history had suffered more from the leveling tendency of rationalism than the history of dogma. Since Hegel had taught the application of the iron rule of development to the phenomena of the intellectual life as well as to other phenomena, he pointed the way to a profounder understanding of the beliefs which appeared frequently so haphazard and so arbitrary, to a knowledge of laws which prevailed over individual will. Thus, when Baur went on from the philosophy of religion to Christian dogma, and in that to the most important parts (the Atonement, Tübingen, 1838, the Trinity and the Incarnation, 1841–43), he became a pioneer of the history of dogma in the modern sense. Even though the Hegelian categories proved a bed of Procrustes for Christian dogmas, and though the understanding of these suffered from the defects of the Hegelian conception of religion, the impulse had none the less been given to a profounder study. More recent historians of dogma have felt themselves entitled to correct Baur's views, as set forth in the above-mentioned works, in almost every point; but these views had won him, by the end of this first period, a prominent place in the ranks of those who were trying to strike out new lines in the study of Christian history; and when Schleiermacher's chair at Berlin was vacant in 1834, the Prussian minister Altenstein thought for a time of appointing Baur to it.

II. The Period of Biblical Criticism

The second period, however, is the one which comes to mind when the Tübingen School is mentioned. Though certain books already named are of later date, the period may be properly begun with 1835, in which year Strauss's Leben Jesu drew general attention to the questions to which Baur was already inclined to turn. The application to the canon of Scripture of the Hegelian laws of historical development was peculiarly appropriate to the place in which Baur carried on his work, since the distinguishing mark of the older Tübingen School had been a Biblical supernaturalism, for which dogma was nothing more than the teachings of Scripture, arrived at by means of exegesis. He felt himself driven to a consideration of this question by the need of a settlement with the school from which he had sprung and with his own past; by his studies in the history of dogma, since the source of dogma, in the last resort, unless it is a mere collection of irresponsible opinions, is the Bible; and by his investigation of Gnosticism, which could not fail to raise the question of the canon.

1. Historico-Critical Study of the New Testament.

In 1835 appeared (at Stuttgart and Tübingen) Baur's work on the Pastoral Epistles. According to his own account of this and of his article on the Corinthian parties (TZT, 1831), it was his lectures on the Epistle to the Corinthians which first opened up the vista of more far-reaching historico-critical investigation into the controversies of the apostolic age, and led him to follow out, by means of New Testament and patristic studies, his independent conception of the clash of heterogeneous elements in the apostolic and subapostolic days, their parties and tendencies, their conflicts and compromises—to demonstrate the growth of a catholic Church as nothing but the result of a previous historical process. Dealing with Schleiermacher's treatment of I Timothy, he considered the three pastoral epistles from the same historical standpoint, and defined the task of New Testament criticism by asserting that the origin of such writings (as to the authenticity of which more evidence was needed than the accepted name of an author on their face and a vague, uncertain, and late tradition) could only be explained by a complete view of the whole range of historical circumstances in which, according to definite data, they were to be placed. With this character of historic objectivity, the new criticism, which naturally could not but seem merely negative and destructive in contrast with the unfounded assumptions that it controverted, intended to meet the arbitrary subjectivity of the hypotheses which had, up to that time, played so large a part in New Testament criticism. The above statement, substantially in Baur's own words, expresses fully the guiding principle of the Tübingen School. In the name of fidelity to fact, Baur was conducting a regular siege of the fortifications which had been thrown up by his own predecessors around the Christian doctrines, when Strauss's assault upon the central bastion attracted general attention. It was not without value to him as a diversion, under cover of which he was able to pursue undisturbed for a while longer his critical work. During the next decade the Tübingen School acquired an importance which seemed to threaten the foundations of dogma from a new quarter, relentlessly contrasting the accepted image of Christ, as drawn according to the subjective Christian mind by Schleiermacher, with the results of objective historical criticism. The main part of the task seemed to be left to Baur himself; he was not so fortunate as the leaders of the old Tübingen School, who had their allies in the other theological chairs. On the other hand, he had with him a large number of young and enthusiastic disciples, such as the talented Eduard Zeller, later his son-in-law, the still bolder and braver Schwegler, Köstlin and Planck, Ritschl and Hilgenfeld, the last two the most prominent allies who came from outside of Württemberg.

2. Applied to the Writings of Paul.

Baur had begun his critical work with Paul, and the same apostle engaged the attention of the school in its later publications. Searching investigations of the Epistle to the Romans appeared in the TZT in 1836, and aroused alarm and opposition. These, together with considerable material which he had published in the Theologische Jahrbücher, begun in 1842 by Zeller and edited from 1847 to 1857 by himself and Zeller jointly, which became the organ of the new school, he put together in 1845 (Stuttgart) into a monograph on Paul. The result reached by this part of his work was the denial of the authenticity of all the letters passing under the apostle's name, except Galatians, I and II Corinthians, and Romans, of which last also the two concluding chapters were questioned. Finally, in agreement with Schneckenburger but still more radically, the postapostolic origin of the Acts was asserted. It was not difficult to conjecture what would happen to the Gospels when they were thrown into the same crucible.

3. The Fundamental Assumption of the School.

The theory of the "objective criticism," as it developed, was that the older apostles, with their original body of disciples, were differentiated from the other Jews only by their belief that the crucified Jesus was the Messiah. All the elements of a new religion contained in his life and teaching were forgotten, or lay undeveloped in the apostles' memory, though a Stephen attempted to enforce them and sealed his testimony by his death. When Paul, by a wonderful divination, by a train of reasoning from the cross and the resurrection, rediscovered these elements of universality and freedom, the Church stood suspiciously aloof. The older apostles, indeed, with a liberality difficult to understand in the premises, accepted Paul as an equal fellow laborer and admitted his right to the mission to the Gentiles. But a section of the Church remained obstinately hostile. Paul appears, therefore, constantly prepared for combat, and when an epistle presents him in any other mood, it is ipso facto unauthentic. In view of these facts, it became all the more necessary for the next age to emphasize the unity of the Church; when, accordingly, there is perceived a conciliatory tone in an epistle, when it speaks much of the Church and its unity of belief, no further mark of a postapostolic origin is needed. The school believed itself able to prove from the Apocalypse, considered as a product not merely of Judaic narrowness but of positive opposition to Paulinism, and still more from the pseudo-Clementine homilies, that no accommodation took place in the apostles' lifetime.

4. Applied to the Gospels.

These views, for all their possible usefulness as against an exaggerated notion in the opposite direction, still left one question unanswered―what really was the Christianity of Christ? This led inevitably to the question, burning since Strauss, of the status of the Gospels; but it was nearly ten years before Baur brought his disciples to that. In the Jahrbuch for 1844 he attempted to use his critical principles to disprove the authenticity of the Gospel of John. This treatment he supplemented by further investigations on the canonical gospels, and published the whole result in substantive form in 1847 (Tübingen). In a certain sense it was favorable to the traditional view. The order of the canon was approximately that of their composition. Matthew, in whom the Judaic tendency is strongest, would then be nearest to the source; Mark would show a tendency to accommodation and minimizing of differences; and this would show all the more clearly the Pauline tendency of Luke. The fourth Gospel, finally, was supposed to display in every feature the tendency to sink these differences in a higher unity, and to take a stand for the conflicts of the second century, Gnosticism, Montanism, and the nascent Trinitarian controversy. This work of Baur's marks the close of the great period of the school. His disciples were now ready to come to his aid. Schwegler's book on Montanism (Tübingen, 1841), Ritschl's on Luke and the Gospel of Marcion (Tübingen, 1846) and on the origin of the primitive catholic Church (Bonn, 1850), Köstlin's on the Johannine system (Berlin, 1843), were all important; but the most significant was Schwegler's on the subapostolic age (Tübingen, 1846), which attempted constructive reasoning, using the writings which had been declared unauthentic as memorials of the development of Judaism and Paulinism into what came later.

5. Developed by Schwegler.

According to Schwegler, Judaism had no need of further development; the impulse came from Paulinism, in such a way that the Judaic party decided, in order to preserve the unity of the Church (Gk. monarchia), to make some concessions, requiring things of similar import with those demanded by the pseudadelphoi of the New Testament, but more easily fulfilled by the Gentiles. If circumcision had to be abandoned, so much the more weight was laid upon baptism as the Christian equivalent; if the works of the Law were dropped, works were still required; Israel's primacy vanished, but a general aristocratic tendency could be maintained in the episcopate; Paul could not be cast out, but he could be subordinated to Peter. Schwegler then watches this development and compromise in two places, Rome and Asia Minor. In Rome he traces the succession of writings of Judaistic origin thus: first the Shepherd of Hermas and Hegesippus; then Justin, the Clementine Homilies, and the Apostolic Constitutions; then James, the Second Epistle of Clement, Mark, the Clementine Recognitions, and II Peter. On the Pauline side he finds the conciliatory writings to begin under Trajan with I Peter; then follow Luke and Acts; then the Pastoral Epistles and the letters of Ignatius. Montanism being in his view only an offshoot of Judaism, the Pauline victory falls in the pontificate of Victor (189–199), under whom Montanism was condemned at Rome. The Pauline party, indeed, had already made no slight concessions, in order to ward off Gnosticism―though the Gnostics and especially the Marcionites ultimately were of great service to Paulinism in securing the universality of Christianity.

He sees the process as somewhat different in Asia Minor, where the opponents of Paul rallied, not as in Rome around Peter, but around John; here the solution was the formation of a body of Christian dogma, while in Rome it had been a unity of organization with a Roman primacy. While at Rome the supposed Ebionite works are more numerous than the Pauline, it is the contrary in Asia Minor; the Apocalypse is here the single Ebionite memorial, while on the other side Galatians, Colossians, Ephesians, and the Johannine Gospel form an imposing series of steps in the development. Bold, however, and fascinating as are the combinations set forth in this work, and brilliant as is its execution, it may be pointed out (though space does not permit of illustration) that there is scarcely a theologian today who is disposed to accept this train of reasoning as even an approximately satisfactory solution of the problems suggested. And even in those days, the starting-point of the whole process of development still remained to be discussed. It was already obvious that without tracing it back to the person and teaching of Christ, the question of how the primitive catholic Church came into existence was insoluble. Attempts in the direction of establishing the entire critical position by showing a genetic development of the earliest organization and dogma out of the gospel of Christ himself marked a third period in the history of the Tübingen School.

III. The Period of Church History

1. Political Complications.

The political upheaval of 1848 had its influence on the future of the school. The attempts made here and there to introduce its conclusions, under cover of the political movements of the time, into the general life of the Church could not fail to bring up the question whether ecclesiastical activity was possible for adherents of the school. It was answered in the negative not only by opponents; some of Baur's own disciples felt that they must either modify the scientific conclusions they had learned from him, or seek a secular calling, as Märklin, whose life was written by Strauss, had done in 1840. It was not surprising, then, that the German governments thought twice before appointing to academic positions men whose influence was so disturbing, and that the younger generation hesitated to follow Baur further, after his most important disciple, Zeller, was obliged in 1849 to exchange a theological chair for that of philosophy at Marburg. Baur felt the isolation in which he thus began to find himself; but his temperament allowed him to hold fast longer than others to the illusion of the identity of church teaching and Hegelian speculation. He relaxed nothing of his zeal for the solution of the important problem which still remained, the establishment on a critical foundation of a positive story of the development of Christianity from its origin down through the centuries.

2. Baur's Works on Church History.

In 1852 Baur published a book (Leipsic) on the epochs of church history as a preliminary, containing brilliant and frequently sharp criticism of earlier historians. His own efforts in this direction began with the work Das Christenthum und die christliche Kirche der drei ersten Jahrhunderte (Leipsic, 1853), and was continued in Die christliche Kirche vom Anfang des 4. bis Ausgang des 6. Jahrhunderts (Leipsic, 1859). After his death appeared (Leipsic, 1861) the third part, completed by himself, Die christliche Kirche des Mittelalters in den Hauptmomenten ihrer Entwicklung; and two further volumes were published from his carefully prepared lecturenotes―Kirchengeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts, edited by Zeller (Leipsic, 1862), and Kirchengeschichte der neueren Zeit von der Reformation bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts, edited by his son Ferdinand (Leipsic, 1863), thus completing the entire survey.

3. His Theories and Conclusions.

If there is sought in these books an answer to the question as to the real primitive Christianity which lay back of Paul and back of Ebionitism, as to the person of Christ himself, it may be put, once more substantially in Baur's own words (from the important controversial pamphlet against Uhlhorn, Die Tübinger Schule und ihre Stellung zur Gegenwart, Leipsic, 1859), as follows: The real inwardness of Christianity, its essential center point, may be found in what belongs to the strictly ethical content of the teaching of Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, the parables, and similar utterances; in his doctrine of the Kingdom of God and the conditions of membership in it, designed to place men in the right ethical relation to God. This is the really divine, the universally human element in it, the part of its content which is eternal and absolute. What raises Christianity above all other religions is nothing but the purely ethical character of its acts, teachings, and requirements. If this is the essential content of the consciousness of Jesus, it is one of the two factors which compose his personality; it must have a corresponding form, in order to enter, in the way of historical development, into the general consciousness of humanity; and this form is the Jewish conception of the Messiah, the point of contact between the mind of Jesus and the world that was to believe in him, the basis on which alone a religious community destined to broaden into a Church could be built. We can, therefore, have no clear and definite conception of the personality of Jesus if we do not distinguish these two sides of it and consider them, so to speak, under the aspect of an antinomy, of a process which develops itself gradually.

4. Their Weakness and Decline.

If we try to get at the heart of Baur's whole view of the subject, stripping his presentation of its somewhat pathetic enthusiasm, it will appear not so very different from Kant's expression, that the faith of pure reason came in with Christ, indeed, but was so overlaid in the subsequent history that if the question were asked which was the best period in the entire course of church history, it might be unhesitatingly answered by the choice of the present, in which a nearer approach than ever before is made to pure religious doctrine. As long as Baur had gone no further into the really primitive essential import of Christianity than to consider the Pauline dogmatics as representing it, the development of the Church could perfectly well seem to him to have proceeded in a wholly rational manner. The dogmatic and ecclesiastical decisions of the early ages could, in their context, appear "reasonable," and Baur himself, in contrast with a writer like Gottfried Arnold or with the unhistoric rationalism, almost an orthodox historian, always in harmony with the course of events as it proceeded. Not only Athanasius and Augustine, but Gregory VII and Innocent III had full justice at his hands. But this involved an equally tolerant acknowledgment of the claims of the nineteenth century. If the humanitarianism of Goethe and Schiller seemed better adapted to the needs of educated men in this age than the Church in its older form, here also the living must take precedence; and suddenly the place of the old Church was taken by a broad "communion" in which all the heroes of the intellect, even the most modern, took their place as saints. But when the question came to be asked what this prevalent humanism had in common with ancient Christianity, it became apparent that the whole long process of development was really a totally unnecessary détour, whose purpose it was difficult to discover. It could scarcely be denied that a historical method which saw the essence of Christianity in ethics exclusively, which knew nothing of the need of redemption, and which was unable to give any positive account of the person of Christ, was one in which the Hegelian conception of development practically disappeared. Yet the distinguishing mark of the school of Baur had been the application of this very conception to Christian history, especially that of the primitive age—the attempt to show the course of history as rational and necessary; and thus, in the person of its head, the Tübingen School deserted the fundamental principle which in its palmy days it had sought to enforce. It was, then, not surprising that uncertainty showed itself among the members of the school on the question of the Gospels. The less a definite tendency could be proved in the synoptics, the more they were shown to offer at least a substratum of purely historical matter, so much the more pressing became the question how the school's view of history could be reconciled with the actual course of events. When the attempt to construct the latter a priori, failed, an advantage was given to the "literary-historical" method with which Hilgenfeld undertook to replace the criticism of tendency. In his Historisch-kritische Einleitung in das neue Testament (Leipsic, 1875) the Tübingen views were modified in a large number of points. Thus the results supposed to have been attained by the "objective criticism" of Baur were called in question by his own fellow workers; and when he died, it is hardly too much to say that his school, at least in the narrower sense, died with him.

(J. Haussleiter.)

Bibliography: Two of Ferdinand Christian Baur's books are accessible in English translation: Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, 2 vols., London, 1873–75; The Church History of the First Three Centuries, 2 vols., ib. 1878–79. Consult: A. B. Bruce, F. C. Baur and his Theory of the Origin of Christianity, New York, 1886; Worte der Erinnerung an Ferdinand Christian Baur, Tübingen, 1861; H. Beckh, Die Tübinger historische Schule, kritisch beleuchtet, in ZPK, xlviii (1864), 1–57, 69–95; C. Weizsäcker, Ferdinand Christian von Baur. Rede zur akademischen Feier seines 100. Geburtstages, Stuttgart, 1892; O. Pfleiderer, Zu F. C. Baur's Gedächtniss, in Protestantische Kirchenzeitung, 1892, No. 25; R. W. Mackay, The Tübingen School, and its Antecedents, London, 1863; S. Berger, F. C. Baur, Les Origines de l’école de Tubingue et ses principes, Strasburg, 1867: C. H. Toy, The Tübingen Historical School, in BQR, iii (1869), 210 sqq. Works on N. T. Introduction usually discuss the Tübingen School, as do those on the church history of the nineteenth century.

BAUR, GUSTAV ADOLF LUDWIG: Lutheran; b. at Hammelbach (17 m. n.e. of Heidelberg), in the Odenwald, June 14, 1816; d. at Leipsic May 22, 1889. He studied at Giessen, where he became docent in 1841, professor extraordinary, 1847, ordinary, 1849; he became pastor at Hamburg, 1861, and professor of practical theology at Leipsic, 1870. He was a member of the commission for revising Luther's translation of the Bible. Besides numerous sermons he issued Erklärung des Propheten Amos (Giessen, 1847); Grundzüge der Homiletik (1848); Geschichte der alttestamentlichen Weissagung (first part, 1861); Boëtius und Dante (Leipsic, 1874); Grundzüge der Erziehungslehre (4th ed., Giessen, 1887); he wrote the greater part of the first volume of Schmid's Geschichte der Erziehung (Stuttgart, 1884), and Die christliche Erziehung in ihrem Verhältnisse zum Judenthum und zur antiken Welt (2 vols., 1892).

Bibliography: G. A. Baur, Trauerfeier bei dem Begräbniss G. A. L. Baurs, Leipsic, 1889.

BAUSLIN, DAVID HENRY: Lutheran; b. at Winchester, Va., Jan. 21, 1854. He studied at Wittenberg College (B.A., 1876) and Theological Seminary, Springfield, O. (1878), and held pastorates at Tippecanoe City, O. (1878–81), Bucyrus, O. (1881–88), Second Lutheran Church, Springfield, O. (1888–93), and Trinity Church, Canton, O. (1893–96). In 1896 he was appointed professor of historical and practical theology is the Wittenberg Theological Seminary. He has been for several years a member of the "common service" committee for the General Synod of the Lutheran Church, and was president of the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States 1905-07. He has written Is the Ministry an Attractive Vocation? (Philadelphia, 1901), and has been editor of The Lutheran World since 1901.

BAUSMAN, BENJAMIN: Reformed (German); b. at Lancaster, Pa., Jan. 28, 1824. He was educated at Marshall College (B.A., 1851) and the Theological Seminary, Mercersburg, Pa. (1852). He was ordained to the Reformed ministry in 1853, and held successive pastorates at Lewisburg, Pa. (1853–61), Chambersburg, Pa. (1861–63), First Reformed Church, Reading, Pa, (1863–73), and St. Paul's Reformed Church, Reading, which he founded in 1873. He was president of the General Synod of the Reformed Church at Baltimore in 1884. He was editor of The Reformed Messenger in 1858 and of The Guardian from 1867 to 1882. In the year 1867 he founded Der reformierte Hausfreund, of which he is still the editor. He has written Sinai and Zion (Philadelphia, 1860); Wayside Gleanings in Europe (Reading, 1878); Bible Characters (1893); and Precept and Practice (Philadelphia, 1901); in addition to editing Harbaugh's Harfe, a collection of poems in Pennsylvania Dutch (Reading, 1870).

BAUSSET, bō´´sê´, LOUIS FRANÇOIS DE: Cardinal; b. at Pondicherry Dec. 14, 1748; d. at Paris June 21, 1824. He studied in the Seminary of St. Sulpice; was appointed Bishop of Alais, 1784; emigrated in 1791, but returned in 1792 to Paris, and supported himself, after a short imprisonment, by literary labor. In 1806 he was made canon of St. Denys, and in 1815, after the second return of Louis XVIII, director of the council of the University of Paris, peer of France, and cardinal 1817. He wrote the Histoire de Fénelon (3 vols., Paris, 1808) and Histoire de Bossuet (4 vols., Versailles,. 1814).

BAUTAIN, bō´´tan´, LOUIS EUGÈNE MARIE: French philosopher; b. at Paris Feb. 17, 1796; d. at Viroflay, near Versailles, Oct. 15, 1867. He became professor of philosophy at Strasburg in 1819. He was a pupil of Cousin and a student of German philosophy, and, his teaching not being acceptable to the church authorities, he was suspended in 1822. He modified his views and took holy orders in 1828, and resumed teaching. In 1834 he again fell into difficulty with the Bishop of Strasburg because of his teachings concerning the relation of reason and faith; is 1838 he went to Rome and sought in vain to have his views approved there. In 1840 he submitted, became vicar-general of Paris in 1849, and professor at the Sorbonne in 1853. He held that the human reason can not prove such facts as the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, and that the truths of religion are communicated purely by divine revelation. His most important works were: Philosophie du Christianisme (2 vols., Strasburg, 1835); Psychologie expérimentale (2 vols., 1839; new ed., with title Esprit humain et ses facultés, Paris, 1859); Philosophie morale (2 vols., Paris, 1842); La morale de l’Évangile comparée aux divers systèmes de morale (1855). He had much repute as an orator and published an Étude sur l’art de parler en public (1856; Eng. transl., The Art of Extempore Speaking, London, 1858).

Bibliography: E. de Régny, L’Abbé Bautain, Paris, 1884.

BAUTZ, JOSEF: Roman Catholic; b. at Keeken (near Cleves) Nov. 11, 1843. He was educated at Münster, where he became privat-docent of apologetics and dogmatics in 1877, being promoted to the rank of associate professor in 1892. He has written Die Lehre vom Auferstehungsleibe (Paderborn, 1877); Der Himmel, spekulativ dargestellt (Mainz, 1881); Die Hölle, im Anschluss an die Scholastik (I882); Das Fegfeuer. Im Anschluss an die Scholastik (1883); Weltgericht und Weltende. Im Anschluss an die Scholastik (1886); Grundzüge der christlichen Apologetik (1887); and Grundzüge der katholischen Dogmatik (4 vols., 1888–93).

BAVARIA: A kingdom in the southern part of the German Empire, and, next to Prussia, the largest of the states of the Empire; area, 29,282 square miles; population (1900), 6,176,057, of whom 4,357,133 (70.5 per cent.) are Roman Catholics; 1,749,206 (28.3 per cent.) Protestants; 5,430 Old Catholics; 3,170 Mennonites; 54,928 (.9 per cent.) Jews; and 4,142 of various faiths.

Protestantism in Bavaria.

The division of the chief confessions is based in great part on the historic conditions prevailing in 1624 and 1648, although the development of the cities has been the cause of many changes, the proportion of Protestants having increased in Munich and that of the Roman Catholics in Nuremberg. The old Bavarian circles of Upper and Lower Bavaria, as well as the Upper Palatinate, have always been essentially Roman Catholic. Upper Bavaria received its first Protestant citizens in the early part of the nineteenth century, but in consequence of the rapid growth of Munich in recent years the Protestants of that city alone numbered 78,000 in 1900. Six pastorates and six immovable vicariates are also contained in the district, and seven small churches have been built in market-towns and villages. Since the sixteenth century Lower Bavaria has posed the Protestant enclave of Ortenburg with certain neighboring places, while more recently communities have been established in the larger cities, especially Passau. The Upper Palatinate was not completely converted to Roman Catholicism in 1622–28, since the duchy of Sulzbach and the imperial city of Regensburg retained congregations of both confessions who used the same churches; but with the increase in population the proportion of Protestants steadily declined. The district now has four deaneries with forty-eight pastorates. In the three old Bavarian districts provision is made for the Protestant Diaspora by itinerant preachers, four of whom work in Upper Bavaria and two in Lower Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate combined. Since 1805 Swabia has belonged in great part to Bavaria. It consisted originally of a group of territories belonging to free cities, the clergy, and knights of the empire. Only the first category was predominantly Protestant, and even here Roman Catholicism has gained steadily. Swabia contains the following Protestant deaneries: Augsburg, Ebermergen, Kempten (including Lindau and Kaufbeuren), Leipheim, Memmingen, Nördlingen, and Oettingen.

Frankish North Bavaria is composed, on the one hand, of the episcopal territories of the bishoprics of Eichstätt, Bamberg, Würzburg, and a portion of the electorate of Mainz, and, on the other, of the Protestant principalities of Ansbach and Baireuth, Nuremberg, Rothenburg, and other free cities, and enclaves of the orders. This entire region is strongly Roman Catholic, although Lower Franconia has a considerable number of Protestant communities (116 pastorates, exclusive of Würzburg, Schweinfurt, and Aschaffenburg). In the larger section of Bavaria the historical divisions between Protestant and Roman Catholic, at least in the smaller towns, are still maintained, but in the minor portion, the Rhine Palatinate, there are few political communities which do not have a considerable minority of adherents of one or the other creed. In Speyer the proportions are almost equal, Roman Catholics numbering about 9,000 and the Protestants 8,000.

The legal position of the Protestant Church in Bavaria is regulated by an edict of Sept. 8, 1809, while its foreign relations are governed by the constitution of 1818. Both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism are officially recognized, and controversies seldom arise between the two, except in regard to the creed in which children shall be brought up, methods of conversion, particularly in the Evangelical Diaspora, and the use of burial-grounds in Roman Catholic communities. In 1824 the official designation of the Protestants was declared to be "Protestant Church."

The Reformed Church in the Palatinate first regained official recognition together with the Lutherans at the general consistory at Worms in 1815, and the Bavarian government created a consistory at Speyer on Dec. 15, 1818, for the "Protestant Churches of the Palatinate," a presbyterial and synodical constitution being introduced at the same time. In 1848 the Protestant Church of the Palatinate and the consistory of Speyer were placed directly under the jurisdiction of the ministry of state. The attempt to create a more definite confessional status led, in the sixth decade of the last century, to a victorious agitation on the part of the liberal element. Since 1879 the presbyteries have had the right to propose candidates for vacant pastorates. In Bavaria proper diocesan synods are held annually, and general synods every four years.

There are few Protestants in Bavaria, except those who belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, nor are the professed adherents of sects numerous. A distinct organization was granted the Reformed in Bavaria proper in 1853, although they are still under the control of the Supreme Consistory. The Greek Church was recognized in 1826, but the Anglican Church is officially ignored like the Mennonites. The last-named have six communities in the Palatinate and four in Bavaria proper. Until 1887 the Old Catholics were reckoned as Roman Catholics, but are now declared to be a separate body, though full recognition has not been granted them.

Roman Catholicism in Bavaria.

The Roman Catholic Church in Bavaria is highly organized and extremely active, while its wealth and political influence are constantly increasing. The kingdom is divided into two archdioceses with eight dioceses. The archdiocese of Munich-Freising comprises the suffragan dioceses of Augsburg, Passau, and Regensburg; and the archdiocese of Bamberg includes the dioceses of Eichstätt, Würzburg, and Speyer. The education of the clergy, in agreement with the concordat of 1817, is entrusted to the bishops. The development of orders has been very rapid, especially in the sisterhoods for the education and the care of the sick. The number of cloisters has also increased rapidly, with a corresponding gain in real estate, and this development is aided by the generous gifts and foundations of the Roman Catholic population, the property of the 8,600 institutions being valued at more than 150,000,000 marks; while that of the 1,800 Protestant institutions is worth only 19,600,000 marks. The Roman Catholic clergy in Bavaria number some 4,900, or a proportion of one to 816 of the laity, while the Protestants have but about 1,300 clergymen, or one to 1,200 laymen.

Wilhelm Goetz.

Bibliography: V. A. Winter, Geschichte der Schicksale der evangelischen Lehre in und durch Bayern, 2 vols., Munich, 1809–10; E. F. H. Medicus, Geschicte der evangelischen Kirche im Königreich Bayern, Erlangen, 1863; J. M. Mayer, Geschichte Bayerns, Ratisbon, 1874; J. Hergenröther, Handbuch der Kirchengeschichte, 3 vols., Freiburg, 1876–80 (literature of the subject is given, iii, 183); S. Riezler, Geschichte Bayerns, 4 vols., Gotha, 1878–99; Wand, Handbuch der Verfassung und Verwaltung der protestantisch-ev.-christlichen Kirche der Pfalz, 1880; Beiträge zur Statistik des Königreichs Bayern, Munich, 1892; Statistische Mitteilungen aus den deutschen evangelischen Landeskirchen, Stuttgart, 1880–96.

BAVARIANS, CONVERSION OF THE.

The origin of the race later known as the Bavarians is uncertain. The older hypothesis that they came of Celtic stock is now generally abandoned. For a time it was thought that they were a conglomerate of the remains of several tribes belonging to the Gothic family; but the view put forward by Zeuss (Die Herkunft der Bayern, Munich, 1857) that they are to be identified with the Marcomanni is now almost universally accepted, and has strong support in the facts.

First Acquaintance with Christianity.

The Marcomanni are first mentioned by Cæsar (Bel. Gal., i, 51). In his time they lived on the upper Main. Tacitus knows of them as inhabiting what is now Bohemia (Germ., xlii; cf. Annal., ii, 26 sqq.). Here they maintained their position for centuries, and here they took the name of Baiowarii or Baioarii. During this period, Christianity found an entrance among them. Paulinus, in his life of Ambrose (xxxvi), tells of a queen of the Marcomanni named Fritigil who was converted by a wandering Italian Christian, and asked Ambrose for written instructions in the faith, which he gave in modum catechismi. The account goes on to say that she thereupon came to Milan, but found the bishop dead. As Ambrose died Apr. 4, 397, she must have crossed the Alps in the summer of that year. If the queen was a Christian, it is hardly likely that her religion would have been unknown to her people. That Arianism also reached the Marcomanni through Gothic influences is not improbable. However that may be, the bulk of the people were pagan when they settled in 488 on the strip of territory granted them by the Romans between the Lech and the Enns.

Labors of Missionaries.

The name of Bavarians is first applied in the Frankish list of tribes belonging to the first quarter of the sixth century. The territory which they occupied was no desolate wilderness. In the valleys and around the lakes there was a thin agricultural population which held to the Latin tongue and doubtless also to the Christian faith. Not all the cities were destroyed; Juvavum and Lauriacum lay in ruins; but neither Castra Batava nor Castra Regina was without inhabitants, and here also Christianity undoubtedly held its own with the Romanic population. Christians and heathens thus living as neighbors, a starting-point was afforded for missionary efforts. The ecclesiastical organization had, it is true, been broken up; only in southern Bavaria a bishopric founded in Roman times maintained its existence at Seben, and the diocese of Augsburg stretched over a part of the Bavarian territory. Under these circumstances the fact was of decisive importance that the Bavarians no sooner occupied their new home than they came into a position of dependence on the Frankish kingdom. The first ducal family, that of the Agilulfings, was of Frankish origin and professed Christianity, and the first outsiders who labored for the spread of the faith in Bavaria came from the Frankish kingdom. Eustasius of Luxeuil (q.v.) the successor of Columban, worked there, and left missionaries trained by him when he returned to Burgundy. Later, Rupert, bishop of Worms, found a wide field here for his activity; Emmeram and Corbinian (qq.v.) were Franks. Side by side with them there seem to have been at a very early period some Scoto-Irish monks, but there is no record of their labors. The result of the combined operation of these imperfectly known factors was the acceptance of Christianity by the Bavarian race as a whole, which was completed in the course of the seventh century. It is a remarkable fact that it was not accompanied by the organization of a local episcopate; as far as can be told the direction of ecclesiastical affairs was in the hands of the dukes; it is Theodo who invites Rupert thither, and who treats with the pope in regard to church institutions. From this fact it would appear that the Christian profession of the dukes played a decisive part in the conversion of the people at large. The existence of the Church without diocesan bishops was made possible by the fact that the wandering monks and missionaries were frequently in episcopal orders, and could thus perform the strictly episcopal functions.

Organization of Bishoprics.

The above-mentioned Duke Theodo, acting in concert with the pope, endeavored to introduce a more regular organization. With this end in view, he visited Rome in 716, and had an agreement with Pope Gregory II as to the measures to be taken. At least four dioceses were to be founded corresponding to the divisions of the secular jurisdiction. The bishop of the most important place was to be set as metropolitan at the head of the Bavarian Church, the pope reserving the right to consecrate him, and if necessary to name an Italian. Order was to be brought into the ecclesiastical affairs by a general visitation; the Roman use was to be taken as the model in liturgical matters. But these plans were never carried into execution, apparently by reason of the death of Theodo. The organization of the Bavarian bishoprics, involving the termination of the missionary period, was only accomplished by Boniface, (q.v.) who paid a short visit to the country in 719, and returned in 735 or 736 to make a formal visitation by virtue of what was practically a metropolitan jurisdiction over the whole of Germany, for the purpose of acquiring full information as to the prevailing conditions. His definite organizing work is introduced by a brief (738 or 739) from Gregory III to the bishops of Bavaria and Alemannia, enjoining them to receive Boniface with fitting honors as his representative, and to attend a synod to be held by him. In 739 Boniface undertook the settlement of diocesan boundaries and institutions, and provided three of the four bishoprics of Bavaria with bishops consecrated by himself—Erembrecht, brother of Corbinian, at Freising, Gavibald at Regensburg, and John, a newcomer from England, at Salzburg—while Vivilo, who had been consecrated by the pope, remained at Passau. Gregory III confirmed these arrangements on Oct. 29, and the subordinate divisions of archdeaconries and parishes were soon organized. The decisions of the Synod of Reisbach (799) show the parochial system in full operation.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Hauck, KD, vol. i; S. Riezler, Geschichte Bayerns, vol. i, Gotha, 1873; Rettberg, KD, 2 vols.; Friedrich, KD, 2 vols.

BAVINCK, HERMAN: Dutch Reformed; b. at Hoogeveen (35 m. s. of Groningen), Holland, Dec. 13, 1854. He was educated at the gymnasium of Zwolle, the theological seminary of the Reformed Church at Kampen, and the University of Leyden (D.D., 1880); he was then pastor at Franeker, Friesland (1881–82), and professor of dogmatic theology in the theological seminary at Kampen (1882–1903). Since 1903 he has been professor of dogmatics and apologetics at the Free University, Amsterdam. In theology he adheres to the principles of the Heidelberg Confession and the canons of the Synod of Dort. He has written De Ethiek van H. Zwingli (Kampen, 1880); De Wetenschap der heilige Godgeleerdheid (1883); De Theologie van Prof. Dr. D. Chantepie de la Saussaye (Leyden, 1884); De Katholiciteit van Christendom en Kerk (Kampen, 1888); De algemeene Genade (1894); Gereformeerde Dogmatiek (4 vols., 1895–1901); Beginselen der Psychologie (1897); De Offerande des Lofs (The Hague, 1901); De Lebenheid des Geloofs (Kampen, 1901); Hedendaagsche Moraal (1902); Roeping en Wedergeboorte (1902); Godsdienst en Godgeleerdheid (Wageningen, 1902); Christelijke Wetenschap (Kampen, 1904); Christelijke Wereldbeschouwing (1904); Pædagogische Beginselen (1904); and Bilderdijk als Denker en Dichter (1906).

BAXTER, RICHARD: One of the greatest of English theologians; b. at Rowton (42 m. n.e. of Shrewsbury), Shropshire, Nov. 12, 1615; d. in London Dec. 8, 1691. Though without a university education, and always sickly, he acquired great learning.

Ministry at Kidderminster.

In 1633 he had a brief experience of court life at Whitehall (London), but turned from the court in disgust and studied theology. In 1638 he was ordained by the bishop of Worcester and preached in various places till 1641, when he began his ministry at Kidderminster (18 m. s.w. of Birmingham), as "teacher." There he labored with wonderful success so that the place was utterly transformed. When the Civil War broke out (1642) he retired temporarily to Gloucester and then to Coventry because he sided with the parliament, while all in and about Kidderminster sided with the king. He was, however, no blind partizan and boldly spoke out for moderation and fairness. After acting as an army chaplain he separated from the army, partly on account of illness, and returned to Kidderminster.

In London.

In the spring of 1660 he left Kidderminster and went to London. He preached before the House of Commons at St. Margaret's, Westminster, Apr. 30, 1660, and before the lord mayor and aldermen at St. Paul's, May 10, and was among those to give Charles II welcome to his kingdom. Charles made him one of his chaplains and offered him the bishopric of Hereford, which he declined. He was a leader on the Non-conformist side in the Savoy Conference (1661) and presented a revision of the Prayer-book which could be used by the Non-conformists. He also preached frequently in different pulpits. Seeing how things were going, he desired permission to return to Kidderminster as curate, but was refused. On May 16, 1662, three days before the Act of Uniformity was passed, he took formal farewell of the Church of England and retired to Acton, a west suburb of London. From this time on he had no regular charge and until the accession of William and Mary in 1688 he suffered, like other Non-conformist preachers, from repressive laws often rigorously and harshly enforced. On Sept. 10, 1662, he married Margaret, daughter of Francis Charlton, of Shropshire, twenty-four years his junior, who possessed wealth and social position, and made him a devoted helpmeet, cheerfully going with him into exile and prison and spending her money lavishly in the relief of their less fortunate fellow sufferers. She died June 14, 1681, and Baxter has perpetuated her memory in a singularly artless but engaging memoir (London, 1681).

Imprisonment.

During all these years on the verge of trouble because he persisted in preaching, he was actually imprisoned only twice, once for a short period, and again from Feb. 28, 1685, to Nov. 24, 1686. The judge who condemned him the second time was George Jeffreys, who treated him with characteristic brutality. The charge was that in his Paraphrase of the New Testament (1685) Baxter had libeled the Church of England. But insult, heavy and indeed ruinous fines, enforced wanderings, anxiety as to personal safety, and imprisonment had no power to daunt Baxter's spirit. He preached constantly to great multitudes, and addressed through his writings a still vaster throng. The Toleration Act of 1688 ended his sufferings and he died in peace.

Writings.

Baxter was one of the most voluminous of English authors, and one of the best. But there is no complete edition of his 108 treatises, only of his practical works. A few of his works are in verse (Poetical Fragments, reprinted, London, 1821), though he has small claim to be called a poet, and one familiar hymn ("Lord, it belongs not to my care") has been manufactured out of a longer one of his. The after-world knows him by reputation as the author of The Reformed Pastor (1656), a treatise on pastoral theology still usable; A Call to the Unconverted to turn and live and accept of mercy while mercy may be had, as even they would find mercy in the day of their extremity; from the Living God (1657), uttered as a dying man to dying men and impressive to-day; but chiefly because of The Saints' Everlasting Rest: or a treatise of the blessed state of the Saints in their enjoyment of God in glory. Wherein is shewed its excellency and certainty; the misery of those that lose it, the way to attain it, and assurance of it; and how to live in the continual delightful foretaste of it, by the help of meditation. Written by the author for his own use, in the time of his languishing, when God took him off from all publike imployment; and afterwards preached in his weekly lecture (1650). The "Saints' Rest" gained a reputation it has never lost, but the 648 pages of the original edition have proved too many for posterity and the work is read nowadays, if at all, only in an abridgment of an abridgment. The best brief characterization of this faithful, fearless, and gifted religious teacher is on his monument at Kidderminster, erected by Churchmen and Non-conformists, and unveiled July 28, 1875: "Between the years 1641 and 1660 this town was the scene of the labours of Richard Baxter, renowned equally for his Christian learning and his pastoral fidelity. In a stormy and divided age he advocated unity and comprehension, pointing the way to everlasting rest." In many respects Baxter was a modern man.

His Theology.

Baxter's theology was set forth most elaborately in his Latin Methodus theologiæ Chriatianæ (London, 1681); the Christian Directory (1673) contains the practical part of his system; and Catholic Theology (1675) is an English exposition. His theology made Baxter very unpopular among his contemporaries and caused a split among the Dissenters of the eighteenth century. As summarized by Thomas W. Jenkyn, it differed from the Calvinism of Baxter's day on four points: (1) The atonement of Christ did not consist in his suffering the identical but the equivalent punishment (i.e., one which would have the same effect in moral government) as that deserved by mankind because of offended law. Christ died for sins, not persons. While the benefits of substitutionary atonement are accessible and available to all men for their salvation; they have in the divine appointment a special reference to the subjects of personal elation. (2) The elect were a certain fixed number determined by the decree without any reference to their faith as the ground of their election; which decree contemplates no reprobation but rather the redemption of all who will accept Christ as their Savior. (3) What is imputed to the sinner in the work of justification is not the righteousness of Christ but the faith of the sinner himself in the righteousness of Christ. (4) Every sinner has a distinct agency of his own to exert in the process of his conversion. The Baxterian theory, with modifications, was adopted by many later Presbyterians and Congregationalists in England, Scotland, and America (Isaac Watts, Philip Doddridge, and many others).

Bibliography: Baxter's Practical Works were collected by W. Orme and published is 23 vols., London, 1830; vol. i contains Orme's Life and Times of Richard Baxter, published separately in 2 vols., the same year; a table of the contents of this edition of Baxter's works is found in Darling's Cyclopædia Bibliopraphica, pp. 205–208, London, 1854; the Practical Works appeared also in 4 vols., ib. 1847; and Select Practical Writings, ed. L. Bacon, 2 vols., New Haven, 1844. An Annotated List of the Writings of R. Baxter is appended to the ed. of What Must we do to be Saved? by A. B. Grosart, London, 1868. The chief source for a life is the autobiographical material left to M. Sylvester, who published it as Reliquiæ Baxterianæ, London, 1696, abridged by E. Calamy, 1702, this enlarged and republished in 2 vols., 1713. A notable paper on Baxter by Sir James Stephen, originally published in the Edinburgh Review, is to be found in his Essays, vol. ii, London, 1860. Among the biographies may be mentioned A. B. Grosart, Representative Nonconformists, II, Richard Baxter, ib. 1879; G. D. Boyle, Men Worth Remembering, Richard Baxter, ib. 1883; J. Stalker, Richard Baxter, Edinburgh, 1883; DNB, iii, 429–437; J. H. Davies, Life of Richard Baxter, London, 1887. The account of his trial is given by Macaulay in his History of England, vol. ii. Consult also Baxter's Making Light of Christ, with an Essay on his Life, Ministry and Theology, by T. W. Jenkyn, London, 1848.

BAYLE, bêl, PIERRE: French Protestant; b. at Carla (11 m. w. of Pamiers), department of Ariège, Nov. 18, 1647; d. at Rotterdam Dec. 28, 1706. He was the son of a Calvinist clergyman, and, in 1666, began his studies at the Protestant Academy at Puylaurens, whence he went to the University of Toulouse in 1669. Not satisfied with the objections of the Reformed against the dogma of a divinely appointed judge in matters of faith, he became a Roman Catholic. He spent eighteen months at the Jesuits' College in Toulouse, and then returned to Protestantism and went to Geneva (1670), where, living as a tutor in private families, he studied theology as well as the Cartesian philosophy. His friendship with Jacques Basnage and Minutoli began there. Later he accompanied pupils to Rouen and in 1675 to Paris. Then he spent several years as a lecturer on philosophy at Sédan; when that academy was closed by order of the king (1681), he accepted an appointment as lecturer on philosophy at the "École illustre" of Rotterdam. In this refuge of liberty, Bayle wrote most of his works. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes raised his indignation, and several of the best Protestant works called forth by that disgraceful piece of policy proceeded from the pen of Bayle. The conclusion at which he arrives by his close reasoning is: that matters of belief should be outside the sphere of the State as such—a dangerous principle for Catholicism, and the book was at once put on the Index. Even among Protestants Bayle had adversaries. Jurieu, his jealous and violent opponent at Rotterdam, considered toleration equal to indifference, and reproached Bayle with dangerous skepticism, which made his position very difficult. He tried for an appointment in Berlin. But the realization of this wish was prevented by the death of the great Elector Frederick William. Jurieu continued his attacks and even went so far as to represent Bayle as the head of a party working into the hands of Louis XIV by aiming at a split between the princes allied against France. William III gave credence to this and influenced the magistrate of Rotterdam to remove Bayle from his position (1693). From that time he lived for his literary work, chiefly bearing on philosophy and the history of literature. His Dictionnaire historique et critique [(2 vols. in three parts Rotterdam, 1697; 2d ed., 3 vols., 1702; 11th ed., 16 vols., Paris, 1820–24; Eng. transl., 5 vols., London, 1734–38)] was mast favorably received by all the learned men of Europe, though it brought on him a revival of the reproach of skepticism, of want of respect for the Holy Scriptures, even of Manicheism. Called to justify himself before a commission appointed by the presbytery of Rotterdam, he was treated with great moderation, and consented to change some of the offensive articles, which appeared in their new form in the second edition of his Dictionnaire. Accusations against him came up again from time to time, and he tried to refute them in minor philosophical works. Besides the Dictionnaire his works include: Lettres à M. L. D. A. C., docteur en Sorbonne, où il est prouvé que les comètes ne sont point le présage d’aucun malheur (Cologne, 1682); Critique générale de l’Histoire du Calvinisme de M. Maimbourg (Amsterdam, 1682); Recueil de quelques piéces concernant la philosophie de M. Descartes (Amsterdam, 1684); Nouvelles de la République des lettres (1684–1687); Ce que c’est que la France toute catholique sous le règne de Louis-le-Grand (St. Omer, 1685); Commentaire philosophique sur ces paroles de J. C.: "Contrains-les d’entrer" (Amsterdam,1686); Résponse de l’auteur des Nouvelles de la République des lettres en faveur du P. Malebranche sur les plaisirs des sens ( Rotterdam, 1686); Avis important aux réfugiés sur leur Prochain retour en France (Amsterdam, 1690; 1709); Lettres choisies avec des remarques (Rotterdam, 1714); Nouvelles lettres (The Hague, 1739).

G. Bonet-Maury.

Bibliography: B. de la Monnoye (pseudonym for Du Revest), Histoire du Mr. Bayle et ses ouvrages, Amsterdam, 1716; P. des Maizeaux, Vie de P. Bayle, The Hague, 1730, reprinted from the 3d ed. of the Dictionnaire, Amsterdam, 1730, reproduced in the Eng. transl. of the "Dictionary," ut sup.; E. and É. Haag, La France protestante, ii, 60–63, 9 vols., Paris, 1846–59; L. Feuerbach, P. Bayle, ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Philosophie und der Menschheit, Leipsic, 1848; J. P. Damiron, Mémoire sur Bayle et ses doctrines, Paris, 1850; C. A. St. Beuve, in Lundis, vol. ix, ib. 1852; F. Bouillier, Histoire de la philosophie cartésienne, ii, 476, ib. 1854; C. Lenient, Étude sur Bayle, ib. 1855; É. Jeanmaire, Essai sur la critique religieuse de Bayle, Strasburg, 1862; Voltaire, Siècle ae Louis XIV, chap. 36; A. Deschamps, La Genèse du scepticisme érudit chez Bayle, Brussels, 1879; J. Denis, Bayle et Jurieu, Caen, 1886; P. Janet, Histoire de la science politique dans ses rapports avec la morale, Paris, 1887.

BAYLEY, JAMES ROOSEVELT: Roman Catholic archbishop of Baltimore; b. at Rye, N. Y., Aug. 23, 1814; d. in Newark, N. J., Oct. 3, 1877. He was a nephew of Elizabeth (Bayley) Seton ("Mother Seton"), founder of the order of Sisters of Charity in America; was graduated at Washington (Trinity) College, Hartford, Conn., 1835; rector of St. Peter's church, Harlem, New York, 1840–41; received into the Roman Catholic Church at Rome, 1842; studied in Paris and Rome, and was ordained priest in New York, 1843; was professor in St. John's College, Fordham, New York, and its acting president, 1845–46; became secretary to Bishop Hughes of New York, 1846, bishop of Newark, 1853, archbishop of Baltimore and primate of America, 1872. He published a volume of pastoral letters; Sketch of the History of the Catholic Church on the Island of New York (New York, 1853); Memoirs of Simon Gabriel Bruté, First Bishop of Vincennes (1861).

BAYLY, LEWIS: Anglican bishop; b. perhaps at Carmarthen, Wales, perhaps at Lamington (6 m. s.w. of Bigger), Scotland, year unknown; d, at Bangor, Wales, Oct. 26, 1631. He was educated at Oxford; became vicar of Evesham, Worcestershire, and in 1604, probably, rector of St. Matthew's, Friday street, London; was then chaplain to Henry Prince of Wales (d. 1612), later chaplain to King James I, who, in 1616, appointed him bishop of Bangor. He was an ardent Puritan. His fame rests on The Practice of Piety, directing a Christian how to walk that he may please God (date of first ed. unknown; 3d ed., London, 1613). It reached its 74th edition in 1821 and has been translated into French, German, Italian, Polish, Romansch, Welsh, and into the language of the Massachusetts Indians. It was one of the two books which John Bunyan's wife brought with her—the other one being Arthur Dent's Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven—and it was by reading it that Bunyan was first spiritually awakened.

Bibliography: A biographical preface by Grace Webster is prefixed to the Practice of Piety, London, 1842; consult also A. à Wood, Athenæ Oxonienses, ed. P. Bliss, ii, 525–531, 4 vols., ib. 1813–20.

BAY PSALM BOOK: A metrical translation of the Psalms, published by Stephen Daye at Cambridge, Mass., in 1640 and the first book printed in America. The work of translation was begun in 1636, the principal collaborators being Thomas Welde, Richard Mather, and John Eliot, the missionary to the Indians. The rendering, as the translators themselves recognized in their quaint preface to the book, was a crude specimen of English, and carrying to the extreme their belief in the inspiration of the Bible, they tortured their version into what they conceived to be fidelity to the original. The meter, moreover, is irregular, and the rimes are frequently ludicrous. The general spirit and form of the translation may be represented by the following rendering of Ps. xviii, 6–9:

6. "I in my streights, cal'd on the Lord,

and to my God cry'd: he did heare

from his temple my voyce, my crye,

before him came, unto his eare.

7. "Then th' earth shooke, do quak't, do moutaines

roots mov'd, & were stird at his ire,

8. "Vp from his nostrils went a smoak,

and from his mouth devouring fire;

By it the coales inkindled were.

9. "Likewise the heavens he downe-bow'd,

And he descended, & there was

under his feet a gloomy cloud."

Of the first edition of the Bay Psalm Book only eleven copies are known to exist. In 1647 a second edition, better printed and with the spelling and punctuation corrected, was published either by Stephen Daye or possibly by Matthew Daye or even in England, and this edition long remained in general use among the Puritans of New England. A reprint of the first edition (71 copies) was issued privately at Cambridge in 1862.

Bibliography: R. F. Roden, The Cambridge Press, New York, 1906.

BDELLIUM, del´i-Um (Hebr. bedholaḥ): One of the products of the land of Havilah, mentioned with gold and the shoham-stone (E. V. "onyx") in Gen. ii, 11–12. In Num. xi, 7, manna is said to have resembled it. It was, therefore, something well known to the Hebrews, but the exact meaning is uncertain. Some have thought that it was a precious stone, perhaps the pearl; others identify it with myrrh or with musk. The most probable and generally accepted explanation is that it was the gum of a tree, much prized in antiquity and used in religious ceremonies. Pliny (Hist. nat., xii, 35) describes it as transparent, waxy, fragrant, oily to the touch, and bitter; the tree was black, of the size of the olive; with leaves like the ilex, and fruit like the wild fig; he designates Bactria as its home, but states that it grew also in Arabia, India, Media, and Babylonia. It probably belonged to the balsamodendra and was allied to the myrrh.

I. Benzinger.

BEACH, HARLAN PAGE: Congregationalist; b. at South Orange, N. J., Apr. 4, 1854. He was educated at Yale College (B.A., 1878) and Andover Theological Seminary (1883). He was instructor in Phillips Andover Academy 1878–80, and was ordained in 1883. He was missionary in China for seven years, and from 1892 to 1895 was instructor and later superintendent of the School for Christian Workers, Springfield, Mass. He was appointed educational secretary of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions in 1895, and held this position until 1906, when he was chosen professor of the theory and practise of missions in the Yale Divinity School. He has been a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions since 1895 and of the cooperating committee of the same organization since 1906, as well as chairman of the exhibit committee and executive committee of the Ecumenical Conference in 1900, member of the Bureau of Missions Trustees since 1901, member of the executive committee of the Yale Foreign Missionary Society since 1903, member of the advisory board of Canton Christian College and trustee of the Hartford School of Religious Pedagogy since 1905. In theology he is a moderate conservative. He has written The Cross in the Land of the Trident (New York, 1895); Knights of the Labarum (1896); New Testament Studies in Missions (1898); Dawn on the Hills of T’ang: or, Missions in China (1898); Protestant Missions in South America (1900); Geography and Atlas of Protestant Missions (2 vols., 1901–03); Two Hundred Years of Christian Activity in Yale (New Haven, 1902); Princely Men of the Heavenly Kingdom (New York, 1903); and India and Christian Opportunity (1904).

BEARD, CHARLES: English Unitarian; b. at Higher Broughton, Manchester, July 27, 1827, son of John Relly Beard, also a well-known Unitarian minister and educator (b. 1800; d. 1876); d. at Liverpool Apr. 9, 1888. He studied at Manchester New College 1843–48, was graduated B.A. at London University 1847, and continued his studies at Berlin 1848–49; became assistant minister at Hyde Chapel, Gee Cross, Cheshire, 1850, minister 1854, minister at Renshaw Street Chapel, Liverpool, 1867. From 1864 to 1879 he edited The Theological Review. Besides sermons, addresses, etc., he published Port Royal, a Contribution to the History of Religion and Literature in France (2 vols., London, 1861); The Reformation in its Relation to Modern Thought (Hibbert lectures for 1883); and Martin Luther and the Reformation in Germany until the Close of the Diet of Worms (ed. J. F. Smith, 1889).

BEARD, RICHARD: Cumberland Presbyterian; b. in Sumner County, Tenn., Nov. 27, 1799; d. at Lebanon, Tenn., Nov. 6, 1880. He was licensed in 1820; graduated at Cumberland College, Princeton, Ky., 1832, and was professor of Greek and Latin there 1832–38, and in Sharon College, Sharon, Miss., 1838–43; president of Cumberland College 1843–54; professor of systematic theology in Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn., after 1854. He published the following books. Why am I a Cumberland Presbyterian? (Nashville, 1872); Lectures on Theology (3 vols., 1873–75); Brief Biographical Sketches of Some of the Early Ministers of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1874).

BEARDSLEE, CLARK SMITH: Congregationalist; b. at Coventry, N. Y., Feb. 1, 1850. He was educated at Amherst College (B.A., 1876), Hartford Theological Seminary (1879), and the University of Berlin. He was instructor in Hebrew at Hartford Theological Seminary from 1878 to 1881, and then held successive pastorates at Le Mars, Ia. (1882–85), Prescott, Ariz. (1885–86), and West Springfield, Mass. (1886–88). In 1888 he was appointed associate professor of systematic theology at Hartford Theological Seminary, and four years later was made professor of Biblical dogmatics and ethics, a position which he still holds. In theology he is a Biblical Evangelical. He is the author of Christ's Estimate of Himself (Hartford, 1899); Teacher-Training with the Master Teacher (Philadelphia, 1903); and Jesus the King of Truth (Hartford, 1905).

BEATIFICATION: An intermediate stage in the process of canonization. It is in modern usage itself the result of a lengthy course of inquiry into the life of the person under consideration, and is solemnly declared in St. Peter's at Rome. By it the title of "Blessed" is attributed to the subject, and a limited and partial cultus of him permitted, as in a certain country or order. See Canonization.

BEATIFIC VISION: The direct and unhindered vision of God, which is part of the reserved blessedness of the redeemed (I Cor. xiii, 12; I John iii, 2; Rev. xxii, 3, 4). The conception of its nature must necessarily be very vague, but belief in its existence is said to be founded upon Scripture and reason. The only question concerns its time. This has been much disputed. The Greek Church and many Protestants, especially Lutherans and Calvinists, put the vision after the judgment day (so Dr. Hodge, Systematic Theology, iii, 860). According to the view prevalent among Roman Catholic theologians, the vision, though essentially complete before the resurrection, is not integrally so until the soul is reunited to the glorified body (consult H. Hurter, Theologiæ dogmaticæ compendium, vol. iii, De Deo consummatore, chap. v, 10th ed., Innsbruck, 1900).

BEATON, bî´ten (BETHUNE), be-thūn´ or be-tün´, DAVID: Cardinal-archbishop of St. Andrews; b. 1494; assassinated at St. Andrews May 29,1546. He was the third son of John Beacon of Auchmuty, Fifeshire; studied at the universities of St. Andrews and Glasgow, and at the age of fifteen went to Paris and studied law; became abbot of Arbroath in 1523; bishop of Mirepoix in Languedoc 1537; cardinal Dec., 1538. He was made lord privy seal in 1528; succeeded his uncle, James Beaton, as archbishop of St. Andrews in 1539; was consecrated archbishop of Glasgow at Rome in 1552; became chancellor and prothonotary apostolic and legate a latere in 1543. He served his country in many important diplomatic missions. In the bitter political contests of the time between the French and English parties he sided with the former, and fought with energy and courage for the independence of Scotland against the plans of Henry VIII. In the religious contests between Romanists and Reformers he took as decidedly the part of the hierarchy and did not scruple to use intrigue and force when argument and persuasion failed. His memory has been darkened by his severity against heretics and his immoral life. The case of George Wishart is adduced as a particularly flagrant piece of religious persecution; but it must be remembered that he lived in a rude country in turbulent times, and the Reformers were implicated in political intrigues and treasonable plots. The execution of Wishart was the immediate cause of a conspiracy to put Beaton out of the way, and certain members of the Reform party murdered him in his bedchamber.

Bibliography: R. Chambers, Lives of Illustrious Scotchmen, ed. T. Thomson, 5 vols., Edinburgh, 1835; C. R. Rogers, Life of George Wishart, ib. 1876; DNB, iv, 17–18; J. Herkless, Cardinal Beaton, Priest and Politician, London, 1891.

BEATTIE, FRANCIS ROBERT: Presbyterian; b. at Guelph, Ont., Mar. 31, 1848; d. at Louisville, Ky., Sept. 4, 1906. He was educated at the University of Toronto (B.A., 1875), Knox Theological College, Toronto (1878), Illinois Wesleyan University (Ph.D., 1884), and Presbyterian Theological College, Montreal (D.D., 1887). He was tutor in Knox College in 1876–78, and held Canadian pastorates at Baltimore and Coldsprings (1878–82) and Brantford (1882–88), in addition to being examiner to Toronto University in 1884–1888. In the latter year he entered the Presbyterian Church, South, and was appointed professor of apologetics in Columbia Seminary, Columbia, S. C., remaining there until 1893, when he became professor of apologetics and systematic theology in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of Kentucky at Louisville. He published Utilitarian Theory of Morals (Brantford, Ont., 1884); Methods of Theism (1887); Radical Criticism (Chicago, 1894); Presbyterian Standards (Richmond, Va., 1896); and Apologetics (vol. i, 1903). He also edited the Memorial Volume of the Westminster Assembly Celebration at Charlotte, N. C. (Richmond, Va., 1897), and was associate editor of the Christian Observer from 1893 and of The Presbyterian Quarterly from 1895.

BEATTIE, JAMES: Scotch poet; b. at Laurencekirk (70 m. n.n.e. of Edinburgh), Kincardineshire, Oct. 25, 1735; d. at Aberdeen Aug. 18, 1803. He studied at the Marischal College, Aberdeen (M.A., 1753), and, after seven years as a school-teacher, became professor of moral philosophy and logic at that institution in 1760. In reply to Hume he wrote An Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth (London, 1770), which was popular and successful, but has little value as a philosophical work. Other works of his were: Dissertations, Moral and Critical (1783); Evidences of the Christian Religion (2 vols., Edinburgh, 1786); and Elements of Moral Science (2 vols., 1790–93). His poems, of which the chief is The Minstrel (books i-ii, 1771–1774), are much better than his philosophical writings; and it is for them that he is remembered.

Bibliography: Sir William Forbes, An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, Edinburgh, 1806; DNB, iv, 22–25.

BEAUSOBRE, bō´´sō´br, ISAAC DE: One of the most distinguished preachers of the French Protestant Church; b. at Niort (220 m. s.w. of Paris), in the present department of Deux-Sèvres, Mar. 8, 1659; d. in Berlin June 5, 1738. He was descended from a Protestant family of Gascogne, whose head took refuge in Geneva in 1578. He began his theological studies at the celebrated academy of Saumur, was ordained at the last synod of Loudun, and was called to be minister of the church at Chatillon, department of Indre, 1683. During the religious persecution, he fled in Nov., 1685, to Rotterdam, where he was welcomed at the house of the princess of Orange and, through her, was appointed chaplain to her daughter, princess of Anhalt-Dessau. In 1694 he was appointed chaplain to the elector of Brandenburg, Frederick III, and was called to Berlin as minister of the French Church. He stayed there for thirty-six years, preaching with much success, and was loaded with favors by King Frederick II. Among other honorable missions, he was sent in 1704 to the Duke of Marlborough, and, in 1713, to the commissioners of the Treaty of Utrecht, to ask for the exchange of Huguenot galley-slaves for French prisoners. He was privy councilor of the king of Prussia, director of the French House and of the French schools, and superintendent of all the French churches in Berlin.

His works are: Défense de la doctrine des Réformés sur la Providence, la prédestination, la grâce, et l’Eucharistie (Magdeburg, 1693); Les Psaumes de David mis en rime française (Berlin, 1701); Le Nouveau-Testament de J. C. traduit en français sur l’original grec, avec des notes littérales (Amsterdam, 1718); Histoire critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme (1739); Sermons (4 vols., Lausanne, 1755); Histoire de la Réformation ou origine et progrès du Luthéranisme dans l’Empire de 1517 à 1536 (4 vols., Berlin, 1785–86).

G. Bonet-Maury.

Bibliography: A life is prefixed by A. B. de la Chapelle to Beausobre's Remarques . . . sur le Nouveau Testament, 2 vols., The Hague, 1742. Consult J. H. S. Formey, Éloge des académiciens de Berlin, 2 vols., Berlin, 1757; E. and É. Haag, La France protestante, ed. H. L. Bordier, ii, 127, Paris, 1877; C. J. G. Bartholmess, Le Grand Beausobre, in Bulletin de la société d’histoire du protestantisme français, ib. 1876.

BEBB, LLEWELLYN JOHN MONTFORT: Church of England; b. at Cape Town Feb. 16, 1862. He was educated at New College, Oxford (B.A., 1885), and was fellow (1885–98), tutor (1889–98), and librarian (1892–98) of Brasenose College. He was examining chaplain to the bishop of Salisbury from 1893 to 1898, and to the bishop of St. Asaph from 1898 to 1902, and was also curator of the botanical garden, Oxford, in 1896–98 and Grinfeld lecturer on the Septuagint in the University of Oxford in 1897–1901. From 1892 to 1896 he was vice-principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, and since 1898 has been principal of St. David's College, Lampeter, Wales. He was select preacher at Cambridge in 1904, and has written Evidence of the Early Versions and Patristic Quotations on the Text of the New Testament, in Studia Biblica, ii (Oxford, 1890), and has edited Sermons Preached before the University of Oxford (1901) and U. Z. Rule's Graduated Lessons from the Old Testament (1902).

BEBENBURG, LUPOLD VON: Bishop of Bamberg, best known for his writings on ecclesiastico-political subjects; d. 1363. He came of a knightly Frankish family, and studied canon law at Bologna. From 1338 to 1352 he was a member of the chapters of Wᡬrzburg and Mainz and dean of St. Severus at Erfurt. In 1353 he was made bishop of Bamberg, and remained there till his death. In the struggle between Louis the Bavarian and Popes John XXII, Benedict XII, and Clement VI, he was among the jurists who took the emperor's side. His treatise De juribus regni et imperii Romanorum (ed. J. Wimpfeling, Strasburg, 1508; S. Schard, in De jurisdictione, auctoritate, et præeminentia imperiali ac potestate ecclesiastica variis auctoribus scripta, Basel, 1566, and often), dedicated to Louis' supporter, the elector Baldwin of Treves, deals less with abstract ideas and Aristotelian politics than with historical considerations. Two minor works of his have also been preserved, one in praise of the devotion of the old German princes to the Church (in Schard, ut sup.), the other a lament over the condition of the Holy Roman Empire (ed. Peter, Würzburg, 1842).

(E. Friedberg.)

Bibliography: J. Looshorn, Die Geschichte des Bisthums Bamberg, iii, 246–306, Bischof Lupold III von Bebenburg, Munich, 1891; A. Ussermann, Episcopatus Bambergensis, pp. 178–180, San Blas, 1802; S. Riezler, Die literarischen Widersacher der Päpste, pp. 107–114, 180–192, Leipsic, 1874; F. Joel, Lupold III von Bebenburg, vol. i, Sein Leben, Halle, 1891 (the result of diligent research).

BEC, ABBEY OF: Benedictine abbey of Normandy, situated at the present village of Le BecHellouin (7 m. s.w. of Rouen). It was founded about 1034 by Herluin, a noble Norman, who was first abbot. Mainly because of its great teachers, Lanfranc (who came to the abbey about 1042 and was prior 1045 or 1046–66) and Anselm (entered the abbey 1060; prior 1063–78; abbot 1078–93; see Anselm, Saint, of Canterbury), it became a famous center of learning for Normandy and, after the Conquest, for England. Among those who studied there were: Anselm of Lucca, afterward Pope Alexander II; Anselm of Laon; Gilbert Crispin, abbot of Westminster, author of the life of Herluin; Milo Crispin, biographer of Lanfranc and certain of the early abbots; Arnulf and Gundulf, bishops of Rochester; Ivo of Chartres; Gutmund, archbishop of Aversa; and William, archbishop of Rouen. Its fifth abbot, Theobald, became archbishop of Canterbury (1139); and the seventh abbot was Vacarius, who about the middle of the twelfth century introduced the study of the Roman law into England. The abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution.

Bibliography: The Chronicon Beccensis abbatiæ, with the lives by the Crispins above referred to, are in d’Achéry's edition of the works of Lanfranc, Paris, 1648; reprinted in MPL, cl; and the Gesta of seven Abbots of Bec, by Peter the Monk, written 1150, are in MPL, clxxxi.

BECAN (VERBEECK, VAN DER BEECK), MARTIN: Jesuit; b. at Hilvarenbeeck (35 m. n.e. of Antwerp), in Brabant, Jan. 6, 1563; d. in Vienna Jan. 24, 1624. He joined the Jesuits in 1583; taught philosophy and theology at schools of the order in Cologne, Würzburg, Mainz, and Vienna; and became confessor to the emperor Ferdinand II in 1620. He engaged in controversy with Lutherans, Calvinists and Anabaptists, and in particular attacked the Church of England. In his Controversia Anglicana de Potestate pontificis et regis (Mainz, 1613) he defended the morality of assassinating a heretic king; and in Quæstiones de fide hæreticis servanda (1609) he declared that no promise or oath given to a heretic was binding. The former work was condemned at Rome. His collected works were published in two volumes at Mainz, 1630–31.

BECK, JOHANN TOBIAS: German theologian; b. at Balingen (40 m. s.s.w. of Stuttgart), Württemberg, Feb. 22, 1804; d. at Tübingen Dec. 28, 1878. He studied at Tübingen 1822–26, was pastor at Waldthann and Mergentheim, went to Basel as extraordinary professor in 1838, and in 1843 to Tübingen, where he remained as professor and morning preacher till his death. He has been characterized as the most important representative of the strictly Biblical school of theology in the nineteenth century. He aimed to base all doctrine on the Bible, and allowed value to Church teachings only as interpretations of the Bible. He held an extreme view of revelation and inspiration, and hardly entered into critico-historical questions. His life was plain and simple, and his kind heart won general affection. He published, besides several collections of sermons, the following works: Einleitung in das System der christlichen Lehre (Stuttgart, 1838, 2d ed., 1870); Die Geburt des christlichen Lebens, sein Wesen und sein Gesetz (Basel, 1839); Die christliche Lehrwissenschaft nach den biblischen Urkunden, i, Logik (Stuttgart, 1841, 2d ed., 1875); Die christliche Menschenliebe, das Wort und die Gemeinde Christi (Basel, 1842); Umriss der biblischen Seelenlehre (Stuttgart, 1843, 3d ed., 1873; Eng. transl., Biblical Psychology, Edinburgh, 1877 ); Leitfaden der christlichen Glaubenslehre für Kirche, Schule und Haus (Stuttgart, 1862, 2d ed., 1869); Gedanken aus und nach der Schrift für christliches Leben und geistliches Amt (Frankfort, 1859; 2d ed., 1878). After his death were published commentaries on the epistles to Timothy (Gütersloh, 1879) and the Romans (2 vols., 1884), and on Rev. i–xii (1883); Pastorallehren des Neuen Testaments (1880; Eng. transl., Pastoral Theology, Edinburgh, 1882); Vorlesungen über christliche Ethik (3 vols., 1882–83); Briefe und Kernworte (1885); Vorlesungen über christliche Glaubenslehre (2 vols., 1886–87); Vollendung des Reiches Gottes (1887).

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: For his life consult: Worte der Erinnerung, Tübingen, 1879 (the part by Weizsäcker is especially valuable); B. J. Riggenbach, T. Beck, ein Schriftgelehrter zum Himmelreieh, Basel, 1888. On his theology consult: F. Liebetrut, J. T. Beck und seine Stellung zur Kirche, Berlin, 1858; C. Sturhahn, Die Rechtfertigungslehre nach Beck mit Berücksichtigung von Ebrard's Sola, Leipsic, 1890. On his work as a preacher: A. Brömel, Homiletische Charakterbilder, 2 vols., ib. 1874; A. Nebe, Geschichte der Predigt, vol. iii, Wiesbaden, 1879.

BECKET, THOMAS (commonly called Thomas à Becket): Archbishop of Canterbury 1162–70, the most determined English champion of the rights and liberties of the Church in his day; b. in London between 1110 and 1120; assassinated at Canterbury Dec. 29, 1170.

Life before his Consecration.

His parents were of the middle class. He received an excellent education, which he completed at the University of Paris. Returning to England, he attracted the notice of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, who entrusted him with several important missions to Rome, and finally made him archdeacon of Canterbury and provost of Beverley. He so distinguished himself by his zeal and efficiency that Theobald commended him to King Henry II when the important office of chancellor was vacant. Henry, like all the Norman kings, desired to be absolute master of his dominions, in both Church and State, and could well appeal to the traditions of his house when he planned to do away with the special privileges of the English clergy, which he regarded as so many fetters on his authority. Becket struck him as an instrument well adapted for the accomplishment of his designs; the young man showed himself an accomplished courtier, a cheerful companion in the king's pleasures, and devoted to his master's interests with such a firm and yet diplomatic thoroughness that scarcely any one, unless perhaps it was John of Salisbury, could have doubted that he had gone over completely to the royal side. Archbishop Theobald died Apr. 18, 1161, and the chapter learned with some indignation that the king expected them to choose Thomas his successor. The election was, however, consummated in May, and Thomas was consecrated on June 3, 1162.

Archbishop, 1162.

At once there took place before the eyes of the astonished king and country an unexpected transformation in the character of the new primate. Instead of a gay, pleasure-loving courtier, he stood forth an ascetic prelate in simple monastic garb, ready to contend to the uttermost for the cruse of the hierarchy. In the schism which at that time divided the Church, he declared for Alexander III, a man whose devotion to the same strict hierarchical principles appealed to him; and from Alexander he received the pallium at the Council of Tours. On his return to England, he proceeded at once to put into execution the project he had formed for the liberation of the Church of England from the very limitations which he had formerly helped to enforce. His aim was twofold: the complete exemption of the Church from all civil jurisdiction, with undivided control of the clergy, freedom of appeal, etc., and the acquisition and security of as independent fund of church property. The king was not slow to perceive the inevitable outcome of the archbishop's attitude, and called a meeting of the clergy at Westminster (Oct. 1, 1163) at which he demanded that they should renounce all claim to exemption from civil jurisdiction and acknowledge the equality of all subjects before the law. The others were inclined to yield, but the archbishop stood firm. Henry was not ready for an open breach, and offered to be content with a more general acknowledgment and recognition of the "customs of his ancestors." Thomas was willing to agree to this, with the significant reservation "saving the rights of the Church." But this involved the whole question at issue, and Henry left London in anger.

The Constitutions of Clarendon.

Henry called another assembly at Clarendon for Jan. 30, 1164, at which he presented his demands in sixteen constitutions. What he asked involved the abandonment of the clergy's independence and of their direct connection with Rome; he employed all his arts to induce their consent, and was apparently successful with all but the primate. Finally even Becket expressed his willingness to agree to the constitutions; but when it came to the actual signature he definitely refused. This meant war between the two powers. Henry endeavored to rid himself of his antagonist by judicial process and summoned him to appear before a great council at Northampton on Oct. 8, 1164, to answer charges of contempt of royal authority and maladministration of the chancellor's office.

Becket Leaves England.

Becket denied the right of the assembly to judge him, appealed to the pope, and, feeling that his life was too valuable to the Church to be risked, went into voluntary exile on Nov. 2, embarking in a fishing-boat which landed him in France. He went to Sens, where Pope Alexander was, while envoys from the king hastened to work against him, requesting that a legate should be sent to England with plenary authority to settle the dispute. Alexander declined, and when, the next day, Becket arrived and gave him a full account of the proceedings, he was still more confirmed in his aversion to the king. Henry pursued the fugitive archbishop with a series of edicts, aimed at all his friends and supporters as well as himself; but Louis VII of France received him with respect and offered him protection. He spent newly two years in the Cistercian abbey of Pontigny, until Henry's threats against the order obliged him to move to Sens again. He regarded himself as in full possession of all his prerogatives, and desired to see his position enforced by the weapons of excommunication and interdict. But Alexander, though sympathizing with him in theory, was for a milder and more diplomatic way of reaching his ends. Differences thus arose between pope and archbishop, which were all the more embittered when legates were sent in 1167 with authority to act as arbitrators. Disregarding this limitation of his jurisdiction, and steadfast in his principles, Thomas treated with the legates at great length, still conditioning his obedience to the king by the rights of his order. His firmness seemed about to meet with its reward when at last (1170) the pope was on the point of fulfilling his threats and excommunicating the king, and Henry, alarmed by the prospect, held out hopes of an agreement which should allow Thomas to return to England and resume his place. But both parties were really still holding to their former ground, and the desire for a reconciliation was only apparent. Both, however, seem for the moment to have believed in its possibility; and the contrast was all the sharper when it became evident that the old irreconcilable opposition was still there. Henry, incited by his partizans, refused to restore the ecclesiastical property which he had seized, and Thomas prepared to issue the pope's sentence against the despoilers of the Church and the bishops who had abetted them. It had been already sent to England for promulgation when he himself landed at Sandwich on Dec. 3, 1170, and two days later entered Canterbury.

Becket Assassinated.

The tension was now too great to be endured, and the catastrophe which relieved it was not long in coming. A passionate word of the angry king was taken as authority by four knights, who immediately plotted the murder of the archbishop, and accomplished it in his own cathedral on Dec. 29. The crime brought its own revenge. Becket was revered by the faithful throughout Europe as a martyr, and canonized by Alexander in 1173; while on July 12 of the following year Henry humbled himself to do public penance at the tomb of his enemy, which remained one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in England until it was destroyed at the Reformation (see Canterbury).

(Carl Mirbt.)

Bibliography: The sources for a life were collected by J. C. Robertson in Materials for the Hist. of Thomas Becket, 8 vols., in Rolls Series, London, 1875–85 (contains all the known contemporary lives, others of later date, the Epistles, and other material); cf. the Vita, epistolé et reliquié, ed. J. A. Giles in PEA, 8 vols., Oxford, 1845–46, and J. A. Giles, Life and Letters of Thomas à Becket, 2 vols., London, 1846. For later discussions and lives consult: M. Cournier, L’Archevêqua de Cantorbéry, 2 vols., Paris, 1845; J. C. Robertson, Becket, London, 1859; W. F. Hook, Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury, ii, 354–507, ib. 1862; E. A. Freeman, in Historical Essays, series 2, ib. 1880; idem, in Contemporary Review, Mar.-Apr., 1878; J. A. Froude, Life and Times of Becket, in Short Studies, vol. iv, ib. 1883; idem, in Nineteenth Century, ii (1877) 15–27, 217–229, 389–410, 669–691; C. P. Stanley, Historical Memorials of Canterbury, pp. 59–125,189–302, London, 1883; W. H. Hutton, St. Thomas of Canterbury, ib. 1889 (from contemporary lives); J. Morris, Life and Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket, ib. 1891 (Roman Catholic, deals with monasteries and churches associated with Becket); M. Schmitz, Die politischen Ideen des Thomas Becket, Crefeld, 1893; E. A. Abbott, St. Thomas of Canterbury: his Death and Miracles, 2 vols., London, 1898 (traverses the earlier accounts in a critical examination); DNB, lvi, 165–173.

BECKWITH, CHARLES MINNIGERODE: Protestant Episcopal bishop of Alabama; b. in Prince George Co., Va., June 3, 1851. He studied at the University of Georgia (B.A., 1873), was master of the Sewanee Grammar School, University of the South (Sewanee, Tenn.), 1873–79, and was graduated from Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn., in 1881. He was ordered deacon and advanced to the priesthood in the same year, and was rector of St. Luke's, Atlanta, Ga. (1881–86), Christ Church, Houston, Tex. (1886–92), and Trinity, Galveston, Tex. (1892–1902). In 1902 he was consecrated fourth bishop of Alabama. He has written The Trinity Course of Church Instruction (New York, 1898) and The Teacher's Companion to the Trinity Course (1901).

BECKWITH, CLARENCE AUGUSTINE: Congregationalist; b. at Charlemont, Mass., July 21, 1849. He studied at Olivet College, Olivet, Mich. (B.A., 1874), Yale Divinity School (1874–76), and Bangor Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1877. He became pastor of the First Congregational Church, Brewer, Me., in 1877, of the South Evangelical Congregational Church, West Roxbury, Mass., in 1882, professor of Christian theology at Bangor Theological Seminary in 1892, and professor of systematic theology at Chicago Theological Seminary in 1905. He holds that "the realities of the Christian religion and the facts of Christian experience which we share with Christians of all ages are to be interpreted by us in terms of modern thought." He has written Realities of Christian Theology (New York, 1906).

BECKX, PIERRE JEAN: General of the Jesuits; b. at Sichem (33 m. s.e. of Antwerp) Feb. 8, 1795; d. at Rome Mar. 4, 1887. He entered the Society of Jesus at Hildesheim in 1819, and was professed in 1830. He was active as a pastor at Hamburg, Hildesheim, and Brunswick, and in 1826 was stationed at Köthen as the confessor of the newly converted duke and duchess of Anhalt-Köthen. From 1830 to 1848 he was in Vienna, where he exercised much influence, especially over Metternich, and was made procurator of the Society of Jesus in that country in 1847; when his Order was expelled from Austria in 1848, he was appointed rector of the University of Louvain. Four years later, however, the Jesuits were readmitted to Austria, largely through his unceasing activity, and in 1852 he returned to Vienna as provincial of the Society. In the following year he was elected general, and held this office until 1883, when, on account of his advancing years, the vicar-general Antoine M. Anderledy was appointed to assist him. In the following year Beckx resigned the generalship in favor of Anderledy. The successful fortunes of the Jesuits during the attacks upon them both in Austria and Germany were due in great part to his ability and tact, and in his administration the numbers of the Society were almost doubled. He was the founder and editor of the famous Civiltà Cattolica, and also wrote the anonymous Der Monat Mariä (Vienna, 1838; Eng. transl. by Mrs. Edward Hazeland, London, 1884).

Bibliography: A. M. Verstraeten, Leven van den hoogeerwaarden Pater Petrus Beckx, Antwerp, 1889.

BEDE or BÆDA (called "the Venerable"): The first great English scholar; b. in Northumbria (according to tradition, at Monkton, Durham, 5 m. e. of Newcastle) 672 or 673; d. at the monastery of Jarrow (6 m. e. of Newcastle) May 25, 735. Almost all that is known of his life is contained in a notice added by himself to his Historia ecclesiastica (v, 24), which states that he was placed in the monastery at Wearmouth at the age of seven, that he became deacon in his nineteenth year, and priest in his thirtieth. He was trained by the abbots Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrid, and probably accompanied the latter to Jarrow in 682. There he spent his life, finding his chief pleasure in being always occupied in learning, teaching, or writing, and zealous in the performance of monastic duties. His works show that he had at his command all the learning of his time. He was proficient in patristic literature, and quotes from Puny the Younger, Vergil, Lucretius, Ovid, Horace, and other classical writers, but with some disapproval. He knew Greek and a little Hebrew. His Latin is clear and without affectation, and he is a skilful story-teller. Like all men of his time he was devoted to the allegorical method of interpretation, and was credulous concerning the miraculous; but in most things his good sense is conspicuous, and his kindly and broad sympathies, his love of truth and fairness, his unfeigned piety, and his devotion to the service of others combine to make him an exceedingly attractive character. His works were so widely spread throughout Europe and so much esteemed that he won the name of "the teacher of the Middle Ages."

Bede's writings are classed as scientific, historical, and theological. The scientific include treatises on grammar (written for his pupils), a work on natural phenomena (De rerum natura), and two on chronology (De temporibus and De temporum ratione). The most important and best known of his works is the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, giving in five books the history of England, ecclesiastical and political, from the time of Cæsar to the date of completion (731). The first twenty-one chapters, treating of the period before the mission of Augustine, are compiled from earlier writers such as Orosius, Gildas, Prosper of Aquitaine, and others, with the insertion of legend and tradition. After 596, documentary sources, which Bede took pains to obtain, are used, and oral testimony, which he employed not without critical consideration of its value. His other historical works were lives of the abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow, and lives in verse and prose of St. Cuthbert. The most numerous of his writings are theological, and consist of commentaries on the books of the Old and New Testaments, homilies, and treatises on detached portions of Scripture. His last work, completed on his death-bed, was a translation into Anglo-Saxon of the Gospel of John.

Bibliography: The collected editions of Bede's works (such as by J. A. Giles, with Eng. transl. of the historical works and life, Patres ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, 12 vols., London, 1843–44; in MPL, xc–xcv) leave much to be desired. Good editions of the historical works, particularly of the Historia ecclesiastica, have been issued by J. Smith, Cambridge, 1722; J. Stevenson, Hist. eccl., London, 1838, Opera historica minora, 1841; G. H. Moberly, Oxford, 1869; J. E. B. Mayor and J. R. Lumby, Hist. eccl., books iii and iv, Cambridge, 1881; A. Holder, Freiburg, 1890; C. Plummer, 2 vols., Oxford, 1896; Eccl. Hist., transl., introduction, life, and notes, by A. M. Sellar, London, 1907. The two works on chronology have been edited by T. Mommsen in MGH, Chron. min., iii (1898). There are English versions of the Ecclesiastical History by Stevens, 1723, revised by J. A. Giles, London, 1840; J. Stevenson, ib. 1853; and L. Gridley, Oxford, 1870. The old Eng. version of the Hist. eccl., with transl. and introduction, was ed. by T. Miller, in 4 parts, ib. 1870. For Bede's life consult the introductions and notes to the editions mentioned, particularly those of Stevenson and Plummer; G. F. Browne, The Venerable Bede, in The Fathers for English Readers, London, 1879, New York 1891; K. Werner, Beda der Ehrwürdige und seine Zeit, Vienna, 1881; J. B. Lightfoot, in Leaders of the Northern Church, London, 1890 (biographical sermons); F. Phillips, in Fathers of the English Church, vol. i, London, 1891 (simple, scholarly, fair); W. Bright, Early English Church History, pp. 367–371 et passim, Oxford, 1897.

BEDELL, WILLIAM: Irish bishop; b. at Black Notley, near Braintree (50 m. n.e. of London), Essex, England, on or near Christmas day, 1571; d. at Drum Corr, near Kilmore, County Cavan, Ireland, Feb. 7, 1642. He studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (B.A., 1588; M.A., 1592; B.D., 1599), was ordained priest Jan. 10,1597, and settled at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1602. In 1607 he went to Venice as chaplain to Sir Henry Wotton, British ambassador at that city, and there he made the acquaintance of a number of noteworthy men, including Marco Antonio de Dominis and Father Paolo Sarpi, author of the History of the Council of Trent, the last two books of which, as well as Sarpi's History of the Venetian Interdict, he afterward translated into Latin. He returned to Bury St. Edmunds in 1610, and removed to Horningsheath, a neighboring parish, in 1616. In 1627 he was appointed provost of Trinity College, Dublin; in 1629 he became bishop of the united dioceses of Kilmore and Ardagh (County Longford); in 1633 he resigned the latter see owing to conscientious objections to pluralities, and the belief that the proper administration of the diocese required a separate bishop. His position was difficult; the dioceses were in wretched condition, and his earnest efforts to effect improvement stirred up opposition. Nevertheless he reformed many abuses and enjoyed great esteem among the people. He wrote a short summary of Christian doctrine in English and Irish (published, Dublin, 1631), and a translation of the Old Testament into Irish was made under his supervision (published, London, 1685). When the rebellion of 1641 broke out, he refused to leave his diocese, and, after suffering many hardships, died of fever brought on by the privations which he had undergone. His Life with the Letters between Waddesworth and Bedell was published by Bishop Burnet (London, 1685), and has been rewritten several times. The best biography is one by his son (ed. for the Camden Society T. W. Jones, London, 1872).

BEECHER, CHARLES: Congregationalist, fifth son of Lyman Beecher; b. at Litchfield, Conn., Oct. 7, 1815; d. at Georgetown, Mass., Apr. 21, 1900. He was graduated at Bowdoin College 1834 and at Lane Theological Seminary 1836; became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1844; of the First Congregational Church, Newark, N. J., 1851; of the First Church, Georgetown, Mass., 1857. He lived in Florida 1870–1877, and for two years was State superintendent of schools. He published: The Incarnation (New York, 1849); A Review of the Spiritual Manifestations (1853); David and his Throne (1855); Redeemer and Redeemed (Boston, 1864); and Spiritual Manifestations (1879). With John Zundel he edited the music for The Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes (New York, 1855), and, alone, the Autobiography, Correspondence, etc. of his father (2 vols., 1865).

BEECHER, EDWARD: Congregationalist, second son of Lyman Beecher; b. at East Hampton, L. I., Aug. 27, 1803; d. in Brooklyn July 28, 1895. He was graduated at Yale 1822; began his theological studies at Andover and continued them while acting as tutor at Yale 1825–26; was pastor of the Park Street Church, Boston, 1826–30; president of Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill., 1830–44; pastor of the Salem Street Church, Boston, 1844–55, and editor of The Congregationalist 1849–1853; pastor at Galesburg, Ill., 1855–71; after 1871 resided in Brooklyn. He was lecturer on church institutions at the Chicago Theological Seminary (Congregational) 1859–66. In 1837 he defended the freedom of the press in the case of Elijah P. Lovejoy, an antislavery agitator at Alton, Ill. When Lovejoy's presses were destroyed by the mob, Beecher helped to obtain and secrete a new one, and was with Lovejoy and his brother, Owen, the night before the former was killed (Nov. 7, 1837). To resist the mob spirit he aided in founding the Illinois State Antislavery Society, drew up its constitution, and issued a Statement of Antislavery Principles, and Address to the People of Illinois. He published a Narrative of Riots at Alton (Cincinnati, 1838). His views as to the nature and cause of sin and on the atonement were set forth in two works, The Conflict of Ages, or the Great Debate on the Moral Relations of God and Man (Boston, 1853) and The Concord of Ages, or the Individual and Organic Harmony of God and Man (New York, 1860), in which he expressed the belief that the present life is a continuation of a preceding existence as well as a preparation for a future one; that the material system is adapted to regenerate men, who have made themselves sinful in the previous state; and that ultimately the conflict between good and evil will disappear, and harmony be established. The doctrine of divine suffering he held to present the character of God in its most affecting and powerful aspects, and to be essential to a true view of the atonement. He also published On the Kingdom of God (Boston, 1827); Baptism with Reference to its Import and Modes (New York, 1849); The Papal Conspiracy Exposed and Protestantism Defended in the Light of Reason, History, and Scripture (New York, 1855); History of Opinions on the Scriptural Doctrine of Retribution (1878).

BEECHER, HENRY WARD: Congregationalist, fourth son of Lyman Beecher; b. at Litchfield, Conn., June 24, 1813; d. in Brooklyn Mar. 8, 1887. He was graduated at Amherst 1834, and at Lane Theological Seminary 1837; became pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Lawrenceburg, Ind., 1837, at Indianapolis 1839, and of Plymouth Church (Congregational), Brooklyn, 1847. The congregation was newly formed at that time, but soon became famed for its numbers and its influence, while Beecher attained to the position of the most popular and widely known preacher in America. As a public lecturer he was no less successful. In his sermons he disregarded conventionalities both in subject and manner. His wit and humor appeared in his preaching, which, nevertheless, was earnest and edifying, and revealed a great character, sincere and reverent; his public prayers in particular were truly devotional (cf. Prayers from Plymouth Pulpit, New York, 1867). No slight dramatic power, robust health and physical strength, and a striking personal appearance added to the effect of his eloquence. Personally he was a most estimable and attractive man, of generous instincts, of rare humanity, and catholic sympathies. He was active in the antislavery contest, but deprecated revolutionary measures. In 1863 he publicly advocated the Union cause in a series of addresses in the cities of England at a time when the sympathies of the people of England were strongly with the Southern Confederacy, and his success at this time before bitterly hostile audiences is one of the greatest feats of intellectual and oratorical achievement (these addresses were published as The American Rebellion: Report of the Speeches delivered in Manchester, etc., Manchester, 1864, and are reprinted in Patriotic Addresses from 1850 to 1885 by Henry Ward Beecher, edited, with a review of Mr. Beecher's personality and influence in public affairs, by John R. Howard, New York, 1889).

In later life the development of Beecher's mind led him to desire a freedom which he thought could not be attained within strictly denominational lines, and, actuated also by the wish not to compromise his brethren by alleged heresies, in 1882, with his church, he withdrew from the Congregational Association to which he belonged. The chief points of his divergence from the orthodox position of the time related to the person of Christ, whom he considered to be the Divine Spirit under the limitations of time, space, and flesh; to miracles, which he considered divine uses of natural laws; and to future punishment, the endlessness of which he denied, inclining to a modification of the annihilation theory.

Beecher was regular contributor to The Independent from its foundation in 1848 to 1870, and its editor for not quite two years (1861–63). He was editor of The Christian Union (since 1893 known as The Outlook), 1870–81, and made it the pioneer non-denominational religious paper. He also wrote much for The New York Ledger. His sermons were published weekly after 1859 (under the title The Plymouth Pulpit), and have appeared in book-form in numerous volumes. Sermons . . . selected from published and unpublished discourses and revised by their author, edited by Lyman Abbott (2 vols., New York, 1868), is a representative collection. His addresses, lectures, and articles were also gathered into many books, such as Lectures to Young Men (Indianapolis, 1844; rev. eds., New York, Boston, 1850 and 1873); the Star Papers, or experiences of art and nature (selections from The Independent, so called from his signature, *; 2 vols., New York, 1855–58); Eyes and Ears (reprinted from The New York Ledger, Boston, 1862); Lecture-Room Talks (New York, 1870); A Summer Parish (1875); Evolution and Religion (1885). His books of most permanent value were The Life of Jesus the Christ (i, New York, 1871; ii, left incomplete at his death and supplemented by extracts from his sermons, 1891), and the Yale Lectures on Preaching (Lyman Beecher lectures before the Yale Divinity School, 1872–74; 3 vols., also collected edition in one volume, New York, 1881). He compiled The Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes (1855); and wrote Norwood, or Village Life in New England, a novel (1867).

Bibliography: Lyman Abbott and S. B. Halliday, Henry Ward Beecher, Hartford, 1887; the Biography by his son William C. Beecher and Samuel Scoville, assisted by his wife, 1888; John Henry Barrows, Henry Ward Beecher, the Shakespeare of the Pulpit, New York, 1893; the Autobiographical Reminiscences edited by T. J. Ellinwood, his private stenographer for thirty years, 1898; Lyman Abbott, Henry Ward Beecher, Boston, 1903; N. L. Thompson, The History of Plymouth Church, New York, 1873.

BEECHER, LYMAN: Presbyterian; b. at New Haven, Conn., Oct. 12, 1775; d. at Brooklyn Jan. 10, 1863. He was graduated at Yale 1797; studied theology under President Dwight the following year, and, after preaching on probation for a year at East Hampton, L. I., was ordained as pastor there, 1799; in 1810 he removed to Litchfield, Conn., and in 1826 to Boston, as pastor of the Hanover Street Church (Congregational). In 1832 he became president and professor of theology at the newly formed Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, where for the first ten years he also served as pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church. In 1851 he returned to Boston, and after 1856 lived in Brooklyn. He was a profound student of theology, but eminently practical in his preaching, which was marked by an uncommon union of imagination, fervor, and logic. His convictions were strong, his courage great, and he acted with an impulsive energy which generally succeeded in accomplishing what he thought should be done. The death of Alexander Hamilton called forth a sermon on dueling (preached before the Presbytery of Long Island, Apr. 16, 1806; published in several editions) which did much to awaken the popular conscience on the subject. At Litchfield he took a decided stand in favor of a general reformation of public morals, and in particular against the convivial habits of the time. During his Boston pastorate he was a leader on the conservative side in the Unitarian controversy. In Cincinnati hard feelings evoked by the antislavery contest, and certain problems inevitable during the formative period of the seminary and in a new society, made his career a stormy one, but he worked with characteristic energy and retired with honor. During the earlier stages of the differences which led to the disruption of the Presbyterian Church in 1837 he was charged with holding heretical views on the atonement, and was tried and acquitted by both presbytery and synod in 1835; throughout the entire contest he was one of the New School leaders. His seven sons all became clergymen and his daughters, Catherine Esther Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Isabella Beecher Hooker, became well known for literary and philanthropic work. During his second residence in Boston Lyman Beecher prepared a collected edition of his Works (i, Lectures on Political Atheism and Kindred Subjects; Six Lectures on Intemperance, Boston, 1852; ii, Sermons, 1852; iii, Views of Theology as Developed in Three Sermons and on his Trials, 1853).

Bibliography: His Autobiography, Correspondence, etc. was edited by his son Charles Beecher, rev. ed., 2 vols., New York, 1865; consult also D. H. Allen, The Life and Services of Lyman Beecher, a Commemorative Discourse, Cincinnati, 1863; J. C. White, Personal Reminiscences of Lyman Beecher, New York, 1882; E. F. Haywood, Lyman Beecher, Boston, 1904.

BEECHER, THOMAS KINNICUTT: Congregationalist, sixth son of Lyman Beecher; b. at Litchfield, Conn., Feb. 10, 1824; d. at Elmira, N. Y., Mar. 14, 1900. He was graduated at Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill., 1843; became school principal at Philadelphia, 1846, at Hartford, Conn., 1848; pastor at Williamsburg (Brooklyn), L. I., 1852, of the Independent Church (afterward called the Park Church), Elmira, 1854, where he served a long pastorate and became widely known for his eccentricities, but still more esteemed for his charities and respected for the practical good sense of many of his plans and ideas. He developed one of the first "institutional" churches, and his Sunday-school was a model one. His chief publication was Our Seven Churches (New York, 1870), a volume of discourses upon the different denominations in Elmira. In Time with the Stars, a book of children's stories, appeared posthumously (1902).

BEECHER, WILLIS JUDSON: Presbyterian; b. at Hampden, O., Apr. 29, 1838. He studied at Hamilton College (B.A., 1858) and Auburn Theological Seminary (1864), and was ordained to the ministry in 1864. After a pastorate at Ovid, N. Y., 1864–65, he was appointed professor of moral science and belles-lettres in Knox College, Galesburg, Ill. In 1869 he became pastor of the First Church of Christ in the same city. Two years later he was appointed professor of the Hebrew language and literature in Auburn Theological Seminary. In 1902 he delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was a member of the Assembly's Committee on the Revision of the Confession of Faith (1890–92), and in theology is a progressive conservative. Besides preparing the Old Testament Sunday-school lessons for the Sunday School Times since 1893, he has written Farmer Tompkins and his Bibles (Philadelphia, 1874); General Catalogue of Auburn Theological Seminary (Auburn, 1883); Drill Lessons in Hebrew (1883); Index of Presbyterian Ministers, 1706–1881 (Philadelphia, 1883; in collaboration with his sister Mary A. Beecher); The Prophets and the Promise (New York, 1905); and The Teaching of Jesus concerning the Future Life (1906).

BEELZEBUB, be-el´ze-bUb (properly, in all the New Testament passages—Matt. x. 25; xii, 24, 27; Mark iii, 22; Luke xi, 15, 18, 19—Beelzeboul); The name of the prince of the demons; i.e., of Satan. The reading Beelzeboul has also this in its favor that the Greek oikodespotēs, "master of the house" (Matt. x, 25), seems to play upon be‘e1 zebul (be‘el being the Aramaic form for the Hebrew ba‘al). Nothing more than a play upon the word is to be sought in oikodespotēs, which is not a translation of the Aramaic; "master of the (Satanic) kingdom" would be a meaningless designation of the prince of hell. In spite of the correctness of the reading Beelzeboul, it is justifiable to trace this name to the much older name Baal-zebub, which is found in the Old Testament as that of an idol.

Baal-zebub was honored in Ekron, where he had a temple and an oracle, which was consulted by Ahaziah, king of Israel (II Kings i, 2, 3, 16). The name as it stands means "lord of flies"; the Septuagint calls the god directly "fly"; so also Josephus (Ant., IX, ii, 1). In classical mythology, there was a god who protected from flies. It is related that Hercules banished the flies from Olympia by erecting a shrine to Zeus Apomuios ("averter of flies"); and the Romans called Hercules Apomuios. A similar deity is mentioned as acting and honored in different places, the excuse for such worship being the plague which flies cause in those warm countries. Both the sending of flies and the driving them away were referred to the same divinity. As may be inferred from the name Baal, the Baalzebub of the Philistines was essentially identical with the principal god or gods of the Phenicians. He may have been lord of flies as sun-god, because flies are most numerous in midsummer, when the sun is hottest. And that he had an oracle is to be explained by a substitution of effect for cause. Flies come obedient to certain atmospheric conditions; hence the god was considered to have caused these conditions, and so at length his control was extended to other events, and accordingly he was consulted (see Baal).

Beelzebul was early identified with Baal-zebub, and, as was so often the case, was turned into a bad demon, in accordance with later Jewish ideas. Since Lightfoot (Horæ Heb., s.v.), it has been common to say that the name of the demon Beelzebul was purposely made out of Beel-zebub, in order to express contempt and horror; i.e., "lord of dung," instead of "lord of flies." But, inasmuch as such a name for Satan does not occur outside of the New Testament, it is better to seek its derivation in the old Ekronic worship, which might, in New Testament times, have still existed. Beelzebul may therefore be looked upon as the same name as Beel-zebub, and therefore as having the same meaning.

Bibliography: E. C. A. Riehm, Handwörterbuch des biblischen Alterthums, s.v., Bielefeld, 1893–94 (revives the theory that the Syriac form may have meant simply "an enemy," cf. KAT, p. 461); J. Selden, De die Syris, London, 1617; J. Lightfoot, Horæ hebraicæ on Matt. xii, 24, and Luke xi, 15, ib. 1675; F. C. Movers, Die Phönizier i, 260–261, Bonn, 1841; idem, in JA, 1878, pp. 220–225; P. Scholz, Götzendienst und Zauberwesen bei den alten Hebräern, pp. 170–173, Regensburg, 1877; Nowack, Archäologie, ii, 304–305; EB, i, 514–515; JE, ii, 629–630.

BEER, bêr, GEORG: German Lutheran; b. at Schweidnitz (31 m. s.w. of Breslau) Nov. 12, 1865. He studied in Berlin and Leipsic (Ph.D., 1887), taught in Erbach 1889–91, and became privat-docent at Breslau in 1892. Two years later he went in the same capacity to Halle, and in 1900 to Strasburg as associate professor of the Old Testament. Became ordinary professor of Old Testament at Heidelberg, 1909. He has written Al-G̣azzâli's Maḳâsid al-falâsifat, i, die Logik (Leyden, 1888); Individual- und Gemeinde-psalmen (Marburg, 1894); and Der Text des Buches Hiob untersucht (1897); besides preparing the translation of the Martyrdom of Isaiah and of the Book of Enoch for E. Kautzsch's Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testaments (Tübingen, 1900).

BEER, RUDOLF: German Protestant; b. at Bielitz (40 m. w.s.w. of Cracow) Dec. 5, 1863. He was educated at the universities of Vienna and Bonn, and since 1893 has been reader in Spanish at the latter university, as well as a custodian at the Imperial and Royal Library at Vienna since 1888. He is a collaborator on the Vienna Corpus patrum ecclesiasticorum latinorum. In theology he advocates "the scientific investigation of Christian revelation." Among his works special mention may be made of his Die Anecdota Borderiana Augustineischer Sermonen (Vienna, 1887); Heilige Höhen der Griechen und Römer (1891); Die Quellen für den liber diurnus concilii Basiliensis des Petrus Bruneti (1891); and Urkundliche Beiträge zu Johannes de Segovia (1896); in addition to editions of Wyclif's De compositione hominis (London, 1887); and De ente prædicamentali quæstiones tredecim (1891), and of the Monumenta conciliorum generalium (3 vols., Vienna, 1892–96).

BEET, bît, JOSEPH AGAR: English Wesleyan; b. at Sheffield Sept. 27, 1840. He attended Wesley College, Sheffield (1851–56), and took up mining engineering, but afterward studied theology at the Wesleyan College, Richmond (1862–64). He was pastor 1864–85 and professor of systematic theology in Wesleyan College, Richmond, 1885–1905. He was also a member of the faculty of theology in the University of London 1901–05. He delivered the Fernley Lecture on The Credentials of the Gospels in 1889, and lectured in America in 1896. Though long recognized as one of the ablest theologians and exegetes of his denomination, his sympathy with the modern critical school of interpretation and particularly his views on eschatology have occasioned much criticism. In The Last Things (London, 1897; 2d ed., 1905) he opposed the belief that the essential and endless permanence of the soul is taught in the Bible and denied that eternal punishment necessarily means endless torment, holding that the sinner may suffer a relative annihilation of his mental and moral faculties and sink into a dehumanized state. He reiterated these views in The Immortality of the soul (1901). Charges of heresy were brought against him at the Conference of 1902, but he was reelected to his professorship on condition that he refrain from expressing his opinions on immortality and future punishment. To regain liberty of speech in 1904 he gave notice that he would retire from his chair in twelve months. His other works are: Commentary on Romans (London, 1877); Holiness as Understood by the Critics of the Bible (1880); Commentary on Corinthians (1881); Commentary on Galatians (1883); Commentary on Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (1890); Through Christ to God (1892); The Firm Foundation of the Christian Faith (1892); The New Life in Christ (1895); Nature and Christ (New York, 1896); Key to Unlock the Bible (1901); Transfiguration of Jesus (1905); and Manual of Theology (1906).

BEETS, bêtz, HENRY: Christian Reformed; b. at Koedijk (a village near Alkmaar, 20 m. n.w. of Amsterdam), Holland, Jan. 5, 1869. He came to the United States at an early age, and studied at John Calvin College and Theological Seminary of the Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Mich. After graduation in 1895, he was pastor at Sioux Center, Ia., until 1899, and since the latter year has been pastor of the Lagrave Street Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids. He has been secretary of the Board of Heathen Missions of his Church since 1900, stated clerk of its synod since 1902, and a member of the joint committee of American and Canadian Churches for the revision of the Psalms in meter since 1902. In theology he is a firm Calvinist, adhering strictly to the creeds of the Synod of Dort and the Westminster Standards. He has been associate editor of De Gereformeerde Amerikaan, a monthly, since 1898 and editor-in-chief of The Banner, a weekly, since 1904. He has written Het Leven van Pres. McKinley (Holland, Mich., 1901); Sacred History for Juniors (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1901); Sacred History for Seniors (1902); Compendium of the Christian Religion (1903); Primer of Bible Truths (1903; in collaboration with M. J. Bosma); and Kerkenorde der Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk (1905; in collaboration with W. Heyns and G. K. Hemkes).

BEGG, JAMES: Minister of the Free Church of Scotland; b. at New Monkland, near Airdrie (10 m. e. of Glasgow), Lanarkshire, Oct. 31, 1808; d. in Edinburgh Sept. 29, 1883. He studied at Glasgow and Edinburgh; was ordained minister at Maxwelltown, Dumfries, May, 1830; became colleague at Lady Glenorchy's Chapel, Edinburgh. Dec., 1830, minister in Paisley 1831, at Liberton, near Edinburgh, 1835, and, after the Disruption in 1843, at Newington, a suburb of Edinburgh. In 1865 he was moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church. He began his career as an ardent supporter of evangelical views and a decided opponent of the "moderate" party in the Church. He was strongly opposed to lay patronage and to voluntaryism. He strenuously resisted the aggressions of the civil courts on the jurisdiction of the Church and was disposed to continue the fight within the Establishment; but in May, 1843, he left with his brethren. (See the section on the Free Church of Scotland in the article Presbyterians.) In the Free Church he became the leader of a minority opposed to all change and when he was charged with standing in the way of progress he gloried in his steadfast adherence to the ideas of his youth; his followers were most numerous in the Highlands. He was an advocate and supporter of popular education and was interested in a movement to secure better homes for the working classes. He wrote much for periodicals and edited several journals at different times (The Bulwark, for the maintenance of Protestantism; The Watchword, against the union with the United Presbyterians; The Signal, against instrumental music in worship). Among his larger publications were A Handbook of Popery (Edinburgh, 1852); Happy Homes for Workingmen and How to Get Them (London, 1866); Free Church Principles (Edinburgh, 1869), and The Principles, Position, and Prospects of the Free Church of Scotland (1875).

Bibliography: T. Smith, Memoirs of James Begg, 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1885–88; DNB, iv, 127–128.

BEGHARDS, BEGUINES.

1. Origin.

Beghards and Beguines are the names applied to certain religious communities which flourished especially in the Middle Ages. The Beguines were women and earlier in origin than the male associations, the Beghards (also called in France Béguins). As early as the thirteenth century the authentic tradition as to the origin of the Beguines had been lost, so that it was possible in the fifteenth for the belief to gain acceptance that they had been founded by Begga, the canonized daughter of Pepin of Landen and mother of Pepin of Heristal. This belief was supported by several scholars in the early seventeenth century, and approved at Mechlin and at Rome. In 1630 Puteanus (van Putte), a Louvain professor, produced three documents supposed to date from 1065, 1129, and 1151, relating to a convent of Beguines at Vilvorde, near Brussels. The view as to the date of their origin which these documents supported was prevalent for two centuries, and is presupposed in the modern works of Mosheim and of Lea; but the researches of Hallmann proved finally in 1843 that Puteanus's documents were forgeries, probably belonging to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The origin of these communities is now, accordingly, almost universally placed in the twelfth century, and attributed to a priest of Liége, Lambert le Bègue.

2. The Early Communities.

The scarcity of information about the earliest period has caused the significance of the movement to be underestimated or misconceived. As a matter of fact, the career of Lambert has many points of affinity with those of his younger contemporaries Peter Waldo and Francis of Assisi. Like them, he renounced his property, to endow with it the hospital of St. Christopher at Liége and the new convent of Beguines there. He felt his special mission to be the preaching of repentance, which brought him into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities when he attacked the vices of the clergy, but had an enduring influence especially on the women of Liége. By 1210 there is contemporary testimony to the existence there of "whole troops of holy maidens"; the ascetic spirit took hold also of the married women, who frequently made vows of continence. Religious excitement did not fail to produce pathological phenomena; stories are told of visions, prophecies, convulsions, incessant tears, loss of speech, and the like. Probably between 1170 and 1180 some of Lambert's followers, to whom his opponents gave the name of Beguines in mockery, had formed a sort of conventual association on a suburban estate belonging to him. By the analogy of the later Beguinages, they probably inhabited a number of small houses grouped about the church and hospital of St. Christopher, and shut off by a wall from the outer world. The first inmates were mostly women of position, who renounced their property and supported themselves by their own labors.

3. Extension during the Twelfth Century.

The religious impulse given by Lambert continued active after his death (probably 1187), and familiarized the people of the Netherlands with the idea of ascetic following of Christ long before the advent of the mendicant orders. Throughout the next century, the need of founding similar institutions for the large numbers of Beguines was felt, first in Flanders and then in the neighboring French and German districts. In France St. Louis showed them special favor, and erected a large Beguinage in Paris, modeled after the Flemish, in 1264; others sprang up, large or small, in all parts of France during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The extension of the system in the other Latin countries was probably considerable, but exact data are wanting. In Germany only a few towns on the lower Rhine, such as Aix-la-Chapelle and Wesel, had Beguinages in the strict sense. Here the usual rule was for women who wished to renounce the world at first to live separately in their own houses or in solitary places; as time went on, they came together in larger or smaller houses put at their disposal by pious gifts, and formed communities of a monastic type. The growth of these convents was remarkable, and continued from the first third of the thirteenth century to the beginning of the fifteenth, by which time the majority of German towns had their convents of Beguines. The statutes varied much in the different houses; the number of inmates was between ten and twenty on an average. There was no uniform dress, but most of the members wore hoods and scapulars resembling a religious habit. Sometimes those who had property retained full control of it; in other cases a portion fell to the convent when they died or left. Celibacy was required as long as they stayed, but they were always free to leave and marry.

4. Relation to the Mendicant Orders.

The name of "voluntary poor," which many convents bore, and the regulations of such houses, show the continuance of Lambert's influence in favor of desertion of the world and penitential asceticism; but the Franciscan ideas, very similar in their tendency, which were widely spread not long after, found here a fruitful soil. As early as the thirteenth century a large proportion of the Beghards or Beguines of France, Germany, and northern Italy were under the direction of Franciscans or Dominicans, and so closely related with the penitential confraternities attached to both these orders that the members of these (tertiaries) were commonly known in the Latin countries as beguini and beguinæ—a fact which has caused much confusion in the study of the history of the real Beguines. The disapproval of these latter by the papal authorities brought about, when it came, a still closer identification with the tertiaries; many joined these for protection, and in the fifteenth century numerous Beguinages were transferred to the Augustinian order. While the original Beguines abstained from begging, it became more common among them in France and Germany by the beginning of the thirteenth century. As in the Latin countries the Beguines are found among the extreme defenders of the Franciscan ideal of poverty, so we find frequently among those of Germany the belief that their strict poverty designated them as the true followers of Christ. In accordance with this view, they were apt to withdraw themselves from the teaching of the clergy and listen rather to the exciting exhortations of their "mistresses" or of wandering preachers in sympathy with their beliefs. They developed a system of extreme corporal austerity, and lost themselves in mystic speculations which increased their tendency to see visions and to condemn the ordinary means of grace; even the moral law seems at times to have been regarded as not binding upon them. The impulse of apocalyptic enthusiasm, given by Joachim of Fiore and spread by the "spiritual" Franciscans among the laity, as well as the quietistic mysticism of the Brethren of the Free Spirit, found an entrance into their houses before the end of the thirteenth century. Early in the next century, the influx of women of high social position declined more and more, and the new foundations took on more of the modern character of benevolent institutions. By the end of the fifteenth century, in Germany at least, they had almost completely lost their first religious fervor and had forfeited much of the popular respect they had formerly enjoyed.

5. The Male Communities.

As to the Beghards or male communities, the question whether the first associations known by this name can be directly connected with Lambert le Bègue, or sprang up after his death in imitation of the Flemish Beguinages, can not be decided with our present knowledge. They are first met with in Louvain (c. 1220) and Antwerp (1228). The names beguin and begard (Flemish usually bogard; Middle High German begehart and biegger) were given in mockery and are of Walloon origin; other names are Lollards (probably from the Middle Dutch löllen, to murmur; see Lollards), "voluntary poor," boni pueri, boni valeti, etc. In the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries they spread throughout Germany, into Poland and the Alpine districts, and even into the Latin countries; but their numbers were much smaller than those of the Beguines. As early as the thirteenth century a number of their houses, too, connected themselves with the tertiaries of the two great mendicant orders. Like the Beguines, many of them were partizans of the views of the "spiritual" Franciscans and Fraticelli. They practised begging ostentatiously, frequently had no fixed abode, and wandered about in small groups, begging and winning adherents for their cause. They did not abandon this mode of life even after papal prohibitions were directed against them, but strengthened themselves by the adhesion of sympathizers who were expelled from the convents, and remained in close relations with the Beguines, by whom they were regarded as martyrs to the Franciscan ideal of poverty and channels of mystical revelations. In the Netherlands the fifteenth-century Beghards appear for the most part as regular Franciscan tertiaries, organized from 1443 as a separate Congregatio Zepperensis beghardorum tertiæ regulæ S. Francisci, with the convent of Zepperen, near Hasselt, as their mother house. Internal dissensions later split them into two branches. In the seventeenth century they were united with the Lombard congregation of regular tertiaries, and did not survive the Revolution. The internal organization of their houses corresponded generally to that of the Beguines. The earliest Dutch Beghards were mostly weavers, who continued to follow their trade; later they frequently copied and sold manuscripts. The German Beghards followed a variety of occupations; but at the end of the Middle Ages begging was their main source of revenue. A special inner group was that of the "Voluntary Poor" (also called Poor Brothers, Cellites, Alexians; in the Netherlands Lollards, Matemans, Cellebroeders; see Alexians), who required the entire abandonment of property by their members and bound them by permanent vows. Their strict organization, their enthusiasm for poverty, their zealous devotion to charitable duties, all point to a tradition reaching back to the beginning of the Beghard system. They are further contrasted with the ordinary Beghards by the fact that they held aloof for the most part from the Franciscan affiliations which have been seen to be so common. In the fifteenth century they associated themselves with the Augustinians. Public opinion, by the end of the Middle Ages, was even more unfavorable to the Beghards than to the Beguines; popular satirists and preachers alike speak of them as hypocritical beggars with a tendency to deceit and immorality; and the Reformation swept away the last remnants of them, in Germany at least.

6. Persecution as Heretics.

The persecution of Beghards and Beguines as a heretical sect began in the second half of the thirteenth century, probably as a consequence of their relation to the "spiritual" Franciscans (see Francis, Saint, of Assisi, and the Franciscan Order). By 1300 the name beguinus was commonly used in the Latin countries as the accepted designation for the heretical "spiritual" party and Fraticelli, which naturally prejudiced the general opinion of the orthodox convents of Beghards and Beguines. Still more damaging was the fact that the German bishops, about the same time, assumed that the pantheistic heresy of the Brethren of the Free Spirit found its chief support in their houses. Though, as a matter of fact, this was probably true only of a small section, the name of Beghards was commonly adopted in Germany for the adherents of that heresy. During the fourteenth century the belief spread that in some convents of Beghards and Beguines there existed an inner circle of "the perfect" who were alien from the doctrines of the Church and the laws of morality, to which the younger members were admitted only after years of probation. Whether or not these accusations were true, which it is now next to impossible to determine, the bitter hostility shown against the Beghards and Beguines probably finds its simplest explanation in the conflicts which arose at the end of the thirteenth century between the episcopate and the secular clergy, on the one hand, and the mendicant orders, especially the Franciscans, on the other, since these latter gained their lay following largely through the numerous houses of Beghards and Beguines. Several German provincial councils (Cologne 1306, Mainz 1310, Treves 1310) passed strong measures against them, and the Council of Vienne (1311) struck at them even harder, undertaking to suppress them entirely on the charge of spreading heretical doctrines under a cloak of piety. The execution of these decrees of suppression, which took place under John XXII, caused great confusion in the Church of Germany, the mendicants and sometimes the magistrates attempting to defend the Beguines. Since their total suppression appeared impracticable, John XXII compromised by making a distinction and granting toleration to the orthodox Beguines. Persecution did not, however, cease; and with the powerful support of the Emperor Charles IV, it was taken up once more by Urban V and Gregory XI. Without regard to the varying senses of the names, all Beghards and Beguines alike were condemned as heretics, excommunicated, and outlawed. Their property was to serve for pious purposes, for the support of the inquisitors, or for repairing city walls and roads. Between 1366 and 1378 remorseless persecution raged against them throughout Germany; but even then they found advocates, especially among the secular magistrates, and Gregory XI was finally prevailed upon to repeat the distinction between orthodox and heretical Beguines and Beghards, and to tolerate the former. About 1400 another storm broke out, aroused by the attacks which the clergy of Basel, especially the Dominican Johannes Mülberg made upon the Beguines of that city. By 1410 the Beguines in the dioceses of Constants, Basel, and Strasburg were driven from their convents. At the time of the Council of Constants (1414–18), which showed itself well disposed toward them, they won a victory of some importance when they secured the condemnation as heretical of a treatise directed both against them and against the Brethren of the Common Life by the Dominican Matthæus Grabo. Attacks were still made upon them, none the less, and that a general feeling inspired such attacks is shown by the fact that the name "Beghard" continued through the fifteenth century to be applied to the most various heretics, until it adhered permanently to the Bohemian Brethren or Picards.

7. Surviving Beguinages in the Netherlands.

In what is now Belgium and Holland, the example of Lambert's first followers was widely followed, as has been seen; here the Beguines flourished most, and here they have maintained their existence to the present day. A long series of accounts of mystical visions, hysterico-ecstatic phenomena, and extreme austerities shows that the strong religious impulse of the beginning remained operative until after the Reformation. Heretical mysticism was not without its adherents: in 1310 Margareta Porete, a Beguine of Hainault and the author of a book of apparently pantheistic libertinism, was executed in Paris, and the mystic Hadewich Blommaerdine of Brussels (d.1336) found adherents among the Beguines of Brabant and Zeeland. The bishops and princes, however, protected the communities in times of persecution. In the fourteenth century the contemplative life was largely given up in favor of diligent work for the sick and poor, and later for the education of girls. The French Revolution deprived these institutions of their religious character, which they regained in 1814. At present there are fifteen Beguinages in Belgium, only two of which are of any size, both at Ghent, numbering 869 inmates in 1896. The larger one, transferred in 1874 to St. Amandsberg just outside the city, is a complete model of a small town, with walls, gates, streets, and gardens. The total number of Beguines in Belgium was 1,790 in 1825, 1,480 in 1866, and about 1,230 in 1896. In Holland two houses have survived, one at Amsterdam with thirteen inmates and one at Breda with forty-nix.

(Herman Haupt.)

Bibliography: E. Hallmann, Die Geschichte des Ursprungs der belgischen Beghinen, Berlin, 1843 (perhaps the best book on the subject); J. L. von Mosheim, De Beghardis et Beguinabus, Leipsic, 1790; F. von Biedenfeld, Ursprung . . . sämtlicher Mönchs- und Klosterfrauen-Orden, Weimar, 1837; G. Uhlhorn, Die christliche Liebesthätigkeit im Mittelalter, Stuttgart, 1884; H. Haupt, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sekte von freiem Geiste und des Beghardentums, in Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte, vii (1884), 503 sqq.; H. C. Lea, History of the Inquisition, ii, 350–517, Philadelphia, 1888; P. Frédéricq, Les Documents de Glasgow concernant Lambent de Bègue, in Bulletins de l’académie de Belgique, third series, xxix (1895), 148–165, 990–1006; Heimbucher, Orden und Kongregationen, i, 501, ii, 422–425; A. Neander, Christian Church, iv, passim, v, passim; W. Moeller, Christian Church, ii, 475–478.

BEGIN, bê´´gan´, LOUIS NAZAIRE: Roman Catholic archbishop of Quebec; b. at Lévis, Quebec, Jan. 10, 1840. He was educated at the Seminary of Quebec (1857–62) and Laval University (B.A., 1863). He then began the study of theology at the Grand Seminary of Quebec, but was chosen to fill a chair in the newly established faculty of theology in the University of Laval, and was sent to Rome to study. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1865, and returned to Quebec in 1868, where he taught dogmatic theology and ecclesiastical history at Laval University until 1884, in addition to being prefect of the Little Seminary and having charge of the pupils of the University during the last few years of this period. In 1884 he accompanied the archbishop of Quebec to Rome to defend the rights of Laval University, and on his return was appointed principal of the Normal School, remaining there until 1888. In the latter year he was consecrated bishop of Chicoutimi, and three years later was appointed coadjutor, with the title of archbishop of Cyrene, to Cardinal Taschereau. On the death of the Cardinal in 1898, he became archbishop of Quebec. He has written La Primauté et l’infaillibilité des souverains pontifes (Quebec, 1873); La Sainte Écriture et la règle de la foi (1874; English translation by G. M. Ward, London, 1875); Le Culte catholique (1875); Aide-mémoire, ou chronologie de l’histoire du Canada (1886); and Catéchisme de controverse (1902).

BEHAISM: A development of Babism. The Bab had taught that the greatest and last of all manifestations of divinity was to appear and, through his teachings, wipe out all distinctions of sects. In 1862, twelve years after the Bab's execution, Beha Ullah, a high-born Persian and Babite leader, claimed to be the fulfilment of this teaching. He was imprisoned and exiled and died in Acre, Syria, in 1892. His son, Abdul Beha Abbas, then became the leader and "Center of the Covenant." From his residence in Acre, where he lives under government surveillance, a far-reaching propaganda has gone forth and pilgrims find their way thither even from distant America.

Behaist missionaries are not allowed to accept money, though they may be entertained by converts or others interested. Their message consists in a recital of the history of their religion and the lives of the Bab and Beha Ullah. The Old and New Testament prophecies and the sacred books of ethnic religions are studied in the belief that they establish the Behaist doctrines. Their sacred writings are the works of Beha Ullah, of which the most remarkable is the Book of Ighan. They are mostly short sentences called "communes," consisting of prayers or truths for the guidance of life. The explanation of the Book of Ighan and the "Hidden Words" in Arabic and Persian is a part of the regular preaching. The beauty of service to the poor and suffering is a cardinal precept. Simplicity in food and dress is another, and herein Abdul Beha is an example to his followers. Polygamy is not allowed and all goods are held in common. It is believed that God has manifested himself at different times according to the needs of the race, the chief manifestations having been three in number; viz., Jesus—whose life and teachings are commended,—the Bab, and Beha Ullah, who is the greatest and last; after him there will be no other manifestation, and whosoever does not believe on him after having heard his words will not have another chance to enter the kingdom. Certain feasts are observed commemorating events in the life of Beha Ullah, and one which was instituted by the Bab consists in a simple repast such as fruits, nuts, and cool water, held at the home of a believer every nineteen days; a vacant seat is left at the head of the table for the absent master, and passages from the "Hidden Words" are read as the food is passed.

Behaist congregations are known as "assemblies." The first in America was established in Chicago by a Syrian, Ibrahim Kheirallah, in 1894. There are now thirty-five in America, each independent of the others and owning no authority but that of Abdul Beha. It is claimed that the mission of Behaism is to unify the world and bring all religions into one.Requests for literature may be addressed to Mr. John Mason Ramey, Corcoran Building, Washington, D. C.

Margaret B. Peeke.

Bibliography: Consult the literature given under Babism; E. D. Ross, Babism, in Great Religions of the World, London, 1901; Mirza Husain Ali, Le Livre de la certitude . . . traduit . . . par H. Dreyfus, Paris, 1904; Le Beyan arabe, le livre sacré du Babysme, transl. by A. Nicolas, Paris, 1905; Beha Ullah, Les Préceptes du Béhaisme: les ornements—les paroles du paradis, les splendeurs, les révélations, transl. by H. Dreyfus and U. Chirazi, Paris, 1906.

BEHMEN, JACOB. See Boehme.

BEIRUT. See Phenicia, I, § 6.

BEISSEL, JOHN CONRAD. See Communism, II, 5; Dunkers, I, 2.

BEISSEL, STEPHAN: German Jesuit; b. at Aachen Apr. 21, 1841. He was educated at the universities of Bonn and Münster and at the seminary at Cologne. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1871 and lived two years in France, three in England, fifteen in Holland, and four in Luxemburg, passing the remainder of his time at Aachen and Cologne. He has written Baugeschichte der Kirche des heiligen Viktor zu Xanten (Freiburg, 1883); Geldwert und Arbeitslohn im Mittelalter (1884); Verehrung der Heiligen in Deutschland bis zum Beginn des dreizehnten Jahrhunderts (1885); Bilder der Handschrift des Kaisers Otto im Münster zu Aachen (Aachen, 1886); Geschichte der Ausstattung der Kirche des heiligen Viktor zu Xanten (Freiburg, 1887); Geschichte der trierschen Kirchen und ihrer Reliquien (2 parts, Treves, 1889); Evangelienbuch des heiligen Bernward von Hildesheim (Hildesheim, 1891); Verehrung der Heiligen und ihrer Reliquien in Deutschland während der zweiten Hälfte des Mittelalters (Freiburg, 1893); Vatikanische Miniaturen (1893); Der heilige Bernward von Hildesheim als Künstler (Hildesheim, 1895); Fra Giovanni Angelico da Fiesole, sein Leben und seine Werke (Freiburg, 1895); Die Verehrung Unserer Lieben Frau in Deutschland während des Mittelalters (1895); Bilder aus der Geschichte der altchristlichen Kunst und Liturgie in Italien (1899); Das Leben Jesu Christi, geschildert auf den Flügeln des Hochaltars zu Kalkar (in collaboration with J. Joest, Gladbach, 1900); Das Evangelienbuch Heinrichs III und die Dome zu Goslar in der Bibliothek zu Upsala (Düsseldorf, 1900); Die Aachenfahrt (1902); Betrachtungspunkte für alle Tage des Kirchenjahres (10 vols., 1904–05); and Geschichte der Evangelienbücher in der ersten Hälfte des Mittelalters (Freiburg, 1906); in addition to two volumes of the Zur Kenntnis und Würdigung der mittelalterlichen Altäre Deutschlands (Frankfort, 1895–1905) begun by E. F. A. Münzenberger.

BEKKER, BALTHASAR: Dutch precursor of rationalism; b. at Metslawier (4 m. n.e. of Dokkum) Mar. 30, 1634; d. in Friesland June 11, 1698. He studied at Groningen under J. Alting and in Franeker, where he was rector of the Latin school, was made doctor of theology, and preacher in 1666. Being an enthusiastic follower of the Cartesian philosophy, he published at Wesel in 1668 an Admonitio sincere et candida de philosophia Cartesiana, and gave greater offense by his catechisms in 1668 and 1670. He was accused of Socinianism, although Alting and other theologians pronounced him to be orthodox. After many controversies, he accepted a call as preacher to Weesp, and, in 1679, to Amsterdam. The appearance of a large comet in 1680 induced him to issue a work against, popular superstition, which stirred up more commotion; and, in 1691, in De betoverde Wereld, published at Leeuwarden, he denied the existence of sorcery, magic, possessions by the devil, and of the devil himself. The consistory of Amsterdam instituted a formal process against him, and he was deposed July 30, 1692. He went to Friesland, where he edited the last two books of his work.

H. C. Rogge†.

Bibliography: A complete list of Bekker's writings and of the opposing works called out is given in A. van der Linden, B. Bekker, Bibliographie, The Hague, 1869. For his life consult J. G. Walch, Einleitung in die Religionsstreitigkeiten ausserhalb der lutherischen Kirche, vol. iii, part 3, 499 sqq., Jena, 1734; M. Schwager, Beitrag zur Geschichte der Intoleranz, oder Leben, . . . B. Bekkers, mit einer Vorrode Semlers, Leipsic, 1780; J. M. Schröckh, Kirchengeschichte seit der Reformation, viii, 713–722, ib. 1808; D. Lorgion, B. Bekker in Franeker, The Hague, 1848; idem, B. Bekker in Amsterdam, 2 vols., Groningen, 1850; W. P. C. Knuttel, Balthasar Bekker, The Hague, 1906.

BEKKOS, JOHANNES. See Johannes (John) Bekkos.

BEL: A great Babylonian god, whose name, like the equivalent Hebrew Ba‘al, originally and all through the history of the language was also used in the sense of "lord" or "owner" (see Baal). The usage of the two words as names of deities also ran through parallel courses; for Bel at one time in Babylonia was a local deity like each of the Baals of the Canaanites. He was the patron deity of the city of Nippur in central Babylonia (the modern Nuffar), where his temple, of great antiquity, has been unearthed by the Pennsylvania expedition. The reason why there were not many Bels in Babylonia was that political union on a large scale was very early effected in that country, while it was always impossible among the Canaanites; and Nippur was the center of an extensive community in very remote times.

When, under priestly influence, Babylonian theology was systematized, to this great god Bel was assigned sovereignty of the earth, while Anu ruled in the highest heaven, and Ea over the deep. These formed the chief trinity with primary and universal dominion.

But it is not the Bel of Nippur whose name appears in the Bible and Apocrypha. On account of the rise and supremacy of the city of Babylon under Hammurabi (2250 B.C.), Marduk (Merodach), the god of that city, was invested with the prerogatives and even with the name of Bel, so that in the comparatively modern Old Testament times "Bel" stands for "Merodach" and for him only (so in Isa. xlvi, 1; Jer. li, 44; in Jer. l, 2 both names occur together, meaning practically "Bel-Merodach").

The Babylonian Bel was not only adopted by the Assyrians as one of their chief gods (of course lower than Asshur), but like Ishtar (see Ashtoreth), Sin, and Nebo, he seems to have obtained worshipers in the West-land. Such, at least, is an inference which has been drawn from the proper names Bildad ("Bel loves"), Ashbel ("man of Bel"), and Balaam. Moreover, "Bel" is found as an element in several Phenician and Palmyrene names. See Babylonia, VII.

J. F. McCurdy.

Bibliography: A. H. Sayce, Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, London, 1887; idem, Religion of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, Edinburgh, 1902; M. Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia, Boston 1898; idem, in DB, extra vol., pp. 538–539, 545; Schrader, KAT, pp. 354–358.

BEL AND THE DRAGON. See Apocrypha, A, IV, 3.

BELGIC CONFESSION: A statement of belief written in French in 1561 by Guy de Brès aided by H. Saravia (professor of theology in Leyden, afterward in Cambridge, where he died 1613), H. Modetus (for some time chaplain of William of Orange), and G. Wingen. It was revised by Francis Junius of Bourges (1545–1602), a student of Calvin, pastor of a Walloon congregation at Antwerp, and afterward professor of theology at Leyden, who abridged the sixteenth article and sent a copy to Geneva and other churches for approval. It was probably printed in 1562, or at all events in 1566, and afterward translated into Dutch, German, and Latin. It was presented to Philip II in 1562, with the vain hope of securing toleration. It was formally adopted by synods at Antwerp (1566), Wesel (1568), Emden (1571), Dort (1574), Middleburg (1581), and again by the great Synod of Dort, April 29, 1619. Inasmuch as the Arminians had demanded partial changes, and the text had become corrupt, the Synod of Dort submitted the French, Latin, and Dutch texts to a careful revision. Since that time the Belgic Confession, together with the Heidelberg Catechism, has been the recognized symbol of the Reformed Churches in Holland and Belgium, and of the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America.

The Confession contains thirty-seven articles, and follows the order of the Gallican Confession, but is less polemical, full, and elaborate, especially on the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Church, and the Sacraments. It is, upon the whole, the best symbolical statement of the Calvinistic system of doctrine, with the exception of the Westminster Confession.

The French text must be considered as the original. Of the first edition of 1561 or 1562 no copies are known. The Synod of Antwerp, in September, 1580, ordered a precise parchment copy of the revised text of Junius to be made for its archives, which copy had to be signed by every new minister. This manuscript has always been regarded in the Belgic churches as the authentic document. The first Latin translation was made from Junius's text by Beza, or under his direction, for the Harmonia Confessionum (Geneva, 1581). The same passed into the first edition of the Corpus et Syntagma Confessionum (Geneva, 1612). A second Latin translation was prepared by Festus Hommius for the Synod of Dort, 1618, revised and approved 1619; and from it was made the English translation in use in the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America. It appeared in Greek 1623, 1653, and 1660, at Utrecht.

Bibliography: An excellent description and short history is given by Schaff in Creeds, i, 502–508, with the text in iii, 383–438, where the literature is given.

BELGIUM: A kingdom of northwestern Europe; area, 11,373 square miles; population, 6,800,000. After a revolt from Holland in 1830, Belgium was recognized with its present boundaries by the Powers in 1839, when it was declared to be neutral territory. The population belongs to two nationalities, the northern portion, which is the larger, being Flemish (Low German), and the southern Walloon (French); the vernacular of forty-one per cent is French. The boundary between these two components may be defined as running from Maestricht west to the French department Nord.

Protestants.

The prevailing religion is Roman Catholic, since the Dutch Protestants, who were numerous from 1815 to 1830 have, for the most part, emigrated. (The Protestants constitute less than one-half of one per cent of the entire population.) The Evangelical confessions are represented in many cities, however, by immigrants from Germany in recent decades, as well as by Anglicans and Methodists and converts to Protestantism. The most numerous of these Protestant communions is the Union des Églises Évangéliques Protestantes de la Belgique, which was founded in 1839 and consists of French, Dutch, and German congregations, being represented in Liége, Verviers, Seraing, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, La Bouverie, Dour, Paturages, Jolimont, and Tournai. The permanent bond of the Union is a board of directors, chosen at the annual synod of the congregations interested. Recognition by the State as a legal ecclesiastical body assures state aid to its clergy, the usual salary being 2,220 francs, although it occasionally runs as high as 4,000 and 6,000. An "evangelization committee" of the Union cares for scattered members, and especially for the religious education of children by "evangelists" where Protestant schools do not exist. The Union has between 16,000 and 18,000 members. The Société Évangélique or Église Chrétienne Missionnaire Belge is a free church consisting of converts from Roman Catholicism or their children. It is strongest in the Walloon districts and has numerous places of worship, united into three districts, whose representatives (Conseils Sectionnaires) meet four times annually. Over these three councils, to which each congregation sends a pastor and a layman, is the synod, of which the permanent executive body is the Comité Administrateur. The clergy are trained chiefly in Switzerland and are subordinate to the synod. This Church possesses few schools of its own, but in public schools of one class with twenty Protestant children and in those of several classes with forty children it is entitled to give religious instruction through its own clergy. It has now about 11,000 members. There are English churches at Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, and Ostend, and at Antwerp and Brussels there are Presbyterian congregations; in the first-named city an agent of the American Seamen's Friend Society is also active. The Dutch Reformed and the Swedish Lutherans have small congregations in Brussels and Antwerp respectively.

Roman Catholic Church.

The Roman Catholic Church of Belgium was organized in 1561, when the authority of the foreign bishops was abrogated, and in 1839 the system was readjusted to harmonize with the new boundaries. The most of the clergy receive their training at the episcopal seminaries and a small proportion at the University of Louvain. The State has no control over the appointment of priests, who are subject only to their bishops. The Roman Catholic Church, however, receives from the State an annual stipend of more than 4,800,000 francs, although it does not enjoy any ecclesiastical prerogative. Its influence on the life of the people is exerted chiefly through the monasteries, of which there are more than 220 for monks, with some 5,000 members, and about 1,500 nunneries, with over 27,000 sisters. The members are employed in large numbers in the public schools, the right being given the communities by the law of 1884 to "adopt" private schools, or schools conducted by the religious organizations. A number of intermediate schools are also under ecclesiastical control, as well as the University of Louvain. Academic training is also provided for by the state universities of Ghent and Liége, and by the free university of Brussels.

Diocesan Organization.

In its hierarchic organization, Belgium constitutes the province of Mechlin, and its dioceses are divided according to the political boundaries of the country. The archdiocese of Mechlin on the Dyle was created by a papal enactment of 1559, which first came into full operation in 1561. It contains fifty-five parishes and over 600 chapels of ease in the provinces of Brabant and Antwerp. The suffragan bishoprics are those of Bruges, Ghent, Liége, Namur, and Tournai (Doornik). Bruges, founded in 1559, has forty parishes and 245 chapels of ease; Ghent, established in the same year, also has forty parishes and 310 chapels of ease; Liége, dating from the fourth century, has an equal number of parishes and 570 chapels of ease; Namur, created in 1559 (1561), has the same number of parishes and 700 chapels of ease; and Doornik, the seat of a bishop since 1146, controls thirty-three parishes and 445 chapels of ease, its see comprising the Hennegau, with the exception of five parishes belonging to the French diocese of Cambrai.

The Jews of Belgium, who number about 5,000, are divided into twelve rabbinical districts.

Wilhelm Goetz.

Bibliography: Balan, Histoire contemporaine de la Belgique, Lyons, 1891; Archives Belges, revue critique d’historiographie nationale, Lüttich, 1899 sqq.; La Belgique et le Vatican, Documents et travaux législatifs, 3 vols., Brussels, 1880–81; G. Verspeyen, Le Parti catholique belge, Ghent, 1893; J. Hoyois, La Politique catholique en Belgique depuis 1814, Louvain, 1895; O. Coppin, L’Union sacerdotale, son histoire, son esprit et ses constitutions, Namur, 1896; U. Berlière, Monasticon belge, vol. i, Paris, 1897; La Belge ecclésiastique (an annual).

BELIAL, bî´li-al ("worthlessness"): A word which occurs once in the New Testament (II Cor. vi, 15; better reading Beliar) as the name of Satan, hardly as that of Antichrist; the Peshito has "Satan." In the Old Testament beliyya‘al is not used as a designation of Satan, or of a bad angel; it is an appellation, "worthlessness" or "wickedness" in an ethical sense, and is almost always found in connection with a word denoting the person or thing whose worthlessness or wickedness is spoken of; as, "man of Belial," "son of Belial," "daughter of Belial," "thoughts of Belial," etc. In a few instances beliyya‘al denotes physical destruction; so probably Ps. xviii, 4 (II Sam. xxii, 5), "floods of destruction" (A. V. "ungodly men"; R. V. "ungodliness"). To understand this passage to refer to the prince of hell is against Old Testament usage. Occasionally the adjunct is omitted, as in II Sam. xxiii, 6; Job xxxiv, 18; Nahum i, 15, where the word means the "bad," the "destroyer," the "wicked." Although thus originally not a proper name, but an appellation, in the later Jewish and Christian literature it passed over into a name for Satan, not as the "worthless," but as the "destroyer." It is so used in II Cor. vi, 15, where Paul asks: "What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?" "Belial’ stands for "Satan" also in Jewish epigraphs and apocalyptic writings, such as the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Book of Jubilees, and the Jewish interpolations in the Sibylline Oracles.

Bibliography: J. Hamburger, s.v., in Real-Encyklopädie für Bibel und Talmud, vol. i., Leipsic, 1891; W. Bousset, Der Antichrist, pp. 86–87, 99–101, Göttingen, 1895; T. K. Cheyne, in Expositor, 1895, pp. 435–439; F. Hommel, in Expository Times, viii, 472; EB, i, 525–527.

BELL, WILLIAM M’ILVIN: United Brethren; b. in Whitley Co., Ind., Nov. 12, 1860; entered the ministry 1879; elected bishop 1905.

BELLAMY, JOSEPH: Congregationalist; b. at New Cheshire, Conn., Feb. 20, 1719; d. at Bethlehem, Conn., Mar. 6, 1790. He was graduated at Yale, 1735, and was licensed to preach at the age of eighteen; was ordained pastor of the church at Bethlehem Apr. 2, 1740. During the Great Awakening he preached as an itinerating evangelist; later he established a divinity school in his house, where many prominent New England clergymen were trained. He was a disciple and personal friend of Jonathan Edwards, and the most gifted preacher among his followers, being thought by some to be equal to Whitefield. In his True Religion Delineated (Boston, 1750) he sets forth in spirited style the plan of salvation and of the Christian life after the Edwardean conception, and he explicitly advocates the doctrine of a general atonement. In the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin (1758) he argues that, while sin is a terrible evil, God permits it as a necessary means of the best good, and the universe is "more holy and happy than if sin and misery had never entered." God could have prevented sin without violating free will. On the whole his work was more general than specific, modifying the prevalent conceptions in the direction of greater simplicity and reasonableness. He sometimes approaches quite near subsequent forms of expression. A collected edition of his works appeared at New York (3 vols., 1811), and another (and better) at Boston, with memoir by Tryon Edwards (2 vols., 1850).

BELLARMINE, bel´´lɑr-mîn´.

Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino, the famous Roman Catholic controversialist, was born at Montepulciano (26 m. s.w. of Arezzo), in Tuscany, Oct. 4, 1542; d. in Rome Sept. 17, 1621. He was a nephew of Pope Marcellus II, and came of a noble though impoverished family. His abilities showed themselves early; as a boy he knew Vergil by heart, and composed a number of poems in Italian and Latin; one of his hymns, on Mary Magdalene, is included in the Roman breviary. His father destined him for a political career, hoping that he might restore the fallen glories of the house; but his mother wished him to enter the Jesuit order, and her influence prevailed. He entered the Roman novitiate in 1560, remained in Rome three years, and then went to a Jesuit house at Mondovi in Piedmont. Here he learned Greek, and taught it as fast as he learned it. His systematic study of theology began at Padua in 1567 and 1568, where his teachers were Thomists, the Jesuits not yet having had time to develop a theology of their own.

1. In Louvain.

After a visit to Venice, where he increased his renown as a public speaker, Bellarmine was sent by the general, Francis Borgia, in 1569, to Louvain, then the most famous Roman Catholic university. He was ordained priest at Ghent on Palm Sunday, 1570, by the elder Jansenius. A strict Augustinian theology prevailed among the teachers at Louvain, represented by Bajus, the precursor of Jansenism (see Bajus, Michel). Bellarmine had not enough deep knowledge of his own nature or Christian experience to be able to appreciate the Augustinian doctrines of the corruption of man and the necessity of divine grace to any good movement of the will. He contended accordingly against the propositions of Bajus, though his own views and expressions in the great controversy on grace were always a little uncertain. He was the first Jesuit to teach at the university, where the subject of his course was the Summa of St. Thomas; he also made extensive studies in the Fathers and medieval theologians, which gave him the material for his book De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis (Rome, 1613), which was later revised and enlarged by Sirmond, Labbeus, and Oudin. In the Netherlands he gained a knowledge of the great controversy with the Protestants which he could hardly have got in Italy, though he seems never to have come into personal contact with the evangelical leaders. Finally he learned Hebrew, and wrote his often reprinted grammar. His genius for teaching, clearness of thought, and adroitness in controversy were indisputable.

2. In Rome. The "Disputationes."

Bellarmine's residence in Louvain lasted seven years. His health was undermined by study and asceticism, and in 1576 he made a journey to Italy to restore it. Here he was detained by the commission given him by Gregory XIII to lecture on polemical theology in the new Roman College. He devoted eleven years to this work, out of whose activities grew his celebrated Disputationes de controversiis christianæ fidei, first published at Ingolstadt, 4 vols., 1581–93. It occupies in the field of dogmatics the same place as the Annales of Baronius in the field of history. Both were the fruits of the great revival in religion and learning which the Roman Catholic Church had witnessed since 1540. Both bear the stamp of their period; the effort for literary elegance, which was considered the principal thing at the beginning of the sixteenth century, had given place to a desire to pile up as much material as possible, to embrace the whole field of human knowledge, and incorporate it into theology. Bellarmine's exposition of the views and arguments of the Protestants is surprisingly full and accurate, so much so that the circulation of the book in Italy was for a time not encouraged. He fails, like most of his contemporaries, in understanding the principle of historical development, and his belief in authority, pressed to an extreme, injured his sense of truth and allowed him to handle both the Bible and history in an arbitrary manner. The first volume treats of the Word of God, of Christ, and of the pope; the second of the authority of councils, and of the Church, whether militant, expectant, or triumphant; the third of the sacraments; and the fourth of grace, free will, justification, and good works. The most important part of the work is contained in the five books on the Roman pontiff. In these, after a speculative introduction on forms of government in general, holding monarchy to be relatively the best, he says that a monarchical government is necessary for the Church, to preserve unity and order in it. Such power he considers to have been established by the commission of Christ to Peter. He then proceeds to demonstrate that this power has been transmitted to the successors of Peter, admitting that a heretical pope may be freely judged and deposed by the Church since by the very fact of his heresy he would cease to be pope, or even a member of the Church; this is almost like an echo of the great councils of the fifteenth century. The third section discusses Antichrist; Bellarmine gives in full the theory set forth by the Greek and Latin Fathers, of a personal Antichrist to come just before the end of the world and to be accepted by the Jews and enthroned in the temple at Jerusalem—thus endeavoring to dispose of the Protestant exposition which saw Antichrist in the pope. The fourth section sets forth the pope as the supreme judge in matters of faith and morale, though making the concessions (confirmed indeed by the Vatican Council) that the pope may err in questions of fact which may be known by ordinary human knowledge, and also when he speaks as a mere unofficial theologian, doctor privatus. His assertions are much more unbounded in the last part, which treats of the pope's power in secular matters. While he says that the pope has no direct jurisdiction in such things, he yet stoutly contends for the power of deposing kings, absolving subjects from their allegiance, and altering civil laws, when these actions are necessary for the good of the souls committed to the charge of the chief pastor.

3. New Duties after 1589. Controversial Writings.

Until 1589 Bellarmine was occupied altogether as professor of theology, but that date marked the beginning of a new epoch in his life and of new dignities. After the murder of Henry III of France Sixtus V sent Gaetano as legate to Paris to negotiate with the League, and chose Bellarmine to accompany him as theologian; he was in the city during its siege by Henry of Navarre. The next pope, Clement VIII (1591–1605), set great store by him. He wrote the preface to the new edition of the Vulgate, and was made rector of the Roman College in 1592, examiner of bishops in 1598, cardinal in 1599, and in 1602 archbishop of Capua. He had written strongly against pluralism and non-residence, and he set a good example himself by leaving within four days for his diocese, where he devoted himself zealously to his episcopal duties, and firmly executed the reforming decrees of the Council of Trent. Under Paul V (1605–21) arose the great conflict, between Venice and the papacy, in which Fra Paolo Sarpi was the spokesman of the Republic, protesting against the papal interdict, reasserting the principles of Constance and Basel, and denying the pope's authority in matters secular. Bellarmine wrote three rejoinders to the Venetian theologians, and at the same time possibly saved Sarpi's life by giving him warning of an impending murderous attack. He soon had occasion to cross swords with a more prominent antagonist, James I of England, who prided himself on his theological attainments. Bellarmine had written a letter to the English archpriest Blackwell, reproaching him for having taken the oath of allegiance in apparent disregard of his duty to the pope. James attacked him in 1608 in a Latin treatise, which the scholarly cardinal answered at once, making merry with delicate humor over the defects of the royal Latinity. James replied with a second attack in more careful style, dedicated to the Emperor Rudolph II and all the monarchs of Christendom, in which he posed as the defender of primitive and truly Catholic Christianity. Bellarmine's answer to this covers more or less the whole controversy. In reply to a posthumous treatise of William Barclay, the celebrated Scottish jurist, he wrote another Tractatus de potestate summi pontificis in rebus temporalibus, which reiterated his strong assertions on the subject, and was therefore prohibited in France, where it agreed with the sentiments of neither the king nor the bishops. He was among the theologians consulted on the teaching of Galileo when it first made a stir at Rome. In his old age he was allowed to return to his old home, Montepulciano, as its bishop for four years, after which he retired to the Jesuit college of St. Andrew in Rome. He received some votes in the conclaves which elected Leo XI, Paul V, and Gregory XV, but only in the second case had he any prospect of election. Since his death the members of his order have more than once attempted to procure his canonization, but without success. The best of the older editions of his works is that in seven vols., Cologne, 1617; recent ones are those of Paris, 1870–74, and Naples, 1872.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: A list of the works of Bellarmine is given in H. Hurter, Nomanclator literarius, i, 273 sqq., Innsbruck, 1892. His autobiography, written in 1613, was issued in Lat. at Rome, 1675, at Louvain, 1753, and in Lat. and Germ., ed. J. J. I. von Döllinger and F. H. Reusch, Bonn, 1887; it was used in MS. by J. Fuligatti, Vita del Cardinale R. Bellarmino, Rome, 1624. The lives by D. Bartoli, Rome, 1677, N. Frizon, Nantes, 1708, and F. Hense, Paderborn, 1868, are mere eulogies and add nothing of value; indeed it is said that the autobiography and the works founded upon it have done much to prevent Bellarmine's canonization. Consult Niceron, Mémoires, xxxi, 1 sqq.; J. B. Couderc, Le Vénérable Cardinal Bellarmin, 2 vols., Paris, 1893.

BELLOWS, HENRY WHITNEY: American Unitarian; b. in Boston June 11, 1814; d. in New York Jan. 30, 1882. He was graduated at Harvard 1832, and at the Cambridge Divinity School 1837; was ordained pastor of the First Congregational Society (Unitarian), Chambers Street, New York, Jan. 2, 1838, and remained there till death; during his pastorate the church was twice moved, to Broadway between Spring and Prince Streets and the name changed to the Church of the Divine Unity, and again to 4th Avenue and 20th Street, where it took the name of All Souls' Church. Dr. Bellows was the organizer, president, and chief administrator of the United States Sanitary Commission (1862–78), and during the Civil War he superintended with rare efficiency the distribution of supplies valued at $15,000,000 and $5,000,000 in money; at a later period he was president of the first civil service reform association organized in the country. He was president of the National Unitarian Conference 1865–79. He wrote much for the periodicals of his denomination and was the chief originator of The Christian Inquirer (New York, 1846) and for five years its principal contributor. He also published a number of books, of merely personal and transient interest.

BELLS.

Early Use.

The use of bells as adjuncts to Christian worship was not without precedent in pre-Christian times. Among the Jews the vestment of the high priest was adorned with little bells (Ex. xxviii, 33); and among the pagans the priests of Proserpine announced the beginning of the sacrifice by ringing bells. There is no evidence of early Christian use of them to summon people to prayer; this seems to have been done by word of mouth, even as late as Tertullian and Jerome. In the Egyptian monasteries the Old Testament use of trumpets still survived, and the sound made by knocking pieces of wood together served the same purpose; this custom is still sometimes used in the Roman Catholic Church on the last three days of Holy Week, when the ringing of bells is forbidden [and survives in some places in the East]. The first positive evidence of the use of bells in connection with Christian worship is found in Gregory of Tours (d. 595), who speaks of them as being rung at the beginning of the liturgy and the canonical hours. From the seventh century on, bells are often mentioned in the inventories of Western churches, and by 800 they were so common as to be found even in village churches. A capitulary of Charlemagne (801) prescribes that priests shall ring their bells at the accustomed hours of the day and night. In the ninth century some Eastern instances occur; thus Orso I, Doge of Venice, presented twelve bells to the Byzantine emperor, who placed them in a tower near St. Sophia. But outside of Russia they never attained the same importance as in the West. The Mohammedans usually removed them in the countries they conquered; and Zwingli attempted to abolish their use in Switzerland, though most of the Reformers only protested against superstition in the use of them, especially their consecration.

Material and Form.

Walafrid Strabo distinguishes two classes of bells in his time, vasa productilia and fusilia, wrought and cast. Of the now rare examples of the former class the best known is the "Saufang" at Cologne, so called because the legend ran that it had been dug up by pigs about 613; it is made of three plates of iron fastened together with copper nails. Similar and perhaps older examples are in the Edinburgh Museum. For the casting of bells a mixture of copper and tin was employed in the Middle Ages; afterward lead, zinc, iron, and antimony were used with copper. At present the best bell-metal is supposed to be a mixture of 77 to 80 per cent of good copper with 20 to 23 per cent of pure tin. The earliest cast bells resemble cow-bells in form, though there are some shaped more like a beehive or a pear. Their dimensions are small.

Inscriptions.

As far as can be judged from the extant examples, the custom of putting inscriptions on bells does not go further back than the twelfth century, and is by no means general even then. On cast bells the inscriptions are rarely incised; where this occurs, it is a sign of antiquity. Later they are more commonly raised, and in either Roman or Gothic capitals down to the end of the fourteenth century; then small letters were used until about 1550, and since then more modern types of letters have been usual, except in recent deliberate imitations of the old style. Until well into the fourteenth century Latin was the regular language; then the vernacular came into use. The earliest inscriptions were short; from the end of the sixteenth century much longer ones became usual, frequently almost filling the surface of the bell. They are mostly pious dedications or prayers, or declarations of the purpose of the bell, such as Funera plango, fulgura frango, sabbata pango; excito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco cruentos. Besides inscriptions, the sides of bells were adorned with pictures, coats of arms, seals, and various symbols, among the oldest being, besides the cross, the dove with the olive-branch, and the Agnus Dei.

Benediction.

As early as the Frankish sacramentaries and the Pontifical of Egbert special formulas for the benediction of bells are mentioned. This practise was connected in those days with superstitious notions, so that Charlemagne was obliged to regulate it in 789. But the formulas of benediction themselves attributed a quasimagical effect to the bells thus consecrated. According to present Roman Catholic usage, the blessing of bells is an episcopal prerogative, though priests may exercise it in case of necessity with the pope's permission. The ceremonies somewhat resemble those of baptism, which has given rise to the practise of naming bells, and in the Middle Ages of appointing sponsors for them, from whom rich christening gifts were expected. The Schmalkald Articles declared bitterly against these practises as "popish jugglery" and "a mockery of holy baptism."

Present Use.

The main use of bells has always been to announce the time of public worship. It is also a common Roman Catholic practise to ring the church bell at the consecration in the mass, as in some Protestant localities at the Lord's Prayer after the sermon, that those who are absent may unite themselves in spirit with the congregation. During the mass, moreover, a small bell (called the "Sanctus" or "sacring" bell) is rung at the specially solemn parts—the Sanctus, the beginning of the canon, the consecration, and the Domine, non sum dignus. Bells have been rung also at certain regular times to call to mind some mystery, as the passion and death or the incarnation of Christ (see Angelus), or to bid to prayer for sinners, for the faithful departed, or for peace. The ringing of joyous peals at marriages, and the announcement of a death by solemn tolling (originally intended to move the hearers to prayer for the soul, either before or after death) are ancient practises; the latter existed, at least in the monasteries, in the time of Bede. In some parts of England a special bell was tolled with a similar intention before the execution of a criminal.

(Nikolaus Müller.)

Bibliography: Literature on the subject is given in H. T. Ellacombe, Practical Remarks on Belfries and Ringers, with an Appendix on Chiming, London, 1859–60; H. Otte, Glockenkunde, pp. 1–6, Leipsic, 1884; and F. W. Schubart, Die Glocken im Herzogthum Anhalt, pp. xiv–xvii, Dessau, 1896. H. T. Ellacombe has a series of works treating of English bells, among which are: Sundry Words About Bells, Exeter, 1864; Church Bells of Devon, ib. 1872; Church Bells of Somerset, 1875; Church Bells of Gloucestershire, 1881. Consult also: Joseph Anderson, Scotland in Early Times, 1st series, pp. 167–215, Edinburgh, 1881; F. W. Warren, Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church, p. 92, Oxford, 1881; Margaret Stokes, Early Christian Art in Ireland, pp. 50 sqq., London, 1887; J. T. Fowler; Adamnani Vita S. Columbæ, pp xliii–xliv, Oxford, 1894; K. H. Bergner, Zur Glockenkunde Thüringens, Jena, 1896; Encyclopædia Britannica, s.v., contains interesting material not easily found elsewhere; DCA, i, 184–186.

BELSHAM, THOMAS: English Unitarian; b. at Bedford Apr. 26, 1750; d. at Hampstead Nov. 11, 1829. He finished his studies at the Dissenting Academy of Daventry and in 1770 became teacher there; in 1778 he became minister of an independent chapel at Worcester, but returned to Daventry as teacher and preacher in 1781. Having adopted Unitarian views he resigned in 1789, and was professor of divinity at the college of Hackney until it ceased to exist in 1796. In 1794 he succeeded Dr. Priestley as minister of the Gravel Pit Unitarian Chapel at Hackney, and in 1805 became minister of the Essex Street Chapel, London. He published much, sermons, controversial writings, and general theological works, including Elements of the Philosophy of the Mind and of Moral Philosophy (London, 1801); Letters to the Bishop of London in Vindication of Unitarians (1815); The Epistles of St. Paul Translated, with an Exposition and Notes (2 vols., 1822); he was principal editor of The New Testament in an Improved Version upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome's New Translation; with a critical text and notes critical and explanatory (1808). American Unitarianism (4th ed., Boston, 1815) is extracted from his Memoirs of the Revd. T. Lindsey (London, 1812).

Bibliography: J. Williams, Memoirs of Thomas Belsham, London, 1833; DNB, iv, 202–203.

BELSHAZZAR. See Babylonia, VI, 7, § 3; Persia.

BELSHEIM, JOHANNES: Norwegian Protestant; b. at Valders (about 100 m. n.w. of Christiania) Jan. 21, 1829. He received only an elementary education in his early years, and from 1851 was a teacher in village schools until 1858, when he was enabled to enter the University of Christiania, and graduated three years later. He was tutor at a teachers' seminary in 1863–64, and was then appointed pastor of a small parish in Finmarken near the Russian frontier. Six years later he was called to a parish in Bjelland, in the extreme south of Norway, but resigned in 1875 and settled at Christiania, where he was enabled to continue his studies by his pension and a small additional stipend, while a government subvention later rendered it possible for him to visit foreign libraries. Died at Christiania July 15, 1909. His writings are Om Bibelen, dens Opbevaring, Over sættelse, og Udbredelse (3d ed., Christiania, 1884); Til Forsvar for nogle omtvistede Steder i det Nye Testamente (1876); Veiledning i Bibelens Historie, med udförligere Oplysninger om det Nye Testamentes Böger (Christiania, 1880); Den evangeliske Histories Troværdighed og de Nytestamentlige Skrifters Oprindelse (1891); De Gammeltestamentlige Skrifters Troværdighed og Oprindelse (1892); Om Mosebögerne og nogle andre Gammeltestamentlige Skrifter: Et Indlæg imod den moderne Kritik (1896). He likewise edited Codex aureus, sive quatuor Evangelia ex codice purpureo aureoque in Bibliotheca Regia Halmensi asservata (Christiania, 1879); Die Apostelgeschichte und die Offenbarung Johannes aus dem Gigas Librorum auf der königlichen Bibliothek zu Stockholm (1879); Das Evangelium des Matthæus aus dem lateinischen Cod. ff 1 Corbiensis auf der kaiserlichen Bibliothek zu St. Petersburg, nebst dem Briefe Jacobi (1881); Der Brief des Jacobus in alter lateinischer Uebersetzung nach dem Cod. ff 1 Corbiensis in St. Petersburg (1884); Palimpsestus Vindobonensis: Antiquissima Veteris Testamenti fragmenta (1885); Epistulæ Paulinæ e Cod. Sangermaniense Petropolitano (1885); Evangelium des Marcus nach dem griechischen Codex Theodoræ purpureus Petropolitanus (1885); Codex Vindobonensis purpureus antiquiasimus: Evangeliorum Lucæ et Marci translationis Latinæ fragmenta (Leipsic, 1885); Fragmenta Vindobonensia: Bruchstücke der Apostelgeschichte, des Briefes Jacobi und ersten Briefes Petri nach einem Palimpsest auf der kaiserlichen Hofbibliothek zu Wien (Christiania, 1886); Codex ff 2 Corbiensis, sive quatuor Evangelia . . . Latina translatio a codice in Bibliotheca Nationali Parisiensi asservata (1887); Appendix epistularum Paulinarum e codice Germanensi (1887); Codex Colbertinus Parisiensis: Quatuor Evangelia . . . Latina translatio post editionem Petri Sabatarii cum isto codice collata (1888); Evangelium secundum Matthæum . . . Latina translatio a codice olim Claramontano, nunc Vaticano (1892); Libri Tobit, Judit, Ester . . . Latina translatione codice olim Freisingensi, nunc Monachensi (Trondhjem, 1893); Acta Apostolorum . . . Latina translatio e codice Latino-Græco Laudiano Oxoniensi (Christiania, 1893); Codex Vercellensis: Quatuor Evangelia ex reliquiis codicis Vercellensis . . . et ex editione Juliana principi (1894); Evangelium Palatinum: Reliquiæ quatuor Evangeliorum cum Latina translatione e codice purpureo Vindobonensi et ex editione Tischendorfiana (1896); Fragmenta Novi Testamenti in translatione Latina ex libro qui vocatur Speculum (1899); and Codex Veronensis: Quatuor Evangelia e codice in bibliotheca episcopali Veronensi asservato et ex editions Blanchini (Prague, 1904). Of these the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and fourteenth are editiones principes. Of his numerous translations, special mention may be made of versions of the catechism of Cyril (Christiania, 1882) and the De Imitatione Christi of Thomas à Kempis (1890).

BEMA: In classical literature a semicircular platform at the end of a basilica, which supported the official seat of the judge. When the basilican style was adapted to Christian use (see Architecture, Ecclesiastical), the apse, or similar semicircular termination of the building, was reserved for the seats of the bishop and clergy, and the same name was sometimes applied to it. In a more restricted sense it signifies any elevated place in the church, such as that from which the gospel was read, and is thus synonymous with ambo.

BEMBO, PIETRO: Cardinal and humanist; b. in Venice May 20, 1470; d. in Rome Jan. 18, 1547. He was the son of a senator, and studied at Padua and Ferrara, in the latter place attracting the attention of Alfonso d’Este and his wife, Lucrezia Borgia. He spent six years at the court of Urbino, where he became acquainted with Raffael. He then went to Rome, where Leo X recognized his ability as a Latinist by making him his secretary. As he held this office to the death of the pope (1521), the sixteen books of Latin letters of Leo X are practically, as to their form, of Bembo's composition. Returning to Padua, Bembo made his house the meeting-place of humanist circles. In 1530 he was commissioned by the Venetian senate to complete the history of the republic begun by Marcantonio Sabellico. His part of the work, covering the years 1487–1513, has been justly criticized as to historic accuracy by Justus Lipsius (Politica, i, Leyden, 1589, 9, note). On the other hand, not only in the Rime, but also in his letters, there is a regrettable tendency to a loose frivolity strongly bordering on pagan morals. This tendency, shown also in his manner of life—he was the father of several illegitimate children—was no obstacle to his being made a cardinal (1539). From that time on (he was now sixty-nine), he is said to have changed his life. He held two bishoprics, Gubbio and Bergamo, but he lived in Rome till his death. His Opera were published in three vols. at Basel, 1567; Strasburg, 1611–52; four vols., Venice, 1729. His Rime (Venice, 1530) have often been re-printed; as has his Gli Asolani (1505), a dialogue on the nature of love.

K. Benrath.

Bibliography: The first Vita was issued by Giovanni della Casa at Florence, 1567, a second is found in the Venice edition of his works, ut sup., while a third was published by L. Beccadelli in Monumenti di varia letteratura, vol. i, Bologna, 1799, and also by W. P. Greswell, Memoirs of . . . Petrus Bembus, Manchester, 1801. Consult also V. Cian, Un Decennio della vita di M. P. Bembo, 1521–31, Turin, 1885; J. P. Niceron, Mémoires, xi, 358, xx, 32, 43 vols., Paris, 1729–45; W. W. Westcott, Tabula Bembina; The Isiac Tablet of Cardinal Bembo, its History and Significance, Bath, 1887.

BENAIAH ("whom Yahweh built"): The name of several Israelites. The most important of them is the valorous son of Jehoiada of Kabzeel, a city in the south of Judah (Josh. xv, 21). He is honorably mentioned (II Sam. xxiii, 20 ff.; cf. I Chron. xi, 22 ff.) among the mighty men of David, to whom he always faithfully adhered. Three heroic exploits of his are mentioned in justification of his rank: he slew the two sons of Ariel (according to the LXX), either a distinguished Moabite (so Josephus, Ant., VII, xii, 4) or the king of Moab, in the war with that people (II Sam. viii, 2); he killed a lion which had fallen into a pit in time of snow; and, finally, he overcame an Egyptian giant, who carried a spear so large that it seemed like a tree thrown across a ravine (according to an addition of the LXX), or like a weaver's beam (according to I Chron. xi, 23); Benaiah disarmed his opponent and killed him with his own weapon. Being prominent among David's "thirty heroes," Benaiah was set over the Cherethites and Pelethites, David's bodyguard (II Sam. viii, 18; xx, 23). In the beginning of Solomon's reign, to whom he became devoted at once (I Kings i, 8), Benaiah still held this office and executed the judgment of the king upon Adonijah and Joab (I Kings ii, 25, 30, 34), and became Joab's successor as commander-in-chief (I Kings ii, 35). When, under David, the army was organized, besides his regular office he had command over one of the twelve divisions of 24,000 men (I Chron. xxvii, 5, 6, where his father, Jehoiada, strange to say, is called "the priest," which is no doubt a mistaken gloss founded upon I Chron. xii, 27).

C. von Orelli.

BENDER, WILHELM (FRIEDRICH): German Protestant; b. at Münzenberg (10 m. s.e. of Giessen), Hesse, Jan. 15, 1845; d. at Bonn Apr. 8, 1901. He studied at Göttingen and Giessen, 1863–66, and at the theological seminary at Friedberg, 1866–67; became teacher of religion and assistant preacher at Worms, 1868; ordinary professor of theology at Bonn, 1876; was transferred to the philosophical faculty, 1888. He belonged to the extreme Ritschlian school, and published Der Wunderbegriff des Neuen Testaments (Frankfort, 1871); Schleiermachers Theologie mit ihren philosophischen Grundlagen (2 vols., Nördlingen, 1876–78); Friedrich Schleiermacher und die Frage nach dem Wesen der Religion (Bonn, 1877); Johann Konrad Dippel. Der Freigeist aus dem Pietismus (1882); Reformation und Kirchenthum, eine akademische Festrede zur Feier des vierhundertjährigen Geburtstags Martin Luthers (1883), which caused a great stir and many protests against Bender; Das Wesen der Religion und die Grundgesetze der Kirchenbildung (1886); Der Kampf um die Seligkeit (1888); Mythologie und Metaphysik, Grundlinien einer Geschichte der Weltanschauungen (Stuttgart, 1899).

BENEDICITE: The name given, from its first word in the Latin, to the canticle which stands in the Anglican Prayer-book as an alternative to the Te Deum, commonly used in Advent and Lent, and in the Roman breviary as a part of the priest's thanksgiving after celebrating mass. It is taken from the apocryphal fragment of the Song of the Three Holy Children (verses 35–65), which supplements the narrative of Dan. iii, and seems to have been used in public worship in the postexilic Jewish Church, and in the Christian at least from the fourth century.

BENEDICT: The name of fourteen popes and one antipope.

Benedict I: Pope 574–578. He was a Roman by birth, the son of Boniface, and succeeded John III, who died July 13, 573, but was unable to be consecrated before June 3, 574, because the Lombards had cut off communication with Constantinople and the imperial confirmation could not be obtained. Owing to the troubles of the barbarian invasion and a great famine, which occupied his mind, the Liber pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, i, Paris, 1886, 308) finds scarcely anything to say of his acts. He died July 30 or 31, 578, during the siege of Rome by the first Lombard Duke of Spoleto.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Paulus Disconus, Historia Langobardorum, ii, 10, iii, 11 in MGH Script, rer. Langob., pp. 12–187, ed. Waitz, Hanover, 1878; Jaffé, Regesta, i, 137; Bower, Popes, i, 380–382; F. Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, ii, 19–20, Stuttgart, 1876, Eng. transl., London, 1895; L. M. Hartmann, Geschichte Italiens, ii, 48, 165, Gotha, 1903.

Benedict II: Pope 683–685. He was elected after the death of Leo II, which took place on July 3, 683, though the imperial confirmation was delayed for almost a year. The Liber pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, i, Paris, 1886, 363) asserts that the emperor Constantine Pogonatus conceded the right to proceed at once to consecration for the future; but this is very doubtful, as it would amount to a total renunciation of the right of confirmation, and it is certain that several successors of Benedict waited to obtain it either from the emperor himself or his representative, the Exarch of Ravenna. During the interval intervening before his consecration, Benedict signed himself with the designation presbyter et in Dei nomine electus sancté sedis apostolicé. Like his predecessor, he had at heart the complete recognition by the Western Church of the sixth ecumenical council (Third Constantinople, 680). With this end in view, Leo II had sent the notary Peter to Spain, and immediately after his election Benedict wrote to Peter to carry out his commission. His wish was gratified by the condemnation of monothelitism in the fourteenth Council of Toledo (Nov., 684). Even before his consecration, which finally took place June 26, 684, he espoused the cause of Wilfrid of York and wrote in recognition of his innocence and his rights. Benedict died May 8, 685.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: The Vita is in ASB, 7th May, ii, 197–198. Consult Vita Wilfridi, chap. xlii sqq., in T. Gale, Historiæ Anglicanæ scriptores quinque, i, 74 sqq., Oxford, 1691; Mann, Popes, vol. i, part 2, pp. 54–63, Lond., 1902; Jaffé, Regesta, i, 241; J. Langen, Geschichte der römischen Kirche von Leo I bis Nikolaus I, p 579, Bonn, 1885; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iii, 322, Eng. transl., v, 215; Bower, Popes, i, 487–489; L. M. Hartmann, Geschichte Italiens, ii, 262–263, Gotha, 1903.

Benedict III: Pope 855–858. He was chosen immediately after the death of Leo IV by the clergy and people of Rome, but owing to the setting up of an antipope, Anastasius, by the emperor Lothair and his son Louis II, was not consecrated for more than two months (Sept. 29). Soon afterward the Saxon king, Ethelwulf, and his eon Alfred, visited Rome and made liberal gifts to the Church. In his relations with secular powers and important prelates, Benedict displayed the same unbending principle which was carried out by his famous successor Nicholas I, already a person of much influence. He confirmed the powerful Hincmar, archbishop of Reims, in his primacy, only on condition that the rights of the apostolic see should be safeguarded. In England he protested against the deposition of bishops by tyrannous lay nobles. The struggle with the Eastern Church in which Nicholas was involved had its origin in Benedict's pontificate, arising out of the case of the archbishop of Syracuse, who was deposed by the patriarch of Constantinople, Ignatius, and appealed to Leo IV and after his death to Benedict. Before Ignatius was expelled by a faction and replaced by the famous Photius, Benedict died (Apr. 7, 858).

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii, 140, Paris, 1892; Epistolé Nicolai I, in Mansi, Concilia, vol. xv; Jaffè, Regesta, i, 339–340; J. Hergenröther, Photius, i, 358 sqq., Regensburg, 1867; R. Baxmann, Die Politik der Päpste von Gregor I bis auf Gregor VII, i, 355 sqq., Elberfeld, 1868; J. Langen, Geschichte der römischen Kirche von Leo I bis Nikolaus I, p. 884, Bonn, 1885; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 201; Bower, Popes, ii, 227–229.

Benedict IV: Pope 900–903. Owing to the scantiness of the sources for the history of the papacy at this period, the chronology is very uncertain; the exact date of Benedict's elevation can not be determined, though it is probably May, not later than June, 900. Like his predecessor, John IX, he recognized Formosus, by whom he was himself ordained priest, as a lawful pope at a Roman synod in August. When Louis of Burgundy (Louis III) made his victorious descent into Italy and wrested it from Berengar, Benedict crowned him as emperor in Feb., 901. He died in July or Aug., 903.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii, 233, Paris, 1892; Jaffé, Regesta, i, 443; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 570–571; Bower, Popes, ii, 304–305.

Benedict V (called Grammaticus): Pope 964. At the end of 963, the emperor Otto I deposed the dissolute John XII in a synod at Rome and caused a prominent Roman layman to be put in his place as Leo VIII, taking an oath of the people that they would thenceforth choose no pope without his consent and that of his son. He had scarcely left the city when John XII returned and drove out and anathematized Leo. The emperor came back to chastise this rebellion, but before he arrived John XII died (May 14, 964). A deputation met Otto and begged him not to replace Leo, but to permit a new election. In spite of his refusal, the Romans chose the cardinal deacon Benedict, a man of blameless life and great learning who had been one of the opponents of John's unworthy rule. He had pledged fidelity both to Otto and to Leo, but the fear of imperial domination of the Church had brought him to support John on the latter's return. The people were firm in their intention to defend Benedict against the emperor; but the pressure of famine forced them to give him up (June 23, 964). He was brought to trial before a synod. After asking the pardon of Otto and of Leo, and surrendering the insignia of his office to the latter, he was deprived of his episcopal and priestly functions, though allowed to retain those of deacon. To avoid any possibility of his changing his mind, he was sent to Germany, where he remained practically a prisoner, in the charge of the archbishop of Hamburg, until his death, which occurred not earlier than July 4, 966.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii, 151, Paris, 1892; Jaffé, Regesta, i, 469; J. M. Watterich, Romanorum pontificum . . . vitæ, i, 45, Leipsic, 1862; A. von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, ii, 289, Berlin, 1868; W. von Giesebrecht Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, i, 468, Brunswick, 1873; F. Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, iii, 364, Stuttgart, 1876; Bower, Popes, ii, 320–321; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 619, 626; Hauck, KD, iii, 235–238.

Benedict VI: Pope 972–974. He was elected immediately after the death of John XIII (Sept. 6, 972), but was not consecrated until the 19th of the following January, apparently waiting for the emperor Otto's confirmation. After the death of Otto I, the affairs of the empire fell into disorder. Crescentius, the son of Theodore, conspired with the deacon Boniface to overthrow Benedict, who was imprisoned and, after Boniface had assumed the papal authority, was strangled in July, 974.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii. 255, Paris, 1892; Jaffé, Regesta, i, 477; J. M. Watterich, Pontificum Romanorum . . . vitæ, i, 65–68, Leipsic, 1862; Neander, Christian Church, iii, 330–331 (reference to a letter of Benedict, given Mansi, Concilia, xix, 53); Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 632; Bower, Popes, ii, 324.

Benedict VII: Pope 974–983. He was a Roman by birth, said to have been a kinsman of the powerful Roman prince and senator Alberic. He was bishop of Sutri when, on the flight of Boniface VII, he was called to the papal throne, and confirmed by the emperor Otto II. As far as we know, his first act was to condemn Boniface in a synod at Rome. He displayed a great desire to maintain friendly relations with the German prelates; Archbishop Willigis of Mainz was appointed papal legate for Germany and Gaul, with the right of crowning the German kings. Benedict showed his subserviency to the emperor by agreeing to the suppression of the bishopric of Merseburg in a synod at Rome (Sept. 10, 981), without regard to the arguments brought against such a proceeding. He was a devoted friend of monasticism, as is shown not only by the numerous privileges bestowed upon monasteries, but by the restoration of that of Saints Boniface and Alexius on the Aventine and the building of the monastic church of Subiaco. He supported the reforming movement, condemning simony at a synod in March, 981. That he upheld the claim of the papacy to universal jurisdiction may be inferred from the fact that he sought to establish relations with places as distant as Carthage and Damascus, giving an archbishop once more to the North African Church, and appointing the metropolitan of Damascus, who had been driven out by the Arabs, abbot of St. Boniface. He died in Oct., 983.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii, 258, Paris, 1892: Jaffé, Regesta, i, 479; J. M. Watterich, Romanorum pontificum . . . vitæ, i, 66, 686, Leipsic, 1862; A. von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, ii, 294, Berlin, 1868; F. Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, iii, 372, Stuttgart, 1876; Bower, Popes, ii, 325; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 633; Hauck, KD, iii, passim.

Benedict VIII (Theophylact): Pope 1012–24. He was the son of Count Gregory of Tusculum, chosen by his brothers' influence, after they had defeated, by force of arms, the Crescentian party, who set up another Gregory as antipope (see Gregory VI, antipope). Benedict was consecrated Apr. 20, 1012, and Gregory fled to the court of Henry II, who, however, recognized Benedict, and was rewarded by a promise of coronation in St. Peter's. He descended into Italy toward the end of 1013, and was crowned, with his wife Cunigunde, in the following February. Soon afterward a synod was held in his presence, at which, it is said at his suggestion, the Constantinopolitan Creed was made a part of the Roman liturgy; after this he left Pope Benedict to contend with his numerous enemies—the Crescentian faction, the Arabs, and the Greeks. The first he suppressed; the Mohammedan invaders, who threatened Italy from Sardinia, were defeated and driven out of the island in June, 1016, by the aid of the Pisans and Genoese; he supported those who were attempting to free southern Italy from the Byzantine rule, and gained them the help of a body of Norman knights, who conquered the Greeks, though only temporarily. He accepted Henry's invitation to meet him in 1020 at Bamberg, where the emperor renewed the "Ottonian privilege" to the Church, and gave up Bamberg to ecclesiastical rule. In the following year Henry crossed the Alps for the third time; Benedict met him at Benevento in 1022, and was present when he conquered the Greek fortress of Troja and broke the power of Pandulf IV of Capua, an ally of the Byzantines. These successes, again temporary, are less important than the synod held by the pope and emperor jointly at Pavia Aug. 1, 1022. Here Henry's reforming plans were extended to Italy. After a strong exhortation from the pope, the synod renewed the condemnation of clerical marriage and took measures to prevent the alienation of church property. Henry wished to carry his reforms into France also, and with this purpose met King Robert at Ivois in Aug., 1023. Another synod at Pavia was projected, but before it could be held both Benedict and Henry had died, the former Apr. 9, 1024.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii, 268, Paris, 1892; Jaffé, Regesta, i, 506; J. M. Watterich, Romanorum pontificum . . . vitæ, i, 69, 700, Leipsic, 1862; A. von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, ii, 329, Berlin, 1868; W. von Giesebrecht, Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, ii, 122 sqq., Brunswick, 1875; P. F. Sadee, Die Stellung Heinrichs II zur Kirche, Jena, 1877; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 670; Bower, Popes, ii, 335–337; Hartmann, in Mittheilungen des Instituts für österreichische Geschichte, xv (1894), 482 sqq.; Hauck, KD, iii, 518 sqq.; P. G. Wappler, Papst Benedikt VIII, Leipsic, 1897.

Benedict IX (Theophylact): Pope 1033–48. He was the son of Count Alberic of Tusculum, and nephew of Benedict VIII and John XIX, the latter of whom he succeeded by his father's intrigues and violence, though he was only ten years old. His life was incredibly scandalous, and the strife of factions continued. A murderous assault upon him and his expulsion from Rome followed (the date can not be determined). He owed his restoration to the emperor Conrad II, who came into Italy in the winter of 1036. Benedict met him obsequiously at Cremona in the following June, taking no notice of the fact that he had broken the Church's laws by imprisoning Aribert, archbishop of Milan, and expelling the bishops of Piacenza, Cremona, and Vercelli from their sees; in fact, in Mar., 1038, he went so far as to excommunicate Aribert. By similar complaisances he won the favor of Conrad's successor, Henry III, for whom, in 1041, he obligingly excommunicated the Hungarian nobles, who had driven out their king, Peter. The Romans bore with these conditions until the end of 1044, when they rose and drove Benedict out, afterward electing John, bishop of Sabina, in his stead, under the title of Sylvester III. Benedict succeeded in leading John back to Sabina inside of two months; but, doubting his own ability to maintain his position, he decided to abdicate, adding one more shameless act of simony by selling the papacy (May 1,1045) to the archpriest John Gratian (who called himself Gregory VI) for the sum of a thousand pounds of silver and the continued enjoyment of the Peter's pence from England. Henry III came to Italy in the autumn of 1046, and decided to remove Gregory. He convened a synod at Sutri, which deposed Sylvester even from the priesthood and induced Gregory to resign his claims (Dec. 20, 1046); a few days later, another synod in Rome deposed Benedict also, and Suidger of Bamberg succeeded to an undisputed papacy as Clement II. When he died, however, nine months later, Benedict made an attempt to recover his see. He was soon put down by the imperial authority, and retired to Tusculum. When and where he died is not known.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Jaffé, Regesta, i, 519; J. M. Watterich, Romanorum Pontificum . . . vitæ, i, 71, 711, Leipsic, 1862; A. von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, ii, 338, Berlin, 1868; O. Lorenz, Papstwahl und Kaisertum, p. 69, Berlin, 1874; F. Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, iv, 39, Stuttgart, 1877; Bower, Popes, ii, 340–343; Neander, Christian Church, iii, 375–377, 409, 445, 448; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 706–707, 714; Hauck, KD, iii, 559, 569–571.

Benedict X (Johannes Mincius): Pope 1058–59. He was bishop of Velletri before, unwillingly, he was elected and enthroned in the night between Apr. 3 and 4, 1058, by the noble factions which had so long dominated the papacy and were soon to lose their power. Peter Damian and the other reforming cardinals fled; but before they left Rome they pronounced an anathema upon the new pope. Meantime Hildebrand was on his way back from Germany. At Florence he heard the news, and after conferring with the empress Agnes, regent for her son Henry IV, arranged for the election of a pope acceptable to the strict churchmen. At Sienna in December Gerard, bishop of Florence, was chosen and took the title of Nicholas II. In January he held a synod at Sutri which pronounced the deposition and excommunication of Benedict X. The latter was driven from Rome by the forces set in motion by Hildebrand, and finally found it expedient to abdicate, which he did formally at a synod in the Lateran, Apr., 1060. He is said to have lived twenty years longer as a prisoner in the monastery of St. Agnes. Gregory VII, in whose reign he died, permitted him to be buried with the obsequies of a rightful pope, as which, indeed, he was reckoned until the fourteenth century.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii, 279, Paris, 1892; Jaffé, Regesta, i, 556; J. M. Watterich, Romanorum pontificum . . . vitæ, i, 203, 738, Leipsic, 1862; W. von Giesebrecht, Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserseit, iii, 24, Brunswick, 1875; F. Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, iv, 107, Stuttgart, 1877; J. Langen, Geschichte der römischen Kirche von Nikolaus I bis Gregor VII, p. 500, Bonn, 1892; Bower, Popes, ii, 340–343; Neander, Christian Church, iii, 387; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, iv, 798, 828; Hauck, KD, iii, 679–681.

Benedict XI (Niccolo Bocasini): Pope 1303–1304. He was born in 1240 at Treviso, entered the Dominican order in 1254, and spent fourteen years in diligent study, which enabled him to write several Biblical commentaries. He became prior of his house, provincial of Lombardy, and in 1296 general of the order. Boniface VIII made him a cardinal priest in 1298, and soon after cardinal bishop of Ostia and Velletri. In 1302 he went to Hungary as papal legate. He remained true to Boniface VIII, and on his death was elected (Oct. 22, 1303) to succeed him. He found himself at once in difficulties as the heir to the policy and the enemies of Boniface (see Boniface VIII), but by a conciliatory prudence he found his way out of them. First he won back the powerful Colonna family, restoring to them their dignities and possessions under certain limitations which marked his sense of their misconduct. Frederick of Sicily was brought to a sense of his feudal obligations toward the papacy, which he had thought to escape. To Tuscany, Benedict sent Nicholas of Prato, his successor as cardinal bishop of Ostia, to make peace between the Bianchi and Neri factions in Florence. This mission was not very successful, but Benedict had better fortune with the most difficult task left to him by his predecessor, the effecting of a reconciliation with France. Philip the Fair was ready for peace, but apparently made the condition that a general council should be called to pass a post-mortem condemnation on Boniface. Benedict met him half way, and on Mar. 25, 1304, released him from his excommunication; then he annulled a number of other measures of his predecessor which had been specially felt as grievances in France, and on May 13 withdrew the sentences passed against Philip and his counselors, even those who had taken part in the outrage of Anagni, with the exception of the ringleader William of Nogaret. He, together with all the Italians who had taken part in the violence offered to Boniface, was excommunicated on June 7, and summoned to appear before Benedict to receive sentence. A few weeks later, however (July 7), Benedict died in Perugia, whither he had retired on account of turbulence in Rome. The rumor immediately spread that he had been poisoned, at the instigation, it was variously asserted, of Philip the Fair, of the Colonna, of the Franciscans (who were jealous of the favor shown to the Dominicans), of the opposition cardinals, or of William of Nogaret, who had most to gain by a change, and who, in fact, received his absolution from Benedict's successor.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Ptolemæus of Lucca, Vitæ pontificum Romanorum, in Muratori, Scriptores, xi, 1224; B. Guidonis, Vitæ pontificum Romanorum, ib. iii, 672; W. Drumann, Geschichte Bonifacius VIII, ii, 147, Königsberg, 1852; L. Gautier, Benoit XI, étude sur la papauté au commencement du xiv. siècle, Paris, 1863; C. Grandjean, Benoît XI, Paris, 1863; idem, Le Registre de Benoît XI, recueil de bulles, Paris, 1884–85; P. Funke, Papst Benedikt XI, Münster, 1891; Bower, Popes, iii, 56–58; Neander, Christian Church, v, 19; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, vi, 375–390.

Benedict XII (Jacques Fournier): Pope 1334–1342. He was a native of Languedoc, of humble origin, and as a boy entered the Cistercian monastery of Bolbonne in the diocese of Mirepoix, migrating later to that of Fontfroide in the diocese of Narbonne, of which his uncle was abbot. The latter sent him to the University of Paris. Pope John XXII gave him the bishopric of Pamiers and later of Mirepoix, and made him cardinal in 1327. He was rather unexpectedly elected pope Dec. 20, 1334, and began his reign with reforming measures. The bishops and abbots who lingered at the court of Avignon were sent home, the system of petitions was regulated, and care was taken to select worthy men for vacant benefices. Benedict planned to restore the strict discipline of the Benedictines and Cistercians, as well as of the mendicant orders, and entirely avoided the reproach of nepotism. Soon after his elevation, the Romans begged him to return to them, and he promised to do so, but was prevented by the French majority in the Sacred College. Later he thought of removing to Bologna, but finally settled down in Avignon and began the building of a magnificent palace. His attitude toward theological and ecclesiastical controversies was a pacific one. He condemned the opinion so strongly held by his predecessor, that the souls of the just do not enjoy the Beatific Vision until after the last judgment. Negotiations took place with the Eastern Church looking toward reunion; in 1339 the emperor Andronicus sent ambassadors to Avignon, really with a view to gaining military aid against the Turks, but holding out prospects of ecclesiastical accommodation, which, however, came to little. He won a moral triumph in Spain by inducing Alfonso XI of Castile to break off his adulterous connection with Eleonora de Gusman, and rendered no slight service to the Christian cause in the peninsula by making peace between Castile and Portugal, and thus enabling the Christian forces to unite against the Mussulmans and to defeat them completely at Tarifa. The most difficult problem was the treatment of Louis of Bavaria. Benedict showed himself conciliatory, and Louis sent an embassy to Avignon (1335); but Philip VI, against whose interests this reconciliation would have been, prevented it then, and a second time in the autumn of the following year. This gave the alliance of Louis to Edward III of England against France. The electoral princes finally asserted their rights; on July 15,1338, they swore to defend the customs and liberties of the empire and to prevent any infringement of their electoral prerogative; the next day they declared that the king of the Romans chosen by them stood in no need of papal confirmation, and notified Benedict of their attitude. At the diet held in Frankfort (Aug. 8, 1338), Louis went even further, denying any connection between the coronation by the pope and the right to bear the title of emperor, at the same time asserting the invalidity of all the censures pronounced against himself and the empire by John XXII. None the less, in the following year he reopened negotiations with Benedict; and when he had an opportunity of concluding peace with Philip VI, he deserted his English ally, hoping to gain Philip's support with the pope. He spoiled his own case, however, by his encroachments on the Church's law of marriage and its power in such matters. In order to marry his son, Louis, margrave of Brandenburg, to Margaret, heiress of the Tyrol, he declared her previous marriage with Prince John of Bohemia null and void (following an opinion of Occam's), and on Feb. 10, 1342, in spite of the impediment of consanguinity in the third degree between the couple, had the marriage performed. Benedict had no opportunity to pass judgment upon these acts, as he died on Apr. 25 of the same year.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Liber pontificalis, ed. Duchesne, ii, 488, 527, Paris, 1892; eight accounts of his life are collected in E. Baluse, Vitæ paparum Avenonensium, i, 197–244, Paris, 1693; Muratori, Scriptores, iii, 527 sqq.; J. M. Watterich, Romanorum pontificum vitæ, i, 203–204, Leipsic, 1862; A. Pichler, Geschichte der kirchlichen Trennung zwischen dem Orient und Occident, i, 358, Munich, 1864; C. Müller, Der Kampf Ludwigs . . . mit der römischen Curie, vol. ii, Tübingen, 1880; A. Rohrmann, Die Procuratorien Ludwigs des Baiern, Göttingen, 1882; Bower, Popes, iii, 88–92; Pastor, Popes, i, 84–88; Benoit XII, Lettres closes, patentes et curiales se rapportant à la France, ed. G. Daumet, Paris, 1899; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, vi, 636–653.

Benedict XIII: 1. The title was first borne by Pedro de Luna from 1394 to 1417, in the Great Western Schism. He came of a noble family in Aragon, studied in France, taught canon law at the University of Montpellier, and was made cardinal by Gregory XI.

Sides with Clement VII in the Great Schism.

When the schism broke out between the partizans of Urban VI and Clement VII, he took the latter's side, and went to Spain and Portugal as Clement's representative in 1379. In 1393, again, he appeared at a meeting of English and French dignitaries, in the hope of winning England away from the party of Boniface IX, the pope elected in Rome to succeed Urban VI. When the University of Paris in 1394 suggested three ways to end the schism—the resignation of both claimants, the submission of both to the decision of a tribunal agreed upon between them, or the calling of a general council—Clement sent him to Paris to prevent the choice of the first; but in fact he declared in favor of it, possibly with an eye to his own chances. Clement died the same autumn, and the cardinals of his party nearly all agreed that whichever of them might be chosen pope should do all in his power to end the schism, even by abdicating if necessary; and no voice was louder in this agreement than Pedro de Luna's. He was unanimously chosen on Sept. 28, consecrated and crowned Oct. 11. He reiterated his willingness to do anything for peace; but when the next year an embassy representing the king of France, a national synod, and the University of Paris approached him to urge the abdication of both popes, he declined, recommending rather a personal meeting of both to discuss the question. To this he adhered in spite of the opposite view of all his cardinals but one and of the personal entreaties of the dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Orleans. Charles VI held a second national council at Paris (end of Aug., 1398), and tried to gain the support of the European sovereigns for his plan. In June, 1397, the ambassadors of France, England, and Castile pressed the necessity of abdication upon Benedict, who declined for himself while recommending it to Boniface IX. No more success attended a joint embassy (1398) from Charles and Wenceslaus, king of the Romans, headed by Pierre d’Ailly, bishop of Cambrai.

Course of Events in France.

Charles held a third council in May, 1398, which decided that France should withdraw from Benedict's obedience. When this decision received the royal assent and was promulgated (July 27), all the cardinals but three forsook Benedict, and open warfare broke out. Benedict, practically a prisoner in his palace, yielded so far (Apr., 1399) as to sign a solemn undertaking to abdicate whenever his rival would do the same or should die or be expelled from Rome; but he secretly protested that his promise was null and void, as having been given under compulsion. France was now practically without a pope; and the longer this anomalous condition continued, the more uneasiness it caused. Leading churchmen, such as Gerson and Nicholas de Clémanges, began to write in favor of a return to Benedict XIII. Finally Charles called a meeting of bishops and nobles (May, 1403), to reconsider the question. Before they met Benedict had contrived to escape from Avignon, and the city had declared for him, once he was free. It is not surprising, therefore, that the assembled magnates declared for a restoration of France to his obedience, though on condition that he should renew his promise in regard to abdication, and undertake to submit the question how to end the schism to a general council within a year. This left things much as they had been in 1394 and 1395. Boniface IX died soon after (Oct. 1, 1404); but his successor, Innocent VII, showed just as little inclination to abandon his claims. Benedict, still attached to his own plan of a personal conference, undertook a journey to Genoa, without any result except to produce fresh irritation in France, whose clergy were taxed to pay the expenses of the experiment. Another national council (1406) declared in favor of withdrawing his right to present the bishoprics and benefices; but the Duke of Orléans stood out for complete obedience and hindered the execution of this decision. New hopes were aroused, on the death of Innocent VII, by the choice (Nov. 30, 1406) of Gregory XII, who at once declared himself willing to take any measures, even that of abdication, to end the schism. A meeting was planned between the rivals for the autumn of 1407, but it fell through. In November Benedict lost a powerful friend by the murder of the Duke of Orléans, and was so unwise in 1408 as to attempt to enforce the observance of the French obedience by threats of excommunication. In May Charles proclaimed France absolutely neutral in the contest. Benedict, fearing for his safety, fled to his native Aragon.

The Councils of Pisa and Constance.

The cardinals of both factions deserted their respective popes and in June took counsel together with a view to calling a general council. This met in 1409 at Pisa, summoned both claimants before it, proceeded to hear testimony when they did not appear, and on June 5 declared both, as heretics, schismatics, and perjurers, not only deposed but excommunicated. Benedict still asserted his claims, and Spain, Portugal, and Scotland adhered to him. New negotiations with him were undertaken by the Council of Constance in 1414, but he stubbornly refused to yield, even to the persuasions of the emperor Sigismund. Finally the patience of his own supporters in Spain and Scotland was worn out, and they renounced him in the Concordat of Narbonne (Dec., 1415). He entrenched himself in the mountain fastness of Peñiscola, near Valencia, which belonged to his family, and proudly told the envoys of the council that the true Church was there only. On July 28, 1417, the Council of Constance once more deposed and excommunicated him; and he remained in his castle, with a court of but four cardinals, until his death at the age of nearly ninety in Nov., 1424.

(A. Hauck.)

2. Benedict XIII was also the name borne by Pietro Francesco d’Orsini-Gravina, pope 1724–30. He was born Feb. 2, 1649, at Gravina in the kingdom of Naples, and in 1867, renouncing his rights of succession to the ducal estates, entered the Dominican order at Venice, taking the name of Vincenzo Maria. He studied theology at Venice and Bologna, philosophy at Naples. In 1672 be was made a cardinal by Clement X, and archbishop of Benevento in 1686. After administering his diocese admirably for thirty-eight years, and spending his leisure in the composition of theological works, he was almost unanimously elected pope (May 29, 1724), after the death of Innocent XIII. At first he took the name of Benedict XIV, but changed it to Benedict XIII in the conviction that Pedro de Luna was a schismatic and not a legitimate pope. His pontificate began with an attempt to restrain the pomp and luxury of the cardinals, which was as vain as his similar attempts to reform the rest of the clergy. Though the prescriptions of the Lateran council of 1725 in this direction were not much heeded, it is memorable because in it Benedict confirmed the constitution Unigenitus, and thus aided the Jesuits. He had the satisfaction of receiving in 1728 the unconditional submission of De Noailles, archbishop of Paris, the head of the Gallican opposition. Weakness was the principal characteristic of his dealings with the secular powers of Europe. He left such matters almost entirely in the hands of his favorite Cardinal Coscia, whose interest it was to keep on good terms with the powers. Thus the emperor Charles VI obtained the privileges which he claimed in Sicily as the successor of the older rulers, who had been legati nati of the Holy See. Thus also the king of Sardinia got the best of a long contest with Rome; and only one state found the curia stubborn. The king of Portugal, John V, requested the red hat for Bichi, the papal nuncio at Lisbon, and when it was refused showed great hostility to the pope, even threatening in 1728 to break off all relations between the Church of Portugal and Rome, Benedict was unpopular in Rome, owing to the misgovernment of Coscia, who, when the pope died (Feb. 21, 1730), was obliged to flee in disguise, and later was imprisoned for ten years by Clement XII.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: 1. Pedro de Luna: A Vita is found in É. Baluze, Vitæ paparum Avenoniensium, i, 561–568, Paris, 1693; the Eng. transl. of several original documents which are pertinent is given in Thatcher and McNeal, Source Book, pp. 325–329; Theodoric of Nieheim, De Schismate, ed. G. Erler, ii. 33 sqq., Leipsic, 1890; Chartularium Universitatis Paris, ed. H. Denifle, iii, 552 sqq., Paris, 1894; Kehrmann, Frankreichs innere Kirchenpolitik, Jena, 1890; Bower, Popes, iii, 145–149, 152, 162–163, 205; Neander, Christian Church, v, 56, 62–77, 84, 105–107; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, vi, 827–1031; Pastor, Popes, i, 165–201; N. Valois, La France et le grand schisme d’occident, 2 vols., Paris, 1896; Creighton, Papacy, i, 148–315, 374. 2. Pietro Francesco: His works were issued in 3 vols., Ravenna, 1728, and the bulls are in the Bullarium Romanum, vol. xxii, Turin, 1871. For his life consult A. Borgia, Benedicti XIII vita, Rome, 1752; A. von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, iii, 652–853, Berlin, 1888; Bower, Popes, iii, 339; J. Chantrel, Le Pape Benoît XIII, 1724–30, Paris, 1874; M. Brosch, Geschichte des Kirchenstaats, ii, 61 sqq., Gotha, 1882; Ranke, Popes, vol. iii, No. 158.

Benedict XIV (Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini): Pope 1740–58. He was born [Mar. 31] 1675 at Bologna; at thirteen he entered the Collegium Clementinum at Rome, and after studies in theology and philosophy, took up the law, practising as advocate of the consistory, and as promotor fidei, in which office he laid the foundations of his famous work on beatification and canonization. Clement XI and Innocent XIII gave him several Roman dignities; Benedict XIII made him archbishop of Ancona (1727) and cardinal (1728); in 1731 Clement XII transferred him to the more important see of Bologna, where he found time to write his works on the mass, on the festivals, and Quæstiones canonicæ. After the death of Clement XII the conclave was at a deadlock for six months between the French, Austrian, and Spanish factions, and finally agreed on Lambertini as a compromise candidate (Aug. 17, 1740).

Friendly Relations with Other Rulers.

Benedict was a man of great learning and piety, and did much for the welfare of the Pontifical States, by the promotion of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures and by a decrease in taxation. His expressed principle that in him "the pope must take precedence of the temporal ruler" was carried out both in the strenuous efforts which he made to raise the tone of the clergy and in his efforts to remove all the misunderstandings which had existed between the curia and the European powers, even at the cost of considerable concessions. He was not able entirely to remove the antagonism between the eighteenth-century spirit and religion, but he composed more than one difference temporarily. Thus he appeased John V of Portugal by the privilege of enjoying the revenues of vacant bishoprics and abbeys in his kingdom, as well as by the title of Rex fidelissimus. In a concordat with Naples (1741) he went even beyond the concessions which Benedict XIII had made, and concluded another with the king of Sardinia which was still less favorable to the extreme claims of the Church. Still another was made with Spain in 1753, which went so far as to allow King Ferdinand VI the right of nomination to all the ecclesiastical benefices in his kingdom except fifty-two. Friendly relations were also maintained with the empire, and strict neutrality observed in the war of the Austrian Succession, although the contending armies not seldom crossed the boundaries of the Papal States. When Albert of Bavaria was elected emperor as Charles VII and applied to Benedict for confirmation, he gave him his hearty good wishes, but refused at first to recognize his successor, Francis I, who had neglected to observe this formality. He abandoned his opposition, however, and became an active ally of Austria in the contest with Venice over Aquileia. As a compromise measure, he finally divided the patriarchate into two dioceses, that of Görz, which was to be Austrian, and that of Udine, Venetian. Though he refused to confirm the guaranties which the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, on becoming a Roman Catholic, was obliged to give for the preservation of the rights of his evangelical subjects, Benedict showed none of the temper of a persecutor, and had friendly personal relations with many Protestants. He was the first pope to concede the title of king of Prussia to the ruler whom the curia had previously styled margrave of Brandenburg; and he yielded to Frederick the Great's wishes so far as to allow the bishop of Brealau to decide all Catholic causes in Prussia, appeals to the pope being forbidden. In the Gallican controversy he took a wise and tolerant part, reversing a decision of De Beaumont, the archbishop of Paris, which made formal assent to the constitution Unigenitus a condition for receiving the sacraments; in an encyclical of Oct. 16, 1756, he laid down the rule that the ministrations of the Church should be refused only to those who had publicly contemned the bull.

The Jesuits.

Benedict's conciliatory temper made him little likely to sympathize with the Jesuits, with whom he dealt at the very beginning of his reign in a way that did not please them, deciding against them, in the controversy over the "Chinese rites," the question how far the principles of Christianity might be accommodated for the purpose of making more speedy conversions among the heathen, in two bulls—the Ex quo singulari of 1742, and the Omnium sollicitudinum of 1744 (see Accomodation, § 9). Though he was no partizan of the Jesuits, it was not until shortly before his death that he undertook (1758) the long-planned reform of the order, at least in Portugal, entrusting its execution to Saldanha, the patriarch of Lisbon.

In 1750 Benedict celebrated a jubilee with great pomp, and invited the Protestants also to attend—naturally with no other result than to call out a number of polemical replies. To the end of his life he found his chief diversion in the company of learned men, of whom a circle assembled round him once a week. During his pontificate he composed his most important work, De synodo diæcesana. He had a catalogue of the Vatican library drawn up by the learned Assemani, founded societies for the study of Roman and Christian antiquities and of church history, and cooperated in the foundation of the archeological academy with Winckelmann, who came to Rome in 1755. He died as he had lived, with cheerful, goodhumored words upon his lips, May 3, 1758.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: His works were collected by Azevedo in 12 vols., Rome, 1747–51, more completely, 15 vols., Venice, 1767, and in 17 vols., Prato, 1839–46; vols. 15–17 of the Prato ed. contain the bulls; Briefe Benedicts XIV an Pier Francesco Peggi à Bologna, 1729–53, ed. F. X. Kraus, Freiburg, 1888; Opera inedita, ed. F. Heiner, St. Louis, 1904. Consult: R. de Martinis, Acta Benedicti XIV, 2 vols., Naples, 1884–85; A. Borgia, Vie de Benoît XIV, Paris, 1783; H. Formby, Life and Miracles of Benedict XIV, London, 1858; A. von Arneth, Geschichte Maria Theresias, ii, 178, iv, 54 sqq., Vienna, 1864, 1870; M. Brosch, Geschichte des Kirchenstaats, ii, 68, Gotha, 1882; Ranke, Popes, ii, 433–443, iii, No. 164.

BENEDICT OF ANIANE: The reformer of the Benedictine order in the Frankish empire. He was born about 750 in his father's county of Maguelone in Languedoc; d. at Inden (13 m. n.e. of Aix-la-Chapelle) Feb. 11, 821. His youth was spent at the court of Pepin and of Charlemagne, where, as a page, he had opportunity to distinguish himself in feats of arms. During Charles's first Lombard campaign, Benedict rescued his brother from drowning at the risk of his own life, and the shock brought to a head the resolve which had been slowly forming in him, to renounce the world and give himself to the service of God in the monastic life. This he entered in 773 at Saint-Seine in the diocese of Langres. Returning home in 779, he built a small monastery on his own land near the little river Aniane (where the town of Aniane, 16 m. w.n.w. of Montpellier, later grew up), which was replaced by a larger one lower down when the number of his disciples increased, and by a third still larger about 792. This became the center of Benedict's efforts for the reformation of the monastic life in the south and southwest of France. King Louis of Aquitaine, who had favored him from the outset, entrusted him with the oversight of all the monasteries within his territory, and the greatest churchmen, such as Alcuin and Leidrad of Lyons, sought his counsel. He had a wide knowledge of patristic literature, and forwarded the cause of education with zeal. He stood out as a champion of the orthodox faith against Adoptionism, and wrote two treatises against it, the first of which is specially interesting as showing how close was the practical connection between Adoptionism and Arianism. His influence became still wider with the accession of Louis the Pious, who first brought him up to the Alsatian abbey of Maurmünster, and then, to have him nearer at hand, founded another for him at Inden, giving him the general oversight of all the monasteries in the empire. He could now hope to accomplish his great purpose of restoring the primitive strictness of the monastic observance wherever it had been relaxed or exchanged for the less exacting canonical life. This purpose was clearly seen in the capitularies drawn up by an assembly of abbots and monks at Aix-la-Chapelle in 817, and enforced by Louis's order throughout the empire.

Benedict's chief works are compilations of the older ascetic literature. The first of them is called by his biographer, Ardo, Liber ex regulis diversorum patrum collectus; an enlarged edition of this was prepared by Lucas Holsten (published at Rome only after Holsten's death, in 1661, with the title Codex regularum). The other work, called Concordia regularum by Benedict himself, is based on the first; in it the sections of the Benedictine rule (except ix–xvi) are given in their order, with parallel passages from the other rules included in the Liber regularum, so as to show the agreement of principles and thus to enhance the respect due to the Benedictine. The Concordia was first published in 1638 by H. Menard of the Congregation of St. Maur, with valuable notes (reprinted in MPL, ciii). A third collection of homilies, to be read daily in the monasteries, has not been definitely identified. Benedict's place is in the second rank of the men who made the reigns of Charles and Louis glorious. He had not the breadth of view possessed by Charlemagne himself or by Adalhard nor the lofty endeavor for a fusion of secular and spiritual learning of Paulus Diaconus and Alcuin. He was primarily an ecclesiastic, who zealously placed his not inconsiderable theological learning at the service of orthodoxy, but gave the best thing he had, the loving fervor of an upright Christian soul, to the cause of Benedictine monasticism.

(Otto Seebass.)

Bibliography: The Vita by Ardo Smaragdus, his successor as abbot, with preface by Henschen, is in ASB, 12 Feb., ii, 608–620, in MPL, ciii, and is edited by Waitz in MGH, Script., xv, 198–220, Hanover, 1887. There is a Fr. transl., Montpellier, 1876. P. A. J. Paulinier, St. Benoît d’Aniane et la fondation du monastère de ce nom, Montpellier, 1871; P. J. Nicolai, Der heilige Benedict, Gründer von Aniane, Cologne, 1865; R. Foss, Benadikt von Aniane, Berlin, 1884; O. Seebass, in ZKG, xv (1895), 244–260; Hauck, KD, ii. 528–545.

BENEDICT BISCOP: First abbot of Wearmouth and Jarrow; b. of noble family about 628; d. at Wearmouth (on the north side of the Wear, opposite Sunderland, Durhamshire) Jan. 12, 689 or 690. Biscop was his Saxon name, his ecclesiastical name was Benedict, and he was also called Baducing as a patronymic. He was a thane and favorite of Oswy, king of Nothumbria, but in 653 decided to abandon the world and went to Rome. He became a monk at the monastery of Lerins about 665, and was appointed by Pope Vitalian to conduct Theodore of Tarsus to Canterbury in 668. In 674 be began to build the monastery of St. Peter at Wearmouth on land given by Egfrid, king of Northumbria. In 681 or 682 he founded the sister house, dedicated to St. Paul, at Jarrow (5 m. farther north, on the south bank of the Tyne). He made six visits to Rome, learned the Roman ecclesiastical usages and the rules of monastic life, and strove faithfully to introduce them in England; he also brought back a rich store of books, vestments, pictures, and the like. He induced John, the archchanter of St. Peter's at Rome, to accompany him to England and instruct his monks; and he brought skilled workmen from Gaul to build his monasteries, including the first glass-makers in England.

Bibliography: The source for a biography is the life by his great scholar Bede, Vita beatorum abbatum, chaps. 1–14, best and most accessible in the ed. of C. Plummer, i, 364–379, with notes, ii, 355–365, Oxford, 1896, Eng. transl, by P. Witcock, Sunderland, 1818; cf. also Bede, Hist. eccl., iv, 18, v, 19; Hom., xxv. Consult also C. F. Montalembert, Les Moines de l’occident, iv, 456–487, Paris, 1868; DNB, iv, 214–216.

BENEDICT OF NURSIA AND THE BENEDICTINE ORDER.

I. The Life of Benedict.

1. The Life of Benedict by Gregory the Great.

The only early authority on the life of Benedict, since the Vita Placidi has been admitted to be untrustworthy ever since Mabillon, and the worthlessness of the Vita sancti Maori has been recently demonstrated by Malnory, is practically the single biography written by Gregory the Great. But the expectations aroused by a life written only fifty years after Benedict's death by so distinguished an author are disappointed when he is found, in the spirit of his time, exalting the greatness of his hero by the number and importance of his miracles. This tendency has gone so far that Grützmacher is inclined to see nothing actually historical in all this mass of legendary details except the names of the places where Benedict lived and worked, and the names of his disciples. But this is going somewhat too far; Gregory expressly names four abbots, themselves among these disciples and one of them (Honoratus) still living at Subiaco, as witnesses to the truth of his story; and the tradition must have been still full and clear among the monks who had migrated from Monte Cassino to the Lateran when he wrote.

2. Early Life.

According, then, to what is left of Gregory's account after removal of the legendary halo around the saint's head, Benedict came of a considerable family in the "province of Nursia," in the Umbrian Apennines, and was born toward the end of the fifth century. He received at Rome the education of his day, which, however, did not mean much acquaintance with the Roman classical authors, and seems to have included no Greek. Shocked by the immorality around him, he left both the school and his father's house for a life of solitary mortification. His first permanent abode was a cave by the Anio, not far from Subiaco, where a monk, Romanus, provided him with the rough monastic garb and with scanty nourishment. Here Benedict spent three years of stubborn conflict with his lower nature, until the spreading of his fame by shepherds brought his solitude to an end. The monks of a neighboring monastery (perhaps at Vicovaro), whose head had just died, begged him to come and rule them. He accepted with reluctance, probably foreseeing what actually happened when he attempted strictly to enforce their rule. When their insubordination went as far as an attempt to poison him, he discovered the plot and gently rebuked them, then retired to his beloved cave. Here, as new disciples came around him, he established twelve small communities, each with twelve inmates and a "father" at their head.

3. Monte Cassino.

Gregory does not say how long Benedict remained in the neighborhood of Subiaco as director of these pious groups; but the tradition of Monte Cassino ascribes his migration thither to the opposition of a jealous cleric named Florentius, and places it in 529. The new place was about halfway between Rome and Naples, the Castrum Casinum of the Romans, who had had a military colony there. On the summit of the mountain (now Monte San Germano), which had been dedicated to the worship of Apollo by a population still largely pagan, Benedict built two chapels, under the invocation of St. John Baptist and St. Martin, and then laid the foundations of the monastery which was to have such a long and renowned history. Though Gregory does not say so definitely, the traditional view may be accepted that he soon drew up his rule, the mature outcome of his experience in guiding and governing aspirants to the monastic life of perfection. The disturbances of the time, the ware between the Goths and the Byzantine empire from 534, probably helped to increase the numbers of those who sought a peaceful shelter at Monte Cassino; and a daughter house was established at Terracina. In the summer of 542; Totila, king of the Goths, on his way through Campania, desired to see the famous abbot. Gregory relates that, to test his prophetic powers, the king sent one of his officers in royal array to Benedict, who perceived the deception instantly, and, when the young king knelt before him, told him that he should enter Rome, cross the seas, and reign nine years—which came to pass. Gregory mentions Benedict's sister, Scholastica, in connection with the last meeting between the two in a house near the monastery; she had been dedicated to the service of God from her earliest youth. The date of Benedict's death can not be determined from any of the authorities. His body was buried near Scholastica's in the chapel of St. John Baptist, and, according to Paulus Diaconus, was translated about a century later to the monastery of Fleury on the Loire.

II. The Rule of Benedict:

1. General Characteristics.

Especially since the celebration of the fourteen-hundredth anniversary of Benedict's birth in 1880, his rule has been made the subject of thoroughgoing studies, and it is everywhere recognized as a code which corresponded admirably to its purpose of regulating the common life of the western monks. In the concluding passage of the prologue, probably added later by Benedict, occur the words "Constituenda est ergo a nobis dominici schola servitii." Under the later empire, the word shola was commonly employed to designate the body of guards in the imperial palace under the magister officii; thence the name passed to the garrisons of provincial towns, and was used sometimes for other bodies or associations existing in them. As these military organizations would have a definite code of regulations, so it was natural for Benedict (called "magister" in the first line of the prologue) to lay down a rule that should serve for all who were enlisted in the spiritual army ("servitium dominicum")—priests or laymen, rich or poor. It separated the monks more absolutely from the world than Basil or Cassian had done. Besides the requirements of poverty, silence, and chastity, others appear for the first time; that of "stability" or a permanent residence in one monastery as opposed to the wandering life of the earlier monks, and a specially designated habit. The aim of this life is complete surrender to the will of God, accomplished through entire obedience to the abbot and the rule. The abbot thus appears as an absolute ruler, responsible to God alone. It is true that in weighty matters he is to seek the counsel of the brethren, but the ultimate decision rests with him. Benedict seems to have hesitated in placing a præpositus or prior next to him as assistant and, if need were, representative.

2. Moderation.

In laying down the system of daily prayer, Benedict departed somewhat from the earlier practise by instituting the office of compline as the seventh of the canonical hours. The longest and fullest of all the offices was the nocturna vigilia (matins), recited at two o'clock. The day hours were much shorter—lauds at daybreak, not long after matins; prime; terce, with which at least on Sundays and festivals the Eucharist was connected; sext; none; vespers; and compline. One of the principles on which the system of devotion was laid out was the weekly recitation of the entire Psalter. When this is compared with the requirement by Columban of the recitation of the whole 150 Psalms in the night office of Saturday and Sunday, a second principle is perceived which governed Benedict not merely in the arrangement of the devotional exercises but in all his rule—a wise moderation and gentleness. It appears especially in the regulations for meals, of which he allows two daily, except at times of fasting; it comes out in the rules for labor, which show consideration for the weaker brethren, and also in the system of punishment. Small offenses, as unpunctuality at meals or office, are to be punished without harshness; more serious ones call for two private warnings and one in public, after which the offender is cut off from the society of the brethren at meals and prayers. If he is still obstinate, corporal punishment is the next step, and finally, if the prayers of the brethren have no effect, he is to be expelled from the monastery. Penitents may be twice taken back, but on a third lapse there is no further possibility of restoration.

3. Organization and Direction of the Monastic Life.

The fact that, in his provision for the clothing of the monks, Benedict took account of the conditions of more than one province has been made a ground for disputing the authenticity of the rule; but the climatic difference between the hill-country of his first settlement and the Campanian plain on the banks of the Liris is sufficiently notable to find some reflection in the rule. Benedict had lived as an anchorite and as a cenobite, in convents of varying size and in different parts of Italy, at the head of a single small house and of a whole group of houses. When, therefore, with this manifold experience of what suited the monastic life of his time, he drew up a rule for every part of it, in such a definite legislative shape as none of his predecessors—Basil, Cassian, Pachomius, Jerome, Augustine—had given their prescriptions, we may well believe that he was acting to a certain extent with the consciousness that he was giving to Italian monasticism a new form, stronger and more consistent than had been known before. This is the special importance of Benedict's work, both for the Church and for the world at large. About the time when the Roman See, vindicating and even increasing its independence of Arian kings and Byzantine emperors, was preparing to erect its universal empire on the ruins of the old, the monk appeared who knew how to apply the old Roman talents of legislation and organization to the growing but as yet incoherent monasticism. Thus he became the founder of the great Benedictine Order which for centuries concentrated in itself the extraordinary spiritual force of the technically "religious" life, and contributed in so marked a degree to the extension of the Western Church. The striking influence of the order would, however, be inexplicable if it had not early become the guardian of learning and literature. The rule required the brothers, in addition to their manual labor, to devote one or two hours daily to reading; it provided for a convent library from which the monks were to take certain books for study at appointed times; each brother was to have his tablet and stylus; Benedict himself undertook the education of the children of prominent Romans; and in at least one passage of the rule those who can not read are spoken of as an inferior class. All these things speak of learned and literary interests as belonging to the original foundation. Cassiodorus even goes further than Benedict, in whose lifetime probably he founded the double convent of Squillace, providing expressly for the study of classical literature—though it is impossible to determine how far this influenced the Benedictine Order after the infusion with it of Cassiodorus's monasteries.

III. The Earlier History of the Benedictine Order:

1. Period of Growth to the Time of Charlemagne.

The history of the early extension of Benedict's society is only scantily told. According to the traditions of Monte Cassino, the third abbot, Simplicius, achieved great success in this work. Under the fifth, Bonitus, the mother house was destroyed in 589 by the Lombards, the monks fleeing to Rome (the universal refuge of those days), carrying with them the copy of the rule written by Benedict's own hand. There was probably already a monastery there which followed this rule—that of St. Andrew, founded by the future Pope Gregory the Great in 575; but Gregory's attachment to the order was presumably increased by the coming of the fugitives, who settled in a place given them at the Lateran by Pope Pelagius. The mission of Augustine to the Anglo-Saxons from the monastery of St. Andrew in 598 (see Anglo-Saxons, Conversion of the) opened a new field to the order. The Latin rules of the Spanish bishops Isidore of Seville (d. 636) and Fructuosus of Bragara show distinct traces of an acquaintance with that of Benedict. But more important was its introduction into the Frankish kingdom in the first half of the seventh century, since the attempt was there made to submit to it the entire monastic body. However it was introduced, it soon become predominant, and took the place of the rules of Columban and Cæsarius. At a Burgundian synod of 670 it was designated, with the canons, as the only standard for monasteries; and similarly in the synods held under the auspices of Carloman and Boniface in 742 and 743 it is called the norm for convents both of monks and of nuns. The language of the capitularies of 811, implying that only obscure traces of the prior existence of other rules remained, shows how completely it had occupied the field by the time of Charlemagne.

2. Period of Decline.

In spite, however, of this supremacy, and of the glory reflected on the order by such men as Aldhelm and Bede, Alcuin and Paulus Diaconus, an acute observer could already perceive traces of decay. In some places the abbots abused the power given them by the rule; in others laxity had begun to creep in. There was thus room for the reforming activity of Benedict of Aniane, who attempted not only to restore the pristine strictness, but to supplement the rule by special ordinances for the purpose of securing uniformity in the daily life of the Frankish monasteries. His success, powerfully seconded as he was by the emperor Louis the Pious, was not lasting. The ninth century saw a considerable number of new foundations, especially in Saxony, and the literary activity promoted by Charlemagne continued; but there were many complaints not only of the giving of monasteries to laymen but of decay in morality and strict monastic discipline. In addition to these things, grievous havoc was wrought in many different quarters by the irruptions of the barbarians—in England by the Danes, in northern Germany and France by the Normans, in the south of Germany and the north of Italy by the Huns, and on the Mediterranean coast by the Saracens.

(Otto Seebass.)

IV. The History of the Order Since the Ninth Century:

1. 821–1200. Ecumenical Activity. New Congregations.

The palmy days of the order, from Benedict of Aniane to Innocent III (821–1200) may be designated as the time of ecumenical activity. The family of monks which proceeded from Monte Cassino controlled with its influence the civilization of the entire Christian West. The Basilian monasteries of South Italy and Sicily, as well as the monks and hermits of the Celtic Church in the British isles, were able only for a time to maintain the independence of their institutions. Patronized and at the same time monopolized by Rome, the Benedictine monastic character made itself the standard of monasticism throughout Latin Christendom. True, from the ninth century on there were marked departures from the founder's ideal, in consequence of which, even after the reform by Benedict of Aniane, a number of similar efforts at reform became necessary; but the call to return to the original vigor of the rule ever proved its purifying power, and the total influence of the order was rather enhanced than decreased by the growing number of these reform congregations. The most important of them after the tenth century was the reform of Cluny (from 910), with which were gradually blended more or less the smaller reforms of a like tendency originating almost simultaneously in Flanders under Gerard of Brogne (d. 959), in Lorraine under John of Gorze (d. 974), in England under Dunstan of Glastonbury (d. 988), from the monastery of St. Benignus at Dijon (c. 990) under William of Volpiano (d. 1031) and in southern Italy by Alferius of Cava (d. 1050) (See Cluny, Abbey and Congregation of; John of Gorze; Gerard, Saint, 1; Dunstan). More independent of the Benedictine institutions, though proceeding from the order, were some reforming movements of the eleventh century. Among these were the famous congregation of Hirschau, c. 1060, which was distinguished by the rigor of its discipline; that of Vallombrosa (see Gualberto, Giovanni), 1038, which, like Hirschau, developed with especial care the institution of lay brothers (fratres conversi), thus setting an, important example for later orders (see Monasticism); those of Camaldoli, 1000; Grammont, 1076; Fontévraud, c. 1100; (see Camaldolites; Grammont, Order of; Fontévraud, Order of); and finally that of Cîteaux,1098. The last of these reforms, the ripest and noblest fruit of the older Benedictine ideal, grew so rapidly, and, especially under the influence of St. Bernard, showed such power in the field of missionary and civilizing effort that it was obliged to leave the Benedictine family and form, not a new congregation but a new order, in spite of its adherence to the fundamental form of monastic discipline as delineated in the Regula Benedicti (see Cistercians). By this separation of the youngest daughter from the mother, the latter ceased to be regarded as the only normal type for western monasticism. The ecumenical period of Benedictine history ends with the last decades of the twelfth century. It must thenceforth be traced as the history of one order among several in the life of western civilization.

2. 1200–1563. Decay and Attempts at Reform.

The period from Innocent III to the Council of Trent (1200–1563) is a time of increasing inner decay and of futile efforts at reform. The first attempt to restore discipline in the monasteries of the order, which had become very worldly, was made in 1215 by the Fourth Lateran Council under Innocent III. It ordered that every three years a general chapter should be held, and that the visitations prescribed by this chapter should be made by Cistercian abbots. Under this regulation the archbishops of Canterbury and York introduced the triennial visitations into the Benedictine monasteries of England, and enforced them in repeated provincial councils. For the monasteries of the Continent, special importance attached to the edict of Benedict XII, himself a Cistercian, who, after introducing a stricter discipline into his own order (1335), issued in the following year an edict concerning the Benedictines. This constitution, known as Summa Magistri or Constitutio Benedictina, decrees that in each monastery a general chapter is to be held annually. For each of the thirty-six provinces into which the order is divided by it, triennial provincial chapters are prescribed. But in spite of this measure, which had a temporarily beneficial effect, spirituality constantly declined. The reforms introduced afterward by the Council of Constance (1415), by a provincial chapter of the Mainz province of the order held at Petershausen (1417), by the congregation of Bursfelde organized for the North-German territories of the order, as well as by many Spanish congregations (e.g., the Observance of Valladolid under Ferdinand the Catholic, 1493), brought about merely a temporary improvement in the conditions.

3. 1563–1800. Tridentine Reform. New Congregations.

The Tridentine reforming period (1563–1800) was introduced by the decree De regularibus et monialibus passed in the twenty-fifth session of the Council of Trent (Dec. 3, 1563), which opposes the mischievous excess of exemptions, puts the female members of the order without exception and the male members for the most part under the supervision of the bishops, and insists upon strict observance of the older regulations concerning the holding of general chapters, visitations, etc. Several new Benedictine congregations sprang up under the influence of the Tridentine decrees; in South Germany one for Swabia (1564), one at Strasburg (1601), one at Salzburg (1641), one for Bavaria (1684); in Flanders the congregation of St. Vedast near Arras, founded about 1590; in Lorraine that of St. Vanne and St. Hydulph, which Abbot Didier de la Cour founded in 1600 and Pope Clement VIII confirmed in 1604. An outgrowth of the latter was the congregation of St. Maur, founded in 1618 under the direction of the same Abbot Didier, which spread all over France, attaining the number of 180 monasteries, and raised the work of the order in the direction of learning to a prosperity which it never had before (see St. Maur, Congregation of). But after about 1780, first the forcible secularization under Joseph II, and then the storm of the Revolution in France and the neighboring countries to the south brought about the ruin of the order.

4. The Nineteenth Century.

The epoch of restoration, which coincides with the nineteenth century, has been able to save only about 500 houses (with about 4,300 monks), out of the 37,000 houses (abbeys or priories) which the order numbered before the catastrophes of the eighteenth century. Yet in some of the congregations there is at present a healthy and vigorous life as far as the morals and discipline are concerned and also as to achievements in theological learning and Christian art (painting, sculpture, etc.). In the latter respect the South German congregation of Beuron is especially distinguished. The two other South-German congregations (the Bavarian and the Swabian) and those of northern France and Belgium (especially in the monasteries of Solesmes and Maredsous) have recently produced some able scholars and theologians. The Benedictines of the mother house of the order at Monte Cassino and the American congregations connected with it have also rendered considerable services in the same lines.

O. Zöckler†.

Bibliography: The somewhat voluminous early literature on Benedict in the shape of poems and lives may be found in part in MGH, Poet. Lat. med. ævi, i, 36–42, Berlin, 1881 (the Carmina of Paul the Deacon); MGH, Script., vol. xv, part 1, pp. 480–482, 574, Hanover, 1887 (Ex adventu corporis S. Benedicti in agrum Floriacensem); four works on the Miracles are published in MGH, Script., vol. xv, part 1, pp. 474–500, part 2 (1888), 863, 866, ix (1851), 374–376. The Vitæ by Gregory and other writers as well as the poems and relations of miracles may be found in ASM, sæc. i, pp. 28, 29–35, and sæc. ii, pp. 80, 353–358, 369–394; in ASB, Mar., iii, 276, 288–297, 302–357; and in MPL, lxxx, xcv, cxxiv, cxxvi, cxxxiii, cxxxiv, clx. Consult: P. K. Brandes, Leben des heiligen Benedikt, Einsiedeln, 1858; P. Lechner, Leben des heiligen Benedict, Regensburg, 1859; C. de Montalembert, Les Moines d’Occident, ii, 3–92 (on St. Benedict), 7 vols., Paris, 1860–77, Eng, transl., 7 vols., London, 1861–79, new ed., with introduction by Dom Gasquet on the Rule, 6 vols., 1896; P. Hügli, Der heilige Benedikt, in Studies und Mittheilungen aus dem Benedict-Orden, year VI, Vol. i (1885), 141–162; J. H. Newman, Mission of St. Benedict, in Historical Sketches, vol. ii, London, 1885; F. C. Doyle, Teaching of St. Benedict, London, 1887; G. Grütsmacher, Die Bedeutung Benedikts . . . und seiner Regel, Berlin, 1892; L. Tosti, St. Benedict; Historical Discourse on his Life, transl. from the Ital., London, 1898 cf. St. Benedict and Grottaferra, Essays on Tosti's Life of St. Benedict, ib. 1895.

On the order: Bibliographie des Bénédictins de France, Solesmes, 1889; the fundamental work is J. Mabillon, Annales ordinis S. Benedicti, 6 vols., Paris, 1703–39; Montalembert, ut sup.; Sir Jas. Stephens, The French Benedictines, in Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography, London, 1867; S. Branner, Ein Benediktinerbuch, Würzburg, 1880; Scriptores ordinis S, Benedicti in imperio Austriaco-Hungarico, Vienna, 1881; B. Weldon, Chronicle of English Benedictine Monks, London, 1882 (covers the period from Mary to James II); H. C. Lea, History of Sacerdotal Celibacy, Philadelphia, 1884, and cf. his History of the Inquisition, new ed., New York, 1906; J. H. Newman, Benedictine Schools, in Historical Sketches, ut sup.; F. Æ. Ranbek, Saints of the Order of St. Benedict, London, 1890; E. L. Taunton, English Black Monks of St. Benedict, 2 vols., ib. 1897; Heimbucher, Orden und Kongregationen, i, 92–283. Of the Rule among old editions the best is by L. Holstenius, Codex regularum monasticarum, i, 111–135, Augsburg, 1759; another is by E. Martène in his Commentarius in regulam S. Benedicti, Paris, 1690. The best edition is by E. Woelfflin, Benedicti regula monachorum, Leipsic, 1895; serviceable are E. Schmidt, Die Regel des heiligen Benedicts, Regensburg, 1891, and P. K. Brandes, Leben und Regel des . . . Benedikt, Vols. ii, iii, Einsiedeln, 1858–63. The Latin and Anglo-Saxon Intelinear Translation was edited by H. Logeman, London, 1888. The Rule was published in Eng transl., London, 1886, ib. 1896, in Thatcher and McNeal, Source Book, pp. 432–485, in Henderson, Documents, pp. 274–313; and by D. O. H. Blair, London, 1906. A bibliography of commentaries is in KL, ii, 324–325.

BENEDICTINES. See Benedict of Nursia.

BENEDICTION: In the Roman Catholic Church a part of every liturgical act, belonging to the class of sacramentals—i.e., things which were instituted, not by Christ but by the hierarchic Church with divine authority, and which are supposed, is their application to persons and things, to communicate quasi ex opera operato through ordained priests the grace of God insisting in purification, supernatural revivification, and sanctification. The higher the hierarchical position of him who bestows the blessing, the more powerful it is. Benediction and exorcism are always connected; the latter breaks demoniac influences and drives away the demons, while the former communicates divine powers, not only positively, but also negatively in the way of purification, by blotting out sins of omission and the temporal punishment of sins, and removing satanic influences, thus having itself a sort of exorcism though not explicit. Where exorcism alone takes place, it is in an imperative manner, whereas the benediction is precative, yet with an effective divine power quasi ex opere operato by means of the sign of the cross. The personal benediction effects either a lasting habitus (e.g., anointing at baptism), or a forma gratiæ actualis for a passing object and condition (e.g., benediction for travelers, and the sick); both kinds work either in the main negatively by the removal of satanic influences or positively in illumination and bestowal of supernatural strength in body and soul. Benedictions of things are always primarily negative, and positive only in the second place, that the use and enjoyment of the objects may conduce to the welfare of man's body and soul. The supernatural powers are attached to the things by means of the benediction, and in their effect they are independent of the conduct of man; either they make the things permanently res sacræ, affecting men in a purifying and sanctifying manner (baptismal water, holy water, rosaries, etc.), or they are of transient effect as conveying God's grace and protection. Some times they are also connected with indulgences. If anointing is applied, the benediction becomes a consecration, whereby the thing is dedicated to the service of God (e.g., monstrances, crosses, pictures, flags, organs, etc.).

As to the Evangelical conception of the benedictions, the words of Johann Gerhard give the proper point of view: "The priests [in the Old Testament] blessed by praying for good things; God blessed by bestowing the good things. Their blessing was votive, his effective. God promises to confirm this sacerdotal blessing on condition that it is given according to his word and will." Thus it is only God who effectively blesses; that is, communicates divine powers of his grace and his spirit; all human blessing is only intercession with God for his blessing. [According to the Roman Catholic view, the objective difference between liturgical and extraliturgical, ecclesiastical and private benediction is that in the former the efficacy emanates from the Church as a body by whose authority the rite was instituted and in whom name it is conferred and, in consequence, is supposed to be greater than in the latter where the effect depends on the intercession of an individual.] According to the Evangelical idea, there exists no objective difference between liturgical and extraliturgical, ecclesiastical and private benediction; it is only in a psychological way that the former may be more efficacious for the fulfilment of the subjective conditions of the hearing of prayer. Again, only persons, not things, can be blessed with God's spirit and grace. If things are nevertheless blessed, it means that they are set apart for ritual use; and so long as they are thus employed, they will be sacred, while they are desecrated when used lightly apart from ritual purposes. The benediction of things takes place only by metonymy; the things are mentioned, but the persona are meant who use them. Thus, e.g., a cemetery is dedicated to its special use and handed over to the reverential protection of the living; a church edifice is dedicated by its being used and offered to the living congregation as a valuable religious possession because of its use. But the Roman Catholic traditions still in many ways influence the ideas held even among Protestants on the subject of benediction.

E. C. Achelis.

Bibliography: J. Gretser, De benedictionibus, Ingolstadt, 1615; J. Gerhard, De benedictione ecclesiactica, pp. 1252–1290, Jena, 1655; E. Martène. De antiquis ecclesiæ ritibus, vol. iii, Rouen, 1700; J. C. W. Augusti, Denkwürdigkeiten aus der christlichen Archäologie, iii, 392–393, x, 165 sqq., 12 vols., Leipsic, 1817–31; A. J. Binterim, Segen und Fluch, in Denkwürdigkeiten, vol. vii, part 2, Mainz, 1841; L. Coleman, Apostolical and Primitive Church, chap xiv, London, 1844; V. Thalhofer, Handbuch der katholischen Liturgik, ii, 523–524, Freiburg, 1890; Bingham, Origines, XIV, iv, 16, XV, iii, 29; DCA, i, 193–200 (elaborate).

BENEFICE.

1. Meaning of the Term.

Benefice (beneficium ecclesiasticum) is a term which includes two meanings: the spiritual, relating to the ecclesiastical duties attached to it; and the temporal, relating to the income and other worldly advantages of the office. The latter is more strictly the meaning of the word, though the connection of the two was early recognized in the phrase beneficium datur propter officium. Indeed, the term beneficium is not generally used where there is only the temporal side, with no corresponding duties. Such a case may be a commenda, whose holder has a right to the revenues of a church without any responsibilities; or a præstimonium, which is a charge for support on the revenues of the church; or a pensio, the use of a part of the revenues. These relations, however, when they are permanent fall under the general rules applicable to benefices. The benefice proper is ordinarily permanent, though sometimes founded for a specified time.

2. Remuneration of Clergy.

Historically in the primitive Church all the property of a diocese formed one whole, administered by the bishop; its purpose was primarily the support of the poor—bishop and clergy lived as belonging to that class, and were supposed, if they had no private means, to support themselves by their own labors. Those who had no other means of support received a monthly stipend from the general fund. With the recognition of the Church under Constantine, and the consequent accession of considerable property and state subventions, the system changed. But in law the episcopal church was still the unit in any consideration of diocesan property, and the bishop still its exclusive custodian. This remained the case when church property was divided into three or into four parts (see Church Building, Taxation for) and one part destined for the support of the clergy. While, however, it was long before the theory changed, in practise there was a tendency to decentralization, and the individual parishes began to be recognized as separate units. This arose largely from donations and endowments destined by the donor for a particular church, whose clergy were to be supported out of their returns. After the fifth century it became customary for the bishops, instead of paying their clergy out of a central fund, to assign pieces of land for their support and that of the poor and of public worship. These assignments became gradually irrevocable, and thus finally the diocesan unity was dissolved, and the separate churches came into permanent possession of these properties.

3. Provisions Affecting Benefices.

The intimate connection between officium and beneficium is shown by a review of the provisions affecting benefices. They are divided into regular and secular, according as they are served by monastic or secular clergy; into beneficia curata, those to which the cure of souls is attached, and non curata, such as those of chaplains, canons of cathedrals, and the like. The Council of Trent forbade changing a beneficium curatum into a non curatum or simplex. The erection or constitution of a benefice, the permanent attachment of certain revenues to the performance of certain duties, was held to be reserved to the ecclesiastical authorities. The foundation of bishoprics was originally a function of provincial synods, but later came to the pope, who also had power alone to found collegiate churches. The bishop has power to found other benefices within his diocese, and his officials decide whether the endowment is sufficient and whether the proposed foundation will be useful and not injure any other party. The founder has certain rights of imposing conditions for the tenure of his benefice, which, once confirmed, are perpetual.

4. Appointment to a Benefice.

The appointment to a benefice (provisio, institutio canonica) includes the choice of the person (designatio) and the conferring of the benefice (collatio, concessio, institutio in the narrower sense). The designation to the greater benefices (bishoprics and the like) is sometimes by election, sometimes by nomination of the sovereign; to the lesser, by the choice of the bishop, frequently on the nomination of a patron. The collation is the act of ecclesiastical superiors—of the pope to bishoprics (confirmatio), of the bishop to the lesser benefices.

The conditions of a proper canonical appointment to a benefice are several: (1) A vacancy must exist, and that a real one, not such as would be caused by the forcible expulsion of the incumbent. Thus expectancies are forbidden; but the election of a coadjutor-bishop cum jure successionis is allowed. (2) The person appointed must be a persona regularis and idonea, i.e., properly qualified to hold the benefice. Under this head comes the possession of the qualifications necessary for ordination, though, where it is required, a delay of a year or other specified time may be granted. Intellectual qualifications are included, to be determined, according to the Council of Trent, by examination; and the law has sometimes required native birth also, other things being equal. (3) The appointment must be made within the legal time, the rule being that no benefice shall remain vacant more than six months; otherwise the right of presentation is lost (see Devolution, Law of). (4) There must be no simony involved. (5) What are called subreption and obreption are also forbidden; this affects especially cases where a person obtains a benefice without letting it be known that he already holds another. The church law forbids plurality of benefices, except, for example, in cases where a beneficium simplex is held concurrently with a beneficium curatum, these being held to be compatible. This rule was often violated by papal dispensation, which caused great dissatisfaction. (6) The proper forms, both in the designation and in the collation, must be observed (see Bishop; Investiture; etc.).

5. Rights of a Benefice.

The rights and duties connected with a benefice are partly matters of universal law, partly special to the particular case. The incumbent has a right to the usufruct of any property belonging to the benefice, tithes, fees, oblations, etc. All this is his absolutely; but the view that he ought only to use so much of it as will suffice for his support, devoting the rest to ecclesiastical purposes and especially to the poor, influenced legislation very early, so that what came from the Church was supposed to revert to the Church, if it had not been used, at the cleric's death. This rule, which at one time was positive, has been very much relaxed, within certain limits. Of course the incumbent's power over church property is limited by the rights of his successor, arid no arrangements can be made lasting beyond his lifetime, unless by the concurrence of the proper authorities.

6. Tenure.

A benefice is supposed to be conferred for life, and is normally vacated only by the death of the incumbent, but it may be vacated earlier by resignation, either express or tacit. Resignation can not be arbitrary with the incumbent, as he has by his acceptance of it incurred certain obligations from which he must be released—bishops by the pope, the lower clergy by their bishops. There must also be a valid ground for it. Tacit resignation may come about through any act which ipso facto dissolves the relationship: the taking monastic vows by the holder of a beneficium sæculare, the acceptance of a secular office, marriage (see Celibacy), the acceptance of another incompatible benefice, change of faith, etc. Vacation as a penalty may occur through deprivation or remotion; this includes the transfer of a priest, as a disciplinary measure, to a smaller charge.

The technical use of the word benefice in Protestant Churches is largely confined to the Church of England where a great part of the prescriptions given above is still in force. In the statute law of England the term is practically restricted to a benefice with cure of souls, as distinct from cathedral preferment. In the State Churches of Germany also the distinction between beneficium and officium is still maintained, and the erection and alteration of benefices is a matter concerning jointly the ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Here the ordinary collator to a benefice is the consistory. The tendency of the most modern legislation is toward giving the congregation a voice in the selection of the pastor.

(E. Friedberg.)

Bibliography: Bingham, Origines, book v; L. Thomassin, Vetus et nova ecclesiæ disciplina, II, iii, 13, § 5, Paris, 1698; C. Gross, Das Recht an der Pfründe, Graz, 1887; Galante, Il beneficio ecclesiastico, Milan, 1895; U. Stutz, Geschichte des kirchlichen Benefizialwesens von seinen Anfängen bis auf die Zeit Alexanders III, Berlin, 1895.

BENEFICIUM COMPETENTIÆ: The privilege by which a condemned debtor is allowed to retain so much of his income as is absolutely necessary to his maintenance. Such a privilege exists in many places, in the interest of the public service, for officials and also for clerics. For the latter the custom is usually referred to the decree of Gregory IX (1271–76) De solutionibus (iii, 23). This passage, however, only establishes the principle that an unbeneficed clerical debtor can not be forced to pay by spiritual penalties, and that the creditors are to be content with sufficient security for payment when the debtor's circumstances improve. The glosses, and common practice following them, base the privilege upon the decree, and statute law has confirmed it, restricting any levy upon the salary or other income of such a cleric so that a certain sum is left to him as congrua (sustentatio). This privilege can not be pleaded in the case of debts arising from unlawful transactions or of public taxes.

(E. Friedberg.)

BENEFIT OF CLERGY: A privilege claimed by the medieval Church; as part of its general plea of immunity from secular interference. It allowed members of the clergy to have their trial for offenses with which they were charged, not before any secular tribunal, but in the bishop's court. In England this covered practically all cases of felony except treason against the king, and by the reign of Henry II it had given rise to great abusers. In many cases grossly criminal acts of clerics escaped unpunished, and other criminals eluded the penalty of their acts by declaring themselves clerics. The question was one of those on which the quarrel between the king and Becket reached its acute stage; and by the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164; see Becket, Thomas) Henry attempted to deal with it by decreeing that clerics accused of crime were to be first arraigned in the king's court, which might at its discretion send them to an ecclesiastical court. If convicted here and degraded (see Degradation), the clerk was to lose his benefit of clergy and be amenable to lay justice. Edward III extended the privilege in 1330 to include all persons who could read (see Clerk); and it was not until the fifteenth century that any very definite regulation of this dangerous latitude was arrived at. Later statutes guarded against the evasion of their provisions by expressly declaring that their operation was "without benefit of clergy," and the privilege was finally abolished in 1827. There are a few early cases of its use in the American colonies, especially the Carolinas and Virginia; but an Act of Congress put an end to it here in 1790.

BENEZET, ben´´e-zet´, ANTHONY: Quaker philanthropist; b. at St. Quentin, France, Jan. 31, 1714; d. at Philadelphia May 3, 1784. He belonged to a Huguenot family which settled in England in 1715, joined the Quakers there, and came to Philadelphia in 1731. He was a cooper by trade, but gave his life after coming to America to teaching and to philanthropic efforts, against slavery and war, in behalf of the American Indians, and the total abstinence cause. In 1742 he became English master in the Friends' School at Philadelphia and in 1755 established a girls' school there. In 1750 he undertook an evening school for slaves. He wrote many tracts against the slave trade and printed and distributed them at his own expense; he also published A Short Account of the People Called Quakers (Philadelphia, 1780); The Plainness and Innocent Simplicity of the Christian Religion (1782); Some Observations on the Situation, Disposition, and Character of the Indian Natives of this Continent (1784).

Bibliography: R. Vaux, Memoir of Anthony Beneset, Philadelphia, 1817, revised by W. Armistead, London, 1859.

BENGEL, JOHANN ALBRECHT: German Lutheran; b. at Winnenden (12 m. n.e. of Stuttgart), Württemberg, June 24, 1687; d. at Stuttgart Nov. 2, 1752. He studied at Tübingen, and devoted himself especially to the sacred text; he was also intent upon philosophy, paying particular attention to Spinoza. After a year in the ministry as vicar at Metzingen, he became theological repetent at Tübingen in 1708; and in 1713 was appointed professor at the cloister-school at Denkendorf, a seminary for the early training of candidates for the ministry. During this year he traveled through Germany, visiting the schools, including those of the Jesuits, to learn their methods. At Denkendorf he published in 1719 his first work, an edition of the Epistolæ Ciceronis ad familiares, with notes; then Gregorii panegyricus græce et latine (1722), and Chrysostomi libri vi de sacerdotio (1725), to which he added Prodromus Novi Testamenti recte cauteque ordinandi. His chief work, however, was upon the New Testament. While a student, he was much perplexed by the various readings in the text, and with characteristic energy and perseverance he immediately began to investigate the subject. He procured all the editions, manuscripts, and translations possible, and in 1734 published his text and an Apparatus criticus, which became the starting-point for modern text-criticism of the New Testament. His famous canon was: "The more difficult reading is to be preferred." This critical work was followed by an exegetical one, Gnomon Novi Testamenti (Tübingen, 1742), which has often been reprinted in Latin, and was translated into German by C. F. Werner (1853, 3d ed., 1876) and into English in Clark's Library (5 vols., Edinburgh, 1857–58) and in an improved edition by Lewis and Vincent (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1860–1861). As a brief and suggestive commentary on the New Testament, the Gnomon is still of use.

Bengel's chief principle of interpretation, briefly stated, is to read nothing into the Scriptures, but draw everything from them, and suffer nothing to remain hidden that is really in them. His Gnomon exerted considerable influence on exegesis in Germany, and John Wesley translated most of its notes and incorporated them into his Annotatory Notes upon the New Testament (London, 1755). In 1740 appeared Bengel's Erklärte Offenbarung Johannis, often reprinted (Eng. transl. by John Robertson, London, 1757); in 1741 his Ordo temporum, and in 1745 his Cyclus sive de anno magno consideratio. In these chronological works he endeavored to fix the "number of the beast" and the date of the "millennium," which he placed in the year 1836. In 1741 he was made prelate of Herbrechtingen; in 1749 member of consistory and prelate of Alpirspach, with residence at Stuttgart; and two years later Tübingen honored him with the doctorate.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: The best life is by O. Wächter, J. A. Bengel. Lebensabriss, Stuttgart, 1885; cf. idem, Bengel und Otinger, Gütersloh, 1883; a life was written by his son and included in the Introduction to the Gnomon, where it is usually found; in more complete form by his great-grandson J. C. F. Burk, J. A. Bengels Leben und Wirken, Stuttgart, 1831, Eng. transl. by Walker, London, 1837; E. Nestle, Bengel als Gelehrter, Tübingen, 1893.

BENHAM, WILLIAM: Church of England; b. at Westmeon (16 m. n.e. of Southampton), Hants, Jan. 15, 1831. He was educated at St. Mark's College, Chelsea, and King's College, London (Theological Associate, 1857), and was a village schoolmaster from 1849 to 1852, and a private tutor from 1853 to 1858. He was ordered deacon in 1857 and ordained priest in the following year, and after acting as tutor in St. Mark's College from 1857 to 1864, was editorial secretary of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge from 1864 to 1867, and professor of modern history in Queen's College, London, from 1864 to 1871. He was successively curate of St. Lawrence, Jewry, London (1865–67), vicar of Addington (1867–73), St. John the Baptist, Margate (1873–80), and Marden, Kent (1880–82), as well as Six-Preacher of Canterbury Cathedral from 1872 to 1888, and Boyle Lecturer in 1897. From 1882 he was rector of St. Edmund's, Lombard Street, and was honorary canon of Canterbury from 1885. He was also rural dean of East City from 1903. In theology he was a Broad-church disciple of F. D. Maurice. Died at London July 30, 1910. His works are: The Gospel of St. Matthew, with Notes and a Commentary (London, 1862); English Ballads, with Introduction and Notes (1863); The Epistles for the Christian Year, with Notes and Commentary (1864); The Church of the Patriarchs (1867); Companion to the Lectionary (1872); A New Translation of Thomas a Kempis' "Imitatio Christi" (1874); Readings on the Life of our Lord and His Apostles (1880); How to Teach the Old Testament (1881); Annals of the Diocese of Winchester (1884); A Short History of the Episcopal Church in America (1884); The Dictionary of Religion (1887); and Old St. Paul's Cathedral (1902). He collaborated with R. P. Davidson and with C. Welsh in Mediæval London (1901); and edited the Life of Archbishop Tait (London, 1891); The Writings of St. John, in the Temple Bible (1902), and the Ancient and Modern Library of Theological Literature.

BENJAMIN OF TUDELA (a town of Navarre, on the Ebro, 160 miles n.e. of Madrid): Properly Benjamin ben Jonah, a Spanish rabbi, who in 1160 (or 1165; cf. Grätz, Geschichte der Juden, vi, note 10) left home and traveled through Catalonia, southern France, Italy, Greece, the islands of the Levant, Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia to Bagdad; thence he proceeded to Egypt by way of Khuzistan, the Indian Ocean, and Yemen; and finally returned to Spain in 1173. The information which he gathered with great diligence not only concerning the places visited, but also of adjoining lands, was written down in a Hebrew work (Massa'oth shel rabbi Binyamin, "Itinerary of the Rabbi Benjamin"), which is one of the most famous of early books of travel. Benjamin was credulous, perhaps deficient in general information, and interested primarily in things Jewish; his book abounds in errors and absurdities, but it does not, justify the charge of deliberate falsification, and it contains much that is true and valuable not only concerning the numbers, status, and dispersion of the Jews of the twelfth century, but also concerning general history, political conditions, trade, descriptions of places, and the like.

Bibliography: The "Itinerary" was first published at Constantinople in 1543; then Ferrara, 1558; Freiburg, 1583; and many times subsequently. Arias Montanus end C. l’Empereur issued the text with a Latin translation, the former at Antwerp, 1575; the latter at Leyden, 1633. An English translation (from the Latin of Arias Montanus) was published in Purchas's Pilgrims, London, 1625, and is given in Bohn's Early Travels in Palestine, London, 1848. Others (with text) are by A. Asher, 2 vols., London, 1840–41, and M. N. Adler, London, 1907, the latter based on a British Museum MS. which differs considerably from other copies. A Germ. transl., with text, notes, etc., by L. Grünhut and M. N. Adler, was published at Frankfort, 2 vols., 1903–04. Consult also M. N. Adler, in the Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, Oct., 1894.

BENNET, JAMES: Congregationalist; b. in London May 22, 1774; d. there Dec. 4, 1862. He studied for the ministry at Gosport under the Rev. David Bogue; was ordained at Romsey, Hamshire, 1797, and was minister there till 1813, when he became theological tutor of the Rotherham Independent College, and minister of the church there; pastor of the church in Silver Street (afterward removed to Falcon Square), London, 1828–60. He was an associate of the Haldanes in some of their tours, was a secretary of the London Missionary Society, was chairman of the Congregational Union 1840, and attracted much attention by his defense of Christianity against the unbelief of his time. His publications include The History of Dissenters from the Revolution to 1808, in collaboration with Dr. Bogue (4 vols., London, 1808–12; 2d ed., 2 vols., 1833), continued in The History of Dissenters during the Last Thirty Years (1839); The Star of the West, being memoirs of R. Darracott (1813); Lectures on the History of Jesus Christ (3 vols., 1825; 2d ed., 2 vols., 1828), supplemented by Lectures on the Preaching of Christ (1836); Memoirs of the Life of David Bogue (1827); An Antidote to Infidelity, lectures delivered in 1831, and A Second Antidote to Infidelity (1831); Justification as Revealed in Scripture in Opposition to the Council of Trent and Mr. Newman's Lectures (1840); The Theology of the Early Christian Church Exhibited in Quotations from the Writers of the First Three Centuries, Congregational lecture, 1841; Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles (1846).

Bibliography: Memorials of the Late James Bennett, D.D., including Sermons Preached on the Occasion of his Death, London, 1883; DNB, iv, 242–243.

BENNETT, WILLIAM HENRY: English Congregationalist; b. at London May 22, 1855. He was educated at Lancashire Independent College (1873–82) and Owens College, Manchester, London University (B.A., 1875), and St. John's College, Cambridge (B.A., 1882), and was professor in Rotherham College from 1884 to 1888 and lecturer in Hebrew in Firth College, Sheffield, in 1887–88. He has been professor of Old Testament exegesis in Hackney College, London, since 1888 and in New College, London, since 1891. He was also first secretary to the Board of Theology in the University of London in 1901–03, and has been examiner in the Old Testament to the University of Wales since 1904, as well as a recognized teacher in the same institution since 1901. He has edited Chronicles and Jeremiah in The Expositor's Bible (London, 1894–95); Joshua in The Sacred Books of the Old Testament (1895) and in The Polychrome Bible (New York, 1899); General Epistles and Genesis in The Century Bible (London, 1901, 1903); and Joshua in The Temple Bible (1904). He has also written Theology of the Old Testament (London, 1896); Primer of the Bible (1897); and Biblical Introduction (1899; in collaboration with W. F. Adeney).

BENNO: Bishop of Meissen; b. at Hildesheim or Goslar 1010; d. at Meissen June 18, 1108, according to the traditional accounts. The first certain fact in his life is that he was a canon of Goslar. He was made bishop of Meissen in 1066, and appears as a supporter of the Saxon insurrection of 1073, though Lambert of Hersfeld and other contemporary authorities attribute little weight to his share in it. Henry IV imprisoned him, however, but released him in 1078 on his taking an oath of fidelity, which he did not keep. He appeared again in the ranks of the king's enemies, and was accordingly deprived of his bishopric by the Synod of Mainz in 1085. Benno betook himself to Guibert, the antipope supported by Henry as Clement III, and by a penitent acknowledgment of his offenses obtained from him both absolution and a letter of commendation to Henry, on the basis of which he was restored to his see. He promised, apparently, to use his influence for peace with the Saxons, but again failed to keep his promise, returning in 1097 to the papal party and recognizing Urban II as the rightful pope. With this he disappears from authentic history; there is no evidence to support the later stories of his missionary activity and zeal for church-building and for ecclesiastical music. His elevation to the fame of sainthood seems to have been due partly to the need of funds to complete the cathedral of Meissen, and partly to the wish to have a local or diocesan saint. He was officially canonized by Adrian VI in 1523, as a demonstration against the Lutheran movement, which Luther acknowledged by a fierce polemical treatise. His relics were solemnly dug up and venerated in 1524; but as the Reformation progressed they were no longer appreciated in Meissen, and Albert V of Bavaria obtained permission to remove them in 1578 to Munich, of which city Benno is considered the patron saint.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Several early accounts in prose and verse of Benno's life and miracles were collected in ASB, June, iii, 148–231. Consult: O. Langer, Bischof Benno von Meissen, in Mittheilungen des Vereins für Geschichte der Stadt Meissen, i, 3 (1884), pp. 70–95, i, 5 (1886), pp. 1–38, ii, 2 (1888), pp. 99–144; E. Machatschek, Geschichte der Bischofe des Hochstiftes Meissen, pp. 65–94, Dresden, 1884; R. Doebuer, Aktenstücke zur Geschichte der Vita Bennonis, in Neues Archiv für sächsische Geschichte, vii, 131–144, Dresden, 1886; K. P. Will, Sanct Benno, Bischof von Meissen, Dresden, 1887.

BENOIST (BENOIT), be-nwä´, ÉLIE: French Protestant; b. at Paris Jan. 20,1840; d. at Delft Nov. 15, 1728. His parents were servants of the Protestant family La Tremoille. He early displayed fondness for the classics, studied at Montaigu College and at La Marche (Paris), and taught privately in divinity at Montauban. In 1664 he was ordained, and the following year was called to Alençon, where he served for twenty years as Protestant minister, with as much prudence as capacity. He met with much opposition from the Roman Catholics, especially from the Jesuit De la Rue, who attacked him and even incited a riot against him. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Benoist went to Holland, and was called as minister to the church of Delft, near The Hague, where he stayed thirty years. He wrote Lettre d’un pasteur banni de son pays à une Église qui n’a pas fait son devoir dans la dernière persécution (Cologne, 1666); Histoire et apologie de la retraite des pasteurs à cause de la persécution de France (Frankfort, 1687); Histoire de l’Édit de Nantes (5 parts, Delft, 1693–95; Eng. transl., London, 1694).

G. Bonet-Maury.

Bibliography: P. Pascal, Élie Benoist et l’épliss réformée d’Alençon, Paris, 1892; E. and É. Haag, La France protestante, ii, 269 sqq., 2d ed. by Bordier, Paris, 1877 sqq.; Bulletin de la société d’histoire du protestantisms français, 1876, p. 259, 1884, pp. 112, 162.

BENOIST (BENOIT), RENÉ: Roman Catholic theologian; b. at Saveniéres, near Angers, in 1521; d. at Paris Mar. 7, 1608. He accompanied Mary Stuart to Scotland as her confessor in 1561; after his return to France was appointed pastor of the church of St. Eustache in Paris in 1569, and played a conspicuous part in the controversies of the Ligue as one of the leaders of the opposition to the Guises and the Ultramontanes. In 1566 he published a translation of the Bible, which, however, was little more than a reprint of the Geneva translation; it has been said that he knew little of either Hebrew or Greek. The translation was condemned by the theological faculty of the University of Paris in 1567 and by Pope Gregory XIII in 1575, and Benoist was expelled from the Sorbonne in 1572. He was reinstated by Henry IV and, to reenter the faculty, subscribed his own condemnation. He exasperated the Ultramontanes still more by maintaining that the king did not forfeit his right to the throne by professing the Protestant faith. He had influence in bringing about Henry's change of faith, and the latter made him his confessor and appointed him bishop of Troyes, but the pope refused confirmation, and in 1604 he had to renounce the office. He was a voluminous writer.

Bibliography: J. C. F. Hoefer, Biographie générale, v, 395, 46 vols., Paris, 1852–66; C. du Plessis d’Argentré; Collectio judiciorum, II, i, 392–393, 533–534, 3 vols., Paris, 1728–36.

BENRATH, KARL: German Protestant theologian; b. at Düren (22 m. s.w. of Cologne) Aug. 16, 1845. He was educated at the universities of Bonn, Berlin, and Heidelberg (1864–67), and taught in his native city until 1871. From 1871 to 1875 he studied in Italy, chiefly in Rome. In 1876 he became privat-docent at Bonn and associate professor in 1879. In 1890 he was called to Königsberg as professor of church history. He has written Bernardino Ochino von Siena (Leipsic, 1875); Die Quellen der italienischen Reformationsgeschichte (Bonn, 1876); Geschichte der Reformation in Venedig (Halle, 1887); and Julia Gonzaga (1900). He has also edited Die Summa der heiligen Schrift, ein Zeugniss aus dem Zeitalter der Reformation (Leipsic, 1880); Luther's Schrift an den christlichen Adel deutscher Nation (Halle, 1884); and K. R. Hagenbach's Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte (6th ed., Leipsic, 1889).

BENSLY, ROBERT LUBBOCK: Orientalist; b. at Eaton (2 m. s.w. of Norwich), Norfolk, England, Aug. 24,1831; d. at Cambridge Apr. 23, 1893. He was educated at King's College, London, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge; studied in Germany; was appointed reader in Hebrew at Gonville and Caius College 1863; elected fellow 1876; became lecturer in Hebrew and Syriac in his college; was made professor of Arabic 1887; examiner is the Hebrew text of the Old Testament in the University of London; was a member of the Old Testament Revision Company; accompanied Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Gibson on the trip to Sinai on which the palimpsest of the Syriac Gospels was discovered (see Bible Versions, A, III, 1, § 2). He has edited The Missing Fragment of the Latin Translation o f the Fourth Book of Ezra, discovered and edited with an Introduction and Notes (Cambridge, 1875); contributed The Harklean Version of Heb. xi, 28–xiii, 25 to the Proceedings of the Congress of Orientalists of 1889; assisted in the editing of the Sinaitic palimpsest; edited IV Maccabees (to which he devoted twenty-seven years of labor), published posthumously (Cambridge, 1895); wrote Our Journey to Sinai, Visit to the Convent of St. Catarina, with a chapter on the Sinai Palimpsest (London, 1896); edited St. Clement's Epistles to the Corinthians in Syriac (London, 1899).

Bibliography: H. T. Francis, In Memoriam R. L. Bensly, Cambridge, 1893; DNB; Supplement, vol. i, 171.

BENSON, EDWARD WHITE: Archbishop of Canterbury; b. at Birmingham July 14, 1820; d. at Hawarden (6 m. e. of Chester) Oct. 11, 1896. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A., 1852); became master at Rugby 1852; was ordained priest 1857; in 1859 was appointed first head master of Wellington College (on the border of Windsor forest, near Wokingham, Berkshire); was appointed examining chaplain by the bishop of Lincoln (Christopher Wordsworth) in 1868, prebendary of Lincoln 1869, and chancellor and residentiary canon 1872, when he resigned his mastership and took up his residence at Lincoln. In 1877 he was consecrated first bishop of Truro (Cornwall); and was translated to Canterbury in 1883. He was a man of great energy, determined, and self-reliant. His industry was unremitting, and he found time for reading and study, the fruits of which appeared in the posthumous publications Cyprian, his Life, his Times, his Work (London, 1897) and The Apocalypse (1899). His administrative ability was shown in the development of Wellington College, which was practically his creation, and the thorough and efficient organization of the new diocese of Truro, where he formed a divinity school to train candidates for holy orders, began the erection of a cathedral, and founded and strengthened schools. He was the first bishop to appoint a canon missioner. As archbishop he strove for legislation effecting reforms in church patronage and discipline; opposed and prevented the disestablishment of the Church of Wales; created, in 1886, a body of laymen to act in an advisory capacity with the convocation of his province; cultivated cordial relations with the Nestorians and other Eastern Christians, but repelled what may have been intended as an advance to his own Church from Rome. He sat as judge in the trial of Bishop King of Lincoln, charged with certain ritual offenses (1889–90), and in the judgment which he delivered produced a masterly exposition of the law of the prayer-book, based upon the entire history of the English Church. Besides the works already mentioned, a volume of Prayers, Public and Private appeared posthumously (1899), and he published during his lifetime several volumes of sermons and addresses.

Bibliography: A. C. Benson, Life of E. W. Benson, 2 vols., London, 1899, abridged ed., 1901 (by his eldest son); J. H. Bernard, Archbishop Benson in Ireland, London, 1898; DNB, Supplement, vol. i, 17l–179.

BENTLEY, RICHARD: English theologian and scholar; b. at Oulton, near Wakefield (25 m. s.w. of York), Yorkshire, Jan. 27, 1662; d. at Cambridge July 14, 1742. He was the son of a blacksmith, was grounded in Latin by his mother, studied at the grammar-school at Wakefield, and was admitted at the age of fourteen (the usual age of matriculation was seventeen or eighteen) to St. John's College, Cambridge. He took his first degree in 1680 with honor in logic, ethics, natural science, and mathematics, and became schoolmaster at Spalding in Lincolnshire. But Stillingfleet, the wealthy and learned dean of St. Paul's, soon called him to London to superintend his son's studies. He took his pupil in later years to Oxford and reveled there among the manuscripts in pursuance of his researches in profane and especially Biblical literature, entering on his life's work of treating and publishing texts. He had taken his M.A. at Cambridge in 1684 and received the same degree from Oxford probably in 1689. Before his twenty-fourth year he had started for himself a hexapla dictionary; in the first column stood every Hebrew word in the Bible and in the other five all the different translations of these words in Chaldee, Syriac, Latin, and Greek (both the Septuagint and Aquila). His Latin letter of ninety-eight pages to John Mill appeared in 1691 as an appendix to an edition of the chronicle of Malalas and presented a mass of critical research, including much drawn from manuscripts; he moved over the field of classical literature as if it were his library of which he knew every inch, and showed himself a master in criticizing the origin of books, in following up etymological rules, in explaining their use, and in dealing with meter. In this, his virgin effort, he gave explanations and corrections for some sixty Greek and Latin authors. He wrote like an authority, and in the happiest manner. He published Callimachus (1693), Phalaris (1699; the debate is still interesting), Menander arid Philemon (1710), Horace (1711), Terence (1726), and Manilius (1739); his edition of Milton's Paradise Lost appeared in 1732.

Ordained 1690, probably at once Stillingfleet's house-chaplain, he became canon of Worcester in 1692, librarian to the king in 1694, chaplain in ordinary to the king in 1695, D.D. from Cambridge and Master of Trinity in 1699, vice-chancellor of the University 1700, archdeacon of Ely 1701. His intrigues secured his election as regius professor of theology in 1717. His apparent love of power led the academic senate, Oct. 17, 1718, to deprive him, illegally, of his academic degrees, which a decree of court restored to him in 1724. He was almost always in hot water either in literature, in his college, or in politics. Legally deprived of his mastership in 1734, he kept it, simply because the man who should oust him did not choose to move.

He delivered the first Boyle lectures (see Boyle, Robert) in 1692, his intimate friend Isaac Newton helping him. He wrote against the freethinker Collins in 1713. Sterne quoted in Tristram Shandy his sermon on papistry, 1715. In 1691 he wrote to John Mill about the text of the New Testament, in 1713 he discussed the readings, and in 1720 he published his proposals for a new edition. At least from 1716 on, and apparently as late as 1732, he caused collations to be made in the libraries from London to Rome. But he did not publish an edition, probably because he found it impossible to give what he wished to give. His collations are in the library of Trinity College.

Caspar René Gregory.

Bibliography: The best life is by R. C. Jebb, in English Men of Letters, London, 1887. Consult also J. H. Monk, Life of Richard Bentley . . . with an Account of his Writings, 2d corrected ed., ib. 1833; A. A. Ellis, Bentleii critica sacra, Cambridge, 1862; DNB, iv, 306–314.

BENTON, ANGELO AMES: Protestant Episcopalian; b. at Canea (Khania), on the island of Crete, July 3, 1837. He studied at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. (B.A., 1856) and the General Theological Seminary, New York city (1860). He held various parishes in North Carolina from 1860 to 1883, when he was appointed professor of mathematics and modern languages at Delaware College, Newark, Delaware, being transferred to the chair of Greek and Latin two years later. In 1887 he accepted a call to the University of the South as professor of dogmatic theology, where he remained until 1894, being likewise rector of the Otey Memorial Church, Sewanee, from 1893 to 1895. He was then rector at Albion, Ill., in 1895–1904, this being interrupted by a temporary charge at Tarentum, Pa. Since 1905 he has held a temporary charge at Foxburg, Pa. His chief literary work has been the editing of the Church Encyclopedia (Philadelphia, 1884).

BENZINGER, EMMANUEL (GUSTAV ADOLF): German Orientalist; b. at Stuttgart Feb. 21, 1865. He was educated at the University of Tübingen (Ph.D., 1888; licentiate of theology, 1894), and after a pastorate at Neuenstadt, Württemberg, from 1894 to 1898, was privat-docent for Old Testament theology at the University of Berlin until 1901, when he retired, and has since resided in Palestine. In theology he belongs to the historicocritical school. He has been a member of the Deutscher Palästinaverein since 1888, editing its journal in 1897–1902, and has also been on the executive committee of the Deutscher Verein zur Erforschung Palästinas since 1897. He has written hebräische Archäologie (Freiburg, 1894, 2d ed.1907); Commentar zu den Königsbüchern (1899) and Commentar zu den Chronik (1901), both in the Kurzer Hand-Kommentar zum Alten Testament; and Geschichte des Volkes Israels (Leipsic, 1904). He likewise collaborated with R. J. Hartmann in Palästina (Stuttgart, 1899), and with Frohnmeyer in Bilderatlas zur Bibelkunde (1905), and has edited Baedeker's Palästina und Syrien since the third edition (1889).

BENZO: Bishop of Alba, a zealous partizan of Henry IV; b. about the beginning of the eleventh century; d. not earlier than 1085 or 1086. Little that is definitely attested can be related of his life; but it may be reasonably conjectured that he came originally from southern Italy, that he gained some sort of a position at the German Court, possibly as one of the chaplains of Henry III, and that before 1059 he was raised to the bishopric of Alba by Henry's influence. He was one of the most devoted upholders of the Italian claims of the German kings, and a bitter opponent of the Hildebrandine party. His most prosperous days fell in the period of the schism between Honorius II and Alexander II, when he went to Rome (at the end of 1061) charged by the empress Agnes with the mission of supporting the former, the imperial candidate for the papacy, to whom he remained faithful even after Alexander's supremacy was assured. Later, he was a victim of the Patarene movement (see Patarenes), when in 1076 or 1077 popular disturbances drove him from his see. Ill luck followed him during the rest of his life. Though he may have taken part in Henry IV's first expedition to Rome, we never again find him in an important political position; and the latest indications to be gathered from his writings leave the picture of a man broken by poverty and illness, and still waiting for the emperor to reward him for long and faithful services. His Libri vii ad Henricum IV do not make up a single work, but are a collection of separate writings in both prose and verse which he put together into a sort of mosaic shortly before his death. Their special interest lies in the fact that they give an admirable insight into the views of the extreme imperialists, who were carried away by boundless hatred of Gregory VII. Benzo puts forth original views on the constitution of the State and on ecclesiastical politics from the standpoint of a convinced supporter of the empire. His Panegyricus, since the time and manner of the composition of its several books have been definitely determined, is now more highly regarded as an authority on the period of the schism.

Carl Mirbt.

Bibliography: Benzo's Ad Henricum IV imperatorem Libri septem, ed. K. Pertz, is in MGH, Script., xi, 591–681, Hanover, 1854. On his life and work consult: W. von Giesebrecht, Annales Altahenses, pp. 123, 213–227, Berlin, 1841; idem, Geschichte der Kaiserzeit, ii, 535, Brunswick, 1875 (in opposition to the work of K. J. Will, next mentioned); K. J. Will, Benzos Panegyrikus, Marburg, 1857; H. Lehmgrübner, Benzo von Alba, . . . sein Leben und . . . "Panegyricus", Berlin, 1887; idem, Benzo von Alba, . . . eine Quellenuntersuchung, ib. 1886; T. Lindner, Benzos Panegyricus auf Heinrich IV, pp. 497–526, Göttingen, 1866; O. Delarc, in Revue des questions historiques, xliii (1888), 5–60; E. Steindorff, in Göttinger Gelehrte Anzeiger, No. 16, 1888, pp. 593 sqq.; Wattenbach, DGQ, ii (1886), 202, ii (1894), 328–329; C. Mirbt, Die Publizistik im Zeitalter Gregors VII., Leipsic, 1894; Hauck, KD, vol. iii.

BERENGAR OF POITIERS: A younger contemporary and zealous adherent of Abelard. Practically nothing is known of his life except what may be learned from his few brief writings. These, however, are not without interest, partly because (in spite of their being by no means completely trustworthy) they are among the authorities for the history of the Council of Sens in 1141, and partly for the light which they throw on the mental attitude and literary tone which prevailed among the disciples of Abelard and opponents of Bernard about the middle of the twelfth century. There are three of them extant: an Apologeticus against Bernard, an Epistola contra Carthusienses, and an Epistola ad episcopum Mimatensem, the bishop of Mende. The first was written not long after the Council of Sens, but not until the sentence of Innocent II against Abelard was known. Toward the end of it Berengar points out that other teachers, such as Jerome and Hilary of Poitiers, had made mistakes without being deposed; but a large part of the tractate is a personal attack on Bernard, accusing him of having made frivolous songs in his youth, taught the preexistence of the soul, and made up his commentary on the Canticles of a lot of heterogeneous material, partly borrowed from Ambrose. Especially bitter are his accusations of duplicity and unfairness in connection with the Council of Sens. The shorter but equally malicious letter against the. Carthusians, who had taken a stand against Abelard, accuses them of breaking their vow of silence to speak calumny, and, while abstaining from the flesh of beasts, devouring their fellow men. The third letter is written in a different tone. Berengar's boldness had apparently stirred up so much hostility that he feared for his safety, left home, and sought an asylum in the Cévennes, whence he wrote to beg the bishop's protection, not exactly as a penitent, though he implies that he has approached more nearly to Bernard's standpoint. Whether he succeeded in setting himself right cannot be told, as nothing is known of his later life.

(F. Nitzsch†.)

Bibliography: Berengar's works are usually printed among Abelard's, e.g., in Cousin's ed., ii, 771 sqq., 2 vols., Paris, 1849–59; also in MPL, clxxviii. Consult also Histoire littéraire de la France, xii, 254 sqq., Paris, 1763; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, v, 427–428; S. M. Deutsch, Die Synods von Sens, 1141, und die Verurteilung Abälards, pp. 37–40, Berlin, 1880.

BERENGAR OF TOURS.

1. Early Life.

Berengar of Tours was born perhaps at Tours, probably in the early years of the eleventh century; d. in the neighboring island of St. Cosme Jan. 6, 1088. He laid the foundations of his education in the school of Bishop Fulbert of Chartres, who represented the traditional theology of the early Middle Ages, but did not succeed in imposing it upon his pupil. He was less attracted by pure theology than by secular learning, and brought away a knowledge of the Latin classics, dialectical cleverness, freedom of method, and a general culture surprising for his age. Later he paid more attention to the Bible and the Fathers, especially Gregory and Augustine; and it is significant that he came to formal theology after such preparation. Returning to Tours, he became a canon of the cathedral and about 1040 head of its school, which he soon raised to a high point of efficiency, bringing students from far and near. The fame which he acquired sprang as much from his blameless and ascetic life as from the success of his teaching. So great was his reputation that a number of monks requested him to write a book that should kindle their zeal; and his letter to Joscelin, later archbishop of Bordeaux, who had asked him to decide a dispute between Bishop Isembert of Poitiers and his chapter, is evidence of the authority attributed to his judgment. He became archdeacon of Angers, and enjoyed the confidence of not a few bishops and of the powerful Count Geoffrey of Anjou.

2. Controversy over the Eucharist.

Amid this chorus of laudation, however, a discordant voice began to be heard; it was asserted that Berengar held heretical views on the Eucharist. In fact, he was disposed to reject the teaching of Paschasius Radbertus, which dominated his contemporaries. The first to take formal notice of this was his former fellow student Adelmann, then a teacher at Liége, who wrote to question him, and, receiving no answer, wrote again to beseech him to abandon his opposition to the Church's teaching. Probably in the early part of 1050, Berengar addressed a letter to Lanfranc, then prior of Bec, in which he expressed his regret that Lanfranc adhered to the eucharistic teaching of Paschasius and considered the treatise of Ratramnus on the subject (which Berengar supposed to have been written by Scotus Erigena) to be heretical. He declared his own agreement with the supposed Scotus, and believed himself to be supported by Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and other authorities. This letter found Lanfranc in Rome, after it had been read by several other people; and as Berengar was not well thought of there, Lanfranc feared his association with him might be prejudicial to his own interests, and laid the matter before the pope. The latter excommunicated Berengar at a synod after Easter, 1050, and summoned him to appear personally at another to be held at Vercelli in September. Though disputing the legality of his condemnation, he proposed to go, first passing through Paris to obtain permission from King Henry I, as nominal abbot of St. Martin at Tours. Instead of granting it, however, the king threw him into prison, where Berengar occupied himself with the study of the Gospel of John, with a view to confirming his views. The synod was held at Vercelli without him; two of his friends, who attempted to defend him, were shouted down and barely escaped personal violence; Ratramnus's book was destroyed; and Berengar was again condemned. He obtained his release from prison, probably by the influence of Geoffrey of Anjou; but the king still pursued him, and called a synod to meet in Paris Oct., 1051. Berengar, fearing that its purpose was his destruction, avoided appearing, and the king's threats after its session had no effect, since Berengar was sheltered by Geoffrey and by Bishop Eusebius Bruno of Angers, and found numerous partisans among less prominent people.

3. Berengar Submits at Rome.

In 1054 Hildebrand came to France as papal legate. At first he showed himself friendly to Berengar, and talked of taking him back to Rome to get Pope Leo's authority with which to silence his foes. But when he found that the latter could do more to disturb the peace of the Church than Berengar's friends, he drew back. Under these circumstances Berengar decided to concede as much as he could, and the French bishops showed that they wished a speedy settlement of the controversy, when the Synod of Tours declared itself satisfied by Berengar's written declaration that the bread and wine after consecration were the Body and Blood of Christ. The same desire for peace and the death of Pope Leo were reasons why Hildebrand did not press for Berengar's going to Rome at once; later he did so, confident of the power of his influence there, and accordingly Berengar presented himself in Rome in 1059, fortified by a letter of commendation from Count Geoffrey to Hildebrand. At a council held in the Lateran, he could get no hearing, and a formula representing what seemed to him the most carnal view of the sacrament was offered for his acceptance. Overwhelmed by the forces against him, he took this document in his hand and threw himself on the ground in the silence of apparent submission.

4. Reasserts his Views in France.

Berengar returned to France full of remorse for this desertion of his faith and of bitterness against the pope and his opponents; his friends were growing fewer—Geoffrey was dead and his successor hostile. Eusebius Bruno was gradually withdrawing from him. Rome, however, was disposed to give him a chance; Alexander II wrote him an encouraging letter, at the same time warning him to give no further offense. He was still firm is his convictions, and about 1069 published a treatise in which he gave vent to his resentment against Nicholas II and his antagonists in the Roman council. Lanfranc answered it, and Berengar rejoined. Bishop Raynard Hugo of Langres also wrote a treatise De corpore et sanguine Christi against Berengar. But the feeling against him in France was growing so hostile that it almost came to open violence at the Synod of Poitiers in 1076. Hildebrand as pope tried yet to save him; he summoned him once more to Rome (1078), and undertook to silence his enemies by getting him to assent to a vague formula, something like the one which he had signed at Tours. But his enemies were not satisfied, and three months later at another synod they forced on him a formula which could mean nothing but transubstantiation except by utterly indefensible sophistry. He was indiscreet enough to claim the sympathy of Gregory VII, who commanded him to acknowledge his errors and to pursue them no further. Berengar's courage failed him; he confessed that he had erred, and was sent home with a protecting letter from the pope, but with rage in his heart. Once back in France, he recovered his boldness and published his own account of the proceedings in Rome, retracting his recantation. The consequence was another trial before a synod at Bordeaux (1080), and another forced submission. After this he kept silence, retiring to the island of Saint-Cosme near Tours to live in ascetic solitude. Apparently his convictions were unchanged at his death, and he trusted in the mercy of God under what he considered the unjust persecutions to which he had been subjected.

5. Berengar's Significance.

Berengar's real significance for the development of medieval theology lies in the fact that he asserted the rights of dialectic in theology more definitely than most of his contemporaries. There are propositions in his writings which can be understood in a purely rationalistic sense. But it would be going quite too far to see in rationalism Berengar's main standpoint, to attribute to him the deliberate design of subverting all religious authority—Scripture, the Fathers, popes, and councils. This would be to ascribe to a man of the eleventh century views of which his age knew nothing, which it even had no terms to express. The contrast which he sets forth is not between reason and revelation, but between rational and irrational ways of understanding revelation. He did not recognize the right of the prevailing theology to claim his assent, because it made irrational assertions; the authorities to which he refused to submit were, in his judgment, only human authorities. He spoke bitterly and unjustly of popes and councils, unable to forgive them for making him untrue to himself; but this meant no rejection of the Catholic conception of the Church. His opposition was limited to the eucharistic doctrine of his time, and he controverted the theory of Paschasius not least because he believed it was contrary to Scripture and the Fathers, and destructive of the very nature of a sacrament.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: An edition of Berengar's works was begun by A. F. and F. T. Vischer, vol. i only was published containing his De sacra cœna, Berlin, 1834; cf. Mansi, Collectio, xix, 761 sqq.; the works are also in Bouquet, Recueil, xiv, 294–300. A collection of letters relating to him (one of his own) was published by E. Bishop in Historisches Jahrbuch der Görres-Gesellschaft, i, 272–280, Münster, 1880. For his life consult H. E. Lehmann, Berengarii Turonensis vitæ ex fontibus haustæ, part i, Rostock, 1870 (no more published); J. Schmitzer, Berengar von Tours, sein Leben und seine Lehre, Munich, 1890. Consult the works of Bernold of San Blas, in Labbe, Concilia, ix, 1050, in Bouquet, Recueil, xiv, 34–37, and in MPL, cxlviii; B. Hauréau, Histoire de la philosophie scolastique, i, 225 sqq., Paris, 1872; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, vols. iv, v; KL, ii, 391–404; Neander, Christian Church, iii, 502–521, iv, 84, 86, 92, 335, 337, 355.

BERENGOZ: Abbot of St. Maximin's at Treves in the twelfth century; d. about 1125. In the records of the abbey he is first mentioned as abbot in 1107, and for the last time in 1125. The register of deaths contains his name against the date of Sept. 24, without naming the year; but as his successor, Gerhard, was installed in 1127, he must have died either in 1125 or 1126. He rendered considerable services to the monastery by procuring from Henry V the restitution of a number of alienated fiefs, and, besides five sermons for saints' days, wrote two larger works: three books De laude et inventione sanctæ crucis, and a series of discourses De mysterio ligni dominici et de luce visibili et invisibili per quam antiqui patres olim meruerunt illustrari. In the former he treats of the legend of the discovery of the cross of Christ by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, adducing a large number of Old Testament types of the cross. The latter deals with Christ under the aspect of the light of the world, shining from the beginning of its history. Whether the commentary on the Apocalypse which the Benedictines of St. Maur printed as an appendix to the second volume of their edition of St. Ambrose, ascribing it to a certain Berengaudus, is his or not must remain uncertain.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: Berengoz's works were edited by Christophorus, Cologne, 1555, and appear in M. de la Bigne, Magna bibliotheca, vol. vii, ib. 1618, also in MPL, clx. Consult J. Marx, Geschichte des Erzstifts Trier, ii, 95, Trier, 1860: H. V. Sauerland, Trierer Geschichtsquellen, Trier, 1889; Hauck, KD, iii, 971–972.

BERGEN FORMULA (Das bergische Buch). See Formula of Concord.

BERGER, DANIEL: One of the United Brethren in Christ; b. near Reading, Pa., Feb. 14, 1832. He studied privately at Springfield, O., taught school 1852–58, and served as pastor 1858–64. From 1864 till 1897 he was editor in the publishing house of the United Brethren in Christ at Dayton, O., having charge of the denominational Sunday school literature 1869–93, and was a member of the International Sunday-School Lesson Committee from 1884 to 1896. In theology he is an Arminian. He wrote the History of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ for the American Church History Series (New York, 1894), and a larger work with the same title (Dayton, 1897), which is the official history of the denomination.

BERGER, bār´´zhê´, SAMUEL: French Lutheran; b. at Beaucourt (10 m. s.s.e. of Belfort), France, May 2, 1843; d. in Sèvres July 13, 1900. He studied at Strasburg and Tübingen; in 1867 became assistant preacher in the Lutheran Church in Paris; in 1877, librarian to the Paris faculty of Protestant theology. He was the author of F. C. Baur, les origines de l’école de Tubingue et ses principes (Paris, 1867); La Bible au seizième siècle, étude sur les origines de la critique (1879); De glossariis et compendiis biblicis quibusdam medii ævi (1879); Du rôle de la dogmatique dans la prédication (1881); la Bible française au moyen âge (1884); De l’histoire de la Vulgate en France (1887); Le Palimpseste de Fleury (1889); Quam notitiam linguæ Hebraicæ habuerint Christiani medii ævi temporibus in Gallia (1893); L’Histoire de la Vulgate pendant les premiers siècles du moyen âge (1893); Notice sur quelques textes latins inédits de l’Ancien Testament (1893); Un Ancien Texte latin des Actes des Apôtres (1895); Une Bible copiée à Porrentruy (Études de Theologie et d’Histoire, 1901, 213–219); and Les Préfaces jointes aux livres de la Bible dans les manuscrits de la Vulgate, mémoire posthume (1902).

BERGIER, bār´´zhyê´, NICOLAS SYLVESTRE: French Roman Catholic; b. at Darnay (18 m. s.e. of Mirecourt), Lorraine, Dec. 31, 1718; d. at Paris Apr. 19, 1790. He gained repute while a teacher at the college at Besançon by essays in philology and mythology; abandoned this line of study to devote himself to Christian apologetics, and polemics against the Encyclopedists. In 1765–68 he published at Paris Le Déisme réfuté par lui-même (2 vols.) and in 1768 the Certitude des preuves du christianisme (2 vols.), which achieved a great success and called forth replies from Voltaire and Anacharsis Cloots. In 1769 followed Apologie de la religion chrétienne (2 vols.) against Holbach, in 1771 Examen du matérialisme (2 vols.), and in 1780 Traité historique et dogmatique de la vraie religion avec la réfutation des erreurs qui lui ont été opposées dans les différens siècles (12 vols.). He also wrote a Dictionnaire théologique (3 vols., 1789), which formed part of the Encyclopédie, but has several times been separately edited (latest by Le Noir, 12 vols., 1876). As a reward for his services he was made canon of Notre Dame in Paris and confessor to the aunts of the king, with a pension of 2,000 livres.

Bibliography: Biographie nouvelle des contemporains, ii, 378, Paris, 1821; Biographie générale, v, 14.

BERGIUS, JOHANNES: Reformed theologian; b. at Stettin Feb. 24, 1587; d. at Berlin Dec. 19, 1658. He studied at Heidelberg and Strasburg; in 1615 became professor at Frankfort-on-the-Oder, where the theological faculty represented the Reformed faith; 1623 court preacher at Berlin. He was present at the Colloquy of Leipsic (1631) and the Thorn Conference (1645), but declined to attend the Synod of Dort (1618), as he wished for union rather than the establishment of Calvinism. He was emphatically a mediator, and showed himself temperate and dignified in controversy. He published many sermons.

Bibliography: D. H. Hering, Beiträge zur Geschichte der evangelisch-reformirten Kirche in den preussisch-brandenburgischen Ländern, i, 16 sqq., ii, 82, Breslau, 1784–85; H. Landwehr, Die Kirchenpolitik Friedrich Wilhelms des Grossen Kurfürsten, pp. 150 sqq., Berlin, 1894.

BERKELEY, GEORGE.

Bishop of Cloyne (in County Cork, about 15 m. e.s.e. of the city of Cork); b. probably at Dysert Castle, near Thomastown (90 m. s.w. of Dublin), County Kilkenny, Ireland, Mar. 12, 1685; d. at Oxford Jan. 14, 1753.

Berkeley's Philosophy.

He studied at Trinity College, Dublin (B.A., 1704; M.A. and fellow, 1707; B.D. and D.D., 1721), and filled various college offices from tutor (1707) to junior dean (1710) and junior Greek lecturer (1712). He lived there in an atmosphere "charged with the elements of reaction against traditional scholasticism in physics and metaphysics." His Commonplace Book (first printed in the Oxford ed. of his works, 1871, iv, 419–502) shows how the stimulus worked upon a mind naturally inclined to independent investigation. Very early he adopted the idea that no existence is conceivable, and therefore none is possible, which is not either conscious spirit or the ideas (i.e., objects) of which such spirit is conscious. Locke had affirmed secondary and primary qualities of the material world; the secondary qualities, such as color and taste, do not exist apart from sensations; primary qualities exist irrespective of our knowledge. Berkeley denied this distinction, and held that external objects exist only as they are perceived by a subject. Thus the mind produces ideas, and these ideas are things. There are, however, two classes of ideas: the less regular and coherent, arising in the imagination; the more vivid and permanent, learned by experience, "imprinted on the senses by the Author of nature" which are the real things—a proof for the existence of God. According to Berkeley matter is not an objective reality but a composition of sensible qualities existing in the mind. "No object exists apart from the mind; mind is therefore the deepest reality; it is the prius, both in thought and existence, if for a moment we assume the popular distinction between the two." Berkeley appeared as an author with this theory already developed, and from it he never wavered. In 1709 he published an Essay toward a New Theory of Vision, an examination of visual consciousness to prove that it affords no ground for belief in the reality of the objects apparently seen. In 1710 appeared a Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, in which his theory received complete exposition.

Meanwhile Berkeley had taken orders, and, in 1713, he left Dublin, went to London, formed many desirable acquaintances, and gained an enviable reputation for learning, humility, and piety. The same year he published Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous (ed. in Religion of Science Library, No. 29, Chicago, 1901), "the finest specimen in our language of the conduct of argument by dialogue." He visited the Continent in 1713–14 and again in 1716–20. In 1721 he returned to Ireland, again filled college offices at Dublin (divinity lecturer and senior lecturer, 1721; Hebrew lecturer, 1722; proctor, 1722), and was appointed dean of Dromore (1722) and dean of Derry, "the best preferment in Ireland" (1724).

Berkeley's American Scheme.

Berkeley now became devoted to a plan of establishing a college in the Bermuda Islands, went to London to further the project in 1724, and in 1725 published A Proposal for the Better Supplying of Churches in our Foreign Plantations, and for converting the savage Americans to Christianity by a college to be erected in the Summer Islands, otherwise called the Isles of Bermuda. By his enthusiasm and persuasive powers he won many expressions of sympathy, and came to believe that the government would support the plan. In Sept., 1728, he sailed for America and landed at Newport, R. I., Jan., 1729. Three years of waiting convinced him that his hopes were futile, and in Feb., 1732, he returned to London. He published immediately Alciphron or the Minute Philosopher, the result of his studies in America and probably the most famous of his works. It is a powerful refutation of the freethinking then popular and fashionable. In 1734 he was made bishop of Cloyne, and there he lived, happy in his family and beloved for his goodness and benevolence, till 1752, when he went to Oxford to end his days with his son, a senior student at Christ Church. He kept up his studies after his appointment as bishop and published a number of books, including the curious Philosophical Reflections, and Inquiries concerning the Virtues of Tar-water (1744; three eds. the same year, the second called Siris, a Chain of Philosophical Reflections, etc.), in which he set forth a revision of his philosophy, and expressed his faith in tar-water as a universal medicine, good for man and beast; it was the most popular of his works.

On first coming to America Berkeley bought a farm near Newport and built there a house, still standing, which he called "Whitehall" after the English palace. The shore is about a mile from the house, and a cleft in the rocks is still pointed out as a retreat whither he was wont to go and where he wrote much of Alciphron. This book is indeed a permanent record of his life at Newport, and not a little of its charm is due to this fact. He helped found a philosophical society at Newport and preached there in Trinity Church, a fine old wooden structure, which is still standing. He made at least one convert, the Rev. Samuel Johnson, episcopal missionary at Stratford, Conn., and afterward first president of Columbia College, New York. Attempts to show that he directly influenced the early idealistic thought of Jonathan Edwards have not proved successful. His American plans and dreams inspired the poem, written at uncertain date, which ends with the stanza:

Westward the course of empire takes its way;

The four first acts already past,

A fifth shall close the drama with the day;

Time's noblest offspring is the last.

Bibliography: The standard edition of Berkeley's complete works is by A. C. Fraser, 4 vols., Oxford, 1871, reissued 1901, of which vol. iv includes his Life and Letters and An Account of his Philosophy. Prof. Fraser has also edited a volume of Selections from Berkeley, 5th ed., London, 1899, and contributed Berkeley to the Philosophical Classics series, Edinburgh, 1881. There is an edition of The Works of George Berkeley, by G. Sampson, with biographical introduction by A. J. Balfour, in Bohn's Philosophical Library, 3 vols., London, 1897–98. An American edition of the Principles, by C. P. Krauth, Philadelphia, 1874, presents a valuable epitome of opinions concerning Berkeley. The sources for a biography are a Life by Bishop Stock first published 1778, reprinted in the Biographia Britannica, vol. ii, 1780, and prefixed to the first edition of Berkeley's Collected Works, 1784, the details being obtained from Bishop Berkeley's brother, Dr. Robert Berkeley; S. A. Allibone gives interesting details of Berkeley's residence at Newport in Critical Dictionary of English Literature, i, 174–177, Philadelphia, 1891; DNB, iv, 348–358 adds a list of the works chronologically arranged. Consult further D. Stewart, Philosophical Essays, Edinburgh, 1810; vol. v of his Collected Works, 11 vols., ib. 1854–60 (on the idealism of Berkeley); S. Bailey, A Review of Berkeley's Theory of Vision, London, 1842 (adverse in its pronouncement); J. S. Mill, Dissertations and Discussions, ii, 162–197 and cf. vol. iv, Boston, 1865; F. Frederichs, Der phenomenale Idealismus Berkeley's und Kant's, Berlin, 1871; W. Graham, Idealism, an Essay, London, 1872 (connects Berkeley and Hegel); G. Spicker, Kant, Hume und Berkeley, Berlin, 1875; A. Penjon, Étude sur la vie et sur les œuvres philosophiques de George Berkeley, Paris, 1878; J. Janitsch, Kant's Urtheile über Berkeley, Strasburg, 1879; T. Loewy, Der Idealismus Berkeley's, in den Grundlagen untersucht, Vienna, 1891; T. H. Huxley, Collected Essays, vi, 241–319, New York, 1894; M. C. Tyler, George Berkeley and his American Visit, in Three Men of Letters, ib. 1895.

BERLEBURG BIBLE. See Bibles, Annotated, I, § 3.

BERN, DISPUTATION OF: The decisive point in the contest which definitely established the Reformation at Bern. At first the movement made slow progress there, as both the character of the people and their manner of life rendered them little susceptible to new ideas; even after a reforming party arose, for several years things continued in an undecided and vacillating condition. The somewhat violent and domineering manner in which the Roman Catholic authorities attempted to use their victory at the Conference of Baden (1526; See Baden, Conference of) brought on a crisis which, after the fashion of the time, it was attempted to meet by means of a disputation. Some of the Reformers invited to participate declined, having in mind the result at Baden, and the Roman Catholic dignitaries and celebrities generally refused to attend. But a great number of delegates and clergy appeared from Switzerland and the South German states, including Zwingli, (Ecolampadius, Butzer, Capito, Ambrose Blaurer, and others. The opening session was held on Jan. 6, 1528, and the discussions lasted from the following day till Jan. 26. They were based on ten theses carefully prepared by Berthold Haller and Franz Kolb and revised by Zwingli. The outcome was that the ten theses were subscribed to by most of the clergy of Bern, the mass was done away with, the images were quietly removed from the churches, and on Feb. 7 the Reformation edict was issued, which gave the theses force of law, annulled the power of the bishops, and made the necessary regulations concerning the clergy, public worship, church property, etc. The majority of the country congregations soon gave in their adherence. The influence of the disputation was felt even in France, the Netherlands, and England.

Bibliography: The acts of the disputation were published at Zurich, 1528, and again in 1608 and 1701; the Ten Theses are given in English in Schaff, Creeds, i, 364–366, and Christian Church, vii, 104–105, in German and Latin, Creeds, iii, 208–210. Consult S. Fischer, Geschichte der Disputation und Reformation in Bern, Bern, 1828; S. M. Jackson, Huldreich Zwingli, pp. 280–283, New York, 1903.

BERN, SYNOD OF: The name given to the first Reformed synod at Bern (1532). The Reformation was established at Bern by the Disputation and the edict of Feb. 7, 1528 (see Bern, Disputation of), but much remained to be done in the way of consolidation and to finish the building of the new Church. This task was entrusted to a general synod, to which all the clergy of the land, 220 in number, were invited. It met on Jan. 9–14; Capito from Strasburg was the principal figure, and he collected the results of the discussion with much care and labor. They form a church directory and pastor's manual which is noteworthy, even among the monuments of the Reformation time, for its apostolic force and unction, its warmth and sincerity, its homely simplicity and practical wisdom.

Bibliography: The acts of the synod were officially printed at Basel, 1532, again in 1728 sad 1778. Both the original and a modernized text were issued by Lauener, Basel, 1830. Consult M. Kirchhofer, Berthold Haller, pp. 169 sqq., Zurich, 1828; Billeter, in the Berner Beiträge, ed. F. Nippold, Bern, 1884 (especially useful); E. Bloesch, Geschichte der schweizerisch-reformierten Kirchen, i, 74–81, Bern, 1898.

BERNARD OF BOTONE: Canonist of the thirteenth century; b. in Parma c. 1200; d. at Bologna May, 1263. He studied law at Bologna, where he became professor and canon; then spent some time in Rome in an important official position at the papal court, but toward the end of his life returned to Bologna to lecture, especially on the decretals. He is best known as the author or compiler of the Glossa ordinaria (see Glosses and Glossators of Canon Law) on the decretals of Gregory IX., but wrote also Casus longi and a Summa super titulis decretalium (cf. J. F. von Schulte, Die Geschichte der Quellen des kanonischen Rechts, ii, Stuttgart, 1877, pp. 114 sqq.

(C. Friedberg.)

BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX

I. Life and Far-reaching Activity:

1. Bernard's Importance.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Bernardus Clarævallis) is one of the most prominent personalities of the twelfth century, of the entire Middle Ages, and of church history in general. He gave a new impulse to monastic life, influenced ecclesiastical affairs outside of monasticism in the most effective manner, and contributed not a little toward awakening an inner piety in large circles. As he knew how to inspire the masses by his powerful preaching, so also he understood how to lead individual souls by his quiet conversation, to ease the mind, and to dominate the will. It was said in his time that the Church had had no preacher like him since Gregory the Great; and that this was no exaggeration is proved by Bernard's orations, which in copiousness of thought and beauty of exposition have few equals. Revered by his contemporaries as saint and prophet, his writings, which belong to the noblest productions of ecclesiastical literature, have secured him also a far-reaching influence upon posterity. Praised by Luther and Calvin, Bernard's name has retained a good repute among Protestants, though he represented many things which the Reformation had to oppose.

2. Early Career. Abbot of Clairvaux.

Bernard was born at Fontaines (20 m. n.e. of Dijon), France, 1090; d. at Clairvaux (in the valley of the Aube, 120 m. s.e. of Paris) Aug. 20, 1153. He was the third son of the knight Tecelin and Aleth, a very pious lady, whose influence decided his future. While yet a boy he lost his mother, and, not being qualified for military service, he was destined for a learned career. He was educated at Chatillon and for a time seemed to be influenced by the world (cf. MPL, clxxviii, 1857; Vita, I, iii, 6). But this period can not have been of long duration; the memory of his mother and the impressions of a solitary journey called him back, and he resolved quickly and firmly to break entirely with the world. He induced some of his brothers, relatives, and friends to follow him, and, after spending half a year together at Chatillon, they entered the "new monastery" at Cîteaux (see Cistercians). In 1115 a daughter monastery was founded at Clairvaux and Bernard became abbot. He gave all his energies to the foundation of the monastery, and spent himself in ascetic practises, which the famous William of Champeaux, then bishop of Chalons, checked from time to time (Vita, I, vii, 31–32). Bernard soon became the spiritual adviser not only of his monks but of many who sought his advice and always left Clairvaux impressed by the spirit of solemnity and peace which seemed to be spread over the place (Vita, I, vii, 33–34). His sermons also began to exercise a powerful influence, which was increased by his reputation as prophet and worker of miracles (Vita, I, x, 46). According to the constitution which the new order adopted, Clairvaux became the mother monastery of one of the five principal divisions into which the Cistercian community was organized, and Bernard soon became the most influential and famous personality of the entire order. As early as the pontificate of Honorius II (1124–1130) he was one of the most prominent men of the Church in France; he enjoyed the favor of the papal chancellor Haimeric (Epist., xv), communicated with papal legates (Epist., xvi-xix, xxi), and was consulted on important ecclesiastical matters. At the Synod of Troyes (1128), to which he was called by Cardinal Matthew of Albano, he spoke in favor of the Templars, secured their recognition, and is said to have outlined the first rule of the order (M. Bouquet, Historiens des Gaules et de la France, xiv, Paris, 1806, 232). In the controversy which originated in the same year with King Louis VI, who was not antagonistic to the Church but jealously guarded his own rights, Bernard and his friars defended the bishop before the king (Epist., xiv), afterward also before the pope (Epist., xlvi, cf. xlvii), though at first unsuccessfully.

3. Activity for Innocent II and against Anacletus II.

With the schism of 1130 Bernard enters into the first rank of the influential men of his time by espousing from the very beginning the cause of Innocent II against Anacletus II. This partizanship of Bernard and others was no doubt induced by the fear that Anacletus would allow himself to be influenced by family interests. On this account they overlooked the illegal procedure in the election of Innocent, regarding it as a mere violation of formalities, defending it with reasons of doubtful value, and emphasizing the personal worth of that pope. At the conference which the king held at Étampes with spiritual and secular grandees concerning the affair, Bernard seems to have taken the part of reporter. He also worked for the pope by personal negotiations and by writing (Epist., cxxiv, cxxv). When Innocent was unable to maintain his ground at Rome and went to France, Bernard was usually at his side. Later, probably in the beginning of 1132, he was in Aquitaine, endeavoring to counteract the influence of Gerhard of Angoulême upon Count William of Poitou, who sided with Anacletus (Vita, II, vi, 36). His success here was only temporary (Epist., cxxvii, cxxviii), and not until 1135 did Bernard succeed, by resorting to stratagem, in changing the mind of the count (Vita, II, vi, 37–38). When in 1133 Lothair undertook his first campaign against Rome, Bernard accompanied the pope from his temporary residence in Pisa to Rome, and prevented the reopening of the proceedings concerning the rights of the opposing popes (Epist., cxxvi, 8 sqq.). He had previously visited Genoa, animated the people by his addresses, and inclined them to an agreement with the Pisans, as the pope needed the support of both cities (cf. Epist., cxxix, cxxx). It was also Bernard who in the spring of 1135 induced Frederick of Staufen to submit to the emperor (Vita, IV, iii, 14; Otto of Freising, Chron., vii, 19). He then went to Italy, where in the beginning of June the Council of Pisa was held; according to the Vita (II, ii, 8), everybody surrounded him here, so that it looked as if he were not in parte sollicitudinis, but in plenitudine potestatis. Nevertheless, resolutions were passed at that time regarding appeals to the papal see, which could hardly have been to the liking of Bernard. After the council he succeeded in inducing Milan and other cities of Upper Italy to submit to the pope and emperor (Epist., cxxix–cxxxiii, cxxxvii, cxl). In Milan they, attempted to elevate him almost with force to the see of St. Ambrose (Vita, II, ii–v). During the last campaign of Lothair against Rome, Bernard went to Italy for the third time, in 1137; he worked there successfully against Anacletus, and after the Pentecost of 1138 he finally brought about the submission of his successor to Innocent and thus ended the schism (Epist., cccxvii). After this he left Rome. How great Bernard's influence in Rome was at this time may be seen from his successful opposition to Abelard.

The ecclesiastico-political affairs of France soon made a new claim upon Bernard's attention. The young king, Louis VII, by making reckless use of his royal prerogatives, caused friction, as when he refused to invest Peter of Lachâtre, whom the chapter of Bourges had elected archbishop. The pope consecrated him, nevertheless, and thus provoked a conflict which was enhanced by the partizanship of Count Theobald of Champagne. After a while Bernard was asked to mediate; he faithfully performed this difficult task and enjoyed the confidence of the king to the end of his life (cf. Epist., ccciv), whereas his relations to the pope appear to have been troubled toward the end (Epist., ccxviii; ccxxxi, 3).

4. The Second Crusade.

A very unexpected event was the election of Bernard, abbot of Aquæ Silviæ near Rome, formerly a monk in Clairvaux, as Pope Eugenius III (1145–53). Bernard writes a little later (Epist., ccxxxix) that all who had a cause now came to him; they said that he, not Eugenius, was pope. And it is true that he exercised a remarkable influence in Rome especially at first, but Eugenius did not always follow his counsels and views; he had to consider the cardinals who were envious of Bernard. About this time Bernard, at the request of Cardinal Alberic of Ostia, undertook a journey to Languedoc, where heresy had advanced greatly and Henry of Lausanne had a large following. Bernard's presence there, especially at Toulouse, was not without effect, but to win permanent success continual preaching was required. A more important commission was given to him in the following year by the pope himself, to preach the crusade. At Vezelay, where the king and queen of France took the cross, Mar. 21, 1146, Bernard's address was most effective. He then traversed the north of France and Flanders, and the officious doings of the monk Radulf induced him to go into the regions of the Rhine; he succeeded in checking the persecutions of the Jews at Mainz, which Radulf had occasioned. His journey along the Rhine was accompanied by numerous cures, of which the Vita (vi) contains notices in the form of a diary. But he regarded it as the wonder of wonders that he succeeded on Christmas day, 1146, in influencing King Conrad in favor of the crusade, in the face of all political considerations. During the crusade Eugenius sought a refuge in France. Bernard accompanied him, and was present at the great council in Reims, 1148; in the debates against Gilbert of Poitiers (see Gilbert de la Porrée) following the council, Bernard appeared as his main opponent; but the jealousy of the cardinals brought it about that Gilbert escaped unhurt (Vita, III, v, 15; Otto of Freising, De gestis Frid., i, 55–57; Hist. pont., viii, MGH, Scrip., xx, 522 sqq.). About this time the first unfavorable news of the crusade became known, and tidings of its complete failure followed. No one felt the blow more keenly than Bernard, who with prophetical authority to speak had predicted a favorable issue (De consid., ii, 1). In the last years of his life he had to experience many things which caused him sadness. Men with whom he had had a lifelong connection died; his relations with Eugenius III were sometimes troubled (Epist., cccvi); the frailty and the pains of his body increased. But his mental vitality remained active; his last work, De consideratione, betrays freshness and unimpaired force of mind.

II. Ecclesiastical and Theological Significance:

1. Asceticism.

Bernard's entire life was dominated by the resolution he made while a youth. To work out the salvation of his soul, and—which meant the same thing to him—to dedicate himself to the service of God, was thenceforth the sum of his life. To serve God demanded above all a struggle against nature, and in this struggle Bernard was in earnest. Sensual temptations he seems to have overcome early and completely (Vita, I, iii, 6) and an almost virginal purity distinguished him. To suppress sensuality in the wider sense of the word, he underwent the hardest castigations, but their excess, which undermined his health, he afterward checked in others (cf. Vita, I, xii, 60). He always remained devoted to a very strict asceticism (Epist., cccxlv; Cant., xxx, 10–12; Vita, I, xii, 60), but castigation was to him only a means of godliness not godliness itself, which demands of man still other things. The new life comes only from the grace of God, but it requires the most serious work of one's own nature. How much importance Bernard attached to this work, whose preliminary condition is a quiet collection of the mind, may be learned from the admonitions which he gives on that point to Eugenius. That he prefers the contemplative life to the active is nothing peculiar in him; and he doubtless had the desire to devote himself entirely to it. He may have believed that only duty and love impelled him to act. And yet, as he was eminently fitted for action, such work was probably also is harmony with his inclinations. From his own experience he received the strength to work, the thorough education of the personality, by which he exercised an almost fascinating power over others; on the other hand, his practical activity excited in him a stronger desire for contemplation and made it the more fruitful for him (De diversis, sermo iii, 3–5).

2. Study of the Bible.

Of Bernard's quiet hours, in spite of the many pressing claims on him, one part was devoted to study, and his favorite study was the Holy Scripture. His knowledge of the Bible was remarkable; not only does he often quote Bible-passages, but all his orations are impregnated with Biblical references, allusions, and phrases, to pay regard to which is often essential for the correct understanding. It is true that his exegesis did not go beyond the average of his time, yet he allows the great fundamental thoughts and vital forms of the Holy Scripture to influence him the more. As he was nourished by them he also knew in a masterly manner how to bring them near to others. All qualities of the great preacher were united in him; besides being vitally seized by the grace of God, he had a hearty desire to serve his hearers, an impressive knowledge of the human heart, and a wealth of thoughts and fascinating exposition, which was indeed not free from mannerism. What is missing in his sermons is reference to the variety of the relations of life, and this is intelligible, because he had monks as his hearers.

3. Grace and Works.

Religious geniality is the most distinguishing quality in the whole disposition of Bernard; his other rich gifts serve it, to it is due the impression which he made upon his time, and the importance which he obtained in the history of the Church. At the same time, Bernard is also a child of his time; above all, of the Church of his time, in which his religious life could develop without conflict. In this respect Bernard is related not to Luther, but to Augustine, and between Augustine and him stand Leo I, Nicholas I, and Gregory VII. Thus elements are found in Bernard which point to future developments combined with those which belong only to the ecclesiastical consciousness of the time. Bernard is most deeply permeated by the feeling of owing everything to the grace of God, that on the working of God rests the beginning and end of the state of salvation, and that we are to trust only in his grace, not in our works and merits. From the forgiveness of sin proceeds the Christian life (De diversis, sermo iii, 1). Faith is the means by which we lay hold of the grace of God (In vigil. nativ. domini, v, 5; In Cant., sermo xxii, 8; cf. also In Cant., lxvii, 10; In vigil. nat. dom., sermo ii, 4). Man can never be sure of salvation by resting his hope upon his own righteousness, for all our works always remain imperfect. On the other hand, Bernard does not deny that man can and should have merits, but they are only possible through the preceding and continually working grace of God; they are gifts of God, which again have rewards in the world to come as their fruit, but without becoming a cause of self-glory. Before God there is no legal claim, but an acquisition for eternity through the work of the pious, made possible and directed by God's grace.

A characteristic contrast to these thoughts, which lead man again and again to humility, is the excessive glorification which Bernard devotes to the saints, above all to the Virgin Mary. Though he opposes (Epist., clxxiv) the new doctrine of her immaculate conception, he nevertheless uses expressions concerning the mother of Jesus which go very far (e.g., In nativ. Beat. Virg. Mariæ, v, 7; In assumpt. Beat. Virg. Mariæ, i, 4; In adv. dom., ii, 5). The same concerns also other saints (e.g., In vigil. Petri et Pauli, §§ 2, 4, and at the end of the second oration In transitu B. Malachiæ). But the importance of such expression which a Protestant consciousness will never be able to adopt is restricted by this, that they are only used on special occasions, such as a feast of the saints. Otherwise the saints stand in the background, Christ alone stands in the foreground.

4. Bernard's Mysticism.

Bernard has always been regarded as a main representative of Christian mysticism, and his writings have been much used by later mystics and were the main source for the Imitatio Christi. But just here becomes evident how different the phenomena are which are comprised under the name of mysticism. With the Neoplatonic-Dionysian mysticism that of Bernard has some points of contact, but it differs from it as to its religious character. It is known how depreciatingly Luther speaks of the Areopagite, but this animadversion does not concern Bernard's mysticism. It is not man who soars to divine height, but the grace of God in Christ, which first pardons the sin and then lifts up to itself the pardoned sinner. On this account the whole mysticism of Bernard centers about Christ, the humbled and exalted one; it likes to dwell upon his earthly appearance, his suffering and death, for it is the "work of redemption" which more than anything else is fit to excite love in the redeemed (In Cant., xx, 2; De grad. hum. in its first chapters). At the same time Bernard perceives that a sensual devotion, as it were, to the suffering of Christ is not the goal with which one must be satisfied; the thing necessary is rather to be filled with the spirit of Christ and through it to become like Christ. By Christ's work of redemption the Church has become his bride. To it, i.e., to the totality of the redeemed, belongs this name first and in a proper sense, to the individual soul only in so far as it is a part of the Church (In Cant., xxvii, 6, 7; lxvii; lxviii, 4, 11). What it receives from him is in the first place mercy and forgiveness of sins, then grace and blessing. The climax of grace is the perfect union, but in the earthly life this is experienced by the pious at the utmost in single moments (De consid., V, ii, 1; De grad. hum., viii; De dilig. Deo, x). When Bernard speaks of becoming one with Christ and with God, his thought is clothed with Biblical expressions; but that Bernard in point of fact does not intend to go beyond the meaning of these words can be seen by reading the explanations (In Cant., lxxi, 7 sqq.), where the union with God, to which the pious soul attains, is most keenly distinguished from a consubstantiality, as it exists between Father and Son in the Trinity. Bernard is entirely free from pantheistic thoughts, and that mysticism does not bring him in opposition to the Church his entire ecclesiastical attitude shows.

5. Doctrine of the Church.

The Church as organized, with its hierarchy, at whose head stands the Roman bishop, as successor of Peter and vicar of Christ, is to Bernard the exhibition of the kingdom of Christ on earth. On this account it must enjoy perfect autonomy, having a right of supervision over everything in Christendom, even over princes and states. It even has a right over the worldly sword (De consid., IV, 7; cf. Epist., cclvi, 1). Nevertheless Bernard is no blind adherent of the views of Gregory VII. In the first place Bernard demands a perfect separation between secular and spiritual affairs; the secular as such is to be left to the secular government, and only for spiritual purposes and in a spiritual sense is the pope to have supervision (De consid., i, 6). But Bernard is also an opponent of the absolute papal power in the Church. As certainly as he recognizes the papal authority as the highest in the Church, so decidedly does he reprove the effort to make it the only one. Even the middle and lower ranks of the Church have their right before God. To withdraw the bishops from the authority of the archbishops, the abbots from the authority of the bishops, that all may become dependent on the curia, means to make the Church a monster (De consid., iii, 8).

6. Monasticism.

Notwithstanding Bernard's many-sided activity, he was and remained above all things a monk, and would not exchange his monachism either for the chair of St. Ambrose or for the primacy of Reims. Monachism is to him the ideal of Christianity. He acknowledges indeed that true Christianity is also possible while living in the world (Apol., iii, 6; In Cant., lxvi, 3; De div., ix, 3), but such a life compared with monastic life seems to him a lower, and in spiritual relation, a dangerous position (De div., xxvii, 2), a partition of the soul between the earthly and heavenly. Monasticism itself he regards in an ideal manner; it appeals to him also not so much from the point of view of merit as from that of the safest way to salvation. To this the whole order of the monastery is subservient, aside from this it is of no value. Besides, Bernard had relations with the different monasteries and monkish associations and was interested in them (cf. with regard to the Premonstratensians Epist., viii, 4; lvi; and especially ccliii; concerning other regular canons, Epist., iii; xxxix, 1; lxxxvii-xc; and elsewhere). In his many relations with the Cluniacensians, frictions were not wanting (cf. Epist., i; clxiv; cclxxxiii; etc., and especially the Apologia ad Guilelmum), for the rise of the new order took place partly at the expense of the old. Nevertheless Bernard was highly esteemed by the Cluniacensians, and close friendship associated him with their head, the noble Peter the Venerable. That it was not interrupted is mainly due to Peter, who knew how to bear occasional lack of consideration by his great friend (cf. Epist., clxvi, 1; clxviii, 1) without resentment (Epist., ccxxix, 5). There existed a mutual true affection and admiration; the letters which they exchanged with each other are an honorable monument for both men, and without regard to differences of times and confessions modern readers can appreciate them.

III. Writings.

The works of Bernard include a large collection of letters; a number of treatises, dogmatic and polemic, ascetic and mystical, on monasticism, and on church government; a biography of St. Malachy, the Irish archbishop; and sermons. Hymns are also ascribed to him (see below). The most important are the letters, which constitute one of the most valuable collections of church history; and the sermons, of which those on the Song of Songs furnish the chief source of knowledge of Bernard's mysticism. The first and fifth books of his De consideratione are also of a mystic character, whereas ii, iii, and iv contain a critique of church affairs of his time from Bernard's point of view and lay down a programme for papal conduct which a contemporary pope would have found it difficult to follow.

S. M. Deutsch.

IV. Hymns.

Five hymns are ascribed to Bernard, viz.: (1) the so-called Rhythmus de contemptu mundi, "O miranda vanitas! O divitiarum!" (2) the Rhythmica oratio ad unum quodlibet membrorum Christi patientis, a series of salves addressed to the feet, knees, etc. of the Crucified; (3) the Oratio devota ad Dominum Jesum et Beatam Mariam matrem ejus, "Summe summi tu patris unice"; (4) a Christmas hymn, "Lætabundus exultet fidelis chorus"; (5) the Jubilus rhythmicus de nomine Jesu, "Jesu dulcis memoria," on the blessedness of the soul united with Christ. All these poetical productions, besides being beautiful in form and composition, are distinguished by a tender and living feeling and a mystic fervor and holy love. If they are really Bernard's, he deserves the title of Doctor mellifluus devotusque. An addition to the Salve regina, closing with the words, "O clemens, O pia, O dulcis virgo, Maria," is also ascribed to him. Mabillon denies Bernard's authorship of all these hymns in spite of the ancient and prevalent tradition. But one is inclined to accept the tradition, especially since the scholastic Berengar, in his Apologia Abelardi contra S. Bernardum, states that Bernard was devoted to poetry from his youth. German adaptations of the last section of (2) by Paul Gerhard (1659), "O Haupt voll Blut and Wunden," and of (5), "O Jesu süss, wer dein gedenkt", are in common use; there are several English versions—as by J. W. Alexander, "O Sacred Head, now wounded" and "Jesus, how sweet thy memory is," and Ray Palmer's "Jesus, the very thought of thee."

M. Herold.

Bibliography: A very accurate list of the literature (2,761 entries, arranged chronologically) is given by L. Janauschek, in Bibliographia Bernardina, Vienna, 1891. The best edition of the works of Bernard is by J. M. Horstius, revised and enlarged by J. Mabillon, Paris, 1687, corrected and enlarged 1690 and 1719, reprinted in MPL, clxxxii–clxxxv, of which the last vol. contains the old Vitæ, and some valuable additions not found in Mabillon. A new critical ed. of the Sermones de tempore, de sanctis, and de diversis has been published by B. Gsell and L. Janauschek in vol. i of Xenia Bernardina, Vienna, 1891. An Eng. transl. by S. J. Eales of the Life and Works of St. Bernard Clairvaux from the ed. of Mabillon, 4 vols. only completed, London, 1888–97, contains the preface of Mabillon to his second edition of the Opera, a Bernardine Chronology, List and Order of the Letters, and transl. of the Letters, Sermons, and Cantica Canticorum. Of the early biographies the most important is the Vita prima, MPL, clxxxv, 225–466, the first book of which, by William of Thierry, was written during Bernard's lifetime, the second, by Ernald, abbot of Bona Vallis, the other books by Gaufrid of Clairvaux, cf. G. Hüffer Vorstudien zu . . . Bernhard von Clairvaux, Münster, 1886. Of later literature note J. Pinio, Commentarius de S. Bernardo, in ASB, Aug., iv, 101 sqq., and in MPL, clxxxv, 643–944 (still very useful); and Mabillon's Præfatio (translated in Eales, ut sup.). Of modern lives the following deserve mention: A. Neander, Der heilige Bernhard und sein Zeitalter, Berlin, 1813, ed. S. M. Deutsch, in Bibliothek theologischer Klassiker, vols. xxii–xxiii, Gotha, 1889, Eng. transl. of 1st ed., Life of St. Bernard, London, 1843; J. C. Morrison, Life and Times of St. Bernard, London, 1877; F. Böhringer, Bernhard von Cairvaux, No. xiii, in Die Kirche Christi und ihre Zeugen, Leipsic, 1878; S. J. Eales, St. Bernard, in The Fathers for English Readers, London, 1890 (Roman Catholic); A. C. Benson and H. F. W. Tatham, in Men of Might, ib. 1892; R. S. Storrs, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Times, the Man, and his Work, New York, 1892; W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Lectures on St. Bernard of Clairvaux, London, 1895 (Roman Catholic); E. Vacandard, Vie de Saint Bernard, Paris, 1895 (displays knowledge of the subject and good taste and judgment so far as the ultramontane point of view of the author allows). Consult further: W. von Giesebrecht, Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, vol. iv, Brunswick, 1874; W. Bernhardi, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reichs unter Lothair von Supplinberg, Leipsic, 1879, and unter Konrad III, ib. 1883; B. Kugler, Analekten zur Geschichte des zweiten Kreuzzuges, Tübingen, 1879; idem, Neue Analekten, ib. 1883; K. F. Neumann, Bernhard von Clairvaux und die Anfänge des zweiten Kreuzzuges, Heildelberg, 1882; G. Hüffer, Die Anfänge des zweiten Kreuzzuges, in Historiesches Jarhbuch der Görres-Gesellschaft, vol. viii, Bonn, 1887. On Bernard's relation to Abelard: S. M. Deutsch, Die Synode zu Sens 1114 und die Verurteilung Abälards, Berlin, 1880; E. Vacandard, Abélard, sa lutte avec S. Bernard, Paris, 1881. On Bernard as a preacher: A. Brömel, Homiletische Charakterbilder, pp. 53–96, Berlin, 1869; E. Vacandard, S. Bernard, orateur, Rouen, 1877; R. Rothe, Geschichte der Predigt, pp. 216 sqq. Bremen, 1881; A. Nebe, Zur Geschichte der Predigt, i, 250 sqq., Wiesbaden 1879; E. C. Dargan, Hist. of Preaching, pp. 208 sqq., New York, 1905. On Bernard's teaching: A. Ritschl, Die Christliche Lehre von der Rechfertigung und Versöhnung, i, § 17, Bonn, 1870; idem, Lesefrüchte aus dem heligen Bernhard, in TSK, 1879, pp. 317–335; H. Reuter, in ZKG, vol. i, 1876; G. Thomasius, Dogmengeschichte, ed. Seeberg, ii, 129 sqq., Leipsic, 1889; A. Harnack, Dogmengeschichte, vol. iii, Freiburg, 1898. On Bernard as a hymnist: R. C. Trench, Sacred Latin Poetry, pp. 138–141, London, 1864; S. W. Duffield, English Hymns, pp. 299, 300, 317 430, 600, New York, 1886; idem, Latin Hymn Writers, passim, especially pp. 186–193, ib. 1889; Julian, Hymnology, pp. 136–137; P. Schaff, Literature and Poetry, ib. 1890. Discussions of St. Bernard from various points of view will be found in the Church Histories dealing with his period and also in works on the History of Philosophy.

For Bernard's hymns: H. A. Daniel, Thesaurus hymnologicus, 5 vols., Halle, 1841–56; C. J. Simrock, Lauda Sion, Cologne, 1850; J. F. H. Schlosser, Die Kirche in ihren Liedern durch alle Jahrhunderte, Freiburg, 1863; P. Schaff, Christ in Song, New York, 1888; J. Pauly, Hymni breviarii Romani, 3 vols., Aachen, 1868–70; F. A. March, Latin Hymns with English Notes, pp 114–125, 276–279, New York, 1874; W. A. Merrill, Latin Hymns Selected and Annotated, Boston, 1904.

BERNARD OF CLUNY (Bernardus Morlanensis, often called Bernard of Morlaix, Morlanensis being improperly rendered Morlaix instead of Morlas): Monk of Cluny; b. probably at Morlas (5 m. n.e. of Pau, and then the capital of the province of Béarn); d. at Cluny probably about the middle of the twelfth century. Nothing more is known of him, except that he wrote a satirical poem of 2,991 lines, divided into three books, and entitled De contemptu mundi, dedicating it to Peter the Venerable. The theme is a monastic and ascetic commonplace, but its handling reveals vigor and satirical power. The meter is a medieval adaptation of the dactylic hexameter, so difficult that Bernard believed he had divine assistance in keeping it up for so many lines; each pair of lines rimes and the first third of each line rimes with the second, thus (lines 1–2):

As to contents the poem is a satirical arraignment of the twelfth century for its vices in Church and society, sparing not even monks and nuns, but so exaggerated that it can not be accepted as history. The opening of the first book and the concluding part of the third are on spiritual themes of uncommon beauty. The poem exists in at least nine contemporary manuscripts and so must have been popular in its day. But it was forgotten until Matthias Flacius Illyricus discovered it and, with a view of showing that the evils of medieval Romanism of which the Protestants complained were already pilloried by Rome's faithful sons, printed a few lines from its third book in his Catalogus testium veritatis qui ante nostram ætatem reclamarunt papæ (Basel, 1556), and the next year the entire poem in the collection of similar poems which he entitled Varia doctorum piorumque virorum de corrupto Ecclesiæ statu poemata ante nostram ætatem conscripta. This collection was reprinted in 1754, probably at Frankfort. The first to bring Bernard's poem out separately was Nathan Chytræus (Bremen, 1597), and he was followed by Eilhard Lubin (Rostock, 1610), Petrus Lucius (Rinteln, 1626), and Johann and Heinrich Stern (Luneburg, 1640). Finally Thomas Wright reprinted it in his Anglo-Latin Satirical Poets of the Twelfth Century (London, 1872, Rolls Series, No. 59). The first complete translation, in prose, was published by Henry Preble (AJT, Jan.–July, 1906). In 1849 Trench published in his Sacred Latin Poetry (London) ninety-six lines from its first book, and these attracted the delighted attention of John Mason Neale, who translated them in his Mediæval Hymns and Sequences (London, 1851). His translation from Bernard leaped into wonderful popularity and was separately printed along with other lines not in Trench, as The Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix, Monk of Cluny, on the Celestial Country (London, 1859; often reprinted). One of the hymns made by division out of this translation, "Jerusalem the golden," is found in all hymnbooks. Other pieces in prose and poetry are also attributed to Bernard.

Bibliography: S. M. Jackson, The Source of "Jerusalem the Golden" and Other Pieces Attributed to Bernard of Cluny, Chicago, 1909 (contains Preble's translation of the De contemptu mundi, and an elaborate introduction and bibliography).

BERNARD OF CONSTANCE: German teacher and author of the eleventh century; d. at Corvey 1088. He was a Saxon by birth, and about the middle of the century presided with notable success over the school at Constance, which he left to teach at Hildesheim. During his residence here he was asked by his teacher Adalbert and his pupil Bernold to write on the questions raised by the Roman synod of 1078, and answered in a lengthy treatise against the opponents of Gregory VII. His standpoint comes out even more clearly in his Liber canonum contra Henricum IV, which on its first publication (M. Sdralek, Die Streitschriften, Altmanns von Passau und Wezilos von Mainz, Paderborn, 1890) was erroneously ascribed to Bishop Altmann of Passau. It was written after the Synod of Quedlinburg at Easter, 1085, when the Gregorian party was in great difficulties, and is an uncompromising declaration of fidelity to the papal cause. Bernard was, in short, as his pupil Bernold describes him, not only "a most learned man" but also "most fervent in the cause of St. Peter."

Carl Mirbt.

Bibliography: The two works mentioned above have been edited by F. Thaner in MGH, Lib. de lite, ii (1892), 29–47, and i (1891), 472–516 respectively. Consult C. Mirbt, Die Publizistik im Zeitalter Gregora VII, Leipsic, 1894; F. Thaner, Zu zwei Streitschriften des 11. Jahrhunderts, in Neues Archiv für älteredeutsche Geschichte, xvi (1889), 529–540; Hauck, KD, vol. iii.

BERNARD OF MENTHON: Founder of the hospices on the Great and Little St. Bernard. Little is known of his life, as modern criticism has hardly touched it, and the older biographies are untrustworthy and legendary. According to them he was born at Menthon, near Annecy (25 m. s. of Geneva), Savoy, in 923, and studied the liberal arts, law, and theology. To avoid a marriage planned by his parents, he fled to Aosta, where he was ordained and later became archdeacon. In addition to the most faithful performance of his priestly duties, he founded the two hospices and placed them in charge of canons regular, finally dying at Novara in 1007. A sequence preserved in the Acta Sanctorum, and dating probably from the end of the eleventh or beginning of the twelfth century, speaks of a meeting between him and Henry IV, which may possibly have occurred. It is known that in the ninth century there was a hospice under clerical auspices on the Mons Jovis, the present Great St. Bernard, which may later have fallen unto decay. First in 1125, and often after that date, we find mention of the church of St. Nicholas on the Mons Jovis; in 1145 of the hospitale, which in 1177 is called domus hospitalis SS. Nicolai et Bernardi Montis Jovis. It is thus not improbable that Bernard restored the older foundation; but it is more likely that this took place at the beginning of the twelfth than at the end of the eleventh century. The date of 1081 for Bernard's death is no better attested than that of 1007. Innocent XI canonized him in 1881. The larger hospice, on which till 1752 the smaller depended, was reformed during the Council of Basel, receiving a very original constitution in 1438. Napoleon, pleased by his reception there, placed the hospice founded by him on the Simplon pass under the care of the same community, and endowed the foundation, which had lost a great part of the rich possessions formerly held by it in fourteen dioceses. It is now supported by voluntary offerings from all the Swiss cantons. A statue of Bernard was erected near the hospice in 1905.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: The old lives are in ASB, 15 June, ii, 1071–1089; Alban Butler, Lives of the Fathers, June 15, 2 vols., London, 1857–60; an old text Le Mystère de St. Bernard de Menthon was published by A. L. de la Marche, Paris, 1889. Consult L. Burgener, Der heilige Bernhard von Menthon, Lucerne, 1870; Mémoires et documents publiés par la société d’histoire de la Suisse, vol. xxix, Lausanne, 1875; A. Lütolf, Ueber das wahre Zeitalter des heiligen Bernard von Menthon (996–1081), is TQ, lxi (1879), 179–207; J. A. Due, in Miscellanea di storia Italiana, xxxi, 343–388, Turin, 1894; Wattenbach, DGQ, ii (1886), 214, ii (1894), 241.

BERNARD OF MORLAIX. See Bernard of Cluny.

BERNARD OF TOLEDO: Archbishop of Toledo 1086–1125; b. at Agen (73 m. s.e. of Bordeaux), France, c. 1050; d. in Spain 1125. His significance in the history of Spain lies in the fact that from him dates the emergence of the Spanish Church from its isolation and its dependence on Rome. He became a monk in the monastery of Cluny, whence he was sent to Spain with others to assist the cause of the reforms of Gregory VII. Here he was made (1080) abbot of St. Facundus at Sahagun in the diocese of Leon, and finally named by Alfonso VI for the archbishopric of Toledo. Gregory's plans for Spain included (besides a general crusade against clerical marriage, simony, and lay investiture) the substitution of the Roman liturgy for the Mozarabic and the recognition of the obligations of tribute from the Spanish Church. The former point had been practically gained before his death, in spite of strenuous opposition. Urban II, by raising Bernard's see to primatial dignity, gave him the power necessary to prosecute the work of Romanizing. His cooperation made possible Urban's intervention at the Synod of Leon (1091) and ignoring of the royal right of investiture when Alfonso attempted to appoint a Spaniard to the see of St. Jago, apparently in order to counterbalance the influence of the French Benedictines with whom the primate was filling the episcopal sees. His career was throughout that of a devoted adherent of the papacy. Some reminiscences of his youthful days as a knight appear in his forcible seizure of the Mohammedan mosque at Toledo in his first year as archbishop and in his plans for a crusade against the Saracens of the East, which both Urban II and Paschal II forbade, in view of the tasks which Spanish Christian chivalry had at home. Four of his sermons, on the Salve Regina, are included among those of the great Bernard.

Carl Mirbt.

Bibliography: J. Aschbach, Geschichte Spaniens und Portugals zur Zeit der Herrschaft der Almoraviden und Almohaden, i, 129 sqq., 339, 358 sqq., Frankfort, 1833; Historia Compostellana: España sagrada, ed. H. Florez, xx, 1–598, 615, Madrid, 1791; A. F. Gfrörer, Papst Gregorius VII und sein Zeitalter, iv, 484, 500–501, Schaffhausen, 1854; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, v, 200, 251, 328–327; idem, Der Kardinal Ximenes, pp. 150 sqq., Arnheim, 1853.

BERNARD, CLAUDE: Called the "poor priest" and "Father Bernard"; b. in Dijon Dec. 23, 1588; d. at Paris Mar. 23, 1641. He was the son of a jurist, studied law himself, and for a time led a life of pleasure, but was converted by what he believed was a vision of his departed father. He became a priest and made Paris his residence, where he spent his time preaching and visiting the poor and sick, not shrinking from the most disgusting diseases. He gave away all that he had, including an inheritance of 400,000 francs.

BERNARD, JOHN HENRY: Church of Ireland, dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin; b. at Raniganj, Bardwan (126 m. n.w. of Calcutta), India, July 27, 1860. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin (B.A., 1880), where he was elected fellow and tutor in 1884, retaining his fellowship until 1902. In 1886 he was ordained to the priesthood, and was chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1887 to 1902. Since 1888 he has been Archbishop King's lecturer in divinity in the University of Ireland, and has been dean of St. Patrick's since 1902, where he had already been treasurer from 1897 to 1902. He was examining chaplain to the bishop of Down in 1889, and was select preacher to the University of Oxford in 1893–1895 and to the University of Cambridge in 1898, 1901, and 1904. He has repeatedly been examiner in mental and moral philosophy for the India Civil Service, and has been a member of the Council of the University of Dublin since 1892, as well as a commissioner of national education for Ireland from 1697 to 1903. He was likewise a member of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in 1894, and of the Representative Church Body in 1897, while in 1902 he became a warden of Alexandra College, Dublin, a commissioner of charitable donations and bequests for Ireland in 1904, and a visitor of Queen's College, Galway, in 1905. He has written or edited the following works: Kant's Critical Philosophy for English Readers (2 vols., London, 1889; in collaboration with J. P. Mahaffy); Kant's Criticism of Judgment (1892); From Faith to Faith (university sermons, 1895); Archbishop Benson in Ireland (1896); Via Domini (cathedral sermons, 1898); The Irish Liber Hymnorum (1898; in collaboration with R. Atkinson); The Pastoral Epistles, in The Cambridge Bible, (Cambridge, 1899); The Works of Bishop Butler (2 vols., London, 1900); The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, in The Expositor's Bible (1903); St. Patrick's Cathedral (1904); The Prayer of the Kingdom (1904); and has translated and edited The Pilgrimage of St. Silvia (1896) and other publications of The Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.

BERNARD, THOMAS DEHANY: Church of England; b. at Clifton (a suburb of Bristol), Gloucestershire, Nov. 11, 1815; d. at Wimborne (21 m. n.e. of Dorchester), Dorsetshire, Dec. 7, 1904. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford (B.A., 1838), was ordered deacon in 1840 and priest in the following year, and was successively curate and vicar of Great Baddow, Essex (1840–46), vicar of Terling, Essex (1848), and rector of Walcot, Somerset (1863–86). He was prebendary of Haselbere and canon resident of Wells Cathedral from 1868 to 1901, and chancellor of the same cathedral after 1879, while from 1880 to 1895 he was proctor for the dean and chapter of Wells. He was also select preacher at Oxford in 1855, 1862, and 1882, and was Bampton Lecturer in 1864. He wrote The Witness of God (university sermons, London, 1862); Progress of Doctrine in the New Testament (Bampton lectures, 1864, 4th ed., 1878); The Central Teaching of Jesus Christ (1892); and The Songs of the Holy Nativity (1895).

BERNARDIN OF SIENNA: Franciscan; b. of noble parents at Massa (33 m. s.w. of Sienna) Sept. 8, 1350; d. at Aquila (58 m. n.e. of Rome) May 20, 1444. He entered the Franciscan order 1402; became its vicar-general 1437, and effected many reforms in discipline and government. He was the most famous preacher of his time and spoke to great crowds in all parts of Italy with wonderful effect. Three times he refused the offer of a bishopric. He was canonized by Nicholas V in 1450 and his day is May 20. His writings were first printed at Lyons (1501), afterward at Paris (4 vols., 1636; 5 vols., 1650) and at Venice (4 vols., 1745). The first volume contains his life by his scholar, St. John of Capistrano. Bernardin's writings are for the most part tractatus seu sermones, which are not so much sermons according to the modern view as formal treatises upon morals, asceticism, and mysticism.

Bibliography: The older accounts of his life are collected in ASB, 20 May, vi, 262–318. Consult: P. Thureau-Dangin, Un Prédicateur populaire . . . St. Bernardin de Sienne (1380–1444), Paris, 1896, Eng. transl., London, 1906; Berthaumier, Histoire de S. Bernardin de Sienne, Paris, 1862; J. P. Toussaint, Leben des heiligen Bernardin, Regensburg, 1873; F. Apollinaire, La vie et les œurres de S. Bernardin, Poitiers, 1882; E. C. Dargan, Hist. of Preaching, pp. 317 sqq., New York, 1905.

BERNARDINES. See Cistercians.

BERNICE, ber-nai´sê or ber´nis (for BERENICE): Eldest daughter of Herod Aprippa I. See Herod and his Family.

BERNO (BERN, BERNARD) OF REICHENAU: Abbot of Reichenau (Benedictine abbey on as island in the Untersee of Lake Constance, 4 m. w.n.w. of Constance) 1008 till his death, June 7, 1048. He was monk in a monastery at Prüm near Treves when appointed abbot; under his rule Reichenau regained its prosperity, which had been lost under his predecessor, the abbot Immo; the library was enriched, scholars were attracted to the school, and the church of St. Mark was rebuilt. He was renowned personally as scholar, as poet, and, above all, as musician; he accompanied the emperor, Henry II, to Rome in 1014 for his coronation and after his return introduced reforms in German church music. Besides lives of saints and theological and liturgical treatises he left a number of letters and works upon music, which are published in Gerbert, Scriptores ecclesiastici de musica sacra, ii (St. Blaise, 1784). His writings are in MPL, cxliii.

(A. Hauck.)

BERNOLD: German ecclesiastical author; b. probably in southern Swabia c. 1054; d. at Schaffhausen Sep. 16, 1100. He was educated at Constance under Bernard, with whom he continued in close relations. He began writing early, and was present in Rome at the great synod of 1079 when Berengar was condemned. The next certain date is his ordination by the cardinal-legate Otto of Ostia at Constance in 1084. From 1086 to 1091 he was certainly an inmate of the monastery of St. Blaise in the Black Fort; in the latter year he migrated to Schaffhausen, where he remained (though not without interruption, as his presence at the battle of Pleichfeld shows) until his death. He was a versatile author. His Chronicon (ed. G. Waitz, in MGH, Script., v, 1844, 385–467) is a valuable source for his own lifetime, though colored by his partizan support of Gregory VII. His treatise De Berengarii hæresiarchæ damnatione multiplici is interesting for the light which it throws on the attitude of German theology before the beginning of the strictly scholastic period. Most of his extant works, however, are of a practical nature, dealing with the vexed questions of the church life of his time. Though a zealous upholder of the reforming papacy, he was not a fanatic.

Carl Mirbt.

Bibliography: C. Mirbt, Die Publizistik im Zeitalter Gregors VII, Leipsic, 1894; A. Ussermann, Germaniæ sacræ prodromus, ii, 432–437, Freiburg, 1792; E. Strelau, Leben und Werks des Mönches Bernold von St. Blasien, Jena, 1889; G. Meyer von Knonau, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reichs unter Heinrich IV und Heinrich V, Leipsic, 1890–1904.

BERNWARD: Bishop of Hildesheim 993–1022. He came of a noble Saxon family, being the grandson of the count palatine Adalbero and the nephew of Bishop Folkmar of Utrecht. He was educated at the cathedral school of Hildesheim by Thangmar, later his biographer, and ordained by Willigis of Mainz. In 987 he became chaplain at the imperial court and tutor to the young Otto III. On Jan. 15, 993, he was consecrated bishop of Hildesheim. He protected his diocese vigorously from the attacks of the Normans, and only once took a wrong step as a temporal magnate—when, at the accession of Henry II, he took the side of Margrave Ekkehart, whose death, however, saved him from the consequences of his mistake. He rendered great services to literature and art. He died Nov. 20, 1022, a few weeks after the consecration of the magnificent church of St. Michael which he had built. Celestine III canonized him in 1193.

(A. Hauck.)

Bibliography: The Vita by Thangmar is in MGH, Script., iv, 754–782, the Miracula, ib. pp. 782–786, Hanover, 1841; the continuation of the Vita by Wolfherius, ib. xi, 165–167, 1854. Consult: A. Schultz, Der heilige Bernward . . . und seine Verdienste, Leipsic, 1879; W. A. Neumann, Bernward von Hildesheim und seine Zeit, in Mittheilungen des kaiserlichen österreichischen Museums für Kunst, v, 73–80, 97–104, 124–130, 141–152, 168–173, Vienna, 1890; B. Sievers, Der heilige Bernward, in Studien und Mittheilungen aus dem Benedict- und dem Cisterz.-0rden, xiv (1893), 398–420; Wattenbach, DGQ, i (1893), 318, 346–350, ii, 25, 360, 511; S. Beissel, Der heilige Bernward von Hildesheim, Hildesheim, 1895.

BERŒANS OR BARCLAYITES. See Barclay, John.

BERQUIN, bār´´kan´, LOUIS DE: French Reformer; b. at Passy-Paris June, 1490; d. at Paris Apr. 17, 1529. He belonged to a noble family of Artois and was lord of the estate of Berquin, near Abbeville. In 1512 he came to Paris to finish his studies, became acquainted with Lefèvre d’Étaples and the publisher Josse Badius, and was introduced to Marguerite of Valois, sister of Francis I, through whom he gained the king's favor. He belonged to that group of godly humanists who wished a reformation of the Church, but without a rupture with Rome. He hated equally the ignorance of the monks and the coarseness of Luther. Erasmus seemed to him the true Reformer; with him therefore he opened correspondence and translated several of his tracts, as well as Luther's De votis monasticis. The doctors of the Sorbonne denounced him as a heretic and on May 13, 1523, the trial was held before the Parliament. Seven of Berquin's writings and one of his translations from Luther and Melanchthon were condemned by the theological faculty and by the Parliament. On Aug. 1, he was made prisoner, but was set free by order of the king, Aug. 8. The Parliament had already burned his papers and books. The siege of Pavia and the captivity of the king (Feb., 1525) increased the Parliament's power, and the queen regent, Louise de Savoie, established (May 20) an extraordinary court to judge the heretics. On the same day three of Erasmus's treatises were censured. Berquin would have been permitted to retire and live on his estates if he had consented to keep silence. But he could not help speaking the truth and (Jan. 8, 1526), being denounced by the bishop of Amiens, he was again imprisoned. His books were again judged and forty of his propositions were declared heretical. He defended himself by saying that his propositions were taken from Erasmus and nobody adjudged the latter a heretic. His books were nevertheless condemned and he would have been burned with them if Marguerite of Valois had not invoked the clemency of her brother. Aug. 17 Francis sent a letter to the Parliament commanding them to take no definite steps without his advice. Although Erasmus advised silence, Berquin, confident of the king's favor, tamed the struggle and quoted from Noël Beda's writings against Erasmus, against the Sorbonne, and Lefèvre d’Étaples, twelve propositions as false and heretical, and asked the king to allow the Parliament to give judgment. From July, 1528, until March, 1529, Berquin lived in security. He was then again imprisoned and Parliament condemned him "to have his tongue branded with a red-hot iron and to remain a prisoner for the rest of his life." Apr. 16 Berquin appealed to the king, and the next day Parliament, taking advantage of the king's absence at Blois, ordered Berquin to be burned at the Place de Grève. He was the first Protestant martyr of France. Théodore Beza said of him: "If Francis had upheld him to the last, he would have been the Luther of France." Berquin's original works are all lost, only a few of his translations being left: Enchiridion du chevalier chrestien (Antwerp, 1529); Le vray moyen de bien et catholiquement se confesser, par Érasme (Lyons, 1542); Paraphrases sur le Nouveau Testament, and Le symbole des apôtres (both from Erasmus, n.p., n.d.).

G. Bonet- Maury.

BERRUYER, bār´´rü´´yê´, JOSEPH ISAAC: French Jesuit; b. at Rouen Nov. 7, 1681; d. at Paris Feb. 18, 1758. He served as teacher of his order for many years and won notoriety from an attempt to rewrite the Bible in French in the form of a romance fitted to the taste of his time; in carrying out the idea, however, he introduced much that was unfitting, heretical, and even blasphemous and obscene. He published the first part, Histoire du peuple de Dieu depuis son origine jusqu’à la venue du Messie, in seven volumes at Paris, 1728. It was put on the Index in 1734, but reissued in expurgated shape in 8 vols. 1733–34. The second part included the Gospels, 4 vols. 1753, also put on the Index in 1755. The third part included the Epistles, in 2 vols. 1757, but was condemned by the pope in 1758. The whole work has appeared in Italian, Spanish, Polish, and German transls., and was reissued (expurgated) in 1851 in 10 volumes.

Bibliography: E. H. Landon, Ecclesiastical Dictionary, ii, 204, London, 1853; A. de Backer, Bibliothèque des écrivains de la compagnie de Jésus, iv, 340, 7 vols., Paris, 1853–1881; F. H. Reusch, Der Index der verbotenen Bücher, ii, 804, Bonn, 1885.

BERRY, JOSEPH F.: Methodist Episcopal bishop; b. at Aylmer, Can., Map 13, 1856; received his education at Milton Academy, Ontario; entered the ministry of his denomination, 1874; was associate editor of the Michigan Christian Advocate, 1884–90; editor of Hepworth Herald, 1890–1904; and was elected bishop 1904.

BERSIER, bār´´syê´, EUGÈNE ARTUR FRANÇOIS: French Reformed; b. at Morges (7 m. w. of Lausanne), Switzerland, Feb. 5, 1831; d. at Paris Nov. 19, 1889. He came of Huguenot parentage, took elementary studies at Geneva and Paris; visited America, 1848–50; studied theology at Geneva, Göttingen, and Halle; became pastor in Paris 1855—in the Free Church until 1877 (until 1861 over the Faubourg St. Antoine Church; until 1874, assistant of Pressensé in the Taitbout Church; until 1877, over the Étoile Church), when he and his congregation joined the Reformed (established) Church of France. He was the author of several popular volumes of sermons, some of which have been translated into English: in the Protestant Pulpit series (2 vols., London, 1869); Oneness of the Race in its Fall and its Future (translated by Annie Harwood, London, 1871); Sermons, with Sketch of the Author (London, 1881; 2d series, 1885); St. Paul's Vision (translated by Marie Stewart, New York, 1881; new ed. 1890); The Gospel in Paris; Sermons, with personal Sketch of the Author by Rev. Frederick Hastings (London, 1884). There are translations also into German, Danish, Swedish, and Russian. He wrote also Solidarité (Paris, 1869); Histoire du Synode de 1872 (2 vols., 1872); Liturgie (now used in the Reformed Church of France, 1874); Mes actes et mes principes (1878); L’Immutabilité de Jésus Christ (1880); Royauté de Jésus Christ (1881); Coligny avant les guerres de religion (1884; 3d ed., 1885; Eng. transl., Coligny: the Earlier Life of the Great Huguenot, London, 1885); La Révocation, discours . . . sur l’édit de révocation (1886); Les Réfugiés français et leur industries (1886); Projet de révision de la liturgie des Églises réformées en France (1888); Quelques pages d’histoire des Huguenots (1890).

Bibliography: E. Stapfer, La Prédication d’Eugène Bersier, Paris, 1893; J. F. B. Tinling, Bersier's Pulpit: Analysis of Public Sermons of . . . Eugène Bersier, London, 1900; W. C. Wilkinson, Modern Masters of Pulpit Discourse, pp. 251–281, New York, 1905 (highly laudatory).

BERTHEAU, bār´´tō´, CARL: German Lutheran; b. at Hamburg July 8, 1836. He was educated at the universities of Göttingen (1855–57, 1858–59) and Halle (1857–58), and after teaching in the schools of his native city became pastor of St. Michael's Church there in 1867. Since 1897 he has been president of the Hamburg Verein für innere Mission. In theology he belongs to the positive evangelical school. He prepared the third volume of K. Hirsche's Prolegomena zu Thomas à Kempis (Berlin, 1894) and edited Luther's catechisms (Hamburg, 1896).

BERTHEAU, ERNST: German Lutheran; b. at Hamburg Nov. 23, 1812; d. at Göttingen May 17, 1888. He studied in Berlin and Göttingen (Ph.D., 1836) and became repetent at Göttingen 1836 extraordinary professor of Oriental languages and Old Testament exegesis 1842, ordinary professor 1843. From 1870 he was a member of the commission to revise Luther's Bible. His publications include: Carminis Ephraemi Syri textus Syriacus secundum codicem bibliothecæ Angelicæ denuo editus ac versione et brevi annotatione instructus (Göttingen, 1837); Die sieben Gruppen mosaischer Gesetze in den drei mittleren Büchern des Pentateuchs (1840); Zur Geschichte der Israeliten, zwei Abhandlungen (1842); an edition of the Syriac grammar of Bar Hebræus (1843); and commentaries upon Judges and Ruth (1845; 2d ed., 1883), Chronicles (1854; 2d ed., 1873), Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (1862), and Proverbs (1847; 2d ed., 1883), in the Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zum Alten Testament.

(Carl Bertheau.)

BERTHIER, bār´´tyê´, GUILLAUME FRANÇOIS: French Jesuit; b. at Issoudun (130 m. s. of Paris), department of Indre, Apr. 7, 1704; d. at Bourges Dec. 15, 1782. He joined the Jesuits in 1722. He added six volumes (Paris, 1749) to the twelve already completed by Longueval, Fontenay, and Brumoy of the Histoire de l’église gallicane, bringing the narrative down to 1529; from 1745 to 1762 he edited the Mémoires de Trévoux and displayed much moderation as well as learning under attacks from the Encyclopedists and Voltaire. After the expulsion of his order from France in 1762 he was appointed tutor to the princes afterward Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, but had to leave the country in 1764; after an absence of ten years he returned to Bourges. He translated the Psalms (8 vols., 1785) and the Book of Isaiah (5 vols., 1788–89) into French with notes. His Œuvres spirituelles were published at Paris in five volumes in 1811.

Bibliography: A. de Backer, Bibliothèque des écrivains de la compagnie de Jésus, s.v., 7 vols., Paris, 1853–61.

BERTHOLD OF CHIEMSEE. See Pürstinger, Berthold.

BERTHOLD OF LIVONIA: Early missionary and second bishop among the Livonians. He was abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Lokkum, and was consecrated bishop to succeed Meinhard about 1196 by Hartwig II, bishop of Bremen. After he had failed to win the heathen by mild means with peril of his life, he went to Saxony and returned with a body-guard in 1198. The Livonians gathered and were defeated in battle, but the bishop was slain July 24, 1198. His successor was Albert of Riga.

BERTHOLD OF REGENSBURG: Franciscan friar, the greatest popular preacher of the Middle Ages in Germany; b. at Regensburg probably earlier than the traditional date of 1220; d. there Dec. 14, 1272. He was a member of the Franciscan community founded at Regensburg in 1226. His novitiate was passed under the guidance of David of Augsburg; and by 1246 he is found in a position of responsibility. By 1250 at the latest, he had begun his career as an itinerant preacher, first in Bavaria, where he endeavored to bring Duke Otto II back to obedience to the Church; then he appears farther westward, at Speyer in 1254 and 1255, then passing through Alsace into Switzerland. In the following years the cantons of Aargau, Thurgau, Constance, and Grisons, with the upper Rhine country, were the principal scenes of his activity. In 1260 he went farther afield, traversing after that date Austria, Moravia, Hungary, Silesia, Thuringia, and possibly Bohemia, reaching his Slavonic audiences through an interpreter. Some of his journeys in the East were probably in the interest of the crusade, the preaching of which was specially entrusted to him by Pope Urban IV in 1263.

The German historians, from Berthold's contemporary, Abbot Hermann of Niedernaltaich, down to the middle of the sixteenth century, speak in the most glowing terms of the force of his personality and the effect of his preaching, which is said to have attracted almost incredible numbers, so that the churches could not hold them; and he was forced to speak from a platform or a tree in the open air. The gifts of prophecy and miracles were soon attributed to him, and his fame spread from Italy to England. He must have been a preacher of great talents and success. Although the manuscript reports of his sermons, which began to circulate very early, are by no means to be trusted as literal productions, we can still form from them a tolerably accurate idea of the matter and manner of his preaching. It was always of a missionary character, based formally on the Scriptures for the day, but soon departing from them to apply the special theme which Berthold wished to enforce. This generally finds its point in the insistent call to true sorrow for sin, sincere confession, and perfect penance; penance without contrition has no value in God's sight, and neither a crusade nor a pilgrimage has any good result unless there is a firm purpose to renounce sin. From this standpoint Berthold criticizes the new preachers of indulgences. The extremely mixed character of his audiences led him to make his appeal as wide and general as possible. He avoids subtle theological questions, and advises the laity not to pry into the divine mysteries, but to leave them to the clergy, and content themselves with the credo. The weighty political occurrences of the time are also left untouched. But everything that affects the average man—his joys and his sorrows, his superstitions and his prejudices—is handled with intimate knowledge and with a careful clearness of arrangement easy for the most ignorant to follow. While exhorting all to be content with their station in life, he denounces oppressive taxes, unjust judges, usury, and dishonest trade. Jews and heretics are to be abhorred, and players who draw people's minds away to worldly pleasure; dances and tournaments are also condemned, and he has a word of blame for the women's vanity and proneness to gossip. He is never dry, always vivid and graphic, mingling with his exhortations a variety of anecdotes, jests, and the wild etymologies of the Middle Ages, making extensive use of the allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament and of his strong feeling for nature.

(E. Steinmeyer.)

Bibliography: The sermons in Germen of Berthold were edited or given in abstract by C. F. Kling, Berlin, 1824, on which cf. J. Grimm in Wiener Jahrbücher der Literatur, xxxii (1825), 194–257, and the Kleinere Schriften by J. Grimm, Vienna, 1869. A complete edition of his Predigten, ed. F. Pfeiffer, appeared vol. i, Vienna, 1862 (cf. K. Schmidt in TSK, xxxvii, 1864, pp. 7–82), vol. ii, ed. J. Strobl, Vienna, 1880 (cf. A. Schönbach, in Anzeiger für deutsches Altertum, vii [1881], 337–385). On the Latin sermons consult H. Leyser, Deutsche Predigten des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts, Leipsic, 1838; G. Jacob, Die lateinischen Reden des seligen Berthold von Regensburg, Regensburg, 1880; Sermones ad religiosos viginti, ed. P. de a. Hoetzel, Munich, 1882. On his life and work consult: K. Hoffmann, Sitzungsberichte der Münchener Akademie, ii (1867), 374 sqq., ii (1868), 101; L. Rockinger, Berthold von Regensburg und Raimund von Peniafort, in Abhandlungen der Münchener Akademie, historische Classe, xiii, 3 (1877), 165 sqq.; K. Unkel, Berthold von Regensburg, Cologne, 1882. For his preaching consult: W. Wackernagel, Altdeutsche Predigten, Basel, 1876; R. Cruel, Geschichte der deutschen Predigt im Mittelalter, pp. 306–322, Detmold, 1879; A. Linsenmayer, Geschichte der Predigt in Deutschland, pp. 333–354, Munich, 1886; E. C. Dargan, A History of Preaching, New York, 1905.

BERTHOLD OF RORBACH: Heretical mystic; d. 1356. He appears first in Würzburg, where he was tried on a charge of teaching heresy, but saved himself by recantation of the doctrines attributed to him. He was again brought to trial at Speyer in 1356, but this time refused to recant and was burned. The accounts of his teaching show him as an adherent of the quietistic mysticism of the Brothers of the Free Spirit, sharing their disbelief in the meritoriousness of prayer and asceticism; those who are "enlightened by God," laymen as well as priests, may preach the Gospel and change bread and wine into the divine substance. The strange and shocking views attributed to him on the passion of Christ can scarcely be reconciled with his other teachings, and have probably come down in a distorted form.

(Herman Haupt.)

Bibliography: A. Jundt, Histoire du panthéisme populaire du moyen âge, p. 105, Paris, 1875; H. Haupt, Die religiösen Sekten in Franken, p. 8, Würzburg, 1882.

BERTHOLD THE CARMELITE. See Carmelites.

BERTHOLDT, LEONHARD: Professor at Erlangen; b. at Emskirchen (14 m. w.n.w. of Nuremberg), Bavaria, May 8, 1774; d. at Erlangen Mar. 22, 1822. He studied at Erlangen and became professor extraordinary on the philosophical faculty 1805; full professor of theology 1810, in recognition of his work upon Daniel (2 vols., Erlangen, 1806-08). His principal work was the Historischkritische Einleitung in die sämmtlichern kanonischen und apokryphischen Schriften des Alten und Neuen Testaments (6 vols., 1812). Of less interest is his Einleitung in die theologischen Wissenschaften (2 vols., 1821–22); and of still less, his Handbuch der Dogmengeschichte (2 vols., 1822–23). As a teacher, however, and as editor of the Kritisches Journal der neuesten theologischen Litteratur, one of the principal organs of the rationalistic party, his activity was stimulating in many ways.

BERTHOLET, bār´´tō´´lê´, ALFRED: Swiss Protestant; b. at Basel Nov. 9, 1868. He was educated at the universities of his native city, Strasburg, and Berlin, and, after being Franco-German pastor at Leghorn, in 1892–93, became privet-docent for Old Testament exegesis in the university of his native city in 1896. In 1899 he was appointed associate professor of the same subject, and in 1905 was promoted to his present position of full professor. He was general secretary of the Second International Congress for the History of Religion held at Basel in 1904, and has prepared the commentaries on Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Ezekiel in K. Marti's Kurzer Handkommentar zum Alten Testament (5 vols., Freiburg and Tübingen, 1897–1902), and has written Der Verfassungsgesetzentwurf des Hesekiel in seiner religionsgeschichtlichen Bedeutung (Freiburg, 1896); Die Stellung der Israeliten und der Juden zu den Fremden (1896); Zu Jesaja 53 (1899); Die israelitischen Vorstellungen vom Zustand nach dem Tode (Tübingen, 1899); Buddhismus und Christentum (1902); Die Gefilde der Seligen (1903); Seelenwanderung (Halle, 1904); Der Buddhismus und seine Bedeutung für unser Geistesleben (Tübingen, 1904); and the section on the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in K. Budde's Geschichte der althebräischen Literatur (Leipsice,1906).

BERTRAM: The name by which Ratramnus was formerly sometimes quoted.

BERTRAM, ROBERT AITKIN: English Congregationalist; b. at Henley (147 m. n.w. of London), Staffordshire, Nov. 8, 1836; d. in London Nov. 14, 1886. He ended his studies at Owens College (Victoria University), Manchester, 1858; was pastor at Lymm, Cheshire, at Openshaw (Manchester), and at Barnstaple, Devonshire; edited The Christian Age, 1880–83. He compiled The Cavendish Hymnal (Manchester, 1864), and published Parable or Divine Poesy, Illustrations in Theology and Morals Selected from Great Divines and Systematically Arranged (London, 1866); A Dictionary of Poetical Illustrations (1877); A Homiletical Encyclopedia of Illustrations in Theology and Morals, a Handbook of Practical Divinity and a Commentary on Holy Scripture (1878); A Homiletical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah (i, 1884; ii, jointly, with Alfred Tucker, 1888).

BÉRULLE, PIERRE DE. See Neri, Philip.

BERYLLUS OF BOSTRA. See Monarchianism.

BESANT, bes´ant, ANNIE (WOOD): Theosophist; b. at London Oct. 1, 1847. She was educated by private tutors at Clearmouth, Dorsetshire, London, Bonn, and Paris, and later passed B.Sc. and M.B. at London University. Originally a member of the Church of England, she married Rev. Frank Besant, vicar of Sibsey, Lincolnshire, in 1867, but was divorced from him six years later and renounced Christianity altogether. She then joined the National Secular Society, and as a scientific materialist worked with Charles Bradlaugh, with whom she edited the National Reformer. She was also prominent in socialistic and labor movements, and was a member of the Fabian Society and the Social Democratic Federation. In 1887–90 she was a member of the London School Board for Tower Hamlets, but declined reelection. Meanwhile, her views had undergone further change as a result of psychological study, and in 1889 she joined the Theosophical Society, of which she has since been a distinguished member, and its president in 1907. She has made extensive journeys to all parts of the world in the interests of theosophy, but has of late years resided chiefly in India. In 1898 she founded the Central Hindu College, Benares, and is still the president of its council, while in 1904 she established the Central Hindu Girls' School in the same city. In addition to a large number of briefer articles and pamphlets, she has written Natural Religion Versus Revealed Religion (London, 1874); History of the Great French Revolution (1876); The Law of Population: Its Consequences and its Bearing upon Human Conduct and Morals (1877); The Gospel of Christianity and the Gospel of Free Thought (1877); Heat, Light, and Sound (1881); Legends and Tales (1885); The Sins of the Church (1886); Reincarnation (1892); Seven Principles of Man (1892); Autobiography (1893); Death and After (1893); Building of the Cosmos (1894); In the Outer Court (1895); Karma (1895); The Self and its Sheaths (1895); The Path of Discipleship (1896); Man and his Bodies (1896); Four Great Religions (1897); The Ancient Wisdom (1897); Evolution of Life and Form (1899); Dharma (1899); Story of the Great War: Lessons from the Mahābhārata (1899); Avatāras (1900); Ancient Ideals in Modern Life (1901); Esoteric Christianity (1901); Thought Power: Its Control and Cultivation (1901); The Religious Problem in India (Madras, 1902); The Pedigree of Man (Benares, 1903); Study in Consciousness (London, 1904); and Theosophy and New Psychology (1904). She has also translated a number of free-thought works as well as the Bhagavadgītā (London, 1895), and has edited Our Corner (London, 1883–88), and, in collaboration with G. R. S. Mead, The Theosophical Review.

BESS, BERNHARD: German librarian and historian; b. at Nentershausen (near Cassel) May 19, 1863. He was educated at the universities of Marburg and Göttingen, and, after being privat-docent at the former university for several years, was appointed to his present position of librarian of the University of Halle in 1896. In 1902–1903 he was also entrusted with the organization of the library of the Prussian Historical Institute at Rome. He has written Frankreichs Kirchenpolitik und der Prozess des Jean Petit (Marburg, 1891), and Luther und das landesherrliche Kirchenregiment (1894). Since 1891 he has been the editor of the Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte.

BESSARION, bes-sê´ri-on, JOHANNES or BASILIUS: Cardinal; b. at Trebizond 1395; d. at Ravenna Nov. 19, 1472. He studied at Constantinople and at Misithra in the Peloponnesus under Gemistos Plethon; entered the Basilian order; became archbishop of Nicæa in 1437. As such he labored at Ferrara and Florence, 1438–39, for the union of the Greek and Roman Churches (see Ferrara-Florence, Council of). Having been made a cardinal, he remained in Italy, by voice and pen working for the union. His house at Rome became the center not only for his fugitive countrymen, but also for the cultivation of Greek literature in the West; and during his activity as legate in Bologna, 1451–55, he worked in the same interest at that ancient gymnasium illustre. At the papal election in 1455 he lacked only a few votes of being chosen pope, and his influence in the curia may be seen from the numerous diplomatic missions with which he was entrusted. While returning from a missionary tour to France, which he had undertaken for the sake of reconciling Louis XI and the duke of Burgundy, he died at Ravenna.

K. Benrath.

Bibliography: On the works of Bessarion consult: Fabricius-Harles, Bibliotheca Græca, x, 491, xi, 480, Hamburg, 1807–08; MPG, clxi. On his life and activities consult: Pastor, Popes, vol. iv, passim (well worth using); Creighton, Papacy, vols. ii–v, passim (gives an excellent treatment of the subject); G. Voigt, Die Wiederbelebung des classischen Alterthums, Berlin, 1859; J. Burckhardt, Kultur der Renaissance in Italien, Basel, 1860, Eng. transl., 2 vols., London, 1878; H. Vast, Le Cardinal Bessarion, Paris, 1878; R. Rocholl, Bessarion, Leipsic, 1904.

BESSEL, GOTTFRIED: Abbot of Göttweig, near Vienna; b. at Buchhain, near Mainz, Sept. 5, 1672; d. at Göttweig Jan. 20, 1749. He studied at Salzburg, entered the Benedictine order in 1693, was ordained priest 1696, and was employed in various diplomatic negotiations by the elector of Mainz. In 1707 he converted the princess Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick to the Roman Catholic faith, and, in 1710, her grandfather, the duke Anton Ulrich, at which time he published Quinquaginta Romanocatholicam fidem omnibus aliis præferendi motiva (Mainz, 1708). In 1714 he became abbot of Göttweig. He prepared a chronicle of the monastery, of which only the first part, Prodromus, has been published (2 vols., Tegernsee, 1732).

BESSER, WILHELM FRIEDRICH: German preacher and theological writer; b. at Warnstedt, in the Harz, Sept. 27, 1816; d. near Dresden Sept. 26, 1884. He studied at Halle under Gesenius and Tholuck (1837), then went to Berlin, where he was influenced by Neander and Twesten, but still more by Hengstenberg, Otto von Gerlach, and others. He returned to Halle in 1838 as secretary to Tholuck, but a year later went as private tutor to the house of Major von Schenkendorf at Wulkow near Puppin. This had a decisive influence on his life, through his intercourse there with a persecuted Lutheran pastor, a guest in the house, who had such an effect on him that, at his ordination in 1841 as pastor at Wulkow, he refused to sign the Union formula except with the reservation that the Union related to common ecclesiastical organization without prejudice to the authority of the Augsburg Confession. In 1845 he withdrew his subscription, and after long negotiations was deprived of his office in 1847. Connecting himself with the Lutheran Church of Prussia, he became pastor of Seefeld in Pomerania, and zealously supported the movement to obtain equal rights for the Lutherans with the Union. In 1853 he was called to assist Graul in the direction of the Evangelical Lutheran mission-house; but the strain of continuous teaching was not suited to his vivacious and impulsive nature, and sharp controversies broke out over the then burning question of the Indian castes, so that he returned willingly to pastoral life in 1857, becoming minister of Waldenburg in Silesia and also (1864) a member of the Lutheran superior council of Breslau. Failing health compelled him to resign his offices at Easter, 1884. His Bibelstunden, which he began to write in 1843 and continued at intervals till he had covered most of the New Testament, have had a salutary influence far beyond Germany. The list of his minor writings is a long one, and includes a number of controversial tractates against what he thought a hollow and deceiving compromise, popular biographies, devotional works, and sermons.

(H. Hölscher.)

Bibliography: A sketch of Besser's life appears in his Predigten und Predigtauszüge, Breslau, 1885. His autobiography (uncompleted) was continued to the year 1850 by Greve, Aus Bessers Leben, in Gotthold, year 20, 1894–1895, and completion is promised; cf. ALKG, 1884, pp. 1036–39.

BESTMANN, best´´mān´, HUGO JOHANNES: German Lutheran; b. at Delve, Holstein, Feb. 21, 1854. He studied in Leipsic, Tübingen, Kiel, Berlin, and Erlangen (lic. theol., 1877), and was privat-docent in theology at Erlangen 1877–83. He was then instructor in the gymnasium of the orphan asylum at Halle 1883–84 and at the Missionary Seminary in Leipsic 1884–86. Since the latter years he has been pastor in Mölln (Lauenburg). He has been a member of the committee of the Mölln conference for theological studies since 1896, and has written Qua ratione Augustinus notiones philosophiæ græcæ ad dogmata anthropologica describenda adhibuerit (Erlangen, 1877); Geschichte der christlichen Sitte (2 vols., Nördlingen, 1880–85); Die theologische Wissenschaft und die Ritschl’sche Schule (1881); Die Anfänge des katholischen Christentums und des Islams (1884); Der Protestantismus und die theologischen Fakultäten (Kiel, 1891); and Geschichte des Reichs Gottes im Alten und Neuen Bunde (2 vols., Leipsic;1896–1900). He edited also J. C. K. von Hofmann's Theologische Encyclopädie (Nördlingen, 1879) and Der christliche Herold (Hamburg and Mölln, 1898–1899).

BETH, KARL: German Protestant; b. at Förderstädt (15 m. s. of Magdeburg) Feb. 12, 1872. He studied in Tübingen and Berlin (Ph.D., 1898), and was privat-docent in Berlin 1901-06. Since 1906 he has been professor of systematic and symbolic theology at the University of Vienna. He has written Die Grundanschauungen Schleiermachers in seinem ersten Entwurf der philosophischen Sittenlehre (Berlin, 1898); Die orientalische Kirche der Mittelmeerländer, Reisestudien zur Statistik und Symbolik der griechischen, armenischen und koptischen Kirche (1902); Das Wesen des Christentums und die moderne historische Denkweise (1904); and Die Wunder Jesu (1905).

BETHLEHEM: A town in southern Palestine, in the territory of Judah, often called Bethlehem Judah (e.g., Judges xvii, 7, 8; cf. Matt. ii, 1, 5).

Old Testament History.

Its significance for the Judah of Davidic times or earlier is as the home of Jesse (I Sam. xvi, 1), of Joab, Abishai, and Asahel (II Sam. ii, 32), of Elhanan (II Sam. xxi, 19), and as a place of sacrifice (I Sam. xvi, 3, 5). It was occupied by the Philistines in their war with David (II Sam. xxiii, 14). Rehoboam made of it a city of defense (II Chron. xi, 6), as it commanded the roads south and west. Though in early times it was a place of importance because of its situation on caravan routes, it became overshadowed by the growth of the capital. After the exile it was reckoned to the Jewish community (Ezra ii, 21), and was inhabited by Calebites who were driven north by the Edomites pressing up from the south. This possession is explained by the Chronicler on genealogical grounds, regarding the town as founded by Salma, a son of Caleb. The district of Ephratah, which extended from Kirjath-jearim to Bethlehem, became a possession of the Calebites and gave occasion for the name Bethlehem Ephratah, used Micah v, 2. The inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, viticulture, and cattle-raising.

Present Condition.

For the Hebrews its fame rests upon its being the home of David (Luke ii, 4, 11); to Christians everywhere its name is familiar as the birthplace of Jesus, according to the accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. It has retained its name unchanged to the present. Bait-laḥm lies five and a half miles south of Jerusalem, a little east of the central watershed, at a level above the sea of about 2,500 feet. The slopes above it have been terraced from early times, and their fertility rewards richly the labor of the inhabitants in producing olives, almonds, figs, and grapes. The numerous trees of the terraces give the place a refreshing appearance, especially to the traveler from the bare heights of Jerusalem. There is a spring some fifteen minutes eastward from the town, and water is taken from the aqueduct on the south leading into Jerusalem. For the rest of the water-supply, dependence is had upon cisterns. The population is about 8,000; 3,827 are Roman Catholics, 3,662 Greeks, 260 Mohammedans, 185 Armenians; the rest are Copts, Syrians, and Protestants. Two-thirds are engaged in various handicrafts, the rest in husbandry, and all are oppressed by burdensome taxes. Attempts have been made at various times to connect particular parts of the town with David, naming for him a house, a tower, and a well, but the traditions are insecurely founded. The "Well of David" is the name given since the fifteenth century to three large cisterns in the northeast.

The Church of St. Mary.

More secure is the tradition about the birthplace of Jesus, covered by the celebrated Church of St. Mary, a basilica mentioned as early as 334 as built by Constantine's order. Eusebius ("Life of Constantine") confirms this report; Socrates and Sozomen ascribe its erection to the empress Helena; and Eutychius to Justinian. De Vogüé supports the first hypothesis on the ground of the unity of plan, conformity of extent of choir and grotto, and absence of architectural marks of the Justinian period. In this opinion he is supported by the architect T. Sandel, who made a new examination in 1880. This may well be the oldest church in the world. It was thoroughly restored by the emperor Manuel Comnenus, who adorned it with mosaics, of which work but little remains, though a description by F. Quaresmio (1616–26) with what is left suffices to give a good idea of the whole. In 1478 (or 1482) the roof was repaired by Philip of Burgundy and Edward IV of England, and renewed in 1672 by the Greek patriarch Dositheos. In the latter year the Greeks obtained possession, which the Latins had had since the crusades. In 1852 Napoleon brought it about that the Latin, were given a share in holding it. The church, now in decay, can not be restored for fear of renewing outbreaks among Latins, Greeks, and Armenians.

From the southeast the church rises prominently like a fortress; the north, east, and south sides are less pleasing to one approaching from those directions because of the cells of the monks of the different communions. It has a nave and double aisles, and its floor space is about ninety-eight feet by eighty-seven between the cross aisles. The transept and apes are unfortunately concealed by a wall built by the Greeks in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. The entire length of the present church, including the entrance hall, is about 230 feet. Two flights of steps to the north and south lead from the choir to the chapel of the nativity, the walls of which are marble-lined and hung with tapestries. The place of birth is marked by a silver star in the floor of a niche. Opposite is the place, a marbled hollow, of the old "genuine" manger. A passage westward leads to the tomb and chapel of Jerome.

The Traditional Place of Jesus's Birth.

This subterranean room, according to tradition continuous since Constantine, is accepted as the place of Jesus's birth. A tradition can be traced back to Justin Martyr that Jesus was born in a cave, since Joseph could find no accommodation in the village. But it has been disproved that the present chapel is a [natural] cave, while it must be noted that as early as 728 it was reported that the form of the cave was changed and an oblong room hewn out. The use of caves as adjuncts to inns or "shelters" is in Palestine a peculiarity of the country.

Five minutes southeast from the church of St. Mary is the so-called "Milk Grotto" of the Latins, in which Joseph, Mary, and the child are said to have concealed themselves from Herod's fury before the flight into Egypt. The white of the limestone is attributed to the fall of a drop of milk from Mary's breast. Ten minutes northeast from Beth Sahur (itself fifteen minutes east from Bethlehem) is shown the "Grotto of the Shepherds," in which the angels are said to have announced to the shepherds the birth of the Holy Child. The underground chapel is reached by a passage between two ancient olive-trees.

One of the fruits of modern missions is the honoring of Jesus in his birthplace, not by sanctuaries in stone, but by provision for the education of the young. Since 1860 there have been a number of Protestant and Roman Catholic schools and establishments, the founding of which has spurred the Greeks and Armenians to accomplish something for the instruction of children belonging to their communities.

(H. Guthe.)

Bibliography: Robinson, Researches, vol. ii; T. Tobler, Bethlehem in Palästina, Bern, 1849; V. Guérin, Description de la Palestine, Judée, i, 120 sqq., Paris, 1869; Survey of Western Palestine, Memoirs, vol. iii, sheet xvii, London, 1883; P. Palmer, Das jetzige Bethlehem, in ZDPV, xvii (1894), 89 sqq.; Baedeker, Palestine and Syria, pp. 119–127, New York, 1898; DB, i, 281; EB, i, 560–562. On the church consult M. de Vogüé, Les Églises de la terre sainte, Paris, 1860; Quaresmius, Elucidatio terræ sanctæ, ii, 643 sqq., Antwerp, 1639, reissued Venice, 1880–82; G. Ebers and H. Guthe, Palästina in Bild und Wort, 2 vols., Leipsic, 1883–84.

BETHLEHEMITES: The name of three religious orders. (1) An association of Bethleemitæ, known only from Matthew Paris (Hist. maj., 839), who states that they existed at Cambridge, England, about 1257 and wore the Dominican habit, with a red star, referring to Matt. ii, 9–10. (2) The Knights and Hospitalers of the Blessed Mary of Bethlehem (Religio militaris ac hospitalis beatæ Mariæ Bethlemitanæ), founded by Pius II in 1459 to fight against the Turks. They wore a white habit with a red cross, were given the island of Lemnos as their seat, and did not survive the capture of the island by the Turks in the year of their foundation. (3) More important are the Bethlehem Brothers (Fratres Bethlemitæ; Spanish, Orden de Belemitas) of Guatemala (Central America), founded there about 1650 by Pierre de Bethencourt and after his death (1687) under the leadership of the brothers Rodrigo and Antonio de la Cruz. Originally entrusted only with the care of the hospital of Mary of Bethlehem in Guatemala, the order was confirmed by Innocent XI in 1687 and given a constitution and dress like that of the Capuchins. Clement XI in 1707 granted them the privileges of the mendicant orders. A society of Sisters of Bethlehem was founded in Guatemala by Anna Maria del Galdo in 1668, and both the male and female branches spread in Mexico, Peru, and elsewhere. A secularization-decree of the Spanish Cortes in 1820 suppressed both branches.

(O. ZöCKLER†.)

Bibliography: Heimbucher, Orden und Kongregationen, i, 497–498; G. Voigt, Enea Silvio . . . als Papst Pius, ii, 652, Berlin, 1863; Karl vom heiligen Aloys, Die katholische Kirche in ihrer gegenwärtigen Ausbreitung, pp. 510–511, Regensburg, 1885; Helyot, Ordres monastiques, iii, 347–357, viii, 365 sqq.; KL, ii, 540–544 (contains list of literature in Spanish).

BETHPHANY: A name sometimes given to the festival more commonly known as the Epiphany. It is a barbarous invention of the schoolmen, from the Hebrew bēth, "house," and the Greek -phaneia, "manifestation," which forms the latter part of the word Epiphany; and was intended to emphasize the miracle (in the house) at Cana in Galilee, which is the third event commemorated by the festival of the Epiphany.

BETHSAIDA. See Gaulanitis.

BETHUNE, be-thūn´, GEORGE WASHINGTON: Reformed (Dutch) clergyman; b. in Greenwich, now a part of New York City, Mar. 18, 1805; d. at Florence, Italy, Apr. 27, 1862. He was graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., 1823; studied at Princeton Seminary 1823–25; served for a year as missionary among the negroes and sailors at Savannah, Ga.; was ordained Nov., 1827, and was pastor of Reformed (Dutch) churches at Rhinebeck (1827–30) and Utica (1830–34), N. Y., Philadelphia (First Church, 1834–37; Third Church, 1837–49), and Brooklyn (1851–59); was associate minister at the Twenty-first Street Church, New York, 1859–61. He was famed as a preacher and orator, as a poet, and as a wit. Of his numerous publications, perhaps that of most permanent value was his edition of Walton's Complete Angler (New York, 1847; new ed., 2 vols., 1880).

Bibliography: A. R. Van Nest, Memoirs of Rev. George W. Bethune, 2 vols.; New York, 1880.

BETHUNE-BAKER, JAMES FRANKLIN: Church of England; b. at Birmingham Aug. 23, 1861. He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (B.A., 1884), and was head master's assistant at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and assistant curate of St. George's, Edgbaston, from 1888 to 1890. In the following year he was elected fellow and dean of Pembroke College, and since 1905 has also been examining chaplain to the bishop of Rochester. He has been the editor of the Journal of Theological Studies since 1903, and has written The Influence of Christianity on War (Cambridge, 1888); The Sternness of Christ's Teaching (1889); The Meaning of Homoousios in the Constantinopolitan Creed (1901); An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine (London, 1903); and Christian Doctrines and their Ethical Significance (1905).

BETKIUS, bêt´kî-Us (BETKE), JOACHIM: Lutheran preacher and forerunner of the Pietistic movement; b. at Berlin Oct. 8, 1601; d. at Linum, near Fehrbellin (33 m. n.w. of Berlin), Dec. 12, 1663. After finishing his course at Wittenberg, he became associate rector at Ruppin, then was for more than thirty years pastor at Linum. He wrote several theological and devotional works, by the reading of which Spener said he had profited. They contain edifying exhortations against forgetting the need of sanctification in addition to justification, but are marred by intemperate fanaticism; Betkius holds the clergy responsible for all the anti-Christian phenomena of his time, and for the divine judgments of the Thirty Years' war.

(F. W. Dibelius.)

BETRAYAL OF PILATE. See Apocrypha, New Testament, B, I, 7.

BEURLIN, boi´´er-lîn, JAKOB: German Lutheran theologian; b. at Dornstetten (35 m. s.w. of Stuttgart) 1520; d. at Paris Oct. 28, 1561. In Nov., 1533, he entered the university of Tübingen. When the Reformation was introduced in 1534, he remained faithful to Catholicism, but diligently studied philosophy and the writings of the Church Fathers, so that his transition to the new doctrine took place quietly. In 1541 he was made governor of the Martinianum, and at the same time lectured on philosophy. In 1549 he accepted the pastorate of Derendingen near Tübingen, and in 1551 he was called as professor to Tübingen. On June 2, 1557, he examined and signed, together with other theologians, the Confessio Wirtembergica, which had been prepared for the Council of Trent, and in the month of August, together with Brenz's friend Johann Isenmann, he went to Langensalza and afterward to Saxony to come to an understanding with the theologians and councilors of the elector Maurice concerning the Württemberg Confession as compared with the Saxon, which bad also been prepared for the Council of Trent. In Nov., 1551, in company with Luther's former steward, Jodocus Neuheller, pastor at Entringen, he was sent as theological adviser of the Württemberg delegates to Trent, where they took notes of the disputations. On Jan. 13, 1552, both returned home, but on Mar. 7, Beurlin, Brenz, Heerbrand, and Vannius again started for Trent to oppose the erroneous decisions of the council, and to defend the Confessio Wirtembergica before it; but the council would not hear them in a public session, and they returned home. Beurlin now devoted all his time to his academic duties. He lectured on Melanchthon's Loci, the Gospel and First Epistle of John, and the Epistles to the Romans sad Hebrews, and drilled the young theologians in admirably conducted disputations. In May, 1554, the duke sent him to Prussia to pacify those who had been stirred up by Osiander's teaching. He was unsuccessful, however, and, disgusted with the behavior of the factions, he declined the bishopric offered to him by Duke Albert, and returned home. In the interest of his academic office he now retired in favor of Jakob Andreä, who was a more willing interpreter of the theology and ecclesiastical policy of Brenz. In Oct., 1557, Beurlin and his father-in-law, Matthaeus Alber, went to the religious conference at Worms in place of the Thuringian theologians. At the Stuttgart synod Beurlin also remained in the background, but he assisted Brenz in the defense of the Confessio Wirtembergica against Peter a Soto, and his attack upon the central point of the Roman system is still worthy of consideration. Vice-chancellor of the university after 1557, Beurlin was the leader of the Swabians at the Erfurt Conference, Apr., 1561, and was still more prominent on his last journey made in the service of the Evangelical Church. King Antony of Navarre sought both at Stuttgart and Heidelberg for a theologian to advise him in the controversy which arose in Sept., 1557, at the religious conference in Poissy between the cardinal of Guise and Beza concerning the relation of the French Protestants to the Augsburg Confession. Duke Christopher sent three theologians, Jakob Beurlin, Jakob Andreä, and Balthazar Bidembach. Before leaving, Beurlin was made chancellor of the university and provost of the Collegiate Church (Sept. 29). The theologians left Oct. 3, and arrived at Paris Oct. 19. Meanwhile the conference at Poissy had been broken off, and the theologians had to wait till the king called them. On Oct. 24 Beurlin fell ill with the plague and died in Paris.

G. Bossert.

Bibliography: The sources are: T. Schnepffius, J. Beurlinus redivivus et immortalis, Tübingen, 1613; J. V. Andreä, Fama Andreana, Strasburg, 1530. Consult G. C. F. Fischlin, Memoria theologorum Vittebergensium resuscitata, i, 82–87, Ulm, 1710; C. F. Sattler, Geschichte von Württemberg unter der Regierung der Herzoge, Ulm, 1771; H. F. Eisenbach, Beschreibung und Geschichte der Stadt und Universität Tübingen, pp. 108–112, Tübingen, 1822; H. L. J. Heppe, Geschichte des deutschen Protestantismus, Vol. i, Marburg, 1852–59; C. von Weizsäcker, Lehrer und Unterricht an der evangelisch-theologischen Fakultät . . . Tübingen, Tübingen, 1877; C. A. Hase, Herzog Albrecht von Preussen und sein Hofprediger, Leipsic, 1879; G. Bossert, Die Reise der württembergischen Theologen nach Paris 1561, in Württembergische Vierteljahrshefte, 1899, pp. 387–412.

BEVAN, bev´an, ANTHONY ASHLEY: Church of England layman; b. at Trent Park, Barnet (11 m. n.n.w. of London), Herts, May 19, 1859. He was educated at the Gymnase littéraire, Lausanne (1877–79) and the University of Strasburg (1881–1883), and in 1884 became a member of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was elected fellow in 1890. Since 1893 he has been Lord Almoner's reader in Arabic in the University of Cambridge. In addition to minor studies, he has written A Short Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Cambridge, 1892) and the Hymn of the Soul Contained in the Syriac Acts of St. Thomas, Reedited with an English Translation, in Cambridge Texts and Studies, v (1897).

BEVAN, LLEWELYN DAVID: Congregationalist; b. at Llanelly (15 m. s.e. of Carmarthen), Carmarthenshire, Wales, Sept. 11, 1842. He studied at New College, London (B. A., University of London, 1881; LL.B., 1866), and after being assistant minister to Thomas Binney at the King's Weigh-House Chapel, London (1865–69), held pastorates at Tottenham-Court Road Chapel, London (1869–76), the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City (1876–82), and Highbury Quadrant Church, London (1882–86). Since 1886 he has been pastor of the Collins Street Congregational Church, Melbourne, Victoria. While in England, he was associated with F. D. Maurice in the Workingmen's College, London, and was for several years a professor in New College.

BEVERIDGE, WILLIAM: Bishop of St. Asaph; b. at Barrow (8 m. n. of Leicester), and baptized there Feb. 21, 1637; d. in London Mar. 5, 1708. He was educated at Cambridge; was rector of Ealing, a west suburb of London, 1661–72; of St. Peter's, Cornhill, London, 1672–1704, when he became bishop. In his day he was styled "the great reviver and restorer of primitive piety" because in his much admired sermons and other writings he dwelt so affectionately upon the Church of the early centuries. His collected works (incomplete) are in the Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology in 12 vols. (Oxford, 1842–48) and embrace six volumes of sermons; The Doctrine of the Church of England Consonant to Scripture, Reason, and the Fathers: A Complete System of Divinity (2 vols.); Codex canonum ecclesiæ primitivæ vindicatus ac illustratus, with the appendices, I. Prolegomena in Συνοδικὸν, sive pandectas canonum; and II. Præfatio ad annotationes in canones apostolicos (2 vols.); and the still read Private Thoughts on Religion, and Church Catechism Explained. His Institutionum chronotogicarum libri duo, una cum totidem arithmetices chronologicæ libellis (London, 1669) was once an admired treatise on chronology.

Bibliography: T. H. Horne, Memoir of the Life and Writings of W. Beveridge, London, 1824, also prefixed to his works in the Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology, ut sup.; DNB, iv, 447–448.

BEYER, bai´er, HARTMANN: Reformation preacher of Frankfort, where he was born Sept. 30, 1516, and died Aug. 11, 1577. In 1534 he went to Wittenberg as student of philosophy and theology, and received the master's degree there in 1539 and became private teacher of mathematics. He returned to his native city as preacher in 1546. The Reformation, introduced in Frankfort in 1522 by Hartmann Ibach, had been carried on in the earlier years by compulsion and rash zeal on the part of its adherents, and in later time was marked by doctrinal controversies between the Lutheran and Reformed tendencies. Beyer came with the determination to win the victory for Lutheranism, and to his activity was it due that by 1554 a compact Lutheran congregation stood opposed to all insinuations of Calvinism, while the earlier democratic and radical tendencies had been suppressed. In the year named, three congregations of Protestants from the Netherlands, who had first taken refuge in England but fled that country after the accession of Mary, came to Frankfort under the lead of Velerandus Polanus and Johannes a Lasco, bringing with them a Reformed creed and Reformed practises. Beyer was the soul of an opposition which induced the city council to deprive them of the church they had used for worship in 1561. In 1596 even the right of holding services privately was forbidden.

The success of the emperor in the Schmalkald war and the promulgation of the Augsburg Interim (May, 1548) brought the Frankfort Reformers face to face with dangers which for the time quieted doctrinal disputes. The council accepted the interim cautiously, but its attempts to forbid preaching against the new law and against Roman teachings and practises, to reestablish church festivals, to prohibit the eating of meat on fast-days, and like measures met with determined and courageous resistance from Beyer and his colleagues. The former repeatedly expressed his conviction that church ordinances could be established only with the consent of the congregation. The struggle went on till 1577, but the preachers gained the victory.

Beyer issued two pseudonymous writings against the Roman Catholics in 1551 and while in Wittenberg prepared a treatise on mathematics. His sermons are preserved in forty-nine volumes in manuscript in Frankfort. They are marked by a beauty and force of language which make them powerful even today.

(G. E. Steitz†.)

Bibliography: G. E. Steitz, Der lutherische Prädikant, Hartmann Beyer, Frankfort, 1852.

BEYSCHLAG, bai´shlāH, WILLIBALD: German Protestant; b. at Frankfort Sept. 5, 1823; d. at Halle Nov. 26, 1900. He studied at Bonn and Berlin 1840–44; became vicar at Coblenz 1849; assistant pastor and religious teacher at Treves 1850; court preacher at Carlsruhe 1856; ordinary professor of theology at Halle 1860; and after 1876 editor of the Deutsche Evangelische Blätter, an organ of the so-called Mittelpartei, whose leader he was till the end of his life. To oppose the ultramontane aggressions in Germany, he founded in 1886 the Evangelischer Bund (see Bund, Evangelischer). Of his very numerous writings, besides sermons, the following are worthy of mention: Die Christologie des Neuen Testaments (Berlin, 1866); Die paulinische Theodicee Röm. ix–xi (Berlin, 1868, 2d ed., 1895); Die christliche Gemeindeverfassung im Zeitalter des Neuen Testaments (Haarlem, 1874); Zur Johanneischen Frage (Gotha, 1876); the biographies of his brother, F. W. T. Beyschlag (Aus dem Leben eines Frühvollendeten, 2 parts, Berlin, 1858–59, 6th ed., 1889), of Carl Ullmann (Gotha, 1867), of Carl Immanuel Nitzsch (Halle, 1872, 2d ed., 1882), and of Albrecht Wolters (1880); Zur deutschchristlichen Bildung (1880, 2d ed., 1899); Das Leben Jesu (2 vols., Halle, 1885–86, 4th ed., 1902); Der Friedensschluss zwischen Deutschland and Rom (Halle, 1887); Reden in der Erfurter VorConferenz des evangelischen Bundes (1888); Godofred, ein Märchen fürs deutsche Haus (1888); Luther's Hausstand in seiner reformatorischen Bedeutung (Barmen, 1888); Die Reformation in Italien (1888); Die römisch-katholischen Ansprüche an die preussische Volksschule (1889); Zur Verständigung über den christlichen Vorsehungsglauben (Halle, 1889); Erkenntnisspfade zu Christo (1889); Die evangelische Kirche als Bundesgenossin wider die Socialdemokratie (Berlin, 1890); Neutestamentliche Theologie (2 vols., 1891–92, 2d ed., 1896; Eng. transl., New Testament Theology, 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1895, 2d ed., 1896); Christenlehre (Halle, 3d ed., 1903).

Bibliography: Consult his autobiography, Aus meinem Leben, 2 vols., Halle, 1896–98; K. H. Pahncke, Willibald Beyschlag, ein Gedenkblatt, Tübingen, 1905.

BEZA, bî´zɑ, THEODORE.

1. Early Life.

Theodore Beza (Théodore de Bèze or de Besze), Genevan Reformer, was born at Vézelay (8 m. w.s.w. of Avallon), in Burgundy, June 24, 1519; d. at Geneva Oct.13, 1605. His father, Pierre de Bèze, royal governor of Vézelay, descended from a Burgundian family of distinction; his mother, Marie Bourdelot, was known for her generosity. Theodore's father had two brothers; one, Nicholas, was member of Parliament at Paris; the other, Claude, was abbot of the Cistercian monastery Froimont in the diocese of Beauvais. Nicholas, who was unmarried, on a visit to Vézelay was so pleased with Theodore that, with the permission of the parents, he took him to Paris to educate him there. From Paris Theodore was sent to Orléans (Dec., 1528) to enjoy the instruction of the famous German teacher Melchior Wolmar. He was received into Wolmar's house, and the day on which this took place was afterward celebrated as a second birthday. Young Beza soon followed his teacher to Bourges, whither the latter was called by the duchess Margaret of Angoulême, sister of Francis I. Bourges was one of the places in France in which the heart of the Reformation beat the strongest. When, in 1534, Francis I issued his edict against ecclesiastical innovations, Wolmar returned to Germany, and, in accordance with the wish of his father, Beza went back to Orléans to study law, and spent four years there (1535–39). This pursuit had little attraction for him; he enjoyed more the reading of the ancient classics, especially Ovid, Catullus, and Tibullus. He received the degree of licentiate in law Aug. 11, 1539, and, as his father desired, went to Paris, where he began practise. His relatives had obtained for him two benefices, the proceeds of which amounted to 700 golden crowns a year; and his uncle had promised to make him his successor.

Beza spent two happy years at Paris and soon gained a prominent position in literary circles. To escape the many temptations to which he was exposed, with the knowledge of two friends, he became engaged in the year 1544 to a young girl of humble descent, Claudine Denosse, promising to make this engagement public as soon as his circumstances would allow it. He published a collection of Latin poems, Juvenilia, which made him famous, and he was everywhere considered one of the best Latin poets of his time. But he fell ill and his distress of body revealed to him his spiritual needs. Gradually he came to the knowledge of salvation in Christ, which he apprehended with a joyous faith. He then resolved to sever his connections of the time, and went to Geneva, the French city of refuge for the Evangelicals, where he arrived with Claudine Oct. 23, 1548.

2. Teacher at Lausanne.

He was heartily received by Calvin, who had met him already in Wolmar's house, and was at once publicly and solemnly married in the church. Beza was at a loss for immediate occupation, so he went to Tübingen to see his former teacher Wolmar. On his way home he visited Viret at Lausanne, who at once detained him and brought about his appointment as professor of Greek at the academy there (Nov., 1549). In spite of the arduous work which fell to his lot, Beza found time to write a Biblical drama, Abraham Sacrifiant (published at Geneva, 1550; Eng. transl. by Arthur Golding, London, 1577, ed., with introduction, notes, and the French text of the original, M. W. Wallace, Toronto, 1906), in which he contrasted Catholicism with Protestantism, and the work was well received. In June, 1551, he added a few psalms to the French version of the Psalms begun by Marot, which was also very successful. About the same time he published his Passavantius, a satire directed against Pierre Lizet of ill repute, formerly president of the Parliament of Paris, and principal originator of the "fiery chamber" (chambre ardente), who, being at the time (1551) abbot of St. Victor near Paris, was eager to acquire the fame of a subduer of heresy by publishing a number of polemical writings. Of a more serious character were two controversies in which Beza was involved at this time. The first concerned the doctrine of predestination and the controversy of Calvin with Bolsec (see Calvin, John; Bolsec, Jérôme Hermès). The second referred to the burning of Michael Servetus at Geneva Oct. 27, 1553. In defense of Calvin and the Genevan magistrates, Beza published in 1554 the work De hæreticis a civili magistratu puniendis (translated into French in 1560).

3. Journeys in behalf of the Protestants.

In 1557 Beza took a special interest in the Waldensians of Piedmont, who were harassed by the French government, and in their behalf went with Farel to Bern, Zurich, Basel, Schaffhausen, thence to Strasburg, Mümpelgart, Baden, and Göppingen. In Baden and Göppingen, Beza and Farel had to declare themselves concerning their own and the Waldensians' views on the sacrament, and on May 14, 1557, they presented a written declaration in which they clearly stated their position. This declaration was well received by the Lutheran theologians, but was strongly disapproved in Bern and Zurich. In the autumn of 1557 Beza undertook a second journey with Farel to Worms by way of Strasburg to bring about an intercession of the Evangelical princes of the empire in favor of the persecuted brethren at Paris. With Melanchthon and other theologians then assembled at Worms, Beza considered a union of all Protestant Christians, but this proposal was decidedly negatived by Zurich and Bern. False reports having reached the German princes that the hostilities against the Huguenots in France had ceased, no embassy was sent to the court of France, and Beza undertook another journey in the interest of the Huguenots, going with Farel, Johannes Buddæus, and Gaspard Carmel to Strasburg and Frankfort, where the sending of an embassy to Paris was resolved upon.

4. Settles in Geneva.

Upon his return to Lausanne, Beza was greatly disturbed. In union with many ministers and professors in city and country, Viret at last thought of establishing a consistory and of introducing a church discipline which should inflict excommunication especially at the celebration of the communion. But the Bernese would have no Calvinistic church government. This caused many difficulties, and Beza thought it best (1558) to settle at Geneva. Here he occupied at first the chair of Greek in the newly established academy, and after Calvin's death also that of theology; besides this he was obliged to preach. He completed the revision of Olivetan's translation of the New Testament, begun some years before. In 1559 he undertook another journey in the interest of the Huguenots, this time to Heidelberg; about the same time he had to defend Calvin against Joachim Westphal in Hamburg and Tileman Hesshusen. More important than this polemical activity was Beza's statement of his own confession. It was originally prepared for his father in justification of his course and published in revised form to promote Evangelical knowledge among Beza's countrymen. It was printed in Latin in 1560 with a dedication to Wolmar. An English translation was published at London 1563, 1572, and 1585. Translations into German, Dutch, and Italian were also issued.

5. Events of 1560–63.

In the mean time things took such shape in France that the happiest future for Protestantism seemed possible. King Antony of Navarre, yielding to the urgent requests of Evangelical noblemen, declared his willingness to listen to a prominent teacher of the Church. Beza, a French nobleman and head of the academy in the metropolis of French Protestantism, was invited to Castle Nerac, but he could not plant the seed of Evangelical faith in the heart of the king. In the year following (1561) Beza represented the Evangelicals at the Colloquy of Poissy, and in an eloquent manner defended the principles of the Evangelical faith. The colloquy was without result, but Beza as the head and advocate of all Reformed congregations of France was revered and hated at the same time. The queen insisted upon another colloquy, which was opened at St. Germain Jan. 28, 1562, eleven days after the proclamation of the famous January edict which granted important privileges to those of the Reformed faith. But the colloquy was broken off when it became evident that the Catholic party was preparing (after the massacre of Vassy, Mar. 1) to overthrow Protestantism. Beza hastily issued a circular letter (Mar. 25) to all Reformed congregations of the empire, and with Condé and his troops went to Orléans. It was necessary to proceed quickly and energetically. But there were neither soldiers nor money. At the request of Condé, Beza visited all Huguenot cities to obtain both. He also wrote a manifesto in which he showed the justice of the Reformed cause. As one of the messengers to collect soldiers and money among his coreligionists, Beza was appointed to visit England, Germany, and Switzerland. He went to Strasburg and Basel, but met with failure. He then returned to Geneva, which he reached Sept. 4. He had hardly been there fourteen days when he was called once more to Orléans by d’Andelot. The campaign was becoming more successful; but the publication of the unfortunate edict of pacification which Condé accepted (Mar. 12, 1563) filled Beza and all Protestant France with horror.

6. Calvin's Successor.

For twenty-two months Beza had been absent from Geneva, and the interests of school and Church there and especially the condition of Calvin made it necessary for him to return. For there was no one to take the place of Calvin, who was sick and unable longer to bear the burden resting on him. Calvin and Beza arranged to perform their duties jointly in alternate weeks, but the death of Calvin occurred soon afterward (May 27, 1564). As a matter of course Beza was his successor. Until 1580 Beza was not only modérateur de la compagnie des pasteurs, but also the real soul of the great institution of learning at Geneva which Calvin had founded in 1559, consisting of a gymnasium and an academy. As long as be lived, Beza was interested in higher education. The Protestant youth for nearly forty years thronged his lecture-room to hear his theological lectures, in which he expounded the purest Calvinistic orthodoxy. As a counselor he was listened to by both magistrates and pastors. Geneva is indebted to him for the founding of a law school in which François Hotman, Jules Pacius, and Denys Godefroy, the most eminent jurists of the century, lectured in turn (cf. Charles Borgeaud, L’Académie de Calvin, Geneva, 1900).

7. Course of Events after 1564.

As Calvin's successor, Beza was very successful, not only in carrying on his work but also in giving peace to the Church at Geneva. The magistrates had fully appropriated the ideas of Calvin, and the direction of spiritual affairs, the organs of which were the "ministers of the word" and "the consistory," was founded on a solid basis. No doctrinal controversy arose after 1564. The discussions concerned questions of a practical, social, or ecclesiastical nature, such as the supremacy of the magistrates over the pastors, freedom in preaching, and the obligation of the pastors to submit to the majority of the campagnie des pasteurs. Beza obtruded his will in no way upon his associates, and took no harsh measures against injudicious or hot-headed colleagues, though sometimes he took their cases in hand and acted as mediator; and yet he often experienced an opposition so extreme that he threatened to resign. Although he was inclined to take the part of the magistrates, he knew how to defend the rights and independence of the spiritual power when occasion arose, without, however, conceding to it such a preponderating influence as did Calvin. His activity was great. He mediated between the compagnie and the magistracy; the latter continually asked his advice even in political questions. He corresponded with all the leaders of the Reformed party in Europe. After the massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572), he used his influence to give to the refugees a hospitable reception at Geneva. About this time he wrote his De jure magistratuum, in which he emphatically protested against tyranny in religious matters, and affirmed that it is legitimate for a people to oppose an unworthy magistracy in a practical manner and if necessary to use weapons and depose them. To sum up: Without being a great dogmatician like his master, nor a creative genius in the ecclesiastical realm, Beza had qualities which made him famous as humanist, exegete, orator, and leader in religious and political affairs, and qualified him to be the guide of the Calvinists in all Europe. In the various controversies into which he was drawn, Beza often showed an excess of irritation and intolerance, from which Bernardino Ochino, pastor of the Italian congregation at Zurich (on account of a treatise which contained some objectionable points on polygamy), and Sebastian Castellio at Basel (on account of his Latin and French translations of the Bible) had especially to suffer. With Reformed France Beza continued to maintain the closest relations. He was the moderator of the general synod which met in April, 1571, at La Rochelle and decided not to abolish church discipline or to acknowledge the civil government as head of the Church, as the Paris minister Jean Morel and the philosopher Pierre Ramus demanded; it also decided to confirm anew the Calvinistic doctrine of the Lord's Supper (by the expression: "substance of the body of Christ") against Zwinglianism, which caused a very unpleasant discussion between Beza and Ramus and Bullinger. In the following year (May, 1572) he took an important part in the national synod at Nîmes. He was also interested in the controversies which concerned the Augsburg Confession in Germany, especially after 1564, on the doctrine of the person of Christ and the sacrament, and published several works against Westphal, Hesshusen, Selnecker, Johann Brenz, and Jakob Andrea. This made him, especially after 1571, hated by all those who adhered to Lutheranism in opposition to Melanchthon.

8. The Colloquy of Mümpelgart.

The last polemical conflict of importance Beza encountered from the exclusive Lutherans was at the Colloquy of Mümpelgart, Mar. 14–27, 1586, to which he had been invited by the Lutheran Count Frederick of Württemberg at the wish of the French noblemen who had fled to Mümpelgart. As a matter of course the intended union which was the purpose of the colloquy was not brought about; nevertheless it called forth serious developments within the Reformed Church. When the edition of the acts of the colloquy, as prepared by J. Andreä, was published, Samuel Huber, of Burg near Bern, who belonged to the Lutheranizing faction of the Swiss clergy, took so great offense at the supralapsarian doctrine of predestination propounded at Mümpelgart by Beza and Musculus that he felt it to be his duty to denounce Musculus to the magistrates of Bern as an innovator in doctrine. To adjust the matter, the magistrates arranged a colloquy between Huber and Musculus (Sept. 2, 1587), in which the former represented the universalism, the latter the particularism, of grace. As the colloquy was resultless, a debate was arranged at Bern, Apr. 15–18, 1588, at which the defense of the accepted system of doctrine was at the start put into Beza's hands. The three delegates of the Helvetic cantons who presided at the debate declared in the end that Beza had substantiated the teaching propounded at Mümpelgart as the orthodox one, and Huber was dismissed from his office.

9. Last Days.

After that time Beza's activity was confined more and more to the affairs of his home. His faithful wife Claudine had died childless in 1588, a few days before he went to the Bern Disputation. Forty years they had lived happily together. He contracted, on the advice of his friends, a second marriage with Catharina del Piano, a Genoese widow, in order to have a helpmate in his declining years. Up to his sixty-fifth year he enjoyed excellent health, but after that a gradual sinking of his vitality became perceptible. He was active in teaching till Jan., 1597. The saddest experience in his old days was the conversion of King Henry IV to Roman Catholicism, in spite of his most earnest exhortations (1593). Strange to say, in 1596 the report was spread by the Jesuits in Germany, France, England, and Italy that Beza and the Church of Geneva had returned into the bosom of Rome, and Beza replied in a satire that revealed the possession still of his old fire of thought and vigor of expression. He was not buried, like Calvin, in the general cemetery, Plain-Palais (for the Savoyards had threatened to abduct his body to Rome), but at the direction of the magistrates, in the monastery of St. Pierre.

10. Humanistic and Historical Writings.

In Beza's literary activity as well as in his life, distinction must be made between the period of the humanist (which ended with the publication of his Juvenilia) and that of the ecclesiastic. But later productions like the humanistic, biting, satirical Passavantius and his Complainte de Messire Pierre Lizet . . . prove that in later years he occasionally went back to his first love. In his old age he published his Cato censorius (1591), and revised his Poemata, from which he purged juvenile eccentricities. Of his historiographical works, aside from his Icones (1580), which have only an iconographical value, mention may be made of the famous Histoire ecclésiastique des Églises réformée s au Royaume de France (1580), and his biography of Calvin, with which must be named his edition of Calvin's Epistolæ et responsa (1575).

11. Theological Works.

But all these humanistic and historical studies are surpassed by his theological productions (contained in Tractationes theologicæ). In these Beza appears the perfect pupil or the alter ego of Calvin. His view of life is deterministic and the basis of his religious thinking is the predestinate recognition of the necessity of all temporal existence as an effect of the absolute, eternal, and immutable will of God, so that even the fall of the human race appears to him essential to the divine plan of the world. In most lucid manner Beza shows in tabular form the connection of the religious views which emanated from thin fundamental supralapsarian mode of thought. This he added to his highly instructive treatise Summa totius Christianismi.

12. Beza's Greek New Testament.

Of no less importance are the contributions of Beza to Biblical science. In 1565 he issued an edition of the Greek New Testament, accompanied in parallel columns by the text of the Vulgate and a translation of his own (already published as early as 1556). Annotations were added, also previously published, but now he greatly enriched and enlarged them. In the preparation of this edition of the Greek text, but much more in the preparation of the second edition which he brought out in 1582, Beza may have availed himself of the help of two very valuable manuscripts. One is known as the Codex Bezæ or Cantabrigensis, and was later presented by Beza to the University of Cambridge; the second is the Codex Claromontanus, which Beza had found in Clermont (now in the National Library at Paris). It was not, however, to these sources that Beza was chiefly indebted, but rather to the previous edition of the eminent Robert Stephens (1550), itself based in great measure upon one of the later editions of Erasmus. Beza's labors in this direction were exceedingly helpful to those who came after. The same thing may be asserted with equal truth of his Latin version and of the copious notes with which it was accompanied. The former is said to have been published over a hundred times. It is to be regretted that the author's view of the doctrine of predestination exercised upon the interpretation of Scripture too preponderating an influence. However, there is no question that Beza added much to a clear understanding of the New Testament.

Eugène Choisy.

Bibliography: J. W. Baum, T. Beza nach handschriftlichen und anderen gleichzeitigen Quellen, Leipsic, 1843–52 (masterly, but extends only to 1563); his life by Heppe is in vol. vi of Leben und ausgewählte Schriften der Väter der reformierten Kirche, Elberfeld, 1861 (complete and excellent, inferior only to Baum); A. de la Faye, De vita et obitu T. Besæ, Geneva, 1606 (by a favorite pupil of Beza); Jérôme Bolsec, Histoire de la vie, maurs, doctrine et débordements de T. de Bèze, Paris, 1582, republished Geneva, 1835 (Roman Catholic, a scurrilous and malignant libel); F. C. Schlosser, Leben des Theodor Beza und des Peter Martyr Vermigli, Heidelberg, 1809; E. and É. Haag, La France protestante, 2d ed. by Bordier, ii. 520–540, Paris, 1879; H. M. McCracken, Lives of the Leaders of Our Church Universal, from the Germ. of F. Piper, pp. 352–362, Philadelphia, 1879; Schaff, Christian Church, vol. vii, passim, especially chap six; Moeller, Christian Church, vol. iii, passim; C. v. Proosdij, T. Beza medearbeiter en opvolger van Calvijn, Leyden, 1895; H. M. Baird, Theodore Beza, the Counsellar of the French Reformation, New York, 1899 (the one book in English, and a worthy treatment of the subject), cf. his Rise of the Huguenots, passim, ib. 1879; A. Bernus, T. de Bèze à Lausanne, Lausanne, 1900; E. Choisy, L’État chrétien calvinists à Genéve au tempe de T. de Bèze, Geneva, 1902; Cambridge Modern History, vol. ii, The Reformation, passim, vol. iii, London, 1904; À Théodore de Bèze (1605–1905), Geneva, 1906.

BEZOLD, bê´´zōld´, CARL ERNST CHRISTIAN: German Orientalist; b. at Donauwörth (25 m. n.n.w. of Augsburg), Bavaria, May 18, 1859. He was educated at the universities of Munich (1876–79), Leipsic (1879–80; Ph.D., 1881), and Strasburg (1881), and became privat-docent at Munich in 1883. He continued his studies at Rome in the spring of 1884 and at London in the summer of 1882 and 1887, while from 1888 to 1894 he was employed in the British Museum. Since the latter year he has been professor of Oriental philology and director of the Oriental seminar at the University of Heidelberg. In 1884 he founded, at Leipsic, the Zeitschrift für Keilschriftforschung, which was continued in the following year as the Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, and which he has edited to the present time. He likewise edited the second edition of C. F. A. Dillmann's Grammatik der äthiopischen Sprache (Leipsic, 1899) and the Orientalische Studien in honor of the seventieth birthday of T. Nöldeke (2 vols., Giessen, 1906), and was the founder and editor of the Semitistische Studien (Berlin, 1894 sqq.). In 1904 he became one of the editors of the Archiv für Religionswissenschaft. He has also written Die grosse Dariusinschrift am Felsen van Behistun (Leipsic, 1881); Die Achämenideninschriften (1882); Die Schatzhöhle, syrisch und deutsch (2 vols., 1883–88); The Ordinary Canon of the Mass according to the Use of the Coptic Church, in C. A. Swainson's Greek Liturgies (London, 1884); Kurzgefasster Ueberblick über die babylonisch-as-syrische Literatur (Leipsic, 1886); Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets in the Kouyunjik Collection of the British Museum (5 vols., London, 1889–99); The Tell-el-Amarna Tablets in the British Museum (1892); Oriental Diplomacy (1893); Ninive und Babylon (Bielefeld, 1903); Die babylonisch-assyrischen Keilinschriften und ihre Bedeutung für das Alte Testament (Tübingen, 1904); Babylonisch-Assyrische Texte übersetzt: i. Die Schöpfungslegende (Bonn, 1904); and Kebra Nagast, die Herrlichkeit der Könige (Ethiopic text and German translation, Munich, 1905).

BIANCHINI, bî´´ān-kî´nî (BLANCHINUS), GIUSEPPE: Italian Biblical scholar; b. at Verona Sept. 9, 1704; d. after 1760. He was a member of the Congregation of the Oratory, and the author of two works bearing on the history of the Itala: Psalterium duplex juxta antiquam italicam versionem (Rome, 1740) and Evangeliarium quadruplex Latinæ versionis antiquæ seu veteris Italicæ (2 vols., 1749). The detailed statements in the first volume are valuable, but the text is inferior to Sabatier's Bibliorum sacrorum Latinæ versionis antiquæ (Reims, 1739 sqq.). The second, containing some older codices, supplements Sabatier.

K. Benrath.

BIBLE

The word "Bible" (from Gk. biblia, "books") or "Holy Scripture" is the customary term in Church and theology for the ecclesiastically acknowledged collection of the Old and the New Testament writings. As the writings of the Old Testament canon are indicated in the New Testament by the term "The Scriptures" or "The Scripture," so in the Middle Ages the whole was designated by "The Books." By a misunderstanding of the Greek form, the word was received into the modern languages as a singular of feminine gender.

1. The Bible in the Early Church.

The separation of these writings from all other literature as "the Book of Books" is derived from the practise of Jesus, who, with his contemporaries, acknowledged the authority of the Old Testament literature (M. Kaehler, Jesus und das Alte Testament, Leipsic, 1895). The Old Testament was conveyed, in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, as the Word of God, to the Gentile Christians by the followers of Jesus. At the latest in the beginning of the third century, the New Testament canon was added to the Old Testament, as is witnessed by the Syriac version (see Canon of Scripture). And from that time the bipartite collection was always treated as a whole, although the uncertainty about some books (the so-called Antilegomena) was not forgotten during the Middle Ages, was recognized by Luther and other Reformers, and was treated from a dogmatic standpoint by Martin Chemnitz (Examen concilii Tridentini, Frankfort, 1596). The controversy about the Old Testament Apocrypha has never been settled. What esteem the Bible enjoyed in the ancient catholic Church is seen from its controlling position in divine service, in the reading of Scripture, and in the delivery of sermons founded on it, but especially from the labor spent in translating it (see Bible Versions, A).

2. In the Middle Ages and Reformation Period.

It must not be imagined that the Middle Ages did not rightly appreciate the Bible. It is necessary to take into account the great difficulties which confronted the Church at that time in forming an ecclesiastical language, and even a literary language, for the Germanic and Slavic nations. In the absence of modern philology the efforts made are worthy of acknowledgment. The hierarchical development of the Church tended to paralyze it by enforcing uniformity in use of the church-language at the expense of intelligibility, and in the interest of an easier management put the "heretical book" into the keeping of the ecclesiastical magistracy. But the Reformation introduced a new epoch of wide propagation and appreciation of the Bible. The efforts of the Reformers to make this book accessible to all Christians were taken up by Pietism under Spener; the founding of the Canstein Bible Institute (see Bible Societies, II, 1; Canstein, Karl Hildebrand, Baron on) and the sending out of the first missionaries opened the double way by which the Bible, especially in the nineteenth century, has obtained its commanding position in the world; knowledge of the Bible has been spread by the Bible Societies through hundreds of new translations (a work in which Englishmen and Scotchmen, well read in the Scriptures, have distinguished themselves). The Bible has become in the fullest sense the people's book in all Protestant countries of the Old World, and the same process is being repeated among the non-Christian nations, to which missionary cooperation gives the Bible and with it often also an alphabet and a literary language.

3. Modern Views and Criticism.

This zeal for the propagation of the Bible has its root in the unique importance which the theology of the Reformation ascribes to it. In opposition to the ecclesiastical position of Rome, the Evangelicals developed their doctrine of the "normative or decisive authority of Scripture" on the basis of the uncontroverted character of the Scripture as revelation. This high regard has as its foundation the doctrine of "verbal inspiration" (see Inspiration), which ascribes to the Bible all requisite qualities, such as "perfection" in communicating the "knowledge necessary for salvation," " transparency," and the "power of interpreting itself by itself." Unobserved, the body of pure doctrine, by the help of which the renewal of evangelical activity had been accomplished, became transformed into a set of doctrines which were mechanically combined, regardless of their historical origin. In opposition to the adulterated tradition of Rome, Protestantism could happily refer to the bulwark of Scripture, in which Roman Catholics also acknowledged divine revelation. But evangelical theology first succumbed to the attack which the "Enlightenment" (Aufklärung), about the middle of the eighteenth century, made upon all history and tradition and especially upon historical revelation. In vain the effort was made to prove dogmatically the immediate divine origin of the Bible-letter, while proof was also given in an ever-cogent manner that the Bible is a production of human authorship and tradition. This crisis was gradually overcome by the victory gained for the "historico-critical" method of treating the Bible, but the right of historical revelation was established over against "natural morality and religion." As in earlier times historical development within the Bible was now and then perceived (e.g., by Cocceius and Bengel), so now students see in its writings documents of divine revelation which entered into the human world as historical facts (so the Erlangen School). Only one group of theologians of the nineteenth century (e.g., Hengstenberg and Rudelbach) went back again to the old doctrine of verbal inspiration; most investigators assumed a new attitude toward Scripture. Documents to have value must be shown to be ancient and to be derived from a time near the events they relate; there must be testimony to their genuineness and credibility. But such merely historical consideration of the Bible proved insufficient and dangerous in the next period. "Liberal theology, endowed with technical skill," showed error in Biblical tradition from a critical point of view, and in place of the Biblical evidences it substituted conjecturally the details of a natural history of religion, which it composed after the Hegelian formula to the effect that in the "historical revelation" there is to be seen the development of a religious idea, an act in the drama of the natural development of humanity (so F. C. Baur, E. Reuss, and Wellhausen). The results of this modern criticism were propagated among the people through the press and by pamphlets in a wild confusion along with the older, would-be enlightening defamations of the Bible (so by Reimarus, Venturini, and Bahrdt). Over against this sprang up a comprehensive literature which sought to gain those who were estranged from the Bible and to reassure disquieted readers. It was based on an acknowledgment of the part the revelation of God has played in the education of the race, and in a scientific manner discarded the unjustified conclusions of the so-called constructive criticism, at least as far as the New Testament is concerned. In this intellectual battle it became evident that the estimate of the Bible stands in an indissolubly reciprocal relation to the position taken toward positive Christianity in general.

4. Wherein the Bible is Unique.

It is therefore absolutely necessary (especially for the ministry and for ecclesiastical instruction) to have a clear insight into that which makes our Bible the unique "Book of Books." This is obtained by observing what it is that has given the Bible its historical position. Throughout the whole course of its working in the human race the Bible appears only in close connection with the Church, the essential activity of which, according to the Augsburg Confession (vii), is the preaching of "the Word." The common object of both is to convey the revelation of the living God. Whoever has become a believer in the Gospel and recalls his experience perceives also that the service of the Church by which he was led to it was inspired by the Bible, and further observation of life and history teaches that the efficacy of the work of the Church is dependent on the use it makes of the Bible. For only in the Scripture is found the unchangeable and therefore authoritative form of preaching which first induced faith in Christ and continues so to do. On the other hand, the Christian also recognizes that his personal relation to the Bible is due to the "living voice of the Gospel" and that through the Church he comes into personal relation with the Bible. He understands also that the Bible is the book of the Church (so Luther), but not a text-book or devotional book which in all its parts is immediately useful to the individual Christian. In it are found productions which are far remote from one another in date, which originally were intended for entirely different circles with quite peculiar wants. On this account only the cooperation of different gifts and the diligence of generations working on a scientific basis can bring out its full content. Under the assumption of this service of the Church each living Christian has the possibility of coming thus through his Bible into immediate touch with the historical revelation of his God from the promise of the covenant to the beginning of the mission to the Gentiles. While historical inquiry establishes the historical continuation, and divides the whole Bible into single historical accounts and documents, the view of most Bible-readers is directed only to the Bible as a whole, and seeks in every fragment a word of God applicable to immediate questions and wants. These divergent interests must be united by observing that the individual parts, by being comprehended as "the Bible," receive a new worth, and that in this very form they obtain an imperishable, effective continuity, instead of being merely individual monuments of past times. The collection is not an accidental one, but transcribes in characteristic features the life of the human race as it developed under the influence of the history of revelation. To him therefore who sees in reliance on God the stay of human life, the Bible will also be the book of the human race. For Christian belief the Bible appears thus as the great fact in which God has inseparably interwoven the faith-awakening knowledge of his revelation with the history of the human race, and in it is discerned the clear testimony to the goal of the human race and the conquering offer of God's grace.

M. Kaehler.

Bibliography: M. Arnold, Literature and Dogma, latest ed., Now York, 1902 (a rich book, but on rationalistic basis; it called forth many replies which were answered in God and the Bible, 1884); J. H. Crocker, The New Bible and its New Uses (Unitarian, ultrarationalistic); G. J. Metzger, Der alts Bibelglaube und der moderne Vernunftglaube, Stuttgart, 1893 (evangelical); J. T. Sunderland, The Bible . . . its Place among the Sacred Books of the World, New York, 1893 (Unitarian); J. Denney, Studies in Theology, London, 1895 (by a leader in English evangelical thought); A. M. Fairbairn, Place of Christ in Modern Theology, London, 1895 (moderate in its theological position); P. Müller, Freisinn und Bibelglaube, Hamburg 1896; W. Sanday, Inspiration, London, 1896 (advanced in the O. T. part, conservative in treating the N. T.); R. L. Ottley, Aspects of the Old Testament, London, 1898; T. Zahn, Die bleibende Bedeutung des neutestamentlichen Kanons für die Kirche, Leipsic, 1898; S. Bernfeld, Das Buch der Bücher, Berlin, 1899; C. A. Briggs, General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture, New York, 1899 (comprehensive and scholarly); R. B. MacArthur, Bible Difficulties and their Alleviative Interpretations, Boston, 1898; idem, The Old Book and the Old Faith, ib. 1899 (decidedly conservative); L. W. Batten, The Old Testament from the Modern Point of View, New York, 1901; R. G. Moulton, Short Introduction to the Literature of the Bible, Boston, 1901; P. Gardner, Historic View of the New Testament, London, 1904 (from a scientific standpoint); F. Bettex, Die Bibel Gottes Wort, 3d ed., Stuttgart, 1903, Eng. transl., Cincinnati, 1904; J. E. Carpenter, The Bible in the Nineteenth Century, London, 1903 (scholarly and reverent, but on scientific basis); J. Haussleiter, Die Autorität der Bibel, Munich [1904], 1905; M. Dods, The Bible, its Origin and Nature, New York, 1905 (Dr. Dods is well known as a conservative critic); J. M. McMullen, The Supremacy of the Bible, ib. 1905; W. Barry, The Tradition of Scripture, its Origin, Authority, and Interpretation, London. 1906; C. F. Kant, Origin and Permanent Value of the O. T., New York, 1906; A. T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism, ib. 1906; G. F. Wright, Scientific Confirmations of O. T. History, ib. 1906; W. C. Selleck, New Appreciation of the Bible, Chicago, 1907; H. F. Waring, Christianity and its Bible, ib. 1907.

BIBLE CHRISTIANS. See Methodists, I., 8.

BIBLE CHRISTIANS (BRYANITES).

Bible Christians or Bryanites are popular names of a body of Christians officially known as the Bible Christian Connection. The designation "Bryanites" is from their founder, William O'Bryan; that of "Bible Christians" was due to the persistent use of the Bible in private devotions and public services by a peasantry in general but scantily provided with the book, and to the consistent practise of its precepts by their early ministry. The sect has usually been classed with the Methodists and is now united with them.

1. William O'Bryan.

William O'Bryan, the founder, was born in Gunwen (near Lostwithiel, 23 m. w. of Plymouth), Cornwall, England, Feb. 6, 1778. He was the son of a yeoman, was possessed of a vigorous mind and retentive memory, and, having a good elementary education, was, intellectually, considerably above his class. His home influences were devoutly religious and resulted in his conversion at eighteen, when he began at once to exhort. He was licensed shortly after as a "local preacher" with the hope of entering the Wesleyan itinerancy; meanwhile he engaged in business.

Serious illness (1804) reawakened in him a profound conviction of his call, which delay and opposition had weakened for a time. For five years more he was content to work on the Bodmin circuit as a local preacher of the Wesleyans, while still in business. His fine presence, courteous manner, great magnetism, and above all his fervent godliness gave him much popularity as a preacher. In his keen hunting for souls, he grew restive under restraint, overstepped the boundary of the circuit and plunged into the "wild wastes of Cornwall and North Devon," where the voice of Methodism had never been heard.

This in the mind of the Wesleyan authorities was a "dangerous irregularity" of method, against which Mr. O'Bryan had been cautioned, and, when he appeared at the district meeting as a candidate for the itinerancy, caused his "first" rejection; the financial responsibility which would be incurred by accepting a married man, as he now was, was named as the "second" cause for his "final" rejection. He at once entered unoccupied fields in a new campaign. His unquestioned moral uprightness, indefatigable labors, and unsparing self-sacrifice made his evangelical message remarkably successful; and the generosity which prompted him to urge all his converts to enter the Church that had rejected him from its highest office of ministry compels admiration. A tendency to despotic rule, to which by nature and force of circumstances he was inclined (see below, § 3), led to a separation in 1829 from the Connection which he had founded, and in 1835 to his emigration to the United States with residence in New York City. He revisited his spiritual children more than once and was heartily welcomed. A generous pension was provided for his support by the body. He died in Brooklyn, Jan. 8, 1868, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

2. Early Organization and Growth.

The germ of the Bible Christian denomination consisted of twenty-two persons, converts of Mr. O'Bryan, who were organized into a society on Oct. 9, 1815, in the house of John Thorne, Shebbear, Devonshire, England. Within a year this number became eighteen ministers and 1,500 members; and at the sixth year seventy-eight ministers and 6,200 members. To carry forward a work extending so rapidly, Mr. O'Bryan adopted John Wesley's plan and "chose and appointed" both men and women as itinerants. The proportion of women was large in the early history of the Church, and their work was eminently successful; yet their number steadily declined and ultimately none remained in the itinerancy. With this working force evangelism was extended into Devonshire and Cornwall, the Scilly and Channel Islands, and later by emigration (1820–30) to America.

3. Dissension.

Organization into societies and circuits required meeting-places and chapels—at first preaching was mostly in the field, the village green, in hired halls, and in houses—and all property acquired for such purpose was held in Mr. O'Bryan's name. He also presided over the conference, the first being held at Launceston (1819), and composed of ministers only. To all this absolutism, there was serious objection, and an effort to secure an amended deed by which all property should be held in trust for the Connection was begun in 1826. A crisis was reached at the eleventh conference (1829), when opposition to Mr. O'Bryan's expressed intention "that if all the conference were opposed to his views, his single vote was to determine every case," resulted in his adjourning the conference, and withdrawing with comparatively few sympathizers. The conference refused to recognize his authority, elected Andrew Cory president in his stead, and proceeded with business. It was resolved "that the conference be the organ of government; its membership, ministers and laymen; and its next place of meeting annually fixed." The conference thus declared against an episcopacy, as it also decided against ecclesiasticism by admitting laymen to church government in equal numbers with clerical members. Eight years later these separatists negotiated terms of reunion, but Mr. O'Bryan never again united.

4. Extension to America and Australia.

Many members of the infant Church emigrated to the colonies and the United States. In 1831 the Missionary Society of the Bible Christians in England sent John Glass and Francis Metherall as missionaries to Canada West and Prince Edward Island respectively. They also organized missions (1846) in the States of Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan. In 1850 James Way and James Rowe were sent out to Australia, and later work was begun in New Zealand. For the next quarter of a century the Church enjoyed undisturbed prosperity, establishing three publishing houses, and a denominational college at Shebbear, Devonshire, England. In 1882, 300 ministers and 34,000 members were reported. This was the high-water mark numerically.

5. Union with the Methodists in Canada.

These years of extension had awakened, in a much divided Methodism, a sense of the advisability of "union," in both England and the colonies. The center of discussion was Canada, where five Methodist sects wasted their energy in vigorous, if not unseemly, rivalry. As early as 1866 the Bible Christians and Methodist New Connection approached the Methodist Protestants of the United States upon the question of union, but the overture ended in friendly expressions only. In 1870 the Methodist New Connection made overtures to the Bible Christians, and in 1874 the former were absorbed by the Wesleyan Methodists of Canada. The Bible Christians announced as their policy—a policy consistently held since organization—"That any basis of union to be acceptable to this Conference must secure to the laity their full share of privileges in the government of the Church." In 1882 a committee was appointed by the Bible Christians to meet with three other committees, representing the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada. This committee was explicitly instructed to reaffirm "That no union would be possible for their Church that did not provide for a representation of the laity in all church courts." A basis of union was provided acceptable to all parties, voted upon by every society, and in 1884 union was fully and legally perfected. The uniting churches chose as a name "The Methodist Church of Canada." The parent body graciously consented to the separation, which affected the work in Canada and the United States only.

6. Union in Australia and England.

The energy and resources of the English and Australian conferences were now devoted to an enlargement of home missions and in the establishment of a foreign mission in China, which has been successful. A union of the Australian conference with other Methodist sects in that colony left but the parent body bearing the name; and in Aug., 1906, this Church voted unanimously to unite with the Methodist New Connection and the United Methodists, the union to be formally and legally consummated in 1907. The name of "United Methodist Church" was chosen for the new organization. At the time of approving the union the Bible Christians had 638 chapels, 202 ministers, and 30,000 members.

Francis Metherall Whitlock.

Bibliography: J. Thorns, A Jubilee Memorial of the Rise and Progress of the Bible Christian Connexion, London, 1888; J. G. Hayman, A Hist. of the Methodist Revival of the Last Century in Relation to North Devon, ib. 1885; [John Thorne], James Thorne of Shebbear, a Memoir . . . from his Diary and Letters, by his Son, ib 1873; F. W. Bourne, The Centenary Life of James Thorne, ib. 1895; Brief Biographical Sketches of Bible Christians, Jersey, 1905; The Book of Discipline for the People Known as Bible Christians, London, the Bible Christian Book Room.

BIBLE READING BY THE LAITY, RESTRICTIONS ON.

I. The Ancient Church.

It is indisputable that in Apostolic times the Old Testament was commonly read (John v, 47; Acts viii, 28; xvii, 11; II Tim. iii, 15). Roman Catholics admit that this reading was not restricted in the first centuries, in spite of its abuse by Gnostics and other heretics. On the contrary, the reading of Scripture was urged (Justin Martyr, xliv, ANF, i, 177–178; Jerome, Adv. libros Rufini, i, 9, NPNF, 2d ser., iii, 487); and Pamphilus, the friend of Eusebius, kept copies of Scripture to furnish to those who desired them. Chrysostom attached considerable importance to the reading of Scripture on the part of the laity and denounced the error that it was to be permitted only to monks and priests (De Lazaro concio, iii, MPG, xlviii, 992; Hom. ii in Matt., MPG, lvii, 30, NPNF, 2d ser., x, 13). He insisted upon access being given to the entire Bible, or at least to the New Testament (Hom. ix in Col., MPG, lxii, 361, NPNF, xiii, 301). The women also, who were always at home, were diligently to read the Bible (Hom. xxxv on Gen. xii, MPG, liii, 323). Jerome recommended the reading and studying of Scripture on the part of the women (Epist., cxxviii, 3, MPL, xxii, 1098, NPNF, 2d ser., vi, 259; Epist., lxxix, 9, MPG, xxii, 730–731, NPNF, 2d ser., vi, 167). The translations of the Bible, Augustine considered a blessed means of propagating the Word of God among the nations (De doctr. christ., ii, 5, NPNF, 1st ser., ii, 536); Gregory I recommended the reading of the Bible without placing any limitations on it (Hom. iii in Ezek., MPL, lxxvi, 968).

II. The Middle Ages.

Owing to lack of culture among the Germanic and Romanic peoples, there was for a long time no thought of restricting access to the Bible there. Translations of Biblical books into German began only in the Carolingian period and were not originally intended for the laity. Nevertheless the people were anxious to have the divine service and the Scripture lessons read in the vernacular. John VIII in 880 permitted, after the reading of the Latin gospel, a translation into Slavonic; but Gregory VII, in a letter to Duke Vratislav of Bohemia in 1080 characterized the custom as unwise, bold, and forbidden (Epist., vii, 11; P. Jaffé, BRG, ii, 392 sqq.). This was a formal prohibition, not of Bible reading in general, but of divine service in the vernacular.

With the appearance, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, of the Albigenses and Waldenses, who appealed to the Bible in all their disputes with the Church, the hierarchy was furnished with a reason for shutting up the Word of God. The Synod of Toulouse in 1229 forbade the laity to have in their possession any copy of the books of the Old and the New Testament except the Psalter and such other portions as are contained in the Breviary or the Hours of the Blessed Mary. "We most strictly forbid these works in the vulgar tongue" (Harduin, Concilia, xii, 178; Mansi, Concilia, xxiii, 194). The Synod of Tarragona (1234) ordered all vernacular versions to be brought to the bishop to be burned. James I renewed thin decision of the Tarragona synod in 1276. The synod held there in 1317 under Archbishop Ximenes prohibited to Beghards, Beguines, and tertiaries of the Franciscans the possession of theological books in the vernacular (Mansi, Concilia, xxv, 627). The order of James I was renewed by later kings and confirmed by Paul II (1464–71). Ferdinand and Isabella (1474–1516) prohibited the translation of the Bible into the vernacular or the possession of such translations (F. H. Reusch, Index der verbotenen Bücher, i, Bonn, 1883, 44).

In England Wyclif's Bible-translation caused the resolution passed by the third Synod of Oxford (1408): "No one shall henceforth of his own authority translate any text of Scripture into English; and no part of any such book or treatise composed in the time of John Wycliffe or later shall be read in public or private, under pain of excommunication" (Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, vi, 984). But Sir Thomas More states that he had himself seen old Bibles which were examined by the bishop and left in the hands of good Catholic laymen (Blunt, Reformation of the Church of England, 4th ed., London, 1878, i, 505). In Germany, Charles IV issued in 1369 an edict to four inquisitors against the translating and the reading of Scripture in the German language. This edict was caused by the operations of Beghards and Beguines. In 1485 and 1486, Berthold, archbishop of Mainz, issued an edict against the printing of religious books in German, giving among other reasons the singular one that the German language was unadapted to convey correctly religious ideas, and therefore they would be profaned. Berthold's edict had some influence, but could not prevent the dissemination and publication of new editions of the Bible. Leaders in the Church sometimes recommended to the laity the reading of the Bible, and the Church kept silence officially as long as these efforts were not abused.

III. The Roman Catholic Church since the Reformation.

Luther's translation of the Bible and its propagation could not but influence the Roman Catholic Church. Humanism, through such men as Erasmus, advocated the reading of the Bible and the necessity of making it accessible by translations; but it was felt that Luther's translation must be offset by one prepared in the interest of the Church. Such editions were Emser's of 1527, and the Dietenberg Bible of 1534. The Church of Rome silently tolerated these translations.

1. Action by the Council of Trent.

At last the Council of Trent took the matter in hand, and in its fourth session (Apr. 18, 1546) adopted the Decretum de editione et usu librorum sacrorum, which enacted the following: "This synod ordains and decrees that henceforth sacred Scripture, and especially the aforesaid old and vulgate edition, be printed in the most correct manner possible; and that it shall not be lawful for any one to print, or cause to be printed, any books whatever on sacred matters without the name of the author; or in future to sell them, or even to possess them, unless they shall have been first examined and approved of by the ordinary." When the question of the translation of the Bible into the vernacular came up, Bishop Acqui of Piedmont and Cardinal Pacheco advocated its prohibition. This was strongly opposed by Cardinal Madruzzi, who claimed that "not the translations but the professors of Hebrew and Greek are the cause of the confusion in Germany; a prohibition would produce the worst impression in Germany." As no agreement could be had, the council appointed an index-commission to report to the pope, who was to give an authoritative decision.

2. Rules of Various Popes.

The first index published by a pope (Paul IV), in 1559, prohibited under the title of Biblia prohibita a number of Latin editions as well as the publication and possession of translations of the Bible in German, French, Spanish, Italian, English, or Dutch, without the permission of the sacred office of the Roman Inquisition (Reusch, ut sup., i, 264). In 1584 Pius IV published the index prepared by the commission mentioned above. Herein ten rules are laid down, of which the fourth reads thus: "Inasmuch as it is manifest from experience that if the Holy Bible, translated into the vulgar tongue, be indiscriminately allowed to every one, the rashness of men will cause more evil than good to arise from it, it is, on this point, referred to the judgment of the bishops or inquisitors, who may, by the advice of the priest or confessor, permit the reading of the Bible translated into the vulgar tongue by Catholic authors, to those persons whose faith and piety they apprehend will be augmented and not injured by it; and this permission must be had in writing. But if any shall have the presumption to read or possess it without such permission, he shall not receive absolution until he have first delivered up such Bible to the ordinary." Regulations for booksellers follow, and then: "Regulars shall neither read nor purchase such Bibles without special license from their superiors." Sixtus V substituted in 1590 twenty-two new rules for the ten of Pius IV. Clement VIII abolished in 1596 the rules of Sixtus, but added a "remark" to the fourth rule given above, which particularly restores the enactment of Paul IV. The right of the bishops, which the fourth rule implies, is abolished by the "remark," and the bishop may grant a dispensation only when especially authorized by the pope and the Inquisition (Reusch, ut sup., i, 333). Benedict XIV enlarged, in 1757, the fourth rule thus: "If such Bible-versions in the vernacular are approved by the apostolic see or are edited with annotations derived from the holy fathers of the Church or from learned and Catholic men, they are permitted." This modification of the fourth rule was abolished by Gregory XVI in pursuance of an admonition of the index-congregation, Jan. 7, 1836, "which calls attention to the fact that according to the decree of 1757 only such versions in the vernacular are to be permitted as have been approved by the apostolic see or are edited with annotations," but insistence is placed on all those particulars enjoined by the fourth rule of the index and afterward by Clement VIII (Reusch, ut sup., ii, 852).

3. Rules and Practice in Different Countries.

In England the reading of the Bible was made by Henry VIII (1530) to depend upon the permission of the superiors. Tyndale's version, printed before 1535, was prohibited. In 1534 the Canterbury convocation passed a resolution asking the king to have the Bible translated and to permit its reading. A folio copy of Coverdale's translation was put into every church for the benefit of the faithful, and fastened with a chain. In Spain the Inquisitor-General de Valdes published in 1551 the index of Louvain of 1550, which prohibits "Bibles (New and Old Testaments) in the Spanish or other vernacular" (Reusch, ut sup., i, 133). This prohibition was abolished in 1778. The Lisbon index of 1824 in Portugal prohibited quoting in the vernacular in any book passages from the Bible. In Italy the members of the order of the Jesuits were in 1596 permitted to use a Catholic Italian translation of the Gospel-lessons. In France the Sorbonne declared, Aug. 26,1525, that a French translation of the Bible or of single books must be regarded as dangerous under conditions then present; extant versions were better suppressed than tolerated. In the following year, 1526, it prohibited the translation of the entire Bible, but permitted the translation of single books with proper annotations. The indexes of the Sorbonne, which by royal edict were binding, after 1544 contained the statement: "How dangerous it is to allow the reading of the Bible in the vernacular to unlearned people and those not piously or humbly disposed (of whom there are many in our times) may be seen from the Waldensians, Albigenses, and Poor Men of Lyons, who have thereby lapsed into error and have led many into the same condition. Considering the nature of men, the translation of the Bible into the vernacular must in the present be regarded therefore as dangerous and pernicious" (Reusch, ut sup., i, 151). The rise of Jansenism in the seventeenth century, and especially the appearance, under its encouragement, of Quesnel's New Testament with moral reflections under each verse (Le Nouveau Testament en françois avec des reflexions moroles sur chaque vers, Paris, 1699), which was expressly intended to popularize the reading of the Bible, caused the renewal, with increased stringency, of the rules already quoted. The Jesuits prevailed upon Clement XI to publish the famous bull Unigenitus, Sept. 8, 1713, in which he condemned seven propositions in Quesnel's work which advocated the reading of the Bible by the laity (cf. H. J. D. Denzinger, Enchiridion, Würzburg, 1854, 287). In the Netherlands, Neercassel, bishop of Emmerich, published in 1677 (in Latin) and 1680 (in French) a treatise in which he dealt with the fourth rule of the Tridentine index as obsolete, and urged the diligent reading of the Bible. In Belgium in 1570 the unlicensed sale of the Bible in the vernacular was strictly prohibited; but the use of the Antwerp Bible continued. In Poland the Bible was translated and often published. In Germany papal decrees could not very well be carried out and the reading of the Bible was not only not prohibited, but was approved and praised. Billuart about 1750, as quoted by Van Ess, states, "In France, Germany, and Holland the Bible is read by all without distinction." In the nineteenth century the clergy took great interest in the work of Bible Societies. Thus Leander van Ess acted as agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society for Catholic Germany, and the society published the New Testament of Van Ess, which was placed on the Index in 1821. The princes-bishop of Breslau, Sedlnitzki, who afterward joined the Evangelical Church, was also interested in circulating the Bible. As the Bible Societies generally circulated the translations of heretics, the pope—Leo XII (May 5, 1824); Pius VIII (May 25, 1829); Gregory XVI (Aug. 15, 1840; May 8, 1844); Pius IX (Nov. 9, 1846; Dec. 8, 1849)—issued encyclicals against the Bible Societies. In the syllabus of 1864 "socialism, communism, secret societies, . . . and Bible Societies" are placed in the same category. As to the effect of the papal decrees there is a difference of opinion within the Catholic Church. In theory the admonition of Gregory XVI no doubt exists, but practise often ignores it.

IV. The Greek Church.

The Greek Church knows of no such restriction of use of the Bible as that of the Roman Church. Nevertheless the Synod of Jerusalem of 1672 answered the first of the four questions: "Whether the Holy Scripture can be read by all Christians," in the negative. Nicholas I of Russia abolished in 1826 the Bible Society founded by Alexander I for the propagation of the Bible in the Russian vernacular.

V. The Evangelical Churches.

Luther strove to open the Bible to all, and his version served that purpose. The principle that every Evangelical Christian is at liberty to read the Bible remained uncontroverted, though Semler (De antiquo ecclesiæ statu commentatio, 37, 60, 68) makes the assertion that the sacred writings, especially the apostolic epistles, were not intended for the use of the people and the congregations; that in the ancient Church no universal use of the Bible existed, and that the catechumens especially were prohibited from using the Bible. Bible-compendiums for special purposes and separate circles also came into use in the Evangelical Church. Veit Dietrich published in 1541 his Summarium of the Old and the New Testament; Cromwell's soldiers had The Soldier's Pocket Bible of 1643 (facsimile edition, Cromwell's Soldier's Bible, London, 1895). The restriction upon Bible-reading in the Evangelical Church became of practical importance only in the schools. For didactic purposes Amos Comenius recommended compendiums and special manuals of Scripture, which the scholar was to use till he could read the Gospel in the original. The didactic needs were gradually satisfied by the introduction of text-books of "Biblical history," the Catechism, and collections of Bible sentences. From time to time the question has been agitated whether the whole Bible or so-called school Bibles should be used in the schools. The principal reason adduced in favor of the latter is that certain passages are objectionable because they deal with sexual relations. But these reasons are not well founded, since reading of the Bible has never been a cause of demoralization. The moral earnestness which without veiling calls things by their right names is to be preferred to a careful paraphrasing and veiling of the sense which only the more excite impure desires.

(Georg Rietschel.)

Bibliography: T. G. Hegelmaier, Geschichte des Bibelverbots, Ulm, 1783; N. Le Maire, Sanctuarium profanis occlusum sive de sanctorum bibliorum in lingua vulgari seu vernacula tractatus, Würsburg, 1662 (from the Fr. of 1651), this was reproduced in substance in Die Bibel kein Lesebuch für Jedermann, Münster, 1845; A. Arnauld, De la lecture de l’écriture sainte, Paris (c. 1690); C. W. F. Walch, Kritische Untersuchungen vom Gebrauch der heiligen Schrift unter den alten Christen in den ersten drei Jahrhunderten, Leipsic, 1779; F. von Ess, Der heilige Chrysostomus oder die Stimme der katholischen Kirche über das nützliche, heilsame und erbauliche Bibellesen, Darmstadt, 1824; J. B. Malon, La Lecture de la sainte Bible an langue vulgaire, 2 vols., Louvain, 1846; Vom Lesen der heiligen Schrift, Mains, 1846; F. H. Reusch, Die Indices librorum prohibitorum des sechszehnten Jahrhundarts, Tübingen, 1886; W. Walther, Die deutsche Bibelübersetzung des Mittelalters, Braunschweig, 1889; J. H. Kurtz, Church History, §§ 105, 3; 185, 1, New York, 1890; the text of the bull Unigenitus may be found in Reich, Documents, pp. 386–389, and the authoritative statement of the Greco-Russian Church in Schaff, Creeds, iii, 433–434.

BIBLE SOCIETIES.

Bible societies are benevolent associations formed to increase the circulation of the Bible and making special efforts to supply the Scriptures to those who from poverty or other causes are destitute of them. Printing the Bible or New Testament in suitable styles, translation into all important languages and even into the less important dialects, and some effective system of distribution in all accessible places are commonly regarded as essential features of the work of such societies. In some cases the books are given without price; but it is not usual to give away a large proportion. The test of manufacture and of distribution, however, has to be provided by voluntary contributions.

The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, founded in London in 1698, was the first to undertake to provide the common people with the Bible. It continues this beneficent work as one branch of its publication enterprise, and has been the means of providing fairly good translations of the Scriptures in many obscure languages of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, founded in 1701, has also done and is still doing a good work in circulating the Scriptures in connection with its extensive missions. The Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, founded in 1709, added the work of circulating the Bible to its missionary enterprises in Scotland and in America. The first society formed for the exclusive purpose of publishing the Bible at a low price seems to have been the Canstein Bible Institute, established in 1710 at Halle in Germany by Baron Canstein (see below, II, 1).

I. British Bible Societies.

1. Precursors of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

In the last half of the eighteenth century several societies sprang up in Great Britain which had Bible distribution as part of their programme; such as the Book Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor (1750), the Bible Society, later known as the Naval and Military Bible Society (1780), the Society for the Support and Encouragement of Sunday Schools (1785), the Association for Discountenancing Vice and Promoting the Knowledge and Practise of the Christian Religion (established in Dublin, 1792), the French Bible Society (established in London for printing the Bible in France, 1792), and the Religious Tract Society (London, 1799; see Tract Societies).

2. The British and Foreign Bible Society.

1. Origin and Constitution.

These enterprises, however, did not supply the need. The Rev. Thomas Charles of Bala in Wales became much impressed with the need of the common folk about him, who could not obtain the Bible except by persevering effort and much self-denial; the Bible was not only scarce but costly. Mr. Charles finally devoted himself to finding some effective means of supplying his people with the Scriptures. At a meeting of the Religious Tract Society in London in 1802, he aroused great interest by his vigorous presentation of the need of the people of Wales. The Rev. Joseph Hughes, secretary of the Religious Tract Society, exclaimed, "Surely a society might be formed to provide Bibles for Wales; and if for Wales, why not for the world?" This remark contained the germ from which grew the British and Foreign Bible Society.

The idea of a Bible Society for the world led to discussion and to study of the destitution of the people. The Rev. C. F. A. Steinkopf, pastor of the German Lutheran Church in London, gave effective information of the situation in European countries. Members of the Religious Tract Society, although they did not publicly appear, had much to do with the preparatory work. On Mar. 7, 1804, a public meeting was held at the London Tavern, on the call of Mr. Hughes. Three hundred persons attended the meeting. It was quickly evident that a society for increasing the circulation of the Bible presented common ground, upon which all sects and parties could stand. Dissenters met churchmen, and in their interest in the needs of the masses, they forgot for a time their divergent interpretations of the same book. The sole condition necessary to union of action was that a text accepted by all should be issued without note or comment.

At this meeting a hastily drawn up set of by-laws was adopted. An executive committee of thirty-six laymen was chosen, fifteen from the Church of England, fifteen from the Dissenting bodies, and six foreigners residing in London. The Rev. Joseph Hughes (Baptist) and the Rev. Josiah Pratt (Church of England) were elected secretaries. Seven hundred pounds were subscribed for the work of the society, and the Bishop of London, Dr. Porteus, was elected President.

The constitution of the society was soon afterward prepared; the Rev. John Owen, of the Church of England, was added to the staff of the society as a third secretary, and on nomination of Lord Teignmouth, a former governor-general in India, the Rev. C. F. A. Steinkopf was appointed secretary for foreign lands. Besides the Bishop of London, the Bishops of Durham, Exeter, and St. Davids, and many other influential persons, among whom were William Wilberforce and Granville Sharp, long known as antislavery leaders, joined this movement.

2. Present Organization.

As at present organized, the business of the society is directed by a committee made up as indicated above. Every subscriber of five guineas annually is a governor, and every subscriber of one guinea annually is a member of the society. Every governor, and every minister who is a member, has the privilege of attending and voting at all meetings of the committee. The president, the vice-presidents (numbering more than a hundred), and the treasurer are considered ex officio members of the committee. There are two secretaries and three superintendents charged with different departments of the work besides several assistant secretaries. To excite wider interest and to facilitate the distribution of the Bible, auxiliary and branch societies are formed, which pay their collections into a common fund and receive back a certain proportion of the sum collected in Bibles for distribution. There were in 1906 more than 5,800 of the auxiliary and branch societies and associations in England and Wales alone.

The society began its career by first meeting the wants of Wales. Twenty thousand Welsh Bibles and five thousand Testaments were printed. Providentially but a short time before this, the art of stereotyping had been invented. When in 1806 the first wagon-load of Bibles came into Wales, it was received like the ark of the covenant; and the people with shouts of joy dragged it into the city. The society also distributed the Bible in an improved Gaelic translation in the Highlands of Scotland, and turned its attention to the Irish; in short, it undertook to supply Great Britain and Ireland with Bibles.

3. Foreign Work.

But the society did not forget that it is a foreign as well as a British Bible Society. When it began operations Europe was convulsed with war and not so much was done as would otherwise have been accomplished in the way of supplying the destitute in European countries. Mr. Steinkopf and Robert Pinkerton made extensive tours through Germany, Switzerland, and Russia, and everywhere local Bible societies sprang into existence in their wake. Many of these societies, formed in 1812 and later, have done good work, being aided with funds and with grants of Bibles by the British Society. About the time of the formation of the British Society two Scotchmen, John Paterson and Ebenezer Henderson, went to Copenhagen, intending to go out as missionaries to India under the Danish-Halle mission at Tranquebar. Their plan fell through, but they met an Icelander, Thorkelin, in Copenhagen, who told them of the destitution of his countrymen. There were said to be only fifty Bibles in Iceland for a population of fifty thousand. The two Scotchmen laid the matter before the British and Foreign Bible Society, which promised to pay half of the expense of printing five thousand Testaments in Icelandic. The printing was stopped by the outbreak of war. But in 1812 Mr. Henderson received permission to remain in Copenhagen to complete the printing of the whole Bible in Icelandic, and, notwithstanding the war, to correspond with the Bible society in England regarding this work. The confidence thus shown in the motives of the society was certainly remarkable at that epoch; and it had much to do with the founding of the Danish Bible Society in 1814.

The British Society extended its work gradually to the British colonies, where it works through auxiliary societies. In Canada, the Canadian Bible Society, which has united a large number of local auxiliaries in one, is a society auxiliary to the British Society, and has a secretary appointed by the parent society in London. In Australia the society has fifty-two auxiliaries with nearly 500 branches. In India, with the exception of Burma, the society carries on its work through six strong auxiliary societies. In Cape Colony the South-African auxiliary has for its field the whole territory south of the Orange River. The whole number of auxiliaries and branch societies affiliated with the British Society outside of the United Kingdom exceeds 2,200. The whole number of these local societies, in Great Britain and abroad, which the British and Foreign Society aids and from which it receives donations, is over 8,160. Besides these auxiliary societies the parent society makes use of agencies, each in charge of a special agent, devoted to the increase of the circulation of the Bible in his own field. These agencies cover the continent of Europe, and Turkey, Siberia, China, Korea, and Japan in Asia. In the three last-named countries special arrangements with the American Bible Society and the National Bible Society of Scotland prevent clashing and secure combination for the translation of the Scriptures. Agencies of the British society also promote the distribution of the Bible in Egypt and North Africa and in nearly all of the colonies of East and West Africa. Where neither auxiliary nor agency has been established the society works through the missions which are in occupation of the ground in any part of the world.

4. Dissensions. Seceding Societies.

This wide-spread work has not been brought to its present extension without hindrances and difficulties. The High-church party in the Church of England has at times opposed the Bible Society, preferring to work through the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, which takes care to have the Bible supplemented by the Book of Common Prayer. Others have insisted that the Bible is a dangerous book to put in the hands of ignorant men without note or comment, and for this reason have opposed the Bible Society. In 1825 dissension arose within the Bible Society, which continued during two years, over the question of the Apocrypha. It was formally resolved in 1827 that the fundamental law of the society forbids its circulating the Apocrypha, and that therefore no persons or societies that circulate the Apocrypha can receive aid from the society. This decision led to the separation of a considerable number of European societies from the British society which had founded them. The discussion also resulted in the secession of the Scottish societies which originated the agitation against the publication of the Apocrypha (see below, 3). In 1831 another agitation was raised against the presence of Unitarians on the Board of Managers. The society having refused to alter its constitution so as to exclude non-Trinitarians, a separate society called the Trinitarian Bible Society was formed (see below, 5). With the growth of foreign missions, a question as to translation of the words relating to baptism became acute; and the controversy finally led to the formation of the Bible Translation Society, which was supported by Baptists who preferred to translate "immerse" rather than to transfer the Greek word baptizein (see below, 6).

But there has been a continuous and remarkable growth of the society in spite of all obstacles and opposition. In 1904 the centenary of the society was celebrated in almost all countries of the Christian and non-Christian world. "Bible Day" in Mar., 1904, will long be remembered not only as a day of an immense popular declaration of faith in the Bible as the revelation of God's will to men, but as a time for expressing the warmest love and sympathy, and gratitude withal, to the society which then completed a hundred years of self-sacrificing service of the nations. Not only were special gifts sent into the treasury for the general work of the society, but a special centenary fund of $1,256,000 was raised in that and the following year to be used as a reserve for more firmly planting the outposts of the society. The total issues of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in the year ending Mar. 31, 1908, amounted to 5,416,569 copies of the Bible or its parts. The total issues of the society from its organization to Mar. 31, 1907, amount to 203,931,768 copies, of which more than 80,000,000 copies were in the English language. The president of the British and Foreign Bible Society is the Marquis of Northampton. Its headquarters are at 146 Queen Victoria St., London, E. C.; its periodicals are The Bible in the World and The Bible Society Gleanings.

3. The National Bible Society of Scotland.

In 1809 the Edinburgh Bible Society was formed, in 1812 the Glasgow Bible Society, and in 1821 the Glasgow Auxiliary Bible Society. As mentioned above, these societies seceded from the British and Foreign Bible Society in consequence of the controversy about circulating editions of the Bible containing the Apocrypha. In 1859 the National Bible Society was formed, and in 1861 all these Scottish societies combined to form a new organization which was incorporated as the National Bible Society of Scotland. The fields of this society are in Europe and Asia. One-fifth of its issues in 1906–1907 were in Roman Catholic countries and about one-half in China. Its issues in the year ending Mar., 1907, amounted to 1,671,900 copies.

4. The Hibernian Bible Society.

This society was organized in 1806 as an auxiliary to the British and Foreign Bible Society. It is now independent, and devotes its attention mainly to the needs of Ireland. In the year ending Mar., 1907, it circulated 37,258 copies, which were purchased by the society. The headquarters are in Dublin.

5. The Trinitarian Bible Society.

Formed in 1831 as a protest against Unitarianism, this society issued in the year ending Dec. 31, 1907, 89,214 copies of the Bible or its parts. The headquarters of the society are at 7 Bury St., London, W. C.

6. The Bible Translation Society.

This society was organized in 1843 to serve the special interests of the British Baptist missions. It is now a part of the Baptist Missionary Society, making no separate publication of its issues, and having its headquarters at the Mission House, 19 Furnival St., London.

II. Bible Societies on the Continent of Europe.

1. Germany.

The first German Bible Society was the Canstein Bible Institute, founded in Halle in 1710 by Karl Hildebrand, Baron Canstein, with the definite purpose of placing the Bible within reach of the poor. The Institute has issued up to the beginning of 1907, over 7,000,000 copies of the Bible and its parts. The issues for 1907 were 38,696 copies. The (first) Nuremberg Bible Society was formed in 1804, and received aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1806 it was removed to Basel in Switzerland and took the name of the Basel Bible Society. Its issues during the year 1906 amounted to 32,708 copies. The Berlin Bible Society was formed in 1806 as a result of the energy of Father Jänicke, a Moravian pastor, and was aided by the British and Foreign Bible Society in its early years. In 1814 it was converted into the Prussian Bible Society. It now has many branches and devotes its attention mainly to the circulation of the Bible in Germany. In the year 1906 its issues amounted to 212,911 Bibles and Testaments. The headquarters of the society are Klosterstrasse 71, Berlin C. The Württemberg Bible Institute was formed in 1813 under the influence of Messrs. Steinkopf and Pinkerton, of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Its issues reported in 1906 were 334,953 copies. The headquarters are at Christophstrasse 6, Stuttgart. The Berg Bible Society was formed at Elberfeld in the old Duchy of Berg in 1814. It furnishes Scriptures for use abroad in some small quantities. The total of its issues in 1906 was 151,558 copies, and the total of its issues in the 93 years of its existence are 2,228,353 copies. The headquarters of the society are at Marienstrasse 28, Elberfeld. The Saxon Bible Society was formed in the year 1814. It has forty-two branches, and besides its publications in German, it has published an edition of the New Testament in the Chagga language, spoken in the northern part of German East Africa. Its total issues in 1906 amounted to 48,065 copies. The headquarters are at Zinzendorfstrasse 17, Dresden. The Bavarian Protestant Bible Society was formed in 1823. It is also called the Central Bible Society. Its issues in 1906 were 12,930 copies. The headquarters of the society are at Nuremberg. There are also many local and state societies, of which those of Hamburg, Sleswick, and Strasburg print as well as distribute Bibles. A Roman Catholic Bible Society, the Regensburg Bible Institute, was organized in 1805 by G. M. Wittmann, head of the seminary at Regensburg, with the assistance of some bishops and many laymen. A translation of the New Testament was prepared and 60,000 copies were distributed in ten years, but in 1817 the Institute was suppressed by Pope Pius VII. In 1815 another Roman Catholic Bible Society was founded at Heiligenstadt, which connected itself with the Prussian society and organized auxiliaries. Leander van Ess at Marburg was especially interested and his translation of the New Testament was widely disseminated. He also founded the Christian Brotherhood for Disseminating the Holy Scriptures with the support of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Heiligenstadt society flourished till 1830 and maintained an existence till 1864, but received its support chiefly from Protestants after the former date. The translation of the New Testament made by J. E. Gossner was also circulated by the English society.

2. France.

The French Bible Society (London) referred to above began the Bible movement in France, but the outbreak of the Revolution prevented the circulation of French Bibles printed with English money. The Protestant Bible Society of Paris was formed in 1818, and received aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society for a time. The subsidy was withdrawn after a few years because the Paris Society included the Apocrypha in its Bibles. The issues of this society in 1906 were 8,061 copies. A sharp controversy among the French Protestants respecting the French version led in 1864 to the formation of the Bible Society of France. This society excluded the Apocrypha from its Bibles and held to the version of J. F. Osterwald of which it is now publishing a new revision. It has received aid from the American Bible Society, and it circulates the Bible in the French colonies in Asia and Africa. Its issues in 1906 were 34,556 copies.

3. The Netherlands.

The Netherlands Bible Society was formed in 1814. Its issues in the year 1904 amounted to 93,977 copies, of which 57,573 copies were sent abroad to the Dutch East Indies, Dutch Guiana, and South Africa. The headquarters of the society are at Heerengracht 366, Amsterdam.

4. Scandinavia.

The Danish Bible Society was organized in 1814. Its circulation in 1906 amounted to 45,289 copies. The Norwegian Bible Society was formed in 1816 under the influence of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Its issues in 1904 were 63,300 copies, of which 751 copies were sent to Denmark, and 11,041 copies to the United States of America. Its total issues in eighty-eight years ending Dec. 31, 1904, were 1,153,260 copies. The headquarters of the society are at Christiania. The Swedish Bible Society was organized in 1814. Its circulation in 1906 was 12,414 copies and its total circulation from the beginning, 1,242,515 copies, of which 666 were in the Lapp language.

5. Russia.

The Russian Bible Society with Imperial Sanction was formed in 1863. It circulates the Bible in Russian and other languages under the supervision of the Holy Synod. Its reports show the contributions of the czar and czarina and the grand dukes, but do not specify clearly the circulation. It makes use of colporteurs and seems to do serious work. A Russian Bible Society formed in 1812 did an important work in Bible translation, but was suppressed by imperial ukase in 1826. The Russian Evangelical Bible Society was organized in 1831 for the purpose of circulating the Bible among Lutherans and in the German language. Its circulation in 1904 was 22,219 copies. The Finnish Bible Society was formed in 1812 and its issues in 1903 were about 30,000 copies.

6. Switzerland.

The Basel Bible Society, transferred to Basel from Nuremberg, has been mentioned above (II, 1). Local Bible societies exist in many of the cantons of Switzerland. They seem, however, to be merely agents of distribution receiving Bibles from other societies, notably from the British and Foreign Bible Society. Their circulation is therefore included in that of the other societies.

Henry Otis Dwight.

III. Bible Societies in America.

1. The American Bible Society.

The Revolutionary War produced a great scarcity of Bibles in the United States. One year after the Declaration of Independence Congress was memorialized to authorize the printing of an edition of the Bible. This memorial was referred to a committee, who found the difficulties, especially, of procuring proper material, type, and paper, to be so great that Congress ordered the importation at its own expense of 20,000 English Bibles from Holland, England, or elsewhere. The scarcity still continuing, in 1782 Congress recommended to the people of the United States an edition of the Bible printed by Thomas Aitken, of Philadelphia, "being satisfied of the care and accuracy of the execution of the work." It was not until 1808 that the first Bible Society was organized in Philadelphia. In 1809 societies were organized in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey in the order named and by 1816 there were 128 such societies.

1. Organization.

The idea of uniting these societies is one organization was a natural one and was much discussed. The missionary travels of the Rev. Samuel J. Mills in the West and South, reported in religious periodicals, increased the desire for a national organization, which he strongly advocated. On Jan. 1, 1816, Elias Boudinot, the president of the New Jersey Bible Society, made a public communication on the subject, and on Jan. 17 he issued a circular letter appointing Wednesday, May 8, 1816, as the time for holding a convention for, this purpose in New York. Sixty delegates representing twenty-eight Bible societies (besides several other persons admitted to seats in the convention) met on the day named in the Garden Street Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church, representing the Presbyterian, Congregational, Methodist, Episcopal, Dutch Reformed, and Baptist Churches, and the Society of Friends. The convention was in session for two days, adopted a constitution and in accordance therewith elected managers, who met in the City Hall, May 11, and elected officers, Elias Boudinot being made president.

2. Constitution and Management.

Under this constitution "the sole object shall be to encourage a wider circulation of the Holy Scriptures without note or comment" (art. i). The board of managers is composed of thirty-six laymen, one-fourth of whom go out of office every year, but are eligible for re-election. Every clergyman who is a life member may meet and vote with the board of managers, provided he receives no salary or compensation for services from the society. The managers meet regularly every month, consider and act on all matters presented by ten standing committees besides other matters originating in the board itself and report all their proceedings to the annual meeting of the members of the society held on the second Thursday of May and usually in New York.

The society was incorporated in 1841. The societies which already existed became for the most part auxiliary to the national organization and in addition many other auxiliary societies were organized under its direction, the number at one time reaching 2,200. Many of these, however, have ceased to exist, the number now being 541. The "Bible House," Astor Place, N. Y., the society's headquarters, was erected in 1852 and was paid for by funds contributed for the special purpose and not from current receipts for benevolent work.

3. Summary of Work.

The ninety-first annual report of the board of managers was presented May 9, 1907. The total cash receipts were $575,820.94. The total issues of that year were 1,910,853, of which 1,010,777 were issued from the Bible House in New York, and 900,076 from the society's agencies abroad, being printed on mission presses in China, Japan, Siam, Syria, and Turkey. The total issues of the society in Bibles, Testaments, and portions amount to 80,420,382 copies, distributed se follows: Bibles 20,293,636 Testaments and portions 58,215,889.

4. Foreign Work.

The efforts of the society were at first directed mainly to meeting the needs of the people of the United States, but from the very first it was in spirit and intention a foreign as well as a home mission society. Bibles at the very beginning were supplied to the North-American Indians. The third annual report shows that steps were already taken for sending Spanish Bibles to Buenos Ayres and the next year the society was reaching out to West Africa. In 1836 the first foreign agency was instituted in Constantinople, and in 1864 the agency for the La Plata region in South America. During the past thirty years this work has largely increased and regular agencies have been established in Japan, China, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, Cuba, Siam and Laos, Central America, Porto Rico and the Philippines, besides Venezuela and Colombia, where the agencies have been temporarily discontinued. These agencies have distributed a total of 9,453,918 Bibles, Testaments, and portions in China alone. Besides this the society has continually cooperated with missions and missionaries in countries in all quarters of the globe. It has stimulated Bible translation, initiating it in some cases, cooperating with others more frequently and securing needed revisions under its patronage and partly or wholly at its expense. It has been thus interested in about 100 translations and revisions in all.

5. Controversies.

The labors of the society have been broken twice by serious differences among its friends and supporters. In 1835 missionaries in Burma published at the expense of the society a translation of the New Testament which rendered the Greek word baptizein and its cognate terms by the English "immerse" or an equivalent. After much discussion the managers resolved that they felt at liberty "to encourage only such versions as conform in the principle of their translation to the common English Version—at least so far as that all the religious denominations represented in this society can consistently use and circulate such versions in their several schools and communities," and missionary boards were requested in asking aid to state that the versions they proposed to circulate were in accordance with this resolution. The Baptists took offense and a controversy ensued, the consequence of which was the formation of the American and Foreign Bible Society (see below, 2).

In 1847 the committee on versions was instructed to undertake a careful collation of different editions of the English Bible with a view to perfecting its text in minutiæ. Their final report, made May 1, 1851, stated that in collating five standard copies of English and American imprint with the original edition of 1611 nearly 24,000 variations were found solely in the text and punctuation, not one of which marred the integrity of the text or affected any doctrine or precept of the Bible. A standard then determined upon with the unanimous approval of the board of managers was accepted generally by the public and for several years Bibles printed accordingly circulated without the slightest objection. But in 1856, and more decidedly in 1857, the right of the society to circulate such an edition was sharply challenged. Considerable public excitement followed; the matter was debated in religious and even secular journals as well as in ecclesiastical bodies, and the board of managers after long consideration, and debate finally took action, Jan. 28, 1858, as follows:

The committee reported in 1859 and 1860; and from this "standard edition" all the society's English Bibles are now printed.

The constitution of the society originally restricted it to circulating only "the version now in common use," in the English language. In 1904 at the annual meeting of the society on the recommendation of the board of managers the constitution was amended so as to permit the publication of the Revised Version of the English Bible, either in its British or American form, and under this permission some editions of the American Standard Revised Version are now published by the society under an arrangement with the publishers.

John Fox.

2. The American and Foreign Bible Society and the American Bible Union.

The American and Foreign Bible Society was organized at Philadelphia in April, 1836, by Baptists who felt aggrieved at the action of the American Bible Society concerning the translation of the Greek baptizein, referred to above (see III, 1, § 5). Rev. S. H. Cone was made president. The society was declared to be "founded upon the principle that the originals in the Hebrew and Greek are the only authentic standards of the Sacred Scriptures, and that aid for the translating, printing, or distributing of them in foreign languages should be afforded to such versions only as are conformed as nearly as possible to the original text; it being understood that no words are to be transferred which are susceptible of being literally translated." The constitution adopted declared (art. ii) "that in the distribution of the Scriptures in the English language, the commonly received version shall be used until otherwise directed by the society." Dissatisfaction with this policy led to the secession of certain members and the formation in 1850 of the American Bible Union, which demanded that the principle of circulating "such versions only as are conformed as nearly as possible to the original text" should be applied to the English version, and avowed as its object "to procure and circulate the most faithful versions of the Sacred Scriptures in all languages throughout the world." The Union secured the services of a number of Baptist and other Biblical scholars, especially the Rev. Drs. H. B. Hackett, A. C. Kendrick, and T. J. Conant. The entire New Testament and portions of the Old were revised and published. Italian, Spanish, Chinese (Ningpo colloquial), Siamese, and Sgau-Karen New Testaments were also prepared. The Union ultimately reunited with the American and Foreign Bible Society, and in 1882 the latter passed over its work and good-will to the American Baptist Publication Society (Philadelphia), which since then has performed the duties of the Bible Society, and is carrying on the work of revision inaugurated by the earlier societies. The revision has now (1907) reached the Book of Ezra, and will be completed, it is hoped, by the end of 1908.

3. The Bible Association of Friends in America.

The Bible Association of Friends in America was organized in 1830. It has been, in the main, a distributing agency, circulating the Scriptures printed by others, but in 1905-06 printed an edition of 2,925 Testaments and Psalms. In 1906 it reported total receipts of $3,930.59 and payments of $2,412.06. Its distribution in that year was 6,534 volumes, of which 2,030 were Bibles. The headquarters are at 207 Walnut Place, Philadelphia, Pa.

Bibliography: On the general question consult: Abriss der Geschichte des Ursprungs und Wachsthums der Bibelgesellschaften, Barmen, 1870; Summary Notice concerning Bible Societies in General and Those of France in Particular, from the Fr., Northampton, 1827; W. H. Wyckoff, A Sketch of the Origin, History . . . of Bible Societies, New York 1848.

On the BFBS consult: W. Canton, Hist. of the BFBS, 2 vols., London, 1904; idem, Story of the Bible Society, ib. 1904; J. Owen, Hist. of the Origin and First Ten Years of the BFBS, 2 vols., ib. 1816; Papers Occasioned by the Attempts to Form Auxiliary Bible Societies in Various Parts of the Kingdom, ib. 1812; Jubilee Memorial of the BFBS, ib. 1854; G. Browne, Hist. of the BFBS, 2 vols., ib. 1859; La Société biblique britannique et étrangère, 1804–89. Notice au point de vue historique, philosophique, et religieux, Nantes, 1889; H. Morris, Founders and Presidents of the Bible Society, London, 1895; Bible House Papers, ib. 1899 sqq. (in progress); Behold a Sower. Popular . . . Report of BFBS for 1900-01, ib. 1902; T. H. Darlow and H. F. Moule, Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture in the Library of the BFBS, 2 vols., ib. 1904; T. H. Darlow, There is a River, ib. 1906; Bible Association Reports. By Helen Plumptre, Worksop, 1843.

The organs of the society are the Monthly Reporter of the BFBS, London, 1858–88, succeeded by the Bible Society Monthly Reporter, 1889 sqq. The other British Societies issue various publications, such as Annual Reports, Quarterly Records, and Occasional Papers, in which their history may be traced.

For the foreign societies there are also available their reports, besides which the following may be consulted: C. F. Hezekiel, Geschichte der Cansteinschen Bibel Anstalt, ed. A. H. Niemeyer, Halle, 1827; O. Bertram, Geschichte der Cansteinschen Bibelanstalt, ib. 1863; W. Thilo, Geschichte der preussischen Haupt-Bibelgesellschaft, 1814–64, Berlin 1864; E. Brecst, Die Entwickelung der preussischen Haupt-Bibelgesellschaft, 1864–91, ib. 1891.

For the American Bible Society consult: The American Bible Society's Manual, containing a Brief Sketch of the Society, New York 1865, revised ed., 1887; W. P, Strickland, Hist. of the American Bible Society, ib. 1849; American Bible Society's Reports, 1816–71, 4 vols., ib. n.d. (a reprint); American Bible Society. Report of the Transference of the Library of the Society to the New York Public Library, ib. 1897. The organ is the Bible Society Record (a monthly).

BIBLE TEXT.

I. The Old Testament.

1. The Premasoretic Period:

1. The Masoretic Text.

The extant Hebrew text of the Old Testament text is commonly called the Masoretic, to distinguish it from the text of the ancient versions as well as from the Hebrew text of former ages. This Masoretic text does not present the original form but a text which within a certain period was fixed by Jewish scholars as the correct and only authoritative one. When and how this official Masoretic text was fixed was formerly a matter of controversy, especially during the seventeenth century. One party headed by the Buxtorfs (father and son), in the interest of the view of inspiration then prevalent, held to the absolute completeness and infallibility, and hence the exclusive value, of the Masoretic text. They attributed it to Ezra and the men of the Great Synagogue, who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, were supposed to have purified the text from all accumulated error; added the vowel-points, the accents, and other punctuation-marks (thus settling the reading and pronunciation); fixed the canon; made the right division into verses, paragraphs, and books; and, finally, by the providence of God and the care of the Jews, the text thus made was believed to have been kept from all error, and to present the veritable Word of God. This view of the text prevailed especially when Protestant scholasticism was at its height, and may be designated as the orthodox Protestant position. It was opposed by another party headed by Jean Morin and Louis Cappel, who, in the interest of pure historicity or in Antiprotestant polemics, combated these opinions, maintained the later age of the Masoretic text, and sought to vindicate value and usefulness for the old versions and other critical helps. They fell into many errors in respect to the details of the history of the text and overrated the value of Extramasoretic critical helps; but their general view was supported by irresistible arguments and is now universally adopted. This view, instead of deriving the existing text from a gathering of inspired men in Ezra's time, assigns it to a much later date and quite different men, and, instead of absolute completeness, claims for it only a relative one with a higher value than other forms of the text. A glance at the history of the text will show how this agreement has been brought about.

2. The Earlier Text.

Concerning the oldest history of the text of the Old Testament writings there exists almost no positive information. The books were written probably upon skins, perhaps also on linen; as paper was used from very early times in Egypt, it is possible that it was employed; parchment appears to have been used later. The roll seems to have been the usual form (Ps. xl, 8; Jer. xxxvi, 14 sqq.; Ezek, ii, 9; Zech. v, 1); the pen was a pointed reed (Jer. viii, 8; Ps. xiv, 1); the character was the Old Hebrew, which was almost identical with the Phenician and Moabitic (on the Moabite Stone). Specimens of this writing are also preserved in the Siloam inscription (c. 700 B.C.), on gems (of the eighth or seventh century), on coins of the Hasmoneans and those belonging to the time of the Jewish-Roman war, and, in somewhat different form, in Samaritan writings. Like the Phenicians and Moabites, the Hebrews separated the words by a point or stroke, but these signs do not seem to have been used regularly, since the Septuagint often makes word-divisions different from those of the Masoretic text. Jewish tradition mentions several passages in which the separation of words was regarded as doubtful.

The difference between ancient and modern texts consisted in this, that the former were written without vowels and accents. The Hebrew writing, like Semitic writing in general, was essentially consonantal; vowels were not written. While the language lived, this occasioned no difficulty to the speakers or readers. No details are at hand concerning the way in which the text was multiplied and preserved; but inasmuch as the writings did not then have in popular estimation the character they came later to possess, it is likely that they were less carefully handled, and that the same amount of pains was not taken in copying them. This statement rests upon the fact that those parts of the Old Testament which we possess in double forms vary in ways that indicate a corruption of the text reaching back to precanonical times when copies were neither made nor corrected so laboriously.