(ni
B
B A C
THE fecond Letter of our Alphabet, and of moll others, is the firft Confonant, and firfi Mute, and in its Pronunciation refembles the f^ Bleating of a Sheep ; upon which account <Pi- erius tells us in his Hieroglyphicks, that the Egyptians reprefented the Sound of this Letter by the Fi- gure of that Animal. J Tis alfo one of thofe Letters which the Eajlem Grammarians call Labial, becaufiTthe princi- pal Organs employ'd in its Pronunciation, are the Lips. h has a near Affinity with the other Labials P and V, and is often ufed for P both by the Armenians and other Orientals, as in Bctrus for Terms, apfens for abfens, &c. and by the Romans for V, as in amabit for amavit, Ber- na for Verna, &c. whence arofe that Jcft of Aurelian on the Emperour Bonofus, Non ut vivat natus eft, fed tit bi- bat. B requires an intire Clofure and Preffure of the Lips to pronounce it, and therefore can fcarce ever end the Sound of a Word : But when you endeavour to pronounce it there, you are obliged to add an E to open the Lips again, as in Job, which is founded Jcbe. This Letter alfo if it pafs through the Nofe, becomes an M; as appears by thofe who have the Noftrils (topt by a Cold or otherwife, when they endeavour to pronounce the Letter M ; for Inftance, many Men, is by fuch an one founded bany Sen, With the Antients B flood for 300, as appears by this Verfe :
Et B trecentum per fe retinere videtur.
Whefc a Line was drawn above it, B, it flood for 3000, with a kind of Accent below it for 200 ; but among the Greeks and Hebre-ws this Letter fignified only 2. B F in the Preface to the ^Decrees or Senatus-Confidta of the old 'Romans, fignified Bonum. 'Tis often found on Medals to mark the Epocha. 'Plutarch obferves that the Macedoni- ans changed $ into B, and pronounced Bilip, Berenice, tkc. for Philip, Pheronice, ike. and thofe oilielphos inflead of B ufed n, as /Sn'-S^v for <ssi§i<v, $ik$qv for <mz(>jy, Sec. The Latins faid fuppono, oppono, for fubpono, obpono, and pro- nounced optinidt, tho they wrote olthmit, as Quintilian has obferved. They alfo ufed B for F or PH; thus in an antient Infcription mentioned by G'ruter, OBRENDARIO is ufed for OFRENDARIO.
BABYLONISH Hours. See Hours.
BACCHANALIA, a Religious Eeaft in Honour of Bac- chus, celebrated with much Solemnity among the Antients, particularly the Athenians, who even computed their Years thereby, till the Commencement of the Olympiads. The Bacchanalia are fometimes alfo call'd Orgia, from the Greek otyh. Fury, Tranfport ; by reafon of the Madnefs and En- thufiafm wherewith the People appear'd to be poffefs'd at the Time of their Celebration. They were held in Au- tumn, and took their Rife from Egypt 5 whence, ac- cording to 2)iodorus, they were brought into Greece by Melampus. The Form and Difpolition of the Solemniry depended, at Athens, on the Archon, and was at firll ex- ceedingly fimple, but by degrees became incumbcr'd with a world of ridiculous Ceremonies, and attended with a world of Diffolutenefs and Debauchery 5 infomuch that the Remans, who grew afham'd of 'em, fupprefs'd them by a Senatuf-confultiini throughout all Italy. The Women had a great Share in the Solemnity, which is faid to have been inlHtuted on their account t, for a great Number of 'em attending Bacchus to the Conqueft of the Indies, and carrying in their Hands the "Thyrfus, i. e. a little Lance .cover'd with Ivy and Vine-Leaves, finging his Victories and Triumphs wherever they went, the Ceremony was kept up after Bacchus's Deification under the Title of 'Baccha- nalia, and the Women were inftaU'd PrieftefTes thereof under that of 'Bacchantes. Thefe PrieftefTes at the Time of the Feaft run thro the Streets and over the Moun- tains cover'd with Tygers Skins, their Hair difhevcU'd, their T'byrfus in one Hand and Torches in the other, howl- ing and mrieking Enhoe Evan, Eahoe Bacche. Men and Women met prom ifcuou fly at the Feaft, all perfect- ly naked, except for the Vine-Leaves and Cutters of Grapes which bound their Heads and Hips; here they danced and jump'd tumultuoufly, and with ftrange Gesti- culations fung Hymns to Bacchus, till weary and giddy they tumbled down diltracled. See C^f}-ella?ius , s Eortolcgion.
BACCHIUS, in theZatin Poetty.isa particular Kind of Fuor, connoting of three Syllables u where the firO is (hort,
BAG
and the two laft long, as Bgejlii : It is the Reverie of a Madyle,mA takes its Name from that of Bacchus, becaufe frequently ufed in the Hymns compoled in his Honour
BACCIFEROUS Plants, whether Trees, Shrubs, or Herbs, are luch as bear Berries, ('. e. Fruit cover'd with a thin Membrane, wherein is contained a Pulp, which grows loft and moift when ripe, and enclofcs the Seed within its Subirance The Bacciferous Trees Mr. Ray divides into tour Kinds: (i.) Such as bear a calculate or naked Berry; the Flower and Cubic both falling off together, and leaving the Berry bare, as the Sajfafras Tree, &c. (iV) Such as have a naked monopyrencous Fruit, that is, containing in it only one Seed, as the Arbutus, 'ferebinthus, Lcntifius, &c. (3.) Such as have a naked but polypyrencous Fruit, that is, containing two or more Kernels or Seeds within it, as the Jafaminum, Ligvftrum, &c. (4.) Such as have their Fruit compered of many Acini, or round fot't Balls fet cloic together like a Bunch of Grapes, as the U-va marina, Rubus vulgaris, Rubus Idieus, and the Rubus minor j'ruc- tu cxruleo. Sec 'Plant.
BACILLI, in Medicine, fuch Competitions as are of a cylindrical Figure, like a Srick; call'd alfo Lozenges : from the Latin Word Bacillus, a Staff
BACK-STAFF, in Navigation, an Instrument by the French called the EngliJ]] glut dr ant ; invented by Captain Davis: ofgoodUfe in taking the Sun's Altitude at Sea. It confifis of three Vanes, A, B, and C, and of two Arches. [Plate of Navigation, Fig. 5.] The Vane at A called the Horizon-Vane ; that at B the Shade- Vane ; and that atC the Sight- Vane. The lcfler Arch B is of ffo Degrees, and that of C (or/g) of ;o Degree .
To Ufe the Back-Staff; the Shadow- Vane B is fet upon the 60th Arch, to an even Degree of fome Altitude lefs by ro or 15 Degrees, than you judge the Comple- ment of the Sun's Altitude will be : The Horizon- Vane is put on at A, and theSight-Vane on the ~,oth Arch fg: The Obfcrvcr's Back being then turned to the Sun (whence the Name of Back-Staff or Back-Quadrant) he lifts up the Inftrument, and looks thro the Sight-Vane, railing or fall- ing the Quadrant, till the Shadow of the upper'Edge of the Shade- Vane fall on the upper Edge of the Slit in the Horizon- Vane ; and then if you can fee the Horizon thro the faid Slit, the Obfervition is well made: But if the Sea appear inflead of the Horizon, move the Sight- Vane lower towards g .- If the Sky appear, move it up- wards towards /, and fo try if it comes right : Then ob- ferve how many Degrees and Minutes are cut by that Edge of the Sight- Vane which anfwers to the Sight-Hole, and to them add the Degrees cut by the upper Edge of the Shade- Vane, the Sum is the Sun's Dillance from the Ze- nith, or the Complement of his Altitude. To find ihe Sun's Meridian, or greateit Altitude on any Day, con- tinue the Obfcrvation as long as the Altitude is found to increafe, which you will perceive by the Appearance of the Sea inflead of the Horizon, removing the Sight-Vane lower : but when you perceive the Sky appear inltead of the Horizon, the Altitude is diminifli'd ; therefore defiil from farther Obfcrvation at that Time, and add the De- gtees upon the ffo Arch to the Degrees and Minutes upon the 30 Arch, and the Sum is the Zenith Dittance, or Co-al- titude of the Sun's upper Limb.
And becaufe it is the Zenith Diftance, or Co-altitude of the upper Limb of the Sun, not the Center that is given by the Quadrant, in obferving by the upper End of the Shade- Vane, add iff Minutes, the Sun's Semidia- meter, to that which is produced by your Obfervation, and the Sum is the true Zenith Diftance of the Sun's Center. If you obferve by the lower Part of the Sha- dow of the Shade- Vane ; then the lower Limb of the Sun gives the Shadow ; and therefore you mult fubftraft iff Mi- nutes from what the Inftrument gives : But considering the Height of the Obferver above the Surface of the Sea, which is commonly between iff and 20 Foot, you may take 5 or if Minutes from the iff Minutes, and make the Allow- ance but of 10 Minutes, or iz Minutes, to be added in- ftead of iff Minutes. Mr. Flamjlead contrived a Glafs Lens, or double Convex, to be placed in the middle of the Shade- Vane, which makes a fmall bright Spot on the Slit of the Horizon- Vane, inftead of the Shade : Which is a great Improvement, if theGlals be truly made; for by this means the Inftrument may be ufed in hazy Weather, and
