Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/244

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B E A

Bearer of a- Bill of Exchange,^, the Perfon in whofe Hands it is, and in favour of whom the lait Order or En- dorfement was paffed. When a Bill is faid to he, payable to 'Bearer, it is underftood to be payable to him who htft offers himfelf after it becomes due. To be paid a Bill ot this kind, there needs neither Order nor Transfer: yet 'tis good to know to whom 'tis paid. See Bill of Exchange.

Bearers, in Heraldry. See Supporters.

BEARING, in Geography and Navigation, the Situa- tion of one Place from another, with regard to the Points of the Compafs; or, the Angle, which a Line drawn thro the two Places makes with the Meridians of each. TheS^r- ings of Places are ufually determined from the Magnetick Needle : In the managing of theie lies the principal Part of Surveying ; fince the Scaring and Dijlance of a fecond Point from a firft being found, the Place of that fecond is found; or the Searings of a third Point from two others, vfao&fDiftaxce from each other is known, the Place of the third is found : Inftrumentally we mean ; for, to calculate Trigonomctrically, there mult be mote 'Data. Mr. Col- lins gives the Solution of a Problem in the (Philof. Tr an fa El. whew the Dijlances of three Objects in the fame Plain being given, and the Searings from a fourth Place in the fame Plain obfetv'd, the Diftances from the Place of Obfervation to the refpecfivc Objects are requir'd. See Surveying.

Bearing of a 'Piece of timber, in Carpentry, the Space either between the two fix'd Extremes thereof, when it has no other Support; wh\ch\s caWzd bearing at length: or between one Extreme, and a Poft, Brick- Wall, £5?c. trimm'd up between the Ends to fhorten its Bearing.

BEASTS of Chafe, in our Statute-Books, are five ; the Buck, Doe, Pox, Martin, and Roe. Berfis of the Foreji are, the Hart, Hind, Hare, Boar, and Wolf Scajls and Fowls of the Warren are, the Hare, Coney, Pheafant, and Partridge. See Game.

BEATIFICATION, in the Romijb Church, an Aa whereby the Pope declares a Peribn happy, after Death. Beatification differs from Canonization -. in the former the Pope does not aft as a Judge in determining the State of the beatified, but only grants a Privilege to certain Perfons to honour him by a particular religious Worfhip, without incurring the Penalty of fuperltitious Worshippers ; but in Canonization the Pope fpeaks as a Judge, and determines ex Cathedra upon the State of the canoniz-'d. Beatifica- tion-was introdue'd when 'twas thought proper to delay the Canonization of Saints, for the greater Affurance of the Truth, and Manifestation of the rigorous Steps taken in the Procedure. See Canonization.

BEATING, in Medicine, a Term applied to the Agita- tion or Palpitation of the Pulfe or Heart. Some Phyficians diflingui/h 81 different Kinds of Simple Beatings, and 15 Compound ones. They compute about 60 Beats in the Space of a Minute in a temperate Man. See Pulse.

Beating of Gold and Silver. See Gold-Beating, &c.

BEATS in a Watch, or Clock, are the Strokes made by the Fangs, or Pallets of the Spindle of the Ballance; or of the Pads in a Royal Pendulum. See Clock-Work,

BEAU-PLEADER, a Writ on the Statute of Marl- bridge y whereby it is provided that no Fine /hall be taken of any Man in any Court for fair-pleading, i. e. for not f leading aptly, and to the purpofe.

BEAUTY, a Term whereby we exprefs a certain rela- tion of fome Object, either to an agreeable Senfation, or to an Idea of Approbation. When therefore I fay a thing is beautiful, I either mean that I perceive fomething that I approve, or that fomething gives me Pleafure : Whence it appears, that the Idea amx'd to the Word Beauty is dou- ble 5 which renders the Word equivocal, and is the Source of all the Difputes on the Subject of Beauty. We muft therefore difnnguim. between Ideas and Senfations. Ideas take up the Mind; Senfations intcreft the Heart. Tho we fee nothing in an Object: ro intereft us, we may yet difco- ver fomething in its Idea to merit our Approbation. Such an Object therefore pleafes, and does not pleafe, i. e. it pleafcs the Idea, and not the Senfation. On the contrary, there are fome Objects whofe Ideas don't offer any thing laudable, which yet excite agreeable Senfations. There is therefore Beauty and Beauty. 'Tis exceeding hard to fix any general Charactcrilticks of Beauty: For, as the Ideas and Senfations of different Perfons differ according to the Habitudes of the Body, and the Turn of the Mind; fo do the relations of Objects to thufe Ideas and Senfations rary, whence what we call Beauty refults. Hence arife thole different Opinions of a beautiful Thought, a beautiful Woman, a beautiful 'Painting, &c. M. 'Perrault diftin- guiJhes two Kinds of Beauties in Architecture, which c'hime'in pretty aptly with the two Species of Beamy above. The one he calls pofitive and' convincing, filch as the.R-ich- nefs of the Materials, Grandeur" of the Structure, Neat- nefs of the. ■ Workmanfhip, Symmetry, &c. The others he calls arbitrary, which depend on the Will, and might

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BEE

have their Proportion changed without Deformity. Thefe only pleafe by the Connexion, or Affodarion of their Ideas with others or A different Kind, and which pleafe of thetn- fclves; and owe their Beauty to that Prepoffemon of the Mind, whereby a thing whofe Value we do know, infinu- ates an Eiteem for others which we do not. Thus he ob- ferves, there are many things in Architecture which Rea- fon and good Senfe would judge deformed, and which how- ever, Cuftom has not only made tolerable, but even beau- tiful, by their being always joined with other Beau- tics that are pofitive. Thus, being at firft pleafed with viewing 'em in Company, and merely on account of their Company, at length we become pleafed with 'em alone; and thus we frequently fall in love with Deformities, and grow fond of Faults. Hence the Ufe of Foils appears founded on an ill Philofophy. If a Beauty takes off from, a Deformity, the Deformity in its turn takes off from the Beauty : 'Tis the Foil therefore is the Gainer, the Dia- mond lofes. The Diamond pleafes, we are pleafed in fome meafure with every thing about it, particularly the Foil; the Foil difpleafes, we are in fome meafure difplea- fed with every thing about it, particularly the Diamond; The Mind can't be well pleafed and difpleafed at the fame time. By viewing the Diamond and Foil together, a Man might in a long Courfe of Time find the one almoft as beautiful as the other. The Difparity would be always di- minishing, till they came near a Level: By removing 'em a-part, they would by degrees return to their original State, i. e. the Diamond would recover, and the Foil lofe its Luftre. See Love.

BECHICA, Medicines proper for Difeafes of the Lungs and Breaft; frequently alio calfd 'Peblorals. Sechick is alfo ufed for any thing relating to a Cough, &c. The Word comes from the Greek, £h£, /Sh^oV, Cough.

BED. The old Remans had various kinds of Beds for Repofe ; as, their LeBus cubicularis, or- Chamber-Bed, whereon they flept; their Table-Bed, or LeBus difcubito- rius, whereon they eat, (for they always eat lying) there being ufually three Perfons to one Bed, whereof the mid- dle Place was accounted the molt honourable, as well as the middle Bed. They had alfo their Zetlus lucubratorius, whereon they ftudied ; and a LeEius funebris, or emortU- alis, whereon the Dead were carried to the Pile.

Bed of the Carriage of a great Gun, is that thick Plank which lies immediately under the Piece; being, as it were, the Body of the Carriage.

Bed-Chamber : with us, the Gentlemen of the Bed- chamber are Perfons of the firft Rank, 11 in Number^ whofe Office is, each in his turn, to wait a Week in the King's Bed-Chamber, lying by the King on a <Pallat-Bed all Night, and to wait on the King when he eats in pri- vate. The firft of thefe is Groom of the Stole, or Long- Robe. Sec Stole.

Bed, in Gardening, a Piece of made Ground, rais'd above the Level of the reft.

Bed, in Mafonry, a Courfe, or Range, of Stones; and the Joint of the Bed is the Mortar between two Stones placed over each other.

Bed, in fpeaking of Minerals and Fomls, Signifies cer- tain Strata, or Thicknefles of Matter difpofed over each other. See Strata and Vein.

Bed, or Bedding-Moulding, in Architecture, a Term ufed by the Workmen for thofe Members in a Cornice which are placed below the Coronet; and now a Bed- Moulding ufually confifts of thefe four Members, an O—G, a Lilt, a large Boultine, and another Lift under the Co- ronet.

BEECH-OIL, an Oil drawn from the Fruit, or Matt, of the Beech-Tree. The Beech-Mafl is a kind of Seed in form of a Nut, or Acorn, containing a whitim, oleaginous Pith, of a very agreeable Tafte; whereof is made an Oil much valued in Salladcs, tfc. 'Tis very common in *Pi- cardy, and other Places, where the Maft abounds. They draw it cold, by Expreflion, after the Maft has been fhell'd, and ground, or pounded. An Attempt was made a few Years ago, to introduce the Manufacture of Beech-Oil in England, and a Patent granted to the Proprietor, but with- out Succefs ; the Country-People, it feems, turning their Maft to beiter account in feeding the Hogs with it, than in felling it to the Patentee, and his Co-Proprietors, for Oil. See Oil. +

BEER, a popular Drink, prepared from Malt and Hops. Mathiolus takes the Zytbum and Curmi of the Antients, to be the fame with the Seer of our Days ; and thinks the only Difference between "Lythwn zndC'/rwi, to He in fome Circumftances of the Preparation, which render the one Stronger than the other. See Malt-Liquors.

Tacitus, fpeaking of the antient Germans, Diofeorides y Galen, Sic. condemn Beer as prejudicial to the Head, Nerves, and membranous Parts, as occasioning a more laft- ing and more uneafy Drunkennefs than Wine, and as pro- moting a SupprefTion of Ufine, and Sometimes a Leproly.

M. "Per-