B I S
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B I S
rots, and Poppinjars ; and the lead Sort, -Parrakcets : and all this Kind make ufe of their Beak in climbing, and move the upper Jaw. Land Birds that have their Bill and Claws more ftreighr, are diftinguifh'd into three Sizes; the greateft Kind are, (uch as by reafon of the Bulk of their Bodies, and Smallncfs of their Wings, cannot fly at all ; thefe are Bxotick 'Birds of a Angular Nature ; filch as the Oftrich, the Caffowary, and the. Dodo: The rnid- dle-fized'Kind are divided, by their Bills, into fuch as have large, thick, ftrong, and long ones ; fome of which feed promifcuoufly on Flefh, Infefts, and Fruits, as the Crow- kind, which are wholly black ; and the Pie-hnd, which are party-colour'd : Some feed on Fifli only, as the Kmgs- fljher ; and ibmc on Infects only, as the Wood-faker : And into fuch as have a fmaller and ftiorter Bill ; whofe Flefh is either white, as the Poultry-kind; or blackifh, as the Pitfon and fhrtiJb-Uni. The lead fized Kind of Land "Birds, with llreight Bills and Claws, are called Small- Birds; and thefe are of two Kinds ; foft-licaked, which have (lender, (freight, and pretty longilh Bills, moft of them, and feed chiefly upon Infects ; and hard-leaked, which have thick and hard Bills, and feed moftly on Seeds.
Water-Fowl, are fuch as frequent Waters and wa- try Places to leek their Food ; and thefe are all cloven- footed, and generally have long Legs, and thofe naked, or bare of Feathers, a good way above the Knee, that they may the more conveniently wade in Waters. Of thefe they reckon two Kinds ; a greater, as the Crane, jfabirn, &c. and a lefler, which are either pifcivorous, feeding on Fifh, as the Heron, Spoon-Bill, Stork, &c. or Mufduekers ; or infectivorous, of which lome have very long Bills, which are fometimes crooked, as in the Curiae and Whimlrell ; and fometimes ftreight, as in the Woodcock and Godwit : others have middle-fized Bills, as the Sea-Pye and Red- shank, &c. and a third Sort have fhort Bills, as the T.ap- wing and Plover. Thofe are reckon'd fhort Bills, which exceed not an Inch and half; middle-fized Bills, to two Inches and half; and long Bills above two Inches and half. There is another kind of Water-Fowl, which fwim in the Water ; fome of which are cloven-footed, as the Moor-Hen, and Coot, &c. but molt are whole footed ; and of thefe fome few have very long Legs, as the Flammant, the Avo- fetta, and Corrira ; but mottly they are Ihort-legg'd : Of which fome few have but three Toes on each Foot, as the Penguin, Razor-Bill, &c. but generally they have four Toes on each Foot, and thefe either all connected together by intervening Membranes, as in the Pelican, Soland-Gooje, &c. or more ufually with the Back-Toe loofe ; and this Kind are either narrow-hill 'd, or hroad-hilVd: Thofe with narrow Bills have them either blunt, and hooked at the Tip; of which Sort fome ate ferrate, as in the Diver-kind ; and fome not toothed, as in the Puffin ; or iharp-pointed and {freighter ; of which, fome Sort have long Wings, as the Gull-kind ; and fome Ihorter, as thofe diving Birds call'd Douckers. Thofe with broad Bills may be divided into the Gooje-kind, which are larger ; and the Duck kind, which are fmaller ; and thefe latter into Sea-Ducks, or River and Plajh-Ducks. Moft Water-Fowls have a fhort Tail ; and none of this Kind have their Feet difpos'd like Parrots and Wood-peckers, that have two Toes forward, and two backward, none having more than one Back-Toe, and fome none at all. See Willoughhy's Ornithologia.
BIRTH, of a Foetus, its Delivery from the Mother. See Foetus ; tor the Number of Births fee Marriage: Un- der which the Proportion of Births to Marriages, of Births to Burials, and of Male-Births to Females, are computed.
Birth, or Birthing, a Term among the Seamen for due Diftance obferved between Ships lying at an Anchor, or under Sail ; and the Railing,* pr Bringing up the Sides of the Ship: Alfo the proper Place a-board to put their Chefts, ci>e. is call'd the Birth ; and a convenient Place to moot a Ship in, is alfo call'd by this Name.
BISHOP, a Prelate, or Perfon confecrated for the Spiri- tual Government and Direction of a Diocefe. See Diocese. 'Tis a long Time that Bijhops have been diftinguifh'd from mere priefts ; but whethet that Diftinction be of divine or human Right, whether it was fertled in the Apoftolical Age, or introduced fince, is much controverted. On the one Side ftands the New teftament, wherein 'tis certain the Names Bijhop and Priefi are ufed indifferently : On rhe other Side is -tradition, the Fathers, and the Apoftolical ConftitutioaS. Indeed, there appear no Footfteps of any Inftitutionof2i/&o/ | J, diftinctfrom5V«/2j in the Scriptures ; neither do the Oppofers thereof pretend to lhew any Mark of any other Form of Church-Government therein. So that it may feem probable, the Apoftles did not fettle any thing of this kind at all ; but either left the Spiritual Oeconomy in the Hands of the Priefts, or of thofe together with the People. Accordingly new Occafions requiring new Mea- i'ures, in a little Time, the Functions of this Priefthood were divided, and the Priefts diftinguifh'd into Degrees ; the Political Part of Religion being afijgn'd principally to
Bijhops, and the Evangelical to the Priefts, &c. Or ra- ther, as fome others will have it, the Functions of 'Teach- ing and Preaching were referv'd ro the Bijhop, and that of Ordination fupcradded ; which was their principal Diftinc- tion, and the Mark of their Sovereignty in their Diocefe. See Episcopacy.
The Word comes from the Saxon Bifchop, and that from the Greek 'E-tiVmt®-, anOverfeer, orlnfpeclor; which was the Title the Athenians gave thofe whom they fent into the Provinces fubject to 'em, to fee whether every thing were kept in Order; and the Romans gave the fame Title to thofe who were Infpectors and Viiitors of rhe Bread and Proviiion. It appears from a Letter of Cicero, that he himfelf had a Bijhoprick, being EpiJ'copus Or<e g? Campa- nia. Diocefe was alfo ufed for the Extent of this Govern- ment; and Cicero ufes it in this Senfe, A/ciKtiff/f.
Bijhops are of various Kinds, Archhijhops, B/Jhops, and Suffragan-Bijhops, which fee ; as alfo Acepkals, Metropo- litans, &c.
The Function of a Bijhop, in England, may be confider'd as twofold, viz-, what belongs to his Order, and what to his JurifdiBion. To the Order belong the Ceremonies of Dedication, Confirmation, and Ordination: To his JuriJ- dillion, by the Statute Law, belongs the Licenfing of Phy- ficians, Chirurgeons, and School-matters, the Uniting imaU Parifhes, (tho this latt Privilege is now peculiar to the Bijhop of Norwich) to affift the Civil Magiftrate in the Execution of Statutes relating to Ecclefiaftical Matters, and to compel the Payment of Tenths, and Subfidies due from the Clergy: by the Common Law, he is to certify the Judges, touching legitimate and illegitimate Births and Marriages; and by that and the Ecclefiaftical Law, he is to take care of the Probate of Wills, the Granting Admi- niftrations, to collate to Benefices, grant Inftitutions on the Prefentation of other Patrons, command Induction, order the collecting and preferving the Profits of vacant Benefices for the Ufe of the Succeflbrs, defend the Liberties of the Church, and vifit his Diocefe once in three Years. To rhe Bijhop belong Sufpenfion, Deprivation, Depofition, and Degradation; and Excommunication, which fee.
The Bijhops of England are all Barons and Peers. Ba- rons in a rhreefold manner, viz. Feudal, in regard of Lands and Baronies annex'd to their Bijhopricks ; by Writ, as be- ing fummon'd by Writ to Parliamenr ; and by Patent, or Creation : Accordingly, they have the Precedence of all other Barons, and fit in the Upper Houfe, both as Barons and Bijhops. They have two fpecial Privileges nexr ro Re- gal : The firrt, that in their Courts they fit and pafs Sen- tence, of themfelves, and by their own Authority : The Bijhops Courts are not like all ether Courts ; but, Writs arc lent out in their own Name, tefte the Bijhop, not the King's Name, as the Kings Courts do. The fecond, That, like the King, they can depute their Authority to another, as their Suffragan, Chancellor, Comniiffary, &c. They have this Advantage over Lay-Lords, that in whatever Chriftian Country they come, their Epifcopal Degree and Dignity is acknowledg'd ; and they may, cfuatenus Bijhops, ordain, &c. They have their Vote in the Trial and Ar- raignment of a Peer ; but e'er Sentence of Death, fi£c. they withdraw, and vote by Proxy. They have feveral Immunities, as from Arrefts, Outlawries, Diftrefs, £$c. Liberty to hunt in the King's Forefts, ci?c. to have cer- tain Tuns of Wine Duty-free, t£c. Their Perfbus may not be feiz'd, as Lay-Peers may, upon Contempr, but their Temporalties alone. They may qualify as many Chaplains as a. Duke, viz. Six. By Law, the Crime of Epifcopicide, which a Clergyman commits by killing his Bijhop, is equi- valent to Parricide, viz. 'Petty-Treafon. The Bijhops in England are 24, Archhijhops two, Suffragans none.
The Form of Confecrating a Bijhop is different in diffe- rent Churches. In the Greek Church, the Bi/hop Elect being, by the Afliftant Bijhops, prefented for Confecra- tion, and the Inftrument of Election put in his Hand, after feveral Prayers, the firft call'd Diaconique, the Bijhop Elect demanding Confecration, makes Proteflion of his Faith j after which he receives a Benediction : He is then interro- gated as to his Belief of the trinity ; to which he anfwers by a long Profeflion of Faith, and receives a fecond Bene- diction. Laftly, he is ask'd what he thinks of the Incarna- tion ; to which he anfwers in a third Profeflion of Faith, with the Pattoral Staff: after which he is led up ro the Altar ; whete, after certain Prayers, and three Croffes on his Head, he receives the'Pallmm, if he be an Archhi/hop, or Patriarch; he then receives the Kifs of Peace, of his Confecrator and two Afliftants ; and, fitting down, reads, prays, and gives the Communion to his Confecrator and other*.
In the Romijb Church, the Bijhop Elect being prefented by the Elder Afliftant to the Confecrator, takes the Oath : He is then examin'd as to his Faith ; and, after feveral Prayers, the New Teftament is drawn open over his Head, and he receives the Unction on his Head by Chrifma. The
i Paftoral
