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BASILAN BASILIDES 3C3 divinity of Jesus Christ against the Arians. On account of this he is styled by the general council of Chalcedon "the great Basil, the ser- vant of grace, who has proclaimed the truth to the whole earth." He is held in especial ven- eration in the Greek church, though he was a strenuous supporter of the Nicene creed. His works were first published at Basel with a pref- ace by Erasmus in 1532. The most complete edition is that of Gamier (3 vols., Paris, 1721- '30; reprinted in Paris in 6 vols. 8vo, 1839). BASILAX, an island of the Malay archipelago, the largest of the Sooloo group, separated by the strait of Basilan, 12 m. wide, from the S. W. extremity of the island of Mindanao; area, about 500 sq. m. ; pop. about 5,000. The coast abounds with fish ; there are wild hogs, deer, and elephants in the forests. It is a favorite resort of pirates. BASIL! A MOJiKS, or Monks of St. Basil, a re- ligious order founded by St. Basil the Great, about the middle of the 4th century. When the saint retired into the deserts of Pontus ho found there a vast number of solitaries whose manner of life he strove to copy. Crowds of followers gathered around him, and so rapidly did their number increase that he found it neces- sary to build a large monastery, and to embody in a code of written laws instructions for their conduct. These rules were published in 362, and received the sanction of Pope Liberius. The new order spread rapidly throughout the East, and it is said that before his death Basil saw himself the spiritual father of over 90,000 monks. In the 8th century they were treated with great severity by the emperor Constantino Coprony- mns, a violent iconoclast. The Basilian rule was translated into Latin by Rufinus, and there- upon passed into the West, where it became the basis of all monastic institutions up to tho time of St. Benedict. Great numbers embraced it in Italy, Sicily, and Spain ; but, though calling themselves by the common name of " monks of St. Basil," these various communities were in- dependent of each other until Pope Gregory XIII. united them under one head, and at the same time corrected several abuses which had crept in among them during the lapse of years. Various causes have since led to their decline in the West, but the order is still largo and im- portant. Their principal monastery is that of St. Saviour at Messina. In Spain, where they are very numerous, the Latin rite is universally followed; in Italy and Sicily they generally conform to the ritual of the Greek church, with a few modifications. Most of the monks of the Greek church in Russia claim to belong to the order of St. Basil, but if so they have deviated widely from their original rule. The historians of the order state that it has pro- duced 14 popes, numerous patriarchs, cardi- nals, and archbishops, 1,800 bishops, and 11,- 800 martyrs. BASILICA (Gr. fianOMfa from paoMf, king), a term first applied in Athens to buildings in which public business was transacted, and afterward in Rome to stately edifices of an oblong shape, with four corners, adorned with Corinthian columns, generally used for the ad- ministration of justice, and for other public purposes. The first basilica at Rome was built by Cato the Elder, and was called Portia. The basilica Julia, built by Vitruvius at Fanum for Julius Ceesar, was supported by 100 marble pil- lars, embellished with gold and precious stones, and contained 1 3 judgment seats for the praetors. There were about 20 basilicas in Rome, and one in every provincial town. The only one of which considerable remains still exist is that of Trajan. Among the most celebrated basili- cas were those at Palestrina, Pompeii, and Peestum. Many of them became churches, some of which in the 4th and 5th centuries were called basilicas ; and the term was also given to the tomb of Edward the Confessor and other medireval church-like sepulchral monuments. There are several churches in Rome called basilicas, but the name is chiefly applied in modern times to the five patriarch- al churches of St. Peter, St. John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Paul, and St. Lo- renzo, the last two being without the walls. Of the smaller basilicas the most important are those of Santa Croce, St. Sebastian, St. Agnes, and San Pietro in Vincoli. See Bunsen, Die ehristlichen Basiliken Boms (Munich, 1843), and Hubsch, Der altchriitliche Kirchenlau (Carlsruhe, 1862). BASILICATi, a province of S. Italy, situated chiefly E. of the main Apennine ridge, and be- tween it and the gulf of Taranto, occupying the greater part of ancient Lucania ; area, 4,122 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 509,089. The chief rivers, the Sinno, Agri, Basento, and Bradano, form extended valleys bounded by offsets from tho Apennines, which latter slope gradually toward the sea and settle into low plains within 10 m. of the coast. These plains, famous in antiquity as the plains of Metapontum and Heraclea, are still remarkable for their fertility. The in- terior is mountainous, rugged, and little visited, and the inhabitants retain primitive modes of life. The principal tree is the pine. The most extensive forests are along the Sinno. In the most northern part of the province, wa- tered by the Ofanto, is the volcanic region of Mount Vultur, which extends N. and S. be- tween 15 and 20 m., and is 20 m. wide. The mountain proper is situated between Melfi and Rionero, and is 3,000 ft. high. Disastrous earth- quakes occurred here in 1851 and in December, 1857. Basilicata is rich in cattle, silk, wine, and saffron. Cotton and olive oil are produced moderately. The chief cereals are maize and buckwheat. It is divided into tho districts of Lagonegro, Melfi, Matera, and Potenza. Cap- ital, Potenza. BASILIDES, the founder of a Gnostic sect, who taught in Alexandria about the year 120. Some say that he was born in Egypt, others in Syria or Persia. He taught that the Supreme Being produced from himself seven other