Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/276

2+6] BEL Mr. Bleamire, in his " Re- marks on the Poor Laws" just published, pointedly observes, that " persons utterly unable to support themselves, were always proper objects for parochial relief} but the idle, lazy, and abandoned, who now, to die shame of our modern governors of parishes, crowd every poor-house, were, and still ought to be, objects of punishment. If those (he adds), who are entrusted with the care and management of the poor, would exercise an im- partial and honest discrimination among the persons who apply to them for relief, poor-houses would be less frequented ; die poor-rates considerably reduced ; and, by turning those i - eceptacles into work-houses, vicious idleness be checked, and virtuous industry greatly promoted." It does not behove us to pro- nounce judgment on beggars; but, reflecting on the contagious ten- dency of street-begging, as an al- lurement to those whose moral principles are weak, or corrupted, we shall conclude in die words of a learned magistrate, who empha- tically says, in one the latest critical journals, " that the enormous sums which have of late years been rais- ed for the support of the Poor, are .not only a national grievance, but a national .disgrace/" — See farther, Poor-houses. Belladonna. See Deadly Night- shade. BELLES LETTRES, or polite literature, a very comprehensive expression, though not easily de- fined. Our industrious predecessors, the editors of the " Encyclopaedia Britanjiica," justly complain that they cannot find either a clear de- finition, or a succinct: explanation, of die words Belles Lett res, nor any BEL summary of those sciences which are comprehended under this ge- neral and collective denomination. With diffidence we venture to as- sert, that, to us, it does not appear a vague term ; and though neither the voluminous French nor English Dictionaries contain an analysis of this expression, our difficulties, in this respecl, are by no means in-* surmountable. When we consider the influence or effeft of polite literature on the moral and intellectual character of man, it may be defined to be that extensive ramification of the sub- jective sciences, which are peculi- arly calculated to improve the heart, and enlarge die mind, in contradistinction to diose oljetlive, or physical sciences, which princi- pally tend to increase the know- ledge of the senses, while they ex-. plain the nature of external ob- jects, and are therefore denomi- nated Natural and Experimental Philosophy, including Natural His- tory in all its branches. Of the latter, we shall treat in their proper places ; and confine our analysis, at present, to the Belles Lettres. These usefid and elegant acquire-, mcnts distinguish the accomplished scholar from the illiterate mechanic, who studies and applies the effects of motion, form, variety, and action, while the former endeavours to ac- count for dieir causes. It would be inconsistent with our plan, to accompany every department of polite literature with a separate de- finition ; which would extend this article beyond its proper limits. Hence we shall content ourselves, with exhibiting merely an outline of the branches of this extensive tree of learning. ] . The Arts of Speech, compre- hending Oratory and Poetry} which last