B E M
BEN
Thus we meet with quick-filver belts, ufed for the itch. A late Writer defcribes a belt for keeping the belly light, and difcharg- ing the water in the operation of tapping. Medic. Eff. Edinb. T. i. p. 218.
Belts, (Cycl.) in aftronomy. Dark fpots have been frequently obferved on Jupiter's belts. Caflini has alfo difcovered a perma- nent one in the raoft northern part of the moft fouthern belt : by this he has determined the length of Jupiter's day ; that is, the time of his revolution on his axis, which is finifhed in 9 hours, 56 minutes. Phil. Tranf. N° 10. Some aftronomers take the belts to be feas, which alternately cover, and leave bare large countries of the jovial world : The fpots are by thefe writers conjectured to be gulphs in thofe feas, perhaps as big as our ocean, and fometimes full, fome- times dry a . M. Auzout rather imagined the fpots to be pro- tuberances of the belts*.— [* Hift. Acad. Scien. an. 1708. p. 112. It.an. 1692. p. 4. b Phil. Tranf. N°4. p.71.] But the generality of aftronomers take the fpots, we mean the tranfparent and moveable ones, for the fhadows of Jupiter's fa- tellitcs, Phil. Tranf. N° 15. p. 246. Item, N° 1. p. 3. The belts of Jupiter were firft obferved, and defcribed by Huy- gens, in fyft. Saturnin. p, 7.
Caflini alfo fpeaks of belts of Saturn ; being three dark, ftraight, parallel bands or fafcia: on the difk of that planet. Saturn's belts do not appear to be inherent on his globe, as thofe of Jupiter are ; but rather to be large dark rings at a di- stance from the planet, and furrounding his body. Some ima- gine them to be clouds in his atmofphere. The middlemoft feems to be the fhadow of Saturn's ring. Vid. Hift. Acad. Scienc. 171 j, p. 55. feq.
Belt, or Beltis, in ecclefiaftical writers of the middle age, denotes a fort of firing of beads.
In an antient council, we meet with feptem beltidum pater- ■nojler, fpeaking of a pater-nofter to be repeated feven times: Spelman interprets it a rofary, which was not then invented. Vid. Spehn. G\oK, p. 79. Du Conge, GlofT. Lat. T. 1. p. 522. Schmid. Lex Ecclef. p. 91.
Johnfon, with more probability, defcribes it as a certain num- ber of ftuds fattened on a lelt, ferving the fame purpofe as the chaplets of later days, fobnf. Ecclef. Laws, an. 816. §. 10.
Belts, in navigation, denote certain ftreights near the found, thro* which (hips muft pafs going between the Baltic and the German ocean.
The belts belong to the king of Denmark, who exacts a toll of all fhips which pafs them, excepting the Swedes, who are ex- empted from it. Vid. Theat. of Domin. and Laws of fea, p. 494, and 497.
Belt is alfo a frequent difeafe in fheep, cured by cutting their tails off, and laying the fore bare ; then calling mould on it, and applying tar and goofe-greafe.
BELVIDERE, an Italian term, denoting a fine profpect. The name is more peculiarly given to a pavilion on the top of a building, or an eminence in manner of a platform in a Har- den, fuftained by a terrace wall, or a mailive of turf, con- trived for the fake of commanding a large or beautiful profpect. Daml. Archit. p. 420.
BELULCUM, 0tosx»>r, a chirurgical inftrument of various fi- gures, contrived for extracting darts, arrows, or the like, from wounds. Pare, Chirug. 1. 10. c. 18. &feq. Aquapend. de Oper. Chir. p 150. Cajl. Lex. Med. p. 102. Hence alfo the denomination belulcum ; quaji to j3ia<>? item.
BEMA, Qnfia, in antiquity, denotes a ftep or pace.
The bema made a kind of itinerary meafure among the Greeks, whofe length was equivalent to one cubit, and two thirds, or to ten palms. Monifauc. Palaeogr. 1. 5. c. 4. p. 365. fcq.
Whence alfo the term lematlzein, B*)pc3i(e», to meafure a road. Polyb. 1. 3. c. 39.. Strab. 1. 7. p. 322. Martin, T. 2. p. 214. Suic. Thef. T.i. p. 683.
Bema, in ecclefiaftical writers, denotes the altar part, or fanc- tuary in the antient churches. Bingb. Orig. Ecclef. I. 8. c. 6. §. ic. Siiic. Thef. T. 1. p. 523.
In which fenlc, bema made the third, or innermoft part of the church, anfwering to the chancel among us. Fabric. Bibl. Ant. c, 9. §. 23.
Bema was alfo ufed for the bifhop's chair, feat, or throne placed in the fan&uary. It was called bema from the Heps by which it was to be afcended. Bingb. loc. cit. §. 1.
Bema was alfo ufed for the reader's defk. Schmid, Lex Ecclef. p. 91.
This in the Greek church was denominated fiypu y^rw, m the Latin church ambo. See Ambo.
Bema is more peculiarly ufed for the manichees altar, which was in a different place from that of the catholics.
Bema was alfo a denomination given by this feet to the anniver- fary of the day when Manes was killed, which with them was a folemn feaft, and day of rejoicing.
One of the chief ceremonies of the feaft confifted in fetting out and adoiningthcir bema, oraltar, with great magnificence.
BEME 1 RE, in zoology, a name by which the Portuguefe in the Brafils call'd a grecniih black -bird of the ftarhng kind, com- mon there, and more ufually known by its Brafilian name Pi- tangua-gimu. See Pitangua-Guacu.
BEN, (€\cl) in pharmacy, the name of an exotic purgative fruit, of the fize and figure of a nut j whence it is alfo called the ben-nut, fometimes balanus myrepfica, or glum unguenta- ria.
Naturalifts diftinguifh two kinds of bens; viz. the great, ben magnum, which refembles the filblrd, and is by fome call'd a- vellana purgatrix, brought from America ; and the fmall, ben parvwn, brought from Ethiopia, from which laft it is the Ita- lians exprefs that fragrant fort of oil, called oil of ben, or oleum balaninum, of fome ufe among perfumers, but little known in medicine. Vid. Grew, Muf, Soc. P. 2. §. 2. c. 1. p. 217. Lemery, Diet, des Drog. p. 119.
Ben of Judea is a name given by fome to the gum benzoin, or benjamin. Savar. Diet. Comm. T. 1. p. 319.
Ben is alfo fometimes ufed for the behem, or been. See Been, Cycl. andBEHEM, Suppl.
BENjE lapis, in the natural hiftory of the antients, the name given by the earlieft writers to that foflil body, afterwards call'd lapis tbracius. See Thracius lapis.
BENDIDIA, QnVtM, in antiquity, folemn feafts held by the Athenians on the twenty-firft day of the month TragcUon, in honour of the goddefs Diana. Trev. Diet. Univ. T. 1. p. 973-
The word is formed of £i»2l?, a denomination of Diana, ac- cording to Strabo, orof the moon according to Suidas, which amounts to the fame.
The bendidia were held in the pirseus, and bore fome refem- ' blance to the Bacchanalia. See Bacchanalia, Cycl. and Suppl.
BENDING {Cycl WE Bernoullli has a difcourfe on the bending of fprings, or elaftic bodies a . M. Amontons gives feveral ex- periments concerning the bending of ropes b . The friction of a rope bent, or wound round an immoveable cylinder, is fuf- ficient with a very fmall power to fuftain very great weights c . [ a Mem. Acad. Scienc. 1705. p. 230. Hift. p. 164. b Mem. ejufd. Acad. 1699. p. 257. Hift. p. 135. ' V. Mem. Acad. i7°3- P- 367O
Divers methods have been contrived for bending timber, in or- der to fupply crooked planks, and pieces for building ibips : M. Dalefme ingenioufly enough propofed to have the youno- trees bent, while growing in the foreft A . The method of bending planks by a fand heat, now ufed in the king's yards at Deptford, was invented by captain Cumberland c — [ d Mem. Acad. Scienc. 1705. p. 172. c Phil. Tranf. N° 371. p.
75]
The bending of boards, and other pieces of timber for curved works in joinery, is effected by holding them to the fire, then giving them the figure required, and keeping them in this fi- gure by tools for the purpofe. Davil. Archit. p. 443.
BENDY, {Cycl.) in heraldry, denotes the field's being divided into four, fix, or more parts, bendwife, i. e: diagonally, and varying in metal or colour.
In England the number is always made even, in other coun- tries this is not regarded.
They fay, bendy of four, bendy of fix, &c. Coats's Herald, p. 48.
BENEAPED, in the fea language, is faid of a fhip, when the water does not flow high enough to bring her off the ground, out of the dock, or over the bar. Gusli. Gent. Diet, p. 3. in voc.
BENEDICITE is a name given to the hymn, or fong of the three children, in the fiery furnace ; by reafon of its begin- ning with the words benedicite omnia opera Dominum. Du Cange, Gloff. Lat. T. 1. p. 528.
The ufe of the benedicite is very antient ; it appearing to have been fung in all the chriftian churches, as early as St. Chry- foftom's time. Bingb. Orig. Ecclef. 1. 14. 2. §. 6. BENEDICTINS, {Cycl.)— For 600 years after the erection of the benediclin order, moft of the European monks were fol- lowers of this rule ; whatever other names they went by, Carthufians, Ciftercians, Grand imontenfes, Premonftraten- fes, Cluniacks, &c. they were but different branches of the benediclins, till about the year 1220, when the Domini- cans and Francifcans took new rules.
Hofpinian reckons no lefs than twenty-three religious orders that fprang from this one.
According to the benediclin computation, there have been of this order, 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7000 archbifhops, 15000 bifliops, 15700 abbots, 4000 faints, 40,000 confefiors, above 3C00 martyrs and apoftles, who have converted 30 pro- vinces to the Chriftian faith, befides emperors, kino-s, csY. Bingb. Orig. Ecclef. 1. 7. c. 2. §. 12. Work. T. 1. p. 251. The number of benediclin monafteries is computed at 37000. Vid. Tabellam rerum illujlrium ordinis fanit. Benedicl. Sala- mane. 1569. ap. Steph. Suppl. p. 165.
F. Mabillon has published the acts of the benediclin faints, in ten volumes folio % and the annals of the order in four vo- lumes more b .— [ a Acta fan&orum ordinis faucti benedicti, b Hift. Acad. Infcript. T. 7. p. 442.]
Some will have the appellation black given the benediclins, by way of diftir.aion from the Ciftercians ; others pretend, that the Englifh benediclins were more particularly called black monks, in contradiflinaion from the Scottifh and Irifh bene-
- diclins,
