BEBEL, ba'bel, Ferdinand August ( 1840—) . A leader of the Social-Democratic Party in Ger- many. He was born at Cologne, set up as a mas- ter-turner at Leipzig in 1864. identified himself with the Socialistic movement among the work- ing classes, and in 1867 became chairman of the permanent committee of the German working- men's unions. In 1869 he assisted at Eisenaeli in founding the Social-Democratic Party, which was closely affiliated with the International Workingmen's Association, established at Lon- don by Karl Marx. He was accused in 1872 of projected high treason against the Kingdom of Saxony and the German Empire, and of U-se- majeste against the German Emperor. On the combined charges he was sentenced to imprison- ment for two years and nine months. His incar- ceration on these and subsequent charges has, however, served only to increase his prestige among his party associates. In 1867 he was elected deputy to the North German Diet, and since 1871 he has been almost continuously in the Reichstag, representing successively the districts of Glauchau-Meerane, Dresden, Strassburg. and Hamburg. In 1808 he became connectedwith the staff of the Volksstaat at Leipzig, and in 1801 with that of the Vorwiirts at Berlin. Bebel is recognized as an effective orator. His publica- tions include Dcr deiitsche Bnuernlcrieg (1876) ; Die parlamentaris'che Thiitigkeit des deutscheit Reichstags und der Landtage (1876) ; Die Frau in der Vergangenheit, Oegeitwart. uiid Zukunft (1883; later as Die Frau iind der Socialism us, 27th ed., 1896); Die Sonntagsarheit (1888); and Die Socialdemokratie vnd das allgemeine Wahlrecht (1895).
BEBEL, Heinrich (1472-1.518?). A German
humanist. He was born at Ingstetten ( Wiirt-
temberg). He studied at Cracow and Basel, and
in 1497 was appointed professor of eloquence and
poetry at the University of Tubingen. In 1501
he was crowned ])oet laureate b}- the Emperor
Maximilian. His best-known two works are his
Proverbia Germanica (1.508; new ed., Leyden,
1879), and his Facetiw (1508), a collection of
jests and anecdotes directed against the Roman
Catholic clergy. He was a friend of Erasmus.
For his biography, consult Zapf (Augsburg,
1802).
BEC. An historic French ruin in the Depart-
ment of Eure, near Brionne. It was once an
abbey, which Lanfranc and Anselm made a cen-
tre of learning in the Eleventh Century,
BECCAFICO, bek'ka-fe'kA (It. from heccare.
to peck + ficn, fig) . An Italian name given in the
south of Europe to various small and elegant
warblers (Sylviidae), used as table delicacies,
and specifically to the olive-brown garden-war-
bler or pettychaps (Siilria hortensis) , migratory
in England. It haunts the fig orchards and vine-
yards, and pecks holes in the rind of the ripen-
ing fruit, seeming to prefer to all others the va-
riety of fig known in Italy as 'fetifero.' The dam-
age done is slight, however, and some persons
believe that in each instance the bird has found
and removed an insect attacking the fruit.
After fattening in the autunm upon this fruit
their flesh becomes a dainty for the table, and
they are shot for market in great numl)ers,
though each affords hardly more than a mouth-
ful of food. See Fig.
BECCAFUMI, bek'ka-foo'me, Domenico, also
called II ilECHERiNO (1486-1551), An Italian
painter and sculptor. He was the son of Gia-
como de Pace, a peasant laborer on the estate
of Lorenzo Beccafumi, a wealthy citizen of
Siena, who took the boy into his service, and
fostered liis natural taste for art by placing him
in the studio of Capanna in Siena, and after-
ards sending him to study in Rome, Becca-
fumi painted many religious pieces and mytho-
logical works. He also continued the wonderful
pavement in the Cathedral of Siena. For years
the best artists worked upon this pavement,
which was of white marble, the subject being
engraved in black outline, and the border in-
laid with magnificent patterns of varied colors.
Beccafumi was occupied on this work twenty-
seven years. His finest paintings are the fres-
coes on the ceiling of the city hall in Siena and
an altar-piece in the museum there.
BECCAKI, bek-kii're, Odoahdo (1843—), An
Italian naturalist. He was born at Florence and
studied at Pisa, The three j'ears from 1865 to
1868 he spent in Borneo, and from 1871 to 1876
he traveled in Celebes, New Guinea, and other
of the East Indies. The results of his researches
were puhli^heil in the yiioro (liornnle Bolanico
Ifaliano. which he had founded in 1869, and in
the Bolletiiin della f^orieta geograficn Haliana.
He is al-io the author of a work, in two volumes,
entitled MaJcsia (1884-85).
BECCABIA, bek'ka-re'a, Cesare Bonesano,
Marquis of (1735-93). An Italian economist
and jurist, born in Milan. The opinions of the
French encyclopaedists, as well as those of Mon-
tesquieu, had the greatest influence on the devel-
opment of his thought. He wrote on the cur-
rency and other economic subjects, but his
greatest work was his Traitato dei delitti e
delle pene (Treatise on Crimes and Punish-
ments), first published in 1764, in which he
argues against capital punisliment, and which
established his fame as the originator of more
humane methods in dealing with criminals. The
work was extremely popular, [lassing through six
editions within eighteen months, and was trans-
lated into many Eurojiean languages. Kent
unfairly accuses the autlior of an affected hu-
manity, but did expose the invalidity of some of
the arguments brought forward. Beccaria was
among the first to advocate the beneficial influ-
ence of education in lessening crime. In 1768
Beccaria was appointed professor of public law
and economy at Milan, and achieved great suc-
cess as a lecturer. His lectures are published
in the Italian collection, Scrittori classici ital-
iani. Vols. XI. and XII.. where also a biograph-
ical sketch will be found. A transhition of his
essay on "Crimes and Punishments" is included
in J. A. Farrar's Crimes and Punisliments (New
York, 1872; London, 1880).
BECCABIA, GlAMBATTISTA, or GlOV.ANNI
Batti.sta (1716-81), An Italian physicist. He
was professor of experimental physics at Rome,
Palermo, and Turin. In 1759 he was commis-
sioned to measure an arc of a meridian in Pied-
mont. His principal work is DeU'elettricisino
natin-alr ed artifitiale (1753).
BECHAMEL, besh'a-mel (Fr. h^chamel). A fine white broth, or sauce, thickened with cream; so named from its inventor, the Marquis de Bechamel, steward of Louis XIV.
