[1] Qui giace Arrigo Beyle Milanese; visse, scrisse, amo.
BEYRICH, HEINRICH ERNST VON (1815-1896), German geologist, was born at
Berlin on the 31st of August 1815, and educated at the university in
that city, and afterwards at Bonn, where he studied under Goldfuss and
Noggerath. He obtained his degree of Ph.D. in 1837 at Berlin, and was
subsequently employed in the mineralogical museum of the university,
becoming director of the palaeontological collection in 1857, and
director of the museum in 1875. He was one of the founders of the German
Geological Society in 1848. He early recognized the value of
palaeontology in stratigraphical work; and he made important researches
in the Rhenish mountains, in the Harz and Alpine districts. In later
years he gave special attention to the Tertiary strata, including the
Brown Coal of North Germany. In 1854 he proposed the term Oligocene for
certain Tertiary strata intermediate between the Eocene and Miocene; and
the term is now generally adopted. In 1865 he was appointed professor of
geology and palaeontology in the Berlin University, where he was
eminently successful as a teacher; and when the Prussian Geological
Survey was instituted in 1873 he was appointed co-director with Wilhelm
Hauchecorne (1828-1900). He published _Beitragezur Kenntniss der
Versteinerungen des rheinischen Ubergangs-gebirges_ (1837); _Uber einige
bohmische Trilobiten_ (1845); _Die Conchylien des norddeutschen
Tertiargebirges_ (1853-1857). He died on the 9th of July 1896.
BEYSCHLAG, WILLIBALD (1823-1900), German Protestant divine, was born at
Frankfort-on-Main on the 5th of September 1823. He studied theology at
Bonn and Berlin (1840-1844), and in 1856 was appointed court-preacher at
Karlsruhe. In 1860, he moved to Halle as professor ordinarius of
practical theology. A theologian of the mediating school, he became
leader of the _Mittelpartei_, and with Albrecht Wolters founded as its
organ the _Deutschevangelische Blatter_. As a representative of this
party, he took a prominent part in the general synods of 1875 and 1879.
His championship of the rights of the laity and his belief in the
autonomy of the church led him to advocate the separation of church and
state. He died at Halle on the 25th of November 1900. Among his numerous
works are _Die Christologie des Neuen Testaments_ (1866), _Der
Altkatholicismus_ (three editions, 1882-1883), _Leben Jesu_ (2 vols.,
1885; 3rd ed., 1893), _Neutestamentliche Theologie_ (2 vols., 1891-1892;
2nd ed., 1896), _Christenlehre auf Grund des kleinen luth. Katechismus_
(1900), and an autobiography _Aus meinem Leben_ (2 parts, 1896-1898).
See P. Schaff, _Living Divines_ (1887); Lichtenberger, _Hist. Germ.
Theol._ (1889); Calwer-Zeller, _Kirchenlexikon_.
BEZA (DE BESZE), THEODORE (1519-1605), French theologian, son of
_bailli_ Pierre de Besze, was born at Vezelai, Burgundy, on the 24th of
June 1519. Of good descent, his parents were known for generous piety.
He owed his education to an uncle, Nicolas de Besze, counsellor of the
Paris parlement, who placed him (1529) under Melchior Wolmar at Orleans,
and later at Bourges. Wolmar, who had taught Greek to Calvin, grounded
Beza in Scripture from a Protestant standpoint; after his return to
Germany (1534) Beza studied law at Orleans (May 1535 to August 1539),
beginning practice in Paris (1539) as law licentiate. To this period
belong his exercises in Latin verse, in the loose taste of the day,
foolishly published by him as _Juvenilia_ in 1548. Though not in orders,
he held two benefices. A severe illness wrought a change; he married his
mistress, Claude Desnoz, and joined the church of Calvin at Geneva
(October 1548). In November 1549 he was appointed Greek professor at
Lausanne, where he acted as Calvin's adjutant in various publications,
including his defence of the burning of Servetus, _De Haereticis a
civili magistratu puniendis_ (1554). In 1558 he became professor in the
Geneva academy, where his career was brilliant. His conspicuous ability
was shown in the abortive Colloquy of Poissy (1561). On Calvin's death
(1564) he became his biographer and administrative successor. As a
historian, Beza, by his chronological inexactitude, has been the source
of serious mistakes; as an administrator, he softened the rigour of
Calvin. His editions and Latin versions of the New Testament had a
marked influence on the English versions of Geneva (1557 and 1560) and
London (1611). The famous codex D. was presented by him (1581) to
Cambridge University, with a characteristically dubious account of the
history of the manuscript. His works are very numerous, but of little
moment, except those already mentioned. He resigned his offices in 1600,
and died on the 13th of October 1605. He had taken a second wife (1588),
Catherine del Piano, a widow, but left no issue. He was not the author
of the _Histoire ecclesiastique_ (1580), sometimes ascribed to him;
nor, probably, of the vulgar skit published under the name of Benedict
Panavantius (1551).
See Laingaeus, _De Vita et Moribus_ (1585, calumnious); Antoine la
Faye, _De Vita et Obitu_ (1606, eulogistic); Schlosser, _Leben_
(1806); Baum, _Th. Beza_, portrait (1843-1851); Heppe, _Leben_ (1861).
(A. Go.*)
BEZANT or BYZANT (from Byzantium, the modern Constantinople), originally
a Byzantine gold coin which had a wide circulation throughout Europe up
to about 1250. Its average value was about nine shillings. Bezants were
also issued in Flanders and Spain. Silver bezants, in value from one to
two shillings, were in circulation in England in the 13th and 14th
centuries. In Wycliffe's translation of the Bible he uses the word for a
"talent" (e.g. in Luke xv. 8). In heraldry, bezants are represented by
gold circles on the shield, and were introduced by the crusaders.
BEZANTEE, in architecture, a name given to an ornamented moulding much
used in the Norman period, resembling the coins (bezants) struck in
Byzantium.
BEZBORODKO, ALEKSANDER ANDREEVICH, PRINCE (1747-1799), grand chancellor
of Russia, was born at Gluchova on the 14th of March 1747, and educated
at home and in the clerical academy at Kiev. He entered the public
service as a clerk in the office of Count P.A. Rumyantsev, then
governor-general of Little Russia, whom he accompanied to the Turkish
War in 1768. He was present at the engagements of Larga and Kaluga, and
at the storming of Silistria. On the conclusion of the peace of
Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774) the field marshal recommended him to Catharine
II., and she appointed him in 1775 her petition-secretary. He thus had
the opportunity of impressing the empress with his brilliant gifts, the
most remarkable of which were exquisite manners, a marvellous memory and
a clear and pregnant style. At the same time he set to work to acquire
the principal European languages, especially French, of which he became
a master. It was at this time that he wrote his historical sketches of
the Tatar wars and of Little Russia.
His activity was prodigious, and Catharine called him her factotum. In
1780 he accompanied her on her journey through White Russia, meeting the
emperor Joseph, who urged him to study diplomacy. On his return from a
delicate mission to Copenhagen, he presented to the empress "a memorial
on political affairs" which comprised the first plan of a partition of
Turkey between Russia and Austria. This document was transmitted almost
word for word to Vienna as the Russian proposals. He followed this up by
_Epitomised Historical Information concerning Moldavia_. For these two
state papers he was rewarded with the posts of "plenipotentiary for all
negotiations" in the foreign office and postmaster-general. From this
time he was inseparably associated with Catharine in all important
diplomatic affairs, though officially he was the subordinate of the
vice-chancellor, Count Alexander Osterman. He wrote all the most
important despatches to the Russian ministers abroad, concluded and
subscribed all treaties, and performed all the functions of a secretary
of state. He identified himself entirely with Catharine's political
ideas, even with that of re-establishing the Greek empire under her
grandson Constantine. The empress, as usual, richly rewarded her _comes_
with pensions and principalities. In 1786 he was promoted to the senate,
and it was through him that the empress communicated her will to that
august state-decoration. In 1787 he accompanied Catharine on her
triumphal progress through South Russia in the capacity of minister of
foreign affairs. At Kaniev he conducted the negotiations with the Polish
king, Stanislaus II., and at Novuiya Kaidaniya he was in the empress's
carriage when she received Joseph II.
The second Turkish War (1787-92) and the war with Gustavus III.
(1788-90) heaped fresh burdens on his already heavily laden shoulders,
and he suffered from the intrigues of his numerous jealous rivals,
including the empress's latest favourite, A.M. Mamonov. All his efforts
were directed towards the conclusion of the two oppressive wars by an
honourable peace. The pause of Verela with Gustavus III. (14th of August
1790) was on the terms dictated by him. On the sudden death of Potemkin
he was despatched to Jassy to prevent the peace congress there from
breaking up, and succeeded, in the face of all but insuperable
difficulties, in concluding a treaty exceedingly advantageous to Russia
(9th of January 1792). For this service he received the thanks of the
empress, the ribbon of St Andrew and 50,000 roubles. On his return from
Jassy, however, he found his confidential post of secretary of petitions
occupied by the empress's last favourite, P.A. Zubov. He complained of
this "diminution of his dignity" to the empress in a private memorial in
the course of 1793. The empress reassured him by fresh honours and
distinctions on the occasion of the solemn celebration of the peace of
Jassy (2nd of September 1793), when she publicly presented him with a
golden olive-branch encrusted with brilliants. Subsequently Catharine
reconciled him with Zubov, and he resumed the conduct of foreign
affairs. He contributed more than any other man to bring about the
downfall and the third partition of Poland, for which he was
magnificently recompensed. But diplomacy by no means exhausted
Bezborodko's capacity for work. He had a large share in the internal
administration also. He reformed the post-office, improved the banking
system of Russia, regulated the finances, constructed roads, and united
the Uniate and Orthodox churches.
On the death of Catharine, the emperor Paul entrusted Bezborodko with
the examination of the late empress's private papers, and shortly
afterwards made him a prince of the Russian empire, with a
correspondingly splendid apanage. On the retirement of Osterman he
received the highest dignity in the Russian empire--that of imperial
chancellor. Bezborodko was the only Russian minister who retained the
favour of Paul to the last. During the last two years of his life the
control of Russia's diplomacy was entirely in his hands. His programme
at this period was peace with all the European powers, revolutionary
France included. But the emperor's growing aversion from this pacific
policy induced the astute old minister to attempt to "seek safety in
moral and physical repose." Paul, however, refused to accept his
resignation and would have sent him abroad for the benefit of his
health, had not a sudden stroke of paralysis prevented Bezborodko from
taking advantage of his master's kindness. He died at St Petersburg on
the 6th of April 1799. In private life Bezborodko was a typical
Catharinian, corrupt, licentious, conscienceless and self-seeking. But
he was infinitely generous and affectionate, and spent his enormous
fortune liberally. His banquets were magnificent, his collections of
pictures and statues unique in Europe. He was the best friend of his
innumerable poor relatives, and the Maecenas of all the struggling
authors of his day. Sycophantic he might have been, but he was neither
ungrateful nor vindictive. His patriotism is as indisputable as his
genius.
See _Sbornik_ (Collections) of the _Imperial Russian Historical
Society_ (Fr. and Russ.), vols. 60-100 (St Petersburg, 1870-1904);
Nikolai Ivanovich Grigorovich, _The Chancellor A.A. Bezborodko in
Connexion with the Events of His Time_ (Rus., St Petersburg,
1879-1881). (R. N. B.)
BEZEL (from an O. Fr. word, cf. Mod. Fr. _biseau_, _basile_, possibly
connected with Lat. _bis_, twice), a sloping edge, as of a cutting tool,
also known as basil. In jewelry, the term is used for the oblique sides
or faces of a gem; the rim which secures the crystal of a watch in
position or a jewel in its setting, and particularly the enlarged part
of a ring on which the device is engraved (see RING).
BEZIERS, a town of southern France, capital of an arrondissement in the
department of Herault, 47 m. S.W. of Montpellier by rail. Pop. (1906)
46,262. Beziers is situated in a wine-growing district on a hill on the
left bank of the river Orb, which is joined at this point by the Canal
du Midi. The Allees Paul Riquet, named after the creator of the canal,
occupy the centre of Beziers and divide the old town with its maze of
narrow and irregular streets from the new quarter to the east. They form
a long and shady promenade, terminating at one end in the Place de la
Republique and the theatre, the front of which is decorated with
bas-reliefs by David d'Angers, and at the other in a beautiful park,
the Plateau des Poetes. The most interesting portion of the town is the
extreme west where the old ramparts overlook the Orb. Above them towers
St Nazaire, the finest of the churches of Beziers; it dates from the
12th to the 14th centuries and is a good specimen of the ecclesiastical
fortification common in southern France. Its chief artistic features are
the rose window in the western facade, and the stained glass and curious
iron grilles of the choir-windows, which belong to the 14th century.
Adjoining the south transept there are Gothic cloisters of the 14th
century. The Orb is crossed by four bridges, the railway bridge, an
ancient bridge of the 13th or 14th century, a modern bridge and the fine
aqueduct by which the Canal du Midi is carried over the river. About
half a mile to the south-west of the town are the locks of Fonserannes,
in which in 330 yds. the water of the canal descends 80 ft. to reach the
level of the Orb. There are remains of a Roman arena which have been
built into the houses of the rue St Jacques. Beziers is seat of a
sub-prefect and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce,
communal colleges and several learned societies. It is an agricultural
market and carries on an active trade in wine, brandy, fruit, leather
and sulphur. Its industries are chiefly connected with the wine trade
(cask and cork making, &c.) and there are important distilleries. It
also has iron-works and tanneries.
The Romans established a colony at Beziers, and it was the headquarters
of the seventh legion, under the title of _Baeterrae Septimanorum_. The
present name occurs in the form _Besara_ as early as Festus Avienus
(later 4th century). The town was completely destroyed in 1209 by the
forces of Simon de Montfort in the crusade against the Albigenses, on
which occasion 20,000 persons were massacred. The walls were rebuilt in
1289; but the town again suffered severely in the civil and religious
wars of the 16th century, and all its fortifications were destroyed in
1632.
BEZIQUE (probably from Span. _besico_, little kiss, in allusion to the
meeting of the queen and knave, an important feature in the game), a
game at cards played with two similar packs from which the twos, threes,
fours, fives and sixes have been rejected, shuffled together and used as
one. It is modelled on a group of card games which possess many features
in common; the oldest of these is _mariage_, then follow _brusquembille,
l'homme de brou, briscan_ or _brisque_, and _cinq-cents_. Bezique (also
called _besi_ and _besigue_) is, in fact, _brisque_ played with a double
pack, and with certain modifications rendered necessary by the
introduction of additional cards. The cards rank as follows:--Ace, ten,
king, queen, knave, nine, eight, seven.
The usual game is for two players. The players cut for deal, and the
higher bezique card deals. The objects of the play are: (1) to promote
in the hand various combinations of cards, which, when declared, entitle
the holder to certain scores; (2) to win aces and tens, known as
"brisques"; (3) to win the so-called last trick. The dealer deals eight
cards to each, first three, then two, and again three. The top card of
those remaining (called the "stock") is turned up for trumps. As
sometimes played, the first marriage, or the first sequence, decides the
trump suit; there is then no score for the seven of trumps (see below).
The stock is placed face downwards between the players and slightly
spread. The non-dealer leads any card, and the dealer plays to it, but
need not follow suit, nor win the trick. If he wins the trick by playing
a higher card of the same suit led, or a trump, the lead falls to him.
In case of ties the leader wins. Whoever wins the trick leads to the
next; but before playing again each player takes a card from the stock
and adds it to his hand, the winner of the trick taking the top card.
This alternate playing and drawing a card continues until the stock
(including the trump card or card exchanged for it, which is taken up
last) is exhausted. The tricks remain face upwards on the table, but
must not be searched during the play of the hand.