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BIGNE

of Appeals Reports, CXIV, 120; Birdseye, op. eit., 1042; cf. Bishop, New Commentaries).

The recently recovered Code of the Babylonian King Hammurabi (about 22.50 b. c), in its regula- tions respecting bigamy aftords some interesting comparisons with modern legislation on the same subject. By that ancient statute a wife "has no blame" who remarries after her husband has been taken captive, "if there was not maintenance in his house" (§ 134). But "if there was maintenance in his house", the captive's wife who remarries "shall be prosecuted and shall be drowned" (§ 133). Another section resembles a provision of an existing New York statute. By this statute, if the second marriage be annulled because the former husband or wife is living, children of this marriage are deemed to be "legitimate children of the parent who at the time of the marriage was competent to contract" (Birdseye, Revised Statutes, 933). In like manner this code of four thousand years ago ordains that if, in the instance of the woman who "has no blame", there be children of her second marriage, she shall return to her first husband if "he return and regain his city", "but the children shall follow their own father". As if to rebuke want of patriotism or love of home, the wife of a man who "has left his city and fled" might remarry and "because he hated his city and fled" the fugitive returning was not allowed to reclaim his wife (§ 136).

Tennyson lias made double marriage the subject of his poem "Enoch .\rden". We may notice how carefully the poet causes a period to elapse longer than the seven years mentioned in the English Statute:—

.... ten years Since Enoch left his hearth and native land Fled forward, and no news of Enoch came,

before his wife listens to the argument, which, how- ever, the poet is not so unpoetical as to reinforce by quoting the statute: —

It is beyond all hope, against all chance, That he who left you ten long years ago Should still be living.

— And, like the woman pronounced blameless by the old Babylonian Code, for whom "there was not maintenance", Enoch's wife was "poor and wanting help" when she consented to the remarriage which Enoch, returning contrary to all seeming hope and chance, after having been so long "cast away and lost", ratified in his self-effacing prayer for strength "not to tell her, never to let her know" — cf. Hammurabi, Code, § 135.

Murray, New English Dictionary (Oxford and New York 18&8), s. v.; The Century Dictionary (New York), s. v.; Bishop. Commentaries on the Law of Statutory Crimes (3d ed., Chicago. 1901); Id., New Commentaries on Marriage, Divorce, and Separation (Chicago, 1891); Stephen, New Commentaries on the Laws of England (14th ed.. London. 1903); Russell, A Treatise on Crimes and Misdemeanours (6th ed.. London. 1896); Holland. The Elements of Jurisprudence (10th ed.. New York and London. 1906); The Statutes at Large (London, 1770), 111; A Compendious Abstract of the Public General Acts (London, 1861), XXXIX; Bell, Dictionary and Digest of the Imws of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1890). tit. Bigamy; Carpentier, Codes et lois (Paris. 1899); Coke, The Third Part of the Institutes of Ike Laws of England (London, 1680), XXVII; Birdseye, The Revised Statutes, Codes, and General Laws of the State of New York (3d ed.. New York. 1901); Reports of Cases decided in the Court of Appeals (Albany, 1889), CXIV. 120; Pollard, Code of Virginia (St. Paul. 1904), §§3781, 3782; Revisal of 1905 of North Carolina (Raleigh. 1905). §3361; Compiled Statutes of the United Slates. 1901 (St. Paul, 1902), 3633; Supplement (to the same), 1906 (St. Paul. 1905), 276; Boswell, Life of Johnson, ed. Hill (Oxford, 1887), V, 217; Westermarck. The History of Human Marriage (London, 1891); De, A Summary of the Roman Civil Law (London, 1849); Works of the Rl, Hon, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (6th ed., London, 1817). II, 190; Britton. tr. Nichols (Washington, 1901): Johns. Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts, and Letters (New York, 1904).

Bigne , French theologian and patrologist, b. about 1546 at Bernières-le-Patry, Normandy; d. about 1595. He studied at the College of Caen, and at the Sorbonne in Paris where he received the doctorate. He was named canon of his native Diocese of Bayeux and, later, dean of the church of Mans. At the Provincial Council of Rouen, in 1581, he sustained the rights of his cathedral chapter against Bernadin de St. François, Bishop of Bayeux, and provoked an unfortunate conflict with the latter which ended in de la Bigne's resignation from his canonry. He resumed, then, at the Sorbonne the patristic studies in which he had been long engaged. He had early perceived that Protestant misquotation and misinterpretation of patristic texts was a menace to Catholic interests and resolved to collect and edit the available documents of the Fathers. He published in 1575 his "Sacra Bibliotheca Sanctorum Patrum" (Paris, 8 vols.; addition.al volume in 1579; later editions, Paris, 1.589; Lyons, 27 vols., 1677; Cologne, 1694). It contains the writings, some complete, some fragmentary, of our two hundred Fathers, many published for the first time. Particular care was given to the elucidation of texts corrupted by heretics. This work was the pioneer in the field of critical patristics. He published, also, "Statuta Sj-nodalia Parisiensimn Episcoporum, Galonis Adonis et Willielmi; item Decreta Petri et Galteri, Senonensiura Episcoporum" (Paris, 1578); and an edition of St. Isidore of Seville (Paris, 1580), in which for the first time the latter's works were gathered in one work.

Billiart, Marie-Rose-Julie. See Julie Billiart, Blessed.

Billick (, Lat. Latomus, iMpicida), Eberh.\rd, German theologian, opponent of the Reformation, b. 1499 or 1500 at Cologne; d. there, 12 January, 1557. Of a family which gave a number of prominent men to the Carmelites of Cologne. Eberhard entered the Carmelite Order in 1513. took his vows in 1514, became priest and master of students in 1525, and reader of divinity in 1526; he matriculated at the University of Cologne in 1528, was made Prior of Cassel. 1531, Prior of Cologne. 153(5-42, received his licentiate and doctorate of divinity, 1540 and in 1542 was appointed Provincial of the province of Lower Gennany. He retained this dignity until his death, for, although nominated auxiliarj' Bishop of Cologne. He did not live to be consecrated. Billick's activity on behalf of his order was successful; he enrolled numerous candi- dates, improved the plan of studies, saved several monasteries from destruction, re-established others. and reformed both his own province and that of LTpper Germany. His chief importance, however, lies in his dealings with the Archbishop of Cologne. If Cologne remained true to the Catholic cause the merit is principally due to the provincial of the Carmelites. As the leader of the lower clergy he protested again.st the heretical tendencies of Arch- bishop Hermann von A\'ietl, who since 1536 had fa- voured the Reformers. Von Wied was excommuni- cated in 1546, gave up the archbishopric in 1547, and died in 1552. It was Billick's exposure of the arch- bishop's breach of faith that led to the latter's deposition. Writing against Bucer, Billick drew upon himself the ire of Luther and Melanchthon. He took part in the disputations of Worms, 1,540, Ratis- bon, 1541 and 1546. and Augsburg, 1547, and as theologian accompanied the new Archbishop of Cologne to the Council of Trent, 1551.

PosTiNA. Der Karmelit Eberhard Billick (Freiburg im Br., 1901), contains his life, a complete bibliography, list of his writings and a calendar of his correspondence.