Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/248

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ft Lion, which alone difpatch'd 200 Befliarii. Thofe who Succeeded the firft were call'd SpsJ&z, and the laft lyffnti See Merihiani.

The fccond Kind bfSefiiarii, Seneca obferves, confifted of young Men, who, to become expert in managing their Arms, fought fometimes againft Beafts, and lometimes againft one another; and or Bravo 's, who, to /hew their Courage and Dexterity, expos'd themfclves to this dange- rous Combat. AttguJtUS encourag'd this Practice in young Men of the firft Rank ; Nero expofed himfelf to it 3 and 'twas for the killing Beafts in the Amphitheatre, that Com- modus acquir'd the Title of the Roman Hercules. Vige- nerc to thefe adds two Kinds of Sefliarii more : The firft were thofe who made a Trade of it, and fought for Mo- ney ; the fecond was where feveral Sefliarii armed, were let ioofe at once againft a Number of Beafts.

BEVEL, in Mafonry, and among Joiners, a kind of Square, one Leg whereof is frequently crooked, according to the Sweep of an Arch or Vault. 'Tis moveable on a Point or Centre, and fo may be fet to any Angle. Its Make and Ufe are pretty much the fame as thole of the common Square and Mitre, except that thofe are fix'd 3 the firft at an Angle of 90 Degrees, and the fecond at 45 ; whereas the Sevil being moveable, may, in fome mea- sure, fupply the Office of both, and yet, which 'tis chiefly intended for, fupply the Deficiencies of both ; ferving to fet off, or transfer, Angles either greater or lefs than $0 or 45 Degrees. Hence a Sevil Angle is ufed to denote any other Angle but thofe of <jo or 45 Degrees.

BEVILE, a Term in Heraldry fignifying Broken, or opening like a Carpenter's Rule. Thus he bcareth Argent a chief Scvile Vert, by the Name of !B ever lis.

BEY, a Term ufed for a Govcrnour of a maritime Coun- try or Town in the Turkifh Empire. The T'urks write the Word Segh, or Sek, but pronounce it 'Bey. Properly it fignifies Lord, but is particularly applied to a Lord of a Banner, whom in the fame Language they call Sangiak- leghi, or Bey ; Sa?igiak, which among them Signifies Ban- ner, or Standard, being the Badge of him who commands in a confiderable Place of fome Province, having under him a confiderable Number of Spates, or Horfe. Each Pro- vince in Turkey is divided into feven of thefe Sangiacks, or 'Banners, each of which qualifies a Bey ; and thefe are all commanded by the Governour of the Province, whom they alfo call Scghiler-Beghi, or Seyler-bey, i. e. Lord of the Lords, or Beys of the 'Province. Thefe Beys are in a great meafure the fame that Bannerets formerly were in England.

BEZOAR, or Bezoar r>, a Medicinal Stone, efteem'd a Sovereign Counter-Poifon, and an excellent Cardiac. 'Tis alfo given in Vertigo's, Epilepfies, Palpitation of the Heart, Jaundice, Cholick, and fo many other Difeafes, that were its real Virtues anfwerable to its reputed ones, it were doubtlefs a Panacea. Indeed, its Rarity, and the peculiar Manner of its Formation, have, perhaps, contributed as much to its Reputation, as any intrinfick Worth. At pre- fent it begins to be prized lefs, and a great many able Phy- ficians difcard it, as of no Ufe or Efficacy at all.

There are feveral Kinds of Sezoar -^ the Chief are the Oriental, the Occidental, and that of Germany. The Ori- ental is in the moft Elreem, and is brought from feveral Parts of the Eaji-Indies, chiefly Golconda and Cananor : 'Tis there found mingled with the Dung of an Animal of the Goat Kind call'd yPaz&nj in the Belly whereof this Stone is found : The Buds of a certain Shrub which the Animal ufes to brouze, are ufually found in the middle of it, and fuppofed to be the Seed whence it arifes. The Sezoar ordinarily grows of the Bignefs of an Acorn, fome- times of that of a Pigeon's Egg. It is compofed of feve- ral mining Skins, or Coats, like an Onion, fometimes of a Blood-Colour, fometimes a pale yellow, a brownifh red, and Honey-Colour. The Number of Bezoards produced by each Animal is various, fome yielding one, two, 0c: to fix, and others none at all. The larger the Stone the more valuable, its Price increafing like that of the Diamond. A Stone of one Ounce is fold in the Indies for 100 Franks, and one of four Ounces for 2000 Livrcs. Oriental Sezoar mull be chofe mining, of a Smell like that of Amber- greefe, fmooth to the Touch, and in large Pieces ; its Fi- gure is indifferent, its Colour ufually Olive. Bezoar is eafi- ly fophillicated, and the Deceit as eafily difcover'd. The Methods of proving it are, iji, to fteep it three or four Hours in lukewarm Water ; if the Water ben't ting'd, nor the Bezoar lofc of its Weight, 'tis pure, zdly, To try it with a {harp, red hot Iron ; if ir enters the Stone, and the Heat makes it fry and fhrivel, 'tis factitious. %dly, To rub it over a Paper fmearVl with Cauft'e ; if it leave a yellow Teint, 'tis good.

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Occidental Bezoar, or Bezoar of Peru, U very different from the firft. 'Tis found in the Belly of feveral Animals, peculiar to the Country : In fome 'tis the Bignefs of a Nut, in others of a Pullet's Egg ; in fome 'tis oval, in other* flat, in others round ; 'tis ufually of an Afh-Colour, fome- times dusky; and form'd of Scales, like the Oriental, but much thicker; 'tis fmOoth and even without-fide, but when broke, looks as if it had been fublimated, by reafon of the little mining Needles whereof it appears to be com- pofed. The Animals that produce it are the Guanaco's, Jacho's, Vicunna's, and Taragua's 5 the Bezoar of which laft is the moft eftecmed, this Animal being much like the Goat that produces the Oriental.

The German Bezoar, which fome call Cow's Eggs, i* found in the Stomach of fome Cows, but more frequently in that of the Chamois or Ifard. Thefe are fuppofed to be nothing el'fe bnt the Hair of thofe Animals, which being occasionally lick'd off by the Tongue, is fwallow'd down, and being impregnated with the Saliva, &c. is condens'd into Balls. Some of thefe Sezoars weigh 18 Ounces, but they are not much efteem'd, tho they are ufed in foma Medicines, and by the Painters in Miniature, to make their yellow Colours.

Befldes thefe three Kinds of Sezoar which the Shops afford, there are three other Kinds much rarer, viz. tha Stone of the Hog, that of Malacca or Porcupine, and that of the Ape. The firft call'd by the 'Dutch, 'Pedro de Por- co, and by the Portvguefe, who firft brought it into Eu- rope, 'Pedro de Vaparis, found in the Gall-Bladder of a Boar In the Eaji-hidies. In Figure and Size it refembles a Filbert, tho more irregular ; its Colour not fix'd, but moft commonly white with a Teint of blue ; it is fmooth and fliining. The Indians attribute infinite Virtues to this Be- zoar: They call it Mafiica de Soho, and prefer it to the Oriental Sezoar ; not fo much on account of its being fup- pofed the beft Prefervatiue in the World againft Poifons, as on account of its being Sovereign in the Cure of the Mardoxi, a Difeafe they are very liable to, and which is not lefs dangerous than the Plague in Europe, The other Properties they afcribe to it are, that 'tis admirable againft malignant Fevers, Small-Pox, and moft Difeafes of Wo* men not with Child; Experience fhewing, that it pro- motes Abortion in thofe who ufe it indifcreetly. To ufe it, they infule it in Water, or Wine, till it has communi- cated a little Bitternefs to it. To facilitate the Infufion, and at the fame time preferve fo precious a Stone, they ufually fet it in a gold Cafe pierced with Holes.

Sezoars of Porcupines and Monkies only differ from, thofe of the Hog, in that they are found in the Gall-Blad- ders of thofe Animals ; unlefs we fay with 'Tavemier, that thefe two, which he calls Malacca- St ones, are not taken from the Gall-Bladders, but the Head of the Monkey and Porcupine ; and that they arc held in fuch Elfteem by the Natives of Malacca, that they never part with 'em, unleis as Prefents to Ambaffadors, or the greateft Princes of tha Eaft. Some add, that they are likewife found in Si am. Indeed, the Form, Colour and Properties of thefe three Se- zoars are io near a-kin, that 'tis more than probable, that 'tis the fame Stone under three different Names.

Bezoar is applied by the Chymifts, to feveral of their Preparations, on account of the Sezoar dick Qualities they arc fuppos'd to have.

Animal Bezoar is the Heart and Lungs of the Viper pulverized together.

Mineral Bezoar is an Emetick Powder of Antimony corrected with Spirit of Nitre, and foftcned by repeated Lo- tions, which carry off the purgative Virtue of the Antimony, and fubftitute a Diaphoretick one. It promotes Sweat like the Stone of that Name.

BEZOARDICUM Jovhle, or Sezoar of Jupiter, a Rcgulus made by melting three Ounces of Rcgulus of An- timony and two of Block-Tin, which, powder'd and mix'd with fix Ounces of Corrofive Sublimate, and diftill'd off in a kind of Butter, and that diffolv'd in Spirit of Nitre, the Solution is diftill'd three times ; the Bezoar remaining at bottom, to be powder'd, wafh'd, and mingled with Spirit of Wine, till it grow infipid.

Bezoardicum Lunalc, or of the Moon, is made by mix- ing eight Ounces of rectified Butter of Antimony with one of fine Silver. This is diffolv'd in Spirit of Nitre, by gent- ly pouring it on, frefh and frefh, till the Ebuliition ceafe ; when, the Spirit is drawn off by a gentle Heat, and the Bezoar manag'd as the former.

BEzoARmcuM Mart/ale, a Diffolution of Crocus Martis by Reverberation in Butter of Antimony, with Spirit of Ni- tre pour'd on it ; the reft as in the firft.

BIB1TORY Mnfcle. See Adducens Oculi, which is the fame.

BIBLE, a.Book by way of Eminence fo call'd, containing

the Scriptures, i.e. the O'd and Ne-iv Tejlament. Sibles

are diftinguifh'd according to their Language, into Hebrew,

Greek, Latin, Chaldee, Syriack, Arabick, Coptick, &c an

a Ac-