Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/595

Rh prejudice. He mapped out the whole subject, dividing and subdividing it in accordance with the principle of &quot;dichotomy.&quot; Having reached his ultimate subdivisions he subjects each to the most thorough and ingenious discussion. His earlier writings exhibit a lively and easy style, which gives place in his later treatises to sentences which are awkward from their effort after unattainable accuracy, and from the newly-invented technical nomen clature in which they are expressed, Many of Bentham s phrases, such as &quot; international,&quot; &quot; utilitarian,&quot; &quot; codifica tion, ;&amp;gt; are valuable additions to our language; but the majority of them, especially those of Greek derivation, have taken no root in it. His neology is one among many in stances of his contempt for the past and his wish to be clear of all association with it. His was, indeed, a typically logical, as opposed to an historical, mind. For the history of institutions, which in the hands of Sir Henry Maine is becoming a new and interesting branch of science, Bentham cared nothing Had he possessed such a knowledge of Roman law as is now not uncommon in England, he must doubtless have taken a different view of many subjects. The logical and historical methods can, however, seldom be combined without confusion ; and it is perhaps fortunate that Bentham devoted his long life to showing how much may be done by pursuing the former method exclusively. His writings have been and remain a store house of instruction for statesmen, an armory for legal reformers. &quot; Pille par tout le monde,&quot; as Talleyrand said of him, &quot;il est toujours riche.&quot; To trace the results of his teaching in England alone would be to write a history of the legislation of half a century. Upon the whole administrative machinery of government, upon criminal law, and upon procedure, both criminal and civil, his influence has been most salutary; and the great legal revolution which has just accomplished the fusion of law and equity is not obscurely traceable to the same source. Those of Bentham s suggestions which have hitherto been carried out have affected the matter, or contents, of the law There seems at length some reason to hope that his suggestions for the improvement of its form and expression are about to receive the attention which they deserve. The ser rices rendered by Bentham to the world would not, however, be exhausted even by the practical adoption of every one of his recommendations. There are no limits to the good results of his introduction of a true method of reasoning into the moral and political sciences. The best edition of Bentham s works is that edited by Dr Bosvring, in 11 vols. 8vo, the publication of which was completed in 1843. It contains a selection from his cor respondence, and some biographical statements.  BENTINCK,, better known as Lord George Bentinck, the second son of the fourth duke of Portland, by Henrietta, sister to the Viscountess Canning, was born February 27, 1802. He was educated at Eton, and at Christ Church, Oxford ; after which he entered the army, and served for several years in the Guards. On retiring from the army, he acted for some time as private secretary to his uncle Mr Canning, then prime minister ; in which capacity he gave proofs of high ability for the conduct of public business. In 1828 he succeeded his uncle Lord William Bentinck as member for Lynn-Regis, and continued to represent that constituency during the remaining twenty years of his life. Till within three years of his death Lord George Bentinck was little known out of the sport ing world. His early attempts at public speaking afforded no indication of the abilities which the subsequent course of political events served to develop so conspicuously. His failures in the House of Commons seem to have dis couraged him from the attempt to acquire reputation as a politician. The natural energy of his character, however, found scope in another arena. As one of the leaders on &quot; the turf,&quot; he was there distinguished by that integrity, judgment, and indomitable determination, which, when brought to bear upon matters of weightier importance, placed him, with a rapidity almost unexampled, in the foremost rank of British senators. On his first entrance into parliament he belonged to what may be called the moderate Whig party, and voted in favour of Catholic emancipation, as also for the Reform Bill, though he opposed some of its principal details. Soon after, how ever, he joined the ranks of the Opposition, with whom he sided up to the important era of 1846. When, in that year, Sir Robert Peel openly declared in favour of free trade, the advocates of the corn-laws, then without a leader, after several ineffectual attempts at organization, discovered that Lord George Bentinck was the only man around whom the several sections of the Opposition could- be brought to rally. His sudden elevation to so pro minent a position took the public mind by surprise ; but he soon gave convincing evidence of powers so formidable, that the position of the ProtectioKist party at once assumed an imposing aspect. Towards Sir Robert Peel, in particular, his hostility was marked and uncompromising. Believing, as he himself expressed it, that that statesman and his political colleagues had &quot; hounded to the death his illustri ous relative&quot; Mr Canning, he combined with his opposi tion as a political leader a degree of personal animosity that gave additional force to the poignancy of his invectives. On entering on his new position, he at once abandoned his favourite pursuits, disposed of his magnificent stud, forsook all connection with the turf, and devoted his whole time and energies to the laborious and trying duties of a parlia mentary leader. Apart from the question of the corn- laws, his politics were strictly independent. In opposition to the rest of his party, he supported the bill for removing the Jewish disabilities, and was favourable to the scheme- for the payment of the Roman Catholic clergy in Ireland by the landowners. As he had held no high office under Government, his qualifications as a statesman never found scope beyond the negative achievements of a leader of Opposition; but it may be safely affirmed that nothing but his untimely death could have debarred him from acquiring a distinguished position among the statesmen of Britain. This event, caused by the rupture of a vessel in the heart, took place suddenly on the 21st September 1848, while his lordship was proceeding on foot to. visit a friend in the country. (See Lord George Bentinck; a Poli tical Biography, by B. Disraeli, 1851.)  BENTIVOGLIO,, was born at Bologna about 1438, seven years before the murder of his father Anni- bale, then the chief magistrate of the republic. In 1462 Giovanni contrived to make himself master of the state, which he continued to rule with a stern sway for nearly half a century ; but his encouragement of the fine arts, and his decoration of the city by sumptuous edifices, gilded his usurpation. He was finally expelled by Pope Julian II. , in 1506, and died in the state of Milan at the age of seventy.  BENTIVOGLIO,, Cardinal, an eminent states man and historian, was born at Ferrara in 1579. After studying at Padua, he went to reside at Rome, and was received with great favour by Pope Clement VIII., who made him a prelate. He was sent as nuncio into Flanders, and afterwards to France ; and when he returned to Rome he was intrusted by Louis XIII. with the management of the French affairs at that court. In 1621 he was made a cardinal, and in 1641 received the bishopric of Terracina. He was the intimate friend of Pope Urban VIII., and on the death of Urban public opinion marked out Bentivoglio 