Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/691

BOE manuscripts of the "Consolation." The notes, unfortunately, are meagre and unsatisfactory, and the text is occasionally disfigured by awkward misprints, yet it is by far the best edition.

The sources for the life of Boethius are his own "Consolation of Philosophy," the Letters of Ennodius and Cassiodorus, and the History of Procopius. A list of the editions of Boethius is given at the end of Valpy's edition.—J. D.  BOETHIUS,, a Swedish philosopher, professor at the university of Upsal at the commencement of the present century. He was of the Kantian school, and wrote several works on the history of philosophy.—J. D. E.  BOETHIUS,, a Swedish divine, successively professor of theology at Upsal and pastor of Mora in Dalecarlia, was born in 1647 and died in 1718. On the accession of Charles XII. in 1697, he was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, for having vented some unsavoury political opinions in his sermons. After a short release in 1702, for which he was indebted to the Russians, he was again imprisoned, but was finally set at liberty in 1710. He wrote "De Orthographia Linguæ Suecanæ Tractatus;" "Mercurius Bilinguis;" and some theological dissertations.  BOETHUS. The tradition of the Jews traces to Sadok, in conjunction with Boethus, the origin of the sect of the Sadducees. Of the life of Boethus nothing is known. It is probable that, as the Sadducees were the religious opponents of the Pharisees, so the followers of Boethus were the political adversaries of the dominant party. With the fall of the Jewish polity, political antagonism naturally lost its object, and thus it was, that the Boethusans merged into the sect of the Sadducees, and disappeared from history.—(Grätz, Geschichte der Juden.)—T. T.  BOETIE,, born at Sarlat in Perigord in 1530; died in 1563 at Germignan, near Bordeaux. He was educated at the college of Bordeaux under the care of tutors who directed the studies of Montaigne. At the age of twenty-two he was admitted a conseiller of the parliament of Bordeaux. Boëtie married a widow, a daughter of whom by her first marriage married Thomas, brother of Montaigne, the author of the essays. A son of hers married a sister of Montaigne's wife—hence the intimacy with Michael de Montaigne, owing to which, more than any other cause, Boëtie is now remembered. Boëtie published some Latin and French verses at a very early age, and a tract of his, entitled "Voluntary Slavery," written by him at the age of sixteen, was for many years circulated in manuscript. This tract is written in a generous spirit, and refers the servitude which men undergo to their own servility of mind. Like most political tracts written without party views, it was attacked severely by parties opposed to each other. The proposition that

is one not unlikely to give offence both to prince and people. The book was translated into English and into Italian. It was edited by Lamennais in 1835; and there is more than one version of it into modern French. Some poems of Boëtie are annexed to many of the editions of Montaigne's Essays. Boëtie died of fever. Disregarding the danger of infection, Montaigne attended his deathbed. After his friend's death he published several of his works.—J. A., D.  BOETTCHER, BOETTGER, or BOETTIGER,, a celebrated German alchemist, born at Schleiz in the district of Reuss, about the year 1681. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to a druggist in Berlin named Zorn. Here he devoted himself with great zeal to the study of chemistry, and having been excited to search after the secret of the transmutation of metals by a manuscript lent to him by another apothecary, he passed whole nights in his master's laboratory, making experiments with a view to this great discovery. Zorn finding that these experiments were made at his expense, whilst, at the same time, his apprentice neglected his proper duties, dismissed him to his own home, but received him again into his service with a promise of better conduct. This, however, was soon broken. Boettcher again returned to his alchemical experiments, and soon showed his companions some gold which he took out of a crucible. He was then in danger of arrest, but escaped into Saxony, where he was received by the elector at Dresden with distinction, and furnished with large sums of money to enable him to continue his experiments. The patience of the Elector Augustus lasted for about three years, when Boettcher, probably seeing that a discovery of his trickery was becoming inevitable, took his departure from Dresden in the night. He was, however, arrested, and carried back to Dresden, where he gave in a long report upon his secret to the elector, who was by no means satisfied with it. Count von Tschirnhausen now recommended the elector to make use of the great knowledge of chemistry possessed by Boettcher, with the object of developing the resources of the state; and about the end of the year 1705 he succeeded in making a porcelain nearly equal to that of China in beauty, from a reddish clay found in the neighbourhood of Meissen. The value of this discovery was fully appreciated; Boettcher was loaded with presents, but was not set at liberty; and on the occurrence of the Swedish invasion in 1706, his laboratory was transferred in the middle of the night into the fortress of Königstein. In 1710 this porcelain manufactory was removed from Dresden to the Albrechtsbourg at Meissen, and from that time this branch of industry has gradually increased in value. Boettcher himself was appointed the first director, a position for which his irregular mode of life rendered him by no means fitted. He even attempted to sell his secret to the people of Berlin; and there was every prospect of his falling into disgrace, when he died on the 3rd March, 1719.—W. S. D.  BŒTTGER or BŒTTICHER,, a German medical man, was born at Cassel on 12th June, 1737, and died in that town on 3rd September, 1781. He practised medicine, and was professor of botany at Cassel. His works are—"Account of the Botanic Garden of Cassel;" "The Trees and Shrubs in the Park at Weissenstein;" "Inaugural Disputation on Uterine Inflammation;" and "Description of the Mineral Waters of Hofgeissmar."—J. H. B.  BŒTTICHER,, a German physician, was born at Wolfenbüttel on 7th July, 1672, and died on 26th July, 1719. He was successively professor of anatomy, surgery, and botany at Giessen, and of pathology and semeiotics at Helmstadt. He published works on the voice, on the bones, on respiration of the fœtus, on diabetes, and on the plague.—J. H. B. <section end="691H" /> <section begin="691I" />* BŒTTIGER,, a German historian, born at Bautzen, 1790, studied at Weimar, Gotha, and Leipzig; in 1819 was inducted to a chair in the latter university; and in 1822 became one of the librarians of the university of Erlangen. He has published "Allgemeine Geschichte," 1849; "Deutsche Geschichte," 1838; "Geschichte des Deutschen Volks und des Deutschen Landes;" and "Weltgeschichte in Biographiin." <section end="691I" /> <section begin="691J" />BOETTO,, died at Turin in 1683. He painted allegorical subjects in fresco with knowledge, power, and elegance. He was also an engraver.—W. T. <section end="691J" /> <section begin="691K" />BOGAN,, a learned English puritan, celebrated as a linguist, was born at Little Hempston, Devonshire, in 1625. He graduated at Oxford, and, excepting the period of the king's residence in that city, passed his life at the university in devoted application to the study of languages and theology. He wrote, besides his additions to the Archæologiæ Atticæ of Francis Rous, "Meditations on the Mirth of a Christian's Life;" and "An Alphabetical View of Scripture Threats and Punishments." Died in 1659.—J. S., G. <section end="691K" /> <section begin="691L" />BOGATZKY,, author of the book known as "Bogatzky's Golden Treasury," a German religious poet of note, was born at Jankowa in Silesia, September 7, 1690, and died at Halle, June 15, 1774. He belonged to the school of Spener and Franke.—K. E. <section end="691L" /> <section begin="691M" />BOGDANE,, son of a Hungarian deputy, and a self-taught painter. Died in 1720. He rejoiced chiefly in fruit, flowers, game, and fowls, which he painted in a graceful, but thin and timid manner, without any bold impaste, or loving minute finish. He was a careful copier, and yet often erred in making his heads too large and in false perspective. He came to England and was employed by Queen Anne; some of his paintings, inferior in strength to Hondekoeter, lumber about the royal palaces. His foliage and foregrounds are false, and supernaturally dark in tone. He collected a reasonable fortune, but imprudently assigned it over to his son, who had been snared into a marriage with an adventuress. Bogdane died of vexation at the discovery of the cheat.—W. T. <section end="691M" /> <section begin="691Zcontin" />BOGDANOWICH,, one of the most esteemed lyric poets of Russia, born at Prewolochno, in Little Russia. His father, having powerful interest in the mathematical institute of Moscow, sent his son there, intending him to devote himself to the study of the exact sciences. The youth's own inclinations, however, pointed in a different direction; a <section end="691Zcontin" />