Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/812

 792 BOIL BOILEAU-DESPREAUX Haute-Saone, but who passed over into Cis- alpine Gaul, by the Great St. Bernard or the pass of the Pennine Alps, probably with the current of Celtic immigration which began to set thither as early as the 5th century B. C. (See CELTS.) They crossed the Po, and estab- lished themselves south of that river, in the re- gion forming the modern provinces of Modena, Bologna, and Ferrara. In the half-tradition- ary accounts of the period subsequent to this settlement, they are represented as aiding the Insubres and Senones in the sack of Melpum (probably about 396 B. C.). Their first con- flict with the Romans appears to have been in 283, when they acted as allies of the Etrus- cans at their defeat near Lake Vaclimonis. In 282 they were again defeated, and now kept a truce with Rome for 45 years. At the end of that time they again took up arms to resist Roman encroachments, played a prominent part in the Gallic war of 225, in which they suffered severe defeat, in the second Punic war (218), in which they were efficient allies of Hannibal, and in the revolt of the Gauls under Hamilcar (200). They did not cease hostili- ties, waged with or without the assistance of other tribes, until 191, when they were finally entirely subdued by Scipio Nasica, who punished them with the utmost severity, slaughtering nearly half their number. As a further means of putting an end to their power, the Romans established colonies in their territory, and finally compelled the remaining Boii to re- cross the Alps, and take refuge with the Celtic tribes of Pannonia. Near the W. border of this country they again established themselves, in the regions which took from them the names of Boioaria or Bavaria and Boiohemum or Bohemia. They remained here for more than a century, but their power had been broken, and they were at last entirely exterminated by the Dacian tribes. Little is known of their customs and political condition, but from the al- lusions of Livy they appear to have had towns and fortifications of some consequence, and to have known something of the mechanic arts. BOIL, an inflamed tumor, which begins as a pimple in the skin, and continues to in- crease until it becomes as large as a walnut, or even larger. It is of a conical shape, some- what red or dusky, and hard, with burning heat and pain. Between the fourth and eighth day it becomes very prominent, and begins to " point ; " a speck of matter may be seen on the summit, which gradually softens ; the skin at lasts bursts at that point, and matter mixed with blood is discharged through a small open- ing. A day or two after this, the core, which is supposed to be a portion of dead connective tissue, finds its way out, or may be forced out by gentle pressure, leaving an open cavity which soon fills up, and heals about the 12th or 14th day. Boils may appear on any part of the body, but they commonly form on the face or on the neck, in the armpits or inside of the thighs, on the hips or in the groin ; and there are generally several, either at the same time or following one another. They seem to be caus- ed by fatigue in some form, anxiety of mind, fatigue of the digestive organs, and general fa- tigue of body or of mind, or both. By lancing the pimple on its first appearance, the forma- tion of the boil is often prevented. If allowed to mature and go on to suppuration, the pain may be relieved and the process hastened by the application of warm poultices. The period of suppuration may be distinguished by the pain, which becomes more severe and throbbing in character, by an cedematous condition of the skin over its most prominent portion, and by a sense of deep-seated fluctuation communicated to the fingers, when the tumor is compressed alternately from side to side. As soon as the formation of pus is indicated by the above signs, the most effectual treatment, both for the relief of pain and for the rapidity of cure, is to make a free incision into the substance of the boil, deep enough to reach its central cavity and allow the evacuations of the pus. "When the boil is allowed to burst of itself, the open- ing is usually small, and the core remains some time before it is discharged, unless it be drawn out. The cavity soon heals after the core is discharged, and nothing is usually required but simple dressing. iwil.i: U -l>i;si>KK U X, Nltolas, a French didac- tic and satirical poet and critic, born in or near Paris, Nov. 1, 1636, died there, March 13, 1711. His mother, Anne de Nielle, who died in his infancy, was the second wife of Grilles Boileau, an esteemed greffier of the Paris parliament, who claimed descent from Etienne Boileau or Boilesve, a provost of the 13th century. Young Boileau, whose surname of Desprdanx is ascrib- ed by some authorities to a small patch of land which he owned, studied law and the- ology, was admitted as an advocate, and re- ceived the tonsure; but, despite the remon- strances of his relatives and the limited means bequeathed to him by his father, who died in 1651, he devoted himself to literary pursuits, and especially to satirical poems, in which he took Horace as his model. Some of them were circulated in MS. in 1660, and gained for him access to the h&tel de Rambouillet, where the prevailing pedantry confirmed his purpose of refining literary taste. His Di&couw an roi and other satires, first published in 1666, estab- lished his reputation, and he became the high- est literary authority, whose decisions made all pretentious mediocrities wince, while Cor- neille found in him a judicious admirer, and Molicire, Lafontaine, and Racine a discrimi- nating mentor. His numerous enemies pre- vented his presentation at court till 1669 ; but thenceforward he was the principal literary favorite of Louis XIV., whom with Racine he accompanied in his campaigns nominally as his- toriographer, receiving a large salary without performing any duty beyond the composition of complimentary verses. With his increasing prestige, his writings became more serene and