B E N 



209 



B E N 



had laboured assiduously for many years . Prose di M. Pie- 

 fro Bembo, nelle quadi si ragiona delta Volgar Lingua, di- 

 vise in tre libri, Venezia, 1 525. This \vork was dedicated to 

 Cardinal de' Medici, afterwards Pope Clement VII. It is 

 one of the earliest works on the rules of the Italian lan- 

 guage: it has gone through many editions, and is still much 

 esteemed. Bcmbo's Italian poems were published some 

 years after. Rime di M. Pietrn Bembo, Venezia, 1530. In 

 1530, the Council of Ten commissioned Bembo to write the 

 history of the Venetian republic, beginning from the year 

 1487, where Sabellico had left it. Bembo wrote it in Latin, 

 and carried it to the year 1513, Historice Veneiee libri xii. 

 He afterwards wrote an Italian translation of his work : 

 Hutoria Viniziana. volgarmente scritta, which was pub- 

 lished after his death at Venice, in 1552, with a life of the 

 author. This translation was long after republished, in 

 1 790, by Morelli, the librarian of St. Mark, in two vols. 4to. 

 with many corrections from Bembo s autograph, and with 

 a fine likeness of the author, engraved by Bartolozzi from a 

 painting by Titian. 



Bembo had been for many years settled at Padua in stu- 

 dious retirement, after renouncing the licentiousness of his 

 early years, as well as all prospects of ambition, when in 

 1539, Pope Paul III. unexpectedly sent him a cardinal's 

 hat. Bembo, more perplexed than pleased at his promotion, 

 took time to consider whether he should accept of it ; he 

 had as yet taken only the minor orders, which are not bind- 

 ing for life. He however accepted it, and at Christmas, 1539, 

 he was ordained presbyter, when he received the insignia of 

 the cardinalship, and proceeded to Rome, where he chiefly 

 resided for the remainder of his life. He died at Rome in 

 1.) I", in his 76th year, and was buried in the church of Santa 

 Maria super Minervam. His friend Girolamo Quirini raised 

 a splendid monument to his memory in the church of St. 

 Anthony of Padua. Of Bembo's three illegitimate chil- 

 dren, whom he had during his residence at Rome in the 

 pontificate of LeoX., one died young; another, called Tom- 

 maso, became a churchman ; his daughter Elena married 

 Pier Gradenigo, a Venetian nobleman. Bembo was inti- 

 mate with Delia Casa, Castiglione, Sadoleto, and most of 

 the Italian literati of his age. His epistolary correspondence, 

 b.ith Latin and Italian, was published in parts, and at 

 dilferent times. Epistolarum Familiarum libri II. ft 

 F.pixt'ilarum Lennis X. Pont. Max. nomine tcriptarum, 

 hint XVI., 8vo. Venetiis, 1552 ; Bembi et Sadoleti Epiito- 

 lurum liber units, Florentiro, 1524; Lettere di Pietro Bembo, 

 4 vols. 8vo. Venezia, 1552. Bembo's Italian verses were 

 published in 1530, Rime di M. Pietro Bembo, and after- 

 wards frequently reprinted. 



BEN (]2, constructed* ]2, or^. "0 is t e fit syllable 



. 



in many Hebrew names, which may be compared with our 

 forms of names like Morrison, Johnson, Robertson, &c. : 

 for instance, TITTIS, Benhadad, is the ion or the icor- 



shipper of Hadad, or Adod, the chief idol of the Syrians. 

 ~]2, Benoni, is son of my pain: pO^Ul. Benjamin, is 



son of the right (hand), i. e. son of happiness. These ex- 

 amples show that not only literal sonship but also metaphy- 

 sical relation is expressed by Ben. 



BEN, BEIN, or BHEIN, is a word which exists in the 

 Scottish dialect of the Gaelic language, and has been 

 adopted in our language to indicate the most elevated sum- 

 mits of the mountain-ranges which traverse that part of our 

 island to the north of the Firths of Clyde and of Forth. 

 The corresponding term in some parts of Europe is Pen, 

 which occurs in the names of several places in Cornwall and 

 Wales, in the Penine Alps, in the word Apennines, and 

 probably in the Cevennes of France. The number of moun- 

 tains to the proper names of which this word is prefixed is 

 very considerable. We shall only notice here the most im- 

 portant and best known. 



Ben Nevis, in Inverness-shire, 55 50' N. lat., and 5 W. 

 loncf., rises abruptly from a narrow and low plain by which 

 it is separated from Loch Eil, the northern portion of Loch 

 Linnhe, and attains an elevation of 4368 feet above the level 

 of the sea, and is perhaps the highest mountain of Great 

 Britain, though its summit rises to little more than one-third 

 of the height of Mont Blanc. The lower portion consists ol 

 granite and schistose rocks, and the upper is a mass ol 



The construct state or regimen of a Slirmiti'- nomi is tlmt short rning by 

 w.iich is expressed thnt it governs :i following C'-iiitivf, as ill tlie cxani[- 



porphyry. This extensive mass of rocks is on the north 

 bounded by the deep valley of the Spean and on the south 

 by that of Glen Nevis. On the east it is connected by a 

 much lower range of hills with the Grampians. The lower 

 parts of the mountain, especially towards the south and 

 south-west, are usually covered with rich grass, which is 

 generally saved for winter consumption. The green pas- 

 ture extends upwards, gradually growing thinner to the 

 middle of the mountain, where it is succeeded by some 

 mosses intermixed with stones fur a short way, after which 

 nothing appears above but an immense heap of loose stones. 

 The summit is an extensive flat plain, strewed with loose 

 rocks. In a few hollows near the summit patches of snow 

 usually lie all the year round, and in one of these hollows 

 facing the north, a little below the highest point, snow 

 always remains during the whole year. 



Ben Mac Dhu, the highest summit of the Cairn-Gorum 

 Mountains, is second only to Ben Nevis. The Trigono- 

 metrical Survey, whose results however have not yet been 

 published, has determined it to be 4305 feet above the level 

 of the sea. This mountain summit may be considered as 

 the centre of the Cairn-Gorum range, situated where the 

 counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Inverness meet, and ex- 

 tending on both sides of the meridian 3 W., and between 

 57 5' and 57 10' N. lat. It overhangs the southern ex- 

 tremity of Loch Avon, which is so deeply embedded in 

 this range, that during several of the winter months the 

 sun never shines on the surface of the lake. 



Ben Lawers, in Perthshire, extends between 56 30' and 

 56 35' N. lat. near the meridian of 4" 15', and occupies 

 with its declivities a considerable part of the northern banks 

 of Loch Tay. It is, according to the Ordnance Survey, 

 3948 feet in height, and rises more than 1000 feet above 

 all the hills that immediately surround it. This mountain 

 is of very easy ascent. 



Ben Cruachan, in Argyleshire, is formed by an extensive 

 mountain mass, whose circumference is supposed to be up- 

 wards of twenty miles, and extends along the northern 

 extremity of Loch Awe and the northern banks of the water 

 of Awe, between 56 25' and 56 30' N. lat., and westwards 

 of the fifth meridian of Greenwich. It is composed of grey 

 granite, and its descent towards the north-east and the 

 shores of Loch Etive is steep and bare, mixed with pastures 

 of a subdued brown colour. Towards Loch Awe and the 

 river Awe its declivities are comparatively gentle, and at 

 its foot a narrow tract of low land extends along the lake 

 and river. The Ordnance Survey states its height at 3669 

 feet ; its highest parts form two steep cones of which the 

 most northern is the higher. 



Ben Vorlich, in Perthshire, extends between 56 20' and 

 56 25' N. lat. west of the meridian 4" along the southern 

 side of Loch Earn, and terminates at the junction of the 

 Earn and the Ruchil, forming one continuous and lofty wall. 

 With the exception of Ben Venu, the leading feature of 

 Loch Cateran (Katherine), says M'Culloch, no mountain in 

 Scotland presents a declivity so wild and various, such a 

 continual succession of bold precipices and deep hollows, of 

 ravines and torrents, and of woods dispersed in every mode 

 of picturesque distribution. 



Ben Ledi, in Perthshire, extends on the western side of 

 Loch Lubnaig, where it rises with a steep and rocky de- 

 clivity immediately from the lake to a height of nearly 3000 

 feet above the level of the sea. 



Ben Venu extends along the southern shores of Loch 

 Katherine in Perthshire, and presents the most striking 

 features in the picturesque scenery by which that lake is 

 distinguished. The Trossachs, celebrated for their beauty, 

 extend on its lower slopes and at its foot. [See TROSSACHS.} 



Ben Lomond, in Stirlingshire, at no great distance to the 

 south-west of Ben Venu, is the best known of the moun- 

 tains of Scotland on account of its forming the southern 

 extremity of the Highlands, and its situation near the 

 banks of Loch Lomond, whose eastern shores are formed 

 by the gentle slope of the mountain. It is of easy ascent 

 and distinguished among the mountains of North Britain 

 by being covered with vegetation up to the very summit. 

 This mountain rises to 3197 feet above the level of the sea, 

 and affords from its western slopes a fine view over Loch 

 Lomond and its islands. 



Ben Wevis or Wyvis, though probably not the highest 

 summit to the north of Glenmore, is the best known, be- 

 cause it forms the western boundary of the plains of Ding- 

 wall and Cromaitv. It rises between 57 40' and 57 45' N 



C. 231. 



[THE PENNY CYCLOPAEDIA.] 



Vol. IV 2 E 



