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BACON BADAJOZ. 



ledge. He was bom in 12N, near llehester, in the 

 county of Somerset, of an old und respeetaMe family. 

 Following tin- impulse of an inquisitive spirit, he 

 MM rcaiue all the obstacles opposed to his progress 

 by ignorance and superstition. He first entered the 

 mmersity of Oxford, and went afterwards to that of 

 Paris, then much frequented, where he distinguished 

 himself much by successful study, and received the 

 degree of doctor of theology. In 1240, he returned 

 to Kngland, where he entered the order of Fnineis- 

 cnr.s, and fixed his abode at Oxford. Natural phi- 

 losophy seems then to have been the chief object of 

 his labours ; but this study required expenditure be- 

 yond his means. He met, however, with generous 

 friends of science, whose contributions enabled him 

 to purchase books, to prepare instruments, and to 

 make the necessary experiments. In examining the 

 secrets of nature, he made discoveries, and deduced 

 results, which gained him the admiration of the en- 

 lightened, who comprehended their natural con- 

 nexion ; but whicli appeared so extraordinary to the 

 ignorant, that they were believed to be works of 

 magic. This opinion was countenanced by the jea- 

 lousy and hatred of the monks of his fraternity. He 

 himself loudly blamed the ignorance and corruption 

 of the clergy, and in particular of the monks, and 

 even wrote a letter to the pope, representing the 

 necessity of reform. In revenge, they denounced to 

 the court of Rome his dangerous opinions and aston- 

 ishing operations, whicli they attributed to the agency 

 of the devil. The pope forbade him to teach at the 

 university. He was soon afterwards thrown into pri- 

 son, prevented from holding communication with any 

 person, and even deprived of necessary food. Among 

 the few enlightened individuals, who admired his 

 genius and pitied his misfortunes, was the cardinal 

 bishop of Sabina, papal legate in England, who no 

 sooner ascended the papal chair, under the name of 

 Clement If., than he liberated him, and took him 

 under his protection. Clement demanded a collec- 

 tion of all his works; upon which B. wrote that 

 work, which was afterwards printed, under the title 

 of Opus Majus, and sent it to him by his favourite 

 disciple, John of Paris, in 1267. Under Clement's 

 successor, Nicholas III., the general of the Fran- 

 ciscans, Hieronymus ab Esculo, declared himself 

 against B., forbade the reading of his writings, 

 and issued an order for his imprisonment, which 

 was confirmed by the pope. This new confinement 

 lasted ten years ; and when Hieronymus ab Esculo 

 was elected pope, under the name of Nicholas IP., B. 

 vainly endeavoured to convince him of the innocence 

 and utility of his labours, by sending him a treatise 

 On the Means of avoiding the Infirmities of Old 

 Age. After the death of Nicholas IV., he regained 

 his liberty by the intercession of some distinguished 

 Englishmen, and returned to Oxford, where he wrote 

 a Compendium of Theology, and died soon after- 

 wards, according to some, in 1292, or, as others 

 think, in 1294. 



Though an extraordinary man, B. could not en- 

 tirely free himself from the prejudices of his time. 

 He believed in the philosopher's stone, and in astro- 

 logy. There are to be found in his writings new 

 and ingenious views on optics, e. g., on the refraction 

 of light, on the apparent magnitude of objects, on 

 the magnified appearance of the sun and moon when 

 in the horizon, &c. He describes very exactly the 

 nature and effects of convex and concave lenses, and 

 speaks of their application to the purposes of reading, 

 and of viewing distant objects, both terrestrial and 

 Celestial ; and it is easy to prove from his writings, 

 that he was either the inventor or improver of the 

 telescope. He also gives descriptions of the camera 

 aircura, and of the burning-glass. He made, too, 



M-\ er.d chemical discoveries. In one place he spe;<ks 

 of an inextinguishable fire, which was probably a 

 kind of phosphorus: in another, he says that an 

 artificial fire could be prepared with saltpetre and 

 oilier ingredients, whieli would bum at the greatest 

 distance, and by means of which thunder and light- 

 ning could be imitated : a portion of this mixture, of 

 the size of an inch, properly pit-pared, would destroy 

 a whole army, and even a city, with a tremendous 

 explosion, accompanied by a brilliant light: and, in 

 another place, he says decidedly, that thunder and 

 lightning could be imitated by means of saltpetre, 

 sulphur, and charcoal. Hence he had already an 

 idea of gunpowder. He was so well versed in dretk 

 and Heorew, and wrote Latin with such elegance 

 and clearness, that his acquirements in these n-^peeis 

 would alone secure him a high character. He was 

 intimately acquainted with geography and astronomy, 

 as appears by his discovery of the errors of the 

 calendar, and their causes, and.by his proposals for 

 correcting them, in which he approached very near 

 to truth. He himself made a corrected calendar, of 

 which there is a copy in the Bodleian library. Even 

 in moral philosophy, B. has laid down some excellent 

 precepts for the conduct of life, and is, in every re- 

 spect, entitled to remembrance as a great philosopher 

 and a wonderful man. 



BACTRIANA, or BACTRIA ; one of the principal pro- 

 vinces of ancient Persia, and, before Cyrus, a power- 

 ful kingdom, the inhabitants of which were noted for 

 bravery. On the north and east, it was bounded by 

 one of the largest rivers of Asia, the Oxus, now 

 Gihon ; on the south, it stretched along the Paropa- 

 misus ; on the west, it reached Margiana, On ac- 

 count of its situation and fertility, it had made great 

 progress in civilization at a very early period. The 

 Persians derived their mythology, religion, and 

 architecture from Bactria. Bessus here declared 

 himself sovereign of Asia, after the destruction of the 

 Persian monarchy. It is to be regretted, that our know- 

 ledge of this country is but slight. Even the com- 

 panions of Alexander give no particular account of it. 



BADAJOZ, or BADAJOX (with the Romans, Pa.v 

 Augusta) ; the fortified capital of the Spanish pro- 

 vince Estremadura, on the left bank of the Guadiana, 

 which is crossed by a stone bridge of twenty-two 

 arches. B. lies not far from the Portuguese froiK 

 tiers, and has 14,000 inhabitants. Lon. 6 47' W.; 

 lat. 38 4^ N. ; eighty-two miles N. N. W. of Seville. 

 B. contains a cannon foundery, and is a bishop's see. 

 It was besieged, in the wars with Napoleon, three 

 times by the British. After the expulsion of 

 Massena from Portugal, and his retreat through 

 Estremadura, it was the chief object of the British 

 general to take B., which the French had possessed 

 from March 10, 1811, as well as Ciudad-Rodrigo 

 and Almeida. After the capture of Olivenza (April 

 16, 1811), Wellington caused B. to be invested ; but, 

 as Soult approached to its succour, he was obliged to 

 raise the siege, May 14. After the battles of 

 Fuentes d'Onor and Albufera, B. was besieged a 

 second time, May 25 ; but, after several unsuccessful 

 attacks, Wellington raised the. siege, June 16, 1811. 

 After the capture of Ciudad-Rodrigo (Jan. 19, 1812), 

 Wellington commenced the third siege, March 17, 

 with 16,000 men, and, on the, 6th of April, took the 

 city by storm, after a sanguinary conflict. The gar- 

 rison, together with the commander, general Phuip- 

 pon, were made prisoners. The besiegers lost seventy- 

 two officers, and 963 men killed ; 366 officers, and 

 3483 men wounded. In the peace of B., concluded 

 between Spain and Portugal, 6th June, 1801, Port)- 

 gal promised to shut its harbours against the British. 

 Spain retained Olivenza, and its territory along the 

 Guadiana. See Portugal. 



