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BOKIIHAAVE. 



Phocis ; but the boundaries were not alwnys the 

 same. In tlie north, it is mountainous and cold, ;md 

 the air is pure and healthy, but the soil is less fertile 

 than that of the other portion, which, however, is 

 iiitVstcd by nnheaithy vapours. The mouiiUiinous 

 part in the north was called, in earlier times, Aonia, 

 Among its mountains ore several remarkable in his- 

 tory and mythology: Helicon (now Sagara), the 

 mountain of the Sphinx, the Taiimessus, Libethrns, 

 mid I'ctrachus. The chief occupation of the inhabi- 

 tants was agriculture and the raising of cattle. It 

 was first occupied by IVlasgiim tribes. In the time 

 of Bcrotus (son of Itonus and grandson of Amphictyon, 

 from whom it is said to have derived its name), these 

 were subject to the Hellenists. It was divided into 

 small states, until Cadmus the Phoenician founded the 

 government of Thebes. In later times, all Greece 

 worshipped the Hercules of Thebes. Afterthedeath 

 of the MielKin king Xanthus, most of the cities of B. 

 formed a kind of republic, of which Thebes was the 

 chief city. Epaminondas and Pelopidas raised Thebes, 

 for a time, to the rank of the most powerful states of 

 Greece. In B. are several celebrated ancient battle- 

 fields, the former glory of which has l>een increased 

 by late events, viz., PlaUea (now the village Kokla), 

 where I'ausinias and Aristides established the liberty 

 of Greece by their victory over the 300,000 Persians 

 under Mardonius ; Leuctra (now the village Para- 

 pogia), where Epaminondas checked the ambitious 

 Spartans ; Coronea, where the Spartan Agesilaus 

 defeated the Thebans ; and Chasronea (now Capramt), 

 where Philip founded the Macedonian greatness on 

 the ruins of Grecian liberty. Near Tanagra, the 

 birthplace of Corinna, (q. v.) the best wine was pro- 

 duced ; here, also, cocks were bred, of remarkable 

 size, beauty, and courage, with which the Grecian 

 cities, passionately fond of cock-fighting, were sup- 

 plied. Refinement and cultivation of mind never 

 made such progress in B. as in Attica. The Boeo- 

 tians were vigorous, but slow and heavy. Several 

 Thebans, however, were worthy disciples of Socrates, 

 and Epaminondas distinguished himself as much in 

 philosophy as by his military talents. The people 

 were particularly fond of music, and excelled in it. 

 They had also some great poets and artists. Hesiod, 

 Pindar, the poetess Corinna, and Plutarch, were 

 Boeotians. 



BOERHAAVE, Hermann, one of the most celebrated 

 physicians of the eighteenth century, was born, Dec. 

 13, 1668, at Woorhout, near Leyden, and received 

 from his father a liberal education. Before he was 

 eleven years old, he was well acquainted with Latin 

 and Greek. An obstinate ulcer on his left thigh, 

 which, for seven years, resisted all medical remedies, 

 was the means of directing his thoughts and inclina- 

 tions to the study of medicine. In 1682, he was sent 

 to Leyden to study theology. Here he gave, at the 

 age of twenty, the first public proof of his learning 

 and eloquence. He pronounced an academic oration 

 before Gronovius, with whom he studied Greek, Qua 

 probatur, bene intellectam a Cicerone, et confutation 

 esse Sententiam Epicuri de summo Bono (Leyden, 

 1690, 4to.) In this, B. attacked the doctrine of Spi- 

 noza with so much talent, that the city rewarded him 

 with a gold medal. In 1 G89, he received the degree 

 of doctor of philosophy, and maintained an inaugural 

 dissertation, De Distinctione Mentis a Corpore (Leyden, 

 1690). He now commenced, at the age of twenty- 

 two, the study of medicine. Drelincourt was his first 

 and only teacher. From him he received only a little 

 instruction ; and it is worthy of notice, that B. learned 

 by his own solitary study a science on which he was 

 afterwards to exert so important an influence. He 

 first studied anatomy, but rather in the works then in 

 vogue,of Vssale, Bartholin, &c.,than in the dissecting 



room. He was present, indeed, nt most of the dis- 

 scciions of Nuck, but still the want of a practical 

 stud) of anatomy is evident in all his writings. The 

 influence which he had in improving anatomy, not- 

 withstanding the defect we have noticed, must he 

 traced to the close connexion of this mechanical 

 MK nee with physiology and medicine. As in these 

 last, he made use of mechanical illustrations, his 

 example induced the anatomists to apply themselves 

 to an accurate study of the forms of the organs, as 

 may be noticed in all the anatomists of that time 

 Santorini, Morgagni, Valsalva, Winslow, Albinus, 

 &c. After this preliminary study, which, in fact, is 

 the groundwork of medical science, B. read all the 

 works, ancient and modern, on medicine, in the order 

 of time, proceeding from his contemporaries to Hip- 

 pocrates, with whose superior excellence and corn ct 

 method he was forcibly struck in this course of read- 

 ing. He also studied botany and chemistry, and, 

 although still preparing himself for the clerical pro- 

 fession, was made, in 1693, doctor of medicine at 

 Harderwick. His dissertation was De Utilitate ex- 

 plorandorum Excremcniorum in^Egris, ut Signorvm. 

 After his return to Leyden, some doubts being raised 

 as to his orthodoxy, he finally determined to follow 

 the profession of medicine. In 1701, the university 

 of Leyden chose him, on the death of Drelincourt, 

 to deliver lectures on the theory of medicine ; on 

 which occasion, he pronounced his dissertation De 

 commendando Studio Hippocratico. In this, with an 

 enthusiasm excited by the study of Hippocrates, he 

 demonstrates the correctness of the method pursued 

 by that great man, and establishes its exclusive su- 

 periority : it had been well if he himself had never 

 deviated from it. B. now began to develope those 

 great and peculiar excellences, which make him a 

 pattern to all who undertake the office of instruction. 

 Pupils crowded from all quarters to hear him. In 

 1703, he delivered another dissertation, De I'su Ra- 

 tiocinii mechanics in Medicina, Leyden, 1703. In 

 this, he began to deviate from the Hippocratic me- 

 thod, and to introduce the first principles of a defec- 

 tive system, to which his eminent talents gave after- 

 wards exclusive currency. In 1709, the university 

 of Leyden was at length enabled to reward hhn for 

 his services, by appointing him professor of medicine 

 and botany in Hotton's place. It is remarkable, that, 

 on this occasion, he delivered a dissertation, Qua 

 repurgatcE Mcdicinee facilis asseritur Simplicitas, 

 which deserves to be placed by the side of those in 

 which he recommends the study of Hippocrates. In 

 this dissertation, he is for carrying back the science 

 to its original simplicity to observation and experi- 

 encequite contrary to the spirit which guided his 

 own system. The course of instruction, to which B. 

 was now devoted, induced him to publish two works, 

 on which his fame still rests, viz. Jnstitiitiones Medi- 

 cos in Usus annua Exercitationis domcsticos ; and 

 Aphorismide cognoscendis et citrandis Morbis in Us ion 

 Doctrinal Medicines. In the former, which is a mo- 

 del of comprehensive erudition and clear method, he 

 unfolds his system in its fullest extent : in the latter, 

 he undertakes the classification of diseases, and dis- 

 courses separately on their causes, nature, and treat- 

 ment. The professorship of botany, which he also 

 filled, contributed no less to his reputation. He ren- 

 dered essential services to botany by his two cata- 

 logues of plants in the garden of Ley den, the number 

 of which he had very much increased. We are in- 

 debted to him, for the description and delineation of 

 several new plants, and the introduction of some new 

 species. In 1714, he was made rector of the univer- 

 sity, and, at the close of his term of office, delivered 

 an oration, De comparand*) certo in P/iysicis, one of 

 his best pieces. At the end of this year, he took 



