BUFFONE BULGARIA. 



751 



It excited a general taste for natural history, and 

 gained for this science the favour and protection of 

 nobles and princes. Louis XV. raised the author to the 

 dignity of a count, and d'Argivilliers, in the reign of 

 Louis XVI., caused his statue to be erected, during 

 his life, at the entry of the royal cabinet of natural 

 curiosities, with the inscription Majestati nature par 

 ingenium. The opinions entertained of B. as a na- 

 tural philosopher and an observer, have been more 

 divided. Voltaire, d'Alembert, Condorcet, have se- 

 verely criticised his hypotheses and his vague manner 

 of philosophizing from .general views. But although 

 the views of B. on the theory of the earth can no 

 longer be defended in detail, he will always have the 

 merit of having made it generally felt, that the pre- 

 sent state of the earth is the result of a series of 

 changes, which it is possible to trace, and of having 

 pointed out the phenomena which indicate the course 

 of these changes. His theory of generation has been 

 refuted by Haller and Spallanzani, and his hypothesis 

 of a certain inexplicable mechanism to account for 

 animal instinct, is not supported by facts ; but his 

 eloquent description of the physical and moral deve- 

 lopment of man, as well as his ideas on the influence 

 which the delicacy and development of each organ 

 exert on the character of different species of animals, 

 are still of the highest interest. His views of the 

 degeneracy of animals, and of the limits prescribed to 

 each species by climates, mountains, and seas, are 

 real discoveries, which receive daily confirmation, and 

 furnish to travellers a basis for their observations, 

 which was entirely wanting before. The most per- 

 fect part of his work is the History of Quadrupeds ; 

 the weakest, the History of Minerals, in which his 

 imperfect acquaintance with chemistry, and his incli- 

 nation to hypothesis, have led him into many errors. 

 His last days were disturbed by the painful disease of 

 the stone, which did not, however, prevent the pro- 

 secution of his great plan. He died at Paris, April 

 16, 1788, at the age of 81 years, leaving an only son, 

 who perished, in the revolution, by the guillotine. 

 B. was of a noble figure, and of great dignity of man- 

 ners. His conversation was remarkable for a simpli- 

 city but little in accordance with the style of his 

 writings. The best edition of his Natural History is 

 that published from 1749 to 1788, in 36 volumes. 



BOFFONE (Italian) ; buffoon ; a comic singer in the 

 opera buffa, or the Italian intermezzo. The Italians, 

 however, distinguish the buffo cantanle, which re- 

 quires good singing, from the buffo comico, in which 

 there is more acting. Buffoonery is the name given 

 to the jokes which the buffoon introduces. The word 

 is, no doubt, borrowed from the Low Latin, in which 

 the name buffo (cheeked,) was given to those who 

 appeared on the theatre, with their cheeks puffed up, 

 to receive blows on them, and to excite the laughter 

 of the spectators. Hence bteffa, cheeks ; buffare, to 

 puff up the cheeks. Afterwards, the name came to 

 signify a mimic, & jester in general. 



BCGE.VHAGEN, John, also Pomeranus, doctor Pom- 

 mer, was of great service to Luther, in the reforma- 

 tion. He was born in 1485, at Stettin, and, in 1505, 

 was made rector of the school in Treptow. He fled 

 from his Catholic superiors to Wittenberg, in 1521, 

 where he was made, in 1522, professor of theology. 

 Luther derived assistance from his profound exegeti- 

 cal learning, in preparing his translation of the Bible. 

 In 1525, he gave occasion for the controversies about 

 the sacrament, by a work against Zwinglius, on the 

 communion. He acquired more reputation by his 

 excellent Interpretatio in Librum Psalmorum (Nu- 

 remberg, 1523;. He effected the union of the pro- 

 testant free cities with the Saxons, and introduced 

 into Brunswick, Hamburg, Lubeck, Pomerania, 

 Denmark, and many other places, the Lutheran ser- 



vice and church discipline. For the Lower Saxons, 

 he translated the Bible into Low German (.Lubeck, 

 1533). He was a faithful friend to Luther, and de- 

 livered his eulogy. Together with Melancthon, he 

 composed the Interim of Leipsic. He died in 1558. 

 He wrote also a History of Pomerania. 



BiHiGE, Thomas, born in 1740, at Copenhagen, 

 professor of mathematics and astronomy at the uni- 

 versity in that city, and in the royal marine, lias ren- 

 dered much service to astronomy and geography by 

 his own observations, and by the education of young 

 men, from many of whom we have valuable observa- 

 tions in Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and several 

 parts of the East and West Indies. He caused more 

 correct surveys to be made in Denmark for the equa- 

 lization of the hind taxes, and had the principal part 

 in the preparation of the excellent map of Denmark. 

 His works are, Elementary Principles of spherical and 

 theoretical Astronomy (1796), Elementary Principles 

 of pure Mathematics (Altona, 1797), Description of 

 the Method of Measurement in the Construction of 

 the Danish Maps and Charts. He died in 1815. 



BCGLE-HORN. See Horn. 



BUHRSTONE. See Quartz. 



BUILTH ; a small town of Wales, on the Wye, 171 

 miles W. N. W. of London. It was probably the 

 Roman station Bullceum, and Roman relics are yet 

 occasionally discovered there. The Britons built a 

 castle there, when driven from their country by the 

 Saxons, which was occupied by the English after the 

 conquest. Llewellyn, the last Welsh prince, was 

 slain in the neighbourhood, in an engagement between 

 the Welsh and English. Lon. 3 W W.; lat. 52 

 8fN. 



BCINAAH POINT ; a cape on the west coast of Ireland, 

 in the county of Mayo, on the south side of the en- 

 trance into Newport bay. Lon. 9 45' W. ; lat. 53 

 46' N, 



BUKHARIA. See Bucharia. 



BUKOVVINA. See Galicia. 



BCLAC, or BOCLAC, in Egypt; the port of Grand 

 Cairo, on the Nile, where vessels which bring goods 

 to that city abide; one mile W. of Cairo. It is a 

 large irregular town, and contains a custom-house, 

 magazines, and a large bazar. In 1799, it was almost 

 destroyed by the i rench. Niebuhr seems to fix on 

 this as the site of the ancient Litopolis. The baths 

 are fine. 



BCLAMA ; an island on the west coast of Africa, one 

 of the Bissgoes. It is 24 miles long and 12 broad, 

 and is situated about two miles from the mouth of the 

 Rio Grande. It is very fertile, but not easy of access. 

 The Bulama association attempted to colonize it, in 

 1792, but it was soon abandoned. Lon. 14 38' W.; 

 lat. llN. 



BULGARIA, European or Little, a Turkish province, 

 which owes its name to the Asiatic race of Bulgarians 

 (q. v.), who overran it, was the Mcesia Inferior of the 

 Romans. Its capital is Sophia, and it is divided, by 

 the Turks, who conquered it in 1392, into four san- 

 gia "ats, forming a part of the pachalic of Romelia. 

 It is nearly in the form of a triangle, enclosed by the 

 Danube on the north, the Black sea on the east, the 

 Balkan (q. v.), or mount Haemus on the south and west. 

 It is 36,870 square miles in extent, with a population 

 of ], 800,000 inhabitants, engaged in agricultural 

 labours, peaceful and industrious, and mostly mem- 

 bers of the Greek church. The whole province, ex- 

 cept in the neighbourhood of the Danube and the 

 Black sea is rugged and mountainous. From the 

 eastern extremity of the Balkan, a branch runs north- 

 easterly, nearly parallel with the Euxine, and the 

 streams flow northerly and westerly to the Danube, 

 or south-easterly to the sea. The soil is very produc- 

 tive ; all sorts of grain, cattle, wool, iron, and wine 



