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fiayle. and agreeable manner, and is neither so profound as 

 v~ to require any f^pth of study, nor so superficial as 

 to be unworthy of the notice of the learned. It 

 extended to five volumes, which came out successive- 

 ly at considerable intervals, and which the author 

 sometimes made the vehicle of those replies, which 

 he thought it necessary to make to his antagonists. 

 He also published in 1704-, a continuation of his 

 Treatise on Comets, under the title Continuation 

 des Pcnsces Diverses, &c. Having occasion in this 

 work to criticise the system of Doctors Cudworth 

 and Grew concerning plastic and vital natures, he was 

 keenly attacked by Mr Le Clerc, who had embraced 

 that system, and thought himself bound to support 

 it. The controversy was carried on for some time 

 with great eagerness on both sides ; Mr Bayle main- 

 taining his opinions with his usual temper and acute- 

 ness, and Mr Le Clerc opposing them with violence, 

 unfairness, and abuse. 



While engaged in these disputes, he was seized 

 with a distemper in the lungs. Knowing it to be in- 

 curable, he refused to take any remedy that was pre- 

 scribed. And after labouring under it for six months, 

 during which time he shewed the utmost fortitude 

 and patience, and continued to write as if he had en- 

 joyed perfect health, he died in 1706, at the age 

 of 59 ; and was buried in the French church at Rot- 

 terdam. His death was deeply and universally re- 

 gretted by the hterary world, and by a vast number 

 of friends that his merits had procured for him in al- 

 most every country. He was unquestionably I man 

 of great learning and ability. His intellectual powers 

 were naturally strong, and he had improved them by a 

 long and unwearied course of study. The character 

 of a freethinker has been generally ascribed to him. 

 Doubtless he was a freethinker both in the good and 

 in the bad sense of that appellation. Those subjects, 

 which had been hitherto viewed but on one side, by 

 the fearful eye of ignorance, prejudice, and super ti- 

 tion, he took the liberty of turning over and examin- 

 ing with boldness and impartiality. He scrupled not 

 to give an explicit statement of the difficulties which 

 sometimes perplexed, and sometimes destroyed his 

 belief in doctrines of heretofore unsuspected or un- 

 challenged credit. And he set an example,, at that 

 period extremely rare, of investigating, with minute- 

 ness and candour, whatever dogmas arc inculcated, 

 before we allow them to become articles of faith or 

 principles of action. In this respect Mr Bayle, it 

 must be admitted, acted a rational and useful part. 

 But, at the same lime, it cannot be denied, that, in 

 many points, he carried his scepticism to an unreason- 

 able length, and often gave an interest to the argu- 

 ments of infidels which does not belong to them, and 

 a prominence which cannot fail to be injurious to 

 young and unwary readers. Some parts of his wri- 

 tings, especially of his dictionary, are stained with in- 

 delicate and obscene quotations from the volumes of 

 other authors. This is a defect much to be lamented, 

 both on account of its intrinsic turpitude, and its de- 

 basing tendency. It arose, however, rather from a 

 laudable and anxious wish to support the facts and 

 illustrate the positions that were staled, than from 

 any peculiar depravity in the passions and habits of 

 Mr Bayle, whose moral character, even in the judg- 



ment of his enemies, was pure and irreproachable. Bayonet, 

 He is described by those who were personally ac- B "'yonne. 

 quainted with him as having been, modest and un- v 



assuming, constant in his friendships and disinterested 

 in his kindness, placid and equable in his temper, 

 chearful and affable in conversation, frugal in his do- 

 mestic and individual habits, abhorrent of fraud and 

 insincerity, grateful to those from whom he received 

 any assistance, and addicted to no pleasures but those 

 that arise from the acquisition of knowledge and the 

 exercise of the best affections. This account may be 

 somewhat exaggerated by the partiality of friendship, 

 but seems to be accurate in all its leadjng features. 



Mr Bayle left a great many manuscripts, very few 

 of which were given to the world. See Maizeaux's 

 Life of Bayle ; Eloge de Mr Bayle par Mr de Beauval ; 

 Mr Bayle' s Letters, &c. (r) 



BAYONET, the name of a short broad dagger, 

 the round handle of which is fitted to the extremity 

 of muskets, so that it may be either used alone, or 

 employed like a spear when it forms one piece witli 

 the musket. The bayonet appears to have been first 

 manufactured in the town of Bayonne, in the depart- 

 ment of the lower Pyrenees, from which it derives its 

 name. 



This instrument, which has been used with such 

 fatal effect by the British and French armies, was 

 first introduced by the French about the end of the 

 17th century, and was employed with great success 

 in the war of 1689. See Folard's Comment, sur 

 Polyb. vol. i. p. 135. (q) 



BAYONNE, the Lapurdum of the ancients, is 

 the largest, though not the chief, town in the de- 

 partment of the lower Pyrenees. It is beautifully 

 situated about a league from the western coast of 

 France, at the conflux of the rivers Nive and Adour, 

 by which the town is divided into three parts, viz. 

 the large town on one side of the Nive; the small 

 town between the Nive and the Adour ; and the 

 suburb of St Esprit, on the other side of the Nive. 

 A regular square citadel, constructed by Vauban, 

 commands the whole city, which is likewise defended 

 by smaller fortifications. The cathedral of Bayonne 

 is a venerable edifice. The Place de Grammont is 

 reckoned the most beautiful part of the city ; and so 

 fine is the situation of the town, that there is no 

 part of it from which we cannot see the whole of 

 its buildings, the two rivers which water it, the Bay 

 of Biscay, and the towering summits of the Pyrenees. 

 The Alices Marines, or the quay, is a superb <ind 

 much frequented promenade. A wooden draw bridge; 

 which allows vessels to pass, and where a small toll 

 is collected, connects the suburbs with the town. 



Bayonne carries on a considerable trade with Spain, 

 to which it exports woollen cloths, silks, cottons, 

 ribbands, and hardware, in exchange for wine, oil, 

 and wool, and articles from the American colonies. 

 The hams of Bayonne are famous in every part of 

 Europe ; and its wines, raisins, and chocolate, are ex- 

 ported in considerable quantities to the north of Eu- 

 rope. The wines of Cape Breton and of Anglet. 

 are particularly excellent. Though the harbour of 

 Bayonne is safe, yet its entrance is narrow and dan- 

 gerous. Masts from the Pyrenees are brought down 

 the rivers to Bayonne, from which they are exported 



