BEA 



BEK 



, 



can therefore safely rest satisfied, that 

 what the wisest, the most virtuous, and 

 the most contemplative men, of all ages, 

 have agreed to sanction by their approval, 

 is right. Taste may be, for a time, per- 

 verted by fashion, meretricious charms 

 may usurp the rank of beauty, ostentation 

 may personate virtue ; but truth and jus- 

 tice will at length prevail, whilst the fri- 

 volity or caprice of a day will be soon 

 forgotten. 



The surest method therefore, nay, per- 

 haps, the only means by which we can 

 expect to perfect our taste, so as to be 

 enabled to relish the higher beauties 

 which either the productions of nature or 

 art present, is by an early and close ap- 

 plicationto the study and contemplation 

 of those works, which have proved imper- 

 vious ;o the shafts of criticism, and which 

 have been the admiration of ages. 



Such are the writings of the best an- 

 cient authors, whether in prose or verse, 

 Such tlie astonishing remains of Greek 

 art, which, long hidden in the bowels of 

 the earth, were restored to light under 

 the happy auspices of Lorenzo cle Medici 

 and Leo the Tenth. Next to these, as 

 authorities, we may class the best esta- 

 blished works of modern date ; and par- 

 ticularly those which appeared soon after 

 the revival of letters and arts: mankind 

 having had, in cases of this description, 

 more leisure and opportunity to correct 

 the errors and prejudices to which con- 

 temporary opinion is subjected, than can 

 have been possible with respect to very 

 recent productions. 



Inquiries concerning beauty have em- 

 ployed the pens of many ingenious and 

 learned authors of all ages; the subject, 

 however, is, like nature, inexhaustible, 

 and, like her, perhaps, beyond the reach 

 of human talents fully to comprehend, or 

 satisfactorily to explain. Dr. Hutcnin- 

 son's theory of beauty ascribes it to " uni- 

 formity amidst variety," (see " f lutchin- 

 son's Inquiry") but another writer (see 

 " Reid's Essay on the Intellectual Powers 

 of Man," ch. iv.) observes, that beauty is 

 fbi.nd in things so various and so very 

 different in nature, that it is difficult to say 

 wherein it consists, or what can be com- 

 mon to all the objects in which it is found. 

 Hogarth, in his " Analysis of Beauty," 

 considers the elements of beauty to be, 

 fitness, variety, uniformity, simplicity, in- 

 tricacy, and quantity : whereas Mr. Burke 

 in his "Inquiry respecting- the Sublime 

 and Beautiful," excludes, from the num- 

 ber of real causes of beauty, the propor- 

 tion of parts, fitness, or that idea of utili- 

 ty, which consists in a part's being well 



adapted to answer its ends ; and also per- 

 fection. 



Opinions so contradictory may well jus- 

 tify the hypothesis, that beauty is mere 

 readily felt than described ; and we may 

 set down contented, that we receive light 

 and heat from the sun, although ignorant 

 whether it proceeds from a burning orb 

 or a huge stone. 



As the attainment of beauty is a prin- 

 cipal aim of the fine arts, the subject will 

 necessarily again fall under discussion, as 

 connected with each of them in particu- 

 lar. See ARTS, Fine, POETRY, PAINTING, 

 DRAWING, SCULPTURE, ENGRAVING, DANC- 

 ING. 



BECHERA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Pentandria Digynia class and order. Ca- 

 lyx five cleft, superior, with a globular 

 tube ; coral five petalled ; capsule two- 

 celled, two-valved. One species. 



BECKETS, in sea language, any thing 

 used to confine loose ropes, tackles, or 

 spars, in a convenient place : hence beck- 

 eis are either large hooks, or short pieces 

 of rope with a knot on one end, and an 

 eye in the other ; or formed like a cir- 

 cular wreath ; or they are a sort of wood- 

 en brackets. 



BEE. See APIS. 



BEES, management of. It is agreed by 

 the most judicious observers, that the 

 apiary, or place were bees are kept, 

 should face the south, and be situated in. 

 a place neither too hot nor too much ex- 

 posed to the cold ; that it be near the 

 mansion-house, on account of the conve- 

 nience of watching them ; but so situated 

 as not to be exposed to noisome smells, 

 or to the din of men or cattle ; that it be 

 surrounded with a wall, which, however, 

 should not rise above three feet high ; 

 that, if possible, a running stream be near 

 them ; or if that cannot be, that water be 

 brought near them in troughs, as they 

 cannot produce either combs, honey, or 

 food for their maggots, without water ; 

 and that the garden in which the apiary 

 stands be well furnished with such plants 

 as afford the bees plenty of good pasture. 

 Furze, broom, mustard, clover, heath, 

 &c. have been found excellent for this 

 purpose. Hives have been made of dif- 

 ferent materials, and in different forms, 

 according to the fancy of people of dif- 

 ferent ages and countries. Not only 

 straw, which experience now proves to 

 be rather preferable to every thing else, 

 but wood, horn, glass, &c. have been used 

 for the construction of them. Single box 

 hives, however, when properly made, an- 

 swer very well, and when painted last 

 long. They have several advantages 



