B A S 



but by further txamination of tliis' intercfting controverfy, 

 he bccam^- a firm believer of the tnuh of the divine milhi::! 

 of Chrilt, though he denied many of thofe dodtrincs which 

 fome Chriftians deem to be tlTential articles of the Chrilliaii 

 faith. In 1749, he was appointed private tutor to the ion 

 of a gentleman in Holllein ; in this fituation he had an op- 

 portunity cf fubmitting to the left of experience the plan of 

 an improved method of education, which he had for fome 

 time held in contemplation. Thfe attempt fuccetded to his 

 vvilhes ; and though his pupil was only feven years of age, 

 when he undertook the cliarge of him, he was able in the 

 fpace of three years not only to read Latin authors, but to 

 tranflate from the German into that language, and to ipeak 

 and write it with a degree of (iuency. Pie had alfo made 

 confidcrableprogrefsin the principles of religion and morals, 

 in hiil'.M'y, geography, and arithmetic. This iuccels advanced 

 his reputation; fo that in 1752 he was admitted to the 

 degree of mailer of arts at Kiel, and in the following year 

 he was chofen profe'lor bf moral philofopby and the belles 

 letti'es in the academy at Soroe in Denmark. Here he pub- 

 liflied fcveral works, which were well received ; particularly 

 his " Practical Morality for all conditions," containing 

 hints of his improved plan of fchool education. His leftures 

 on morality and religion were much frequented ; but as he 

 fpokc with freedom on fome points of theology that were 

 generally received, he was removed by the Dani(h court to 

 the gymnafium at Altona, and allowed the falary which he 

 had enjoyed as profelTor. In the 40th year of his age he 

 began, in'oppofition to the advice and remonftrance of his 

 friends, to attack publicly many received tenets of the church, 

 and he publiflied his " Philalethy," in which he fuggefts 

 doubts concerning the eternity of future punifhment ; his 

 " Methodical Inilruftion in Natural and Revealed Religion," 

 in which he avows his diffent from the common doftrine 

 concerning Jefus Chrifl, the Holy Ghoft, infpiration, bap- 

 tifm, the Lord's fupper, Sec. ; his " Theoretic Sytlem of 

 Sound Reafon ;" and fome other works of a fimiiar kind. 

 In confcquence of thefe publications he was reprefented by 

 Gotze,Winkltr, and Zimmermann, clergymen of Hamburgh, 

 as holding opinions hollile to revelation, as a man void of 

 principle, and as an enemy to religion. The populace like- 

 wife were incenfed, and threatened to ftone him. He was 

 prefervcd, however, from becoming a viftim to intolerance, 

 by the protettion of count Bernllorf and fome other friends 

 at Copcnliagen. In thefe circnmftances he diretled his at- 

 tention to an improvement of l!io ufual method of fchool- 

 cducation ; and for his encouragement in the profecut-on of 

 it, he was releafed by the Danilh court from attendance at 

 the gymnafium of Altona, and allowed a penfion of 800 

 dollars. Having foliciied and obtained confiderable fub- 

 fcriptions, he publifhed in 1769 the heads of his " Elemen- 

 tary Book ;" which he fnbmitted to the infpeftion of many 

 refpeftable and learned friends, by whom, it was approved. 

 In 1771, the fum which he had colledted amounted to 

 1 J,000 rix-dollars ; of which a ihoufand had been contribu- 

 ted by the emprefs of Ruffia, who read his plan and invited 

 him to Peterfcurgh. Although he met with fome oppofi- 

 tion, he obta'ned very confiderable encouragement ; and he 

 was invited by the prince of Defifau, with the promife of a 

 penfion of 1 100 rix-dollars, to eitablidi the fchool which he 

 had orojefted in his territories. Accordingly, he removed 

 to Deflau, which afterwards became the chief place of his 

 Tcfideoce. Having pubhdied fevtral detached parts of his 

 work, he determined in 1772 to continue it. In the fol- 

 lowmg year he pnblifhed the principles of " Arithmetic and 

 the Mathematics," and in 1774 his grand trcatife in four 

 volumes, with 100 copper-plates, under the title of " Ele- 



B A S 



mentary Work," by way of diftinftion from his " Element 

 tary Book" which he had publifhed in 1770. This pnbli- 

 cation was favourably received, and was foon tranflatcd into 

 Latin and into French. As he had bellowed lix yeai's' la- 

 bour on the completion of this work, his health declined ; 

 and in this ilate he wrote his " Legacy for the Conlciencc,'* 

 bcirg a work on the principles of natural and revealed re- 

 ligion. The prince of DefTau, having permitted him to 

 ellablilh his fchool in any place which he found moft con- 

 venient, he travelled to Frankfort on the Mayne ; and oil 

 his 5 1 11 birth day, he determined to put his plan in execu- 

 tion, and, on account of its humane objedt, to give liis fc- 

 minary the name of the " Philanthropinum." " This fchool 

 was intended to be a feminary for reaving up young teachers 

 and profeflbrs, and a pattern for all the other fchools of 

 Germany. The children of wealthy parents were to be 

 admitted for the fum of 250 rix-dollars per annum ; all the 

 former errors in education were to be carefully guarded 

 againll ; and the children of pour people were to be educa- 

 ted in it alfo, either to render them, fit for becoming teachers 

 themfelves in fchools of lower rank, or for being ufeful 

 fcrvants in refpedlabi't families." At DefTau, whither Bafe- 

 dow returned from Frankfort, on the 27th of December 

 1774, the 6th birth-day of the hereditary prince of DclTau, 

 he opened his " Philanthropinum," appointing Wolke as 

 head mailer, and undertaking the direflion of it for feveii 

 years, prcmifing*to read leftures, and to give a few hours' 

 inftrudlion daily to the pupils without any emolument. 

 The plan, however, was not encouraged agreeably to Bafe- 

 dow's expedlations, and he therefore rclinquifhed it. His 

 difappointment and other circumllanccs led him to feck re- 

 lief from drinking, by which he impaired his health and in- 

 jured liis reputation. In the mela;ichoIy period that elapfed 

 from 1778 to 17S3, lie employed himfeif in examining tlie 

 nature of pure Chridianity ; and whatever may be thought 

 of his peculiar opinions with regard to fome of its dudlrines, 

 he appears to have been a friend to truth, and a zealous ad- 

 vocate for religion and virtue. In 1785 he publifhed a plaa 

 by wiiich children might be more eahly taught to read, and 

 diftributed 500 copies of it in various fchools. His plan waS' 

 introduced by himfeif in two fchools at Magdeburg, and it 

 fucceeded to his wiflies. Having experienced great friend- 

 fhip at Magdeburg, he removed to this city towards the 

 clofe of his life, and died there in 1790 in the 67th year of 

 his age. Bafedc-.v is reprefented by his biographers as a 

 man of acute judgement and penetration, and pofiefled cf 

 great fenfibility and a lively imagination. His v/orks, which 

 relate cl'iefly to religious fubjcds or to education, amount 

 to upwards of 50 different treatifcs. Beytraga znr Labens 

 gefchiclile, &c. or Biographical Anecdotes of Joh. Beruh. 

 Bafedow, taken from his own works, and from other authe.a- 

 tic fources, 8vo. Magdeburg, 1791. 



BASELECE, in Geography, a town of Italy, in the 

 kingdom of Napk-s and province of Capitaiiata, 7 miles 

 S.S.W. ofVokurara. ' 



EASELS, Basi-lli, in our Old JVrhers, a kind of coin 

 abolilhed by king Henry II. 1158. 



BASELLA, in Botany. Lin. gen. 382. Reich. 413. 

 ScliRb. 520. Juff. 84. Gartn. t 126. Clafs and ord-r, 

 pcntarJria irigyma. Nat. OiA^r oUioluracc« ; AtripTires ]\x^. 

 Gen. Char. C«/)'x none. Cor. fevcn-cleft, pitcher-lhaped; 

 two outer divifions broader, one within the rcll, converginfr 

 above, flefliy at the bafc Stjm. fikments five, tubulate, 

 equal, (aliened to the corolla, and thorter than it ; anthers 

 roundilh. P'tfl. germ fuperi^r, fubglobular ; ftyhs three, 



orm, of the length of the ilamens; ftigmas oblong, 



one fide of the tops of the Hylcs. Per. corolla pcr- 



fiht 

 on 



corolla per- 

 manent, 



