B A X 



Soul is evinced, from the principles of Rcafon and Philo- 

 fophy." This work, which was reprintid in 2 vols. Bvo. 

 in 1737 and in 1745, was much applauded by fevcral pei'- 

 fons of eminence, and particularly by bifhop Warburton, 

 who, in his " Divine Legation," fpeaks of it as containing 

 "the jufteft and precifell notions of God and the Soul," 

 and " as one of the mod finifhcd of the kind, that the pre- 

 fent times, greatly advanced in true philofophy, have pro- 

 duced." Of the author's ftntinients, fee fome account under 

 the articles Dream, Soul, and Vis lueriij. In 1741 

 Mr. Baxter went abroad with one of his pupib, and fettled 

 for fome time at Utrecht, where he became acquainted 

 with feveral literary perfons, and whence he made feveral 

 excurfions into Flanders, France, and Germany. l^pon 

 his return to Scotland in 1747, he relidcd till his death at 

 Whittingham, in the fliire of Fall Lothian. His work, 

 entitled " Matho, five Cofniotheoria Puerilis," was drawn 

 up for the ufe of his pupils, and firll printed in Latin, arid 

 afterwards greatly enlarged, and publifhtd in EngMh, in 

 3 vols. 8vo. The fccond edition of this work was 

 publithed in 1745, and the third in 2 vols. izmo. in 

 1765. The dtfign of this work was to deduce the prin- 

 ciples of natural reliuion from the phenomena of the ma- 

 terial world. A millakc in the ailronomical theory, which 

 the author did not hvc to redify, as he had intended, had 

 difgufted fome readers ; and therefore, in the third edition, 

 the conference that was chiefly affefted by that error, was 

 fupprelFed, and the vacancy fupplied by another. In 17,0 

 the author pnbhllied " an Appendix to the firll part of his 

 Enquiry into the Nature of the Soul," vindicating it from 

 fome objedions, which was dedicated to Mr. Wilkes, with 

 whom he formed an intimate acquaintance abroad. In this 

 year Mr. Baxter, after having endured great fufferings 

 from the "-out, and a complication of diforders, with exem- 

 plary patience, clofed his life about the fixty-third year of 

 his age. He left behind him feveral unfiniihed MSB. on 

 philofophical fubjefts, and one in a complete ftate, con- 

 cerning the controverfy between the Englilh and foreign phi- 

 loiophers on the fubjeft of the force «f bodies moving in 

 free fpaces, which however was never publifhed. 



Mr. Baxter's learning and talents are fufficiently dif- 

 played in his writing?. His application was fuch, that he 

 iometimes fat up whole nights reading and writing : and 

 yet his difpofition was cheerful and fociable. In conver- 

 fation he was modetl and uiiaffuming ; and in the difcharge 

 of the focial and relative duties of life, his conduft was ex- 

 emplary. His mind was poffened with the mod reveren- 

 tial fentiments of the Deity, and the general tenor of his 

 life was conformable to the rules of virtue. He was econo- 

 mical without parfimony. Such was his ditintereftednefs, 

 that he declined confiderable offers of preferment, which 

 he might have obtained if he had taken orders in the church 

 of England. His knowled;^e of the modern langnages 

 was extenlive ; fo that he could write and fpeak in French, 

 German, Dutch, Italian, and Spanifh. By his wife, whom 

 he married in 1724, and who furvived him ten years, he 

 had one fon and three daughters. Biog. Brit. 



BAXTERIANS, in Eahftajlical Hi/lory, derive their 

 appellation from Mr. Richard Baxter, a nonconformift 

 minifter ; of whom we have already given an account. His 

 theological fyftem has been called Baxterianifm ; and thofc, 

 who embrace his fentiments in divinity, are called Baxterians. 

 The Baxterians have endeavoured to ftrike into a middle 

 path between Calvinifm and Arminianifm ; and to unite 

 both thefe fchemes. They profefs to believe in the doc- 

 trines of eleftion, effeftual calling, and other tenets of Cal- 

 vinifm J and confequently, fuppofe, that a certain numbtr, 



BAY 



determined upon in the divine counfels, will infallibly be 

 favcd. This they think neceifary to fecure the ends of 

 Chrill's interpofition. But then, on the other hand, they 

 rejcifl the doftrinc of reprobation, and admit that our 

 blcfied Lord, in a certain fenfe, died for all ; and that fuch 

 a portion of grace is allotted to every man, as renders it 

 his own fault, if he doth not attain to eternal happinefs. If 

 he improves the common grace given to all mankind, this 

 will be followed by that fpecial grace which will terminate 

 in his final acceptance and falvation. Whether the Baxte- 

 rians are of opinion, that any befides the eleft, will aHually 

 make fuch a right ufe of common grace as to obtain tiie other, 

 and, at length, come to heaven, we cannot affiiredly fay, 

 there may pofTibly be a difference of opinion'upon the fub- 

 jeft, as they approach nearer to Calvinifm or to Arminianifm. 

 Mr. Baxter appears, likewife, to have modelled the doftriEics 

 of juftification, and the pcrfeverance of the faints, in a man- 

 ner which was not agreeable to the rigid Calvinills. Some 

 foreign divines in the 17th century Itruck nearly into the 

 fame path ; and, particularly, in France, M. le Blanc, Mr. 

 Cameron, and the celebrated Monf. Amyrault. For a con- 

 fiderable time the non conformill clei'gy in England were di- 

 vided into fearcely any but two doflrinal parties, the Calvi- 

 ni'ls and the Baxterians. Of late the Baxterians have been 

 lefs numerous. However, they are ftill a confiderable body; 

 and feveral perfons are fond of the name as a creditable one^ 

 who probably go farther than Mr-. Baxter did. The name, 

 however, like other theological diftinftions, will probably, 

 in a courfe of time, fink into difiife, till it is either wholly 

 forgotten, or preferved merely in the records of hillory» 

 Biog. Brit. Art. Baxter. 



BAY, in Botany. See Laurus. 



Bay, Loblolly. See Gorgonia. 



Bay, Rofc. SeeNERiuM. 



Bay, Diuarf Rofe, and Mounla'm Rofi. See Rhodo- 



DENDRUM. 



Bay, Swtet Floiucring. See Magnolia. 



Bay Plum. See Psidium. 



Bay, in iSw/'/iZ/Vy, denotes any kind of opening In walls ; as 

 a door, window, or even chimney. 



Bay zuindpivs are the fame with what we otherwife call 

 low •v.'indo'ws. 



Bay, ill Geography, denotes a little gulf, or an arm of the 

 fea, ilietching up into the land ; being larger in the middle 

 within, than at its entrance, which is called the mouth of the 

 bay. The largell and moft remarkable bays arc thofe of Bif- 

 cay. Bengal, Hudlon's, Panama, &c. 



Bay ol yli/ Sa'ntfs. See All Saints. 



Bay of ^«/o/;j.'/. SeeANTONGiL. 



Bay, Baffin's. See Baffin. 



Bay of Cancak. SeeCANCALE. 



Bay, Cheqiiilan. See Chequitan. 



Bay of Chefapeal. See Chesapeak. 



Bay of Fires hes on the eail coal! of New South Wales 

 or New Holland, in the Pacific ocean, to the north of St. 

 Patrick's Head. The north point of the bay is called Edyf- 

 tone, and the fouth point St. Helen's. A fmall rocky illand 

 is near the middle of its entrance, on each fide of which is an 

 open paffage. 



Bay of FnJIj lV,iter, lies fouth of Afcenfion bay in the 

 north part of the gulf of Mexico. N. lat. 30^. W. long. 93°. 



Bay of Funrly. See Fundy. 



Bay of Good Fortune, lies on the north coaft of Chaleur 

 bay, which is a large bay of the gulf of St. Lawrence, and 

 on the north call coaft of Nova Scotia in North America. 



Bay, Hudjon's. See Hudson's. 



Bay of Inkts^ a bay on the fouth eaft coaft of New Hol- 

 land, 



