B E H 



being foon fpread throughout Germany, became, togellivM- 

 with his other writings, tlie Ilandard books of all enthuliafts. 

 To the clafs of hii advcil'arics we may refer Gilbert Ifchefchi- 

 us, who publiihed an admonition againll his; works in 1643, 

 which was anfwered by Tlchctfeli, Gerrard Antagnofrus, 

 who refuted Tfchetfch, and wlio endeavoured to (hew that 

 Echmcu entertained the fame opinions as the Manich^eans 

 and Gnoftics; Tobias VVagiur, and Dr. Henry More, who 

 wrote a treatife againll Behmcnifm, entitled " Cenlura Phi- 

 lofophi* Teutonics," piinted in his works, p. $20. Some 

 perfons have attempted to prove from Behmcn's writings, 

 that he did not acknowledge a deity ; and particularly Von 

 Mulltr, in a work entitled " The Fanatic Atheift." Bruck- 

 er's HiR. Phil, by Enfield, vol. ii. p. 494, 5jc. Molhcim's 

 Eccl. Hilt. vol. V. p. ^40, &c. 



BEHMENISTS.'or Bof.hmists, in Euhfi[llical Hi/- 

 tfiiy, the denomination of a clafs of myilic philofophers, who 

 were the followers of Jacob Behmen, commonly called the 

 Teutonic philofopher. See the preceding article. 



BEHN, Aphara, in Btrgr^jphy, a writer of novels and 

 plays, was dtfcended of a good family of the name of John- 

 fon'iii Canterbury, and born in the reign of king Charles I. 

 Her father died at fea in a voyage for Surinam, of which he 

 was appointed lieutenant governor by the intcrcfl of lord 

 Wiiloughby, to whom he was related; but his daughter, 

 with the reft of the family, arrived thither. Here (lie became 

 ac-juainted w itli the Uory and perfun of the American prince 

 Oroonoko, whofe adventures (he defcribed in a novel under 

 this title. After her return to England (lie married Mr. 

 Behn, a merchant in London, of Dutch cxtracl'on. Dur- 

 ing the Dutch war in the reign of Charles H. (he was em- 

 ployed for gaining intelligence on the continent, and with 

 this view (he refided at Antwerp. By her intnigues, it is 

 faid, fhe difcovered the dcfign, formed by the Dutch, of 

 failing up the river Thames, and burning the Engli(h (liips 

 in their harbours ; but her intelligence was flighted by the 

 Enghfh court, to which it was imparted. On her returu 

 to England (lie narrowly efcaped (liipwrcck. Her future 

 hfe was devoted to pleafirre and poetry ; and by writing ihe 

 gained a fublii'lencc. With a good perfon, and dilHnguiihtd 

 talents for convcrfation, (lie formed an intimate acquaintar.ce 

 with feveral poets a;.d wits of her time, as well as men of 

 pleafurc. Her comp iitions, in verfe and piofe, were nu- 

 merous ; and (lie pubiilhtd three volumes of mifcellaneous 

 poems, feventeen plavs, and a cnlleiftion of hiilories and 

 novels, befides I'ome tranflaticns and letters. She borrowed 

 mvicU from other writers, and the merit, that was properly 

 her own, conliiled in a f.uert tafy Ityle, occafionally glow- 

 ing with the ardour rf lovt, v.hcn this Uibieft was the topic, 

 and in feme fprig'-.tiy thoughts and facility of invention. 

 Manv of her plays fucceeded on the itage, at a period when 

 jjrofi indecency of plot and ianguaj^-e was no impediment to 

 their reception. Her poetical appellation was Ailrea ; and 

 her dramatic compoutions are chaiaderifed by Mr. Pope iu 

 the following lines : 



" The ftage how loofely docs Aftrca tre?,d, 

 Who fairly puts all charaftcrs to bed." 



None of her dramatic pieces are now adied; her pot tr)- 

 has been long forgotten ; but her novels, which were once 

 popular, are now occalloi.ally read. Her death, which was 

 hallencd by an injudicious phyGcian, happened in 1689, 

 when (he was between the a£;e of 40 and 50 ; and the v/as 

 buried in the cloifters of WeftmiuAcr Abbey. Biog. Brit. 

 Gen. Dia. 



EEHNESE, or B.^hnasaa, in Geography, a town of 

 Egypt, 10 milts north of Abu Girge. 



BEHRENSj C0NR.4D, Behthold, in Biography, was 



B E I 



bom at Hilderfhcini, in Lower Saxony, Augud zCih. i6Ga. 

 After pafTing through the ufual courfe of lludies in the 

 claffics and philofophy, in his own country, and refiding 

 for fome time at Straiburg and Leyden, he took the degree 

 of Dotlor in Medicine at Helmftadt, was made phyfician lo 

 the army of the duke of Brunfwick, and in 171 2 to the 

 court of Brunfwick Lu.cnhurg, and member of the Aca- 

 demy Natura; Curioforuni, to the Memoirs of which he was 

 a confiderable contributor. His principal works arc, " De 

 ConlUtntione Artis MedicK," Helinth 1691, 8\o. " Medl- 

 cus Lcgalis," 1696, Svo. publidied in Gtrman. In this 

 he treats of the duties and ofhce of phyficians, furgeons, apo- 

 thecanes and niidwives, of alchemy, of magnctifm applK'<l 

 to medicine, and of the caules of fudden dcatli, on which he 

 has fome judicious obfeivations. " Selefta Dietetica, five de 

 rcfta ad lanitatem viveiidi ratione traftatus," Fiancf. 1710, 

 4to. He died Oclober 4th 1738. His ("on Rodolph Auguf- 

 tus Behreas, wiio fucceeded to iiis honours and praft ice, pub- 

 liihed " De Felicitate Medicornm Audta in ttiris I'jiunvi- 

 cenfibus," 1747, 4to. occuiioned by fome additional privi- 

 leges accorded to the phyficians there. In this work he 

 takes occafion to comment on, and refute the opinion of Mid- 

 dleton, as to the fei-vile condition of phyficians among the 

 Romans. 



BEHUT, called alio Butuii, Ihylum, or Chelum, in 

 Geography, a river of Hindollan, is the wellcriimod of the 

 five rivers that water the Paiijab ; and its general courfe is 

 eaft, and nearly parallel to that of the Attock, but it is of a 

 lei's bulk. This is the famous Hydafpes of Alexander, on 

 the banks of which he was oppofcd by Porus, a powerful 

 monarch of the country, at the head of a numerous army. 

 By the Ayin Acbarte, it is faid to be anciently called Be- 

 dufta. The Behut ilfues from the fpring of Wair, orWair 

 Naig, in the fouth-eaft pait of Caihinere, and after a north- 

 well courie through that valley, enters the mountains at Ba- 

 rchmooleh. During this fliort courfe it receives abundance 

 of rivulets and llreams from fome large lakes, and becomes 

 navigable at a few miles below its remotell fpring. After 

 entering the mourtains it purfues the direftion of the Pan- 

 jab by a very crooked cour(c, being pent up in a deep wind- 

 ing valley, whilll eicaping from the wide bafe of the Cafh- 

 niciiau mountains, and rulhing with fucli rapidity and violence 

 that even tlie llouteil elephant cannot preferve his footing 

 in it. It emerges from the mountains in the diftricl of Puck- 

 holi, and is afterwards joined by two fmall but celebrated 

 rivers named Kiikcngonga and Nainfook. After this it tra- 

 verfes the ttnitoiy of the Ghickcrs, Hill holding its courfe 

 through a hilly cotintiy, until it crofles the upper or great 

 rosd leading from Lahore to Attock, where the hilly trail 

 is confined to the wellern bank. Here llood, not long fince, 

 a city of the name of Ihylum, which communicated its name 

 to the river, during the remaining pait of its courfe; and 

 hence it is as commonly named lliylum as Beluit. From 

 Ihylum it purines its courfe along the eaftern borders of the 

 Joud mountains, and unites with the Chunaub at about 50 

 geographical milts above Moultan ; lofing its name in that of 

 the Chunaub, as lieretofore it loft its name of Hydafpes in 

 that of Acefines, the ancient name of the Chunaub. The 

 interval between the Behut and the Indus, in the wideft part, 

 is about 94 geographical miles. Pliny allows only 120 Ro- 

 man miles between the Indus and the Hydafpes. Rennell's 

 Mem. p. 99. Robertfon's India, p. 18. 



BEIA, Pax Jllia, an ancient city of Portugal, in the 

 province of Alentejo, near a lake of the fame name. It is 

 mentioned by Pliny, Ptolemy, and Antoninus. Several 

 Roman coins and infcriptions have been found near this place. 

 Its fiiuation is on a gentle hill in a fertile country rich in 

 turn, audit is farrounded with walls and gates; and it is the 



fee 



