BEL 



▼I(ftory, Belgrade furrendered on the iglh ; the ganifon Rill 

 confiding of more than 25,000 men, being allowed to march 

 out with all their cfFefts. Its fortifications towards the land 

 were in a moll excellent ftate, and more than 400 pieces of 

 cannon and mortars found on the works in the arfenals, and 

 on board the flotilla on the Danube. 



Belgrade, which the peace of Paffarowitz left in pof- 

 feflion of the Aullrians, was unfuccefsfully attacked by the 

 Turks in 1739 ; but by the treaty concluded that year under 

 the mediation of France, was reflored to the Porte. Its 

 fortifications were, however, previcnfly demolifhed. In 17S9, 

 it was befiegcd (Sept. 12.) by an Aullrian army under i;iar- 

 (hal Laudohn, who in his approaches made ufe of the old 

 lines of circumvallation conitrii<fted by prince Eugene, and 

 which the Turks, from an unaccountable negligence, had 

 ncglcfted to fill up. The marflial, afiilted by a numerous 

 and well-ferved train of artillery, proceeded with fnch rapi- 

 dity in his attack";, that after all the fuburbs and outworks 

 had been carried fword in hand, the garrilon, apprehenfive 

 of a ftorm, furrendered (Oct. 8.) upon honourable terms. 

 Immenfe ilorcs, with about 300 pieces of artilkry, were 

 found in the place. Belgrade was, howcvei-, anew given up 

 to the Turks in 1791, at the peace of Sidova, fince which 

 time it has continued quietly in their polTenion. 



Belgrade, a townlhip of America, in the county of 

 Lincoln and dillrift of Maine, incorporated in 1796; for- 

 merly called Wafhington-plantation. It lies weft of Sid- 

 ney, and between Androfcoggin and Kennebeck rivers. 



BELGRADO, a town of the Venetian dates of Italy, in 

 Friuli, fituate near the river Tagliamento. N. lit. 46^. 

 E. long. 13° 51'. 



BELHAVEN, the former name of Alexandria, in Fair- 

 fax county, Virginia. See Alexandria. 



BELIA, in Entomnln^y, a fpecies of PArn.io, with en- 

 tire white wings ; the lower ones yellow, and flightiy faf- 

 ciated with grey beneath. A native of Barbary. Fiibri- 

 cius. 



Belia, in Ancient Geography-, a town of Hifpania Tarra- 

 gonenfis, is the counti-y ot the Pledetani (Ptol.), eaft of 

 Bilbilis, and nearlv fouth-eali ot CEfar-Augulta (D'Anville^ ; 

 now Bdch'te, which fee. 



BEEIAL, for'i-.ed of 'S^, «.?;;, noth'mg, andSyV denot- 

 ing in Hiph'l, to profit, q.d. unprofitable; in Scripture Hif- 

 tor'/, iigniiies a wicked, worthlefs perfon, who is rtfolvtd to 

 endure no fubjeclion. Thus the inhabitants of Gibeah, 

 who abufed the Levite's wife, are ftigmatifed by the name 

 of Behal. (Judges, xix. 22.) Hcplmi and Pliineas, Eli's 

 fons, are called fons of Belial (i Sara. ii. 12.) on account 

 of the feveral crimes they had committed, and their inde- 

 corous behnviour in the temple of the Lord. Sometimes, 

 fays Calmet, the name Belial is ufcd to denote the devil. 

 To this p'lrpofe, he cites 2 Cor. vi. 15. where the apoftle 

 Paul fays, " What concord hath Chrift with Belial ?" wlience 

 it appear?, as he fuppofes, that in the apoiUe's time, the 

 Jews, under the name of Belial, commonly underftood the 

 devil in the places where this term occurs in the Old Teita- 

 ment. Others are of opinion, that the heathen demons 

 might be called " Behal," either becaufe they were of no 

 ufe, or becaufe fo much wickednefs entered into the idea 

 which the Pagans entertained of them. However, it has 

 been fuggefted, that there may be no reference to the hea- 

 then gods at all, whether they were deified ghofts or not ; 

 the word Behal being often applied to living men ; and it 

 being the general defign of the apoftle in this place to dif- 

 fuade Chrillians from fuffering themfelves to be drawn into 

 any thing criminal by the heathens. Grot, in loc. Far- 

 mer's Demoniacs, p. 201. 



BEL 



The learned Bryant (Analyfis Anc. M)-lhoI. vohii. p. irj'?.) 

 confiders Belial as the title of the chief Syrian god, called 

 Bel and Baal, and rendered by the Greeks 'ROm^, beliar. 

 Hence, Clemens Alex. (l.v. p. 680.) inftead of faying, 

 what agreement can there be i)etwecn Chrift and Belial, 

 fays, Ti; Ji o-t);x?^i'vr,<7i; xi''^ '^5''' ^'^-''-i- This Belial, or Be- 

 liar, was the fame as Belorus and Ofiris, who were wor- 

 (hipped under the fymhul of a ferpent. Hence Hefychius 

 e.xplaii>s the term Beliar by a ferpent. 



BELIAS, in Ancient Geography, a river of Afia, wliich 

 fprung in Uavana, and difcharged itfclf into the Euphrates, 

 Ammian. Marcell. 



BELICA, an epifcopal town of the Gauls, in the fifth 

 LugdiineiifF, 



BELICENA, a town of Spain, in Grenada, 11 leagues- 

 from Grenada, 



BELICI, a river of Sicily, which empties itfelf into the 

 fca near Bigini, in the Val de Mazara. It refembles (fays 

 Swinburne, vol. iii. p. 374.) ihe Mole in Surr)' in fize and 

 colour ; and winds vei-y agreeably between high banks over- 

 grown with elms, willows, and tamarifks. The vale on both 

 fides is wide and well laid out in corn-fields, and pallure* 

 crowded with horfes and horned cattle. 



BELIDA. See Bleeda. 



BELIDES, in Antiquity. See Danaides. 



BELIDOR, Bernard Forest de, in Biography, a 

 French mathematician and engineer, was born in Catalonia, 

 about the year 1698, and became profeffor-royal at the ar- 

 tillery fchool of la Fere, and provincial commiflary of artil- 

 lery. Bv various exploits, he firft difcovered that the pro- 

 portion of gun-powder in the loading of cannon might be 

 reduced to two-thirds of the quantity, without lelTening in 

 effeft ; but as he communicated this economical idea to car- 

 dinal Fleur)-, without previouflv confulting the giand-mafter 

 of artillery, he loll both his places. Upon this tl:e prince 

 of Cunti took him to Italy, and by his patronage, Bchdor 

 was again brought into notice at court. ManTial Bclleifle, 

 the war-miniller, appointed him infpeftor of artilleiy, and 

 allotted to him apartments at the arlenal of Paris, in which 

 he died, Sept. 8, 1761. Belidor was cholen an affociate 

 of the academy of fciences in I ;5i ; ar.d was tlie author of 

 frveral ufeful works on civil and military architeclure, hy- 

 draulics, fortification, and engineering : viz. " Sommaire 

 d'un cours d' Architect ure Mihtaire, civile et hydraulique," 

 1720, i2mo. ; " Nouveau cours de Mathematiques, 6cc." 

 1725, 4tc. ; "La Science des Ingenieurs," 1729, 410.; 

 " Le Bombardier Francois," 1734, 4to. ; " Architefture 

 Hydraulique," 1737 — 1761, 4 vols. 4to. ; " Di&ionnaire 

 portatif de I'Ingenicur," 8vo. ; and " Traite des Fortifica- 

 tions," 4 vol=. 4to. Several of his pieces are alfo infeited 

 in the memoirs of the academy of fciences for the years 

 '737' '75°' *753' ^""^ ^Tj^'* Nouv. Dift. Hiftor. Hut- 

 ton's Math. Did. 



BELIEF, in its general and natural fenfc, denotes a per- 

 fuafion,or a ftrongaflent of the mind to the truth ofsnyprc- 

 pofition. In which fenfe, belief has no relation to any parti- 

 cular kind of means or arguments, but may be produced by 

 any means whatever. — Thus we are faid to believe our fenfts, 

 to believe our reafon, to believe a witnefs, &c. And hence, 

 in rhetoric, all forts of proofs, from whatever topics dedu- 

 ced, are called wirsi;, becaufe apt to produce belief, or per- 

 fuafion touching the matter in hand. 



Belief, in its more reftrained r.nd technical fenfe, inven- 

 ted by the fchoolmen, denotes that kind of afient which is 

 grounded only on the authority or tcftimony of fome per- 



foa 



