BEL 



France," Par. 1600, 2 vols, folio, in which laft work are 

 feveral curious fads, intermixed with fables, and therefore 

 having no authority. Gen. Dift. Nouv. DicL Hift. 



BELLEGARDE, John-Baptist Morvandf., ufually 

 called the " A.bbc," was born of a family of rank, in the 

 diocefe of Nantes, in 1648, and entered into the fociety of 

 the Jefuits. His tafte and ftyle were formed by father Bou- 

 hours, under whom he ranked as a difciple. Attached to 

 the principles of Defcartes, which were oppoftd by them, 

 he abandoned the fociety of Jefuits, after continuing in it 

 16 or 17 years, and taking priefl's orders ; and entered into 

 the world, preaching occafionaliy with applaufc, but devot- 

 ing himfelf chiefly to the profefilon of an author. Under 

 this cliarafler he wrote many books, and fupportcd hirafelf 

 chiefly by the profits accruing from them, diftributing to 

 the poor every thing that exceeded a bare maintenance. 

 Some time before his death he dellfted from his literary la- 

 bours, fold his books, and retired to the community of St. 

 Francis de Sales at Paris, eilabliflied for the fupport of poor 

 priefts, and here he died in 1754. liis voluminous publica- 

 tions confifl; chiefly of tranflations from the works of St. 

 John Chryfollom, St. Bafil, St. Gregory Nazianzus, St. 

 Ambrofe, Thomas a Kempis, &c. and alfo from Ovid, Vir- 

 gil, and other profane writers. His llyle is pure and ele- 

 gant ; but he often mifl.akes the fenfe of his author, cfpecial- 

 ly of the Greek fathers. The fubjecls of his original works 

 aie, in general, morals, and matters of talte. Thofe that 

 have been mod favourably received are, " Reflections on Ri- 

 dicule;" " Refleftions on what m:iy pleafe and difpleafe in 

 the commerce of the world ;" and " RefleClions on Elegance 

 and Politenefs of Style." Tliefe, and feme other pieces, form 

 a colleftion of 14 fmall volumes. Nouv. Did. Hift. 



Bellegarde, in Geography, a fortified town of France, 

 in the department of the Aveiron; it was taken by the Spa- 

 niards in 1674, and retaken the following year by marlhal 

 Schomberg. After the peace of Nimcguen, Louis XIV. 

 built a regular fortrefs with five baftions to defend the Py- 

 renees ; 5 leagues S. of Perpignan. — Alfo, a town of France 

 in the department of the Loiret, and chief place of a can- 

 ton, in the diftrift of Bois-Commun, 3 miles fouth-eaft of 

 Bois-Commun. — Alio, a town of France in the department 

 of the Creufe, and chief place of a canton, in the dillricl of 

 AubufTon ; 2 leat^ues eaft of Aubuffon. 



BELLELAY, a fmall town or village of Germany, in 

 the circle of the Upper Rhine, and bifliopric of Bale, with 

 a rich abbey of Benediftines. It is diftant about 20 miles 

 from Porentru, in a folitary but unpleafant fituation, fur- 

 rounded by mountains and fheltered by forefts. In this 

 place is inilituted a military academy for young nobihty and 

 gentrv. 



BELLEM. See Belem. 



BELLEN, a town of Swifllrland, in the canton of 

 Schweitz ; 9 miles N. E. of Zug. 



BELLENAVE, a town of France, in the department 

 of the Alher, and chief place of a canton in the diitricl of 

 Ganr.at , 3 leagues N. W. of Gannat. 



BELLENCOMBRE, a town of France in the depart- 

 ment of the I^ower Seine, and chief place of a canton, in 

 the diftrict of Neufchatel; 3 leagues weft of Neufchatel, and 

 5 S. S. E. of Dieppe. 



BELLENDEN, William, {BcUc,:Anu.':,'L^i.) m Bio- 

 graphy, a man of extenfive reading and refined tafte, was 

 born in Scotland, and flouriflied in t!ie beginning of the 17th 

 centui-y. He was profeffor of the Belles L-ettres in the uni- 

 verf'ty of Paris in 1602, and continued for a confiderable 

 time in that capital, even after he wa.-s made mafter of the 

 pleas or requells to king James I. of England, At Paris he 



Vol. IV. 



BEL 



publilhed, in 160S, his "Cicero Princcps,"' containing a 

 body of extrafts from Cicero's writings, relative to the 

 maxims of monarchical government, and the duties of a 

 prince. This work he dedicated to Henry, prince of Wales, 

 and he prefixed to it a treatife " Dc ProcelTu ct Scriptori- 

 bns Rei politicae," in which there is a ricli vein of mafculine 

 ienfe and tervent piety. The origin of our errors in religion, 

 a-id of our defcfts in policy and morals, is trcced out with 

 confiderable accuracy and learning. But ivhile the author 

 condemns the monftrous tenets of ancient idolatry, and the 

 grofs corruptions of philofophy, he beftows many julL en- 

 comiums on the wifdom and the patriotifm of fome ancient 

 legiflators. In 161 2, the author pubiiftied a work fimilar to 

 the former, under the title of <' Cicero Conful, Senator Sc- 

 natufque Romanus ;" on the nature of the confular ofHce, 

 and the conftitution of the Roman fenate. Encouraged by 

 the reception given by the pubhc to thcfe works, he con- 

 ceived the plan of a third work, " De Statu prifci Orbis," 

 which was to contain a hiftory of the projeftsof government 

 and philofophy from the Antediluvian times to their \-arious 

 degrees of improvement under the Hebrews, Greeks, and 

 Romans. This work was dedicated to Charles, prince of 

 Scotland and Wales ; but when he had proceeded fo far us 

 to print a few copies of this work, in the year 1615, it wa» 

 fuggefted to him, that his three treatifes, " De Statu Prin- 

 cipis ;" " De Statu Reipublicse;" and " De Statu Orbis," 

 being on fimilar and connefted fubjefts, might be united ia 

 one work ; accordingly they were repubhfhed in this foiTn 

 under the title of " Bellendenus de Statu," in i6r6. Bel- 

 lenden afterwards projefted a more extenfive work " De Tri- 

 bus Luminibus Romanorum," in which Seneca and Pliny 

 were to be joined to Cicero : but death prevented the exe- 

 cution of his whole plan. He was an elegant writer, and a 

 man of extenfive knowledge and found judgment. His La- 

 tin ftyle is formed upon that of Cicero ; and he embraces 

 every opportunity of interweaving the moft choice and pro- 

 per phrafeology from the Roman orator, even whilft he is 

 expreding his owij fentiments, fo that it is not always eafy 

 to diftinguifti fentences cited from Cicero from his. own 

 language. The book " De Statu," was reprinted in Lon- 

 don in 1787, 8vo. by an anonymous editor (fuppofed to be 

 the learned Dr. Parr) with a Latin preface by the editor, 

 relating to the politics and public characters of that period, 

 and beautiful engravinsrs of Mr. Burke, lord North, and 

 Mr. Fox, to v.hom the three treatifes are refpedtively dedi- 

 cated. To prefcrve the memory of every compofition which 

 flowed from the pen of Bellendenus, the editor has inferted 

 an epithalainiura on the marriage of Charles I. and a " pane- 

 gyricum carmen" on the cmbafly to Spain. Thefe vcrlts 

 were found in the Britifti Mufeum. 



The editor owns his firm conviftion that Dr. Middletor, 

 in his celebrated hiftory of Cicero, was much indebtetl to 

 the writings of Bellendenus, although he has never men- 

 tioned his name. Pref. to Bellendenus de Statu. Monthly 

 Review, vol. Ixxv'. p. 491, &c. vol. Ixxvii. p. 504, Sec. 



BELLEREAU, in Geography, a town of France, in 

 the department of the Meurte, and chief place of a canton, 

 in the diitrict of Pont-a-Moufl'on ; 2 leagues S.E. of Pont-a- 

 Mouflop. 



BELLEROPHON, in Fabulous Hiftory, the fon ofGlau- 

 cus, king of Ephyi'ax or Corinth, was contemporary w;:h 

 Jafon. Under a charge of homicide, as fome fay, on his ov. a 

 brother, he was forced to retire to the court of Pi stus, kin t 

 of Argos, where he was accufed by Sthenoba;a, or as Homir 

 fays, Antaea, the wife of Praetus, of an attempt upon her 

 chalHty. For this infult Prxtus fent him to Jobates, his 

 father-in law, king of Lycia, with private inftrucUons to put 



X him 



