B I. A 



B L A 



ftrufturam naturalem proponens." Amft. 1601, 410. The 

 greater part of this work is collccled from Severimis, Harvey, 

 Malpighi, Willis, Barthohne, and other writers and jour- 

 nals. The work has, however, its utihty, by bringing into 

 a fmall compafs a great number of curious faCls, and obfer- 

 vations, which were only before to be found by recur- 

 ring to a variety of publications. In a letter publiflied in 

 the third century of Th. Dartholine's epillles, Blafuis 

 claims the difcovery of the duftus fahvaris, which he fays 

 he firft fiiewed to Steno, then a young man. This has not, 

 however, prevented the difcovery from being attributed to 

 Steno, the du<£l taking his name. For the titles of the 

 reft of the works compofed or edited by Blafius, fc-c Haller. 

 Bib. Anat. Med. et Chiruro-. and Eloy's Did. Hift. 



BLASKET Sound, in Gc-o^raj''/.'y,V\es on the wti'c coaft of 

 Ireland, between the Great Blalket ifland and Dnnmore- 

 head, on the mainland of the county of Kerry. In this found 

 there is ten fathom water, and in the fummer time and mo- 

 derate weather a velTel may ftop ofF the eall end of the Great 

 Blafl<et; but the ground will not hold well in blowing wea- 

 ther. In pafling through this found, it is necelTary to at- 

 tend to a pretty Itrong tide, and to a rock not far from Dun- 

 more point, which is covered at high water. 



BLASKETS, Blasquets, or Fenhcr iflands, a clufter 

 of iflands on the weft coaft of the county of Kerry, Ireland, 

 being the moft wefternly land in the European part of the 

 Britilh empire. They are five in number, befides feveral 

 rocks, fome of which are always above water, and others are 

 covered by high tides. Thefe idands were given by the 

 earl of Defmond to the family of Ferriter, from which one 

 of their names is taken ; but at prefent they belong to the 

 earl of Cork and Orrery. The largeft called, Inn'ifmore, i.e. 

 the Great Ifland, and more commonly the Great Blajkct, 

 was vifited by Dr. Smith, who found it inhabited by five or 

 fix families, and fpeaks in high terms of the faiubrity of its 

 air. Ruins of churches, and cells or hermitages, are found 

 in fome of the others, but when Dr. Smith was there, they 

 were not inhabited. The finall rocks are frequented by fea- 

 f^wl, the feathers of which are coUefted by the people of 

 the neighbouring coaft. The hawks which are found here 

 are remarkably good, and were formerly in much efteem. 

 Amongft other fea-fowl lh.Qjlonny petrel, ( procellaria, Linn.) 

 is common here. The Greater Blaflcet is 9 leagues S. W. 

 by W. from Louphead, the north point of the Shannon, 

 and 5 leagues north of the Skeligs. The whole clufter lie 

 between 10° 17'. and 10° 31' W. longitude, and between 

 51° 58'. and 52° 3'. north latitude. Smith's Keiry. 

 M'Kenzie. 



BLASPHEMY, Uafphsmia, or blafphemium, in MiMe 

 Age Writers, denotes fimply the blaming or condemning of 

 a perfon or thing. The word is Greek, /SAao-ynjuia, from 

 ^X^XTu, /<f;/o. Among the Greeks, to hlafphcme, was to ufe 

 words of evil omen, or that portended fomething ill, which 

 the ancients were careful to avoid, fubltituting in lieu of 

 them other words of fofter and gentler import, fometimes the 

 very reverie of the proper ones. 



Blasphemy is more peculiarly reftrained to evil or re- 

 proachful words fpokcn of the Deity. Auguftin fays, 

 " Jam vulgo blafphemia non accipitur nifi mala verba de 

 Deo dicere." 



According to Lindwood, blafphemy is an injury offered 

 to God, by denying that which is due and belonging to 

 him ; or attributing to him what is not agreeable to his 

 nature. 



By the Mofaic law, blafphemy was puniftied with death. 

 Levit. cl'.ap. xxiv. ver. 13 — 16. As alfo by the civil 

 law. Novel. 77. In Spain, Naples, France and Italy, 



the pains of death are not now inflicted. In the empire, 

 either amputation, or death, is made the puniflnment of this 

 crime. 



By the canon law, blafphemy was punifhcd only by a fo- 

 lemn penance, and by cuftom, either by a pecuniary or 

 corporal punifliment. By the Englifti laws, blafphemiea 

 againft God and rclig'on, as denying his being, or provi- 

 dence, and all contumelious rtproaehes of Jefjs Chrill, &c. 

 to which may be alfo referred all profane fcoffing at the holy 

 fcripture, or expofing it to contempt and ridicule, are of- 

 fences by the common law, and punjfhable by fine, impri- 

 fonment, and pillory. I Hawk. P. C. And by the llatute 

 law, he that denies any one of the perfons of the Trinity to 

 be God, or afferts there are more Gods than one, or, having 

 been educated in, and having made profelT.on of the Cbriftiau 

 religion, denies, by writing, printing, teaching, or adviled 

 fpeaking, Chriftianity to be true, or the holy fcriptures to 

 be of divine authority, for the firft offence is rendered inca- 

 pable of any office or place of truft ; and for the fccond, ad. 

 judged incapable of bringing any action, being guardian, 

 executor, legatee, or purchafer of lajds, and to be imprifoned 

 for three years without bail. 9 and 10 W. III. c. 32. To 

 give room, however, for repentance, if, within four months 

 after the firft convidlion, the delinquent will in open court 

 publicly renounce his error, he is difcharged for that once 

 from all diiabilities. 



According to the law of Scotland, the punilhment of 

 blafphemy is death. The firft fpecies thereof confifts in 

 railing at or curfing God, and here the fingle aft conftitutcs 

 the crime. The fecond confifts in denying the exiftence of 

 the Supreme Being, or any of the perfons of the Trinity ; 

 and therein obllinately perfevering to thelaft. For reiterated 

 denial does not fully conftitute the crime, becaufe the flat, 

 of Charles II. 1661, admits of repentance before conviftioa 

 as a complete expiation. 



This ftatute of 1661, is ratified by a ftatute of king 

 William, whereby the calling in queftion the exiftence of 

 God, or of any of the perfons of the Trinity, or the autho- 

 rity of Scripture, or the Divine Providence, is made 

 penal. For the firft offence, imprifonment till f?.tisfac- 

 tion given by public repentance in fack-cloth. For the 

 fecond, a fine of a year's valued rent of the real ellate, 

 and twentieth part of the perfonal eftate : and the trial 

 in both thefe cafes is competent to inferior judges. The 

 punifliment of the third offence is death, to be tried only by 

 the juftices. 



Blasphkmy agalnjl the Holy Ghojl. Divines are not 

 agreed with refpeft to the nature of the crime thus denomi- 

 nated, Matthew, xii. 31. Mark, iii, 28,29. Luke, xii. 10. 

 and the grounds of the extreme guilt afcribed to it. On 

 this fubjeft it may be obferved in general, that from our 

 Saviour's expreffiou this fin appears to confift, and to be 

 completed, not in our thoughts, nor in our works, but in 

 our words. Nor, indeed, is the epithet " blafphemous," 

 or any fynonymous term, ever joined in fcripture, as is com- 

 mon in modern ufe, with doftrines, thoughts, and opinions. 

 It is never applied but to words and fpceches. A " blaf- 

 phemous opinion," or "blafphemous doftrine," are phrafes» 

 which, however familiar to us, are as unfuitable to the fcrip- 

 ture idiom, as a " railing opinion," or " flanderous doc- 

 trine," is to ours. It may be alfo obferved, that this 

 blafphemy is not of the conitruftive kind, but direft, mani- 

 feft, and malignant. It is mentioned as comprehended 

 under the fame genus with abufe againft man, and contra- 

 diftinguifhed only by the objeft : and it is further explained 

 by being called " fpeaking againft," in both cafes. The 

 expreffions are, in effeiit, the fame in all the gofpek, where 



it 



