BOS 



cosft of Comw-aM, cannot fail to excite embtlons of .idmira- 

 lion and terror in the mind:, of mod fpcftators. 



From Tintaj^cl to Uolcalllc cnc road winds tliroiipli vari- 

 ous rocky chafin*. Tiie latter vAhj^v U fcated at the bottom 

 of a dcq> valley, wartiid by a fmall iiiUt of tlic fea, wliilft 

 moiiiitninou5 cmincncci cnciiclc it. Tliis jilacc was formerly 

 ■noted for a catllc, built by one of the IJotcrcaux family ; but 

 no fragments are now remaining, llillory ol I'oroiighs, 

 vol. i. 8vo. 



BOSSO, Matthew, in Riogra/iky, an ecelefiaftic dif- 

 tinguilhtd for his learning aid virtues, was burn at Verona, 

 in 14:8, and educated firll at Milan, and after his adinilCon 

 into the congregation of canons regular of the l.ateran, at 

 I'adna. His merit advanced him lo fcvtr.il eminent ofiices 

 in his order ; and at Fiefolo, where he Inpcrintendvrd the 

 canonry of St. Bartholomew, he became acquainted with 

 Lorenzo dc Medici, who appoiiitcd him his conlefior ; and 

 it was from his hands, and in his thureh that Jului, the foil 

 of Lorenzo, alterwards pope Lio X. rcceive<\ the crfigns 

 of the cardiiialate. He was ofTcied a bi(ho[)ric by pope Six- 

 tus IV. for his fervices in checking the difordiis that pre- 

 vailed in the nunneries of Liguiia, and the adjacent pro- 

 vinces, but refufcd lo accept it. Alter having five times 

 fuilained the office of vilitor, and twice that of procurator. 

 general of his order, he died at Padua in ijOi. Of his 

 works the principal are tiie following, viz. •' \)c I'alutaribus 

 animi gaudiis ;" " De inllituendo fapicntia aiimo ;" " De 

 tolerandis advcrfu ;" " De gerendo magiltiatu ;" De im- 

 moderato mulitrum cultu ;" and a collection of letters and 

 fmall pieces, entitled " Rscuperationts Fefulan-j'," printed 

 at Bologna, in 1493, and furnifhing one of the fiiicil fpeci- 

 mens of typography of the I5t!i century. Gen. Di£l. 

 Rofcoe's Lorenzo de Medici, vol. ii. 



BO.SSON, in Gcogniphy, one of the five glaciers of Swif. 

 ferland, that 'llretch towards the plain of Chamouny, and 

 unite at the foot of Mount Blanc. Sec Glacier. 



BOSSU, Renk Le, in B'iogr,iphy, a polite fcholar and 

 eminent critic, was bom at Paris in 1 631 ; and having re- 

 ceived the rudiments of his education at Nanterre, he was 

 admitted a canon regular in the abbey of .St. Gtnevieve, at 

 the early age of 18 years, and purfued tlie Ihidy of pliilofo- 

 phy and divinity. After having received pricft's orders, in 

 1657, he indulged his inclination to the Belles Lcttrcs, and 

 devoted himftlf for feveral years to the employment of teach- 

 ing tliem. At length he retired to pafs his time in tran- 

 quil ftudy at the abbey of St. Genevieve ; and in this re- 

 treat, where he was feduloufly employed, puhllflied his 

 " Parallel of the philofophy of Dcfcants and of Ariftotle," 

 and his more popular " Treatife on epic poetry." He alfo 

 publifhed a fmall piece in favour of Boileau againll St. Sor- 

 lin ; but the greater number of his compofitions remain in 

 MS. at the abbey of St. John, at Chartres, of whicli he was 

 made fub-prior in 1677. He died in 16S0. Boffu was dif- 

 tingui(hed by a found judgment, well regulated, but lively 

 imagination, and a mild, benevolent charader. His work 

 on epic poetry furniflies many judicious rule?, of which 

 however, Voltaire fays, that they will never make a poet. 

 It was left in an impcrfedt ftate ; the author having intended to 

 exemplify his rules from Horace and Virgil. The bell edi- 

 tion is that of the Hague, in 1714, with a memoir on the 

 life and writings of the author by father Courayer. Gen. 



Dia. 



Bossu, in Gtography, an ifland about 3 074 leagues N. E. 

 from Trinity Point, on the north coaft of the gulf or river 

 of St. Lawrence. 



BOSSUET, Jamfs Benignus, in Biography, a famous 

 French divine, celebrated for popular eloquence, for his ta- 



BOS 



Icnls a.« a controverfial divine, and for his elaborate vindica- 

 tion of thr Roman catholic faith, was born at Dijon in 162 1 ; 

 and having for fome time purfued his lludies under the care 

 of the Jcluits, who willied him to enter into their order, he 

 was rek-ucd from them by the interporition of his uncle, and 

 in 1641 fent to Paris to finidi his lludits at the coUegeof 

 Navarre. As he had devoted himfclf to the clerical profef- 

 fion, theology was the objeft of his particular attention ; 

 and his favoiiiite author was Augullin. To the lludy of 

 polite literature he dedicated a poition of his time ; and whilll 

 he was a profefTtd admirer of Homer, he difappixjvcd the 

 introduftion of mythology into modern poetry. And 

 though the range of his (Indies was very cxtcnlive, he dif- 

 regardfd mathematics from a preconceived notio;., that they 

 would not contribute to Jiiakc him a founder divine, or a 

 more eloquent preacher. The philofophy of Defcartes re- 

 commer^lrd itfilf to him by its novelty, and he adopted it, 

 notwithltaiidiiig the reproach and pcrftculion which it un- 

 drrwcnt. After completing his theological courfc, he re- 

 ceived the degree of doftor of the Sorbonne in 1652, and 

 then rcm(.H'cd to Mctz, when he was appointed canon of the 

 church. Here he wrote his firft polemic piece, which was 

 a refutation of the catechiim of a Huguenot minitter of that 

 town, with whom, huwever, he lived on tenus of uninterrupt- 

 ed fricndfhip. Upon his return to Paris, his eloquence as a 

 preacher recommended him to royal patronage. In 1661, 

 he preached before the king, and his conduft during his rt- 

 fidence at Vcrfailles was fuited to the dignity of his profef- 

 fion. He foon obtained, witliout any foiicitation on his own 

 part, the bilhopric of Condom ; but when he was appointed 

 preceptor to the dauphin, in i6;o, he reiigned this prefer- 

 ment, and devoted himfelf entirely to the dilcharge of the 

 duties of this honourable and important office. In this litu- 

 ation he compofed for the ufe of his pupil, his difcourfe on 

 univerfal hillory, which, notwithflanding fome objeftions 

 that have been urged agaiiift it, is conlidered as his princi- 

 pal performance, and much more inllruftive and ufclul than 

 all his theological and controverfial writings. As foon as he 

 had completed the education of the prince, Lewis XIV. 

 advanced him, in recompence of his attention to this objeft, 

 in 1681, to the fee of Meaux ; and in this fituation of great- 

 er leifure, he employed himfelf in the defence of the church 

 againft both iniidels and proteilants. In his polemic writings 

 he difplaycd much logical acutenefs and dexterity in illuf- 

 trating the doilrine of the church, and the variations fub- 

 filHng among proteilants ; and he deduced his chief argu- 

 ments in favour of the former, and in oppolition to the latter, 

 from the antiquity and unity of the churches ; the authority 

 of fathers, councils, and popes, during a long feries of ages; 

 the novelty of the pretenlions of the reformers ; the necelfity 

 of an umpire in the province of religion for fettling difputes, 

 explaining the fcriptures, and maintaining order and peace ; 

 and the necefllty of fubmltting to fuch an umpire, in order 

 to prevent that dif-union and variety of fefts, each profefling 

 its right to interpret the divine word, and claiming the 

 honour of being the true church, which difgraced the 

 caufe of the proteilants. The latter were ably defended by 

 the French Calviiiills, and particularly by the celebrated 

 Claude, to whom, in the controverfy, fome even of the 

 catholics have allowed the fuperiority. Leibnitz alfo be- 

 came a party in the difpute between the proteilants and 

 papills, and recommended, for the fake of unity and peace, 

 mutual conccffions. But Bofluet remained inflexible, and 

 conceded only that the facramental cup might be allowed, as 

 a matter of favour, to the laity. He was, however, no ad- 

 vocate for the infallibility of the pope, or for his aflumed 

 right of depofing kings ; but zealoufly oppofed both thefe 



claims. 



