BEL 
proper existence in the universe, and are 
considered as formed and ordained by God 
the Creator; such are men, beasts, trees, 
&c. Artificial beings are made by the con- 
trivance or operations of men, whether 
they are of a more corporeal nature, such 
as houses, statues, &c. or whether they re- 
late to intellectual matters, as words, sci- 
ences, verse, &c. Moral beings are those 
which belong to the conduct and govern- 
ment of intelligent creatures, or creatures 
endowed with understanding and volition, 
considered as lying under obligations to par- 
ticular actions. 
BELL, a well-known machine, ranked 
by musicians among the musical instruments 
of percussion. 
The metal is usually composed of three 
parts of 'copper and one part of tin. Its 
colour is greyish white ; it is very hard, so- 
norous, and elastic. The greater part of 
the tin may be separated by melting the 
alloy, and then pouring a little water on it. 
The tin decomposes the water, is oxidised, 
and thrown upon the surface. According 
to Swedenburg, the English bell-metal is 
usually made from the scorire of the brass 
gun foundry, melted over again. The pro- 
portion of tin in bell-metal varies. Less tin 
is used for church bells than clock bells ; 
and in small bells, as those of watches, a 
little zinc is added to the alloy. According 
to Gerbert, the conch of the East Indians 
is composed of tin and copper, in the same 
proportions as in bell-metal. 
The constituent parts of a bell are the 
body or barrel, the clapper on the inside, 
and the ear or cannon on which it hangs to 
a large beam of wood. 
The sound of a bell consists in a vibra- 
tory motion of its parts, much like that 
of a musical chord. The stroke of the 
clapper must necessarily change the figure 
of the bell, and of a round make it oval ; 
but the metal having a great degree of elas- 
ticity, that part will return back again 
which the stroke drove farthest off from the 
centre, and that even some small matter 
nearer the centre than before ; so that the 
two parts which before were extremes of 
the longest diameter, do then become those 
of the shortest ; and thus the external sur- 
face of the bell undergoes alternate changes 
of figure, and by that means gives that tre- 
mulous motion to the air, in which the sound 
consists. s 
M. Perrault asserts, that the sound of the 
same bell is a compound of the sound of 
the several parts of it ; so that where the 
BEL 
parts are homogeneous, and the dimensions 
of the figure uniform, there is such a per- 
fect mixture of all these sounds, as consti- 
tutes one uniform, smooth, even sound, and 
the contrary circumstances produce harsh- 
ness. To confirm this, he observes the dif- 
ferent tone of the bell, according to the 
part of it that is struck ; and yet strike it 
where you will, there is a motion of all the 
parts. He therefore considers bells as com- 
posed of an infinite number of rings, which 
have different tones according to their dif- 
ferent dimensions, as chords of different 
lengths have ; which, when struck, the vi- 
brations of the parts immediately struck 
determine the tone ; being supported by a 
sufficient number of consonant tones in 
other parts. 
It has been found by experience, that 
bells are heard further, if placed on plains, 
than on hills, and still farther in vallies than 
on plains; the reason of which may be 
easily comprehended, by considering, that 
the higher the sonorous body is, the medium 
is the rarer, and consequently receives the 
less impulse, and the vehicle is the less pro- 
per to convey it to a distance. 
The bell-founders distinguish two sorts 
of proportions, viz. the simple and the re- 
lative. The simple proportions are those 
which ought to be between the several 
parts of a bell, and which experience has 
shewn to be necessary towards rendering 
it sweetly sonorous. The relative propor- 
tions are those which establish a requisite 
relation between one bell and another, so 
that their combined sounds may affect a cer- 
tain determined harmony. 
The use of bells is very ancient, as well 
as extensive. We find them among the 
Jews, Greeks, Romans, Christians, and 
Heathens, variously applied, as on the necks 
of men, beasts, birds, horses, sheep ; but 
chiefly hung in buildings, either religious, 
as in churches, temples, and monasteries ; 
or civil, as in houses, markets, baths; or 
military, as in camps and frontier towns. 
When they were first invented, or who 
introduced them into the Christian church, 
is not at present known: but it appears 
that they were employed in the eastern 
church in the ninth century, when Ursus 
Patriciacus, Duke of Venice; made a pre- 
sent of a set to Michael, the Greek empe- 
ror, who built a tower to the church of 
Sancta Sophia, in which to hang them. 
BELLARDIA, in botany, a genus of 
the Tetrandia Monogynia class and order : 
calyx four-cleft superior ; nectary with a 
