BOR 
nearly as much broad ; furrounded on all Tides by the Alps, 
with only one opening, called the Serra, through which 
the river Adda paffes. The foil is fertile, and feeds a 
great number of cattle. The mountains produce diil'erent 
kinds of minerals, especially iron. It formerly made part 
of the Valteline, from which it was feparated at the end 
of the twelfth century, and has fince that time formed a 
different hate. After having often changed matters, it 
finally became fubjeft to the Grilons in the year 1512, 
but with peculiar privileges and immunities. A governor, 
who is called podejla, is appointed every two years, with 
an authority To confined, that he has no power independent 
of the council, in which he has no more than the catting 
vote. All the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, and, in 
fpirituals, under the bifhop of Coire. 
BOR'MIO, the capital of the above-named county, fi- 
tuated at the foot of mount Brallio, between the rivers Adda 
and Fredolfo. It is the rcfidence of the Grifon podefta, and 
contains about a thouland inhabitants. About a mile from 
the town are the baths of Bormio, recommended for rheu¬ 
matic complaints, &c. thirty miles fouth-eaft of Coire, and 
forty-five north-weft of Trent. 
BORN, the participle pajjive of bear. —Their charge was 
always born by the queen, and duly paid out of the exche¬ 
quer. Bacon. 
To be BORN, •v. n. paff. [derived from the word To bear, 
in the fenle of bringing forth ; as, my mother bore me twen¬ 
ty years ago'; or, 1 was born twenty years ago.] To come 
into life : 
Nor nature’s law with fruitlefs forrow mourn ; 
But die, O mortal man ! for thou waft born. Prior. 
It is ufually fpoken with regard to circumftances; as, he 
was born a prince ; he was born to empire ; he was born for 
greatnefs; that is, formed at the birth.—The ftranger 
that dwelleth with you fhall be unto you as one born among 
yon, and thou lhalt love him as thylelf. Leviticus, xix. 34.. 
'—Yet man is born unto trouble, as the fparks fly upward. 
Job, —ft has ufually the particle of before the mother : 
Be bloody, bold, and refolute ; laugh to lcorn 
The pow’r of man ; for none of woman born 
Shall harm Macbeth. Shakefpeare. 
“ He that is Born to be hang'd will never be drown’d.” 
“ He that is Born under a three-penny planet will never 
be worth a groat.” The lirft is fpoken either when any un¬ 
toward perfon has aftually efcaped drowning, or any other 
imminent danger, or in general ironically when any perfon 
has either efcaped, or is in fear, or in the way of danger, 
intimating that his deftiny will bring him to a different fate. 
The latter, when nothing a perfon undertakes profpers, lay¬ 
ing the fault upon fate, when in general it is owing to his 
own mifmanagement. 
BORN (Baron), a celebrated wit, philofopher, and 
philanthropift, of Hungary. This illuftrious fcholar, de- 
icended of a Tranfylvanian family, entered into the fociety 
of the Jefuits in early life, but continued, a member only 
a year and a half. At Prague, he ttudied the law : but, 
after an extenfive tour on the continent, he devoted him- 
felf to natural hiftory and mining. Thofe who have read 
his travels, know that he loft his life nearly, and his health 
altogether, by going into a mine full of arfenical vapours. 
He was afterwards appointed counfellor of mines, and in 
1772 publifhed the catalogue of that colledtion of foflils 
which is well known to be in the hands of our Mr. Gre- 
ville. In the years immediately fucceeding, he engaged 
in different literary enterprifes, and was called to Vienna 
to arrange the imperial collection, and to inftruft the arch- 
duchefs Anna Maria in natural hiftory. The confequence 
of his ill health, however, became continually more fevere. 
He was a martyr to the molt excruciating colics, and in 
one of its attacks he fwallowed lo much opium as threw 
him into a lethargic ftate for twenty-four hours. The dis¬ 
order now attacked his lower extremities; his feet by de¬ 
grees withered, and he was obliged to be almoll conftantly 
Vol, III, No. 126. 
BOR 217 
on a fopha. His genius, however, unfubdtted by pain 
and infirmity, prompted him to take an active part in ail 
the inftitutions and plans for enlightening and informing 
mankind. He founded a freemal'ons’ lodge, which was 
no card or drinking club, but a fociety of learned men. 
No doubt the obftacles thefe gentlemen would find, to -the 
progrefs of fcience and ufeful knowledge, in the church 
hierarchy, and in the cabals of courtiers, would draw their 
attention to political fubjefts; and fubjefts were really 
difeuflfed here which the church had forbid to be fpoken 
of, and which the government mult have wifhed not to be 
thought of. At their meetings, dillertations on Tome fub- 
jebt of hiftory, ethics, or moral philofophy, were read 
by the members; and commonly fomething on the hiftory 
of ancient and modern myfteries, and fecret focietiesw 
Thele were afterwards publiflied in the Diary for Free- 
malons, for the ul'e of the initiated, and not for public 
lale. He belonged alfo to the illuminated, whole views at 
firft were the improvement of mankind, not the deftruction 
of fociety. The fcientitic reader is acquainted with the 
great improvement which the baron made in the extrac¬ 
tion of metals from their ores by quickfilver, and with the 
cabals railed againft him by the envious and the interefted. 
His Monachologia has been mandated into Englifh, but the 
religious infubordination of our forefathers has deprived 
phe Englifh reader of the power of feeling the full poig¬ 
nancy of this ingenious fatire. The intellectual vigour 
of baron Born was incelfantly exerted in literary undertak¬ 
ings. In 1790 he publifhed a mineralogical work, and 
he left two produftions of his pen unfinillied. Notwith- 
ftanding the varied advice of his phyficians, his dileafe 
continued, and on the 21ft of July, 1791, he was feized 
with fpafms, and loft his lpcech. On the fubfequent days 
he had different attacks of the fpafms till the 28th, when he 
expired. 
BORN, a town of France, in the department of the Lot 
and Garonne, and chief place of a canton, in the diftridl: 
of Monflanquin : one league and a half north-north-weft of 
Monflanquin. 
BOR'NA, a town of Germany, in the circle of Upper 
Saxony, and territory of Leipfic, fituated on an illand, form¬ 
ed by the rivers Wichra and Pleifs. It contains two churches, 
the chief employment of the inhabitants is manufacturing 
fluffs; twelve miles foiuh-louth-eaft of Leipfic. 
BORNE, a river of England, which runs into the Tame, 
about a mile fouth-weft of Tamworth. 
BORNE, a river of Savoy, which runs into the Arve, 
about two miles north from Bonneville. 
BOR'NEO, the largeft illand in the Eaft Indian Sea, 
and one of the three great Sunda iflands. It is thought 
to be the largeft illand in the world, next to New Holland ; 
being 1500 miles in circumference. It is feated under the 
equator, and is almoft of a circular figure; abounding 
with gold, and the fineft diamonds J11 the Indies are found 
in its rivers, being walhed down from the mountains by 
the torrents. Here are oxen, buffaloes, deer, goats, ele¬ 
phants, panthers, tigers, the ourang outang, apes, and 
monkeys. This illand has fine rivers, efpecially towards 
the weft and fouth. In their monloon from April to Sep¬ 
tember, the wind is wefterly; and they have continual 
heavy rains, attended with violent llorms of thunder and 
lightning. The rainy fealon continues near eight months ; 
and-trs, during that time, all the flat country near the coaft is 
overflowed, the air is rendered very unhealthy, and many 
of the inhabitants are forced to build their houies on floats, 
which they make fall to trees. The interior parts are yet 
but little known, and we can only judge of its productions 
by thofe which Afia and Europe purchafe, fuch as gold- 
duft, and ingots, copper, tin, iron, bezoar, diamonds, 
pegrls, camphor, lac, benzoin, fandal and other woods, 
pepper white and black, and the beft rice of the Ealt In¬ 
dies. Cloves and nutmegs are laid to grow on the tops of 
feme of the mountains, as alfo coffee, and a variety of aro¬ 
matic herbs, lemon and orange trees, mangoes, pines, palms, 
&c. Few countries produce fuch a variety of beautiful 
3 K birds 4 
