lord chancellor, was born in 1558. He studied at Cambridge, and travelled much. In 1579, he went to Paris, and resided there, and in other parts of France, a considerable time. He there became acquainted with Henry IV, with whom, and with many of the first literati of Europe, he carried on an extensive correspondence after he had returned to England. The time of his death is not known.

BACON, Francis, baron of Verulam ; one of the most remarkable men of whom any age can boast; a reformer of philosophy, by founding it on the observation of nature, after it had consisted, for so many centuries, of scholastic subtilties and barren dialectics. He was born at London, in 1561, and displayed, from his earliest childhood, proofs of a superior mind. In his 13th year, he entered the university of Cambridge, where he made astonishing progress in all the sciences there taught. He had not completed his 16th year, when he wrote against the Aristotelian philosophy, which seemed to him more calculated to perpetuate disputes than to enlighten the mind. It was then the custom, in England, to send abroad, particularly to France, those young men who were destined for public life. Young B. went to Paris in the suite of sir Amias Paulet, who soon after sent him to England with an important message. He discharged it to the satisfaction of the queen (Elizabeth), returned to France, and travelled through several provinces of that country, to study its manners and laws. When 19 years old, he wrote a work, entitled, Of the State of Europe, in which he gave the most astonishing proofs of the early maturity of his judgment. The death of his father called him back to England, where, in order to be enabled to live suitably to his rank, he devoted himself to jurisprudence, and pursued the study of the law with so much success, that he was made counsel extraordinary to the queen before he was 28 years old. His professional labors did not, however, make him lose sight of the idea, which he had early conceived, of reforming the plan of scholastic studies agreeably to sound philosophy. His place was more honorable than lucrative. B.'s talents, and his connexion with the lord treasurer Burleigh, and his son sir Robert Cecil, first secretary of state, seemed to promise him the highest promotion; but the enmity between the latter and the earl of Essex, likewise a friend and protector of B., prevented his advancement. Essex endeav

ored to indemnify him by the donation of an estate in land. B., however, soon forgot his obligations to this generous benefactor, and not only abandoned him as soon as he had fallen into disgrace, but, without being obliged, took part against him on his trial. Against this ingratitude the public voice was raised, and, whatever B. might say in his justification, he remained at court the object of hatred to one party and of jealousy to the other, and the queen did not appear inclined to do any thing in his favor. In parliament, he conducted, for some time, with dignity and independence. He had been chosen member for the county of Middlesex, in 1593, and voted with the popular party against the measures of the ministers, though he continued in the service of the crown. But, towards the end of Elizabeth's reign, his parliamentary conduct became more servile. If any thing can excuse him, it is his poverty, which was so great that he was twice arrested for debt. The reign of James I was more favorable to him. This prince, who was ambitious of being considered a patron of letters, conferred upon him, in 1603, the order of knighthood. Having been commissioned to make a solemn representation of the oppressions committed by the royal purveyors in the king's name, he executed the task with so much address as to satisfy both the king and the parliament. The house of commons voted him the public thanks, and James made him one of the king's counsel, with a pension of 40£, which was soon followed by another of 60£. His situation now continually improved: he contracted an advantageous marriage; in 1617, was made lord keeper of the seals; in 1619, lord high chancellor of England and baron of Verulam, and, in the following year, viscount St. Alban's. He might now have lived with splendor, without degrading his character by those acts which have stained his reputation. Nevertheless, great complaints were made against him He was accused, before the house of lords, of having received money for grants of offices and privileges under the seal of state. He was unable to justify himself, and, desiring to avoid the mortification of a trial, confessed his crimes, and threw himself on the mercy of the peers, beseeching them to limit his punishment to the loss of the high office which he had dishonored. After he had acknowledged, by an explicit confession, the truth of almost all the charges, notwithstanding the intercession of the king, and the interest

which they themselves took in one of their most distinguished members, the lords sentenced him to pay a fine of 40,000£, and to be imprisoned in the Tower during the pleasure of the king. He was also declared forever incapable of place or employment, and forbidden to sit in parliament, or to appear within the verge of the court. This severe sentence was doubtless just; yet it must be allowed, that he was actuated neither by avarice nor corruption of heart, but that his errors are rather to be attributed to a weakness of character, which was abused by others. Traits of generosity and independence, which his life also displays, show clearly that he knew and valued virtue. Ile was unfaithful to it because he had not sufficient firmness to refuse the unjust demands of others. His sentence was not rigorously executed; he was soon released from the Tower, and the rest of his punishment was, by degrees, remitted entirely. He survived his fall only a few years, and died in 1626.-All the studies and efforts of this great man aimed at a reform in the system of human knowledge. He examined the whole circle of the sciences, investigated their relations, and attempted to arrange them according to the different faculties of the human mind, to which each belongs. In this, however, he could not succeed, for want of a well-founded and natural division of the powers of the mind; for he divided the sciences into those of the memory, of the understanding and of the imagination. This he explains in his Instauratio Magna, under the head De Dignitate et Augmentis Scientiarum. B. further perceived that, in all the branches of natural science, the only way to truth is by the observation of nature. How this observation is to be directed, and how nature is to be examined, is illustrated in several places. He explained his ideas on this subject in the above-mentioned treatise (De Dignitate, &c.), and in the Novum Organum Scientiarum. His universal genius had attended to all the sciences; he perceived to what point each of them had advanced, what false directions they had taken, and how they were to be brought back to truth. As a metaphysician, he displays no less penetration than profoundness in his views of the operations of the mind, of the association of ideas, and of the prejudices which surround us from our cradle, and prevent the free exercise of reason. As a natural philosopher, he brought forward very ingenious views, and was on the route to several impor

tant discoveries. He invented a kind of pneumatic machine, by his experiments with which he was led to suspect the elasticity and gravity of the air, which Galileo and Torricelli afterwards discovered. He clearly indicated the attraction of gravitation, which Newton afterwards proved. He wanted only experiments in order to demonstrate the principles of this power. He treated also of natural history, but only in an abridged manner, in his work Sylva Sylvarum, &c. He wrote several treatises on medicine; among others, one on life and death. But physiology and chemistry were then so imperfectly understood, that he could not avoid falling into great errors. The science of law he treated not merely as a lawyer, but as a legislator and philosopher. His aphorisms are not less remarkable for profound views than for vigor and precision of expression. Morals are the subject of one of his finest works, entitled Essays, or Sermones Fideles-a treasure of the most profound knowledge of man and of human relations, delivered in an eloquent and vigorous style. As a historian he is less distinguished; he wrote a history of Henry VII. Of his knowledge of antiquity, his work On the Wisdom of the Ancients bears witness, in which he explains the ancient fables by ingenious allegories. B. possessed a less profound knowledge of mathematics, and to this it is to be ascribed, that he who so generally discovered the errors of the human mind, and pointed out the truth, opposed the Copernican system. In this point alone he remained behind some enlightened men of his time. In other departments of human investigation, he soared to such a height, that his contemporaries could not fully estimate the extent of his genius, the justness of his views, and the importance of his labors. He himself was his only judge, and, with a just pride, he says, in his will, "My name and memory I bequeath to foreign nations and to my own countrymen, after some time be passed over." Göthe says of B., "He drew a sponge over the table of human knowledge." The best edition of all his works appeared in London, in 1765, in 5 vols. quarto. They are partly in English, partly in Latin. The Library of Useful Knowledge contains a popular treatise on the Novum Organum.

BACON, Nathaniel, a leader of insurgents in Virginia, while under the royal government, was educated in England, where he engaged in the profession of the law. About the year 1675, he came to Virginia, bringing with him a high

reputation for talent and legal erudition, which soon rendered him conspicuous, and obtained him a seat in the provincial council. At the time of his arrival, the people of the colony were in a state of great exasperation against the English government, in consequence of various obnoxious proceedings, and, shortly after, took up arms. The commanding person and lofty character of B. attracted the attention of the multitude, who made him their leader. He immediately set about confirming the spirit of the people, and making preparations for an inroad upon the savages. Affecting to consider himself as acting in submission to the proper authorities, he requested the governor of the colony, sir William Berkeley, to grant him a commission confirming his appointment by the people. This was refused, and a proclamation issued, commanding the mutineers and their leader to surrender, under penalty of treason. This proclamation, however, was of no avail, as the revolt had become general. The governor was obliged to descend to concessions, and dismantle the forts, dissolve the old assembly, and issue writs for a new election, which, of course, terminated in favor of the malcontents, and reinstated B. in the council.-Whilst these events were passing at the capital, B. had attacked some of the Indian settlements, and taken a considerable number of captives. On his return to Jamestown, having embarked in a sloop with only 40 men, he was made prisoner by the English vessels which covered the river, and sent to the city. The governor, deeming this a favorable opportunity to conciliate the disaffected by an act of clemency, immediately reversed his attainder, and admitted him to his seat in the council. B. soon after returned to his army, and charged the governor with duplicity in withholding his commission, which, he said, had been promised to him at the time when he was set at liberty, and with obstinacy in not according the redress due to their courage and sufferings. By these means he so inflamed their minds, that they demanded to be led to Jamestown. He complied with their wishes, and, by means of their presence, and the solicitations of a majority of the assembly, he procured the governor's signature to an act of indemnity, and a commission of general for himself. He then left the city, and led his soldiers towards the frontiers.-During his absence, the governor dissolved the assembly, issued a second proclamation declaring B. a rebel,

and raised his standard in Gloucester county, the inhabitants of which remained faithful to him. Receiving intelligence of these occurrences, B. immediately retraced his steps. On his approach, the governor hastily withdrew, with a few friends, to Accomac, which, though properly under the jurisdiction of the colony, was nominally a distinct territory. Pretending that, by retiring to this place, the governor had abdicated his authority, B. assembled a number of the most influential men of the colony, who expressed the same opinion. Upon this he called an assembly, by writs with his signature and those of four other members of the council. Having now procured a shadow of authority for his measures, B. renewed his Indian expedition. Several savage tribes had confederated on the frontiers since his departure, and committed numerous depredations. He came up with their army near a stream, since called the Bloody run, from the sanguinary conflict which took place on its margin, and defeated it with great slaughter.-In the interim, the governor had collected a body of troops, to the number of 600, and regained possession of Jamestown. B. received the account of this revolution during his return, and, although his army was reduced to 300 men, immediately marched towards the city. When arrived near it, he caused his men to erect a breast-work, under cover of which they might repose in safety. Here they were attacked by the governor, but unsuccessfully. Finally, the governor was obliged to abandon the town, and retreat to the vessels on the river, in consequence of the numerous desertions from his army, and the daily increase of his adversaries.-When B. recovered the capital, perceiving that every article likely to be useful to his army had been carried off or destroyed, and that it was not susceptible of defence against regular approaches, he caused it to be burnt. He then proceeded to organize the new government, which he did on the most popular footing, and established the seat of his administration at Middle Plantation. But death soon put an end to his career. In the trenches before Jamestown, he had caught a cold, which settled into a diarrhoea, that exhausted his constitution, but could not check his efforts. At length he sunk under it, and died, at the residence of a doctor Pate, in Gloucester county, in the year 1677.-B. was a man of a sanguine temper, much courage, promptness, decision and presence of mind. After his death, the insur

gents gradually relaxed their exertions, and the province soon returned to its allegiance. This rebellion cost the colony 100,000£. BACON, Roger, an English monk, who, by the power of his genius, raised himself above his time, made astonishing discoveries in several sciences, and contributed much to the extension of real knowledge. He was born in 1214, near Ilchester, in the county of Somerset, of an old and respectable family. Following the impulse of an inquisitive spirit, he overcame all the obstacles opposed to his progress by ignorance and superstition. He first entered the university of Oxford, and went afterwards to that of Paris, then much frequented, where he distinguished himself much by successful study, and received the degree of doctor of theology. In 1240, he returned to England, where he entered the order of Franciscans, and fixed his abode at Oxford. Natural philosophy seems then to have been the chief object of his labors; but this study required expenditures beyond his means. He met, however, with generous friends of science, whose contributions enabled him to purchase books, to prepare instruments, and to make the necessary experiments. In examining the secrets of nature, he made discoveries, and deduced results, which gained him the admiration of the enlightened, who comprehended their natural connexion; but which appeared so extraordinary to the ignorant, that they were believed to be works of magic. This opinion was countenanced by the jealousy and hatred of the monks of his fraternity. He himself loudly blamed the ignorance and corruption of the clergy, and in particular of the monks, and even wrote a letter to the pope, representing the necessity of reform. In revenge, they denounced to the court of Rome his dangerous opinions and astonishing operations, which they attributed to the agency of the devil. The pope forbade him to teach at the university. He was soon afterwards thrown into prison, prevented from holding communication with any person, and even deprived of necessary food. Among the few enlightened individuals, who admired his genius and pitied his misfortunes, was the cardinal bishop of Sabina, papal legate in England, who no sooner ascended the papal chair, under the name of Clement IV, than he liberated him, and took him under his protection. Clement demanded a collection of all his works; upon which B. wrote that work, which was afterwards printed, under the title of

Opus Majus, and sent it to him by his favorite disciple, John of Paris, in 1267. Under Clement's successor, Nicholas III, the general of the Franciscans, Hieronymus ab Esculo, declared himself against B., forbade the reading of his writings, and issued an order for his imprisonment, which was confirmed by the pope. This new confinement lasted 10 years; and when Hieronymus ab Esculo was elected pope, under the name of Nicholas IV, B. vainly endeavored to convince him of the innocence and utility of his labors, by sending him a treatise On the Means of avoiding the Infirmities of Old Age. After the death of Nicholas IV, he regained his liberty by the intercession of some distinguished Englishmen, and returned to Oxford, where he wrote a Compendium of Theology, and died soon afterwards, according to some, in 1292, or, as others think, in 1294. Though an extraordinary man, B. could not entirely free himself from the prejudices of his time. He believed in the philosopher's stone and in astrology. There are to be found in his writings new and ingenious views on optics, e. g., on the refraction of light, on the apparent magnitude of objects, on the magnified appearance of the sun and moon when in the horizon, &c. He describes very exactly the nature and effects of convex and concave lenses, and speaks of their application to the purposes of reading, and of viewing distant objects, both terrestrial and celestial; and it is easy to prove from his writings, that he was either the inventor or improver of the telescope. He also gives descriptions of the camera obscura, and of the burning-glass. He made, too, several chemical discoveries. In one place he speaks of an inextinguishable fire, which was probably a kind of phosphorus: in another, he says that an artificial fire could be prepared with saltpetre and other ingredients, which would burn at the greatest distance, and by means of which thunder and lightning could be imitated: a portion of this mixture, of the size of an inch, properly prepared, would destroy a whole army, and even a city, with a tremendous explosion, accompanied by a brilliant light: and, in another place, he says decidedly, that thunder and lightning could be imitated by means of saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal. Hence he had already an idea of gunpowder. He was so well versed in Greek and Hebrew, and wrote Latin with such elegance and clearness, that his acquirements in these respects would alone secure him a high character.

He was intimately acquainted with geography and astronomy, as appears by his discovery of the errors of the calendar, and their causes, and by his proposals for correcting them, in which he approached very near to truth. He himself made a corrected calendar, of which there is a copy in the Bodleian library. Even in moral philosophy, B. has laid down some excellent precepts for the conduct of life, and is, in every respect, entitled to remembrance as a great philosopher and a wonderful man.

BACTRIANA, or BACTRIA; one of the principal provinces of ancient Persia, and, before Cyrus, a powerful kingdom, the inhabitants of which were noted for bravery. On the north and east, it was bounded by one of the largest rivers of Asia, the Oxus, now Gihon; on the south, it stretched along the Paropamisus; on the west, it reached Margiana. On account of its situation and fertility, it had made great progress in civilization at a very early period. The Persians derived their mythology, religion and architecture from Bactria. Bessus here declared himself sovereign of Asia, after the destruction of the Persian monarchy. It is to be regretted, that our knowledge of this country is but slight. Even the companions of Alexander give no particular account of it.

BADAJOZ, or BADAJOX (with the Romans, Pax Augusta); the fortified capital of the Spanish province Estremadura, on the left bank of the Guadiana, which is crossed by a stone bridge of 22 arches. B. lies not far from the Portuguese frontiers, and has 14,000 inhabitants. Lon. 6° 47′ W.; lat. 38° 49′ N.; 82 miles N. N. W. of Seville. B. contains a cannon foundery, and is a bishop's see. It was besieged, in the wars with Napoleon, three times by the English. After the expulsion of Massena from Portugal, and his retreat through Estremadura, it was the chief object of the British general to take B., which the French had possessed from March 10, 1811, as well as Ciudad-Rodrigo and Almeida. After the capture of Olivenza (April 16, 1811), Wellington caused B. to be invested; but, as Soult approached to its succor, he was obliged to raise the siege, May 14. After the battles of Fuentes d'Onor and Albufera, B. was besieged a second time, May 25; but, after several unsuccessful attacks, Wellington raised the siege, June 16, 1811. After the capture of Ciudad-Rodrigo (Jan. 19, 1812), Wellington commenced the third siege, March 17, with 16,000 men, 44

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and, on the 6th of April, took the city by storm, after a sanguinary conflict. The garrison, together with the commander, general Philippon, were made prisoners. The besiegers lost 72 officers and 963 men killed; 366 officers and 3483 men wounded. In the peace of B., concluded between Spain and Portugal, 6th June, 1801, Portugal promised to shut its harbors against the English. Spain retained Olivenza and its territory along the Guadiana. (See Portugal.)

BADEN, grand-duchy; governed by a family of princes, who derive their origin from Godfrey, a duke of the Alemanni, who defended his country till his death, in 709, against the attempts of the Franks. In 1801, the government devolved upon Charles Louis Frederic, who, in 1806, was married to Stephanie Louise Adrienne Napoleone, an adopted daughter of Napoleon. After his death, Dec. 8, 1818, as he left no male descendants, his uncle, the present grand-duke, Louis William Augustus, became his successor, with the title of margrave. He was born Feb. 9, 1763. This prince has no children; hence the sons of the last grand-duke but one, and of the countess of Hochberg, will succeed him. The eldest of them, Leopold (born in 1790), was married, in 1819, to Wilhelmina, eldest daughter of the late king of Sweden, Gustavus IV.—Until the peace of Luneville, the territory of Baden contained 1631 square miles, with 210,000 inhabitants. At this peace, 169 square miles, with 25,000 inhabitants, were given up, and, on the other hand, 1270 square miles, with 245,000 inhabitants, were gained. May 1, 1803, the margrave received the dignity of elector. By the peace of Presburg, which restored Brisgau to Baden, and by her accession to the confederation of the Rhine, to which she owes the grand-ducal title, and the sovereignty of the greater part of the territory of the prince of Furstenberg, of the landgraviate of Clettgau, and of the principality of Leiningen, &c., as well as by the exchange of lands with Würtemberg, in 1810, which added to Baden almost 30,000 new subjects, the size of her territory has been enlarged to 5900 square miles, with 1,145,000 inhabitants. This was the number of inhabitants in 1826. In 1822, there were 1,090,910, according to official papers, showing an increase at the rate of one and forty-eight hundredths annually. The hereditary lands (Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach) contain, exclusive of the territories ceded, 1080 square miles, with 217,381 inhabit