Button. they ftrike the intended impreffion on the convex fide. by means of a similar iron puncheon, in a kind of mould engraven en creux, either by the hammer or the prefs ufed in coining. The cavity or mould, wherein the impreffion is to be made, is of a diameter and depth fuitable to the fort of button intended to be ftruck in it; each kind requiring a particular mould. Between the puncheon and the plate is placed a thin piece of lead, called by workmen a bob, which greatly contributes to the taking off all the ftrokes of the engraving; the lead, by reafon of its foftnefs, eafily giving way to the parts that have relievo, and as easily infinuating itself into the traces or indentures.

The plate thus prepared makes the cap or fhell of the button. The lower part is formed of another plate, in the fame manner, but much flatter, and without any impreffion. To the last or under plate is foldered a fmall eye made of wire, by which the button is to be fastened.

The two plates being thus finished, they are foldered together with foft folder, and then turned in a lathe. Generally indeed they ufe a wooden mould, inftead of the under plate; and in order to faften it, they pafs a thread or gut across, through the middle of the mould, and fill the cavity between the mould and the cap with cement, in order to render the button firm and folid; for the cement entering all the cavities formed by the relievo of the other fide, fuftains it, prevents its flattening, and preferves its boffe or defign.

BUTTON, in the manege. Batton of the reins of a bridle, is a ring of leather, with the reins paffed through it, which runs all along the length of the reins. To put a horse under the button, is when a horfe is ftop ped without a rider upon his back, the reins being laid on his neck, and the button lowered fo far down that the reins bring in the horse's head, and fix it to the true pofture or carriage. It it not only the horfes which are managed in the hand that must be put under the button; for the fame method must be taken with fuch horses as are bred between two pillars, before they are backed.

BUTTON'S-Bay, the name of the north part of Hudfon's bay, in North America, by which Sir Thomas Button attempted to find out a north-weft paffage to the Eaft Indies. It lies between 80° and 100° weft longitude, and between 60° and 66° north latitude.

BUTTON-Stone, in Natural History, a kind of figured ftone, fo denominated from its refembling the button of a garment. Dr. Hook gives the figure of three forts of button-stones, which feem to have been nothing else but the filling up of three several forts of fhells. They are all of them very hard flints; and have this in common, that they confift of two bodies, which feem to have been the filling up of two holes or vents in the fhell. Dr Plot defcribes a fpecies finely ftriated from the top, after the manner of fome hair buttons. This name is alfo given to a peculiar fpecies of late found in the marquifate of Bareith, in a mountain called Fichtelberg; which is extremely different from the common forts of flate, in that it runs with great eafe into glass in five or fix hours time, without the addition of any falt or other foreign fubftance, to promote its vitrification, as other ftones require. It contains in

။

Buxton.

itself all the principles of glafs, and really has mixed in Buttres its fubftance the things neceffary to be added to promote the fufion of other ftony bodies. The Swedes and Germans make buttons of the glass produced from it, which is very black and shining, and it has hence its name button-flone. They make feveral other things alfo of this glafs, as the handles of knives and the like, and fend a large quantity of it unwrought in round cakes, as it cools from the fufion, into Holland.

BUTTRESS, a kind of butment built archwise, or a mafs of stone or brick, ferving to prop or fupport the fides of a building, wall, &c. on the outfide, where it is either very high, or has any confiderable load to sustain on the other fide, as a bank of earth, &c.-Buttresses, are used against the angles of fteeples and other buildings of ftone, &c. on the outfide, and along the walls of fuch buildings as have great and heavy roofs, which would be fubject to thrust the walls out, unless very thick, if no buttreffes were placed against them. They are alfo placed for a fupport and butment against the feet of fome arches, that are turned across great halls in old palaces, abbeys, &c.

BUTUS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Lower Egypt, on the weft fide of the branch of the Nile, called Thermuthiacus ; towards the mouth called Oftium Sebennyticum: in this town ftood an oracle of Latona, (Strabo, Herodotus). Ptolemy places Butus in the Nomos Phthenotes: it is alfo called Buto, -us, (Herodotus, Stephanus). It had temples of Apollo and Diana, but the largest was that of Latona, where the oracle ftood.

BUTZAW, a town of Lower Saxony, in Germany; it ftands upon the river Varnow, on the road from Schwerin to Rostock, lying in E. Long. 13, 12. N. Lat. 54. 50.

BUVETTE, or BEUVETTE, in the French laws, an established place in every court, where the lawyers and counsellors may retire, warm themselves, and take a glass of wine by way of refreshment, at the king's charge. There is one for each court of parliament, but these are only for perfons belonging to that body; there are others in the palais, whither other perfons alfo refort.

BUXENTUM, (Livy, Velleius, Ptolemy, Mela, Pliny); PYxus, (Strabo, Pliny); a town of Lucania, firft built by the people of Meffana, but afterwards deferted, (Strabo). A Roman colony was fent thither, (Livy, Velleius): and when found still thin of inhabitants, a new colony was fent by a decree of the senate. Its name is from buxus, the box-tree, growing plentifully there. Strabo fays, the name Pyxus includes a promontory, port, and river, under one. Now Pulicaskro, in the Hither Principato of Naples. E. Long. 15.40. N. Lat. 40. 20.

BUXTON, a place in the peak of Derbyshire, ce-lebrated for its medicinal waters, and lying in W. Long. o. 20. N. Lat. 53. 20.

It has been always believed by our antiquaries, that the Romans were acquainted with these wells, and had frequented them much, as there is a military way still vifible, called the Bath-gate, from Burgh to this place. This was verified about 50 years ago, when Sir Thomas Delves, of Chefhire, in memory of a cure he received here, caufed an arch to be erected; in digging the foundation for which, they came to the remains of a

Buxton. folid and magnificent ftructure of Roman workmanfhip; and in other places of the neighbourhood, very capacious leaden veffels, and other utenfils of Roman workmanship, have been difcovered. Thefe waters have always been reckoned inferior to thofe in Somerfetshire; but feem never to have been totally difufed. They are mentioned by Leland, as well known 200 years ago; but it is certain they were brought into greater credit by Dr Jones in 1572, and by George earl of Shrewsbury, who erected a building over the bath, then compofed of nine fprings. This building was afterwards pulled down, and a more commodious one erected at the expence of the earl of Devonshire. In doing this, however, the ancient register of cures drawn up by the bath-warden, or phyfician attending the baths, and fubfcribed by the hands of the patients, was loft.

The warm waters of Buxton are, the bath, confifting of nine springs, as already mentioned, St Ann's well, and St Peter's or Bingham well. St Ann's well rifes at the distance of fomewhat more than 32 yards north-eaft from the bath. It is chiefly fupplied from a fpring on the north fide, out of a rock of black limeflone or baftard marble. It formerly rofe into a stone bafon, fhut up within an ancient Roman brick wall, a yard fquare within, a yard high on three fides, and open on the fourth. But, in 1709, Sir Thomas Delves, as already mentioned, erected an arch over it which still continues. It is 12 feet long, and as many broad, fet round with stone fteps on the infide. In the midst of this dome the water now fprings up into a stone bafon two feet fquare. St Peter's or Bingham well rifes about 20 yards fouth-east of St Ann's. It is alfo called Leigh's well, from a memorable cure received from it by a gentleman of that name. It rifes out of a black limeftone, in a very dry ground; and is not fo warm as St Ann's well.

From the great refort of company to the waters, this place has grown into a large fraggling town, which is daily increasing. The houses are chiefly, or rather folely, built for the reception of invalids; and many of them are not only commodious, but elegant. The duke of Devonshire has lately erected a moft mag. nificent building in the form of a crefcent, with piazzas, under which the company walk in wet or cold weather. It is divided into different hotels, shops, &c. with a public coffee-room, and a very elegant room for affemblies and concerts.

The hot water resembles that of Bristol. It has a fweet and pleasant taste. It contains the calcareous earth, together with a fmall quantity of fea-falt, and an inconfiderable portion of a purging falt, but no iron can be discovered in it. This water taken inwardly is efteemed good in the diabetes; in bloody urine; in the bilious cholic; in. lofs. of appetite, and coldness of the ftomach; in inward bleedings; in atrophy; in contraction of the veffels and limbs, efpecially from age; in cramps and convulfions; in the dry afthma without a fever; and alfo in barrennefs. In wardly and outwardly, it is faid to be good in rheumatic and fcorbutic complaints; in the gout; in inflammation of the liver and kidneys, and in confumptions of the lungs; alfo in old ftrains; in hard callous tumours; in withered and contracted limbs; in the itch, fcabs, nodes, chalky fwellings, ring worms, and

I

other fimilar complaints.-Befides the hot water, there Buxton is alfo a cold chalybeate water, with a rough irony taste: It resembles the Tunbridge water in virtues.

For the methods of compofing artificial Buxton water, or of impregnating the original water with a greater quantity of its own gas or with other gases, see WATERS, Medicinal.

BUXTON, Jedediah, a prodigy with respect to skill in numbers. His father, William Buxton, was fchoolmaster of the fame parish where he was born in 1704: yet Jedediah's education was fo much neglected, that he was never taught to write; and with refpect to any other knowledge but that of numbers, feemed always as ignorant as a boy of ten years of age. How he came first to know the relative proportions of numbers, and their progreffive denominations, he did not remember; but to this he applied the whole force of his mind, and upon this his attention was conftantly fixed, fo that he frequently took no cognizance of external objects, and when he did, it was only with refpect to their numbers. If any space of time was mentioned, he would foon after fay it was fo many minutes; and if any diftance of way, he would affign the number of hairbreadths, without any queftion being asked, or any calculation expected by the company. When he once understood a queftion, he began to work with amazing facility, after his own method, without the ufe of a pen, pencil, or chalk, or even understanding the common rules of arithmetic as taught in the fchools. He would ftride over a piece of land or a field, and tell you the contents of it almoft as exact as if you had measured it by the chain. In this manner he measured the whole lordship of Elmton, of fome thoufand acres, belonging to Sir John Rhodes, and brought him the contents, not only in acres, roods, and perches, but even in square inches. After this, for his own amusement, he reduced them into fquare hair-breadths, computing 48 to each fide of the inch. His memory was fo great, that while refolving a queftion, he could leave off, and refume the operation again where he left off the next morning, or at a week, a month, or at feveral months, and proceed regularly till it was completed. His memory would doubtlefs have been equally retentive with refpect to other objects, if he had attended to other objects with equal diligence; but his perpetual application to figures prevented the fmalleft acquifition of any other knowledge. He was fometimes afked, on his return from church, whether he remembered the text, or any part of the fermon; but it never appeared that he brought away one fentence, his mind, upon a clofer examination, being found to have been bufied, even during divine fervice, in his favourite operation, either dividing fome time, or fome space, into the smallest known parts, or refolving fome question that had been given him as a teft of his abilities.

This extraordinary perfon living in laborious poverty, his life was uniform and obfcure. Time, with refpect to him, changed nothing but his age; nor did the feafons vary his employment, except that in winter he used a flail, and in fummer a ling-hook. In the year 1754, he came to London, where he was introduced to the royal fociety, who, in order to prove his abilities, asked him feveral questions in arithmetic, and he gave them fuch fatisfaction, that they difmiffed him with a handsome gratuity. In this vifit to the metro

polis,

Burton polis, the only object of his curiofity, except figures, was his defire to fee the king and royal family; but Beving they being juft removed to Kenfington, Jedediah was difappointed. During his refidence in London, he was taken to fee King Richard III. performed at Drurylane playhouse; and it was expected, either that the novelty and the fplendour of the fhow would have fixed him in aftonishment, or kept his imagination in a continual hurry; or that his paffions would, in fome degree, have been touched by the power of action, if he had not perfectly understood the dialogue. But Jedediah's mind was employed in the playhoufe just as it was employed in every other place. During the dance, he fixed his attention upon the number of steps; he declared, after a fine piece of mufic, that the innumerable founds produced by the inftruments had perplexed him beyond meafure; and he attended even to Mr Garrick, only to count the words that he uttered, in which he faid he perfectly fucceeded. Jedediah returned to the place of his birth, where, if his enjoyments were few, his wishes did not feem to be more. He applied to his labour, by which he fubfifted, with cheerfulness; he regretted nothing that he left behind. him in London; and it continued to be his opinion, that a flice of rufty bacon afforded the most delicious repast.

BUXTORF, JOHN, a learned profeffor of Hebrew at Bafil, who, in the 17th century, acquired the highest reputation, for his knowledge of the Hebrew and Chaldee languages. He died of the plague at Bafil in 1629, aged 65. His principal works are, 1. A fmall but excellent Hebrew grammar; the best edition of which is that of Leyden in 1701, revifed by Leufden, 2. A treasure of the Hebrew grammar. 3. A Hebrew concordance, and feveral Hebrew lexicons. 4. Inftitutio epiftolaris Hebraica. 5. De abbreviaturis Hebræorum,

c.

BUXTORF, John, the fon of the former, and a learned profeffor of the oriental languages at Bafil, diftinguilhed himself, like his father, by his knowledge of the Hebrew language, and his rabbinical learning. He died at Bafil in 1664, aged 65 years. His principal works are, 1. His tranflation of the More Nevochim, and the Cozri. 2. A Chaldee and Syriac lexicon. 3. An anticritic against Cappel. 4. A treatife on the Hebrew points and accents against the same Cappel.

BUXUS, the BOX-TREE. See BOTANY Index. BUYING, the act of making a purchase, or of acquiring the property of a thing for a certain price.

Buying ftands oppofed to felling, and differs from borrowing or hiring, as in the former the property of the thing is alienated for perpetuity, which in the latter it is not. By the civil law, perfons are allowed to buy hope, fpem precio emere, that is, to purchase the event or expectation of any thing; e. gr. the fish or birds a perfon fhall catch, or the money he shall win in gaming.

There are different fpecies of buying in ufe among traders: as, buying on one's own account, opposed to buying on commiffion; buying for ready money, which is when the purchaser pays in actual fpecie on the fpot; buying on credit, or for a time certain, is when the payment is not to be presently made, but in lieu thereof, an obligation given by the buyer for payment at a time future; buying on delivery, is when the VOL. V. Part I.

goods purchafed are only to be delivered at a certain. time future.

BUYING the Refufal, is giving money for the right or liberty of purchafing a thing at a fixed price in a certain time to come; chiefly used in dealing for fhares in stock. This is fometimes alfo called by a cant name,

buying the bear.

BUTING the Small-Pox, is an appellation given to a method of procuring that disease by an operation fimilar to inoculation; frequent in South Wales, where it has obtained time out of mind, It is performed either by rubbing fome of the pus taken out of a puftule of a variolous perfon on the fkin, or by making a puncture in the fkin with a pin dipped in fuch pus.

BUYS, a town of Dauphiny in France, fituated on the borders of Provence. E. Long. 5. 20. N. Lat. 44. 25.

BUZANCOIS, a fmall town of Berry in France, fituated on the borders of Touraine, in E. Long. 1. 29. N. Lat. 46. 38.

BUZBACH, a town of Germany, in Westeravia, and the county of Holmes, on the confines of Hanau. E. Long. 10. 51. N. Lat. 50. 22.

BUZET, a small town of France, in Languedoc, feated on the river Torne, in E. Long. 1. 45. N. Lat. 43.47.

BUZZARD, the name of feveral species of the

hawk kind. See FALCO, ORNITHOLOGY Index.

BYBLUS, in Ancient Geography, a town of Phonicia, fituated between Berytus and Botrys; it was the royal refidence of Cinyras; facred to Adonis. Pompey delivered it from a tyrant, whom he caused to be beheaded. It ftood at no great distance from the fea, on an eminence (Strabo): near it ran the Adonis into the Mediterranean. Now in ruins.

BYCHOW, a small town of Lithuania in Poland, fituated on the river Nieper, in E. Long. 30. 2. N. Lat. 53.57.

BY-LAWS, are laws made obiter, or by the by; fuch as orders and conftitutions of corporations for the governing of their members, of court-leets, and courts baron, commoners, or inhabitants in vills, &c. made by common affent, for the good of those that made them, in particular cafes whereunto the public law doth not extend; fo that they bind farther than the common or ftatute law: guilds and fraternities of trades by letters patent of incorporation, may likewise make by-laws for the better regulation of trade among themselves or with others. In Scotland thefe laws are called laws of birlaw or burlaw; which are made by neighbours elected by common confent in the birlawcourts, wherein knowledge is taken of complaints betwixt neighbour and neighbour; which men fo chofen are judges and arbitrators, and styled birlaw-men. And birlaws, according to Skene, are leges rufticorum, laws made by husbandmen, or townships, concerning neighbourhood among them. All by-laws are to be reafonable, and for the common benefit, not private advantage of particular perfons, and must be agreeable to the public laws in being.

BYNG, GEORGE, Lord Viscount Torrington, was the fon of John Byng, Efq. and was born in 1663. At the age of 15, he went volunteer to fea with the king's warrant. His early engagement in this course of life gave him little opportunity of acquiring learn

E

ing

many fignal fervices, the king received him with the moft gracious expreffions of favour and fatisfaction; made him rear-admiral of England and treafurer of the navy, one of his moft honourable privy-council, Baron Byng of Southill in the county of Bedford, Viscount Torrington in Devonshire, and one of the knights companions of the Bath upon the revival of that order. In 1727, George II. on his acceffion to the crown, placed him at the head of his naval affairs, as first lord commiffioner of the admiralty; in which high station he died January 15 1733, in the 70th year of his age, and was buried at Southill in Bedfordhire.

BYNG, the honourable George, Efq. the unhappy fon of the former, was bred to fea, and rofe to the rank of admiral of the blue. He gave many proofs of courage; but was at laft fhot, upon a dubious fentence for neglect of duty, in 1757. See BRITAIN.

Byng ing or cultivating the polite arts; but by his abilities and activity as a naval commander he furnished abundant matter for the pens of others. After being feveral times advanced, he was in 1702 raised to the command of the Naffau, a third rate, and was at the taking and burning the French fleet at Vigo; and the next year he was made rear-admiral of the red. In 1704, he ferved in the grand fleet fent to the Mediterranean under Sir Cloudefly Shovel, as rear-admiral of the red; and it was he who commanded the fquadron that attacked, cannonaded, and reduced Gibral tar. He was in the battle of Malaga, which followed foon after; and for his behaviour in that action Queen Anne conferred on him the honour of knighthood. In 1705, in about two months time, he took 12 of the enemies largest privateers, with the Thetis, a French man of war of 44 guns; and alfo feveral merchant ships, most of them richly laden. The number of men taken on board was 2070, and of guns 334. In 1718 he was made admiral and commander in chief of the fleet; and was fent with a fquadron into the Mediterranean for the protection of Italy, according to the obligation England was under by treaty, against the invafion of the Spaniards; who had the year before furprised Sardinia, and had this year landed an army in Sicily. In this expedition he defpatched Captain Walton in the Canterbury with five more fhips, in purfuit of fix Spanish men of war, with galleys, fire-fhips, bomb-veffels, and ftoreships, who feparated from the main fleet, and stood in for the Sicilian fhore. The captain's laconic epiftle on this occafion is worthy of notice; which fhowed that fighting was his talent as well as his admiral's, and not writing.

From the account referred to, it appeared that he had taken four Spanish men of war, with a bomb-vessel and a fhip laden with arms; and burned four, with a fire-fhip and bomb-veffel. The king made the admiral a handfome prefent, and fent him plenipotentiary powers to negotiate with the princes and ftates of Italy as there should be occafion. He procured the emperor's troops free access into the fortreffes that still held out in Sicily; failed afterwards to Malta, and brought out the Sicilian galleys, and a fhip belonging to the Turkey company. Soon after he received a gracious letter from the emperor Charles VI. written with his own hand, accompanied with a picture of his imperial majefty, fet round with very large diamonds, as a mark of the grateful fenfe he had of his fervices. It was entirely owing to his advice and affiftance that the Germans retook the city of Meflina in 1719, and destroyed the fhips that lay in the bafon; which completed the ruin of the naval power of Spain. The Spaniards being much diftreffed, offered to quit Sicily; but the admiral declared, that the troops fhould never be fuffered to quit the island till the king of Spain had acceded to the quadruple alliance. And to his conduct it was entirely owing that Sicily was fubdued, and his Catholic majefty forced to accept the terms prefcribed him by the quadruple alliance. After performing fo

BYRLAW or BURLAW Laws in Scotland. See BY-LAWS.

BYROM, JOHN, an ingenious poet of Manchester, born in 1691. His firft poetical effay appeared in the Spectator, No 603, beginning, "My time, O ye Mufes, was happily spent ;" which, with two humorous letters on dreams, are to be found in the eighth volume. He was admitted a member of the Royal Society in 1724; and having originally entertained thoughts of practising phyfic, to which the title of doctor is incident, that was the appellation by which he was always known but reducing himself to narrow circumstances by a precipitate marriage, he fupported himself by teaching a new method of writing fhorthand, of his own invention; until an eftate devolved to him by the death of an elder brother. He was a opportunity tempted him to indulge it, he gave many man of lively wit; of which, whenever a favourable humorous fpecimens. He died in 1763; and a collection of his mifcellaneous poems was printed at Manchefter, in 2 vols 8vo, 1773.

BYRRHUS. See ENTOMOLOGY Index.
BYSSUS. See BOTANY Index.

BYSSUS, or Byum, a fine thready matter produced in India, Egypt, and about Elis in Achaia, of which the richeft apparel was anciently made, especially that worn by the priests both Jewish and Egyptian. Some interpreters render the Greek Burces, which occurs both in the Old and New Teftament, by fine linen. But other verfions, as Calvin's, and the Spanish printed at Venice in 1556, explain the word by filk; and yet byffus muft have been different from our filk, as appears from a multitude of ancient writers, and particularly from Jul. Pollux. M. Simon, who renders the word by fine linen, adds a note to explain it; viz. that there was a fine kind of linen very dear, which the great lords alone wore in this country as well as in Egypt." This account agrees perfectly well with that given by Hefychius, as well as what is obferved by Bochart, that the byffus was a finer kind of linen, which was frequently dyed of a purple colour. Some authors will have the byffus to be the fame with our cotton; others take it for the linum afbeftinum; and others for the lock or bunch of filky hair found adhering to the pinna marina, by which it faftens itself to the neighbouring bodies. Authors ufually distinguish two forts of byffus; that of Elis; and that of Judæa,

Byffus, which was the fineft. Of this latter were the priestly Byzantium, ornaments made. Bonfrerius notes, that there mult have been two forts of byffus, one finer than ordinary, by reafon there are two Hebrew words ufed in Scripture to denote byffus; one of which is always used in fpeaking of the habit of the priests, and the other of that of the Levites.

Brssvs Afbeftinus, a fpecies of afbeftus or incombuftible flax, compofed of fine flexible fibres parallel to one another. It is found plentifully in Sweden, either white or of different fhades of green. At a copper mine in Westmannland it forms the greatest part of the vein out of which the ore is dug; and by the heat of the furnace which melts the metal, is changed into a pure femitransparent flag or glafs.

BYZANTIUM, an ancient city of Thrace, fituated on the Bofphorus. It was founded, according to Eufebius, about the 30th Olympiad, while Tullus Hoftilius reigned in Rome. But, according to Diodorus Siculus, the foundations of this metropolis were laid in the time of the Argonauts, by one Byfas, who then reigned in the neighbouring country, and from whom the city was called Byzantium. This Byfas, according to Euftathius, arrived in Thrace a little before the Argonauts came into those feas, and settled there with a colony of Megarenfes. Velleius Paterculus afcribes the founding of Byzantium to the Milefians, and Ammianus Marcellinus to the inhabitants of Attica. Some ancient medals of Byzantium, which have reached our times, bear the name and head of Byfas, with the prow of a ship on the reverse. The year after the deftruction of Jerufalem by Titus, Byzantium was reduced to the form of a Roman province. In the year 193 this city took part with Niger against Severus. It was ftrongly garrifoned by Niger, as being a place of the utmost importance. It was foon after invested by Severus; and as he was univerfally hated on account of his cruelty, the inhabitants defended themfelves with the greatest resolution. They had been supplied with a great number of warlike machines, moft of them invented and built by Perifcus a native of Nicæa, and the greatest engineer of his age. For a long time they baffled all the attempts of the affailants, killed great numbers of them, crushed fuch as approached the walls with large ftones; and when ftones began to fail, they ufed the statues of their gods and heroes. At laft they were obliged to fubmit, through famine, after having been reduced to the neceffity of devouring one another. The conqueror put all the magiftrates and foldiers to the fword; but fpared the engineer Perifcus. Before this fiege, Byzantium was the greatest, most populous, and wealthiest city of Thrace. It was furrounded by walls of an extraordinary height and breadth: and defended by a great number of towers, feven of which were built with fuch art, that the least noise heard in one of them was immediately conveyed to all the reft. Severus, however, no fooner became mafter of it, than he commanded it to be laid in afhes. The inhabitants were ftripped of all their effects, publicly fold for flaves and the walls levelled with the ground. But by the chronicle of Alexandria we are informed, that foon after this terrible catastrophe, Severus himself caused a great part of the city to be rebuilt, calling it Antonia

from his fon Caracalla, who affumed the furname of Byzantiuma Antoninus. In 262, the tyrant Galienus wreaked his bzovius. fury on the inhabitants of Byzantium. He intended to befiege it; but on his arrival defpaired of being able to make himself mafter of fuch a strong place. He was admitted the next day, however, into the city; and without any regard to the terms he had agreed to, caufed the foldiers and all the inhabitants to be put to the fword. Trebellius Pollio fays, that not a fiugle perfon was left alive. What the reafon was for fuch an extraordinary maffacre, we are nowhere informed. In the wars between the emperors Licinius and Maximin the city of Byzantium was obliged to fubmit to the latter, but was foon after recovered by Licinius. In the year 323, it was taken from Licinius by Conftantine the Great, who in 330 enlarged and beautified it, with a defign to make it the fecond, if not the first, city in the Roman empire. He began with extending the walls of the ancient city from fea to fea; and while fome of the workmen were bufied in rearing them, others were employed in raifing within them a great number of stately buildings, and among others a palace no way inferior in magnificence and extent to that of Rome. Rome. He built a capitol and amphitheatre, made a circus maximus, feveral forums, porticoes, and public baths. He divided the whole city into 14 regions, and granted the inhabitants many privileges and immunities. By this means Byzantium became one of the most flourifhing and populous cities of the empire. Vaft numbers of people flocked thither from Pontus, Thrace, and Afia, Conftantine having, by a law, enacted this year (330), decreed, that fuch as had lands in those countries fhould not be at liberty to difpofe of them, nor even leave them to their proper heirs at their death, unless they had a house in this new city. But however defirous the emperor was that his city fhould be filled with people, he did not care that it fhould be inhabited by any but Chriftians. He therefore caused all the idols to be pulled down, and all their churches confecrated to the true God. He built befides an incredible number of churches, and caufed croffes to be erected in all the fquares and public places. Most of the buildings being finished, it was folemnly dedicated to the Virgin Mary, according to Cedrenus, but, according to Eufebius, to the God of Martyrs. At the fame time Byzantium was equalled to Rome. The fame rights, immunities, and privileges, were granted to its inhabitants as to thofe of the metropolis. He established a fenate and other magiftrates, with a power and authority equal to thofe of old Rome. He took up his refidence in the new city; and changed its name to CONSTANTINOPLE.

BZOVIUS, ABRAHAM, one of the most celebrated writers in the 17th century, with refpect to the astonishing number of pieces compofed by him. His chief work is the continuation of Baronius's annals. He was a native of Poland, and a Dominican friar. Upon his coming to Rome, he was received with open arms by the Pope, and had an apartment affigned him in the Vatican. He merited that reception, for he has imitated Baronius to admiration in his defign of making all things confpire to the defpotic power and glory of the papal fee. He died in 1630, aged 70.