twenty-four, but usually regulated in the manner just described. The elegance of his style was not attained without great labour and perseverance. Like Newton, he was accustomed to say that genius consisted only in a greater faculty of patience. The arrangement of a single sentence has often occupied him an entire morning. He frequently read his own productions aloud, in order to satisfy himself as to the harmony of the style, and their general effect. It is asserted, that the manuscript of the Epochs of Nature was written out eleven times; and eighteen times, according to another authority. (Essai sur Dijon.)

The first of his works was a translation into French of Hale's Vegetable Statics, and of Newton's Fluxions. The Academy of Sciences having elected him into their body, in 1733, he presented them with the following papers, published in their Memoirs, viz.-Observations on the different Effects produced on Vegetables by the severe Frosts of Winter, and the slight Frosts of Spring, 1737. An easy Means of increasing the Solidity, Strength, and Durability of Wood. On the Preservation and Restoration of Forests. Experiments on the Strength of Timber, 1740, and 1741. On Arithmetical Series, 1741. On the Cultivation of Forests, 1742. On Accidental Colours, 1743. On the Cause of Squinting. This very ingenious essay tends to prove that squinting is caused by inequality of power, or slight difference of focal length of the eyes, causing indistinctness when both are used; and, consequently, the most imperfect eye is turned aside, and in that direction where it meets fewest objects, i. e. towards the nose. The mode of cure proposed, is to close the best eye, and use the weak eye, exclusively, for a time. Reflections on the Law of Attraction, 1745. Discovery of Vesiculæ Seminales in Viviparous Females, 1748. Invention of Burning Mirrors, to act at a distance, 1747, and 1748. This communication excited great interest. It had been the opinion of Descartes, and others, that the account of the burning of the Roman galleys at Syracuse by means of the sun's rays directed on them by Archimedes, was to be classed amongst the many incredible statements to be found in Livy. Buffon, however, undertook a series of experiments, to ascertain if it was possible. He connected, by frame-work, 168 pieces of plain silvered glass, six inches by eight. Between each was an interval of four

lines. These intervals afforded the operator a view of the object against which the machine was to be directed; and all the pieces were under command by means of an apparatus of screws and springs. On the 23d of March, a plank of beech, which had been covered with tar, was set on fire at the distance of 66 feet, only 40 mirrors being brought to bear upon it. On the same day, 98 mirrors, under some disadvantageous circumstances, ignited a tarred and sulphured plank, at the distance of 126 feet. On the 3d of April, at 4 o'clock P.M., a board, covered with small pieces of wool, was placed at a distance of 138 feet, and the rays from 112 mirrors slightly inflamed it. The next day, at 11 o'clock A.M. 154 mirrors caused a tarred plank, fixed at a distance of 150 feet, to smoke densely in two minutes; but just when it was expected to burst into flame, the sun was obscured. At 3 o'clock on the 5th of the same month, 154 mirrors fired small sulphured chips of deal mingled with charcoal, at the distance of 250 feet, when the day was not bright; a few seconds were sufficient to produce ignition when the sun shone powerfully. An unclouded and clear sun, soon after midday of the 10th of April, inflamed very suddenly a tarred fir plank, the distance being 150 feet, and the number of mirrors brought into action being 128; at half-past 2 on the same day, a beech plank, partially sulphured, and covered in other parts with small pieces of wool, was inflamed so suddenly and strongly, that it became necessary to plunge it into water for the purpose of quenching the fire; 148 mirrors performed this at a distance of 150 feet. On the 11th of April, some small combustibles were ignited by 12 mirrors, at 20 feet; a small pewter flask, 6lbs. in weight, was melted by 45 mirrors, at the same distance; and some thin pieces of silver and iron were brought to a red heat by 17. He afterwards formed some spherical burning mirrors in one piece, and presented one of them, having a diameter of 46 inches, to the king of France.

His appointment to the important office of intendant of the Jardin du Roi, was the circumstance which led to the execution of his great work on natural history. His friend Dufay had already introduced great improvements into that establishment, and, on his death-bed, mentioned Buffon as the man best suited to follow them up. He was no sooner appointed, than he engaged in the constant labour of increas

ing and illustrating the various collections. He is known to have planted the two avenues of lime-trees terminating towards the extremity of the nursery, and marking the limits of the garden at that period. The task of arranging the productions of nature, suggested the necessity of describing them; and his ardent mind, not content with description, however accurate or eloquent, soon engaged in forming theories of the formation of the earth, and of animated beings which, although now only considered as flights of fancy, yet dazzled the literary world at their first appearance, so as to gain admiration, even when assent was withheld. The first fifteen volumes (1749-1767) of the Natural History contain the history of man, and of quadrupeds. Seven others (1774-1789) continue the quadrupeds. The history of birds is in 9 volumes, (1770-1783); that of minerals in 5. This first edition, proceeding from the Imprimerie Royale, is held in the highest estimation on account of the singular beauty of the engravings, and the appropriate accompaniments, illustrating the mode of life and native country of each animal. He was not only fortunate in his selection of artists, but availed himself of the assistance of Daubenton, Lacepede, and many other most eminent naturalists, and comparative anatomists of the time. His system of generation from organic molecules is refuted by the experiments of Haller and Spallanzani; but his account of the physical and moral development of man is no less eloquent than accurate, when viewed according to the principles laid down by Mr. Locke. But the part of his work in which, according to Cuvier, his merit is most incontestable, is the history of quadrupeds. He was the first who adopted the plan of describing each species in detail, and distinct from all others. The want of this distinctness in previous authors, places his merit in the strongest light, and appears to have caused him to entertain feelings of contempt towards the mere systematic naturalists of the school of Linnæus-which, indeed, he has expressed in no measured language. His mineralogy is not only disfigured by hypotheses utterly inadmissible; but owing to the then imperfect state of chemical science, is now valueless. His style has been compared to that of Bossuet; and, although professing to dislike poetry, which he said enslaved both the writer and the language, yet we have seen with what care he composed

and rehearsed his writings; and many of his passages are so brilliant and harmonious, that they seem to approach blank verse. His descriptions, although lofty, are yet graphic, and sometimes minute; and his vanity was often gratified by the applause they excited. He used to entertain his visitors by reading to them favourite passages out of his works, such as the description of the deserts of Arabia, in his account of the camel, and his pages on the swan. It is related that prince Henry of Prussia, on hearing him read the latter article, when on a visit at Montbard, was so much delighted, that he presented him with a service of Dresden porcelain, on which swans were enamelled in almost every attitude. He appears to have possessed a kind and benevolent disposition. It is related, that a young professor from a neighbouring college, having come on a borrowed horse to visit him at Montbard, was greatly distressed by the death of the horse, which reduced him to the necessity of walking back. He was not only accommodated by Buffon's carriage, but, on his arrival at home, found that a horse had been sent to the person who had lent one to him. His wife, mademoiselle de Saint Belin, whom he married in 1762, was of a good family of Burgundy. Her beauty and talents are said to have been of a high order, and they alone determined his choice, as she had no fortune. He possessed in her a companion who took the deepest interest in all his pursuits, and in the honours which were showered upon him. He was of a noble countenance and commanding figure, as may even now be inferred from his statue at the Jardin des Plantes, erected in his life-time, with this inscription, "Majestati Naturæ par Ingenium." formably with the custom of men of rank of that period, he bestowed much care on his toilet. His head was submitted to the friseur often twice, and sometimes three times in the day; and at Montbard he is described as exhibitting himself to the assembled peasantry, clad in the richest dress, and surrounded by his household, after church every Sunday. His life was divided between the Jardin des Plantes and Montbard, where the estate was erected into a county, in his favour. He avoided entering into any political or literary controversy, and his days passed on in complete tranquillity, till about his 73d year, when he became seriously affected with stone. Although he suffered great torture, (having, as

Con

was afterwards found, 57 calculi in his bladder,) yet he would never submit to an operation. His chief consolation was found in his habit of study. When asked how he had found time to do so much, his reply was, "Have I not spent fifty years at my desk?" He died at Paris, on the 16th of April, 1788, in the eighty-first year of his age. His last words, addressed to his son, were said to have been, "Quit not the path of honour and virtue, it is the only way to attain happiness.' Although his works afford grounds for the charge of infidelity made against him, yet, it is said, that when the Sorbonne took notice of some passages in them, he succeeded in explaining them to their satisfaction. But the interests of religion and morality call upon every friend to both, to denounce, in the strongest terms, Buffon's gross licentiousness of conduct, as well as his avowed hostility to the christian faith. His funeral was conducted on a magnificent scale. It was said, that above 20,000 people were collected in the streets to see it pass. The body was embalmed, and placed in the same vault with that of his wife, at Montbard. When Buffon was building the vault, he directed it to be constructed in the most permanent manner, assigning as his reason, that he should be longer in it than in any other place. In this particular, however, he was mistaken. During the phrenzy of the Revolution, his remains were torn up; the coffin was plundered on account of the value of the lead; and when a complaint of the outrage was forwarded to the Committee of Public Instruction, and a proposition made that he should have a place in the Pantheon, the reply was, that the temple would be profaned by the presence of an aristocrat. His only son, a colonel of cavalry, a man of considerable abilities, was condemned by the Revolutionary tribunal, and suffered death by the guillotine, only fifteen days before the downfal of Robespierre.

BUGENHAGIUS, or BUGENHAGEN, (John,) one of the German reformers, surnamed, from his native country, Pomeranus, was born of respect able parents, at Wollin, in Pomerania, June 24, 1485. He was sent early to the university of Grypswald, where he devoted himself so assiduously to his classical studies, that, at the age of twenty, he was appointed teacher of the school at Treptow, which he raised to a very high degree of reputation. The first impression he appears to have received of the necessity of a reformation, was

from a tract of Erasmus: this induced him to look with more attention into the Sacred Volume, and he proceeded to instruct others by lecturing in his school on the Psalms, St. Matthew's Gospel, and the Epistles to Timothy, together with the Apostles' Creed, and the Ten Commandments. As a preacher he likewise became very popular, chiefly on account of his learning, in which he exceeded most of his contemporaries. His knowledge of history and antiquities recommended him to prince Bogislaus, who engaged him to write a History of Pomerania, and with this view furnished him with money, books, and records. This work he completed in two years, but it was long unpublished, the prince reserving it in manuscript, for the use of himself and his court. It was at length published at Greifswald, in 1728, in 4to, by J. H. Balthazar, with the author's life prefixed. Bugenhagius was still, however, attached to the religious principles in which he had been brought up; but in 1521, a change began to take place. In that year Luther's treatise on the Babylonish captivity was published. At his first perusal of this, he declared the author to be "the most pestilent heretic that ever infested the church of Christ;" but after a more attentive perusal, he candidly recanted this unfavourable opinion in the following terms, “The whole world is blind, walking in Cimmerian darkness; this man alone sees the truth." It is probable that he had communicated this discovery to his brethren, for we find that the abbot, two aged pastors of the church, and some other of the friars, began to be convinced of the errors of popery about the same time. Bugenhagius now avowed the principles of the reformation so openly, that the bishop denounced him, and he found it necessary to leave Treptow; and, being desirous of an interview with Luther, urged by Peter Suavenius, he went to Wittemberg, where he was chosen pastor of the reformed church. Here he constantly taught the doctrines of the reformation, both by preaching and writing, for six-and-thirty years. He always opposed the violent and seditious practices of Carlostadt, and lived on the most friendly terms with Luther and Melancthon. At first he thought Luther had been too violent in his answer to Henry VIII. of England; but he afterwards altered his opinion, and declared that the great reformer had treated that monarch with too much lenity.

In 1522, Bugenhagius was invited to

protect him, he ceased to labour as he had done in his youth; and contented himself with writing articles, translated into Russian, for some periodicals of MosCOW. After the death of his patron Mouravief, he was appointed librarian to the grand duchess Catherine, the wife of the prince of Holstein-Oldenburgh; and through the recommendation of his sister, the emperor Alexander invited Buhle to Iver, to superintend the financial operations requisite to restore the paper of Russia from its state of depression; an appointment to which was attached a salary of 7000 rubles, with other advantages. Scarcely, however, had he returned with the emperor to St. Petersburgh, when hostilities broke out between the Russians and French; when, in consequence of the occupation of Moscow by the enemy, Buhle retired with the grand duchess to Jaroslaw, where he drew up a parallel between the taking of Moscow by the French, and of Rome by the Gauls, by which it was thought that Napoleon was not a little annoyed. After suffering from the severity of the winter, that nearly destroyed the army of the invaders, and during which the husband of the grand duchess fell a sacrifice to the epidemic which prevailed at Iver, Buhle followed in the suite of his patroness to St. Petersburgh, and shortly afterwards returned to his native town; there, on the re-establishment of the Caroline college, he obtained the chair of a professor, but fell into a state of melancholy, which was terminated by his death in Aug. 1821. As a scholar, he is best known by his edition of Aratus, in 2 vols, 8vo, Lips. 1792; and by his incomplete edition of Aristotle, printed at Bipont and Strasburg, 1792-1800, of which the first volume is chiefly valuable for an account of all the Greek and Latin commentators on the Stagirite, whose metaphysics, however, he gave up for those of Kant; while his fanciful notions on the state of the soul after death, are detailed in a volume he wrote shortly after the decease of his sister, who had shared in all his joys and sorrows, and whose loss he never ceased to feel, and whom he soon followed to the grave. Of his other works, a full account is given in the Biog. Univ., amongst which, the most worthy of mention is his Vernacular History of Modern Philosophy, translated into French by Jourdan, 6 vols, 8vo, Par. 1816, and of which an elaborate review, attributed to Cousin, is to be found in Les Archives Philosophiques, &c., Par., 1816-9. After

his return from Russia, he wrote various articles in different German periodicals, on subjects connected with the literature (Sclavonic,) and intended to complete his edition of Aristotle; but his time was unfortunately occupied by his appointment to the censorship; and still more unfortunately, his feelings were soured by finding he had converted old friends into foes by the conscientious discharge of a painful duty.

BUIL, or BUEIL, a Benedictine monk, who was sent by the pope to America, on its first discovery, and accompanied Columbus on his second voyage thither. He is less distinguished for his apostolical zeal in propagating the faith than for his quarrels with the great navigator, against whom he loudly complained to their common sovereign. An account of his voyage and travels was printed in 1621, in fol. by Philoponus, a monk of the same order.

BUISSON, (Matthew Francis Regis,) a French physiologist, and cousin and pupil of the celebrated Bichât, was born at Lyons, in 1776. He was an excellent anatomist and physiologist, and highly esteemed for his talents and his virtues; but he, unfortunately, connected with his researches a blind devotion to Roman Catholic dogmas, and frequently indulged this disposition to a most ridiculous extent. He died at the early age of twenty-eight, having only published an ingenious thesis, which he defended before the faculty of medicine of Paris, entitled-De la Division la plus Naturelle des Phénomènes Physiologiques considérés dans l'Homme, Paris, 1802, 3vo. He assisted Bichât in his Anatomie Descriptive, composing a part of the 3d vol., and the whole of the 4th; to which he added, an account of the celebrated physiologist. Some papers by Buisson, were published in the Bibliothèque Médicale, after his premature death, by which it would appear that he had contemplated an entire system of physiology.

BUISTER, (Philip,) a sculptor, born at Brussels in 1598. For half of his life he remained in his native country, where his talents were usefully employed; he then settled in Paris, and executed for the park at Versailles a group of two Satyrs, a Flora, and several other works. His best production is the tomb of cardinal Rochefoucauld, grand almoner, placed, at first, in the chapel of St. Geneviève, at Paris; but now in the museum of French monuments.

BUKENTOP, (Henry de,) a popish controversial writer, and professor of theo