This famous work consists of five books. Its form is peculiar, and is an imitation of a similar work by Marcianus Capella,De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii. It is alternately in prose and verse. The verse shows great facility of metrical composition, but a considerable portion of it is transferred from the tragedies of Seneca. The first book opens with a few verses, in which Boetius describes how his sorrows had brought him to a premature old age. As he is thus lamenting, a woman appears to him of dignified mien, whom he recognizes as his guardian, Philosophy. She, resolving to apply the remedy for his grief, questions him for that purpose. She finds that he believes that God rules the world, but does not know what he himself is; and this absence of self-knowledge is the cause of his weakness. In the second book Philosophy presents to Boetius Fortune, who is made to state to him the blessings he has enjoyed, and after that proceeds to discuss with him the kind of blessings that fortune can bestow, which are shown to be unsatisfactory and uncertain. In the third book Philosophy promises to lead him to true happiness, which is to be found in God alone, for since God is the highest good, and the highest good is true happiness, God is true happiness. Nor can real evil exist, for since God is all-powerful, and since he does not wish evil, evil must be non-existent. In the fourth book Boetius raises the question, Why, if the governor of the universe is good, do evils exist, and why is virtue often punished and vice rewarded? Philosophy proceeds to show that in fact vice is never unpunished nor virtue unrewarded. From this Philosophy passes into a discussion in regard to the nature of providence and fate, and shows that every fortune is good. The fifth and last book takes up the question of man’s free will and God’s foreknowledge, and, by an exposition of the nature of God, attempts to show that these doctrines are not subversive of each other; and the conclusion is drawn that God remains a foreknowing spectator of all events, and the ever-present eternity of his vision agrees with the future quality of our actions, dispensing rewards to the good and punishments to the wicked.Several theological works have been ascribed to Boetius, as has been already mentioned. TheConsolatioaffords conclusive proof that the author was not a practical believer in Christianity. The book contains expressions such asdaemones,angelica virtus, andpurgatoria dementia, which have been thought to be derived from the Christian faith; but they are used in a heathen sense, and are explained sufficiently by the circumstance that Boetius was on intimate terms with Christians. The writer nowhere finds consolation in any Christian belief, and Christ is never named in the work. It is not impossible, however, that Boetius may have been brought up a Christian, and that in his early years he may have written some Christian books. Peiper thinks that the first three treatises are the productions of the early years of Boetius. The first,De Sancta Trinitate, is addressed to Symmachus (Domino Patri Symmacho), and the result of the short discussion, which is of an abstract nature, and deals partly with the ten categories, is that unity is predicated absolutely, or, in regard to the substance of the Deity, trinity is predicated relatively. The second treatise is addressed to John the deacon (“Ad Joannem Diaconum”), and its subject is “Utrum Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus de divinitate substantialiter praedicentur.” This treatise is shorter than the first, occupying only two or three pages, and the conclusion of the argument is the same. The third treatise bears the title,Quomodo substantiae in eo quod sint bonae sint cum non sint substantialia bona. It contains nothing distinctly Christian, and it contains nothing of great value; therefore its authorship is a matter of little consequence. Peiper thinks that, as the best MSS. uniformly assign these treatises to Boetius, they are to be regarded as his; that it is probable that Symmachus and John (who afterwards became Pope) were the men of highest distinction who took charge of him when he lost his father; and that these treatises are the first-fruits of his studies, which he dedicates to his guardians and benefactors. He thinks that the variations in the inscriptions of the fifth treatise which is not found in the best manuscript, are so great that the name of Boetius couldnot have originally been in the title. The fourth book is also not found in the best manuscript, and two manuscripts have no inscription. He infers, from these facts, that there is no sure evidence for the authorship of the fourth and fifth treatises. The fifth treatise isContra Eutychen et Nestorium. Both Eutyches and Nestorius are spoken of as living. A council is mentioned, in which a letter was read, expounding the opinion of the Eutychians for the first time. The novelty of the opinion is also alluded to. All these circumstances point to the council of Chalcedon (451). The treatise was therefore written before the birth of Boetius, if it be not a forgery; but there is no reason to suppose that the treatise was not a genuine production of the time to which it professes to belong. The fourth treatise,De Fide Catholica, does not contain any distinct chronological data; but the tone and opinions of the treatise produce the impression that it probably belonged to the same period as the treatise against Eutyches and Nestorius. Several inscriptions ascribe both these treatises to Boetius. It will be seen from this statement that Peiper bases his conclusions on grounds far too narrow; and on the whole it is perhaps more probable that Boetius wrote none of the four Christian treatises, particularly as they are not ascribed to him by any of his contemporaries. Three of them express in the strongest language the orthodox faith of the church in opposition to the Arian heresy, and these three put in unmistakable language the procession of the Holy Spirit from both Father and Son. The fourth argues for the orthodox belief of the two natures and one person of Christ. When the desire arose that it should be believed that Boetius perished from his opposition to the heresy of Theodoric, it was natural to ascribe to him works which were in harmony with this supposed fact. The works may really have been written by one Boetius, a bishop of Africa, as Jourdain supposes, or by some Saint Severinus, as Nitzsch conjectures, and the similarity of name may have aided the transference of them to the heathen or neutral Boetius.Important and, if genuine, decisive evidence upon this point is afforded by a passage in theAnecdoton Holderi, a fragment contained in a 10th-century MS. (ed. H. Usener, Leipzig, 1877). The fragment gives an extract from a previously unknown letter of Cassiodorus, the important words being “Scripsit (i.e.Boetius) librum de sancta trinitate, et capita quaedam dogmatica, et librum contra Nestorium.” Nitzsch, however, held that this was a copyist’s gloss, harmonizing with the received Boetius legend, which had been transferred to the text, and did not consider that it outweighed the opposing internal evidence fromDe Cons. Phil.Editions.—The first collected edition of the works of Boetius was published at Venice in 1492 (Basel, 1570); the last in J.P. Migne’sPatrologia, lxiii., lxiv. (Paris, 1847). Of the numerous editions of theDe Consolationethe best are those of Theodorus Obbarius (Jena, 1843) and R. Peiper (Leipzig, 1871). The first contains prolegomena on the life and writings of Boetius, on his religion and philosophy, and on the manuscripts and editions, a critical apparatus, and notes. The text of the second was based on the fullest collation of MSS. up to that time, though a considerable number of MSS. still remained to be collated. In addition to an account of the MSS. used, it gives the Book of Lupus, “De Metris Boetii,” the “Vita Boetii” contained in some MSS., “Elogia Boetii,” and a short list of the commentators, translators and imitators of theConsolatio. It contains also an account of the metres used by Boetius in theConsolatio, and a list of the passages which he has borrowed from the tragedies of Seneca. The work also includes the five treatises, four of them Christian, of which mention has been made above. King Alfred’s Anglo-Saxon version of theDe Consolatione, with literal English translation, notes and glossary, was published by S. Fox (1835) and again by W.J. Sedgefield (1900); that of G. Colville (Colvile, Coldewel, 1556) was republished by E.B. Bax (1897); translation (mixed prose and verse) by H.R. James (1897). Queen Elizabeth’s “Englishings” was reprinted in 1899; on the style, see A. Engelbrecht inSitzungsber. der Wiener Akad. der Wissenschaften(1902), pp. 15-36. TheDe Institutione Arithmetica, De Institutione Musica, and the doubtfulGeometria(for which see G. Ernst,De Geometricis illis quae sub Boethii nomine nobis tradita sunt quaestiones, 1903; A.P. McKinlay inHarvard Classical Studies, 1907; M. Cantor,Geschichte der Mathematik, i., Leipzig, 1894; G. Friedlein,Gerbert, die Geometric des Boethius, und die indischen Ziffern, Erlangen, 1861, are edited by G. Friedlein (Leipzig, 1867); German translation of theDe Musica, with explanatory notes, by O. Paul (Leipzig, 1872), and on the sources W. Miekley,De Boethii libri de musica primi fontibus(Jena, 1899). Commentary on Aristotle’sDe Interpretationeπερι ἑρμηνείας), ed. C. Meiser (Leipzig, 1877), and on Porphyry’sIsagoge, ed. S. Brandt (Vienna, 1906).Authorities.—On Boetius generally, see J.G. Sutterer,Der letzte Romer(Eichstadt, 1852); H. Usener,Anecdoton Holderi(Leipzig, 1877); H.F. Stewart,Boethius: an Essay(Edinburgh, 1891); T. Hodgkin,Italy and her Invaders, iii. bk. iv. ch. xii. (1896); A. Ebert,Allgemeine Geschichte der Litt. des Mittelalters, i. (1889); Teuffel-Schwabe,Hist. of Roman Literature(Eng. trans., 1900), §478: on the date and order of his works, S. Brandt inPhilologus, lxii. pp. 141-154, 234-279, and A.P. McKinlay, as above, with refs.: on his “Songs,” H. Hüttinger,Studia in Boetii carmina collata(Regensburg, 1900): on his style, G. Bednarz,De universo orationis colore Boethii(Breslau, 1883): on his theological attitude and works, F.A.B. Nitzsch,Das System des Boethius und die ihm zugeschriebenen theologischen Schriften(Berlin, 1860), and art. in Herzog-Hauck’sRealencyklopädie(1897); C. Jourdain,De l’Origine des traditions sur le christianisme de Boèce(1861); Gaston Boissier, “Le Christianisme de Boèce,” inJournal des Savants(1889), pp. 449-462; A. Hildebrand,Boethius und seine Stellung zum Christentume(Regensburg, 1885); G. Schepps, “Zu Pseudo-Boethius de fide catholica,” inZeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie, xxxviii. (1895).
This famous work consists of five books. Its form is peculiar, and is an imitation of a similar work by Marcianus Capella,De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii. It is alternately in prose and verse. The verse shows great facility of metrical composition, but a considerable portion of it is transferred from the tragedies of Seneca. The first book opens with a few verses, in which Boetius describes how his sorrows had brought him to a premature old age. As he is thus lamenting, a woman appears to him of dignified mien, whom he recognizes as his guardian, Philosophy. She, resolving to apply the remedy for his grief, questions him for that purpose. She finds that he believes that God rules the world, but does not know what he himself is; and this absence of self-knowledge is the cause of his weakness. In the second book Philosophy presents to Boetius Fortune, who is made to state to him the blessings he has enjoyed, and after that proceeds to discuss with him the kind of blessings that fortune can bestow, which are shown to be unsatisfactory and uncertain. In the third book Philosophy promises to lead him to true happiness, which is to be found in God alone, for since God is the highest good, and the highest good is true happiness, God is true happiness. Nor can real evil exist, for since God is all-powerful, and since he does not wish evil, evil must be non-existent. In the fourth book Boetius raises the question, Why, if the governor of the universe is good, do evils exist, and why is virtue often punished and vice rewarded? Philosophy proceeds to show that in fact vice is never unpunished nor virtue unrewarded. From this Philosophy passes into a discussion in regard to the nature of providence and fate, and shows that every fortune is good. The fifth and last book takes up the question of man’s free will and God’s foreknowledge, and, by an exposition of the nature of God, attempts to show that these doctrines are not subversive of each other; and the conclusion is drawn that God remains a foreknowing spectator of all events, and the ever-present eternity of his vision agrees with the future quality of our actions, dispensing rewards to the good and punishments to the wicked.
Several theological works have been ascribed to Boetius, as has been already mentioned. TheConsolatioaffords conclusive proof that the author was not a practical believer in Christianity. The book contains expressions such asdaemones,angelica virtus, andpurgatoria dementia, which have been thought to be derived from the Christian faith; but they are used in a heathen sense, and are explained sufficiently by the circumstance that Boetius was on intimate terms with Christians. The writer nowhere finds consolation in any Christian belief, and Christ is never named in the work. It is not impossible, however, that Boetius may have been brought up a Christian, and that in his early years he may have written some Christian books. Peiper thinks that the first three treatises are the productions of the early years of Boetius. The first,De Sancta Trinitate, is addressed to Symmachus (Domino Patri Symmacho), and the result of the short discussion, which is of an abstract nature, and deals partly with the ten categories, is that unity is predicated absolutely, or, in regard to the substance of the Deity, trinity is predicated relatively. The second treatise is addressed to John the deacon (“Ad Joannem Diaconum”), and its subject is “Utrum Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus de divinitate substantialiter praedicentur.” This treatise is shorter than the first, occupying only two or three pages, and the conclusion of the argument is the same. The third treatise bears the title,Quomodo substantiae in eo quod sint bonae sint cum non sint substantialia bona. It contains nothing distinctly Christian, and it contains nothing of great value; therefore its authorship is a matter of little consequence. Peiper thinks that, as the best MSS. uniformly assign these treatises to Boetius, they are to be regarded as his; that it is probable that Symmachus and John (who afterwards became Pope) were the men of highest distinction who took charge of him when he lost his father; and that these treatises are the first-fruits of his studies, which he dedicates to his guardians and benefactors. He thinks that the variations in the inscriptions of the fifth treatise which is not found in the best manuscript, are so great that the name of Boetius couldnot have originally been in the title. The fourth book is also not found in the best manuscript, and two manuscripts have no inscription. He infers, from these facts, that there is no sure evidence for the authorship of the fourth and fifth treatises. The fifth treatise isContra Eutychen et Nestorium. Both Eutyches and Nestorius are spoken of as living. A council is mentioned, in which a letter was read, expounding the opinion of the Eutychians for the first time. The novelty of the opinion is also alluded to. All these circumstances point to the council of Chalcedon (451). The treatise was therefore written before the birth of Boetius, if it be not a forgery; but there is no reason to suppose that the treatise was not a genuine production of the time to which it professes to belong. The fourth treatise,De Fide Catholica, does not contain any distinct chronological data; but the tone and opinions of the treatise produce the impression that it probably belonged to the same period as the treatise against Eutyches and Nestorius. Several inscriptions ascribe both these treatises to Boetius. It will be seen from this statement that Peiper bases his conclusions on grounds far too narrow; and on the whole it is perhaps more probable that Boetius wrote none of the four Christian treatises, particularly as they are not ascribed to him by any of his contemporaries. Three of them express in the strongest language the orthodox faith of the church in opposition to the Arian heresy, and these three put in unmistakable language the procession of the Holy Spirit from both Father and Son. The fourth argues for the orthodox belief of the two natures and one person of Christ. When the desire arose that it should be believed that Boetius perished from his opposition to the heresy of Theodoric, it was natural to ascribe to him works which were in harmony with this supposed fact. The works may really have been written by one Boetius, a bishop of Africa, as Jourdain supposes, or by some Saint Severinus, as Nitzsch conjectures, and the similarity of name may have aided the transference of them to the heathen or neutral Boetius.
Important and, if genuine, decisive evidence upon this point is afforded by a passage in theAnecdoton Holderi, a fragment contained in a 10th-century MS. (ed. H. Usener, Leipzig, 1877). The fragment gives an extract from a previously unknown letter of Cassiodorus, the important words being “Scripsit (i.e.Boetius) librum de sancta trinitate, et capita quaedam dogmatica, et librum contra Nestorium.” Nitzsch, however, held that this was a copyist’s gloss, harmonizing with the received Boetius legend, which had been transferred to the text, and did not consider that it outweighed the opposing internal evidence fromDe Cons. Phil.
Editions.—The first collected edition of the works of Boetius was published at Venice in 1492 (Basel, 1570); the last in J.P. Migne’sPatrologia, lxiii., lxiv. (Paris, 1847). Of the numerous editions of theDe Consolationethe best are those of Theodorus Obbarius (Jena, 1843) and R. Peiper (Leipzig, 1871). The first contains prolegomena on the life and writings of Boetius, on his religion and philosophy, and on the manuscripts and editions, a critical apparatus, and notes. The text of the second was based on the fullest collation of MSS. up to that time, though a considerable number of MSS. still remained to be collated. In addition to an account of the MSS. used, it gives the Book of Lupus, “De Metris Boetii,” the “Vita Boetii” contained in some MSS., “Elogia Boetii,” and a short list of the commentators, translators and imitators of theConsolatio. It contains also an account of the metres used by Boetius in theConsolatio, and a list of the passages which he has borrowed from the tragedies of Seneca. The work also includes the five treatises, four of them Christian, of which mention has been made above. King Alfred’s Anglo-Saxon version of theDe Consolatione, with literal English translation, notes and glossary, was published by S. Fox (1835) and again by W.J. Sedgefield (1900); that of G. Colville (Colvile, Coldewel, 1556) was republished by E.B. Bax (1897); translation (mixed prose and verse) by H.R. James (1897). Queen Elizabeth’s “Englishings” was reprinted in 1899; on the style, see A. Engelbrecht inSitzungsber. der Wiener Akad. der Wissenschaften(1902), pp. 15-36. TheDe Institutione Arithmetica, De Institutione Musica, and the doubtfulGeometria(for which see G. Ernst,De Geometricis illis quae sub Boethii nomine nobis tradita sunt quaestiones, 1903; A.P. McKinlay inHarvard Classical Studies, 1907; M. Cantor,Geschichte der Mathematik, i., Leipzig, 1894; G. Friedlein,Gerbert, die Geometric des Boethius, und die indischen Ziffern, Erlangen, 1861, are edited by G. Friedlein (Leipzig, 1867); German translation of theDe Musica, with explanatory notes, by O. Paul (Leipzig, 1872), and on the sources W. Miekley,De Boethii libri de musica primi fontibus(Jena, 1899). Commentary on Aristotle’sDe Interpretationeπερι ἑρμηνείας), ed. C. Meiser (Leipzig, 1877), and on Porphyry’sIsagoge, ed. S. Brandt (Vienna, 1906).
Authorities.—On Boetius generally, see J.G. Sutterer,Der letzte Romer(Eichstadt, 1852); H. Usener,Anecdoton Holderi(Leipzig, 1877); H.F. Stewart,Boethius: an Essay(Edinburgh, 1891); T. Hodgkin,Italy and her Invaders, iii. bk. iv. ch. xii. (1896); A. Ebert,Allgemeine Geschichte der Litt. des Mittelalters, i. (1889); Teuffel-Schwabe,Hist. of Roman Literature(Eng. trans., 1900), §478: on the date and order of his works, S. Brandt inPhilologus, lxii. pp. 141-154, 234-279, and A.P. McKinlay, as above, with refs.: on his “Songs,” H. Hüttinger,Studia in Boetii carmina collata(Regensburg, 1900): on his style, G. Bednarz,De universo orationis colore Boethii(Breslau, 1883): on his theological attitude and works, F.A.B. Nitzsch,Das System des Boethius und die ihm zugeschriebenen theologischen Schriften(Berlin, 1860), and art. in Herzog-Hauck’sRealencyklopädie(1897); C. Jourdain,De l’Origine des traditions sur le christianisme de Boèce(1861); Gaston Boissier, “Le Christianisme de Boèce,” inJournal des Savants(1889), pp. 449-462; A. Hildebrand,Boethius und seine Stellung zum Christentume(Regensburg, 1885); G. Schepps, “Zu Pseudo-Boethius de fide catholica,” inZeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie, xxxviii. (1895).
BOG(from Ir. and Gael,bogach, bog, soft), a tract of soft, spongy, water-logged ground, composed of vegetation, chiefly mosses, in various stages of decomposition. This vegetable matter when partially decomposed forms the substance known as “peat” (q.v.). When the accumulation of water is rapidly increased by excessive rainfall, there is a danger of a “bog-slide,” or “bog-burst,” which may obliterate the neighbouring cultivated land with a deposit of the contents of the bog. Destructive bog-slides have occurred in Ireland, such as that of the Knocknageeha Bog, Rathmore, Kerry, in 1896, at Castlerea, Roscommon, 1901, and at Kilmore, Galway, 1909.
There is a French game of cards called “bog,” said to be of Italian origin, played with a piquet pack on a table with six divisions, one of which is known by the name of the game and forms the pool. It was fashionable during the Second Empire.
BOGATZKY, KARL HEINRICH VON(1690-1774), German hymn-writer, was born at Jankowe in Lower Silesia on the 7th of September 1690. At first a page at the ducal court of Saxe-Weissenfels, he next studied law and theology at Jena and Halle; but ill-health preventing his preferment he settled at Glancha in Silesia, where he founded an orphanage. After living for a time at Köstritz, and from 1740 to 1745 at the court of Christian Ernst, duke of Saxe-Coburg, at Saalfeld, he made his home at the Waisenhaus (orphanage) at Halle, where he engaged in spiritual work and in composing hymns and sacred songs, until his death on the 15th of June 1774. Bogatzky’s chief works areGüldenes Schatzkästlein der Kinder Gottes(1718), which has reached more than sixty editions; andÜbung der Gottseligkeit in allerlei geistlichen Liedern(1750).
See Bogatzky’s autobiography—Lebenslauf von ihm selbst geschrieben(Halle, 1801; new ed., Berlin, 1872); and Ledderhose,Das Leben Bogatzky’s(Heidelberg, 1846); also Kelly,C.H. von Bogatzky’s Life and Work(London, 1889).
See Bogatzky’s autobiography—Lebenslauf von ihm selbst geschrieben(Halle, 1801; new ed., Berlin, 1872); and Ledderhose,Das Leben Bogatzky’s(Heidelberg, 1846); also Kelly,C.H. von Bogatzky’s Life and Work(London, 1889).
BOGHAZ KEUI,a small village in Asia Minor, north-west of Yuzgat in the Angora vilayet, remarkable for the ruins and rock-sculptures in its vicinity. The ruins are those of a ruling city of the oriental type which flourished in the pre-Greek period; and they are generally identified with Pteria (q.v.), a place taken by Croesus after he had crossed the Halys (Herodotus i. 76).
BOGIE,a northern English dialect word of unknown origin, applied to a kind of low truck or “trolly.” In railway engineering it is applied to an under-truck, most frequently with four wheels, which is often provided at one end of a locomotive or both ends of a carriage. It is pivoted or swivelled on the main frames, so that it can turn relatively to the body of the vehicle or engine, and thus it enables the wheels readily to follow the curves of the line. It has no connexion with the series of words, such as “bogey” or “bogy,” “bogle,” “boggle,” “bogart” (in Shakespeare “bug,” “bugs and goblins”), which are probably connected with the Welshbwg, a spectre; hence the verb to “boggle,” properly applied to a horse which shies at supposed spectres, and so meaning to hesitate, bungle.
BOGNOR,a seaside resort in the Chichester parliamentary division of Sussex, England, 66 m. S.S.W. from London by the London, Brighton & South Coast railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 6180. Besides the parish church there is a Roman Catholic priory and church. The town possesses a pier and promenade, a theatre, assembly rooms, and numerous convalescent homes, including an establishment belonging to the Merchant Taylors’ Company. The church of the mother parish of South Bersted is Norman and Early English, and retains a fresco of the 16th century.
BOGÓ,a town of the province of Cebú, island of Cebú, Philippine Islands, on Bogó Bay at the mouth of the Bulac river, in the north-east part of the island. Pop. (1903) 14,915. Theclimate is hot but healthy. The surrounding country is fertile, producing sugar, Indian corn, and maguay in abundance; rice, cacao and fruits are also produced. Hats, baskets, cloths and rope are woven and are exported to a limited extent; small quantities of copra are also exported. The fisheries are of considerable local importance. The language is Cebú-Visayan.
BOGODUKHOV,a town of Russia, in the government of Kharkov, 45 m. by rail N.W. of the city of that name, in 49° 58′ N. lat. and 36° 9′ E. long., was formerly fortified. Pop. (1860) 10,522; (1897) 11,928. There seems to have been a settlement on this site as early as 1571. In 1709, at the time of the Russo-Swedish War, Bogodukhov was taken by Menshikov and the emperor Alexius. It contains a cathedral, built in 1793. Boots, caps and furred gowns are manufactured, and gardening and tanning are carried on. The trade is principally in grain, cattle and fish.
BOGOMILS,the name of an ancient religious community which had its origin in Bulgaria. It is difficult to ascertain whether the name was taken from the reputed founder of that sect, a certain pope Bogumil or Bogomil, or whether he assumed that name after it had been given to the whole sect. The word is a direct translation into Slavonic ofMassaliani, the Syrian name of the sect corresponding to the Greek Euchites. The Bogomils are identified with the Massaliani in Slavonic documents of the 13th century. They are also known asPavlikeni,i.e.Paulicians. It is a complicated task to determine the true character and the tenets of any ancient sect, considering that almost all the information that has reached us has come from the opponents. The heretical literature has to a great extent either perished or been completely changed; but much has also survived in a modified written form or through oral tradition. Concerning the Bogomils something can be gathered from the information collected by Euthymius Zygadenus in the 12th century, and from the polemicAgainst the Hereticswritten in Slavonic by St Kozma during the 10th century. The old Slavonic lists of forbidden books of the 15th and 16th centuries also give us a clue to the discovery of this heretical literature and of the means the Bogomils employed to carry on their propaganda. Much may also be learnt from the doctrines of the numerous heretical sects which arose in Russia after the 11th century.
The Bogomils were without doubt the connecting link between the so-called heretical sects of the East and those of the West. They were, moreover, the most active agents in disseminating such teachings in Russia and among all the nations of Europe. They may have found in some places a soil already prepared by more ancient tenets which had been preserved in spite of the persecution of the official Church, and handed down from the period of primitive Christianity. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Bogomils were already known in the West as “Bulgari.” In 1207 theBulgarornm heresisis mentioned. In 1223 the Albigenses are declared to be the localBougres, and at the same period mention is made of the “Pope of the Albigenses who resided within the confines of Bulgaria.” The Cathars and Patarenes, the Waldenses, the Anabaptists, and in Russia the Strigolniki, Molokani and Dukhobortsi, have all at different times been either identified with the Bogomils or closely connected with them.
Doctrine.—From the imperfect and conflicting data which are alone available one positive result can be gathered, viz. that the Bogomils were both Adoptionists and Manichaeans. They had accepted the teaching of Paul of Samosata, though at a later period the name of Paul was believed to be that of the Apostle; and they were not quite free from the Dualistic principle of the Gnostics, at a later period too much identified with the teaching of Mani. They rejected the pneumatic Christianity of the orthodox churches and did not accept the docetic teaching of some of the other sects. Taking as our starting-point the teaching of the heretical sects in Russia, notably those of the 14th century, which are a direct continuation of the doctrines held by the Bogomils, we find that they denied the divine birth of Christ, the personal coexistence of the Son with the Father and Holy Ghost, and the validity of sacraments and ceremonies. The miracles performed by Jesus were interpreted in a spiritual sense, not as real material occurrences; the Church was the interior spiritual church in which all held equal share. Baptism was only to be practised on grown men and women. The Bogomils repudiated infant baptism, and considered the baptismal rite to be of a spiritual character neither by water nor by oil but by self-abnegation, prayers and chanting of hymns. Carp Strigolnik, who in the 14th century preached this doctrine in Novgorod, explained that St Paul had taught that simple-minded men should instruct one another; therefore they elected their “teachers” from among themselves to be their spiritual guides, and had no special priests. Prayers were to be said in private houses, not in separate buildings such as churches. Ordination was conferred by the congregation and not by any specially appointed minister. The congregation were the “elect,” and each member could obtain the perfection of Christ and become a Christ or “Chlist.” Marriage was not a sacrament. The Bogomils refused to fast on Mondays and Fridays. They rejected monachism. They declared Christ to be the Son of God only through grace like other prophets, and that the bread and wine of the eucharist were not transformed into flesh and blood; that the last judgment would be executed by God and not by Jesus; that the images and the cross were idols and the worship of saints and relics idolatry.
These Paulician doctrines have survived in the great Russian sects, and can be traced back to the teachings and practice of the Bogomils. But in addition to these doctrines of an adoptionist origin, they held the Manichaean dualistic conception of the origin of the world. This has been partly preserved in some of their literary remains, and has taken deep root in the beliefs and traditions of the Bulgarians and other nations with whom they had come into close contact. The chief literature of all the heretical sects throughout the ages has been that of apocryphal Biblical narratives, and the popes Jeremiah or Bogumil are directly mentioned as authors of such forbidden books “which no orthodox dare read.” Though these writings are mostly the same in origin as are known from the older lists of apocryphal books, they underwent in this case a certain modification at the hands of their Bogomil editors, so as to be used for the propagation of their own specific doctrines. In its most simple and attractive form—one at the same time invested with the authority of the reputed holy author—their account of the creation of the world and of man; the origin of sin and redemption, the history of the Cross, and the disputes between body and soul, right and wrong, heaven and hell, were embodied either in “Historiated Bibles” (Paleya1) or in special dialogues held between Christ and his disciples, or between renowned Fathers of the Church who expounded these views in a simple manner adapted to the understanding of the people (Lucidaria). The Bogomils taught that God had two sons, the elder Satanail and the younger Michael. The elder son rebelled against the father and became the evil spirit. After his fall he created the lower heavens and the earth and tried in vain to create man; in the end he had to appeal to God for the Spirit. After creation Adam was allowed to till the ground on condition that he sold himself and his posterity to the owner of the earth. Then Michael was sent in the form of a man; he became identified with Jesus, and was “elected” by God after the baptism in the Jordan. When the Holy Ghost (Michael) appeared in the shape of the dove, Jesus received power to break the covenant in the form of a clay tablet (hierographon) held by Satanail from Adam. He had now become the angel Michael in a human form; as such he vanquished Satanail, and deprived him of the termination-il= God, in which his power resided. Satanail was thus transformed into Satan. Through his machinations the crucifixion took place, and Satan was the originator of the whole Orthodox community with its churches, vestments, ceremonies, sacraments and fasts, with its monks and priests. This world being the work of Satan, the perfect must eschew any and every excess of its pleasure. But the Bogomils did not go as far as to recommend asceticism. They held the “Lord’s Prayer” in high respect as the mostpotent weapon against Satan, and had a number of conjurations against “evil spirits.” Each community had its own twelve “apostles,” and women could be raised to the rank of “elect.” The Bogomils wore garments like mendicant friars and were known as keen missionaries, travelling far and wide to propagate their doctrines. Healing the sick and conjuring the evil spirit, they traversed different countries and spread their apocryphal literature along with some of the books of the Old Testament, deeply influencing the religious spirit of the nations, and preparing them for the Reformation. They sowed the seeds of a rich religious popular literature in the East as well as in the West. The Historiated Bible, the Letter from Heaven, the Wanderings through Heaven and Hell, the numerous Adam and Cross legends, the religious poems of the “Kalëki perehozhie” and other similar productions owe their dissemination to a large extent to the activity of the Bogomils of Bulgaria, and their successors in other lands.
History.—The Bogomil propaganda follows the mountain chains of central Europe, starting from the Balkans and continuing along the Carpathian Mountains, the Alps and the Pyrenees, with ramifications north and south (Germany, England and Spain). In the middle of the 8th century the emperor Constantine Copronymus settled a number of Armenian Paulicians in Thracia. These were noted heretics and were persecuted by the Greek Church with fire and sword. The empress Theodora killed, drowned or hanged no fewer than 100,000. In the 10th century the emperor John Zimisces, himself of Armenian origin, transplanted no less than 200,000 Armenian Paulicians to Europe and settled them in the neighbourhood of Philippopolis, which henceforth became the centre of a far-reaching propaganda. Settled along the Balkans as a kind of bulwark against the invading Bulgars, the Armenians on the contrary soon fraternized with the newcomers, whom they converted to their own views; even a prince of the Bulgarians adopted their teaching. According to Slavonic documents the founder of this sect was a certain priest Bogumil, who “imbibed the Manichaean teaching and flourished at the time of the Bulgarian emperor Peter” (927-968). According to another source the founder was called Jeremiah (or there was another priest associated with him by the name of Jeremiah). The Slavonic sources are unanimous on the point that his teaching was Manichaean. A Synodikon from the year 1210 adds the names of his pupils or “apostles,” Mihail, Todur, Dobri, Stefan, Vasilie and Peter, all thoroughly Slavonic names. Zealous missionaries carried their doctrines far and wide. In 1004, scarcely 15 years after the introduction of Christianity into Russia, we hear of a priest Adrian teaching the same doctrines as the Bogomils. He was imprisoned by Leontie, bishop of Kiev. In 1125 the Church in the south of Russia had to combat another heresiarch named Dmitri. The Church in Bulgaria also tried to extirpate Bogomilism. The popes in Rome whilst leading the Crusade against the Albigenses did not forget their counterpart in the Balkans and recommended the annihilation of the heretics.
The Bogomils spread westwards, and settled first in Servia; but at the end of the 12th century Stephen Nemanya, king of Servia, persecuted them and expelled them from the country. Large numbers took refuge in Bosnia, where they were known under the name of Patarenes (q.v.) or Patareni. From Bosnia their influence extended into Italy (Piedmont). The Hungarians undertook many crusades against the heretics in Bosnia, but towards the close of the 15th century the conquest of that country by the Turks put an end to their persecution. It is alleged that a large number of the Bosnian Paterenes, and especially the nobles, embraced Islam (seeBosnia and Herzegovina:History). Few or no remnants of Bogomilism have survived in Bosnia. The Ritual in Slavonic written by the Bosnian Radoslavov, and published in vol. xv. of theStarineof the South Slavonic Academy at Agram, shows great resemblance to the Cathar ritual published by Cunitz, 1853. See F. Racki, “Bogomili i Paternai” inRad, vols. vii., viii. and x. (Agram, 1870); Döllinger,Beiträge zur Ketzergeschichte d. Mittelalters, 2 vols. (Munich, 1890).
Under Turkish rule the Bogomils lived unmolested asPavlikeniin their ancient stronghold near Philippopolis, and farther northward. In 1650 the Roman Catholic Church gathered them into its fold. No less than fourteen villages near Nicopolis embraced Catholicism, and a colony ofPavlikeniin the village of Cioplea near Bucharest followed the example of their brethren across the Danube.
Bibliography.—Euthymius Zygadenus,Narratio de Bogomilis, ed. Gieseler (Göttingen, 1842); J.C. Wolf,Historia Bogomilorum(Wittenberg, 1712); “Slovo svyatago Kozmyi na eretiki,” in Kukuljević Sakcinski,Arkiv zapovyestnicu jugoslavensku, vol. iv. pp. 69-97 (Agram, 1859); C.J. Jireček,Geschichte d. Bulgaren, pp. 155, 174-175 (Prague, 1876); Korolev, “Dogmatichesko-to uchenie na Bogomil-tie,” inPeriodichesko spisanie, vols. vii.-viii. pp. 75-106 (Braila, 1873); A. Lombard,Pauliciens, Bulgares et Bons-hommes(Geneva, 1879); Episcopul Melchisedek,Lipovenismul, pp. 265 sqq. (Bucharest, 1871); B.P. Hasdeu,Cuvente den bătrăni, vol. ii. pp. 247 sqq. (Bucharest, 1879); F.C. Conybeare,The Key of Truth, pp. 73 sqq. and specially pp. 138 sqq. (Oxford, 1898); M. Gaster,Greeko-Slavonic Literature, pp. 17 sqq. (London, 1887); O. Dähnhardt,Natursagen, vol. i. pp. 38 sqq. (Leipzig and Berlin, 1907).
Bibliography.—Euthymius Zygadenus,Narratio de Bogomilis, ed. Gieseler (Göttingen, 1842); J.C. Wolf,Historia Bogomilorum(Wittenberg, 1712); “Slovo svyatago Kozmyi na eretiki,” in Kukuljević Sakcinski,Arkiv zapovyestnicu jugoslavensku, vol. iv. pp. 69-97 (Agram, 1859); C.J. Jireček,Geschichte d. Bulgaren, pp. 155, 174-175 (Prague, 1876); Korolev, “Dogmatichesko-to uchenie na Bogomil-tie,” inPeriodichesko spisanie, vols. vii.-viii. pp. 75-106 (Braila, 1873); A. Lombard,Pauliciens, Bulgares et Bons-hommes(Geneva, 1879); Episcopul Melchisedek,Lipovenismul, pp. 265 sqq. (Bucharest, 1871); B.P. Hasdeu,Cuvente den bătrăni, vol. ii. pp. 247 sqq. (Bucharest, 1879); F.C. Conybeare,The Key of Truth, pp. 73 sqq. and specially pp. 138 sqq. (Oxford, 1898); M. Gaster,Greeko-Slavonic Literature, pp. 17 sqq. (London, 1887); O. Dähnhardt,Natursagen, vol. i. pp. 38 sqq. (Leipzig and Berlin, 1907).
(M. G.)
1These betray their Gnostic (Marcianite) spirit by the anti-Jewish tone of the oldest MSS. extant, though this prejudice tends to decrease in later MSS.
1These betray their Gnostic (Marcianite) spirit by the anti-Jewish tone of the oldest MSS. extant, though this prejudice tends to decrease in later MSS.
BOGORODSK,a town of central Russia, in the government of Moscow, and 38 m. by rail E.N.E. of the city of Moscow, on the Klyazma. It has woollen, cotton and silk mills, chemical factories and dye-works, and is famous for its gold brocade. Pop. (1897) 11,210.
BOGOS(Bilens), a pastoral race of mixed Hamitic descent, occupying the highlands immediately north of Abyssinia, now part of the Italian colony of Eritrea. They were formerly a self-governing community, though subject to Abyssinia. The community is divided into two classes, theShumagliehor “elders” andTigréor “clients.” The latter are serfs of the former, who, however, cannot sell them. The Tigré goes with the land, and his master must protect him. In blood-money he is worth another Tigré or ninety-three cows, while an elder’s life is valued at one hundred and fifty-eight cattle or one of his own caste. The eldest son of a Shumaglieh inherits his father’s two-edged sword, white cows, lands and slaves, but the house goes to the youngest son. Female chastity is much valued, but women have no rights, inherit nothing, and are classed with the hyaena, the most despised animal throughout Abyssinia. The Bogo husband never sees the face or pronounces the name of his mother-in-law, while it is a crime for a wife to utter her husband’s or father-in-law’s name.
BOGOTÁ,orSanta Fé de Bogotá, the capital of the republic of Colombia, and of the interior department of Cundinamarca, in 4° 6′ N. lat. and 78° 30′ W. long. Pop. about 125,000. The city is on the eastern margin of a large elevated plateau 8563 ft. above sea-level. The plateau may be described as a great bench or shelf on the western slope of the oriental Cordilleras, about 70 m. long and 30 m. wide, with a low rim on its western margin and backed by a high ridge on the east. The plain forming the plateau is well watered with numerous small lakes and streams. These several small streams, one of which, the San Francisco, passes through the city, unite near the south-western extremity of the plateau and form the Rio Funza, or Bogotá, which finally plunges over the edge at Tequendama in a beautiful, perpendicular fall of about 475 ft. The city is built upon a sloping plain at the base of two high mountains La Gaudalupe and Monserrate, upon whose crests stand two imposing churches. From a broad avenue on the upper side downward to the west slope the streets, through which run streams of cool, fresh water from the mountains above. The north and south streets cross these at right angles, and the blocks thus formed are like great terraces. A number of handsomely-laid-out plazas, or squares, ornamented with gardens and statuary, have been preserved; on these face the principal public buildings and churches. In Plaza Bolivar is a statue of Bolivar by Pietro Tenerani (1789-1869), a pupil of Canova, and in Plaza Santandér is one of General Francisco de Paula Santandér (1792-1840). Facing on Plaza de la Constitución are the capitol and cathedral. The streets are narrow and straight, but as a rule they are clean and well paved. Owing to the prevalence of earthquakes, private houses are usually of one storey only, and are built of sun-dried bricks,white-washed. But few of the public buildings are imposing in appearance, though good taste in style and decoration are often shown.
The city occupies an area of about 2½ × 1½ m. It has street cars, electric light and telephones. Short lines of railway connect it with Facatativa (24 m.) on the road to Honda, and with Zipaquira, where extensive salt mines are worked. A line of railway was also under construction in 1906 to Jirardot, at the head of navigation on the upper Magdalena. Bogotá is an archiepiscopal see, founded in 1561, and is one of the strongholds of medieval clericalism in South America. It has a cathedral, rebuilt in 1814, and some 30 other churches, together with many old conventual buildings now used for secular purposes, their religious communities having been dissolved by Mosquera and their revenues devoted in great measure to education. The capitol, which is occupied by the executive and legislative departments, is an elegant and spacious building, erected since 1875. The interest which Bogotá has always taken in education, and because of which she has been called the “Athens of South America,” is shown in the number and character of her institutions of learning—a university, three endowed colleges, a school of chemistry and mineralogy, a national academy, a military school, a public library with some 50,000 volumes, a national observatory, a natural history museum and a botanic garden. The city also possesses a well-equipped mint, little used in recent years. The plain surrounding the city is very fertile, and pastures cattle and produces cereals, vegetables and fruit in abundance. It was the centre of Chibcha civilization before the Spanish conquest and sustained a large population. The climate is mild and temperate, the average annual temperature being about 58° and the rainfall about 43½ in. The geographical location of the city is unfavourable to any great development in commerce and manufactures beyond local needs.
Bogotá was founded in 1538 by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and was named Santa Fé de Bogotá after his birthplace Santa Fé, and after the southern capital of the Chibchas, Bacatá (or Funza). It was made the capital of the viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, and soon became one of the centres of Spanish colonial power and civilization on the South American continent. In 1811 its citizens revolted against Spanish rule and set up a government of their own, but in 1816 the city was occupied by Pablo Morillo (1777-1838), the Spanish general, who subjected it to a ruthless military government until 1819, when Bolivar’s victory at Boyacá compelled its evacuation. On the creation of the republic of Colombia, Bogotá became its capital, and when that republic was dissolved into its three constituent parts it remained the capital of Nueva Granada. It has been the scene of many important events in the chequered history of Colombia.
(A. J. L.)
BOGRA,orBagura, a town and district of British India, in the Rajshahi division of eastern Bengal and Assam. The town is situated on the right bank of the river Karatoya. Pop. (1901) 7094. TheDistrict of Bogra, which was first formed in 1821, lies west of the main channel of the Brahmaputra. It contains an area of 1359 sq. m. In 1901 the population (on a reduced area) was 854,533, showing an increase of 11% in the decade. The district stretches out in a level plain, intersected by numerous streams and dotted with patches of jungle. The Karatoya river flows from north to south, dividing it into two portions, possessing very distinct characteristics. The eastern tract consists of rich alluvial soil, well watered, and subject to fertilizing inundations, yielding heavy crops of coarse rice, oil-seeds and jute. The western portion of the district is high-lying and produces the finer qualities of rice. The principal rivers are formed by the different channels of the Brahmaputra, which river here bears the local names of the Konai, the Daokoba and the Jamuna, the last forming a portion of the eastern boundary of the district. Its bed is studded with alluvial islands. The Brahmaputra and its channels, together with three minor streams, the Bangali, Karatoya and Atrai, afford admirable facilities for commerce, and render every part of the district accessible to native cargo boats of large burden. The rivers swarm with fish. The former production of indigo is extinct, and the industry of silk-spinning is decaying. There is no town with as many as 10,000 inhabitants, trade being conducted at riverside marts. Nor are there any metalled roads. Several lines of railway (the Eastern Bengal, &c.), however, serve the district.
BOGUE, DAVID(1750-1825), British nonconformist divine, was born in the parish of Coldingham, Berwickshire. After a course of study in Edinburgh, he was licensed to preach by the Church of Scotland, but made his way to London (1721), where he taught in schools at Edmonton, Hampstead and Camberwell. He then settled as minister of the Congregational church at Gosport in Hampshire (1777), and to his pastoral duties added the charge of an institution for preparing men for the ministry. It was the age of the new-born missionary enterprise, and Bogue’s academy was in a very large measure the seed from which the London Missionary Society took its growth. Bogue himself would have gone to India in 1796 but for the opposition of the East India Company. He also had much to do with founding the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Religious Tract Society, and in conjunction with James Bennet, minister at Romsey, wrote a well-knownHistory of Dissenters(3 vols., 1809). Another of his writings was anEssay on the Divine Authority of the New Testament. He died at Brighton on the 25th of October 1825.
BOGUS(of uncertain origin, possibly connected with the Fr.bagasse, sugar-cane refuse), a slang word, originally used in America of the apparatus employed in counterfeiting coins, and now generally of any sham or spurious transaction.
BOHEA(a word derived from the Wu-i hills in the Fuhkien province of China,bbeing substituted forWorV), a kind of black tea (q.v.), or, in the 18th and early 19th centuries, tea generally, as in Pope’s line, “So past her time ’twixt reading and bohea.” Later the name “bohea” has been applied to an inferior quality of tea grown late in the season.