Port Royal on the day of Pentecost, 1611. On June 10,1611, Biard and his associate, Ennemond Masse, wrote the first letters ever sent by the Jesuit Order from the Canadian settlement. Soon afterwards he began the study of the Indian language by questioning the natives on the mean- ing of the words faith, hope, churity, baptism, sacrament, trinity, eueharist. and incarnation, a study rendered extremely dirtieult by the un- willingness or the inability of the natives to reply, and by the ridicule and scurrility which his questions frequently encountered. In 1012 he ascended the Kennebec River and established friendly relations with the Indians; and in 1613 he proceeded as far as the Penobscot, and founded a colony on Mount Desert Island, wliieh lie hoped to make a permanent settlement. The little ham- let was, however, shortly afterwards destroyed by an English force under Samuel Argall, Deputy Governor of Virginia. One of Biard's followers was killed, and he himself was taken prisoner and transported to England. This attack is memora- ble as resulting in the first actual hostilities be- tween the French and English settlers in Amer- ica. At the instance of the French Ambassador, Biard was subsequently liberated, and returned to Lyons, where, in 1610, he published his Rela- tion de la Xouvclle France, et du royage des peres. Jrsiiites dans cette contree, the first of that remarkable series of Jesuit Relations, 40 vols. (1632-1072), which constitute one of the most valuable sources of early American history. Another important work is the Relatio Expedi- tionis Anglorum in Canadam sucerjue ab illis Comprehensioyiis.
BIARRITZ, bya'rets' (Basque iliarritze,
two rocks). A fashionable watering-place in the
Department of Basses-Pyrenees, France, about 5
miles southwest of Bayonne ( ilap : France,
E 8). Napoleon III. and Eugenie, attracted l)y
its picturesque situation, natural advantages,
and salubrity, made it their summer residence.
Since then it has been a favorite place for in-
valids and pleasure-seekers, both in summer and
in winter. It has no industries. Population, in
1896, 11,809.
BIAS, be'as. See Beas.
BI'AS (Gk. B(as). One of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. He was one of the four — the others being Thales, Pittacus, and Solon — who were always classed as such. He was the son of Teutames, and was born at Priene, where he became a distinguished advocate and influential citizen. His date is approximately the middle of the Sixth Century B.C. Many of the stories at- tached to the name of Bia-s — such as that he advised the lonians to settle in Sardinia, and that he dissuaded Croesus from attacking the Greek islands — are of doubtful authenticity. Bias was successful at clothing his wisdom in short sayings, and we have a number of them preserved. See Seven Sages.
BIBB, George M. (1772-18,59). An Ameri-
can legislator. He was born in Virginia and
graduated at Princeton in 1792. He was several
times elected Chief .Tustiee of Kentucky and sub-
sequently became Chancellor of that State. He
was elected to succeed Henry Clay as ITnited
States Senator in 1811 and served until 1814, and
again from 1829 to 183.5. From 1844 until the
inauguration of .Tames K. Polk, he served as
Secretary of the Treasury in President Tyler's
Cabinet. He published Reports of Cases at Com-
mon Laic and in Chancery in the Kentucky Court
of Appeals (1808-1811).
BIBBIENA, be-bya'na, Bekxabuo Dovizio
(1470-1520). An Italian ecclesiastic and poet;
born at Bibbiena (Arezzo). He was private sec-
retary of Giovanni de' Medici, whose elevation as
Pope Leo X, he helped to effect, and who ap-
pointed him a cardinal in 1513. He was a friend
of Raphael, and wrote Calandria (1521), gen-
erally accounted the earliest Italian comedy. It
was modeled on the Mcna-chmi of Plautus. For
his biography consult Boudini (Leghorn, 1578).
BIBBIENA, Giuseppe (1690-1757). An Ital-
ian painter, second son of Fernando Galli Bib-
biena. He was the most distinguished represen-
tative of the Bibbiena faxnily. He prepared mag-
nificent decorations for a Court wedding held at
^Munich in 1722, and for the great Court festival
held at Prague in the following year. In addi-
tion to numerous catafalques, stage scenery, etc.,
he built the beautiful theatre at Bayreuth
(1747), and remodeled the opera house at Dres-
den (17-50), Illustrations of several of his
works were published in the Architettura e pros-
pettive (1740).
BIBELOT, be'b'-lO' or bib'16 (Fr.). A name
given by collectors to any small ornament or ar-
ticle of taste that can be used to adorn the
shelves or the cabinet of the owner; such as
bronzes, bits of rare china or porcelain, and
antiques. See C'unio.
BIBERACH, belie- riiG (Ger. Biber, beaver +
Tent, aha, water) . A town of Wiirttemberg, situ-
ated 1750 feet above the sea on the Riss, in a
cliarming valley about 23 miles southwest
of Ulm ( Jlap ; (iiermany, C 4 ) . It has manufac-
tures of machinery, artificial flowers, leather,
and children's toys, and bell foundries. The town
owns its water and gas works and has a high
school, hospital, and theatre. Population in
1890, 8200; in 1900, 8400. Near Biberach, Oc-
tober 2, 1796, Moreau won a great victory over
the Austrian General Latour. and May 9. 1800,
Saint Cyr defeated the Austrian General Kray.
BIBESCO, be-bes'k6, Babbo Demetrius (1801-
09). A Wallachian statesman. He studied in
Paris in 1817-21 : participated in the revolt
of Alexander Ypsilanti ; and was successively
Minister of Justice and Minister of the Interior.
As Hospodar of Wallachia. in 1849-56. he im-
proved education and the finances, and worked
for Rumanian unity.
BIBIRU, bebe'roo. See Greenheart.
BI'BLE. I. — In General. (1) Meaning of the Xante. The word 'Bible' is derived from the Latin Uihlia. which was treated as a singular, although it represented the transcri])tion of the Greek neuter plural )3i(3ia, bihlia. 'little books.' The Greek /S/fSXot, biblos, from which came the diminutive, was in turn derived from lybhis or papyrus, the name of the famous material upon which ancient books were written.
The name in its singular form appropriately emphasizes the unity of the Bible, while in its original plural sense it called attention to the fact that the Bible is a collection of many books. The title was first used about the middle of the Second Christian Century in the so-called Second Epistle of Clement (xiv. 2),
