creation of mind, and a reflex of the Eternal Reason that creates and
dwells in both it and him; for as Dr. Stirling says, "the object can only
be known in the subject, and therefore is subjective, and if subjective,
ideal." The outer, as regards our knowledge of it, is within; such is
Berkeley's fundamental philosophical principle, and it is a principle
radical to the whole recent philosophy of Europe (1684-1753).
BERKSHIRE (238), a midland county of England, with a fertile,
well-cultivated soil on a chalk bottom, in the upper valley of the
Thames, one of the smallest but most beautiful counties in the country.
In the E. part of it is Windsor Forest, and in the SE. Bagshot Heath. It
is famous for its breed of pigs.
BERLICHINGEN, GOETZ VON, surnamed "The Iron Hand," a brave but
turbulent noble of Germany, of the 15th and 16th centuries, the story of
whose life was dramatised by Goethe, "to save," as he said, "the memory
of a brave man from darkness," and which was translated from the German
by Sir Walter Scott.
BERLIN` (1,579), capital of Prussia and of the German empire; stands
on the Spree, in a flat sandy plain, 177 m. by rail SE. of Hamburg. The
royal and imperial palaces, the great library, the university, national
gallery and museums, and the arsenal are all near the centre of the city.
There are schools of science, art, agriculture, and mining; technical and
military academies; a cathedral and some old churches; zoological and
botanical gardens. Its position between the Baltic and North Seas, the
Spree, the numerous canals and railways which converge on it, render it a
most important commercial centre; its staple trade is in grain, cattle,
spirits, and wool. Manufactures are extensive and very varied; the chief
are woollens, machinery, bronze ware, drapery goods, and beer.
BERLIN DECREE, a decree of Napoleon of Nov. 21, 1806, declaring
Britain in a state of blockade, and vessels trading with it liable to
capture.
BERLIOZ, HECTOR, a celebrated musical composer and critic, born near
Grenoble, in the dep. of Isere, France; sent to study medicine in Paris;
abandoned it for music, to which he devoted his life. His best known
works are the "Symphonie Fantastique," "Romeo and Juliet," and the
"Damnation of Faust"; with the "Symphonie," which he produced while he
was yet but a student at the Conservatoire in Paris, Paganini was so
struck that he presented him with 20,000 francs (1803-1869).
BER`M
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