ed
under the care of Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, and of Ceolfrith,
afterwards Abbot of Jarrow. Ordained deacon in 692 and priest in 703, he
spent most of his days at Jarrow, where his fame as a scholar and teacher
of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew brought him many disciples. Here likewise he
_d._ and was buried, but his bones were, towards the beginning of the
11th century, removed to Durham. The well-deserved title of "Venerable"
usually prefixed to his name first appears in 836. He was the most
learned Englishman of his age. His industry was marvellous, and its
results remain embodied in about 40 books, of which about 25 are
commentaries on books of Scripture. The others are lives of saints and
martyrs, and his two great works, _The Ecclesiastical History of England_
and the scientific treatise, _De Natura Rerum_. The former of these gives
the fullest and best information we have as to the history of England
down to the year 731, and the latter is an encyclopaedia of the sciences
as then known. In the anxious care with which he sought out and selected
reliable information, and referred to authorities he shows the best
qualities of the modern historian, and his style is remarkable for "a
pleasing artlessness."

_History of Early Engl. Lit._, Stopford Brooke (2 vols., 1892), etc.

BEECHER, HENRY WARD (1813-1887).--Orator and divine, _s._ of Lyman B. and
_bro._ of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was one of the most popular of American
preachers and platform orators, a prominent advocate of temperance and of
the abolition of slavery. His writings, which had a wide popularity,
include _Summer in the Soul_ and _Life Thoughts_.

BEHN, APHRA (JOHNSTON) (1640-1689).--Novelist and dramatist, _dau._ of a
barber named Johnston, but went with a relative whom she called father to
Surinam, of which he had been appointed Governor. He, however, _d._ on
the passage thither, and her childhood and youth were passed there. She
became acquainted with the celebrated slave Oronoko, afterwards the hero
of one of her novels. Returning to England in 1658 she _m._ Behn, a Dutch
merchant, but was a widow at the age of 26. She then became attached to
the Court, and was employed as a political spy at Antwerp. Leaving that
city she cultivated the friendship of various playwrights, and produced
many plays and novels, also poems and pamphlets. The former are extremely
gross, and are now happily little known. She was the first English
professional auth