Bor-Has'sirah(Heh. Borkas-Sirak', tT^Sn 112, cistern of the Hrcth; Sept. translates eppiap tov Sapf/ju), a place in the southern part of Palestine, where Joab's messengers found Aimer (2 Sam. iii, 26, where our version renders "well of Sirah"), probably the same as Besira (B)jrripa) of Josephus (Ant. vii, 1, 5), twenty stadia from Hebron. See Sirah.
Borith. See Nitre ; Soap.
Bo'rith (Lat. Borith, for the Gr. text is not extant) is given (2 [Vulg. 4] Esdr. i, 2) as the son of Abisei, and father of Ozias, in the genealogy of Ezra ; evident- ly a corruption of Bukki (q. v.), as in Ezra vii, 4.
Borkath. See Carbuncle.
Born again, or Born of God. See Regenera- tion.
Borre or Borrhius, Adrian van den, a distin- guished Remonstrant. On the death of Arminins (q. v.), his ability and piety gave him great influence among the followers of that great man. He was one of the six Remonstrant ministers who took part in the conference at the Hague, 1611 ; he also assisted at the Delft Conference, 1613. When subscription to the decretals of the Synod of Dort was enforced, he gave up all his worldly interests for conscience' sake, and joined Episcopius and others at Antwerp, where he was one of the directors of the affairs of the Remonstrants. He wrote the Explicatio delucida crip. IX ad Rom., con- tained in pt. ii of Acta et Scrvpta Ministrorum Remon- strantium (1620). — Limborch, Vita Rpiscopii (cd. 1701, p. 213) ; Morison, On Romans IX, p. 56.
Borrelists, a Dutch sect, named from their leader, Adam Borrel or Borel, a Zealandcr, born 1603, died 1667. They lived an austere life, and laid great stress upon abundant almsgiving ; they also decried all the outward forms of the Church, denied the efficacy of the sacraments, and maintained that the Bible should be read without any commentary whatever. They taught that private worship is more important than public. Borel wrote a treatise, Ad Legem (t testimonium, main- taining that the written Word of God, without human exposition, is the only means and the adequate means of awakening faith in the heart of man. See Arnold, Kirchen- it. Ketzerhistorie, pt. iii, ch. vi.
Borri, Josefo Francesco (Bnrms), an impostor, born at Milan May 4, 1627. He was educated in the Jesuits' Seminary at Rome, after which he gave him- self to the study of medicine and chemistry. He soon
BORROMEO
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abandoned himself to a life of extreme irregularity and viciousness, which he cloaked under the appearance of extreme seriousness and devotion. He pretended even that he was inspired by God to effect a reformation among men ; declaring it to be the will of God that there should be but one fold on earth, under the pope, and that all who refused to enter it should be put to death. To these he added the most atrocious blasphe- mies, declaring the Virgin to be the daughter of the Father, as Christ is his Son, and in all things equal to the Son ; that the Holy Spirit is incarnate in her, etc. The Inquisition took proceedings against him, and sentenced him to be burned January 3, 1661 ; but he escaped to Strasburg, and afterward to Amsterdam and Hamburg. Here he ingratiated himself with Queen Christina of Sweden, who spent large sums un- der his dictation in the search for the philosopher's stone. Thence he went to Copenhagen, where Fred- erick III patronized him. On the death of that prince he determined to go to Turkey, but was arrest- ed on the way at Goldingen, in Moravia, and handed over to the pontifical government, on condition that his punishment should not be capital. The Inquisi- tion kept him in prison till the day of his death, Aug. 10, 1695. — Biog. Univ. torn, v, p. 193 ; Hoefer, Biog. Ge- nerate, v, 735.
Borromeo, Carlo, cardinal of the Roman Church and archbishop of Milan, was born of noble parents at the castle of Arona, on the banks of the Lago Maggi- ore, Oct. 2, 1538. His family was one of the most an- cient in Italy, tracing its origin to the family of Ani- cius in ancient Rome. His mother was a sister of Pius
IV. He studied at Milan and at Pavia, and at both was distinguished for personal virtue and for diligence in study. His youth was devoted, not to the ordinary pleasures of that age, but to religion and charitable exercises ; and the great wealth at his command did not in the least affect his moral or religious character injuriously. Pius IV, his uncle, adopted him as a son, and made him archbishop of Milan in 1560. But, on the death of his brother Frederick, his relations, and even the pope himself, besought him to marry in or- der to preserve the line of the family, which seemed in danger of extinction. His mind, however, was made up ; and, to escape farther importunity, he was privately ordained in 1565, and at once devoted him- self to the reform of abuses in his diocese. The Coun- cil of Trent (Sess. xxiv, de ref. 7) having recommend- ed the preparation of an authoritative Catechism, Pius intrusted t he work to his nephew, who, associating with himself three eminent ecclesiastics, completed in 1566 the celebrated Catechismus Tridentinus, Cateckis- iii a, t Romania, or Catechismus ad parockos. See Cate- CHISMS ; Greeds. To carry out his plans of reform, he gave up every other benefice, abandoned his pater- nal property, and divided his diocesan revenues into three portions : one for the poor, another for the Church, and the third for himself, of the use of which In' gave a rL'id account to his synod. In his palace lie in nli' a like reformation. In the enforcement of discipline, he held, at different periods, six provincial councils and eleven diocesan synods; and, to see that the regulations of these councils were enforced, he regularly visited in person the churches of his vast province. These reforms excited powerful resistance. The Humiliati (q. v.) induced a friar of the order, named Farina, to attempt the life of Borromeo. The assassin fired at, the archbishop as lie was at prayers before the altar, but the bullet only grazed the s'kin. The assassin and his two accomplices were put to death, and the order of the Humiliati was suppressed by Pins