benefit, benefet, benefite, bynfet

[Fr. bienfait, O. Fr. bienfet Lat. bene factum = a benefit, kindne , and beneficium (1) well doing, (2) a favour; benefacio =to do good to: (1) bene = well, and (2) facio =to do. Benefit and benefice were originally the same word ( Trench ).] [BENEFICE.] A. Ordinary Language: 1. The act of conferring favour or advantage upon. 2. The state of receiving favour or advantage. "Luc. When expect you them? Cap . With the next benefit of the wind." Shakesp.: Cymbeline, iv. 2. yet have I the benefit of my senses as well as your ladyship." Ibid . Twelfth Night , v. 1. 3. The favour or advantage itself. (1) In a general sense : "And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit ."2 Cor . 1. 15. (2) In theatres, music halls, . The proceeds of a particular evening given to an actor or singer as part of the remuneration of his services. Similarly, the proceeds of a particular performance given for some charitable object or for some person. B. Law. Benefit of clergy ( Privilegium clericale): The advantage derived from the preferment of the plea "I am a clergyman." When, in med iæval times, a clergyman was arraigned on certain charges he was permitted to put forth the plea that, with respect to the offence of which he was accused, he was not under the jurisdiction of the civil courts, but, being a clergyman, was entitled to be tried by his spiritual superiors. [CLERGY, CLERK.] In such cases the bishop or ordinary was wont to demand that his clerks should be remitted to him out of the king's courts as soon as they were indicted though at length the custom became increasingly prevalent of deferring the plea of being a clergyman till after conviction, when it was brought forward in arrest of judgment. The cases in which the benefit of clergy might be urged were such as affected the life or limbs of the offender, high treason however excepted. In these circumstances laymen often attempted to pa themselves off as clergymen, when the practice was to bring a book and ask the accused person to read a pa age. If he could do so, his plea of being a clergyman was admitted; if he failed, it was rejected. The practical effect of this was to give the bishop the power, if he felt so disposed, of removing every reader from the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts. In 1489, Henry VII. restricted the privilege. A layman able to read who pleaded his "clergy" could henceforth do so only once; and in order that he might be identified if he attempted it again, he was burnt in the hand. Henry VIII., in 1512, abolished benefit of clergy with regard to murderers and other great criminals. The practice of requiring the accused person to read was put an end to in 1706; but it was not till 1827 that the 7 and 8 Geo. IV., c. 28, known as Peel's Acts, swept the benefit of clergy itself away. (a) Crabb thus distinguishes between the words benefit , favour , kindne , and civility:"Benefits and favours are granted by su periors ; kindne es and civilities pa between equals. Benefits serve to relieve actual want; favours tend to promote the interest or convenience. Kindne es and civilities serve to afford mutual accommodation by a reciprocity of kind offices. Kindne es are more endearing than civilities , and pa mostly between those known to each other; civilities may pa between strangers. Dependence affords an opportunity for conferring benefits ; partiality gives rise to favours ; kindne es are the result of personal regard, civilities of general benevolence. Benefits tend to draw those closer to each other who by station of life are set at the greatest distance from each other affection is engendered in him who benefits , and devoted attachment in him who is benefited. Favours increase obligation beyond its due limits; if they are not asked and granted with discretion, they may produce servility on the one hand, and haughtine on the other. Kindne es are the offspring and parent of affection; they convert our multiplied wants into so many enjoyments: civilities are the sweets which we gather in the way as we pa along the journey of life." the (b) Benefit , service, and good office are thus discriminated: "These terms, like former (v. Benefit , favour ), agree in denoting some action performed for the good of another, but they differ in the principle on which the action is performed. A benefit is perfectly gratuitous, it produces an obligation: a service is not altogether gratuitous; it is that at least which may be expected, though it cannot be demanded a good office is between the two; it is in part gratuitous, and in part such as one may reasonably expect. Benefits flow from superiors, and services from inferiors or equals; but good offices are performed by equals only. Princes confer benefits on their subjects; subjects perform services for their princes: neighbours do good offices for each other. Benefits consist of such things as serve to relieve the difficulties, or advance the interests, of the receiver: services consist in those acts which tend to le en the trouble, or increase the ease and convenience, of the person served good offices consist in the use of one's credit, influence, and mediation for the advantage of another; it is a species of voluntary service. Humanity leads to benefits ; the zeal of devotion or friendship renders services; general good will dictates good offices ." (Crabb: Eng. Synon .)