^ PRINCETON, N. J. W, Library of Dr. A. A. Eodie. Presented. n^Al BV 811 .D3 1867b Dale, James W. 1812-1881. Classic baptism CLASSIC BAPTISM. AN INUUIRY THE MEANING OF THE WORD B A n T I Z H, AS DETERMINED BY THE USAGE OF CLASSICAL G E E E K W R I T E E S. JAMES W. DALE, PASTOE OF THE MEDIA PEESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DELAWARE COUNTY, PA. BOSTON: DKAPEK & HALLIDAY. PHILADELPHIA: CHICAGO: SMITH, ENGLISH & CO. S. C. GKIGGS & CO. 18G7. " Either tlie words of a language must each denote only a single notinn — a single fasciculus of thought, — the multitude of notions not designated being allowed to perish ; or the words of a language must each be employed to denote a plurality of concepts. Of these alternatives the latter is the one which has been universally preferred ; and accordingly all languages by the same word express a multitude of thoughts, more or less differing from each other. " Now, what is the consequence of this ? It is plain that if a word has more than a single meaning attached to it, when it is employed it cannot of itself directly and peremptorily suggest any definite thought ; all that it can do is vaguely and bypothetically to suggest a variety of different notions ; and we are obliged, from a consideration of the context, of the tenor, of the general analogy of the discourse, to surmise with greater or less assurance, with greater or less precision, what particular bundle of characteristics it was intended to convey." Sir William Hamilton. Kntercd accorjiny; to Act of Congress, in tlii' year 1807, by J A M li S W. U A L K, 111 tLo Clerk's Ufiice of the District Court for the Kastcrn District of I'ennsyhania. s II F, i; !M AN & u 0., iTERKO'n I'KKS AMI 1'|;1NTW!S, 1HILA1>! Ll'HIA. SYNOPSIS. Baptist "VTriters. thetr views presented and difficulties suggested. A. E., A. Barber, Booth, Carson, Conant, Cox, Confession of Faith, Curtis, Dagg, Fuller, Gale, Jewett, Morell, Eipley, Stovel, Roger Williams, "Wayland. Greek "Writers. Using ^dnrm. — Achilles Tatius, iElian, iEsop, ^Eschylus, Antoninus, Aratus, Arrian, Aristoj^hanes, Aristotle, Barker's Classical Eecreations, Bentleii Epigr. Collect., Constantine, Dionysius, Euripides, Eustathius, Epictetus, Eupolis, Herod- otus, Ilelladlus, Hippocrates, Homer, lamblichus, Julius Pollux, Lucian, Lycophron, Menander, Plato, Plutarch, Sophocles, Strabo, Suidas, Theocritus. Latin Writers. Using Tingo. — Calpuruius, Celsus, Cicero, Horace, Juvenal, Martial, Ovid, Pei'seus, Pliny, Propertius, Seneca, Virgil. Using Mergo. — Catullus, Curtius, Horace, Juvenal, Livy, Lucan, Lucretius, Martial, Ovid, Perseus, Plautus, Pliny, Quintillian, Seneca, Statins, Virgil, Valerius Flaccus. English AVriters. Using Dip and Immerse. — Booth, Bonheur, Chalmers, Sir A. Clarke, Coleridge, Cowper, Current Literature, Dryden, Col. Gardiner, Glover, Hanua, Judge Brackenridge, Kane, L'Es- 1 ( iii ) IV WRITERS NOTICED. trange, Leyburn, Judge Kelley, Milton, Sir Thomas More, Pope, Sir Walter Scott, Spenser, Mrs. Sherwood, Shakspeare, Eev. Dr. Thornwell, Warbiirton, Young. Greek Writers. Using ^aTtri'^u). — Achilles Tatius, ^Esop, Alcibiades", Aleiphron, Alexander Aphrodisias, Archias, Aristotle, Arrian, Athenaeus, Chariton Aphrodisias, Conon, Demetrius, Demosthenes, Dio- dorus Siculus, Dion Cassius, Epictetus, Eubulus, Evenus, Heliodorus, Hippocrates, Heimerius, Homer, Julian. Egypt., Libanius, Lucian, Nicander, Orpheus, Pindar, Plato, Plotinus, Plutarch, Polysenus, Polybius, Porphyry, Proclus, Strabo, Suidas, Themistius. Other Writers. Addison, Bauer, Blair, Elizabeth Carter, De Wette, Ency- clop. Americana, Prof. Ewing, President Halley, Houghton, Eev. J. H. Orbison, Eobinson, Prof. Stuart, Valla, Prof. Wilson, Quintillian, Home Tooke, Sir William Hamilton, Chaucer, Fabian, Mortimer. I. COURSE OF INQUIRY. Introductory. Discussion has continued, through centuries. Baptists claim to have reached demonstrated and absolute truth. Truth, unmixed with error, when jDresented, has power to compel conviction. If already discovered, no apology for rejecting or neglecting, and originating renewed inquiry. Obligation to examine and determine the value of Bajjtist results. Baptist Writers. Their principles. Their translations. Their practice. Baptist Postulates. 1. Baiz-'Xu), through all Greek literature, has but one mean- ing; which meaning is definite, clear, precise, and easy of translation. 2. Ba-ri'^(o and ^dnzco have precisely the same meaning, dyeing excepted, and, in all other respects, whether as to form, or force, or effect, they differ nothing. 3. BanriZca expresses an act, a definite act; mode, and noth- ing but mode, — to dip. BdTzra), primary, expresses an act, a definite act ; mode, and nothing but mode, — to dip. 4. BanriZu) has the same meaning in figurative as in literal use, always referring to the act of dipping. Counter Propositions. 1. BdTZTcu, in primary use, expresses a definite act, character- ized by various and essential limitations, — to dip. (v) VI COURSE OF INQUIRY. 2. BdrzTu/, dij), in secondary tise. expresses a limited force, with a correspondingly limited effect, 3. Banri'^Wj in primary use, expresses condition, intusposi- .tion, without limitations. 4. Ba-Ti^u}, in secondary use, expresses condition effected by controlling influence, without limitation of intusposition, or otherwise. Meaning of the Word. Baptist Yiews expressed by Eoger "VYilltams and "A. E.," A, Barber, Gale, Booth, Cox, Carson, Fuller, Dagg, Stovel, Jewett. Dip, Plunge, Irmnierse, iTsed, at will, as convertible and equiva- lent terms. Is this true ? Can it be tolerated in assigning a definite, critical, and controversial meaning to a word? Booth says, No. " The substitution of these words for one another makes sentiment and practice ridiculous." Dngg says, JSTo. And sharply discriminates between dip and im- merse in a long list of definitions; after which he turns his pen and blots the distinction made. Fuller Bays, JSTo. And by his negation makes a way of escape from difficulty ; but soon denies bis denial, in order to escape from equal difficulty on the other side. Immerse, a Eefuge from the Difficulties of Modau Action, Modal action the sine qua non, heretofore, of the Baptist theory. Dr. Fuller, A. E., Baptist Confession of Faith. Doubt arising about "the definite act" theory. Pai'ties among the Baptists. 1. Some affirm the theory absolutely (Carson), 2. Some doubt (Gale). 3. Some deny (Fuller). 4. Some no7i liquet (Conant). Carson earnestly condemns Gale and Cox as abandoning the point at issue. Morell, dissatisfied with Carson's defence, frankly declares that he does give up the point. " Immersion may be by pouring" (Cox, Morell, Fuller). -COURSE OF INQUIRY. Vll Dr. Conant. His labors great and valuable; but do not meet the severe demands of the Baptist system. Do not sustain modal mean- ing, — to dip, to plunge. Introduce submersion, condition. Affirms act of passing from one element into another. Sea- coast baptism. No such act of passing in it. Carson says there is such act expressed. Gale and Fuller deny. The one contradicts common sense; the others contradict Baptist prin- ciples. Dr. Conant's Definition : Act is made a vanishing quantity; condition is brought into high relief Secondary or analogous meaning, — state of life. Cannot be founded on the form of an act. Second Definition. — Seven defining words. Inconsistent with Baptist principles. Bound to define by a term of abso- lute unity. Carson acknowledges the obligation; attempts to meet it; and presents dip, and stumbles at the threshold against ^^or." Conant rejects dip almost as utterly, as Carson maintains it exclusively. Makes it one of seven defining words, yet excludes it from more than six-sevenths of the cases. Objections to the seven defining words, — to immerse, to im-merge, to sub-merge, to dip, to plunge, to whelm, to imbathe. Form of act abandoned. Words compounded with prepo- sitions should not, unnecessarily, translate uncompounded words. Never means dip. Confounded with /5a;rrw. Metaphorical Use. — Not based on act, but condition.. Wine- cup, perplexing questions, opiate drop, and such like, familiar agencies of baptism. If Dr. Conant will accept condition with- out ^' the image of the act," he will agree with us, and differ from Baptists. Immerse as a Latin Derivative. Growing disposition to use immerse as a shield against the difficulties of argument, while dip is held in reserve as a necessity for practice. No confession of past error. Duplex Use. — 1. The Latin prej^ositiou in expresses, some- times movement, sometimes position. In im-mergo it expresses position and not movement. Under the plea of Latinism, VIU COURSE OF INQUIRY. "moveraent is, erroneously, introduced, and the translation, to dip, to plunge, grounded on it, and applied to cases of baptism in which the object is moved. 2. Im-merse, in English, does not express movement; hence, in other cases of baptism, where no movement of the object takes place, and dip or plunge will not answer to the facts, this word can be slipped in. Bury, and such like words, do not express movement. " Bury into'^ does not give power of movement to bury. The duplicity of use which characterizes Baptist usage in employing im- merse must be guarded against. Failure. Baptist writers fail to show : 1. One clear, precise, definite, easily translatable meaning. 2. That /SarToi and /3a-r:'C<« have the same meaning, form, and force. 3. That iSa-ri'Coj expresses act, definite act, mode and nothing but mode — to dip. 4. That /SaTrn'^w, in secondary use, pictures the act of dipping. 5. That any English word daguerreotypes the Greek word. Administration of the Eite. How is the rite of baptism to be administered ? Baptist Confession of Faith says : " Dipping or plunging the whole body." "Immersing the subject in water" (Booth). Candi- date placed under the water (Eipley). "Immersing of the body in water" (Wayland). " Immersion or burial of the body in water" (Curtis). " Immersion of the subject in water is essential;" "commanded to perform the act represented by the word baptize" (Jewett). "Not sprinkling or pouring; the motion takes place in the man, and ceases when the man in baptized in water" (Stovel). The Act. "Commanded to perform the act." What act? " The act of immersing the subject." What is the act of immersing? " The act which Ave are commanded to perform by the word baptize." Very clear and very precise ! " The act is to move COURSE OF INQUIRY. ix a mj until he is baptized." And "to move" expresses an act so clear, so precise, and so definite as to need no elucida- tion ! The Confession of Faith uses no enigmatical terms ; with frankness and perfect explicitness it declares, — "the act is dipping or plunging." "With such statement, nothing is left but to inquire. Does God command us to perform one or the other of those well-defined acts, — to dip, to plunge ? If so, which? They differ essentially; dipping is not plunging, plunging is not dipping. The Object. Whatis the object of the act? "The man" (Stovel). "The subject" (Booth, Jewett). "The body" (Wayland, Curtis). " The whole body" (Conf of Faith). No discord in the ut- terance of this element of Baptist sentiment. Practice, how- ever, antagonizes sentiment. " Baptism does not take place until after the greater part of the body has been put under water by the act of walking" (Eipley). This is practice. What, now, becomes of the sentiment which announces "the act of dipping," as specifically the divine command, and " the whole body" as the object of that act? The End. What is the end of the act? "The act ceases when the man is baptized iu the water" (Stovel). "In plunging the whole body under water" (Conf of Faith). " Emersion is not in the word, simply puts into or under the water" (Conant). Eemarkable confessions. 1. Abandons the definition, to dip. 2. Puts a living man under water, with, confessedly, no pro- vision to take him out. Beyond all credibility that any such act should have been commanded. To substitute ^dizru} for /SaTTTt'Cty, overtly, none dare to do ; to retain, verbally, ^ar.riZw, and give to it the meaning of ^dizroj, is to do covertly what none venture to do overtly. Validity. What are the requisites to valid baptism ? 1. Immersion of the subject. 2. Immersion of the subject in water. 3. Im- X COUKSE OF INQUIRY. jnersion of the subject in water by the act commanded in baptize. 1. "Immersion." In immersion there is no limitation of time. Is this a divine injunction? 2. "The subject." As tbe subject is never immersed by Baptists in their ritual ser- vice, but the head and shoulders, only, they hereby destroy their own baptism. 3. " The act commanded." The act, universally, performed in practice is dipping ; but men high in Baptist authority now admit that the word does not alwaj'S mean to dip. How do they know that it means to dip here ? Besides, to dip is, now, rarely found in any Baptist transla- tion of the word ; its appearance is becoming more and more rare ; how do they know that ^a-ri'^u) ever means to dip ? The foundations of Baptist baptism, in its validity, are shaken by its friends. Eesults. "We gather from Baptist records : 1. As to the Word. The disagreement between one writer and another, and the disagreement of every writer with him- self, shows either an imperfect understanding of the word, or a failure to find any word in the English language to expound their conception. 2. As to Ritual Administration. Sentiment and practice are in irreconcilable contradiction. 3. As to Validity of the Rite. Honesty in stating the elements which are essential to valid baptism is unquestionable, inas- much as they destroy their own, no less than that of all others. 4. As to the Propriety of Renewed Investigation. Want of ac- cord with principles, and want of agreement between writers, show some radical error, and require a new investigation. RENEWED INVESTIGATION. XI II. RENEWED INVESTIGATION. BADTIZ^— What is its Meaning. Advantage of a simultaneous and comparative examination of tlie usage of (SaKzo) and /Sarrc'Jw — tingo and mergo — dip and immerse. Yerbs demanding Condition for their Object, bury. drown. whelm. Bury demands covered condition for its object, without limitation in the form of the act by which such condition may be effected. Brown demands : 1. Covered condition. 2. Condition re- sulting from such covered condition — suffocation. 3. Condi- tion resulting from controlling influence without any covering. Whelm demands : 1. Covered condition. 2. Irresistible in- fluence without covering. Form of act is demanded by none of these words. PLUNGE. Plunge demands the execution of an act of definite charac- teristics. This word belongs to a class widely separated, in nature, from the preceding. BoLTZTU} belongs to the same class with -plunge; iSarrTi^^u) to that class represented by bury, drown, and whelm. Farther Explanation. 1. Form of act does not belong to /SarrtTw. 2. Intusposition, within a closely investing medium, essential to the primary use. 3. Indefinite continuance in such condition equally essen- tial to the word. 4. Feeble influence, the result of superficial entrance and momentary continuance, excluded. Carson in- sists, unqualifiedly, on a definite act. Gale doubts. Conant leans to Gale. President Halley, of England, and Professor Xll KENEWED INVESTIGATION. Wilson, of Ireland, adopt state, condition, in opposition to act. Form of act, whether in primary or metaphorical use, must be abandoned. Intusposition. Condition of intusposition carries with it the idea of completeness. 1. Complete investiture, simply, as of a rock. 2. Complete influence resulting from such investiture, as in a ship sunk. 3. Complete influence induced by other causes than an investing element. Exigencies of language require such modification. 4. Frequent and perpetuated use expressive of a definite influence begets a specific meaning; as in the case of wg.ter, to drown, and in the case of wine, to make drunk. As ^arriZoi has for its starting-point a condition of intuspo- sition, complete as to extent and indefinite as to duration; while /Sdnzco sets out from a trivial act of superficial entrance and of evanescent continuance in an element; these words may be well expected to have a development broadly di- vergent. Eepresentative Word. Baptists have failed to present a representative word. Now, they offer one, now another, and now a third, each differing in form and in force. No English word, in its radical thought and development, squarely correspondent with the Greek word. To drown, to whelm, to merse, to steep, to inn, each may present some specialty of claim. The Greek word having but one form throughout its usage, it is desirable that there should be, if possible, but one English word used in its translation. In a controverted issue, it is especially desirable to avoid the shift- ing from one word to another, even at the exj^ense of using, sometimes, unfamiliar forms of phraseology. We choose, from among other imperfect terms, Merse. Definition. 1. To intuspose, to merse ; specifically, to drown. 2. To influence controllingly ; specifically, to make drunk. The facts of usage must sustain this definition, or it is er- roneous. Every known case of classical usage adduced. The period covered by the quotations is about a thousand years. RENEWED INVESTIGATION, XIU BAliTn— ITS MEANING. To Dip. To dip expresses a gentle, downward movement, entering slightly into some diverse element, with immediate return. Dip and plunge are evidently separated in nature. Plunge expresses movement characterized by rapidity and force, en- tering into some element without return. To dip passes on from its special, primary use, to express to wet, to moisten, to wash, without involving the form of the act. ^lian, Aristophanes, Aristotle, Constantine, Dionysius Hal- icarnassus, Euripides, lamblichus, Lycophron, Theocritus, Aratus, Herodotus, Plutarch, Suidas. To Dye. Gale says, this word is used in the art of dyeing, but always implying the act to dip. Carson denies that the act is pre- served in dyeing; and all Baptists, now, adopt his doctrine, and admit that dipping (retaining one word throughout the modifications of meaning, as does the Greek) may be by sprinkling. To dye, in the progress of usage, becomes to stain, to smear, to gild, to temper, to imbue, or tincture. Achilles Tatius, ^sop, Aristophanes, Eustathius, Hippoc- rates, lamblichus, Julius Pollux, Menander, Plato, Antoninus, ^schylus, Aristotle, Epictetus, Eupolis, Helladius, Homer, Sophocles, Strabo. Bdnro) : 1. Dips, putting momentarily into a fluid. " 2. Dips, by dipping into a coloring fluid, — dyes. " 3. Dips, without dipping, by means of coloring mat- ter, — stains. " 4. Dips, without dipping, without dyeing, without staining, by communicating uncolored quality, — tinctures. BdTZTU), dips, without the modal act of dipping. " dyes, without imparting the quality of color. XIV RENEWED INVESTIGATION. Bd-Tio, to dip, takes as its syntax dq, with the accusative; ySa'jrrw, to dje, takes as its syntax the coloring matter in the dative, usually, without a prej)Osition. TINGO— TO DIP. The meaning of this word is uncontroverted. It is in re- markable harmony with ^dr^TU) in all its phases. It means, to dlp^ to wet, to moisten., to wash, to anoint. Celsus, Juvenal, Ovid, Perseus, Propertius, YirgiL TINGO— TO DYE. It means, to dye, to stain, to paint, to temper, to imbue, or tinc- ture. Cicero, Horace, Juvenal, Martial, Ovid, Perseus, Pliny, Virgil, Seneca. Tingo: 1. Dii^s, putting momentarily into a fluid. " 2. Dips, by putting into a coloring fluid, — dyes. " ■ 3. DijJS, without dipping, by means of coloring mat- tev,-^stains. " 4. Dips, without dipping, without dyeing, without staining, by communicating uncolored quality, — tinctures. DIP. The English dip corresponds, in all radical features, with ^clTrru) and ti7igo. It means to put in superficially and mo- mentarily, to dip, to wet, to bathe slightly, to examine superficially, to engage in limitedly, to mortgage, to take out a small quantity. Booth, Chalmers, Dryden, Sir A. Clarke, Clover, Milton, Sir Thomas Moore, Pope, Sir Walter Scott, Shakspcare. DIP = DYE. It means to dye, to stain, to imbue or tincture. Coleridge, Cowper, Milton, Pope, Scott, Spenser, "Warburton, Young. RENEWED INVESTIGATION. XV Conclusion. — Bd-rco, tingo, dip, each represents a form of act characterized by limitations as to — 1. Force, 2. Extent of penetration into an element. 3. Duration of continuance in it. 4. Magnitude of its objects. 5. Degree of influence. In using one word to translate ISanrrCcu, it should be borne in mind, that the Greeks and Latins used but one word to express the modal act of dipping, and the quality of color by dyeing, as well as all the subordinate modifications of each of these terms. Were we- to translate in these cases, throughout, by the one word expressive of the primary meaning, we should have to use such phrases as — Dip the pastures with dew; Dip the face loith tears; Dip the grass by sprinkling blood upon it. Such breadth of usage, and such widely divergent, not to say contradictory, meaning in the use of these terms, affords but a poor basis whereon to ground the anticipation of finding in j3a7TTi!^w " a definite act, mode and nothing but mode, one meaning through all Grreek literature." But the facts of usage, only, have authority; let us hear them. First, let us inquire into the testimony of the corresponding English and Latiii words. Immerse and Mergo. XVI RENEWED INVESTIGATION. III. IMMERSE. Immerse and dip are confounded together by Baptist writers, and interchanged at will. There is no authority for so doing. Meaning : To cause to he in a state of intusposition without limitation of depth, or time, or force, or object, or mode of accom- plishment. In all of these particulars it is in irreconcilable contrast with dip. Dip performs an act upon its object transitory and limited in all directions. It does not put its object in a new state or condition. Immerse makes no demand for the performance of any defi- nite act. It does demand state, condition, intusposition. This state is of indefinite continuance ; it may be changed by the intervention of foreign influence, but it is never changed by immerse. In mersion, brevity of continuance is an accident, not belonging to the state; in dipping, brevity of continuance, is of the essence of the act, and is always present. The acci- dental feature of brevity, cannot convert a state of mersion into an act of dipping. The compounding preposition "m" denotes position only, and not movenient. Immerse is used to express thorough influence of any kind. Booth, Chalmers, Cowper, Current Literature, Dr. Kane, Pope, Sir Walter Scott, Young. Bdnru), tingo, dip, touch at all points; immerse is separated from each at all points. MEEGO. 1. Mergo expresses no form of act. 2. It is alike indiflerent to the movement of the object or the element. 3. Its object may be a grain of sand or a world. 4. The time of its mer- sion is without limit. 5. The force it may call into action has no bound. 6. It demands intusposition for its object, and with this is satisfied. Secondary Use. — 1. It expresses a condition resultant from RENEWED INVESTIGATION. Xvii some controlling influence. 2. Absolutely, it expresses (gener- ally) destructive influence. 3. Specifically, it means to drown, to make drunk. Catullus, Curtius, Horace, Juvenal, Livy, Lucan, Lucretius, Martial, Ovid, Pliny, Statius, Quintillian, Valerius Flaccus, Virgil. Mergo and immerse, with some specialties of use, are in per- fect hai-mony. Mergo is in broad contrast, throughout all its usage, with ^dizzu), tingo, and dip. BAnriza. What is its Usage ? Use is of supreme authority, and the rule in the language. 1. BaTtTi^oj expresses intusposition without influence. Aristotle, Archias, Julian the Egyptian, Lucian, Orpheus, Plutarch, Polybius, Porphyry, Strabo. 1. Ba-Tt^u) is without limitation as to power, object, dura- tion, and form of action. 2. Expressing no form of act, it accepts of all forms of act competent to efi'ect its demand. 3. The confusion of ISolt^toj and ^anri^o) is a grave error and without excuse. 4. The corner-stone of the Baptist system — " Baptizing is Dipping, and Dipping is Baptizing" — is pure error. 5. While some objects are uninfluenced by intusposition within a fluid, most objects will be thoroughly influenced by being placed in such a condition. 2. It expresses intusposition with influence. 1. Vessels sunk by storm. 2. Vessels and persons sunk by weight. 3. Animals, &c,, mersed by the flowing or uprising of water and of blood. 4. "Drowned" or "drunk" by mer- sion continued four days. 5. Mersion of the soul. Achilles Tatius, -(Esop, Alexander Aphrodisias, Diodorus XVlll RENEWED INVESTIGATION. Siculus, Dion Cassius, Epictetus, Eubulus, Heliodorus, Hippoc- rates, Homer, Plotinus, Plutarch, Polybius, Strabo, Suidas. 3. Intusposition for influence. 1. To drown. 2. To saturate. 3. To incrust. 4. To de- stroy vessels. ^sop, Achilles Tatius, Alcibiades, Dion Cassius, Heliodorus, Heimerius, Hippocrates, Lucian, Nicander, Polyaenus, Plu- tarch, Polybius, Strabo, Themistius. 4. Influence with rhetorical figure. 1. Overflowing wave. 2. Tempest. Chariton Aphrodisias, Dion Cassius, Libanius, Pindar. Figurative language. Figure becomes worn out by constant use. Any word which, originally metaphorical in its use, has secured for itself a well-defined meaning, diverse from literal use, lays aside the character of figure and takes its place among literal words. BaitriZu), through daily and long-continued use, has secured a secondary use, convej'ing an idea derived, but dissociated, from the primary use, which gives it a status of its own with- out recurring to the source whence it sprang. Carson, Blair, Quintillian. SECONDAET USE. Controlling Influence — General. 1. Without Intusposition. Achilles Tatius, jEsop, Alciphron, Alexander Aphi'odisias, Demosthenes, Demetrius, Diodorus Siculus, Heliodorus, Heim- erius, Libanius, Plotinus, Plutarch, Proclus, Themistius. RENEWED INVESTIGATION. XIX The changes now shown to have taken place in ^a-rriZw — viz., 1. Intusposition without influence; 2. Intusposition with influence; 3. Intusposition for influence; and 4. Influence with- out intusposition — find a complete parallel and vindication in those changes which have been shown to take place in the usage of ^dnrco, viz., 1. Dipping without dyeing; 2. Dipping for dyeing ; 3. Dyeing without dijyping. Bd-Tu) — 1. Dij^s without dyeing. 2. Dips for dyeing. 3. Dyes without dipping. BaTzriZu) — 1. Merses without influence. 2. Merses for in- fluence. 3. Influences loithout mersing. So, Steep — 1. Intusposes. 2. Intusposes for influence. 3. Influences without intusposing. BaTZTiZu), used absolutely, or with appropriate case, in un- physical relations, exj)resses, directly and not figuratively, con- trolling iniuence. The modality of position, out of which this idea grows, has disappeared. 2. CONTUOLLING INFLUENCE — SPECIFIC Without Intusposition. Some things exert over certain objects a definite' and un- varying influence. Water exerts over all human beings, mersed in it, the specific influence of suffocation — droivning. "Wine freely drunk, makes drunk. An opiate swallowed, stu- pefies. When pa-Ti%a} is used to express the condition result- ing fi-om these influences (as it very frequently is), it no longer expresses controlling influence generally; but expresses, from the necessity of the case, that specific influence which be- longs to water — to drown; or to wine — to make drunk; or to an opiate — to stupefy. Whatever breadth of meaning any word may be possessed of, if it be persistently used to denote a condition, such as results from wine drinking and kindred influences, deeply marked and of unvarying uniformity, it cannot but be, that the idea of such condition becomes incorporated in the word. To drink has a very broad application; but persistently used to express the drinking of intoxicating liquors, " a drinking 2 XX RENEWED INVESTIGATION. man" conies to express a drunken man. The Greek word has great breadth of application; but used familiarly, and long, to express the condition induced by wine-influence, it comes to express directly the state of drunkenness. Some of the specific conditions expressed by this word, and which render its translation by an appropriate terra justifi- able, if not compulsory, are as follows: 1. To bring into a condition of stupor — to stupefy ; by swal- lowing an opiate. 2. To bring into a state of drunkenness — to make drunk} by drinking wine. 3. To bring into a state of coldness — to make coldj by pour- ing water on hot iron. 4. To bring into a state of bewilderment — to bewilder; by asking sophistical questions. • 5. To. bring into an unintoxicating state — to temper wine ; by pouring water through it. 6. To bring into a state of pureness — to purify; by using sea-water in any way. Achillea Tatius, Athenaeus, Conon, Evenus, Homer. Alleg., Lucian, Plato, Plutarch. From such usage, figure (dipping!) has irrecoverably dis- appeared. Parabaptists. a class of persons op defective character. Implied contrast with persons who are Baptists — persons of decided character, who are under some controlling in- fluence. Arrian. General Eesults. 1. Certain old and long-cherished errors have been corrected and abandoned. 2. Other errors yet remain to be corrected. 3. Usage has spoken freely, and been, I trust, reported truly. RENEWED INVESTIGATION. XXl Usage declares : 1. Bdnrw, tingo, and dip to be equivalent terms in their orig- inal import, and, also, that they run parallel, in a remai'kable degree, ia all the variations of their development. 2. Usage bears the same testimony to the common nature and kindred development of ^^aTm'Cw, mergo, and merse. 3. As the former class of terms agrees, essentially, in all its members, so it is in essential disagreement with all the mem- bers of the latter class. BaTZTW. 1. Puts its object into a simple fluid element, and withdraws it promptly. 2. Changes the state or quality of its object, as to color, by putting into coloring liquid. 3. Changes the state or quality of its object, as to color, by pressure, sprinkling, or otherwise. 4. Changes the state or quality of its object where color is not involved. Banri^o). 1. Intusposes its object within a fluid element without provid- ing for its removal. 2. Influences, controllingly, its object by intusposition. 3. Influences, controllingly, its object without intusposition. 4. It drowns. It makes drunk. Ba-rtT'Xui expresses any complete change of condition by what- soever agency effected, or in whatsoever way applied. TEST OF TRUTH. A master key proves its character by throwing back the bolts of every lock to which it is applied. The meaning assigned to ^ar.ri^ut gives proof that it ia such a master key. Applied to every passage of classical Greek in which the word is used, a clear and adequate solution is at once revealed. XXU RENEWED INVESTIGATION. Try the opposing meaning — a definite act — and fashion a key after that principle (of what model you will), dip, plunge, sink, overflow, or what not, and each must, in turn, be thrown aside in utter disappointment. The usage of /Sa-rt'^w cannot be "mastered" by any effort in that direction. Abandon all such endeavor, and apply the meaning — Con- dition : (1.) Condition of complete intusposition ;. (2.) Condition of complete influence ; And we have a key which opens every passage, "as on golden hinges turning." The meaning assigned throws light upon the origin of the conflicting views so long maintained, and their relations to the truth. 1. On the one side we have dip. The origin of this meaning ia traceable, most unmistakably, to ^dTzrm. It is an intruder within the domain of ^aizri^u), and, as such, should be uncere- moniously dismissed. 2. Plunge, sink, overflow, are traceable to [iaTz-ri'^uj as among the accidents of form through which it secures its essential demand of condition j while the attributing of such accidents to the essence of the word, involves the absurdity of making the same word express many definite acts diverse and contra- dictory in form. 3. On the other side we have four and sprinkle. These forms of action are not the most natural servitors of ^a-ri^oj. And yet their competency to fulfil this duty, under favorable circumstances, is admitted by some of the ablest Baptist writers. But it is in baptisms of influence where these words have their just and appropriate use. To say that baptism may be by such acts, is to declare a truth; but to make [ia-zi'^u) mean to pour or to sprinkle, is an error similar to that into which those of the other side have fallen. The explanation of the protracted conflict would seem to be a repetition of the history of the struggle beneath "the shield with its golden and silver side." All the truth has not been in view. CLASSIC BAPTISM, WITH A VIEW TO ITS BEARIN<} ON CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. PART I. Three centuries have witnessed the continued discussion of the meaning of the word fta-zt^w, and the proper man- ner of administering the rite of Christian Baptism. One hundredth part of this time woukl seem to have been sufficient to gather together all the materials in- volved in such discussion, and to have issued a judgment, based upon them, from which there could have been no hox^eful appeal. And if this has not been done most exhaustively, the fact is marvellous; but if it has been done, it is no less marvellous that the judgment reached has not compelled universal acceptance. The mind is not at liberty to accept or to reject the tnith when presented distinctly before it, with its evidences; it must accept it. In examining this subject, with exclusive reference to personal instruction, it has appeared to me that the in- vestigation has not been, adequately, carried out in certain directions. This has arisen, doubtless, from the little promise which seemed to be held out of valuable results from such inquiry. Sometimes, hoAvever, our anticipa- tions receive favorable disappointment. It may be so iti (21) 22 CLASSIC BAPTISM. this case. And I submit the results gathered up, not only along the main route of inquiry, but in some of its less fully explored collateral branches, in the hope of assisting to a final and generally acceptable judgment. If I shall fail to make the best use of the materials furnished, more skilful hands may take them and find their labors crowned with greater success. There is a large and respectable class of persons who will consider this whole inquiry a work of supererogation. They say that the work has been done, well done; all the truth has been evolved, and that now " it is not so much light that is needed as honesty." So fully convinced are we of the " honesty" of these persons, that we accept it, at once, with or without their affirmation; and because we do, gladly place ourselves within the clear shining of their " light," hoping that no "lack of honesty" will either cloud our perception or silence our confession. Wisdom and duty alike demand that we should pursue this course. If absolute truth has been already reached through the labors of others, it will be less laborious to pass over a path already trodden, and to examine results already wrought out; and if these re- sults are luminous with uncolored truth, as they are said to be, then it is a privilege and a duty cordially to accept them. This course I propose to adopt. If the course of inves- tigation and results reached, b}^ our Baptist brethren, are beyond impeachment, after due examination, then our task will be ended; but if otherwise, then even they will confess that "light" may be sought at some other source without necessarily abandoning " religious honesty." BAPTIST POSTULATES. Baptist writers demand the acceptance as verities, by all lovers of truth, of certain general results reached by them in their investigations. Among these are the following : * SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON. 23 I. BanTi^u), throvghoid (he entire course of Greek literature^ has but one meaning, icldch is definite, clear, ^^recf^e, and easy of translation. This proposition is not self-luminous with truth. The demand for its acceptance, therefore, cannot reasonahlj be expected to follow on its mere enunciation. Apology for this hesitancy may be found in the fact, that if this propo- sition embodies a truth, it is a very unusual one. Few- things are more rare in the history of language than to find a word used by a cultivated people for ages in the same absolute sense. In farther vindication of this hesi- tancy, allow me to present the following quotation from Sir "William Hamilton : "And here it is expedient to take into account two circumstances, which mutually atiect each other. The first is that the vocabulary of every language is necessarily finite, it is necessarily disproportioned to the multiplicity, not to say infinity, of thought; and the second, that the complement of words in any given language has been always filled up with terms significant of objects and rela- tions of the external world, before the want was experi- enced of words to express the objects and relations of the internal." " Either words of a language must each designate only a single notion — a single fasciculus of thought — the multi- tude of notions not designated being allowed to perish; or the words of a language must each be employed to denote a plurality of concepts. ... Of these alternatives, the latter is the one which has been universally preferred; and, according!}^, all languages by the same word express a multitude of thoughts, more or less differing from each other." — Logic, p. 436. My object, now, is not to disprove the above postulate, but merely to look at it as the fruit of Baptist labors, and see whether it carries on the face of it justification for the bold demand which it makes for acceptance. The impres- sion made is, that farther evidence, and a good deal of it, is needed to mate good such a point. 2-4 CLASSIC BAPTISM. n. BarM^u) and ^dr.rv) licive jwedsdy the same meaning, dye- in (j excepted; in all other respects, vjhcther as to form, or force, or effect, they differ neither more nor less. This proposition constitutes another demand for accept- ance on the ground of unquestionable truth. We are com- pelled, however, again to hesitate. And in apology we offer this query: Is it usual for language to repeat itself? If it be true that all nations have been compelled, through the paucity of words, to use " each one to denote a plurality of concepts," is it not something for wonder that the Greeks should employ two words to express the same identical conception ? 2. We remember, also, that we hare been asked, here- tofore, to adopt this same proposition v/ithout any excep- tion. It may be that complete truth has not been 3*et reached, and that the list of exceptions will go on to in- crease until these words shall be found to be in harmony with that broad law of language — one word for many concepts, but not two words for one. 3. We are not sure that all possible differences between these words have been well considered. Points of resem- blance may, through prepossession for a certain conclusion, have claimed an attention which induced unconsciousness of existent clifl'erences. " Words are often employed with a plurality of meaning, several of which may quadrate, or be supposed to quadrate, w^ith the general tenor of the discourse. Error is thus possible ; and it is also probable, if we have any prepossession in favor of one interpretation rather than another." — Sir W. IT. Logic, 437. Baptist writers are not the only ones who may be sup- posed to "have a prepossession in favor of one interpreta- tion rather than another" in the case before us; but I suppose they can hardly claim exemption from this dis- turbing influence. m. Ba-rri^oi cxpresscs au act, a definite act; mode, and noth- ing but mode; to dip. Bdrzru) {primary) c:g)resses an act, a . dflnlic act; mode, and nothing bat mode; to dip. BAPTIST POSTULATES. 25 Before giving in adhesion to the demand for an acknowl- edgment of tlie identity of these words as expressed in this concrete form, I would like to know whether the various phases assumed by the class of verhs to which they belong have been maturely considered iu their bear- ings upon both, separately and jointly. Active transitive verbs admit of numerous subdivisions possessed of characteristics by no means unimportant. Among the divisions will be found, 1. Words which, di- rectly, express action. 2. Words which, directly, express condition. Baptist writers say that the two words under consider- ation belong to the former of these classes and not to the latter. lias this ever been proved? Has it ever been attempted? Possibly; but if so, it has never come under my notice. And as there is no self-evidencing power in the statement, I must hesitate in my faith. Words which, directly, express action are still farther divided into, 1. Words which express action, generally. 2. Words which express action, particularly. To the former of these classes belong such words as to do, to work, to move, &c. To the second class belong to dig, to roll, to speak, and the like. To this latter class, it is said, pdr.rio and ^aTrriXu) must both be attached. But has this ever been, distinctively, proved? Suppose that we should be willing to admit that one of them, /Sdnru), for example, did belong here, but felt some embarrassment in making such admission as to the other; is it unreasonable to ask to be relieved from pressure on this point until some proof shall be adduced? Farther; among words which express action in some definite form, there are, 1. Those which express action characterized by rapidity and force. 2. Those which are marked by comparative slowness and gentleness. To the former belongs j^lunge. To the latter belongs dip. Wlien Baptist writers say that /5a7rro> and /5a-T£Cw mean " to dij),'' do they mean, understandingly, to say that they belong to a class of verbs characterized by a movement " slow and 26 CLASSIC BAPTISM. gentle," and not to that class which has the elements of " rapidity and power ?" They cannot helong to both classes. If Baptist writers have failed to mark this dis- crimination, and have failed to test, by nsage, the true classification of each of these words, they must not be astonished if there is questioning, instead of unqualified acceptance, of their conclusions. But what shall be said of that very large class of words which does not express, immediately, action either def- initely or indefinitely, and therefore neither powerfully nor feebly, but which expresses, directly, result, state, con- dition ? Such as to put, to set, to lay, expressive of condition as to place ; to pen, to surround, to inclose, expressive of con- dition characterized by some encircling material ; and to cover, to bury, to lolielm, expressing condition marked by envelopment on all sides ? As verbs which embody an act represent power, greater or less, through the act which they indicate; so verbs which shadow forth condition denote influence, greater or less, through the nature of such condition. To place an object momentarily within a fluid, is to place it in a condition where the influence exerted upon it will be of the feeblest character. To place an object within a fluid element, indefinitely, is to place it in a con- dition where the influence exerted upon it will be of the strongest possible character. To dip is an act by which the former condition is eflected; to merse is a condition of the latter kind effected by any competent act, the nature and form of which are undefined and of absolute indifference. These classes of words are separated from each other by a great gulf, so that there is no passage from the one side to the other witliout an essential change in the nature of the word. Have Baptist writers maturely considered these distinc- tions, and come to a critical judgment, in view of a full induction of facts, that /9a7rrw and (ia-ri'^iu do neither both nor either belong to verbs of condition, but do both belong BAPTIST POSTULATES. 27 to verbs expressive of action, and more limitedlj to verbs expressive of definite action ? If tbey have so done, I know not wliere tbey Lave bid- den tbe frnit of tbeir labors, and until these shall be re- vealed I plead against the demand to accept a conclusion which ignores the existence of a class of words which are in nature and development radically different from " an act, a definite act; mode and nothing but mode; to dip." IV. Bar.riZw has the same meaning in figurative as in literal use, always referring to the act of dipping. Subscription to this demand, as truth, may be given or withheld according to the idea attached to the "figurative" use of language. "Words are sometimes used in connec- tions where literality of meaning is impossible, and yet where it is no less manifest that it is designed to place the literal use vividly before the mind for greater effect. In such cases of transference of words from physical to m^eta- physical relations, in order to xiwaken the intellect by unwonted combination, and thus produce a profounder effect; the word carries its meaning with it, and produces its awakening effect only because it does convey such meaning. But where words once used in material relations are now used in immaterial, and that every day, and without design on the part of the speaker to utter figure, and by reason of familiarity incapable of producing any such im- pression on the mind of the hearer, — in a word, the simple, necessary, universal tropical use of words should not be considered as figure. If, however, Baptist writers insist that such prosaic use of language must be dignified by the title of figure, we must wholly decline the acceptance of their proposition. Its contradictory proposition, /3a--:Cw, never carries into secondary or tropical use, unmodified, its primary or literal use, is nearer the truth. This must be so in the nature of things. Words in trope and metaphor make meanings for themselves, and the same word is variously modified 28 CLASSIC BAPTISM, in meaning, to fit in the various relations in wliicTi from time to time it finds itself. And when the special friends of /3a-7-:Tw run for a solution of every tropical and meta- phorical use to the water, they will find that such course will be suggestive largely, to others, of the ridiculous and the absurd, as well as the impossible. The tropical or secondary use of words is of great value as reflecting light back upon the primary use. And as it is true in language, as well as in everything else, that an original divergence is made increasingly manifest the farther progress is made from the starting-point, words whose divergence was not so manifest in primary, literal use, will reveal it more strikingly as they pass on to meta- phor, trope, and secondary use. In general, words which literally are directly expressive abaction will be employed in metaphor to denote /orcT, not physical but mental and moral ; and words which literally are directly expressive of condition, find their use in meta- phor to denote influence. Some words, while expressing a definite act, carry witli them some result inseparable from that act. The second- ary use will develop sometimes one, sometimes another aspect of such words. To this class belongs dip. Its secondary use gives prominence sometimes to the act, sometimes to the efifect of the act, always characterized by feebleness and limitation. If at any time it appears to pass beyond these boundaries, the explanation will be found in some adventitious circumstance, in the nature of the object or the character of the element; not, therefore, inherent in the word. The secondary use of 77ierse never stands related to any form of act, but is always used to express the development of influence in the fullest measure of which the case will admit. The contrast between dij^ and nicrse is absolute. ' As we shall have largely to do with the secondary use of ,3a-TiX(o, it seemed desirable, at once, to bring it into prominent view, with distinct intimation of the diflferent BAPTIST POSTULATES. 29 value attached to it, compared with that maintained by Baptist writers. It is admitted, on all hands, that words once used figur- atively may cease to have a figurative use ascribed to them. The ground of this change is to be found in fre- quency of use, and the attainment thereby of power to express a modified thought of their own. Ilorne Tooke and others have shown that all of our prepositions, con- junctions, adverbs, adjectives, and abstract substantives, are referable to nouns or verbs, describing sensible ideas. These words, in their first use, had all the vividness and force of figure; but they have so no longer. Whenever a word or phrase becomes so familiar in form or application as no longer to be suggestive, to speaker or hearer, of physical ideas, but conveys, on enunciation, an idea of its own, it ceases, in fact, to be figurative, and we should cease to treat it as such. There are cases in which we may feel embarrassment whether to assign a secondary or a figurative meaning to a word or phrase. Take an example which happens to be, this moment, under my eye. " Had Mr. Harris and others, instead of diving deeper than they had occasion into Aristotelian mysteries, con- tented themselves with observing plain facts, they would soon have perceived, .... Whereas, in the way they proceeded, their labor was immense, and" . . . — Dicers, of Purley, xiii. IsTow, the form of the phraseology, " diving into Aristo- telian mysteries," is fully figurative, and if its words be considered disjunctly, "dive" can only be regarded in its literal sense, and "Aristotelian mysteries" as an element into which " Mr. Harris" plunges head foremost. Antl some might say that this must be and is the only way in which it can be treated. Let us see. Consider, 1. That such phraseological combinations are exceedingly com- mon. 2. Such fixmiliarity of use educates the mind to put aside the physical picturing, and to see only the 30 CLASSIC BAPTISM. thought which is the outgrowth of that picturing. 3. Such phrases corae to have the force of compound words, in which its several parts are no longer to be treated as dis- tinct words, but only as syllabic parts of one whole, con- veying a new idea. 4. It is extremely doubtful whether any physical picture of " Mr. Harris entering head fore- most into Aristotelianisra," was for a moment before the mind of the writer, or intended to be conveyed to the mind of his reader. There is every reason to suppose that the conception before his mind was identical with that which he subsequently expresses by saying " their labor was immense,'" and this should govern the interpretation. The origin of the phrase is another matter. Any one who chooses to treat such language as figure will find in it all the materials necessary for his purpose; and, on the other hand, any one who prefers to regard it as a familiar and organic comljination, possessed of unity and self-ex- pression, will have no lack of material for his vindication. It is wholly immaterial which view is adopted, so far as sentiment is concerned. The sentiment reached is the same. Before leaving this subject, it may be well to remark that, while " diving into Aristotelian mysteries" may and does well express "immense labor," dipping into them neither does nor can, by any possibiUty, express any such idea, but directly the opposite. On the other hand, mer- sion in those mysteries Avould express, not the idea of " immense labor, ^^ but of complete influence proceeding from this form of Aristotleism, and affecting "Mr. Harris and others" by its controlling power. As already remarked, dive, primarily, expressing action characterized by rapidity and force executed head fore- most, passes, secondarily, to express mental activity, " im- mense labor;" while merse, expressing, primarily, no form of force, but pointing to condition of intusposition, comes to denote, secondarily, not activity of mind, but the recep- tion by it of controlling influence. I cannot accept the Baptist position that "/Ja^rrt'Cw has no secondary meaning; COUNTER PROPOSITIONS. 31 but is exclusively employed in a primary, literal, and in a figurative sense, without any modification of import; al- ways meaning, literally and figuratively, to dip, and noth- ing but dip." On the contrary, I cannot but regard such statement as error, and nothing but error. PEOPOSITIONS TO BE SUSTAINED BY PEOOP. Over against these four postulates, nakedly assumed, or assumed without adequate proof, I would place four other propositions, for which no other acceptance is asked than that which may be secured by satisfactory proof. The statement of these propositions is now made briefly and incompletely, to be filled up hereafter, that the mind may have something definite to rest upon as the inquiry progresses. They are as follows : I. BdTZTo}, ill primary use, expresses a definite act characterized by limitations — to dip. II. In secondary use, ^^Dij)" expresses a limited mental force, and a limited effect. The Greek language does not furnish us, so far as I am aware, with exemplifications of this secondary (metaphor- ical) use; but it is found in connection with the corres- ponding words in the Latin and English languages. TIT. BazTtZw, in primary use, expresses condition characterized by complete intusposition, without expressing, and with absolute indifference to the form of the act by lohich such intusposition may be effected, as, also, without other limitations — to merse. IV. In secondary use it expresses condition the result of com- plete influence effected by any ^^ossible means and in any con- ceivable way. If any one should be disposed to imagine that between those postulates and these propositions there can be no such difl'erence as to revolutionize results, let such idea be held in abeyance until we patiently trace these difierences to their ultimate conclusions. The mathematician who 32 CLASSIC BAPTISM. found in his calculations a steadily diminishing element, and concluded that it might safely be assumed as ulti- mately disappearing, and, therefore, might safely be ne- glected, was disappointed in the result readied. E"o error being visible, and the verity of figures being proverbial, the difficulty was inexplicable. At length he determined to take np that supposed vanishing quantity, and follow it on until it should, in very deed, merge into nothingness. In so doing, however, he found, to his great surprise, that as it dip'ped into the outer rim of zero, it refused to go farther; but returned upon its path, becoming a steadily increasing quantity, with power adequate to control the mathematical result. Assumption is dangerous, whether in logic or mathe- matics. Let us assume nothing in this inquiry as too unimportant to be investigated ; and we may find that even the dififer- ence between "dip" and "mcrse," when faithfully followed out, becomes no vanishing quantity, but a growing incre- ment, with power to control, happily and satisfactorily, our investigation. BAPTIST WKITEES. As preliminary to a direct investigation of the subject before us, it seems to bo desirable, on many accounts, to institute an examination of Baptist writings, to see how far they illuminate and sustain their favorite postulates. If they do squarely and harmoniously maintain them not only in ihcsi, but do unfalteringly bear them, challeng- ing criticism, " through all Greek literature," then they will, at least, win tlie not ignoble award of consistency and courage; but if, on the other hand, it shall bo found, that between postulates and writings there is no harmony; that between writer and writer there is as little harmony; that the pages of the same writer compared with each other perpetuate this disharmony; that there never has been an attempt by any one writer, through these three hundred WHAT DOES BAHTIZa MEAN ? 33 years, to carry these postulates " tbrongh all Greek litera- ture;" that the burden which they would bind upon others they utterly refuse to bear themselves; then we may hope that such facts will be deemed a fair apology for declining this Baptist postulation, and a sufhcient justification for a direct inquiry after that great desideratum — a meaning of /9a-T£'Cw, which may be carried, without fear and without reproach, through all Greek literature. In examining Baptist writings there must be some limit- ation. It is not practicable to go over all such writings, nor is it necessary to go back indefinitely as to time ; I will, therefore, limit myself to writers of representative and generally accredited character, and to that period which has elapsed since Baptist views were introduced into this country. WHAT DOES BAETlZfl MEAN ? " It means to dip, and nothing but dip." KoGER Williams and Tractate of A. U., 1644. Roger Williams has not left us, so far as I am aware, any formal writings of his own on this subject; but while he was on a visit to England, there was a treatise pub- lished, which he brought back with him and introduced into this country, and which, therefore, may be accepted as embodying his own views. Tljis work was designated as a "Tractate by A. R., London, 1G44," The title which it bore was, " Dipping is Baptizhig, and Baptizing is Dipping." Whether the defin- ition thus given by this tractate be true or not, all must admit that it is "definite, clear, and precise," and thus harmonizes with the postulate. We are not merely told baptize and dip are equivalents, nor yet that they are counterparts, duplicates, but that»thc one is the other, and the other is the one ; that they are identical. The attire differs, in the one case Grecian, in the other case English; but under that attire, in either case, appears the self-same personage. 3 34 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Beyond tliis, for clefinitcncss, clearness, and precision, definition cannot go. These words do, respectively, ex- pound each other in the most universal and absolute man- ner. Whatever differs from dip, differs, in like manner, from baptize; and whatever differs from, or agrees with, baptize, does, in like manner, differ from and agree with dip. There is neither deficiency nor excess in the one compared with the other. As a foot is twelve inches and twelve inches are a foot, so baptize is dip and dip is baptize. Now, so far from objecting to this sharpness of defin- ition, we feel unfeignedly grateful for it; definition and postulate do most admirably echo each other, and thus our task is simplified and assisted. The friends of the Baptist scheme claim it as a glory that its doctrines are unambiguous, its definitions are pre- cise, and that its ritual service demands an act which is definite and absolute. Such characteristics, apart from the question of the truth of the scheme to which they belong, are highly meritorious. If they belong to a system of truth, they will, thus, best abide assault; and if with what is erroneous, the error will receive most speedy and patent revelation. While Baptist writers give a testimony one and unam- biguous, we will give them full meed of praise. Now, we thank " A. B." for his " definite, clear, and precise" utter- ance, announcing that " Dipping is Baptizing, and Bap- tizing is Dipping." "A. Barber, nis Treatise of Dipping." This was another publication issued at London in the same year with the preceding. Its title is less full and perspicuous, but has nothing inconsistent with the other. They were both, doubtless, intended to present the same front as to one single, exclusive, and universal meaning. That this identification of Dipping and Baptizing was fully recognized at the time by opponents, will appear from a publication issued in London, 1G45. The author BARBER — DR. GALE. 85 of tills work was Dr. Featlj. It was avowedly an answer to "A. R." An extract will show that the issue made, — *' Dipping is Baptizing, and Baptizing is Dipping," — was controversially accepted. Dr. Featly thus writes : " But the question is, whether no otlier baptizing is lawful ; or whether dipping in rivers is so necessary to Baptism, that none are accounted bap- tized but those who are dipped after such a manner? This, we say, is false; neither do any of the texts alleged prove it. It is true, dipping is a kind of baptizing; but all bap- tizing is not dipping. The apostles were baptized by fire, yet were they not dipped into it. Tables and beds are said to be baptized; that is, washed, yet not dipt. The Israelites in the wilderness were baptized with the cloud, yet not dipt into it. The children of Zebedee were to be baptized with the baptism of blood wherewith our Saviour was baptized, yet neither he nor they were dipt into blood. Lastly, all the Fathers speak of the baptism of tears where- with all penitents are washed, yet there is no dipping in such baptism," (pp. 45, 50.) This quotation is made, not for the sake of its argument (that is not our business now) ; but to show that the assault, whether successfully or unsuccessfully, is fairly delivered against the position — ** Baptizing is Dipping, and Dipping is Baptizing." Whether, then, we look at the language itself, or at the interpretation given to it on its enunciation, all must admit that the Baptist position in London, in 1644, and thence transferred to Rhode Island by Roger Williams, was most unequivocaL Dr. Gale. London, 1711. ' Dipping only is Baptism." More than half a century after A. R., Dr. Gale thus writes : " We cannot believe that it is so doubtful in sacred Scripture as many pretend, whether dipping only be bap- tism." (p. 93.) 36 CLASSIC BAPTISM. " To baptize, i. e. clip 'em by affusion or sprinkling." This phraseology is used by Gale to show an absurd use of terms. He says, " It is absurd to speak of baptizing by sprinkling, because baptizing is dipping." " Tlie word baptize necessarily includes in its signification diji'ping, and that Christ by commanding to baptize has com- manded to dip onlgJ' (p. 94.) " The primary meaning is simply to dip." (p. 95.) "•I don't remember one passage where all other senses are not excluded besides dipping." (p. 96,) " Though the genius of our language may oblige ns sometimes to render /3a-riV to wet, or wash, or dye, &c., it is most absurd to infer that it,, therefore, signifies any- thing else besides or difl'erent from to dip/'' (p, 186.) Whatever of bluntness or of blunder there may be in this language, it is largely redeemed by its heartiness of faith. " Christ, by commanding to baptize, has commanded to dip only," All other senses are excluded. To doubt whether the Scriptures so teach is to be guilty of false pretence. To conclude that a word -which we are obliged to translate tvetj wash, dye, &c., can mean anything else than dip, is most absurd (!). Such language shows, unmistakably, that it was by faith that Dr. Gale proclaimed that " only" meaning, while deeply enveloped in clouds and darkness. With manful courage he holds on to dip while sorely (it may be " ab- surdly") struggling with '•'■wet, and wash, and dye, ^c." As coming events east their shadows before, we may, herein, also find a foreshadowing of unity entangled amid diversity, to be a future and fruitful source of perplexity to our Baptist friends.. Whether " wet, wash, dye,, &c,," are meanings of this word, I do not now inquire; but whether or not, the ques- tion is equally pertinent — What must be the ideas of language entertained by that man who feels " obliged" to translate a word by these terms, while he believes that it has no such meanmg at all ? ABRAHAM BOOTH. 37 Abraham Booth. London, 1711. "The primary sense of tlie term is to dip.'^ The "venerable Bootli" appears as a writer somewhat more than tliree-fourths of a century after the learned Dr. Gale. lie thus writes : " When our Lord says, •* go, baptize,' he speaks the language of legislation; he delivers Divine law. Does Jehovah make use of a term which properly eignilies dipping? He means as he speaks, and requires immersion. That dipping, pouring, and sprinkling denote three different acts, we have many examples in the writ- ings of Moses." (pp. 81, 82.) " While Pcedobaptists maintain that our great Lawgiver intended anything less than dipping,^' (p. 95.) "I do not, indeed, recollect so much as one learned writer, in the whole course of my reading, who denies that the primary sense of the term is to dip." (p. 125.) Mr. Booth is conlident and pi'ccise in these utterances, and generally harmonious with himself and his predeces- sors. The exception to this harmony is found in the statement, that when " Jehovah uses a term that signifies dippbig'^ (and ''He means as He speaks," yet) " He requires immersion.^'' Now, this new word introduces a note of discord. Mr. Booth has not proved that " dipping is immersion, and immersion is dipping." The proposition is not self-evi- dentiy true. On the contrary it is most evidently untrue. These terms are not only devoid of identity, but they do not belong to the same class of words. This, however, is not the time to enter into a full examination of the points of difference. I only, therefore, remark that " dipping" is characterized, essentially, by limitations in all directions, while " immersion" is as essentially destitute of them. The position of Booth, then, is that when Jehovah com- mands a result full of limitations, he requires a result destitute of all limitations ! This jar, by reason of the 38 CLASSIC baptism: introduction of " immersion," added to " wet, wash, dye, &c.," induces the feeling that the "one only meaning" holds its position by but a precarious tenure. However, we must content ourselves, for the present, by simply at- taching to this notable passage an IST.B. "F. A. Cox. London, 1824." " The idea of dipping is in every instance." After the lapse of a third of a century we meet with Dr. Cox. This writer, in common with his predecessors, believed that /5arTw and ^a-Kxi^r, Williams; but on those who for generations have insisted that plunge was the meaning of that word which is declared to be of unresolvable simplicity, and jwithout the shadow of a change through a thousand years. If harsh complaint is to be preferred because an "oppon- ent made choice" of an alternative meaning, why is such alternative meaning held forth, page after page, by Booth himself, as well as by others? Why say dip, or immerse, or plunge, or — , if an opponent to whom such language is ad- dressed is " very unfliir" to notice it ? Would that Baptist writers, instead of employing defining terms "most com- monly," or speaking of such as are " usually adopted," and finding fault with a "uniform" use for a declared univocal word, might be found aiming at consistency by settling down on some word which they would venture to carry throuQ'h all Greek literature. But while we have been told through hundreds of j-ears that j3a--iZM has but one mean- ing; that that meaning is clear and precise; that difficulty in translating is pretence: still it remains an ominous fact, that no Baptist writer has over ventured to give us the exponential translating word, vindicating his judgment by a uniform application to all cases of use. W^e must have, sooner or later, a long procession of terms whose only uni- formity is their interlinking vinculum " or." But while plunge, thus tried, is found wanting. Booth thinks, " our sentiment and practice" would not be put to shame by the use of "dip or immerse." Unhappily for this conclusion, " dip," since Booth's day, has fallen into DIP PLUNGE IMMERSE. 51 110 little disrepute among its once ardent admirers. And the plea might again be presented — " not usually adopted;" and the complaint made of" unfairness," and of a purpose to make the subject "ridiculous;" if an opponent should " uniformly" use this petite and undignified word. It is important to bear in distinct remembrance that plunge was discarded because of its essential and distin- guishing characteristics; " cfFccting an immersion suddenhj and violcntli/.'" Is dip to be discarded on similar grounds, to wit, because of its essential and distinguishing charac- teristics, which are, as Dagg informs us, ^' superficial and iemporarif immersion?" It would seem to be even so. And, thus, while Booth repudiated plunge, because it made both " our sentiments and practice ridiculous," while his successors have discovered that dip must be thrown into the background, because uniformly applied to " the sentiment" it would make classic Greek " ridicu- lous;" still it must be kept at hand for "practice," as otherwise Baptist baptism cannot be administered. Thus we have a word which, e eonfesso, cannot be applied to the usage of fda-ri'^u)^ made the sole, sovereign arbiter in ad- ministrative baptism. I say that this hopeless break down of dip is a matter ^ of confession. Without multiplying testimony, one or two instances may suffice as representatives of many. Prof. Dagg gives as the uniform translation of fid-Toj, to dip. He does not give this word as the translation of t3a-TiZy pouring" t Is "dipping by pouring" (so long made the butt of ridicule) any more* facile of execution in the hand of a friend than of an opponent? Or, having ac- cepted from Carson, what was so long rejected when j)roflered by others, that /SdrTw does not merely mean to dip, but to dye by sprinlding; will they accept from ^lorell, as simple verity, what was so ridiculously false when stated by opponents, to wit, that baptism is not dipping, that im- mersion is not dipping, and that baptism by pouring, or immersion by pouring, is not "obscure phraseology em- ployed for the purpose of covering up the absurdity of dijypmg by 2)ourmg'"i TVhether or no, we have a house divided against itself; a general "surrender thus far of the question of immersion." Morell is one of the fairest of opponents, and we will not abuse his candor by perverting his surrender. lie does not give up immersion, but he does give up dipping as necessary to it. But on sober second thought he will, no doubt, find that, having " surrendered" so much, he has not surrendered enough. The admission that ^arzri'^u) does sometimes mean, not to dip, nor to put into an ele- ment, but to immerse (that is, to secure intusposition with- out regard to act), does necessitate the conclusion that Pa-zLlu) does never mean a modal act — io dip. " Dipping by sprinkling," the performance of one modal act by a diverse modal act, is not more patently absurd than that the same word should express a modal act and an immodal act; or a modal act and a result, without designating any form of act b}^ which that result was effected. But let us pass on to a farther development of Baptist 60 CLASSIC BAPTISM. testimony to the "one, clear, precise, and definite mean- ing" of this word. Dr. Fuller thus testifies : " A fourth case is presented by Poedobaptist authors from Aristotle. It is produced to show that ^aTZTiZu) does not always denote the act of plung- ing. My position is that /SarnTw means to immerse. It matters not how the immersion is effected." (p. 29.) " Suppose a man should lie in the baptistery while it is filling. The pouring of the water would not be immer- sion, yet an immersion wculd take place, if he remained long enough." (p. 31.) Again we have the use of the word "immersion," as expressing a thought wholly dissevered from the form of the act inducing it, whether that form be pouring, or plunging, or sprinkling; for " if a man should lie in the baptistery long enough," under the act of sprinkling, "an immersion would take place." And yet it is the same writer who speaks of " the act of baptism being the act of immersion," which act of immersion is said to be " as plain as the sun in the heavens" ! "Well, then, in the light of this dictum we must even believe that " the act of baptism" is the act of immersion, which act is that of plunging, or pouring, or sprinkling, either of which will " baptize the man who lies in the baptistery long enough" ! "Whether Dr. Fuller has added to the clearness, the simplicity, and the precision of the one definite act of-bap- tism by his " plain as the sun" position is quite doubtful. One word as to the incongruous use of immerse and immersion by Drs. Fuller and Carson. The latter says, ^oKTi^u) has but one meaning; that meaning is one of mode, and nothing but mode, which mode is definitely expressed by dip — " dip or immerse.^' Now, these woi'ds must be used as the absolute equivalents of each other, or shame is poured over all the pages wherein they appear. But Dr. Fuller does most expressly antagonize to dip and to plunge, by to immerse. lie argumentatively rejects the definite act as not expressing the meaning of /?a-7£'>, and takes, "the definite act." 61 instead, to immerse, as destitute of all expression of definite act, proclaiming as liis position, *' It matters not how the immersion is effected." "Immersion may be by pouring," but pouring never produces clipping or plunging. That such use of these terms is in utter contradiction, the one of the other, I need not say " is as plain as the sun in the heavens;" but it is important to say that no notice is ever given by Baptist writers of such contradictory usage; Avliile the use, now in one sense and now in another, is met with everywhere, not only in different writers, but in the pages of the same writer. To these writers — Gale, Cox, Morell, Fuller, all in the front rank of Baptist scholars — who have been constrained by the stress of testimony to abandon the long-cherished definite act theory, " mode and nothing but mode," must be added the certainly not less eminent name of Conaut. Dr. Conant presents for embalmment, in the " new ver- sion" of the holy Scriptures, neither the definite act to dip, nor th& modal act to j^hmge, but the same word, "to im- merse," in which Fuller and friends seek refuge when compelled " thus far to surrender the question of immer- sion." The foreign origin of this word and its composite character throw^s around it an indefinite penumbral char- acter, which is its qualifying merit as a retreat from the long-honored, but no longer tenable, position of "one clear, precise, definite act through all Greek literature." Henceforth, our business is to dissipate this penumbra, and to show that when its outlines are sharply lighted up, there is no more within it a place of refuge for the Baptist theory, than has been found in the abandoned dij) and jyhmr/e. But the views of Dr. Conant — the latest, the most elab- orate, as well as every way qualified investigator of this subject — demand special consideration. 62 CLASSIC BAPTISM. "THE MEANING OF BAnTizn." T. J. CoxANT, D.D., American Bible Uniox. New York, 1860. Too mucli praise cannot be accorded to Prof. Conant for the exhaustive labor which he has bestowed upon the collection and accurate exhibition of all passages in which /Sa-T-cTto is found. It gives me great pleasure to acknowl- edge my indebtedness to him for quite a number of pas- sages, after havins; devoted the leisure intervals of some years to securing such a collection; as, also, for the cor- rection of some errors of quotation. Indeed, so well sat- isfied have I been of the accuracy of Dr. Conant, and oftentimes of the greater accessibility of the editions re- ferred to by him, that I have, throughout, conformed my quotations and references to his, on a review^; this inquiry having been, substantially, completed before meeting with his treatise. Dr. Conant has not been satisfied with the mere collec- tion of materials, but has made them the subject (3f very elaborate study. lie has felt that a large responsibility was resting upon him, and he spared no pains to acquit himself well under it. And he has done so, N'one will question the honesty of his purpose, the fulness of his labor, or the adequacy of his scholarship, however much they may differ from him in some of his views. The results reached generally by Prof. Conant may be accepted as sufficiently correct for all ordinary purposes of language, while, with a special application to the Baptist system and its sharp" demands, their accuracy may be ques- tioned and their essential modification be demanded. HIS ACCORD WITH THE BAPTIST THEORY. The orthodox Baptist view of the meaning of ^aixrilca, undoubtedly, is that it expresses a clear, precise, and def- inite act ; which act has been expressed in a thousand treatises, and in every ritual service, by the word di]}^ throuirh more than two hundred vears. ACCORD WITH THE BAPTIST THEORY. 63 % . '■ Dr. Conaiit seems to adopt the tlieory that this word has but one meaning, and that that meaning is an act, a def- inite act. This is his language : " This word is rendered into Enghsh — the transLation expresses its true and only import." " The word fia-rt'Ctu, during the whole existence of tlie Greek as a spoken language, had a perfectly defined and unvarying import." " The constant usage of Greek writers, and the only rec- ognized meaning of the word." " The simple, distinct, and corporeal sense to which the word was appropriated by unvarying usage." This is explicit. The language employed designating this meaning as an act, a definite act, would seem to be not less so. Take the following : " The Greek word [ia-ri'^eiv expresses nothing more than the act of immersion." " This act is performed on the assentins; believer — and this clistinc-uishes it from all other acts of life — the act expressed by the same word is a super- stitious Pharisaic ceremony — the act designated by the word in all these cases is the same." " Tlic act which it describes was chosen for its adaptation to set forth by lively symbolism the ground thought of Christianity." " The name of the element in which the act it expresses took place." " The other acts with which it is compared in the New Testament." "The daily and hourly repetition of the act in common life which it described." Can language lil^e this be read with any other feeling than that Dr. Conant casts in his lot with those who declare that, " one meaning, a clear, precise, and definite act reigns through all Greek literature?" This conclusion is confirmed by more full and explanatory statement; — "with the preposition into before the name of the element into which an object is plunged or immersed expressing fully the act of 2)assinff from one element into another." " The verb fia—c'Co), mmerrjo, has, in fact, but one sole acceptation. It signifies literally and always to plunge." This last pas- sage is a quotation (with approval) from another writer. We are, then, taught by Dr. Conant that fia-zi^ui has but 64 CLASSIC BAPTISM. * . . k one meaning, that tliat meaning is an expressed act, a definite act characterized by passing from one medium into another, and it is distinctively represented by j^hingc- This is all clear and consistent, whether correct or not. It has not merely the merit of self-consistence, but is in perfect harmony with the ancient and severe definition, " Baptizing is dipping, and dipping is baptizing." It accords, also, with the more modern expositioil of Dr. Carson, "dip, and nothing but dip," maintained, theoreti- cally, with cast-iron inflexibility; as, also, with the general stream of Baptist utterance. But this is not all which Dr. Conant says as to the meaning of this word, and what he says more mars this beautiful simplicity of definition, and introduces a note of irreconcilable discord. Like every other Baptist wn-iter who has attempted to maintain modal action in the face of the facts of usage. Prof. Conant fails to be self-con-* sistent in his statements. lie does not distinctly avow a purpose to carry a definite act through every case of usage, and therefore recognize the obligation, with Dr. Carson, by some catechrestical distortion to shape facts after such model; but apparently feels at liberty to speak, as circumstances require, in con- formity with the modal action of Carson, or the state and condition of Cox; all in the name of one, clear, definite, and unchans-ino; meanino;. The evidence of this is found in language like the fol- lowing: HIS WANT OF ACCORD. " The word ftarMUtv, which, by constant usage, expressed an entire submersion of the object." " A sense founded on the idea of total submergence, as in floods of sorrow." " Among the several words, all agreeing in the essential idea of total submergence, by which ^a--i'Ur^ may be ex- pressed in English, the word immerse has been selected for use in this revision." "We speak of a man as im- mersed in calamities, &c., always with the idea of totality, WANT OF ACCORD. 65 of being wholly under the dominion of these states or influences ... it suggests the clear image of the act on which all are founded." These statements represent the meaning of ^aizriZu) as turning wholly upon a state or condition, namely, of" entire submersion," while we were previously told that this meaning was concentred in an act. These two views do not coincide in one clear and precise meaning, but are essentially diverse and irreconcilable. The same word can- not express both act and condition, although act and con- dition may be inseparably united in one word. But in such case, act or condition must immediately control the word, and hold the other in subordination; both cannot be equally expressed. To plunge expresses directly the nature of the act which may carry its object into and under water; while to swamp expresses nothing, directly, of the nature of the act which carries its object under water, but gives expression to the condition eficcted, what- ever ma}^ have been the nature of the act. It is of the first importance that these differences should not be lost sight of in determining with critical accuracy the meaning of a word, and above all in tracing out the development of a word. It would be a forlorn hope to expect any just issue in the investigation of the usage of a word expressive of condition by a person whose mind was full of the idea that it was a word expressive of some action. Plunge has a development growing out of its peculiarities as an act; swamp, one which is based on condition. "I plunge into misfortune;" "I am swamped by misfortune;" express ideas essentially diverse. The structure of language is controlled by such difibronces. "I plunge into misfortune;" "misfortune swamps me;" are diversities of phraseology not accidental, but growing out of the essential diversity of the terms. Plunge ex- presses the course of action by which misfortune is reached. Swamp says nothing of this. As plunge and swamp should not be confounded, so, for like reason, act and condition should never be confounded ; nor should one word be 5 66 CLASSIC BAPTISM. treated as though it expressed both act and condition, or at one time act, and at another time condition. This confusion vitiates Dr. Conant's treatise. Some Baptist writers have felt, and confessed the im- practicability of carrying ^ar-iZui through its usage as ex- pressing an act; but in making this confession they still doubly failed of the truth : 1. In not abandoning the idea that [iar.riZ(jj cvcr cxprcsscs a definite act ; and, 2. In nt)t prosecuting the inquiry into the meaning of this word under the acknowledgment that its meaning centred in condition. A portion of these writers met the difficulty by allowing the word at one time to mean act, and at another time to mean conclition, a mending of their error quite inadmis- sible; while others chose a word, sufliciently vague, to slur over the difiiculty. Dr. Couant appears to combine the various views and policies of those who have gone before him. He adopts the one meaning, the act, condition, and immerse, which is of such facile use now, to express an act, and now, to express condition. Dr. Conant endeavors to lay a basis for appeal both to act and condition, by making both prominent in the mean- ing which he assigns to the word. Thus he says: " The ground idea expressed by the word, is, to put into or under water (or other penetrable substance), so as to immerse or submerge." By this language, fia-ri'^u) is represented as expressing both an act and a condition resulting from that act. Ko objection can be made to the idea of an act which results in effecting a condition; but it is objectionable to make a word to distinctively represent both act and condition. It may be noted that immerse and submerge, in this passage, are both used to express, distinctively, condition and not act. The same is true of the use of the same words in the following passage: "The object immersed or submerged is represented as being plunged, or as sinking down into the ingulfing fluid, or the immersing element overflowing, and thus ingulfing the object." "Immersed," WANT OF ACCORD. 67" "submerged," "immersiDg," represent condition; it is im- possible to substitute for them words expressive of action; the act is performed by " pkmging" and " sinking," or " ov^-flowing." But if (ia-ziZ(o does, by its proper force, express the act which belongs to plunge, or to sink, or to overflow, then, unless one and the same thing can be an- other and a diverse thing, it cannot express the condition which belongs to immerse and submerge, or '■'•mgidf^^ here used as the equivalent of immerse. But these words are used, very unallowably, to express act as well as condition. Z?a7rTtT<^, " w^ith the preposition into before the name of the element into which an object is plunged or immersed, expresses fully the act of passing from one element into another." Here "immerse" is used to express, coequally with plunge, " the act of passing from one element into another;" while before it was used to express condition resultant from the act of plunging. Dr. Conant never makes such double and impossible use of plange; why does he seek to make such, equally unallowable, use of immerse? While freely acknowledging that " into," used as sug- gested, does indicate " an act passing from one element into another;" it is by no means admitted that such use with fia-ziZo} shows that such act is to be found in that word. Words which of themselves express no movement may, still, be found with into, the word necessary to the movement being supplied. . Such usage is not infrequent; and the explanation given meets with general acceptance. That /SaTTTctw does not express any definite movement, nor any independent movement whatever, " causing its object to pass from one medium into another," is conclu- sively shown by the use of this word in cases where no movement of any kind in the object takes place. The sea-coast is baptized by the rising tide; but there is no act exercised upon it inducing a movement of the coast, "causing it to pass from one medium into another." Such usage shook the faith of Gale in the notion of movement as inherent in this word, and wholly overthrew 68 CLASSIC BAPTISM, that of Cox, wliile all the billows of the sea eonld not move that of Carson a hair's breadth. He boldly affirmed that movement was as much expressed by the word in such cases, when no movement took place, as when movement did take place ; and to admit otherwise was to give up the issue. He chided his friends sharply for their defection, and endeavored to encourage them and sustain himself by an appeal to some figure of speech. Dr. Carson^ no doubt, fully convinced himself that when an object was baptized without being moved, that still it was said to be moved because it was said to bo baptized; and baptized "has but one meaning through all Greek literature," " expressing an act, clear, precise, definite," making its object "to pass from one medium into another." His reasoning, however, has failed to convince, I will not say his opponents, but his friends; for no Baptist writer, following him, has ven- tured to stand upon the sea-coast and bid the inrolling billow to cease its movement until " the coast" should come to it and be lawfully baptized; '■'■ 'passing out of one medium into another." Dr. Carson, however, is right when he takes the ground that /SaTTTtTto, if it ever expresses an act of movement must always express such act; and if such meaning be aban- doned in one case, it must be abandoned in all. Morell cannot say : " It means, most usually, to dip, while it appears quite evident that it, also, means to cover by supervision." No word can express " usually to dip," and unusually " to superfusc," If it expresses the one, it never does or can express the otlicr; and if, in the usage of any word, these and like terms meet together, they must stand on the same basis; namely, that the word means one as much as the other, in fact, means neither. The fact of baptism by supervision is admitted l)y Baptist writers. Some saying that baptism ])y supcrfusion means baptism by dipping; while others admit the fact, but decline to work it out to its conclusions, and hold on to a position which the admission subverts, namely, "one meaning, a definite act, through all Greek literature." WANT OF ACCORD. 69 Dr. Conant is involved in tins inextricable embarrass- ment when he attempts to snstain " one meaning, express- ing fully the act o{ passing from one element into another," while he also says: "The object is represented as being plunged or as sinking down into the ingulfing fluid, or the immersing element overflows, and thus ingulfs the object" If ^uTTTi^w, of its own proper force, ever plunges or sinks its object, then it never overflows it; and if it ever over- flows it, then it never plunges or sinks it; if it does, of its own proper force, distinctively plunge and sink and over- flow its object, then it embodies a power which can work philological miracles; but if plunge, and sink, and over- flow meet on equal terms in expounding the usage of this word, then Dr. Conant errs when he describes this word as representing an " act passing from one element into another," for such act cannot be represented by these several and diverse terms. HIS FORMAL DEFINITION. " The word Baptizein, during the whole existence of the Greek as a spoken language, had a perfectly defined and mi varying import. In its literal use it meant, as has been shown, to put entirely into or under a liquid, or other penetrable substance, generally water, so that the object was wholly covered by the inclosing element. By analogy, it expressed the coming into a new state of life or experience^ in which one was, as it were, inclosed and swallowed up, so that, temporarily or permanently, he belonged wholly to it." In this definition it is noteworthy that act, which has, heretofore, in Baptist writings, reigned with such suprem- acy, becomes, as to form, an absolutely vanishing Cjuantity; and in its undefined obscurity exhausts itself in eflecting a well-defined condition, which is placed in high relief in the foreground as the grand idea. In this. Dr. Conant has made decided advance on his predecessors. It, also, claims especial attention as a novelty from a 70 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Baptist writer, that a second very remarkable meaning is assigned to this word, which, as we have been so long told, possessed a solitary grandeur, in that, through ages, it never swerved from the idea of putting into water. It is none the less remarkable, because it appears, now, for the first time, as the meaning of this word, and is only introduced to our notice to be withdrawn without again reappearing. It may, however, be made the occasion of again remark- ins; how absolutely act is discarded as an element of value in determining the meaning of /3a7r-:^t«. "We are told that this secondary meaning comes "by analogy." Well, there are but two elements, act and condition, whereon the analogy can rest. On which does it rest ? " Coming into a new state of life or experience, so as to be inclosed and swallowed up, and belong wholly to it," Where is the analogy to act, definite or indefinite, plunge, dip, or put into ? Where is the likeness to plunging, or dipping, or putting, in " coming into a new state" ? Are we to make a point of " coming into" a moral state with 2^^^tt^nff inio water? Well, let us know what is this quo modo, and let US see what is the admirable tracery of the analogy. Until this is done, we shall rest content with such analogy as may be found between the condition of envelopment by a physical element and the condition of that moral state, wherein those who enter it are wholly subject to its con- trol. Others may fill up the picture, at leisure, showing the analogy between the act of putting into and the modus operandi of moral influence in inducing this "new state of life." In this definition by the use of " put" — " put into or ijYider" — Dr. Conant gives a greater breadth and freedom to /3aa:rt> than any of his friends who have preceded him. They have insisted that it meant to dip, to plunge, and nothing else. Dr. Conant says, it no more means to dip, to plunge, than does "to put;" that is, it means no such thing. These, and a host of other words, may act as servitors fulfilling the behests of iSa-ri^uj, while they no SECOND DEFINITION. 71 more, in their individuality, represent the meaning of that word than does the sweUing frog the stately ox. BaraiXo) exercises a sovereignty over a multitude of words expres- sive of action; but no one of its subjects can, by any amount of pufling, be made meet to fill the place of its sovereign. Indeed, there is no light thrown by this word, of itself, upon the act by which, in any given case, its de- mand may be met. You might as well attempt to learn from it the name of the man in the moon, as to seek to learn from it the style and title of the act which performs a baptism. If any one doubts this, let him tell me, when I inform him that a certain Greek was baptized in the days of Plato, what was the act by which the baptism was effected ? "VVlicn a truthful answer, gathered from /3a-T:tw, Bhall be returned to this question, the respondent may boldly approach the sphynx sure of resolving every enigma. HIS SECOND DEFINITION. A more fully developed definition is furnished, else- where, as follows : "From the preceding examples, it appears that the ground idea expressed by this word is, to 'put into or under water (or other penetrable substance) so as entirely to im- merse or submerge; that this act is always expressed in the literal application of the word, and is the basis of its metaphorical use. This ground idea is expressed in Eng- lish, in the various connections where the word occurs, by the terms (synonymous in this ground element), to immerse^ immcrge, submerge, to dip, io jdurige, to imbatke, to ivJielm." And on another-page we have the meaning more briefly and formally stated. "•Baptizein: To immerse, immerge, submerge, to dip, to plunge, to imbathe, to whelm." A first thought which occurs, on reading such expo- sition, is this: The translation of /3a7rr:Tw, after all, does not appear to be so very easy. It has been said that the sug- gestion that there was any difficulty in the translation of this word in the English Bible was nothing more than a 72 CLASSIC BAPTISM. "pretence." "The meaning of the word was clear, def- inite, always the same, and one of the easiest words to translate." Now for the proof Dr. Conant has spent years in the study of this word. What translation does he give us of it? Why, on Baptist principles, just none at all. Our Baptist friends are bound, by all their un- measured reproof of us, and by all their equally unmeasured claims of most certain knowledge for themselves, to give us an English word which shall sharply, squarely, and " on all fours" represent this Greek term, I^ow, what Baptist writer furnishes us with such a word ? Does Dr. Conant? Does he profess to do it? Is it possible for him, on his own showing, to do it ? These questions must be answered in the negative. We are told that this word " expresses putting into or putting under, immersing or submerging." Docs Dr. Conant mean by this language that the word means either to put into or to put under? but he cannot tell which. Or, that sometimes it means the one and sometimes the other; not being fixed in its meaning? Or, that it means both; there beino; no dilFerence between " into" and " under" ? Or, that it means, exactly, neither; but some third thing? Surely we are left quite in the dark as to any definite idea of the action expressed by this word. " To put," gives no definite information, for it has sixty-seven variations of usage according to Webster, and sixty-seven more, perhaps, might be added. No valuable aid is found in " put into," " put under," for these terms are very far from agreeing in one. It is just because they differ that they are used. If the " one, clear, definite" idea is not found in this part of the definition, is it found in those seven defining terms which are added? If so, is it equally in each? This cannot be. If one word can be found in English the absolute equivalent of /SaTTTttw, there can hardly be found seven ! If there is one such word in this collection, which is it? Is it the first, " immerse" ? If so, then why the other six? If the second, "immerge" diifers from "immerse," and this is the repre- SECOND DEFINITION. 73 scntativG word; then, so far, "immerse" fails, and must be rejected. The third ("swimerge") cannot bear scrutiny if the first is the standard. The same is true of the fourth, "to dip;" and the fifth, "to plange;" and the sixth, "to imbathe;" and the seventh, "to whelm;" each of which has its own peculiarities of character distinguishing it from " immerse," and, therefore, rendering it incapable of representing the Greek word, if such representation is made by immerse. The Baptist world has demanded the philological "pound of flesh," and has pledged itself, with- out fail, to dissect it from the English language. We have nothing to say against the rightfulness of the demand; but, remember, when weighed over against ^a-riZu), it must be nothing more, nothing less. But Dr. Conant admits that each of these terms differs from its fellows. Why, then, use them ? Why, because they agree in some "common ground idea." What is the nature of that " ground idea" ? Is it an act or a condi- tion ? Not an act, because, manifestly, immerse and sub- merge, plunge and whelm, have no such bond of union. And the character of the act becomes a matter of supreme indifference. Is the "ground idea" found in condition — -"entirely covered" ? Then, 1. Dr. Conant repudiates Baptist argu- mentation of two centuries, which has labored to prove that the idea involved was an act, absolutely modal, to change which was to subvert the truth. 2. What is the English word which represents this " ground idea" with- out expressing any modal action? We have a description of the idea of /3arrt'Cw, as Dr. Conant understands it, in which description all special form and force of act is rejected, and power to effect con- dition, only is demanded; which idea is not translated into any one word, but is distributed among seven, not one of which exhibits, simply and only, this idea. But while Dr. Conant is compelled to abandon, on ex- amination of his exposition, all idea of a form of act enter- ing into and controlling the idea of ^a-rCiw^ still he clings 74 CLASSIC BAPTISM. to the idea, so long clierished, of an act, a movement, a force, as belonging to and controlling tlie usage of this word. Thus he says : " This ad is always expressed in the literal application of the word, and is the basis of its metaphorical use." It is an error, and a very serious one, to say that " act is always expressed" by this word, in contradistinction from condition. It cannot be said, properly, ever thus to express an act." This is manifest from the seven words already quoted, which express diversity and contrariety of action, but which are given as expositors of the same word. Of course- they cannot be exponential of that in which they differ. Therefore, they cannot expound the action in /Sar- zt'Ci:). Dip and plunge do, strictly, express acts, and their usage turns, wholly, on the character of those acts; but this is in nowise true of the word under consideration. The acts by which baptism may be effected are almost endless, both as to form and force. The same reason which gives the seven words, referred to, as the meaning sought for, would justify the addition of seven more- -to duck, to souse, to steep, to sink, to swamp, to ingulf, to swallow up ; or seven times sevei\, wdiicli could be readily furnished, each putting its object " into or under" the water. Dr. Conant gives, in his translations, two score acts by which baptism was elfected. 1, To assault; 2, to let fall; 3, to flow; 4, to weigh downi; 5, to walk; 6, to pierce ; T, to hurl down ; 8, to march ; 9, to rush down ; 10, to surround; 11, to press down ; 12, to rise above; 13, to dip ; 14, to submerge ; 15, to thrust ; 16, to blow ; 17, to rush down; 18, to strike; 19, to proceed; 20, to sink; 21, to immerge; 22, to imbathe; 23, to plunge; 24, to lower down; 25, to immerse; 26, to come on; 27, to over- turn; 28, to boil up; 29, to flood; 30, to whelm; 31, to let dowm ; 32, to enter in; 33, to pour; 34, to souse; 35, to bring downi ; 36, to depress; 37, to steep; 38, to drench; 89, to play the dipping match ; 40, to duck. Is each act, severally expressed by these forty words, a facsimile of [ia~Ti^(,> f According to the defluition, " put into, under, its SECOND DEFINITION. 75 object, entirely," it does so; but if so, then it must, among words of action, stand forth aBriarean monster, or a Pro- tean prodigy. Certainly no act of forty fold form " is always expressed in the literal application of the word." Other objections lie against the words selected (without good reason from a host of others), as the representative words. We are told that " BaTZTc^oj means — To immerse, immerge, submerge, to dip, to plunge, to imbathe, to whelm." "We object to the employment of words compounded with prejDOsitions, to represent words which have no such composition. As the Greeks use both c/i-/5a-r£tw, and xa-a-^aTzrcl^a^, the translation of which would, properly-, be with a compound word (but with which we have nothing to do), why intro- duce the distinctive peculiarity of these words into the translation of ^ar.ri'^col The composite character of these defining words must be rejected as inconsiderately, I would by no means say surreptitiously, introduced. , We would, then, have : merse, merge, dip, plunge, bathe, whelm. Of these terms, " merge'^ must be set aside as having an almost exclusive, and somewhat peculiar, metaphorical use in our language. "Dip" must be rejected on its merits. The statement of Carson, that " dip is the meaning, and the only meaning, of this word through all Greek literature," is met by the equally broad and contradictory statement, that it never, through all Greek literature, has the meaning to dip. The notion that Pa-ri^m means to dip Avas never derived from a study of the usage of this word, but was borrowed fi'om /3d-rw, with which it was long absolutely identified, and with which it is still identified by Baptist writers, so far as the primary meaning is concerned. For such iden- tification there never was the semblance of a reason. In usage, these words are as nearly opposites of each other as they well could be. I do not now enter upon any justifi- cation of this position. My business, now, is to hear what 76 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Baptist writers have to say, and to suggest difficulties which appear on the surface of things. Hereafter I will endeavor to make good the position that dip^ the primary meaning of /SdTrrw, no more belongs to iSarM^w than does dye, its secondary meaning. We strike out dip, then, from Dr. Conant's list of repre- sentative words, as having no right to be there. " Plunge," also, must be rejected on its merits. Its lack of merit, however, is quite different, in important respects, from dip. This latter word has a defect of nature which renders it essentially unfit to fulfil the demands of /Ja-rtTw. This is not the case with the former word. It is entirely competent to fulfil the demands of the Greek word ; but it is not the more, on that account, an exposition, in its individuality, of the value of /9a-rttw. It might as well be said that to hinder means, to tie a hundred weight to a man's foot. Most assuredly this would prove a hindrance; but though the demand of " hinder" may be thus met, shall we say that to hinder means, "to tie a hundred weight to a man's foot"? To do so would be just as rational as to say that panriZio means to plunge, because it can, under certain circumstances, meet its demands. To plunge ex- presses a distinctive act, with strongly marked characteris- tics, which has no expression whatever in the Greek word. And since to attribute to it such a meaning tends to foster the erroneous idea that it belongs to that class of verbs, we exclude plunge from the seven defining words. " To bathe" has no claim whatever to be used to express the meaning of the Greek word, cither as to act or con- dition. And as it is employed but once by Dr. Conant, if I remember rightly, and in its compound form — zm-bathe — he will not feel that its erasure brings much loss with it. " To whelm" does not express any specific form of act any more than does to cover, and, in so far, is calculated to act as a representative word. But it docs express the idea of the whelming element coming over its object, and in this fails to find any correspondence in the Greek word. That word cordially accepts such mode of fulfilling its METAPnomCAL USE. 77 behests, but neither enjoins nor expresses it. Its breadth is greater. It has no regard to form of action. It contem- plates, exckisively, condition — iniusposition — and what- ever act will accomplish this it accepts as a true and loj^al servitor, one as truly as the other, whatever may be their diversities. It refuses, with absolute denial, to be bound to any, whether labelled with " into," or " under," or " over." Whelm, in certain respects, serves very admirably as an interpretative word. I would, therefore, allow the first, (stripped of its preposition,) and the last of "the seven" to stand as valuable helps, with proper explanation, to expound the Greek word. METAPHORICAL USE. The metaphorical or secondary use oi paitreZuj claims our special attention. It is all-essential to a proper under- standino; of the word. Some call this use figurative. I do not like the term. It is suggestive to most persons of something unreal, shadowy, fanciful. This is far from being the case in the present instance. ISTor is it so de- pendent on the literal physical use as some would have us believe. This usage is as frequent, well-nigh if not quite, in classic writings as is the primary. And while freely confessing that the secondary use does proceed from and draw its meaning from the primary use, we do emphati- cally deny that that meaning is merely an allusive one; we claim that it has, and does directly suggest a meaning of its own, which excludes the idea of physical investiture. Dr. Conant traces this usage to an act. Thus, again, showing the control held by the idea that the word ex- pressed an act, as does dip or plunge, wliich idea is a con- stant source of misconception and improper use of lan- guage. He says : " This act is always expressed in the literal application of the word, and is the basis of its metaphor- ical uses." (p. 59.) 7b CLASSIC BAPTISM. " 111 tlic metaphorical application of the word, both cases" (plunging and overflowing) " are recognized as the ground of this usag^." (p. 60.) " The ground idea is preserved in the several metaphori- cal uses of the word." " The idea of a total submergence lies at the basis of these metaphorical uses." (p. 61.) "In the metaphorical sense it is often used absolutely, meaning to loJielm. in (or idUJi) ruin, troubles, &c." (p. 61.) " We speak of a man as immersed in calamities, &c., always with the idea of totality, of being wholly under the dominion of these states or influence; it suggests the clear image of the act on which they all are founded." (p. 107.) The metaphorical use of this word is dependent in no- wise on any form of act. It is no more dependent on dip- ping, plunging, sinking, as forms of acts, than it is de- pendent on walking, throwing, falling. Kor does this usage turn on the picturing of an object as in a state of physical immersion, submersion, or en- velopment. Cases of such picturing may, doubtless, be found; but they are not properly arranged under this head of metaphorical use ; they belong to what is more properly designated as figure-picturing. The secondary or meta- phorical use of words does not draw pictures of primary use, but takes some leading thought pertaining to it, and makes an application of it as the case plainly indicates. Such, at least, we claim for fact in this case. In every case of physical envelopment there is an opportunity for the investing element to exercise its influence over the object in the highest degree; what the nature of that influence will be depends upon the element and the object. There is nothing more obviously natural than that the word which is expressive of such envelopment should be taken, not merely to draw physical pictures, but to repre- sent, directly, that constantly needed thought of controlling influence. This, we say, has been done in the case of this word, and that such is its true metaphorical or secondary U30. Hence a baptism can be eflected b}' anything, of whatever dimensions, or of whatever nature, physical or METAPHORICAL USE. 79 imphysical, which is capable of exercising a controlling influence over its object, thus bringing it into a new con- dition. It was on this ground that the Greeks represented a baptism to be eftected by a cuj) of wine, by pei'plexing questions, and by a few drops of an opiate. Whether these, or such like things, baptize by dipping, or plunging, or sinking, or overflowing, may be safely left to the deter- mination of common sense. It will tax the powers of a very lively imagination to show, how an embarrassing question lets loose a water-flood into which the bewildered respondent is plunged, or by which he is overflowed. But give what explanation you will, the stubborn fact, the truly important thing, remains; that the Greeks daily eflfected baptisms by a draught of W'ine, b}^ a bewildering question, and by droppings from an opiate. Accumulate around these baptisms metaphor, figure, picture, and what not, I make, my argument wnth finger pointed to the cup, the question, and the opiate drop, and say, the old Greeks baptized, through a thousand years, by such things as these! Dr. Conant pronounces a just critical judgment when he says of this class of baptisms, they exhibit those receiving them as " wholly under the dominion of these states or influences;" but when he proceeds to add, "they sug- gest the clear image of the act on which they all are founded," we take exception : 1. To the introduction of "the image of the act." No such suggestion can be made, for the very good reason that there is no such "the act" to be " imaged." The acts by which these, and all other bap- tisms, are effected are endlef^sly diverse, and, therefore, cannot have " the image" reflected in any one word. The image of the act of dipping is one thing; the image of the act of plunging is another thing; the image of the act of sinking is yet another; and the image of the act of flow- ing is still another. Each of these words has a metaphor- ical or secondary use peculiar to itself and incapable of interchange; such use may, in each several case, suggest "the image of the act" appropriate to itself, but no word 80 CLASSIC BAPTISM. can suggest at the same time, or equally, or at all, tlie several distinctive acts of dipping, plunging, sinking, flow- ing. But while these modes have "the image of an act" to suggest, ^ar.rr,u) has none; for the reason that neither in primary nor in secondary use has it anything whatever, as to its meaning, to do with the form of an act. This word demands for its object condition, and condition solel}^; it says nothing, and it cares nothing for dipping, plunging, sinking, flowing, pouring, provided only that it is com- petent to fulfil the demanded condition. This it insists upon. If Dr. Conant will erase " the image of the act" (aban- doning the idea that /Samtw expresses the form of an act, and accepting the idea of condition), and will say that the metaphorical or secondary use indicates and expresses that the baptized person is " wholly under the dominion of the state or influence" appropriate to the case; which •meaning (not image) is clearly traceable to the primary use, wherein an object is encompassed by a physical element, and thus wholly subject to its influence, then, my objection is at an end, and Baptist argumentation, as to the character of this word, is abandoned by Dr. Conant. It remains to be seen whether such abandonment of the character so long attributed to this word, will necessitate the abandonment of their entire system or not. They must, at least, look over the field from a new stand-point, to see whether their conclusions can be adjusted to the new aspect of things. I only observe, now, that this meaning does, on the face of it, extinguish all idea of^/Sarrttw having anything to do with dipping; dipping never brought any object " wholly under the dominion" of anything. And by the same in- exorable necessity must be abandoned the long-afiirmed unity between this word and ^amto. How much of logically affiliating error these changes will sweep away with them farther inquiry will show. We conclude: 1. This examination of the leading points in Dr. Conant's treatise does not encourage us to adopt the IMMERSE AS A LATIN DERIVATIVE. 81 Baptist postulates : (1.) One clear, precise, definite mean- ing. (2.) Identity between /9a-rw and (ia-ri'^w. (3.) y?a-r:^w expresses a definite, modal act. (4.) Aletapliorical use is a mere picture of the primar}- use. 2. It shows that Dr. Conant is not in accord with previ- ous Baptist writers in his exposition of the word, particu- larly with Dr. Carson, who insists, in the most absolute manner, on modal action. Thus the most powerful con- troversialist furnished from the Baptist ranks, and the latest and ablest philological expositor of their views, cannot* agree as to the essential value of that word "wdiich has but one meaning," and to understand which " needs not light, but honesty." 3. The exposition, translation, and current phraseology lack self-harmony. IMMERSE AS A LATIN DEKIVATIVE. The record taken from Baptist waiters, as now presented, shows a growing disposition to present, and to rely upon immerse as a shield to protect their system against contro- versial blows, which otherwise could not be endured. This course has been adopted, not under a frank con- fession of essential error in past views ; but for the sake of covering the temporary retreat of their forces, that they may be preserved for use under happier auspices. Dip and plunge are still claimed as the meanings of a word "which never has but one meaning;" while immerse is introduced as another meaning, to shield them under con- fessed incompetency to meet the demands of actual usage. Two questions bere arise: 1. Why is it that, thus, with patent inconsistency, dip and plunge are held on to so tenaciously? 2. And how is it that immerse becomes so valuable a covering force in these times of disaster? In answer to the first inquiry it may be said : The deeply fixed notion that /3«-r£tw means to dip, sprang out of the error which regarded this word and pd-rio as substantially the same word, " the one in a long coat and the other in G 82 CLASSIC BAPTISM. a short one;" or, as a translator of the Baptist Bihle Union sajs, " the one in a modern dress, the other in more ancient attire." This conception is an entire mistake, as will, hereafter, he shown; hut it has served to fasten w^hat is the undoubted meaning of fidr^ru) upon its associate word, notwithstanding its protest from every case of usage. Un- prepared to give up this imaginary relationship between these words, they have held on to the meaning, " dip," in the face of facts, now at last admitted, which render such meaning impossible. But why perpetuate this inconsistency which affirms that a word has but one meaning, and yet confesses, in an exigency, that it has another ? The onl}' appropriate and adequate answer seems to be found in the vital connection of the act of dipping with the Baptist system. The rite of baptism is performed, under this system, only by dip- ping, and we are told that it cannot be performed in any other way, because the word means specifically " to dip, expressing mode, and nothing but mode ;" and this word expresses a divine command, which can only be obej'ed by the performance of this specific act. Now, to admit that ySaxn'Cw never means to dip (for to that must come the admission, that sometimes it does not), is to admit that God has not commanded a dipping; and to admit this, is to dissipate that excellent glory which has been so passion- ately claimed for ritual dipping. All this, human nature will be slow to do. But how is it that immerse becomes " a friend indeed," under these circumstances ? The explanation is found in a little duplicity (pardon the word to point the argument, I use it Laiinice) of use. This facile, duplex use is due to its Latin origin and composition, together with an essen- tially less pointed character than many other words. Without entering into details, it seems desirable, now, to refer to the Latin original of our English word immerse, and point out its meaning in that language. MERGO — IM-MERGO, 83 MER&O— IM-MERGO. Mergo (from which im-mergo is formed by composition with the preposition in, and from which m-merse is de- rived), does not mean to dip or to plunge; nor does it express any definite act ; nor yet act or movement unde- fined in character; but it expresses condition characterized by inness of position, commonly within a fluid element, which condition may be effected by any act comj^etent thereunto. Mergo expresses none. That this word does not signify to dip, to plunge, is evident from the prepositions with which it enters into composition. Sub-mergo, De-mergo, E-mergo, exhibit a cast of com- position which could not be intelligently associated with a word having the character of action which belongs to plunge. But may not in be associated with such form of act? Undoubtedly it may; but it does not follow that every word which is compounded with tJiis preposition does originally or compositely express movement. As in does, of itself, express simply inness of position ; so it does, also, in composition. And the contrary must not be as- sumed in any case. We deny that, as appearing in im- mergo, it expresses of itself movement, or that it indicates that mergo has such character. On the contrary, we say that it expresses merely position, and serves to express with emphasis the idea of inness, whicli is the leading characteristic of the word v/ith which it is associated. Proof of this position is found in the following facts: 1. Ovid speaks of a house as mcrsed, and boats sailing over it. This house was not plunged into the water, but was mersed by the water rising up above it. 2. Pliny speaks of one river being mersed into another. This was not by the act of plunging into, but by the act of flowing. Will it be said that mergo means to flow ? The act of flowing, by which the mersion was eifected, is wholly dis- tinct from mergo, although no distinct word is employed 84 CLASSIC BAPTISM. to express that action. The mersiou follows on the flow- ing. 3. While it is more usual to leave unexpressed the word by which the act effecting the mersion would be designated, still there are instances in which the phraseol- ogy, in this respect, is made complete. " Spargite me in fluctus, vastoque immergite ponto." " Cast me into the reaves and immerse me in the deep sea." (^. iii, 605.) Here the act by which the mersion is effected is stated to be " casting;" the mersion follows as a consequence. Had " immergite" been used alone, it would not have meant to cast, to plunge ; but the condition would be ex- pressed, which would, of necessity, cany with it some ade- quate form of act left unexpressed. " Ab Jove mersa suo Stygias penetrarit in undas." '"'■ 31ersed hij her Jove she shall go to the Stijgian ivaters." (Ovid iii, 4, 20.) This mersion extends to the Styx; but mergo does not denote a plunging which extends from the bright scenes of earth to the gloomy banks of that river. This passage is provided for by " penetrarit," and to mergo is reserved the off.ce of expressing the condition. This interpretation is confirmed by the phraseology of Seneca, where the word expressing the movement is omitted — " Mergere aliquem ad Styga." This omission does not confer on mergo the power to express the idea of passing, penetrating, plunging; but gives the mersion position and character, leaving the word of movement to be supplied. This is the explanation of all like cases. And in this there is nothing peculiar. The usage is illnstrated in all words of the same class. Take for example the word bia^)/. " Bury the dead body." To fulfil this command, a pit is dug, the body is lowered down, and it Js tilled up again. Does "bury" mean to dig, to lower down, to fill up? How if the body be carried into a sepulchre hewn out of a rock, and a stone be rolled against its mouth; does it, then, mean to carry into, to roll against ? MERGO — BURY. 85 " All avalanche of ice and snow buried the entire ham- let." Does bury mean to fall down? "An avalanche of ice and snow fell dotcn and buried the entire hamlet." Is not this only a more full statement of the other, placing the movement in its proper relation ? " The flock was buried by the falling snow." Does to bury mean to sprinkle with snow-flakes? "The entire crew was buried in the ocean." Does bury mean to sink? To merse may be accomplished by lowering down, falling down, carrying in, sinking, sprinkling over, and it ex- presses all these forms just as to bury does; no more," no less. And so, when bury is used without there being ex- pressed, by an additional word, the act whereby the burial is accomplished, such w^ord must be supplied, the nature of it varying greatly according to circumstances ; but in no possible case can " bury" be converted into a word ex- pressive of act or movement. All which is true of mergo. Bury is, also, used with into, without, however, in anywise chano;iuo; its character. " He buried the knife into his body." " The cannon-ball was buried into the ground." Such phitipeology does, as Dr. Conant says, express the passing from one point to another, but it is a mistake to say that such expression is due to " bury," or that it has anything, directly, to do with it. He buries the knife, thrusting it into his body. Does bury mean to thrust ? The cannon-ball was buried into the ground by its lyro- jeciive impetus. Does bury mean. " to project" ? In, compounded with bury, in-bury, in-tomb, has as little power to change the character of the word. It only em- phasizes the inness of condition. The same is true of m joined with mergo; and when our Baptist friends take occasion, from the use, at times, of the Latin preposition to denote motion, to engraft this idea on im-mergo, im- merse, they do what is incapable of justification. It is, however, on this ground (and failure to supply the exec- utive verb) that the meaning, dip, plunge, has been erro- neously attributed to this word, with some appearance of truth; while, its true nature and proper usage allowed it 86 CLASSIC BAPTISM. to be used in cases where dip and plunge were inadmissi- ble. Therefore, dip and plunge have been used where they could be, and immerse has been used where it must be, with the assumption that it was a kindred word with them, and expressive of act and movement. This duplicity of use (I mean not to reproach, but only to show that Latin terms Anglicised may change their value) must be abated, even though it should cost our Baptist friends the very serious and painful loss of dipping as an act of divine com- mand. FAILURE. Having now listened with patience, and not without much interest, to all which Baptist w^riters have to say as to the meaning of /3a-r:'^w, with the conviction, that if they could make good a moiety of their unqualified assertions farther investigation would be precluded, I must confess myself not a little suprised at the result. "Where is that one, clear, precise, and definite meaning? Certainly it is not in Baptist writings. Where is the evi- dence that ^ccTTTfu and ^ar^ri^ui have, precisely, the same meaning, form, force, and eftcct? Kot, assuredly, in Bap- tist writings. Where is the evidence that (iar.riXta expresses an act, a definite act, mode, and nothing but mode, to dip? Xot a particle is to be found in Baptist writings. Where is the evidence that fia-rif^to expresses in secondary use the act (dipping), which is attributed to it in primary use? Baptist writers have not furnished it. Where is that English word, the daguerreotype of the Greek word, which was to Hash forth the one, clear, and definite meaning, so that " a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein" ? There is not a Baptist writer, during three hundred years, who has ottered such a word with the attempt to carry it througli Greek usage. And where is that translation which was to rebuke the disloyalty of the Christian world, and indicate the un- swerving fealty of the few? "It is found in im-mcrse." And if the Holy Spirit employs a word (as we are told ADMINISTKATION OF THE RITE. 87 that lie does) wliich " means im-merge, sub-merge, dip, plunge, im-bathe, whelm," by what authority are these six defining terms rejected and the seventh taken? Or if, as we are also told, and as Greek usage proves, forty other acts may execute the will of this Greek word, why are the thirty-nine rejected and the fortieth taken to represent, just and no more, the mind of the Spirit? If "im-merse" is used in the sense to dip, to plunge, it does most essen- tially fail to reflect the Greek word; if it is not used in that sense, then away with the definition — dip, plunge; or away with the " one meaning through all Greek literature." An inspection of Baptist writings does not confirm the notion, that the work of defining this word has been done by them so thoroughly and so exhaustively of truth, that all farther inquiry is a work of supererogation. ADMINISTKATION OF THE EITE. Before instituting any inquiry of our own as to the meaning of this word, let us hear, still farther, what is to be said as to the practical administration of the rite, and the reduction of the theoretical meaning of the word to concrete practice. "We may, reasonably, expect to find, here, harmony with announced principles, if not absolute truth. The Confession of Faith of the Baptist Churches (A.D. 1644), 40th Article : " The way and manner of dispensing this ordinance the Scriptures hold out to be dipping or plunging the whole body under water." Booth (p. 146) : " The ordinance should be administered by immersing the subject in water." Ripley (p. 120) : " The candidates being placed under water." Wayland (p. 87) : " We believe that the ordinance of baptism is to be administered by the immersion of the body in water." Curtis (p. 68): "Baptism as a symbol necessarily em- braces an immersion or burial of the body in water." 88 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Jcwett (p. 13) : " The immersion of the subject in water is essential to the ordinance." (p. 46): "In baptism we are commanded to perform the act represented by the word baptize." Stovel (p. 417): "What is to be baptized? The answer is, persons." (p. 495) : " The act, therefore, is not spriuk- lin; but in translating "to drown," we should, assuredly be embarrassed by the greatly predominant meaning — to destroy life by suffoca- tion under water. Nevertheless it is of importance to state, distinctl}', that this Greek word is fairly, though inadequately, represented by drown. To luhdm presents some special claim for consideration. 1. It envelops. 2. It influences by envelopment. 3. It influences without envelopment. 4. It is not limited by form of act. 5. It is without limit of time. Its special claim lies in its usage under the third par- ticular. "Whelm (and overwhelm, the same word empha- sized) has a secondary usage giving expression to fully developed and controlling influence, which, by its nature and breadth, represents the Greek word better, perhaps, in its like usage, than any other English word. Its de- fl.ciency consists in the predominant thought of the liquid sweeping over its object with force. Such specialty is not in the Greek word. This, however, largely, if not wholly, disappears in secondary use, leaving only the grand idea of controlling influence. To merse has just and strong representative claims within certain limits. " Im-merse" is peremptorily excluded : 1. Because com- pounded with a preposition, which the original word is not, and for which there is no conceivable nccessitj'. 2. Be- cause im-merse is the proper translation of sfi-jSaizzi^ico, and which should (if zm-merse is the translation of the uncom- pounded word) be translated m-im.merse. 3. Because the preposition has been abused and misinterpreted, as indica- tive of movement, while its force was merely local, as a proper examination, both of Latin and English usage, will fully establish. In all cases where the simple envelopment of the object, 132 CLASSIC BAPTISM. only, is concerned, no word, probably, is more unexcep- tionable than 7/ierse. 1. This word is of comroon use in cases where an object is placed in a fluid, semi-flnidy or any easily penetrable ma- terial. 2. It depends upon no form of act. 3. It is with- out limit of duration. But where the design is to express influence, whether as a consequence of envelopment, or controlling influence without envelopment, this word, markedly, fails. Such usage is a leading feature in the Greek word, claiming special attention, and demanding expression. The secondary use of merge (or immerse) does not cor- respond with that of ^ar.rc'^w. "I am mersed in study," and " I am baptized by study/' are phrases expressive of very different ideas. The former expresses thorough intel- lectual engagedncss ; the latter expresses thorough intellectual j>rostration. Steep approaches toward the idea, yet falls essentially short of it. To be steeped in any influence is to be thor- oughly interpenetrated by it, yet so that the influence remains under our control; to be baptized by any in- fluence, is for us to be thoroughly under its control. Whelm expresses this additional idea^ and it is the only word, that I think of, which does do so in so satisfactory a manner. In the first examination of this question, " merse" was carried through every case of the usage of the Greek word; but in doing so the necessity arises for the origina- tion of usage unknown to our language. This is embar- rassing. Unity of word and clearness of thought cannot be combined. It may be better (though we cannot but greatly regret the necessity) to sacnfice verbal unity to a clear statement of the thought. Merse (immerse) fails to represent the Greek word in another particular, namely, its absolute use. When it is said of a man, absolutely, that he was " bap- tized," meaning that he was droioned, we have no corre- sponding use of mersed (immersed). When it is said, in REPRESENTATIVE WORD. 133 like absolute use, lie was " baptized," meaning stupefied by an opiate; or "baptized," bewildered by questions; or "bap- tized," intoxicated; or " baptized," purified; we have no like usage of merse (immerse). The fitness of merse (immerse) to represent /Sa-ritw is good within certain limits; but those limits are decidedly restricted, unless the mind be educated to the interpreta- tion of unfamiliar combinations. To inn is a word of our language, although of infrequent and restricted use. Its radical idea of inness afibrds the essential idea requisite to develop a usage which would faithfully represent this Greek word. The usage would have to be formed out of this radical idea, for it has no present existence; but this is, measurably, true of every other word. The advantage would be, that we should not have to unlearn old and unsuitable ideas. In some cases, this word (because so much unused) would bring with it less clog to embarrass the thought than any other, more familiar, word. The idea of inness, and of inness expressive of influence, is one of greatest familiarity to our language. If this thought were embodied in the verb to inn, and applied as the sole representative of the Greek word throughout the entire range of its usage, it would be as little liable to exception as any other one word, while it would have, in some cases, special advantage. I make this suggestion not with any design to adopt it as a translation, but that it may serve, as a truth laid up, to get rid of some of the false notions which have gathered around this debated word, by reason of the use of a certain set of terms as representative words. To steep. — Steep and dip, in their relation to each other, and in their distinctive usage, illustrate, very forcibly, the two Greek words. Like them, steep and dip come from the same root; and, like them, each has a deeply marked individuality. Dip represents ^dizru), steep represents /3a7r- Ti^u). Steep expresses no definite act ; it does express en- velopment by a fluid; envelopment, for the sake of influ- 134 CLASSIC BAPTISM. ence; pervading influence without envelopment; and has no limitation of time. Dip and steep present strong claims to a front place as the English representatives of l3d7ZTw and ^aTZTiZui. If, however, Ave had a verb to deep, then, to dip and to deep would exhibit the fundamentally distinguish- ing characteristic, and could well serve as duplicates of these foreign words. To baptize. — After a thoughtful consideration of every, apparently, appropriate word, I am induced to believe that it would be well to employ baptize to represent the second- ary use, defining it as expressing controlling influence; the particular nature of the influence being determined by the specialty of the case. We would be less embarrassed, in the use of this word, with previous and irrelevant con- ceptions, and the mind would be left more untrammelled in its effort to extract the thought presented. After all, however, has been said as to the advantages and disadvantages in the use of particular words, there may be controversial considerations which will outweigh all others, and determine it to be best to use a single word, to represent the single Greek word, throughout the whole extent and under all the modifications of its meaning. The best word, probably, all things considered, is Merse. The statements already made will show that this word is not without its imperfections, while they may help to relieve them. Nor is it without advantage that the word, in this uncompounded form, has no common use. We shall find, on this account, greater facility in associating with it any modification of thought, desirable, above what ■would be the case with m-merse. By such use of this word our Baptist friends will be deprived of all possible ground of complaint, while we shall show our unbounded confidence that the sentiment of passages adduced will be sufficiently clear and power- ful to correct, and to control, any water tendencies which may pertain to the word, from more familiar usage, in that direction. DEFINITION. 135 DEFINITION. Defining — to merse, to droivn, to whelm, to steep, to inn, in primary use, as causative of the condition of an object within a closely investing element, without any limitation as to the character of the act inducing such envelopment, and without any limitation as to the time of its continu- ance : And defining — to merse, to whelm,, to steep, to baptize, in secondary use, as causative of a condition induced by a controlling influence unlimited as to source, form, or du- ration : I would define /Sarrrttw to mean, primarily, 1. To INTUSPOSE: to merse, to drown, to whelm, to steep to inn ; and, by appropriation, to svJJ'ocate witJdn a Jluid (to drown). 2. To INFLUENCE CONTROLLINGLT : tO mCrSC, tO whclm, to steep, to inn, to baptize; and, by appropriation, to intoxicate. In this secondary use, the word, or an organic phrase, or the word as embodying such phrase, may be translated with the utmost fidelity — to stupefy, to bewilder, to pollute, to purify, &c., &c. Each of these words expresses a condition induced by some controlling influence. The nature of the influence is a matter of as absolute indiflerence as is the means and mode by which it is produced. One drop of prussic acid is as thoroughly competent to effect a baptism, secondary, (perhaps the more common form of baptism expressed by the Greeks), as is an ocean to effect a baptism, primary. The meaning thus assigned to /Sa^rrt'Cw must be sustained by an appeal to the facts of usage. Every passage of what may be termed Classical Greek (liberally interpreted), which I have met with, either as the fruit of my own direct examination, or that of others, has been adduced. The period embraced within these quotations is about a thousand years. There will, there- 136 CLASSIC BAPTISM. fore, be the fullest opportunity for the usus loquendi to give its autlioritative utterance. If any one, after seeing the usage of the two Greek words side by side, can hesitate to acknowledge that they are radically different in meaning, as radically different in reference to the act of dipping as in reference to effecting a dyed condition, I shall be greatly surprised. If the conclusion reached should meet with general as- sent, then the bands by which dipping and baptizing have been so long bound together must be pronounced to be unlawful, and pri)clamation made that there are. insur- mountable impediments which forever forbid that these "twain should be made one." What farther bearing this meaning, assigned to ^aizriZu), has upon Christian baptism, will be seen when that subject shall come before us for consideration. It will not, at pres- ent, be introduced into the discussion. MEANING AND USAGE. 137 BAlim. ITS MEANING AND USAGE. It will facilitate our ultimate purpose to consider first, the usage of /Ja^rrw, and other words whose meanings are designed to elucidate, by agreement or disagreement, the meaning of ^aTzziX.w. It has been contidently affirmed that /ScfTrrw has but the two meanings to dip and to dye. Usage will show that this latter position is as untenable as the earlier one which denied that it had more than one meaning — to dip. But it is unnecessary, here, to particularize; the quotations will speak for themselves. We have a right, however, to note all such errors, as justly enfeebling our faith in other conclusions which we are called upon to accept. The commission of frequent, and manifest errors, should induce some hesitancy in affirming that " it is not so much evidence that is wanted as Christian honesty" to cause the acceptance of such positions as are, still, zealously pressed by our Baptist brethren. To dip has been placed first in order among the mean- ings of jSdnTw', but whether dip or dye be regarded as the primary meaning, the meaning is dip and not plunge, or sink, or any other word whose meaning characteristically differs from dip. By " dip" is meant a downward move- ment, without violence, passing out of one medium into another, to a limited extent, and returning without delay. Plunge differs essentially from this word in that it demands rapidity and force of movement; and, more especially, in that it makes no demand for a return. In critical, or con- troversial writing no word can, fairly, be substituted for dip, which has characteristics alien from and contradictory to its nature. I know of no instance, where jSaTrzcu is used to put an object into a fluid to remain there permanently, 138 CLASSIC BAPTISM. or for an unlimited time. Nor do I know of any instance, where this word is used to draw up anything out of a liquid which it had not first put into it. Dr. Carson gives more than fifty quotations from Hip- pocrates, in which, he says, " there can be no doubt but we shall find the characteristic meaning of Bapto." In all these cases there is the double movement of intrance and outrance. Whether this twofold movement be the result of the explicit demand of the word, or consequen- tial on that which is immediately expressed, the result is the same; both find place in the "characteristic'' use of the word. To dye is now acknowledged to be a secondary meaning without any, necessary, dependence upon dipping. This doctrine was long and strenuously opposed by Baptist writers, who contended, then, that ^dr.-zio had but one meaning, as, now, they contend that [la-zi'^u} has but one meaning ; and that dyeing was a mere appendage to dip- ping, and an accident consequent upon a dipping into a coloring element. This position is, at length, thoroughly abandoned, and the admission made that dyeing by sprink- ling is as orthodox as dyeing by dipping. In other words, it is now, however slowly, yet at last unreservedly admit- ted, that wdiile (idnToj to dip expresses a sharply defined act; /Sdrrw to dye expresses no such act; but drops all demand for any form of act, and makes requisition only for a condition or quality of color, satisfied with any act which will meet this requirement. This being true; it is obvious that the differ- ence between dip and dye, and dip and plunge, is not a difference of measure and form, but a difference of nature. Dip and plunge express forms of act to be done; dye ex- presses a condition or quality to be secured. Thus we secure a stepping-stone toward that truth which we would establish ; to wit, that /Sa-rt'^, unlike /5arrw to dip, but like ^dTZTOj to dye, does express not a form of act, but a condition — condition of intusposition, primarily, and condition of controlling influence, secondarily. Bd-roj, in one of its aspects, demands a movement which carries its object, MEANING ESTABLISHED BY USAGE. 139 momentarily, within a fluid element; and in another of its aspects, demands a condition which is met by flowing, pouring, or sprinkling: (Sa-TtW, in one of its aspects, de- mands a condition which may be effected by flowing, pouring, or sprinkling; and in another of its aspects, de- mands a condition which may be effected by anything, in any way, which is competent to exercise a controlling in- fluence over its object. The two leading meanings, to dip, to d^e, have, severally, modifications in usage which, as they shall be developed, will show .that the refusal to accept of any farther modi- fication, in the meaning of this Greek word, is not well grounded. MEANING ESTABLISHED BY USAGE. PRIMARY TO DIP. Irifavov elq (ivpo'^ I3deti r:c. Aristotle, On the Soul, iii, 12. If any one should dip into wax. Bd(pai yap del, xa\ tot avu) ikxuffac. Aristotle, Mech. Quest. C. 29. It is necessary to dip and then to draw up. '£? vSaTa xpcjaabv k'j3a4'e. Constantine, Epigr. of Hermolaus. He dipped a vessel into water. Ei': Tdq Tzhupuq lid(pa<; Tr,v al-^ii-qv. Dionys. HalUc. Ant. Rom. lib. v. Dipping the spear into the breast. Kai vau-z yap e^ac/'ev. Euripides, Orestes, 705. If a vessel has dipped. 140 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Bd4>aq, htyxe deupo TTovriat; dXoq. Euripides, Hecuhtt, 608. Dipping it, bring hither of the salt sea. BdTTTsiv ^(TTi TO ^aXav ri er? udtap. SchoUum, Hecuba, 608. To dip is to let something down into water or some other fluid. Odde eiq 7:ept/]pavzTJptov ip/SaTZTetv. lamblichus, Vit. Pythcig. C. 18. Nor to dip — into the periranterium. Kpwaaoiaiv oOvsiocffi jSd(/'avTe<; ydvoe:. Lycophron, Cassandra, 1365. Dipping pleasure with foreign vessels. Eir aTiXdyyv i^j(t5vrje; ahzoysip ^d^'st ^ia:, da^vai xixXyjxev 6 7ro£7;T5j>. Plutarch, Sympos. Prob. 8, 6. Bdaro . . . u)poo(; h x£faXrj<:. AratUS, 220. Washed head and shoulders of the river. ^Avi^£Xo(;, ^dnzoi poou iarrspcoto. AratuS, 858. Cloudless, washes of the western flood. "EiSacJ'e kwurov ^a? ini rov TTorapov. Ilcrodotus, Euterpe, 47. Washed himself, going upon the river. MEANING ESTABLISHED BY USAGE. 141 Bdnroofft OtppM. Aristoplianes, Eccles. 216. They wash with warm water. SECONDARY — TO DYE. BdTZToofftv "" A NixoXXa, zL^iq iSdrrrscv at Uyouffiv. Bentleii, Ep. Coll. 139. Some say that j^ou dye your hair. TrjV y.scpalrfj iSd-rec-:, pjpac; Si: aov ounore j3dofiat. Menander, Frag. 2, Anger. And I will dye. 142 CLASSIC BAPTISM. ^Eav ri r£c aXXa ^pw/iara iSdzTrj ^av rs xai raora. PlatO, de Repub. IV, 429. Whether one dye other colors, or whether these. TO STAIN. ^'Ei3a(pa<; ey^oi; su rrpoq '"Apyeiwj arpaxm. Sophocles, Ajax, 95. 1b it well that thou hast stained thy sword with the army of the Greeks? TO SMEAR. AodiZwv, y.ai , " they dip into warm water" ? And of what use are grammatical forms, if such as that before us is to be con- verted, by some prcsUdigiiation, into another essentially dif- ferent ? The form and tte nature of the case unite in sustaining the conclusion, that the dative is instrumental, and that there must be a corresponding modification in the use of the verb. Some things ma}' be washed by dipping, but a greasy jBeece of wool is not among the number; a dipping, there- fore, is not the thing that is here called for, but a washing. It is admitted that •' Snidas and Phavorinns interpret bap- tousi by plunousi;" but "it argues shallow philosophy to suppose that on this account the words are perfectly synon- ymous." The " shallowness" may be found to be in Dr. Carson's examination of the case; but whether or no, I leave it to lovers of truth to determine, assured that, how- ever determined, the result bears more strongly on general truth than on the specific issue before us. BAnTfi— SECONDAEY. TO DYE. « Dr. Gale, representing Baptist writers up io that time, says: "The Greeks apply the word to the dyer's art, but ■always so as to imply and refer onbj to its true, natural signification to dip." This position was tenaciously held for more than a hun- dred years, notwithstanding all the mass of evidence accu- mulated against it. At length Dr. Carson arose, and sharply rebuked his friends for attempting to advocate so untenable a position. He boldly affirmed that /9a-rw, "from signifying mere mode, came to denote dyeing in any manner. This serves to solve difficulties that have been very clumsily got over by some of the ablest writers on TO DYE. 149 this side of the question. Hippocrates employs [idzzu} to denote djeing by dropping — 'When it drops upon the garments they are dyed' — this surely is not dyeing by dipping." This reasoning is presented by Dr. Carson as unanswer- able, and it has been accepted, from him, by Baptists, as truth, although rejected a tljousand times when stated by their opponents. And, yet, when identically the same argumentation is adduced to prove that fid-7u) may mean to loct — Nebuchadnezzar being baptedby drops of dew — it is rejected as a mere nullity, and [id-rio can mean nothing- else but dip! Gale's position in reference to .fid-Toj, which Carson re- pudiates (with the Baptist world crying, "Well done!"), he most cordially adopts as true, in relation to.yS«-rtCw; ^* the Greeks apply this word to cases where there is no immer- sion in fact, but always so as to imply and refer only to its true, natural signification, to dip.'' And, again, the Baptist world exclaims, "Well done!" It may be of but little avail for us to bring evidence, "clear as holy writ," in disproof of this position; but J suppose we must continue to do it until another Carson, wilful, but honest and trusted by his friends, shall arise and teach them that "from signifying intusposition, and complete influence from intusposition, it came to denote baptizing," i. e. influencing con)pletely without intusposi- tion and in any manner. " This seems to solve difliculties that have been very clumsily got over by some of the ablest writers on this side of the question." And him they will hear. " Bapting by sprinkling" was once regarded as a very fair subject for the exercise of the powers of ridicule; but that time has passed, and, in order to cover the confessed error, the task is assumed of making doubly ridiculous ^'■baptizmrj by sprinkling." Truth can wait; but she will not have to wait long before the confession will, once more, be made — "there are difficulties very clumsily got over by some of the ablest writers" who have ventured to 150 CLASSIC BAPTISM. indorse this Baptist position — " baptizing by sprinkling is an absurdit3^" Bd-TO) to dye has a far more practical and instrnctive rela- tion to /Sa-r:Ca>, than lias ^d-TU) to dip ; because the former meaning is not, like the latter, a demand for an act, but for an efi'ect, and there is a consequent harmony in gram- matical forms, and, measurably, of thought branching out of it. This will be seen to be true by the facts of usage. As a dyed condition may be effected in almost endless variety of wa^'s, even including the paradox, " dipping by sprinkling," so, a baptized condition may be efiectcd in ways no less numberless, even including " the absurdit}"" baptizing by sprinkling. We might decline to use dye to express the modified meaning of /3a-rw, and retain dip, throughout, as the Greeks retain fid-ru). There would be a propriety in doing so; because, 1. It would perfectly reflect the Greek practice. 2. Because dip, in English, also, has the meaning to dye. 3. Because thrown on to the sentiment and the syntax, to learn the modification of the primary meaning, there- would be some equalization of the case with that of iia-riZuj, when it is compelled to vindicate its claim to modified meaning under the uniform use of a single word through all its usage. But we wnll not insist on putting a similar burden on /Sa-Tw; but cheerfully assume the unequal task, believing that the word is able to vindicate its rights even under such unfavorable circumstances. «' The lake was dyed with blood." It would be quite unnecessary to dwell upon any of these quotations, if the only purpose w^as to establish the mean- ing to dye; this has been thoroughly done, and is univer- sally accepted ; but there are other reasons, connected with the grammatical structure, modified translation, varied agencies, the introduction of distinct words to express the TO DYE. 151 form of action, as they bear upon and illustrate kindred peculiarities in the usage of /Sa-riT^, which make a rapid survey of particular passages desirable. The above passage from ^Esop, attributed to Homer, is instructive by reason of the manner in which it has been treated in the earlier period of this controversy, as well as for the reasons prompting to the abandonment of the ground then taken. Dr. Gale says: "The literal sense is, the lake was dip- ped in blood. And the lake is represented, by hyperbole, as dipped in blood." Dr. Carson replies to this: "IsTever was there such a figure. The lake is not said to be dipped, or poured, or sprinkled, but dyed with blood. The expression is literal, and has not the smallest difficulty." It is desirable to note several particulars ruling in Dr. Carson's interpretation : 1. The repudiation of Gale's view on the ground of ex- trava<2:ance in the fii^ure. 2. The rejection of all figure by the introduction of a secondary meaning. 3. The denial that the act by which the dyeing takes place is expressed by /9arrw. " The blood was poured into the lake," but '■'■ ^d--uj docs not, therefore, signify to pour." 4. The rejection of the local dative and the substitution of the instrumental. 5. The necessity for this as grounded in the meaning of the verb as modified. So long as Gale insisted on the act dip, he was com- pelled (whatever might be the amount of violence done to the construction, or whatever might be "the perversion of taste") to make the dative represent that in which the act took place, for "blood" could not be instrumental in a dijjping; in like manner, when Carson rejected the act (dip) and took the condition (dye), he was shut up to the necessity of interpreting the dative as instrumental; for "blood" can dj/e while it cannot dip. 6. The dative is made instrumental, notwithstanding 152 CLASStC BAPTISM. that it represents a fluid element in which (its nature only considered) a dipping could readily take place. All these elements which enter into the rejection of Gale's interpretation (who in this matter does not stand as a simple individual, but as the representative of the entire Baptist body) will come into frequent play in the exposi- tion of other passages where Carson will be found attempt- ing to sustain a similar position in relation to /JaTrrttw, with that of Gale to /3a-r<«, which he has so remorselessly over- turned. One more point in connection w^ith this passage and we may leave it. " Bd-Tcij, from signifying mere mode, came to be applied to a certain operation usually performed in that mode. From signifying dip it came to signify to dye by dip- ping." And, according to this interpretation, and else- where, it came, by yet another step, to signify to dye without dipping; to dye in any manner. That is to say, the original peculiarity of the word, the name remaining the same, is entirely lost sight of: 1, to dip; 2, to dye bg dipping; 3, to dye without dipping. Apply, now, this developing pro- cess to I3a-Ti^uj, and we have, 1. To intuspose within a fluid. 2. To influence controUingly bg intusposition within a fluid. 3. To influence controUingly without intusposition. In the first process lid-Tio remains, in all its literal integ- rity; but dip is wholly eliminated from its signification. In the second process, fia-riZm exhibits every letter in wonted position, while it has, bodily, come forth from intusposition in water or in anything else. However much it may be denied that this latter word has such development, in fact, it is beyond denial that such development mag be (unless w^e are to go back to the antiquated interpretation of "the lake dipped, hyperboli- cally, in a frog's blood"), and if it may be, then, the cry of "absurdity" is absurd. What are the facts as to this development, we can better determine when they shall have passed before us. TO DYE. 153 " The garments which are dyed from it are called byssina." The use of the genitive («-' aurT^z) exchides all idea of dipping which might be forced upon the dative. Even Gale could not say, here, " the garments are dipped in it." Although the garments should have been dyed by dipping^ still, the (id-TO), in this construction, could have neither part nor lot in any such dipping. If this act should be desired to appear, and appear under the auspices of fidnru), this word as signifying to dip must be called into requisi- tion; as meaning to dye, in this passage, its power is ex- hausted, and the dipping must be supplied from some other quarter. E"o word can have, at the same time, two meanings. No word can mean, in the same passage, both dip and dye. And I will dye." No regimen is expressed. "I, also, was once young; but I was not washed, then, five times a day; but now I am; nor had I, then, a fine mantle; but now I have; nor had I ointment; but now I have; and, I icill drje." To dye himself did not require that he should dye his whole person, but the hair and beard — " crines et barbam pingebant," a commentator observes. On the process of dyeing a writer from India says: " On reaching the village I observed an aged man, the lower part of whose face was covered with bandages, beneath which stuck out the edges of green leaves besmeared with a black stuft'. I inquired into the cause. The reply was that he had colored his beard, and that the bandage was worn until the color had well dried upon the hair. The coloring of the beard is a very usual custom." We, here, learn how absolutely dipping has disappeared from dyeing. The Christian missionar}^ (J. II. Orbison) repeats what Nearchus said two thousand years ago — "the Indians dye their beards." 154 CLASSIC BAPTISM. The mode, as well as the custom, probably remains the same. " When it drops upon tlie garments they are dyed." This statement goes beyond the others in the exclusion of dipping, in that while they expressed this by construc- tion and by sentiment, here, we are expressly furnished with a word (t-tara^rj) expressing an act of an entirely dif- ferent character, by which the coloring material is brought in contact with the material to be dyed. Professor Wilson remarks : " The great critical value of this example con- sists in its stripping (Sd-rco completely of all claim to modal signification, by employing another term to denote the manner in which the dye was applied to the garments." "VYe have, here, a favorable opportunity to indicate and make the attempt to correct, an error constantly outcrop- ping in this controversy. No Baptist would say that /5a-rw, in the phrase "to dye by dropping," expressed the act to drop; no such person should say that l3d-To in the phrase, " to dye by dipping," expressed the act to dip; and, yet, there is a constant iden- tification of jianriZu} with the act (whatever it may be) by which its demand is efi'ectcd. It is possible that it may yet bo confessed that it is quite aa facile, and fully as legitimate, to baptize by sprinkling as to jdaKTEcv by dropping; while in so doing, although the sprinkling eflects a baptism as truly as that the dropping efi'ccts a bapting, yet [^a—i'^u) has just as little responsibility for the expression of the act of sprinkling, as /3d-rw has for giving expression to the act of dropping. " Whether one dye other colors, or whether those." "No matter what dye they are dipped hi," is the trans- lation of Gale and Carson, and is, surely, loose enough when used as an element for a critical judgment. It TO DYE. 155 shows no regard to the syntax. The comment of Ilallej is just: "Whether the ypu>ixa was the dye into which the wool was dipped, or the color imparted to it, is not the question. Bo it which it may, it is the object of i^d-rrj; it has gained in the syntax the place of the material sub- jected to the process; and, therefore, pleads a law of lan- guage, that j?d-T(o in the passage does not, and cannot mean to dip, as the color cannot be dipped whatever may be done with the wool." " Colors dipped in Heaven" (Milton) is a parallel passage; where "dipped" necessarily means dyed. '' Lest I dye you a Sardian dye." "Lest I dip you into a Sardinian dye." {Carson.) Such translation makes a recast of the syntax. And by so doing opens the way for the introduction of the primary meaning, in contradiction to the principle laid down by Buttman and Kuhner — "when the verb is followed by the corresponding or kindred abstract substantive," — which would necessitate the translation, "6(ye a Sardian df/e," or ^^ dip a Sardian dij)." The apology offered by Carson for his translation is : " As the reference is to the art of dyeing, so the expression must be suited to the usual mode of dyeing." Against such reasoning we protest. There is nothing whatever suggestive of " the usual mode of dyeing." Gale might as well say, " the lake was dipped in blood," because, " as the reference is to dyeing, so, the expression must be suited to the usual mode of dyeing." If Aristotle had a right to speak of dyeing by pressing a berry, and if Hip- pocrates had a right to speak of dyeing by drops falling^ why is Aristophanes to be interdicted from speaking of dyeing by hruisbig? The tendency to fall back on dipping as here, and else- where, manifested needs to be corrected. 15G CLASSIC BAPTISM, MODIFIED MEANINGS OUTGEOWTHS OF DTK TO STAIN. " Is it well that thou hast stained thy sword with the army of the Greeks ?" "Ajax is represented by Sophocles as dipping his sword into the army of the Greeks;" so says Carson. Had any one else translated izpoq by iiito, none would have frowned upon the extravagance more indignantly than Dr. Carson. And such unwarranted translations to force in dip^ by an opponent, would have brought down coals of fire on his head. As swords are not properly dyed with blood, but only stained, temporarily, this and other passages may be re- garded as exemplifying that modified idea. TO SMEAR. " Playing the Aviot and playing the "¥»■>, and smeared with frog-colored washes." " Magnes, an old comic poet of Athens, used the Lydian music, shaved his face, and smeared it over with tawny washes." {Gale and Carson.) The Lydian music and shav- ing the face are introduced through some misconception. The passage alludes to two plays, as above designated. What, however, especially claims attention is the transla- tion of j3a7rTo/i.£vw- by SMcar, with the remark: "Surely, here, it has no reference to its primary meaning. The face of the person was rubbed with the wash. By this example it could not be known that (Sd-ru) ever signifies to dip." Why Dr. Carson should so unreservedly exclude dip, here, and insist upon its introduction in other passages, I do not know. " The allusion is to the art of dyeing," and why we are not compelled "to suit the expression to the most usual mode of dyeing" docs not appear. We have, however, the translation — "/9a;rTw, to smear, to rub!" TO TEMPER. 157 TO GILD. " Having gilded poverty thou hast appeared rich." The intimate relation between dyeing and gilding is obvious. In this passage, and in others, the thought ex- pressed seems to have passed into this modification. It is the case of a person who had become wealthy from a state of poverty. TO TEMPER. "Working .... tempers with cold water." It might, at first, be thought that "to temper," as a meaning of /?a-rcy, should be traced to dip rather than to dye; but the tempering of metals is regulated not by the act of dipping, in contradistinction from other modes of using water and oil, but by the color and dye of the metal ; I, therefore, trace this meaning to dyeing rather than to dipping. " The razor blade is tempered by heating it till a bright- ened part appears a straw color. The temper of penknives ought not to be higher than a straiu color. Scissors are heated until they become of a purple color, which indicates their proper temper," — Micy. Amcr., Art. Cutlery. A friend, connected with one of the most highly esteemed edge-tool manufactories in the country, having come into my study, confirms the above statements. As the tempering of metals is not the performance of any modal act, but the inducing a peculiar condition of the metal, in the accomplishment of which water and oil are used as agencies; it follows that these fluids should be spoken of, in this connection, as instrumental means by which an end is to be secured, and not as elements into which an object is to be dipped. Carson says: "No one who has seen ahorse shod will be at a loss to know the mode of the application of water in this instance. The immersion of the newly formed 158 CLASSIC BAPTISM. shoe in water, in order to harden the metal, is expressed by the word bajytcin.'" If jSdzToj means to "harden the metal," to temper, noth- ing is more certain than that it neither does, nor can, ex- press the immersion of the metal; supposing that an im- mersion took place. The admission is made that the immersion is in order to harden; how facile the transition to express directly the eficct — to tcm^pcr. Such transition is most common; why not exemplified in this word? As for the necessity of dipping, I have seen, in a black- smith's shop, in routine work, sprinkling, pouring, and dipping, all used within about ten minutes. " Tompercd by oil it is softened." "jD^p by oil" is an impossible translation; "c/ye b}' oil" is equally so; temj^cr by oil is an every day-transaction. "We seem to be shut np to this translation. Whatever plausibility there may be in a plea for dip- ping, when the dative, espcciall}' with a preposition, is used, there is none with the genitive. And if, in this case, the oil must be an instrumental means t© an appropriate effect; then we are justified, in similar circumstances, in arguing that the dative is used instrumentally. It is clear that if in this passage pd^ru} signifies to temper ^ and the tempering should be by dipping into oil, yet, this /?fi-rw cannot express such dipping. Plain as this is, the contrary is so often assumed that the statement needs rep- etition. In any case the oil is spoken of as instrumental means. The tempering of metals by water, or by oil, results in characteristic difibrences. The result is not determined by the mode of application of these lluids, but by their peculiar qualities; hence the tempering is by water and by oil, whether it be in water, or in oil, or otherwise. TO IMBUE. 159 TO IMBUE. " The soul is imbued by the thoughts ; imbue it, therefore, by the habitude of such thoughts." " Imbue" is, perhaps, somewhat too strong to meet the requirements of the passage; and 3'et seems to be the word most suitable, on the whole, to this and kindred cases. To dip involves a very extravagant figuring by whicli " the thoughts" receive personality,, and seizing the soul dip it into the dye-tub ! Is this any less " perversion of taste" than "the lake" dipping? Gale gives an active form to the phraseology, " the thoughts dip or tincture the mind;" but he has excluded himself from the use of "tincture;" and, besides, this mode of translating and defining by " dip or tincture," " dip or immerse," is very unsatisfactory in a critical con- troversialist. Carson, as not unfrecpiently, exercises a sovereign license in the treatment of the passage. His substitution is, " the thoughts are tinctured by the mind." A statement not calculated, by its profundity, to enhance in any very emi- nent degree the reputation of the imperial philosopher. Carson has not cut himself oft' from the use of dye, as has Gale; but has he any better right to employ "tinc- ture," here, than has his friend? Is " tincture" used as entirely synonymous with dye ? If so, why not use dye? Those who insist on single, bar- ren ideas, as running through tlie whole compass of a language, for long ages, should magnify their work by illustrating it in their practice. "Tincture" is as far from being used as the mere equivalent o^ dye as is smear, stain, color, and it is just because of its diflerence that Dr. Carson uses it, here, to the rejection of dye; we cannot allow such rigidity of definition and such looseness of translation. " Tincture" does not necessarily involve color, much less dye. A pharmaceutist informs me that some " tinctures" are colorless. A passage before me speaks of " water 160 CLASSIC BAPTISM. being tinctured by a little lemon-juice.'' Is this dyeing, or coloring, or the imparting of a colorless quality, — acidula- tion? So, in the passage under consideration, it is not the commnnication of color which is spoken of, but of quality, character. A habitude of thinking imparts a quality or character to the soul kindred to its own. " Imbued to the bottom with integrity." This is the summing up of the character of a man un- corrupted by pleasure; unbroken by misfortune; undis- turbed by envyings and jealousies; triumphant in self-con- trol — " imbued to the bottom luith intcgritf/." Dip is out of the question. Dye is as little in place. Integrity, justice, has no dyeing qualities any more than has pure water. Its glory is to be void of color; to exhibit a transparent pureness. Gale is, again, hampered and confused by his erroneous conception of the word; "dip'd, as it were, in and swal- lowed up with Justice; that is perfectly just : as we say, persons given up to their pleasures and vices, are immersed in or swallowed up with pleasures or wickedness." All this mixing up of things that differ, shows, 1. The error of limiting /3a-rw to dijj. 2. The error of supposing that jSdTzzu) can mean, at the same time, to dip, and, also, to swallow up and to immerse. And, 3. The error of con- founding the usage of /5a-rco and ^ar.ri'^u), now transferring dipping from the former to the latter, and now claiming, in return, mcrsing to be handed over from the latter to the former. ISTo passage can be adduced in Greek where /Saxrw, or, in English, where dip, signifies to be " immersed or swallowed up in pleasures, or wickedness," or in anything else. This explanation is not satisfactory to Carson while he offers nothing better. "I would not explain this, with Dr. Gale, 'dip'd, as it were, in or swallowed up with justice.' TO IMBUE. 161 Justice is here represented as a coloring liquid, which imbues the person who is dipped in it. It communicates its qualities as in the operation of dyeing. The figure can receive no illustration from the circumstance that 'persons given up to their pleasures and vices are said to be immersed or swallowed up with pleasures or wickedness.' The last figure has a reference to the primary meaning of /3d-rw, and points to the drowning efi:octs of liquids; the former refers to the secondary meaning of the word, and has its resemblance in the coloring effects of a liquid dye. The virtuous man is to be dipped to be dyed more deeply with justice ; the vicious man is drowned or ruined by his im- mersion." Dr. Carson speaks as though this honest man were to be dipped " to the bottom" of the dye-tab^ instead of imbued to the bottom of his own soul. Such extravagant interpretations, manifestly groundless and framed to meet a case, will prepare us to appreciate others of like characteristics in connection with i3a-Tc!^aj. "Beware of Csesarism, lest you be imbued by it." " Don't make the former emperors the pattern of your actions, lest you are infected or stained, or as it were dip- ped and dyed, namely, in mistakes and vices." — Gale. This road to dipping, through "infection," and "stain- ing," is rather roundabout, and hardly worth the trouble of passing over, inasmuch as, after thus reaching " dip- ping," the Doctor makes no tarrying, but passes on to " di/eing." This is another illustration of the inconsistency of Bap- tist writers in afiSrmino; that a word has but one meaning through Greek literature, and, then, availing themselves of the use of half a dozen different meanino^s whenever the exigency of the case requires it. Carson is never embarrassed by any difiiculty; the knot which his principles cannot untie, is always resolved by 11 162 CLASSIC BAPTISM. the edge of his knife. When neither clipping nor dyeing will answer his purpose, he, very sovereignly, asking per- mission of none, adds to or takes from these agencies at will. " He uses the same word, also, when the dye injures what it colors. He cautions against bad example, lest you he infected^ The notion of a dye injuring the fabric is that of Carson, not of Antoninus. To make injury to the fabric the basis of the interpretation, is to go entirely beyond the record. A dye capable of giving a good or bad color is one thing; a dyeing material which benefits or injures, apart from the color, the object dyed, is quite another matter. " To infect" is a translation to which Dr. Carson has no right so long as he says that /?a-Tw has but two meanings, to dip, to dye; " to infect" is neither the one nor the other. As conjoined with Cccsarism., and regarded as receiving the contagion embodied in that word, it may be so translated. "We not only have no objection to the principle, that a leading word may embody the sentiment of a phrase, and be treated as its representative ; but we do most cordially accept of it, and shall insist upon it in eases where Dr. Carson may give but reluctant consent. Infection is a consequence of being imbued with Cffisarism. There is no dj^eing, but a transference of moral qualities. The idea of color is lost. The qualities of honor or dishonor, of truth or falsehood, of justice or injustice, of integrity or treacherj^, are as dis- tinguishable as the colors of the rainbow; but they are not colors; and when jSd-ruj is used to express the communica- tion of such qualities, language will no more consent to be chained to the dye-tub than will Samson yield his strength under the fettering influence of the "seven green AX'ythes." Imbue expresses this modification of thought, and is equally applicable to any, quality, good or bad. " Adopt the character of one imbued." The interpretation of this passage has caused no little TO IMBUE. 163 embarrassment, and given rise to various translations and expositions. Professor Stuart quotes and comments thus: ""Why dost thou call th3^self a Stoic? Why dost thou deceive the multitude? Why dost thou, being a Jew, play the hypocrite with the Greek? Dost thou not see how any one is called a Jew, how a Syrian, how an Egyptian? And when we see any one acting with both parties, we are wont to say: He is no Jew, but plan's the hypocrite. Eut when he takes on him the state and feelings of one who is washed or baptized, and has attached himself to the sect, then he is in truth and is called a Jew. But we are r.apa^a-Tlarai^ transgressors as to our baptism, or falsely 'baptized, if we are like a Jew in pretence and something else in reality." "A great variety of opinions have been given on this passage. Some think that Arrian, here, refers to Chris- tians; but I see no good ground for such a supposition. De W^ette sa3's : ' The passage is too obscure to gather any- thing certain from it.' " I can scarcely doubt that the writer refers to the Jew- ish ablutions. Paulus has endeavored to explain away the force of the whole passage. Bauer suggests that /Sc/Ja/i/zeyoy may refer to a Christian whom Arrian confounds with a^ Jew. On the whole I conclude this to be a difficult and obscure passage, in some respects." Dr. Halley (p. 846) thinks that reference is made to Christian baptism, and that Arrian, a heathen, has failed to discriminate between /Sa-rco and ^ar^ri^oj, as does the New Testament. Gale presents this view: "After baptism, and the public profession, they were accounted, and really were, true Jews or rather Christians." There is no evidence that Arrian confounded either the distinction between f^d-Tm and pjarriZu), or that between Jews and Christians. The supposition is violent and without any real necessity, so far as this passage is concerned. Attention has been directed, so far as I am aware, ex- clusively to the primary meaning of /Jdrrrw, or to a meaning 164 CLASSIC BAPTISM. (connecting it with baptism) of which it is not possessed. The chie to the interpretation lies, I think, in the second- ary meaning and its modification. I would translate : " When one takes up the character (state or condition) of one imbued and convinced, then, he is in reality and in name a Jew." When the passage is considered alongside of those al- ready examined, can there be a reasonable doubt that this is the true interpretation ? Usage sanctions the translation, and the passage is made luminous by its application. The notion of Jewish ablutions or of Christian bap- tism is quite inadmissible — 1, because of lack of evidence; and, 2, because they render no service when introduced. Kitual ablutions have no power to discriminate between real and assumed character ; they have no power to un- mask a hypocrite or to stamp honesty on profession; and this is the point made by Arrian. The " character of an imbued man" is a positive and known quantity; the char- acter of a Jewishly washed, or Christianly baptized man, is a variable and unknown quantit}^ The interpretation is farther established by a reference to the language of Plato, lamblichus, Theo. SmyrnseuSy and others, who speak of the efi'ect of a thorough training and instruction as a /9a^ij, a dye. Kot hereby expressing a dipping (Gale), nor a coloring (Carson), but a distinguish- ing and abiding quality of the mind. The legitimacy of the use of [idTtru) and /3a>ij to denote the communication of some quality devoid of color needs no vindication as an abstract proposition ; the evidence for the usage as a matter of fact, is before us. "That they may receive the laws in the best manner, as a dye." Plato, having described the great pains taken by dyers in order to secure a dye which would be unchangeable and ineradicable, applies this to the pains taken in training soldiers, which he says is in order to their receiving the TO IMBUE. 165 laws or ordinances like a dye — wtick cannot be washed out by pleasure, grief, fear, &c By this comparison, made between a military training and dyeing, Plato does not represent the soldier as either dipped or colored; but indicates the thorough preparation which is practised in both cases, and the similarity of re- sults, so far as inducing a permanent quality was con- cerned, namely, permanent color in the one case, and permanent, soldierly character in the other. To the same effect is the language of lamblichus and Theo. Smyrnseus, when speaking of the effects of a well- conducted course of instruction. " As dyers cleansing beforehand." "Afterwards they receive instruction as a dye." Pupils in the school and soldiers in the gymnasium receive their training like a dye, being imbued with abid- ing qualities. How much wisdom would there be, on the basis of this allusion to a dye, to convert the school of Pythagoras and the gymnasium into places filled with dye-vats, where philosophers and drill sergeants should be busily engaged in dipping pupils and soldiers into their appropriate dye ? Extravagance like to this we shall often find in the in- terpretations of Baptist writers, rather than abandon the notion of a cast-iron inflexibility which they have attrib- uted to a Greek word. BAnTAI. This is the title of a play written by Eupolis, much the greater part of Mdiich has been lost. The word also occurs in Javenal ii, 92. Talia secreta coluerunt Orgia t^da Cecropiam soliti Baptce lassare Cotytto. lUe supercilium madida fuligine tinctum. The annotator on this passage says : Baptce. 'Ano to' ^diTTeiv, lavarx dicti: quia aqua, calidd 166 CLASSIC BAPTISM. tingebantur illis Sacr,is Cotyttus initiati. Polit. Miscell. cap. 10. PoiTO, Baptse, titulus Comoeclife Eupoliclis Poetse, in qua viros Atlienis acl imitationem foeminarnm saltantes inducit, et psaltriam lassantes. Vet. Schol. Cum autem Baptarum lasciviam Eupolis proscvipssisset, ab illis in mare pr£ecij)itatus et siibmersus fuisse dicitur. Feeling a special interest in this word as appropriated to designate a particular class of persons, and finding the materials out of which to form a conclusive judgment as to its precise usage quite limited; I ventured to ask infor- mation from others who might be supposed to know all that was knowable in the case, and whose scholarship gave them a right to speak so as to challenge the respectful at- tention of all. The information sought was grounded solely on the interest of those addressed in the solution of a purely classical question, and neither of the respond- ents had the remotest idea of the special inquiry in which I was engaged. While I do not feel that I have any right, at all, to mention the names of the writers, yet I am sure that they would not object to the use of their statements as showing the position of a, confessedly, obscure question, namely: What is the precise import which should be at- tached to the 6i ^dTzrat of Eupolis ? The following is one of the replies kindly returned to inquiries bearing on this question : " There is no doubt that the note on Juvenal ii, 92, refers to the same persons whom Eupolis calls Baptse. An old scholiast on that passage of Juvenal gives us valuable information concerning the play. 'Baptre ergo molles, quo titulo Eupolis comoediam scripsit ob quam ab Alci- biade, quern imprimis perstrinxerat necatus est.' " The latter part of this scholium appears in another shape, as edited by George Valla, in the 15th century, thus : ' Ob quam Alcibiades — necuit ipsum in mare prte- cipitando, dicans, "ut tu me in theatris madefecisti, nunc ego te in mare madefaciam." ' " A scholiast on the rhetorician or sophist Aristides (ed. TO IMBUE. 167 Dindorf 3. 444), gives the following lines from some one, which must refer to the same event : Bd-T£<; fjL iv Ou/jJXrifftVj iycb di as xuiiaai irovroo Ba^Ti^ojv oXiffu) i/d/iafft -Kixpuripotq. "Where (id-zm, j3a-T{i^(o, answer to the madefacio of the scholiast on Juvenal. And this makes it altogether likely that ^dnrac meant dippers or ivashers rather than di/ers. But the thing is uncertain, opinions differ, and I cannot give you absolute light as to the original sense of Baptse. " 1. Probably Eupolis had it for his object to satirize the secret orgies of Alci'biades and his vicious companions, by directly introducing on the stage the orgies of the Baptce, priests of Cotytto, who was then worshipped at Corinth, with which state Athens was then at war, and vv^as not yet worshipped at Athens. " 2. Bd-~7jq can mean tinctor, dyer, as well as dipper or washer. Some learned men have supposed, that, as wash- ings or lustrations were common to all rites, it is not likely that a distinctive name would be derived from this custom in this case. But they fail of explaining the other signifi- cation from dyeing, and have nothing but hypothesis to build on. " 3. I have called the Baptse priests of Cotytto; probably it would be safer to call them worshippers, 'sacricolae.' " Another, and wholly independent response, is as follows : "1. I remark that the Bapice of Eupolis is not extant; that a few lines, only, have been preserved, and that the fragments of ^upolis are to be found in Meineke's Frag- ments of the Greek Comedians. " 2. The iSdTrrat wcre effeminates who in many respects imitated w^omen. They were accustomed to paint, or stain their faces and eyelids. It is sufiiciently well known that the play of Eupolis, called 'Oi Bd-Tai, was written to expose and censure the licentiousness of such characters. " 3. The verb j^dTzru) is used freely in the sense of to dye, to stain, or to paint — so the Latin tingo. The application 168 CLASSIC BAPTISM. of the derivative noun in tlie play of Eupolis is to the effem- inate practice above mentioned. " 4. Considering the character of Cotytto, there can be little doubt that such is also the meaning of the word as applied to her priests — her priests were [id-rai. " 5. The annotator on Juvenal is correct when he gives ^dTzru) as equivalent in this respect to iingo. And iingo is quite correctly used in respect to both bathing and stain- ing with color, and, like ^dr.zco^ sometimes to paint." " In the note the Latin is modern, but the use of the word is classical. But the first part of the note concerns a different thing from the latter part, and they are not to be confounded. For the former of the two statements the authority quoted is Politian, an eminent scholar of the fif- teenth century. In this note the two things mentioned are brought together, most likely, from the fact that Juvenal satirieall}^ presents the Baptse as worshippers of Cotytto, with poetic if not with historical truth." Professor Ewing [Essay on Baptism, Glasgow) makes the following remark: "The fellows called ^d-ratin Juvenal ii, 92, were not so called because they had been immersed in a dyer's vat (although they would have been well served had they been so treated), but because they were 'painted, from (idnrw to paint, that is to lay on colors." Robinson, Greek Arch., p. 317. '^Ko-orrj^, Cotytto, her priests were called (id-rm, from pdr^rttv, to paint." It will be perceived that these eminent scholars, on the question, " To which branch of /3cf-rw, to clip or to dye, should [idr.rai be traced?" are inclined to take different views; the one leaning to dip, the other to dye; yet neither of them disposed to insist upon the modal act of dipping, or the technical process of dyeing. It is certain that the word might be traced to that side of ^d-roj which exhibits the use of an uncolored fluid, and in its use exhibit only a lustral washing, which might be administered as properly by sprinkling " warm water" as by TO IMBUE. 169 dipping into cold water ; or it might be traced to that side where we find a colored fluid, while the facts showed, 1, a bapting, a dyeing without any dipping, the modal act hav- ing passed into pressing, bruising, sprinkling, and thus entirely disappearing; or, 2, a bapting, a (\.yQmg, loithout any color, but simply the communication of a quality or trait of character. If the statement of " dyeing without coloring" seems, on its face, to be paradoxical, yet, it is no more so than the earlier change — "dijDping by sprinkling." And, on con- sideration, it will be adjudged to, be as philosophical as it is paradoxical. To cbje is to communicate a quality, the specific quality of color ; but there are qualities, devoid of color, which are communicable, and which from their nature are associated with color, spots, stains, the communication of which qual- ities, by the most facile extension of the word, might be represented by dye. Dr. Gale says, " Stains on linen, or anything white, take from its beauty and clearness; so ill reports, &c. , lessen and impair the purity of a man's repu- tation, and are to it what stains are to clean linen." Again, there are qualities without color, such as Justice, Integ- rity, Honesty, which by their pureness are not conceived of by any color, but by the absence of all color, absolute whiteness, which yet may, under the demands of language necessitating the extension of the meaning of words, be spoken of by the term dye; quality is communicated, but not of color. And the facts of usage, which have been already considered, show that ^dr.ru) was applied to the imaginary staining of Csesarism and to the unspotted pureness of an absolute integrity. Under this usage the Baptoe of Cotytto would be her priests who imbue with Cotyttoism, or her disciples imbued by Cotyttoism. The result of a general consideration of the elements entering into a determination of the meaning of the word ^dnrai^ would present several words as worthy of thought- ful consideration, among which appear — the dipped, the washed, the dyed, the imbued. 170 CLASSIC BAPTISM. The dipped. — Dr. Conant adopts this translation, 3'ot not without intimating that he was not entirely satisfied with it. I am not aware of any special reason which can he oflered in its support. If these persons dipped their bodies into water, or were dipped by one another, were they the only persons who did so ? Is there any reason- able foundation for grounding a distinguishing title, sepa- rating them from all others, on such practice? But, again, if the practice of dipping the person, more or less, into water gave origin amojig the Greeks to the title i3d--at, who shall, against the Greeks, set up the title (ia-TLdrat as designating a similar class of people? Unquestionably, the proper word to use in such case is that of Bapicrs, and not Baptists; and thus, again, we are brought, face to face, with the error of our Baptist friends in attempting to con- vert a bapting into a baptizing, a dipping into an immersion. If Dr. Conant is right in translating /Sa-rat dippers, then Baptists are wrong in their name as denoting their mode of performing the Christian rite, and in attempting to substitute a bapiing (Egyptian or Cecropian in form) for our most holy baptism. The WASHED. — The opinion that a ivashing, in some form, is designated by this word seems to have met with considerable favor. The annotator on Juvenal says that it is from ftdizTef^, to ivash, and that those who were initiated into these m^'s- teries were washed {iingebaniur) with warm water. Valla expresses the idea using madcfacio, to make wet. The Scholiast, who quotes Alcibiades, may be adduced as favoring a dipping, or wetting, or washing, according to our views derived from other quarters. It is obvious, however, that the opposition between jSd-zsq and fianzi'^wv makes the latter the stronger word. The difference is such as between dipping and mersing, drowning. It does not follow, however, that the verb in the epi- gram is used in the same sense as the derivative noun in THE DYED. 171 the comedy; it may be a congruity purely verbal and not of sense which is designed. The meaning, "washings, lustrations," has been ob- jected to on the ground that these were common things, and could not be supposed to give rise to a distinctive name for any class of persons. The force of this objection is tacitly admitted by the author of the first communication; bat his reply is — no adequate, positive vindication of any meaning based on dyeing has been presented. If this should be done, the force of the objection will have full operation. The dyed. — This meaning, while having no less claim than those preceding, on general grounds, can present a stronger special plea than either. The evidence that these persons did dye is more complete than that they did either dip or loash. Dyeing was a well-known characteristic of this class of persons, and Juvenal expressly states this as one of their practices. There is no difliculty, therefore, either from the word used, or from the facts of the case, in this particular, in employing "the dyed" as the trans- lation of 6i ^dr.rat. But there are two difficulties, notwith- standing, which confront us. 1. All "dyed" persons did not belong to the class spoken of, and therefore this mean- ing lies under the same disability as these preceding. Dyeing was a very common practice, as well as " dipping," and "washing," and, therefore, could not be employed to denote a limited class among those to whom the character- istic was common, 2. While dyeing is spoken of as one feature marking these people, it is only spoken of as one among many others, and those others immensely more important as elements of character. It is impossible, therefore, that " the dyed ones" could exhaust the import of Jt ^dr.rar, and whatever fitness it might have in its bearing upon a single particular, and that of the least possible importance, it cannot meet the case except as regarded as a finger-board pointing on toward that which it is unable of itself, directly, to ex- 172 CLASSIC BAPTISM. press. But in that case it cannot retain its original limita- tion of meaning, but must attract to itself, by its association, a newness and a fulness of meaning not before possessed. In other words, the suggestion of color is lost, merged in other, more momentous, elements of character. The imbued. — The vital element to be regarded in the interpretation of this word is found in the fact that it designates a limited class of profoundly marked character. Neither "the dipped," nor "the washed," nor "the dyed," in their own proper meaning meets such a case. Un- doubtedly either of these expressions might be modified and extended by appropriation; but in the case before us the one most likely to be selected for such service is the last. It is quite possible that these Baptae introduced some peculiarity in the process or extent of the dyeing. Juvenal may refer to this where, after describing the dyed eyebrow^ he adds, '^pingitque iremmfes attolleus oculos." The painting of the eyelids, or the eyelashes, may have been introduced by these persons, and thus made their class emphatically " the dyed or painted ones." But if such were the origin, and primary force of this term, it certainly did not con- tinue to have such narrowness of import. Juvenal, cer- tainly, did not so use the term. Eupolis, almost as certainly, did not. Now, embody the idea in wdiat one term we may, the fact is certain that " the Baptae" were those, priests or disciples, or both, who were imbued with the spirit of Cotytto, "the Goddess of Immodesty." Whatever Baptse may have originally expressed, or what- ever may have been the immediate exciting cause to give this word such direction, it was appropriated to designate a class of persons singularly debased and debauched ; ef- feminate, voluptuous, and licentious — priests and people of a dancing courtesan, deified. In view of a fact like this, it becomes a matter of very secondary interest to know from which stem of /Jarrw this derivative proceeds, for in either case, as dipped or dyed^ it THE IMBUED. 173 must accept the meaning wliicli results from appropria- tion. Whatever may have been the original meaning of the term " Methodist," or whatever may have been the original ground of its application, such original meaning and ground of application very speedily disappeared from the appropriated title, "the Methodists." The same is true of the term Quaker as ai^plied to "the Quakers," Can. there be any doubt that " 6i l^dnrac" is to be explained in. the same way, and that the Baptge designated neither "the dipped" into water, nor " the dyed" with blackened brows, but those who were dipped deeply into, dyed in, imbued with, Cotytto-ism? In a word, this derivative expresses not quality of color, but has passed on to express quality of character. This investigation as to the meaning of ^dizru) appears to justify the following conclusions: 1. The severe limitation of this word to the two mean- ings to dip, to dye, is no better grounded than the limitation to a single meaning, to dip. 2. The natural and prevailing syntax used with ftdTzrcu to dip is to place the element, into which the dipping takes place, in the accusative with ^:?; while f^d-rw to dye, as nat- urally and prevailingly, requires the element, by which the coloring influence is to be exerted, to be put in the dative, usually, without a preposition. 3. BdTZTU), after having exercised its powers in communi- cating the quality of color through dyeing, staining, paint- ing, passes on a step farther, and expresses the communi- cation of qualities which are devoid of color. And in this extreme development yS^Trrco makes its nearest approach to assimilation with /Jarrrc'Cw. 174 CLASSIC BAPTISM. TINGO. ITS MEANING AND USAGE. The meaning of tingo is so well understood and so uni- versally accepted, that the passages about to be adduced are not cited, so much, to show what is the meaning of that word as to reflect light upon the more controverted Greek word. ^ If in any language we meet with a word whose usage in a particular sense is .questioned ; and we find the corre- sponding word in another language clearl}' used in such sense; the usage, before doubtful, becomes greatly con- firmed, if not established. The usage of pdnrw and tingo is as nearly identical, under every phase, as the usage of two words, in ditFerent languages, could well be. They mutu- ally illuminate each other. A few passages will abun- dantly illustrate this statement. PKIMAET. TO DIP. Spongia in aceto tincta Celsus. Sponges dipped in vinegar. Tingunt faces in amne. Ovid. They dip the torches in the river. Primumqne pedis vestigia tinxi. .... Ovid. And first 1 dip the soles of my feet. Protiniis eductam navalibus ajquore tingi, . . . Ovid. Aptarique snis pinuni jubet armamentis. And orders the vessel to be dipped in the sea. Arctos metuentes aequore tingi Virgil. The Bears fearing to be dipped in the sea. Ncc tingnerct celeres plantas aequore. . . . Virgil. JSfor would she dip her swift feet in the sea. These passages are too clearly self-interpretative to need any comment. TO WET. 175 " The Pine," or vessel, of which Ovid speaks as being " dipped in the sea" when launched, and which, then, rises again to its natural position on the water, shows that an object may be dipped, without being covered, when no part is specified. It illustrates, also, the limitation of the use of tlngo, as applied to ships, compared with mergo. Tingo applies to the momentary descent of a vessel into the water, beyond what is usual, in the launching, but is never used to express a permanent, indefinite, or sunken condition of a vessel. The same distinction obtaining as to the usage of these words, in this respect, as in the case of ^dTzrcj and /Sarrt'Cw. The act expressed by tingo is one which, evidently, car- ries its object only temporarily and superficially within a fluid. The dipping, by launching, spoken of by Ovid, is illustrated by the following quotation : " On Saturday morning the Dunderberg \vas launched. The launch was in all respects successful. The vessel went into the water beautifully. She dipped some toater, but immediately rose to her place and sailed handsomely to the middle of the chan- nel." Could you say she immersed some water? TO WET. Tingere pascua rore Calpurnius. To wet the pastures with dew. Et mere tinguet pavimentum. .... Hora'ce. And wet the pavement with wine. Neque enim celestia tingi era decet lachrymis. . Ovid. Nor is it becoming that celestial faces be wet with tears. Necdum fluctus latera ardua tinxit. . . . Virgil. Nor yet has the wave wet his lofty sides. In these, and like passages, to dip and to dye are impos- sible meanings. We are shut up to the translation to loet. The instrumental case, without a preposition, is used as is the dative with liamm in its secondary meaning. 176 CLASSIC BAPTISM. TO WASn. Nuda superfusis tingamas corpora lymphis. . . Ovid. Let us wash our naked bodies ivith ivater poured over them. Lydia Pactoli tinguit arata liqiior. . . . Propertius. The river Pactolus washes the Lydian fields. Quia aqua calida tingebantur. . . . Juvenal (note). Because they were washed with warm water. TO MOISTEN, TO ANOINT. Tingere membra Pallade pingui Ovid. To moisten the limbs with rich oil. Ssepe oculos memini tingebam parvus olivo. . . Perseus. I often moistened my eyes with oil. In such passages, the nature o\ the case and grammatical construction unite to declare that the element is used as an agency; and to exclude the meanings, both, of dip and dye. Yet, in the iirst passage, if we liad not, by exprese state- ment, the word by which the water was applied to the body, we should be doomed to hear the exhaustless argu- ment — " tingo, ^dr.Tuj, fiar.ri'^io, mean to dip; naked bodies are suitable objects for dipping; water is the very element for the purpose; and there is a plenty of it — therefore, this was a case of dipping.'' The passage from Ovid is utterly de- structive to such reasoning. The dipping was by pouring! Where the word expressive of the act is not stated it can- not be found in lingo, or, in such cases, in any other cor- responding word. Whether Gale would say of this passage — "dipped as it were by pouring over;" or Carson — " it means in this pas- sage to dip just as much as any other, one mode of action being put, by catachrcsis, for another mode of action;" or Fuller — it means dip, being an " extravagant and impas- sioned" utterance for ^Ulrench,'' — I do not know; but 1 do know, that in like cases a sound discretion is, as absolutely, abandoned. TO DYE. 177 SECONDARY. TO DYE. Yestes Gsetulo murice tin etas Horace. Garments dyed loith Ga^fuUan purple. Siipercilium madida fuliginc tinctum. . . . Juvenal. The eyebrow dyed with moist soot. Phocaico bibulas tingebat murice lanas. . . . Ovid. Dyed the absorbing loool with Phocean purple. Tanta est decoris affeetatiout tingantur oculi qiioque. Pliny. Such is the longing for beauty, that the eyes, also, are dyed. Tinguntur sole populi. Pliny. The people are dyed by the sun. Tlie remark of Pliny, that the dyeing " the eyes'* was something unusual, and regarded as a mark of extrava- gance, in connection with the statement of Juvenal that the Baptse not merely dyed their brows but "painted their eyes," shows that there is some foundation for supposing that their name originated, not in their practice of dyeing and painting as commonly practised; but in some pecu- liarity or extravagance; and, then, embraced a class distin- guished for all extravagance and immoral excesses. The allusion to the "dyeing" of the body by the rays of the sun, is parallel with that by Achilles Tatius in speak- ing of the East Indians : " /iV; Tfjpel. to au>im rob r.opoq ri-jV [iacprf^ — the body takes the color of fire.''' The phraseology attaches no limit to the mode of dye- ing. In no case is the object dyed represented as put into the dyeing material. To dip the people in the sun would be an embarrassing undertaking. The sun's rays dye by falling on the body. Tingo does not mean to fall. Such word must be understood. So in every case where a con- dition or result is expressed, such expression exhausts the word making it; and it cannot, also, express tlie act by which the condition or result is eftected. This is true of tingo, to dye, ^d-rco, to dye, and of ^aKxi^uj through all its usage. 12 178 CLASSIC BAPTISM. TO PAINT. Tingit cutem Marinus, et tamen pallet. . . . Martial. Marinus paints his skin, and yet is pale. TO STAIN. Yictima, pontificum seciirim, ccrvice tingiiit. . . Horace. The victim stains the axe of the priests with its neck. Et viridcs aspergine tinxerat Lerbas. . . . Ovid. And stained the green grass by the sprinkling of the blood. Musto tingue novo mccuni dereptis crura. . . Virgil. Stain with me the bared legs by the new wine. IsTone of these cases can, properly, be considered as cases of dyeing. They are, also, far removed from the form of dipping. The blow of an axe, the dropping of blood from a wound, the trampling of grapes, which, severally, meets the demands of tivgo^ show that this word, like /J^tttw, has ceased to make demand for modal action. Even " sprinkling" can meet the requirements of this modified dipping. Conant translates " i-eOu/iet r^y ds^idv -w XmpLw ^OKziaai r. Will one answer for iSanH^u)? The Latins, like the Greeks, used but one word in all those passages, where we employ in translating, ten times as many. RESULTS. 195 Tljey said: '•'' Dip the pastures with dew;" ^'■Dip the pavement with wine;" '•^ Dip the face with tears;" '■'■Dip the body by water poured over it;" "■Dip the limbs and eyes with oil;" "The sacrificial victim dips the axe with its neck;" '■^Dipped the grass by sprinkling;" ^^ Dip you with my bowls;" '■^ Dipprjl the river by a quality commu- nicated to it;" '■'■Dipped the fountain" by similar means; ^^ Dipped the sea by his blood;" ^^ Dipped the body by sprinkled water." These are remarkable phrases, and will repay close study. "We shall have need of some of them hereafter. Dip, in English, shows how sentiment and syntax must be our guide when a word is used out of its ordinary sense. "Dew dips me all over;" "Dip into Aristotle;" "Dip- ped in those doings;" "Dip thy lands." These are phrases which, at once, say, "Look out for some other than the ordinary meaning." If we meet with precisely similar phrases in connection with. jSannXio, who Can chide us for rejecting the iron clamp — " one meaning through all Greek literature?" PART III. IMMERSE. ITS MEANING AND USAGE. "We now proceed to examine the meaning of "immerse," as determined by general usage. This word is used, at will, by Baptist writers, as the eq.uivalent of dip. They do not, indeed, employ these words, indiiFerently, in all eases; this they could not do; but where they must, they do dis- criminate, without any acknowledgment of the necessity; and where they may, without too open incongruity, there they confound and interchange. Whether " immerse " be coincident in meaning with /SctTTTw, tingo, and dip, or whether it be separated from them by a line, clear, deep, and radical, the sovereign law of usage must determine. To tliat we appeal, and by its decree will we loyally abide. MEANING. To IMMEKSE — 'primarily, — To cause to be in a state of intusposition (enveloped on all sides by, ordinarily, a fluid element), without any limitation as to the depth of posi- tion, time of continuance, force in execution, or mode of accomj)lishment. All of these points are the contradictories of those which have been shown to belong to dip. They arc no less alien from the meanings shown to be- long to the Latin iingo, and to the Greek ^di:roj. The usage of these words is too clear, too bold, too abounding, to allow of any doubt. (1%) INTDSPOSITION. 1^7 PRIMARY. INTUSPOSITION. " The globe was in a state of immersion a much longer time than forty days." " The next objection, that there is not enough of water on the earth to submerge it to the depth necessary to cover the tops of the highest mountains." " The waters on the earth and under the earth could be so expanded by the rarefaction of the atmosphere, as to submerge the earth." These three passages all relate to the universal deluge. They speak: 1. Of the condition of the object immersed; it was ^' a state of immersion." 2. Of the time of con- tinuance ; " a much longer time than forty days.^^ 3. Of "the depth" of the immersed object below the surface^ the highest point being " fifteen cubits" beneath the roll- ing billows. 4. Of the mode in which it "could" be accomplished; " the waters could be expanded so as to submerge the earth." 5. Of the object immersed; "the globe." Now, I would ask: 1. Was it ever said of an object dipped that it was in "a state" oi dipping? 2. Was the continuance of a dijyping ever known to last "much longer than forty days?" 3. Was a dipping ever known to put its object from fifteen cubits to half as many miles below the surface? 4. Was a dipping ever known to be effected by "the expansion" of the fluid until it surmounted its ob- ject? 6. Does dip number in the catalogue of objects which it takes up and places momentarily beneath the surface, such objects as this great "globe" which we in- habit? The English language will be searched in vain for any such phraseology. The nature of the case does not admit of it. Dip does not put its object into "a state;" but merely carries it into, and out of, a fluid element without allowing it to gain any status in it. How vital this dis- 198 CLASSIC BAPTISM. tinguishing difference is, in itself, is obvious; tliat tlie consequences, flowing from sucli diverse starting-points, must forever continue diverse, is no less obvious. Booth thinks that "Baptist sentiment and practice is made ridiculous '' by the use of "plunge;" would the finger of ridicule be pointed any the less sharply, if Booth and his friends would test their principles by emplopng dip to express such cases of "immersion" as that before us? "A solid when immersed in a liquid becomes lighter by the weight of the fluid displaced." "Representing a globe half immersed in water." These statements necessitate a continuance of the state of intusposition. It is only as an object continues in a state of mersion that it becomes lighter. It is impossible to substitute dip for "immerse." The sentiment is, thereby, made untrue or impracticable. It is untrue that a dipped object is any the lighter for having been dipped; and it is impracticable to weigh an object which is, in transitu^ gouig through the process of a dipping. " Not rest until he found the persons who caused his immersion in the dungeon." " "We descended to the house, whence we emerged, on foot, upon the beautiful grounds." " The party emerged from the vehicle that I had driven up." Can you speak of a man shut up in a dungeon as being dipped into it ? Can you speak of a company shut up in a house as being in a state of dipping? or, when coming forth from it, as dipping out of it? Can you say of a party inclosed in a carriage that they are in a state of dipping? or, when they alight, that they dip out of it? I do not ask, whether such phraseology is unusual; but INTUSPOSITION. • 199 I ask, whether it is not absurdly impossible in the nature of the terms? But it is most intelligible, most legitimate, and most nakedly true, that a man who is inclosed within the walls of a deep, dark " dungeon " is in a state of mersion. And it is no less true, that a company shut up in a house, or carriage, are also in a state of mersion; from which they " e-merge" in passing into the open air. "Where is the ground for equivalence between dip and immerse ? " Columbus is submerged, and the inhabitants are mov- ing about in boats." " The Great Eastern is submerged in steam blowing off from no less than twelve escape pipes." Was the town of Columbus, or the Great Eastern, dip- ped ? "Would it be possible to say that they were, and to talk English ? " After sixty years' immersion the gold looks as fresh as if it had been taken out of the bank." " Eeport in regard to the submerging of the Atlantic cable." " Some authors of great name have maintained that this part of the globe had but lately emerged from the sea." Is it customary to speak of a ship and her freight of gold being dipped in the ocean for the space of " sixty years ?'» Is dip in English, any more than tingo in Latin, or ^d-Tuj in Greek, ever applied to the loss of a vessel at sea? Of the thousand times ten thousand speaking the Eng- lish language, and who have spoken of the la3'ing of the Atlantic cable, has there been one man, woman, or child, educated or uneducated, in Great Britain or America, who has ever spoken about ^^ dipping" the Atlantic cable to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean? If a "part of the Earth" has remained since the morn- ing of creation, until " lately," covered by the sea, can it 200 CLASSIC BAPTISM. be said to have been "dipped" all that time? "Immersed" it may have been for five thousand years, or five times five thousand, in the depths of the sea; but no one will say that it could, thus, have been dipped, except he should wish to make "the sentiment" (or himself) "ridiculous." "The lamp extinguished, he was immersed in total darkness." " Entreaties for aid, being drowned partly in the con- cave of the steel cap in which his head was immersed, and partly by the martial tune." Does the extinguishing of the flame of a lamp, and con- sequent envelopment in darkness, expound the modal act of dipping ? It does expound mcrsion. Is the placing "a steel cap" on the head an exemplifi- cation of the modus requisite to dip the head? Thus the head is "immersed." When a candle blown out can dip a body (without mov- ing it a hair's-breadth) in darkness; and when moving a " cap " to invest the head, can be said to dip the unmoved head in the cap; then, we may be ready to hear what can be said about the equivalence of dip and "immerse." " Rolling over the edge of the moat was immersed in the mud and marsh." " A box on the ear overthrew the falconer into the cis- tern ; his wrath was noways appeased by the cold immer- sion." " Disgorging the sea-water which he had swallowed during his immersion." A man leaping over the wall of a town, and rolling into the mud and marsh of the moat, docs not present a good picture of a dipping; either as to the mode or the quantum of force. A knock-down blow, tumbling a man into a cistern of INTUSPOSITION. 201 water, is as little orthodox in these particulars. To effect an immersion they will answer quite well; but another fashion and a gentler mode would be r^^uired by most who sought a dipping. I call attention to the fact that these cases of mersion lasted but a short time. There is nothing in the nature of a mersion which requires that it should be protracted; but when it is most brief in its continuance, it is still, essentially, distinguished from a dipping. It is so in man- ner and intention. In both these respects the above cases differ from a dipping. A man who falls into the mud cannot be said to dip himself into it; nor can a man who receives a blow on the ear and falls into the water be said to be dipped into it by the striker. It is especially to be noted, that in neither of the above cases does the immerser take out the object immersed. There was no limitation of the mersion on the part of the merser. Any of these parties might have continued to be mersed to the present hour, except they had, otherwise, recovered themselves from their mersed condition. It is not so in a dipping. The dipper always intends to put the object dipped only momentarily into the element; and does recover it, himself, out of it. Unless this is done it is not a case of dipping. The mere brevity of the mersion is no rational ground for confounding the act of dipping and the state of mersion. A man who falls overboard or is knocked overboard, as in one of the above cases, and is speedily recovered from the sea, may be said to have been immersed; he cannot be said to have been dipped. A bucket which is let down from the same vessel, into the sea, for the purpose of pro- curing water, is properly said to be dipped into the sea. The time of continuance in the sea by the man and the bucket may be the same; and yet, by reason of the differ- ences indicated, the only legitimate designation of the one is by immersion, and of the other by dipping. It is, however, by the occurrence of these occasional 202 CLASSIC BAPTISM. cases of brief immersion, tliat tlie semblance, and only the semblance, of justification, for tlie confounding of two terms whose broad usage is so diverse, can exist. Aad why wish to establish such confusion ? "Why not be content to call " a spade a spade," and a dipping a dip- ping? The natural and unavoidable answer is: There is a necessity for confounding dip and immerse, because of the error which confounds /Sarrrw and fta-ri%u). Dipping lias been introduced into the Christian ordinance under the plea (honestly meant no doubt), that " the word of inspiration demanded it;" but, on examination, the Greek loord for dipping is not to be found anywhere in the inspired record! Then the position is assumed, that " the word that is there means the same thing." It is shown, however, not to mean the same thing; but to have a usage perfectly antipodal. Then there is an attempt to mix, " through-other,^^ this dip and immerse; and by discarding dip from the designation of the mode of administration, and by the use of immerse, to make some claim to the usage of fianrO^w, from which usage dip is wholly excluded. We cannot allow this mixing up of iron and clay. The magic stone of truth smites it, and it crumbles into its discordant elements. If the performance of a dipping be insisted upon, we insist on its being called just what it is — a dipping — and not an immersion, just what it is not. INTUSPOSITION WITH INFLUENCE. The cases of mersion, now stated, are not such as are accompanied with any marked influence on the object mersed. They were designed to show the radical idea of intusposition without limitation of depth, mode, force, or time. It is obvious, that any object so situated must be exposed to the fullest influence of the encompassing medium. The result of such influence will depend on the nature of the object exposed to it. A rock, and a bag of salt, a human being and a fish, will be very differently aflfected by encompassing waters. \, INTUSPOSITION FOR THE SAKE OF INFLUENCE. 203 One or two passages will suffice to present this aspect of the case. " His horse .... Eushed to the cliff, and, having reached it, stood. At once the shock unseated him : he flew Sheer o'er the crag2;y barrier: and immersed Deep in the flood, found, when he sought it not, The death he had deserved, and died alone." "At length, when all had long supposed him dead, By cold submersion, razor, rope, or lead." "But among other nations 'submersion' (which is the French for ' drowning'), leads oj5 as the most fatal of accidents." "What would be thought of the man who would intro- duce dipping into these passages as an equivalent? Neither dip, tingo, nor /Sarrrtt* drowns any one. Mersion does, and does by necessity of its nature, unless deliverance comes from some ab extra influence. " The clouds .... More ardent as the disk emerges more." The influence upon the sun of an immersion within the clouds is to quench the eflulgence of his rays. " The river flows redundant ; Then rolling back, in his capacious lap Ingulfs their whole militia, quick immersed." The mersion is destructive. The mode is by the water coming over its object. A movement by which a dipping cannot be efiected. " Ingulf" is the equivalent of " im- merse." Is it ever the equivalent of dip f INTUSPOSITION FOR THE SAKE OF INFLUENCE. This is a development quite in advance of the other, while it furnishes a stepping-stone for still farther progress. 204 CLASSIC BAPTISM. " Then on the warm and genial earth, that hides The smoking manure, and o'erspreads it all, He places lightly, and, as time subdues The rage of fermentation, plunges deep In the soft medium, till they stand immersed.^'' So Cowper describes the formation of a hotbed, and the mersion of seeds within it, for the purpose of bringing them within its full influence. In this instance the in- fluence is not destructive, but vitalizing. The passage, also, aiibrds opportunity to see the dis- criminating difference between dip and "plunge." Plunge does not bring its object out of the element into which it carries it. Dip does. These words are never truly equiv- alent. Immerse agrees with "plunge," in not bringing out the object which it has caused to be introduced; but it differs from it, va. that the latter term is limited as to the form of its action, and the nature of its force, and belongs to those words which are immediately expressive of action; and not of state or condition. This is clearly exhibited in the above passage, where plunge expresses the act by which the condition denoted by "immersed" is secured. And as here, so everywhere there is some satellitic word of action attendant on im- merse (expressed or understood), to perform its behests. "Whelm'd under our dark gulfs those arms shall lie, That blaze so dreadful in each Trojan eye; And deep beneath a sandy mountain hurl'd, Immersed remain this terror of the world. These his cold rites, and this his watery tomb." By such mersion it was sought to destroy Achilles. The element, again, moves to invest its object, in contra- diction of Dr. Carson's inconsiderately maintained posi- tion, that immerse must always dip. The act causative of the state of mersion is, here, " hurl'd," as before it was " plunge," and, yet previously was, " roll back," showing how absolutely free is immerse from all form of act. Wliatever can effect a condition of mersion, immerse does not express but accepts as servitor. IMMERSED IN FURS, 205 "IMMERSED m FURS." The influence sought to be secured bj this mersion "was such warmth as miglit be, thus, attained in the Polar regions. So says Dr. Kane. He, probably, had good reason for his preference of a mersion in furs, over a dip. The cases of mersion^ thus far considered, have been all primary and physical. They have all been marked by influence in some aspect. 1. Capability for influence, rather than its actual exer- cise. 2. Controlling influence exercised, but without de- sign in securing it. 3. Mersion sought for the sake of its controlling influence. This influence we have seen to be most varied in character, but always controlling in power. We have, also, seen that the state of physical mersion is induced in ways and by forces most various. And, farther, that the element may come to the object, as well as the object be brought to the element. We have, also, seen that the mersing substance may be "furs," "clouds," "soft earth," "steel cap," "house," "carriage," " dungeon walls," &c., &c., as well as water. Now, all these diversities uniting together in the unity of controlling influence, will prepare us, in passing from the consideration of physical mersions, to those which are not physical, to see a great variety of development as to forces and forms of agencies, while there will, everywhere, be present a resultant controlling influence. This is the grand resultant product of physical mersions. To secure this result as the end (and not the mersion), mersion has been sought. Where no mersion can be secured, in the nature of the case, but where it is desired to express the controlling influence of any person or thing; it will be natural to employ such form of phraseology as is expressive of a mersion, although no mersion is designed, even in imagina- tion, or, it may be, is conceivable, though we should tax our imagination to the u^ttermost. We will see that this, in fact, has been done. 206 CLASSIC BAPTISM. INTUSPOSITION, VERBAL, EXPRESSING INFLUENCE. Forms of expression whicli are designed to express con- trolling influence; and which take their form from physical mersion as the source of such influence; may bo regarded, sometimes, as properly figurative; but, most commonly, as a direct expression of the thought without any design to present it indirectly through a picture of a physical trans- action. The following passages may be regarded as designed picturings : " The world was fast sinking into a sea of drunkenness; and the only wonder is that it was not entirely submerged under the flood." " The tide of Southern bank suspension, in its sweep northward, submerged Philadelphia, but was stopped at New York." But the following everyday phrases are not to be inter- preted as formal figure ; but as organic forms springing from a physical parentage whose lineaments they clearly reveal in their structure. The grosser elements of their original, however, they do not retain; but only an unsubstantial form, embodying, still, the vital spirit of controlhng in- fluence. These phrases, therefore, are to be regarded as organic unities, having a common life, and not as disjunct words. " We are at last immersed in the horrors of civil war." " Kings in the plenitude of power, if immersed in ignor- ance and prejudice, are less free than sages in a dungeon and bound with material chains." " No longer immersed in the ignorance of heathenish idolatry." " The Irish were a lettered people, while the Saxons were still immersed in ignorance." " Some of the places were so completely immersed in Popish darkness as not to present the best points for mis- sionary efibrt." INTUSPOSITION, VERBAL, EXPRESSING INFLUENCE. 207 "Finding no foundation for a rational liberty on the emersion of the country from the corruption and tyranny of centuries, strove to save it by terrorism." " Some time before commenced the pecuniary embar- rassments of Sir Walter Scott, and his convulsive struggles to emerge from them." "Instead of becoming immersed in secularity." " Of Calvary — that bids us leave a world Immersed in darkness and in death, and seek A better country." In all these passages, "immersed" is combined with "ignorance, prejudice, tyranny, corruption, secularity, Po- pish darkness," &c., for the simple and single purpose of developing, in the completest manner, that influence which is appropriate to its adjunct. "In" is merely the formal vinculum necessary to the case; and is not to be pressed upon as though it made demand for a picture to be wrought out by the imagination. " Immersed in — ignorance," di- rectly and prosaically declares that those S2:)oken of are under the controlling influence of ignorance. Or, we must say, that " under," in this expression, demands figure, and pictures some poor wretch as crushed beneath some huge weight. Where, then, shall we find any direct channel for the utterance of our thoughts? It is not the case, however, that " immerse," used with an unphysical adjunct, does necessarily express influence exerted over its object. We have seen that immersed objects are variousl}'- affected according to their nature; and that some (as a rock), when immersed, are affected only as occupying a position within the encompassing element. This affords the basis for the use, under appro- priate circumstances, of immerse as simply indicating the fact of encompassing sources of influence, without their power being felt. This usage is exemplified in the following passage: " The missionary lives immersed in the sins of heathen- ism that he may raise them from death to a life of right- eousness." 208 CLASSIC BAPTISM. The missionary may, like Lot in Sodom, be "vexed with the filthy conversation" of the depraved around him; but, as the rock repels the encompassing billows, so he, while "immersed in the sins of heathenism," does, by divine grace, remain nncontaminated by their corrupting power. "Immersed in sins" would, ordinarily, imply being under their full, morally corrupting influence; but appHed to the preacher of the gospel encompassed by the immo- ralities of heathenism, it has no such meaning. The fact of intusposition, only, is indicated. INFLUENCE WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. " Immerse " does not always bring into view intusposi- tion, either in the limited measure, or as expressive of the ideas now considered. The physical form ceases to be even a transparent shadow through which influence is made visible. Both the form of the shadow, and the nature of the influence, disappear together. It is quite common to use "immerse" in phraseological combinations in which it expresses the most thorough engagedness ; the most strenuous mental effort. If an ex- planation of the ground of this usage were asked, there ini2:ht not be common consent shown in the reply; but this would only indicate how far, and how completely, the usage has been removed from the physical fact. The image has been worn ofi' from the coin by long and varied handling. Perhaps the passage, already quoted, respecting Sir Wal- ter Scott's pecuniary embarrassment, may guide to the true solution. He being " immersed in pecuniary embarrass- ment," made "convulsive struggles" to extricate himself from it, and succeeded. Any man physically immersed must use all eftbrt to save himself or perish. " Immerse" may thus come to be intimately associated with the effort necessar}^ to escape from such position ; and, then, with mental eftbrt without such appendages. The use of " im- INFLUENCE WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. 209 mersion," without any immersion, by Sir Walter Scott him- self, may be here, appropriately, introduced : " The boat received the shower of brine which the ani- mal spouted aloft, and the adventurous Triptolemus had a full share of the immersion." Here is an " immersion by sprinkling" from the showery brine. So v/e have seen a bapting by sprinkling among the Greeks, a Unction by sprinkling among the Latins, and a dipping by sprinkling in Milton's Comus. Do the framers of this phraseology (intending by it to construct a crown of supremest ridicule for their opponents), feel alarmed ? " Stones thrown up into the air may come down on our own pate." It is beyond all controversy, that one of the best writers of the English language does use the word "immersion" where no immersion, in fact, took place ; but only a thor- ough wetting by means of a profuse sprinkling. This is the incontrovertible fact. Did " the Wizard of the ISTorth" write good English? Were the laws of language unknown to " the Great Unknown ?" Unless these framers of sentences will crown, with their handiwork. Sir Walter as " Lord of the Ridiculous," they must even accept of "Immersion by Sprinkling." If, now, the author of Waverley is justiiied in writing, not under the poetic afflatus, nor as " one of the most im- passioned of men" (the explanation given of a similar Greekly baptism by Dr. Euller), but in homely prose, of a thorough wetting as an " immersion;" then, we are justified in speaking of a thorough injiuence as an " immersion" where no immersion takes place; or thoroughly engaged, mentally occupied, as an " immersion," when no immersion, real or imaginary, takes place. It is this latter which it is proposed, now, to exemplify : " While Dr. Chalmers, immersed in Parliamentary re- ports as to the operation of the Poor Laws, was engaged " . . " I^ovember saw Dr. C. once more immersed in his pro- fessorial labors." 14 210 CLASSIC BAPTISM. " The Secretary of "War is immersed in business." " I find myself immersed in the matters of which I know least." " Men of business immersed in the cares of an extended traffic." " We in England are generally immersed in our own concerns." " Deeply immersed in calculations from the simple unit to millions, billions, and trillions." " As he rode on immersed in these unpleasant contem- plations." " The}' rode as men deeply immersed in their own thoughts." "Walking up and down the room immersed in thought." " The busy, bustling merchant immersed in all the cal- culation of this world's traffic." " He was a little too much immersed in worldly schemes. He attached himself so eagerly to business that he thought every hour lost." " He was so much immersed in politics that he did not care to be annoyed with it." " And immersed himself among a parcel of worm-eaten folios." " Had taken up the Prayer-Book; she seemed immersed in devotional duty." " Ha ! yes, I was so immersed in my book." " Continued immersed in the fascinating perusal." " The noonday prayer-meeting comes, happily, at that hour when we would be most likely to be immersed in the business or pleasures of the world." " The padre was on his way to church, and immersed in the study of his sermon." " I've just dipped into the works of such an author. Kow, this far from signifying that I feel my mind, as it were, immersed in the author's writings." Whatever may be supposed to be the precise physical literality on which such usage of "immerse" rests; there MEANING ESTABLISHED BY USAGE. 211 can be no doubt, but that, without suggestion of intus- positiou, it does, directly, express thorough mental engaged- ness. MEANING ESTABLISHED BY USAGE. The examination of this word has been pursued suffi- ciently far for our purpose. The conclusions reached are: 1. Immerse expresses no form of act ; but demands and secures for its object intusposition, without limitation of size in the object, force in the agency, depth in the ele- ment, or time in duration. 2. When the continuance of the intusposition is brief, it is not because of any limitation, or action on the part of immerse; but from causes foreign to it, and for which it has no responsibility. No alliance, therefore, can be established with dij) on this ground, any more than be- tween dip and sink, or ingulf, or swallow vip, &c. ; all of whose objects may, by foreign influences, be recovered within a brief space from the condition to which they have been introduced. 3. The preposition in composition — "m" — merse, — has a purely local force, and does not indicate movement of the object into — put into, dip into — as some writers have as- sumed. It is as legitimate to "immerse" by bringing the water to the object, as by bringing the object to the water, notwithstanding that Dr. Carson (whose like we are told the world will not see again for "a millenarj' of years") declares, that put into is so ingrained in the word that when it does not "put into" it still means jpu^ into. 4. It may express a thorough iveiting (without intusposi- tion), by sprinkling or otherwise. 5. It may express death by drowning. 212 CLASSIC BAPTISM, 6. It expresses thorough influence of any kind; the nature determined by the adjunct. 7. It expresses thorough mental engagedness. 8. Immerse is antipodal to dip. Baptist writings which make these terms equivalents can be of no controversial value. Baptist Bible translation which commands " im- merse," and Baptist ritual practice which substitutes dip, have neither part nor lot in each other. 9. While dip, tingo, and fid-rw are joined in the closest bonds, immerse is, by nature, widely disjoined from them all. MERGO. 213 MEPvGO. ITS MEANING AND USAGE. 1. Mergo expresses no definite form of action ; but makes the demand, in primary use, of iutusposition for its object as its essential requisite. This it secures by forms of action, and by forces of agency, in endless variety. The magnitude of its objects, and the depth of penetration to which it introduces them, are also most varied in character. The duration of the mersion effected is without limit; although, as in any other case where an object has been sunk, ingulfed, or swallowed up, the object mersed may be recovered, from its state of mersion, by other influences. 2. Capability of influence, necessarily, attaches to such state of iutusposition. This influence will vary in development according to the nature of the object mersed, and the nature of the mersing element ; which appears in Latin usage to take a somewhat wider range than in Greek or English. 3. The secondary use of this word has its development, necessarily, in the direction of a controlling influence. Physical investiture is thrown aside. As, in physical mer- sion, whatever force can secure intusposition is an equally legitimate representative of the will of mergo ; so, in the secondary use, whatever agency (no matter in what form it may develop its power) is capable of exerting a control- ling influence over its object, may claim mergo to express, not the form of action, but the measure of the influence. 4. To all these characteristics, primary or secondary, dip is, by usage, and must ever remain by necessity of nature, a perfect stranger. 214 CLASSIC BAPTISM. PRIMAKY. ILLUSTRATION BY USAGE. Primumque pedis vestigia tinxi: Poplite dcinde tenus. Neque eo contenta recingor Nudaque merger aquis Ovid. And I am mersed naked in the waters. In medias quoties visum captantia collum Brachia mersit aquas, nee se deprehendit in illis ! . Ovid. He mersed his arms into the midst of the waters. Juvat esse sub undis; Et modo tola cavS, submorgore membra pallude Nunc proferre caput Ovid. And to submerse all their limbs in the deep pool. Furit JEsacus, inque profundum Pronus abit, lethique viam sin6 fine retentat. ^quor amat : noraenquc manet, quia mcrgitur, illi, . Ovid. The name (mergus) remains to him, because he is mersed, Et mergi projecta non possunt, licet gravia sint. . Seneca. Things cast into it cannot be mersed, although heavy. Nihil mergi tur in Sicilise fonte Phintia. . . . Pliny. Nothing is mersed in Phintia, a fountain of Sicily. The first of these passages shows the distinctive use of tingo and mergo. The foot playing in and out of the water is dipiJcd; the body under the water "gliding hither and thither," is in a state of mersion. How the body became mersed, there is not a ray of light to indicate either from mergo or any other quarter. It may have been by walk- ing gradually into deeper water; it may have been by leap- ing from the bank, at once, into deep water; or it may have been partially by walking, and, then, by slowly sinking down. We know that it was not by dipping, for dipping puts nothing into a state of mersion, but takes out, promptly, what it puts in, and is, therefore, what it is — a dipping. It should be noted that the head remains unmersed, MERSING MATERIAL VARIOUS. 215 while there is no limitation in the language — "I am mersecl in the waters." In the third quotation, the frogs are wholly underwater, and we know that this is by leapinfj; hut will any one say that ^^mcrgo" means io leap? Yet it does mean "to leap" just as much as it means any other act by which mersion is effected. The last passage expounds the origin of the name "Mergus," a class of waterfowl. It arose from an attempt of -<^sacus to drown himself in the sea; when he was changed by Tethys, in commiseration, into a Ilergas. MERSING MATERIAL VARIOUS. Pandere res alta in terra et eahgine mersas. . Virgil. To reveal things mersed in the deep earth and in darkness. Ferrum mersuni in robora. . . , . Lucretius. Iron mersed in hard loood. Mersis in Sinuni manibus. .... Quintillian. Sands tnersed in the bosom. riumcn specu mergitur. ..... Pliny. The river is mersed in the cave. Mergit se limo Pliny. Merses in the mud. Mergcre manum in era ursse Martial. Merse the hand into the mouth of the hear. Mersisque in corpore rostris Ovid. Dogs' mouths mersed in the body (of Acta^on). Csecis ego mersa cavernis. ..... Ovid. Immersed in dark caverns. Membra simul pecudis. . . Mergit in £ere cavo. Ovid. Merses the limbs of the ram in the hollow brass. Mersitque sues in corticc vultus. . . . Ovid. And mersed her features in the bark. This last passage, in which Myrrha is transformed into a tree, is in perfect harmony with a state of mersion; it can scarcely be made to accord with a dipping. 216 CLASSIC BAPTISxM. The following passages, showing the covering material brought over the object, are, in like manner, inconsistent with any other meaning than that of condition. The first refers to the general deluge; the second to the eyelid being drawn over the eye. Aut racrsffi culmina villffi naviga't Ovid. Sails over the top of the niersed house. Lumina somno mergiinus Valerius Flaccus. We merse the eyes in sleep. INTUSPOSITION "WITH INFLUENCE. Corporeasqne dapes avidam dcmersit in alvum. . . Ovid. Whoever first de-mersed flesh food into his greedy belly. Sive virgam, sive frondem dcmersis, lapidem post paueos dies extrahis Seneca- A twig or leaf having been let down, you may draw it out, after a few days, a stone. DROWN. Tyberinus, qui in trajectu Albulse amnis submersus. Livy. Tyberinus, who in the passage of the river Albula was submersed. Albula, qncm Tiberini, mersus Tibcrinus in iindis. Fastorum. Albula, called Tiber, because Tiberinus was mersed in its waters. Hoc exilium est mihi instar proccllas quo agitor, non sub- mergor. Summersus fuisscm, si me interemisset. Tristium, xi, 13 (note). This exile is to me like a storm by which I am tost, not submersed. I had bceii submersed, if I had perished. Yertere MieonioB, polagoque immergere, nautas. . Ovid. Could transform the Mceonian sailors, and immerse them in the sea. Ecce super medics fluctus nigcr arcuo aquarum Frangitur : et rupta mersum caput obruit undil. . Ovid. The bursting billow rolls over his mersed head. DESTRUCTIVE TO INANIMATE OBJECTS. 217 Coeunt, et saxa trabesque Conjiciunt; mergnnt que viros mergunt qno carinas. Ovid. They hurl rocks and beams, and merse men and ships. Spargite me influctns, vastoque immergite ponto. . ^neid. Cast me into the ivaves, and immerse me in the deep sea. Sj)umosS, unda immcrserat viriim. . . . . JEneid. The envious Triton mersed in the foaming wave the man. Medioque sub £equore mersit ^neid. What God mersed you in mid ocean ? Nee mo Dcus ajquore mersit - ^neid. Nor has any God mersed me in the sea. Doctus eris, vivam musto mersare Falerno. . Hor. Satir. Merse it, living, in Falernian wine. This common use of " mergo" to denote death by drown- ing, is, of itself, conchisive evidence that it cannot mean to dip. There is no evidence that dip, in English, tingo^ in Latin, or [idTZTio, in Greek, has any such usage. DESTRUCTIVE. Mersa rate, naufragus assem dum rogat. . . Juvenal. One shipwrecked, his vessel mersed, begs a penny. Unda . . . Nee levius, quam siquis Athon Pindumvc revulsos Sede sua totos in apertum evcrterit a)quor Prsecipitata ruit: pariterque et pondere et ictu, Mergit in ima ratcm. Ovid. The ivave, not lighter than Athos or Pindus, falls headlong ; And equally by the weight and by the blow, merses the ship ti the bottom. 3Iox eadem Tcucras fuerat mcrsura carinas . . Ovid. Scylla loould have mersed the Trojan ships. Pars maxima classis mergitnr. .... Lucan. The greatest part of the fleet is mersed. Quassa, tamen nostra est, nee mersa, nee obruta navis. Tristium. Our ship is shattered, but not mersed or whelmed. 218 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Quid navio;ia sarcina depressa — quo minus mergantur. Seneca^ Nat. Quces. Wliat hinders but that vessels, depressed by their lading, may be mersed. Again we must profoundly feel, that between such usage and a dipping there can be no common sympathy. ASSIMILATION. Fkivius in Euphratem mcrgitur Pliny. The river is mersed into the Euphrates. The influence of water intusposed in water is the most complete incorporation and assimilation ; the larger body controlling and absorbing the lesser. This afi:brds the basis for a secondary use of an important character. I do not know that I can point to any exem- plification among Latin writers ; but it is quite common, in English usage, in connection, not with immerse, but with merge. This word is employed daily in the sense expressive of incorporation and assimilation, but, almost, never in re- lation with physical elements. A few passages will illustrate this statement. " It provides for merging our Presbyteries into the Synods of the General Assembly. If we are to have union, let it be union ; but if absorption, let it be so stated." " The States arc united, not merged.'' " The amendment merging the Minnesota with the Kansas bill was withdrawn." " I am not prepared to be merged with the Old School." " The banks of the Cavalla Eiver gradually rise until they merge into the Gero and Pawh mountains." " The carriage road merges into the bridle path." " This is more than all the Popes, who ever lived, merged in one, would dare propose." " Merging its members in the newly created Christian community." PURIFICATION. 219 " Her evening sun set, merged^ at length, with joy in the endless life of heaven." "The meeting will continue until 12 o'clock, and will, then, be ijiergcd into the prayer meeting," " I may transgress the limits of propriety, and merge the pulpit in the rostrum." " An ordinance to merge the department of the market- houses into that of the city property." " Christians cannot mer(/e themselves in the world, and yet live above the world." " In the year 1457, the distinctive existence of the Tab- orites was merged iu the Society of the Bohemian Brother- hood." This usage is grounded in the controlling influence represented in mergo. The special form which that influ- ence takes, iu the present case, is that of absorption and assimilation. There is not mere mersion, but unification. Merge, in its ordinary English use, cannot translate ^anri^a). PURIFICATION. Hsec sanct^ iitposeas, Tiberino in gurgite niergis Mane caput bis terque, et noctem flumine purgas. Perseus. That thou mayest ask these things purely, merse thy head In the river Tiber, twice and thrice, in the morning, and thus piwge the night by the stream. "Whether it be thought justifiable, or not, to say that " mergo," here, does, directly, signify to purify, it is cer- tain that the end sought is purification. When Tiberinus was "mersed" in the Tiber he was drowned; and "mergo," as used by both Livy and Ovid to describe the fact, has this direct force — to drown. It would be unavoidable, but that the word, commonly used to describe similar occur- rences, would secure to itself the power to express directly what originally was expressed, onl}^, indirectly. In like manner, " mergo," used, daily, to express the development 220 CLASSIC BAPTISM. of a purifying influence by mersion, would, imavoidably, come to represent that influence, and not merely the in- tusposition procurative of it. Thus, in the natural development of language, "mersus homo" might represent " a purified man ;" because — 1. He had been actually mersed in his whole body, and thus had received a fully developed purifying influence. 2. Because his " head" had been actua'ly mersed, and thuis the purify- ing influence had been received by the entire body. And, 3. Because complete purification had been received in some other way than by mersion, in whole or in part, whether by sacrifice, by fire, or by sprinkled water. To say that a man thoroughly purified by sprinkled water may not be called " mersus homo," on the ground that " mersus" means immersed, is to "kick against the pricks," sharp and innumerable, projecting through all the history of language. The purifying power was in the water of the Tiber, and that power was not limited, in its develop- ment, to a state of mersion, but was equally secured by sprinkling. Bis caput intonsum fontana spargitur iinda Ter caput irrorat, ter tollit ad setbera palmas. Fast. 4, Twice bi& unshorn bead is sprinkled with spring water. Thrice be sprinkles bis bead, thrice he lifts bis bands to heaven. No one will question that this sprinkling induced con- dition of purification ; no one (I will venture to presume, until advertised of the contrary) will question that "mer- sus" mmj denote a condition of purification (or any other condition), where no actual mersion has taken place; therefore, it is beyond all denial that "mersus homo" may represent, 7iot the act of sprinkling, but a man who has been purified by sprinkling. I do not say that, in the passage before us, mergo means to purify, although Perseus employs j^w^ffo to express its PURIFICATION. 221 import alone, or that of tlie phrase of which it is a mem- ber, and the " interpretation" substitutes lavo for it. It is sufficient for my present purpose to establish an unques- tionable possible use. Mergo used to develop a thoroughly purifying influence for its object by intusposition in river water, may, most legitimately, be used to express such purification in whatsoever way effected. Ill reference to a resemblance between this mersion of the head, and a dipping, I would remark: 1. The distinc- tion established between these words precludes their con- fusion here. 2. Any object mersed, and resting, most briefly, in that condition, for the sake of the influence of such condition, deprives it of the character of a mere dip- ping. 3. With the facts before us, it is madness to make mergo mean to dip. 4. Such usage of mergo brings it into fellowship, not with the primary meaning to dip, but with the secondary meaning to dye., and its extension to the communication of quality without color. This mersion was for the purpose of securing the quality of purification. As dipping sometimes took place for the sake of dyeing, and then ceased to mean to dip; and dyeing Avas eft'ected by sprinkling, or in any way; so, mersion for purification ceases to mean to intuspose, and becomes to purify in any way. 5. The extent and mode of applying an element capable of producing a purification is purely arbitrary, and, in fact, endlessly varied. Whether the whole body be mersed, or the head or hands only; whether the whole body be poured upon or sprinkled; or whether the ex- tremity of the lips only be touched ; the purified one be- comes equally a " mersus homo." Mersus in such case, of course, referring not to the manner in which the puri- fying element has been used, whether by mersion or sprinkling, but to the condition of purity induced. The following quotation is illustrative : " Let him first sip water thrice; then twice wipe his mouth; and lastly touch with water the six cavities before mentioned, his breast and his head. lie who knows the law and seeks purity, will ever perform his ablution with the pure part of his 222 CLASSIC BAPTISM. hand, and with water neither hot nor frothy, standing in a lonely place, and turning to the east or north. " A Brahmin is purified by water that reaches his bosom; a Cschatriga by water descending to his throat; a Vaisya by water barely taken into his mouth; a Sudra by water touched with the extremity of his lips." — Institutes of Manu, Qr. Ch. Ilaiightoii, London, p. 29. Purifying water " touching the lips" constitutes an ab- lution, and makes a " mersus homo." FIGURE. Nescit quid perdat, et alto Demersus, summa rnrsum non bullit in unda. . Perseus. Demersed in the dQep, he never again emerges. Nimia facilitate in voluptates mergi. . . . Curtius. Mersed into pleasures by too great wealth. Mersor fortunse fluctibus Catullus. Mersed by the billows of fortune. Mersor civilibus undis Sor. Epist. Mersed by political waves. These passages exhibit figurative use, in contradistinc- tion from that simply tropical, turned or secondary use, by which words of original physical application are so far modified in meaning as to adapt them to express ideas growing out of relations not physicah Perseus, clearly, has a picture in his mind which he presents for us to look at. The debased man of whom he speaks is not merely represented as " demersed" — in this there would not be, necessarily, any figure — but he adds, "in the deep," which would be very tame of itself; but when he adds, "he never bubbles to the surface," the picture is spirited and complete. The passage from Curtius is most worthy of special attention. Had this writer simply said, " nimia facultate mergi," it would have been a merely i^rosaic statement expressive of the controlling influence of excessive wealth; FIGURE. 223 "but by the addition, "in voliiptates," he converts it into figure, and shows that he does not mean merely to speak of influence, but of influence exerted in a certain direc- tion, and to indicate that specific form he introduces a figurative element, namely, "pleasures." It is very rarely that, the accusative, representing the element, is thus introduced either in the Greek or in the Latin. The reason, I suppose, is, because in the secondary use there is no design to speak in figure; and because the character of the influence can bo gathered, usually, with sufiicient accuracy from the subject-matter of discourse. Still, it is manifest that the greatest possible precision is given by the use of this form of speech, and, sometimes, (as in referring to an influence wholly new or imperfectly understood) it might be essentially necessary to employ it. Had one stood on the banks of the Tiber while purifica- tion was sought by mersing the head, and thrice sprinkling its waters, and proclaimed the insufiiciency of purification so secured; and the necessity of mersion by repentance; some vague idea, and only a vague idea, might have been received as to the eflcct of a Repentance Mersion compared with a Tiber Mersion ; but if mersion by repentance into the remission of sins is proclaimed, then the thought is stated with absolute dcfiniteness, and becomes flooded with light. So, " mersion by wealth " is an indefinite statement; while ''mersion by wealth into pleasures" gives form and feature to the thought. The former phrase is sufficient for things with whose nature and influential eftects we are familiar; the latter is necessary in speaking of things unfamiliar and for rhetorical efiiect. In the last two passages, the use of "fluctibus" and '"Tindis" determines the picture character of the thought in the minds of the writers. And it may be well to say, particularly, that these words, although representing a fluid element, do not represent the element in which, but the means by which the mersion takes place. This is con- clusively shown by the passage of Ovid, which expressly declares that it was "pondere et ictu" of the wave that 224 CLASSIC BAPTISM. the vessel was mersed " in ima." So iu " nimia facultate in voluptates," the instrumental means is represented by its appropriate case. And, in general, it should be under- stood that the ablative, in all cases of inlluence-mersion, represents the agency by which, and not the element iu which, the mersiou takes place. SECONDARY USE. INFLUENCE WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. Sed me fata mo his merscre malis. . . uEneid. The fates have mersed me by these evils. Abstuht atra dies, et funerc mcrsit accrbo. . . JEneid. Death has snatched aioay, and mersed with a bitter end. Aut qus6 forma vires fortunave mersit. . . JEneid. What form or fortune has mersed the men ? Et mersis fer opem mitissima rebus. . . . Ovid. most Benign ! bring help to our mersed affairs. Ab Jove mersa suo Stygias jDenitrarit in undas. . Ovid. Mersed by her Jove shall go down to the Stygian waters. AflFer oj)em, merstcque precor fci-itate paterna. . Ovid. Help ! and receive me mersed by paternal cruelty. Herum copia mersat. ...... Lucretius. Abundance of things merses. Qui peritissime censum domini mergit. . . Pliny. Who most cunningly merses the estate of his master. Mersus foro Plautus. Mersed by debt. Mersus rebus secundis, Alexander. . . . Livy. Alexander mersed by prosperity. Mersus vino, somnoque. Livy. Mersed by wine and sleep. Potatio quffi mergit Seneca. The drink which merses. INFLUENCE WITHOUT INTUSP03ITI0N. ' 225 Yirum gravera, moderatum, sed mersum vino, et madcntem. Seneca. A man grave, moderate, hut mersed and icet with wine. Merger© aliqucm ad Styga Seneca. Merse aiiy one to the Styx. Et Cosmi toto mergatur aheno. .... Juvenal. Mersed by the ichole unguent vase of Cosmus. Mergit longa, atque insignis honoriim pagina. . . Juvenal. A long and eminent record of honors merses. Ut mcdioeris jacturte tc mcrgat onus. . . . Juvenal. That the burden of a moderate loss should merse thee. Sen rorc pudico Castaliffi flavos amor est tibi mergcro crines. Statins, Thebais. To merse thy yellow locks in the pure deio of Castalia. It is unnecessary to comment on each of these passages. The point to be established is, that mergo (phicing originally its object in a position where it is exposed to physical in- fluence in the fullest degree) comes to represent a condi- tion which is the result of some controlling iniluence inde- pendent of position. Two or three clear cases will sufficiently illustrate this point. " 0, most Benign ! bring help to our mersed aflairs." This is the prayer of Deucalion and Pyrrha, after the subsidence of the general deluge, addressed to Themio : " Declare, Themis! by what means the ruin of our race may be repaired, and bring help, most Benign ! to our mersed affairs." The prayer was not for a rescue of human affairs under deluge waters ; that condition had been, but was now passed away. Human affairs are in a "ruined" condition, which is expressed by " mersed," and from this condition deUverance is solicited. The meaning of " rebus mersis" in this passage admits of but one possible interpretation in the connection in which it stands. But not indicating any specific form of influence, only controlling influence of some kind, there 15 226 CLASSIC BAPTISM. would oftentimes be a necessity for the introduction of some expomiding words. Thus, "acre paterno ac rebus mersis in vcntrem fosnoris." — Jai-cnal, xi, 40. "Patrimony and property mersed into the gulf of usury." " Rebus mersis," here needed some explaining word, and it is fur- nished by "in ventrem foenoris." " Mersed by debt"' — " that the burden of a moderate loss should merse you." Such plirases express, directly, a ruinous influence. To reach this by a voyage at sea and the foundering of a ship, is, at the best, sailing round the world to arrive at a point one pace behind you. " JMcrscd to the Styx," is a phrase perfectly explicit, although the word is used absolutely, because the men- tion of " the Styx" makes but one interpretation possible. Mergo, hero, expresses a condition of death effected by some controlling influence not mentioned, and which may be from anything, and in any form competent to cause death. This is shown by a parallel passage quoted. " Mersed by hor Jove shall go down to the Stygian waters." Some, not particularly conversant with the facts of the case, might fancy to translate, " She shall go down into the waters of Styx and be immersed by her friend Jove." And this translation might be very manfully defended by triumphantly asking: 1. "Was not 'the Styx' a river, and is there not water enough in a river for immersion? 2. Does not ' pcnetro' mean to jycnctratc, to go into, and what would any one go into a river for except to be immersed? 3. Docs not 'in' (above all, 'in' with the accusative of a fluid element) denote movement, and what can ' in undas ' mean but into the icaler? 4. And to crown all, does not mergo mean ' to dip ' ? Have we not, then, the most ex- press statement of immersion, the denial of which shows, ' not the want of light, but of Christian honesty'? 5. If assurance could go farther, is it not found in the declara- tion that there was an immerser present to do the work? INFLUENCE WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. 227 What, then, is lackuig in this overwhelming, concentrated evidence — ' River' — ' entering' — ' into' — ' immersed' — ' immerser?' Surely nothing; the case is made out." N'ow, I frankly confess that if I knew no more about the actual facts of this case than I do about the absolute facts of some other cases from which this reasoning is a transcript, I could say nothing more to disturb the com- placent convictions expressed respecting the *' immersion'' of Semele into the Styx by her special friend, than I could in such other cases. I must in all honesty confess to the Styx being "a riyer;" to ■pcndro meaning "to enter;" to ill meaning "into;" to mcrgo meaning "to merse;" and to Jove being quite competent to act as "immerser;" but, after all, there is still one difficulty in the way of Semclo's immei-sion in the river by her friend, and that is just this, — he did no such thing, but hilled her by his thunderbolts! And, now, with this historical help we review our transla- tions, and find that the Styx may remain a river still, Avith- out anybody being dipped into it; that "pcnetro" may carry down very far, indeed, without carrying into the water;' that "in" may mean to even with " undas;" that " mergo" may express a condition of death by a thunder- bolt, as well as a condition of death by drowning; and both, as w^ell as a simple intusposition without any deadly consequence following; and that Jove may be an "im- merser" without dipping into water. I do not know tliat this case Avill cause any misgiving as to the reasoning so earnestly urged by Baptist brethren in other cases; but if it should, I have no doubt of there being quite enough of " Christian honesty" on their part (whatever may be true of others) to make all due acknowledgment. Very 8ure am I, that whenever the historical facts in those cases shall be fully revealed, that they will show that the actual baptism conferred in those rivers was no more like that immersion in water contended for, than was the actual thunderbolt immersion of Semele like to her, translation- proccd, immersion into the Styx I In the JEncid, iv, 25, is a parallel passage, the "thunderbolt" expressed, and the 228 CLASSIC BAPTISM. mersion implied — " Vel Pater omnipotens adigat me ful- mine ad umbras." "A long and eminent record of honors merses." How far removed from a water mersion is a statement like this. " Mergo" does not necessarily express a condition re- sultant from a destractive influence, but this is the ordi- nary result of physical mersion; therefore, when applied, without qualification, to cases where physics are not in- volved, we must understand that a destructive influence is designed. This is the case here. Juvenal declares that, under cer- tain circumstances, "honors merse" — hrinj ruin. They do so by awakening envy, jealousy, and hate on the part of others, or by begetting self-esteem, pride, and ambition, on the part of the possessor; thus a condition of shame, sufi'ering, and ruin is induced, well described as a mersion by influence, but poorly expomided by insisting on a de- sign to picture an intuspositioii in water. Potatio quae mergit. , . . , Seneca. Tlie drink luhich merses. Mersu8 vino somnoqne. .... Livy. Merscd by wine and sleep. These passages are closely parallel, and afiard a good opportunity to speak of the importance of discriminating, in cases of mersion, between the agency efiectiug the mersion and the clement in which the mersion actually, or (in figure) supposedly, takes place ; as, also, of the ad- vanced usage which first obliterates figure and shadow, establishing a general, secondary meaning, and then, by frequent use, a specific meaning. The passage from Seneca presents the agency in the nominative, and so precludes all question as to its charac- ter, I ought to state that I have not seen this passage in its connection, and cannot vouch for its literal correctness; rtTELUENCE TTITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. 229 but whetber {berc, or elsewbcre, tbe pbrase serves equally well for comment.* Tbe " potation," or drink, is declared to be causative of tbe nicrsion, Now, it is a pbj^sical impossibility tbat anytbing drunk sbould produce a pbysical mersion of tbe drinker. Sack a result is, tbcu, out of tbe question. But mersion by figure is no less out of question, so far as tbe drink is sougbt to be made tbe element in wbicb tbe mersion is figuratively to take place. If tbe mersion, by figure, of *'a lake into tbe blood of a mouse," is an intoler- able perversion of taste, bow mucb ])etter is tbat wbich would figure a man mersed into tbe fluid wbicb fills bis moutli or stomacb? If some otber sort of figure is sougbt for, as *' into drunkenness," " into insensibilit3'," I admit tbat sucb figure may be used for tbe sake of dcfiniteness of thougbt, or for giving special force to tbe expression; but deny tbe necessity for, or the propriety of, any sucb thing ill tbe case before us, 1. There is no need for " dcfiniteness." 'No one who reads this phrase but what understands, at once, tbat an intoxicating drink is intended. 2. There is no need for force. Tbe phrase is one of con- centrated energy. There is a power of fact in the utter- ance wbicb tramples figure under foot, and goes straight forward to its end. It declares something wbich " pota- tion" does substantially, not figures sbadowly. And what does " potation" of an intoxicating liquor do ? Why, it makes drunk. Then tbat is what Seneca declares, throwing aside physical intusposition, and figurative intusposition, and passing beyond general controlling influence, be gives in- dividuality, body, and shape to that influence in the nerv- * On examination I find the following passage: " Aliquando vectatio iterque, et mutata regie, vigorem dabunt, convictusquo ct liberalior/ioi'to; nonnunquam et usque ad ebricUitem veniendum, non ut mcrgat 7ios sed ut depi'imat." De tranquiUtate animi. This is the passage, I presume, which is intended to be presented, in a condensed form, in " Potatio qucc mcfgit." "Not that it may merse us, but depress cares." Has depress, express, impress, oppress, suppress, no secondary meaning? Seneca says: " Bac- chus is called Liber because he liberates the mind from the slavery of cares. ' ' 230 CLASSIC BAPTISM, ous statement — " The Drink which makes drunk" " Potatio" necessitates sueli coloring to the tHought. We have, then, a mersion by a fluid without being in that fluid, or in any other, but effected by drinking a pint or a quart, thus ex- ercising over the drinker a controlHng, intoxicating power. Seneca elsewhere says: " Ubi possedit animum niniia vis vini, quicquid mali latebat emergit." This shows that wine mersion is not, with Seneca, a dipping or sinking, but a nimia vis vini — a controlling influence of wine. In the passage from Livy, as the ablative is used in expressing the agency, occasion has been taken to convert the agency of the mersion into the element of mersion. Does any one doubt that "wine and sleep" w^ere the agencies in this mersion ? Does any one doubt the essen- tial difference between the agency effecting a mersion, and the element in which the mersion of the object takes place? If these things are beyond controversy, why, then, confound the agency and the element by contending for a " mersion in wine and sleep?" How is such mersion con- ceivable ? Are " wine and sleep" to be conceived of as mingled together, and so constituting a joint bath ? Or, is there to be a mersion, first into the one, and then into the other? These questions must be met. Difficulties must not be covered up by vague talk of figure. Interpret according to the facts, making " wine and sleep" agencies, and all runs smoothly. They, by their conjoint influence, exercise a controlling influence of ac- cumulated power, which is described in the strongest language by terming it a mcrsive influence. Those who contend for figure here, and to effect it turn " wine and sleep" into a nondescript element, appeal for support to jEneid ii, 265: '■'■ Invadunt iirhem sonvno vinoque sepuUam." The appeal brings no valuable aid. " Sepelio" is modified in its usage just as mergo and scores of other words are. "\Ve say of an unsuccessful politician, " he is dead and buried;" do we mean by this to picture a grave- yard, pit, cofiin, and shrouded corpse, with incastcd earth? Or, do we mean to express simply that his hopes and INFLUENCE WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. 231 efforts for advancement are utterly futile ? Besides, how can a city be "buried in both sleep and wine?" Is not one entombment sufficient? Virgil utters no such figurative absurdity. He expresses no figure in which tombs, inti- tuled " wine," " sleep," filled with the corpses of a city, are pictured. He does declare that the conjoined in- fluence of sleej) and wine induces such profound stupor that all the noise of an invading army cannot break it. Virgil speaks of another burial, JSneid^ vi, 424, " Occu- jpat jEneas aditum custode scpulio." How was this "burial" effected ? A medicated cake is thrown to the dog Cerberus, under the soporific influence of which he comes by eating, and is " buried;" as the Trojans came under the intoxicat- ing influence of wine by drinldngy and were " buried." But how was he "buried"? Why, by being poured, out on the ground {"■fusus humi"), if we may credit those interpreters who insist on "one meaning through an entire language." An odd sort of burial, to be sure,; yet, this was all the burial that the three-headed sentinel received. Suppose, now, we stood by the side of JSneas, and looked down upon that monster, stretched out through the whole length of the cave; how much of a "burial" would we suppose to be in " sepultus," or even in " sepul- tus in somno," as applied to that unentombed object? Take another case : JEncidy iii, GoO, '-'■ Nam simul cxpldus dapibus, vinoque scp^dius.'^ "Burial in wine" is a strange sort of a figure. Wine is "the drink which merses" — buries; not the clement imohich mersion or burial takes place. Picture-figure here fails. Influence is the only and most sufficient source of explanation. If confirmation were needed, it is found in another parallel passage: ^^ Ratall somno vinoque soluti" ix, 236. Now, suppose we press on this language, as is done in the other cases, and insist that as "solvo" means to dis- - solve, so, "sleep and Avine" are figured as liquids m lohich the Eutuli are placed to be "dissolved"! There is as much good sense in this as making " sleep and wine," in the other cases, sepulchres. But few will urge such picture- 232 CLASSIC BAPTISM. figure; but if they cannot in tlie one case, tbey may not in tbe otJicr. In all such cases, mcrgo, sepdio, solvo, are used to exhibit the development of strong influence; each one with its peculiar shade of thought. " Sleep and wine," both, induce great relaxation of the muscular system, and therein is the ground of the use of " solvo ;" and a relaxed body " stretched at great length on the ground," is like water " poured along;'" therefore, the application of" fusus" to Cerberus. " Wine and sleep" are influential agencies iu relaxing the limbs of the Rutuli, and not a mixture in which they are " dissolved." I only add, that the translation " in wine and sleep," docs not secure a figurative mcrsion or burial. Picturing is still excluded, and influence remains sovereign. "We say a man drunk is "in liquor;" do we mean to utter figure, or to express influence? Pope describes one of his Dunciad heroes thus: " Where Bentley late tempestuous wont to sport In troubled waters, but now sleeps in Port." Ilis annotator remarks: "A certain wine called Port, from Oporto, a city of Portugal, of which this Professor invited him to drink abundantly." JSTow, shall we be told that the poet does, here, "by an elegant figure," put Mr. Bentley to sleep ^^in" a cask of Port wine? Docs — " wi troubled waters" — merse or bury m water? What shall be said of criticism which tears words out of organic phrases, and hy them conjures up such " elegant figures"? Stones, in a heap, may be han- dled and treated disjunctly; but when builded into, an arch, they can only be treated in their relations to each other, unless our purpose be destruction. "Words, in com- bination, have a common life, which perishes when they are torn asunder. While Livy and Virgil speak of the controlling influence, conjointly exercised, of wine and sleep, Seneca speaks of the specific power of wine to intoxicate. CONCLUSIONS FROM USAGE. 233 CONCLUSIONS FROM USAGE. 1. Mergo represents no definite form of action ; is, alike, indifferent to the movement of tlie object or the clement; is equally competent to take a world or a gi*ain of sand for its object; makes no limit of time; puts no bounds to force ; establishes no modes of action ; claims intusposition for its object, and securing that has performed its duty, and ceases its functions in primary relations. 2. Sccondarilr/ : Mergo represents a condition which is the result of some controlling influence; the nature of the condition being limited and determined, only, by the nature of the influence, extending through the wide range of purification by sprinkled water-drops, to death by flam- ing thunderbolts. 3. Absolutely: Mergo represents influence destructive in character. 4. Appropriation : Mergo means to droion, to make drunk. Facts, in this direction, were of constant occurrence, and daily use would stamp specific meaning. Fitness to ex- press the meaning to imrify is equally good; but evidence for such usage, in fact, is not so strong. 5. With peculiarities of usage, such as must occur, the general features of usage in mergo and immerse are in the most perfect harmony, rather are identical. 6. The characteristics of mergo are in strongest contrast with those of /3, tingo, and dip. If a defiled man seeking purification is commanded to merse his head for this purpose in purifying water, and, its influence having been secured, takes it out again, mergo makes no complaint because he did not keep it there until another influence of the water, drowning, was securecL If any one should be pleased to say, because of this mode of securing the controlling in- fluence of purifying water, that mergo and dip mean the same thing, he must hold controversy, not with me, but with common sense, with the old Romans, and with the masters iu English. 234 CLASSIC BAPTISM. BAUTIZQ. WHAT DOES IT MEAN ? "We pursue our inquiry, g-uided by, and submissive to, the Horatian law, " Usus Quern pen6s arbitrium est, et jus, et norma loquendi." In dolno: this, I stand before tbe same tribunal witb Dr. Carson, who says : " I have appealed to a higher tribunal than the authority of all critics — to use itself.'' " Truth is on every man's side." Then, this utterance, faithfully interpreted, will not be adverse to any of us, whatever it may be. May we seek, with all docility, the guidance of the Spirit of Truth, that we may be " led by Him into all truth" necessary for our good, and promotive of the glory of His ISTame ! "Whatever of time or labor may have been demanded to pass over the preceding discussion, few, I hope, will con- sider the one or the other wastefully expended in view of the vantage-ground which has been thus, and could only thus have been, secured for a discriminating and authoritative determination of this long-debated word. The words examined clearly belong to two distinct classes. Each class has its own deeply marked and broadly distinguishing characteristics. And may we not affirm, as a point beyond controversy, that no word can belong to both these classes ? If, now, the word which we are about to examine be- longs to either class, its usage cannot be ambiguous, nor leave a shadow of doubt as to the class to which it must be attached. Its classification having been determined, its development, under the exigencies of language, must be assumed to be in harmony with its original nature. PRIMARY USE. 235 USAGE OF BAHTIZa. INTUSPOSITION WITHOUT INFLUENCE. PRIMARY USE. 1. "Ooq ozav jxh a/jL7:u)-cg ^ ;j.rj (ia-zi'^eaOai. Aristotle, Wonderful Reports. 2. "'A^dnrtiTTm t£ xaO" uSwp and xaraxku^u) by '■''Overflow ;" with the remark, that " these two words are equivalents." It may^ certainly, be so used. But I would ask Professor Ripley if he ever knew ;3a'7rTw and xaraxAo^^u/ to DC used as equivalents ? Baptist writers have been allowed to speak freely on this passage; and we have seen the faith of Gale in modal- ism sadly shaken by the baptizing billows; while that of Fuller is wholly swept away. Carson, with unflinching courage, holds on to modality in its severest forms, and, with a boldness above that of England's king, plants his system by the sea-shore, and as the ocean billows dash over him and it, proclaims, from out the flood, "that it is only a supposed baptism, and the Prince of Philosophers only means to declare him bcaidifuUi/ dipped.'" Alexander Carson, LL.I)., is a true representative man. He is the last of the giants among old-fashioned modal Baptists. No other such man will ever say — " to baptize ■CUPID'S BAPTISM, 245 is to dip, and to dip is to baptize." lie claims the record, *' If dipping could have been defended by any right hand, it would have been defended by this," "3." ■"! found Cupid among the rose's, and holding him by the wings I mcrsed him into the wine, and took and drank him." Julian, Eoypt. " 5." Eut when the Sun had mersed himself into the Ocean flood. Oepheus. The use of ei^^ in these passages does not prove that paTzi^o) expresses motion. All languages employ verbs ex- pressive simply of iwsition or condition in connection with prepositions which imply (he existence of movement. lu such cases the most commonly received interpretation is that which supplies a verb of motion. KUhner gives the following examples : ifd>-q Aic ^k a/.ou^{ffa'.,'iev. Achilles Tat. iii, 1. 2. AVi luxpoi) (^aTzriZerai to a/.dfoz. " " iii, 1. 3. Ba-Ti^ti TOO Xoytfffiou Trjv dvanyOT^v. " " iv, 10. 4. y^T vawq -/.ivdwwouffriq iSa-Ti'^saOa'.. ^Esop, Shepherd and the Sea. 5. Tij'^ rjpipav j3a-Ti!^eTai. EabuluS, Nausicaa. 15. 'jEv vr/i ;i£yd).7j -A/wv ^a—i'^tsSai. Epictet. Mor. Dis. xi. 16. "Ildrj di jSaTTTc^opJvojv xai xaTaSo'mi p.upw. Hcliod. jEthiop. V, 28. 17. Ttjv vy,a TZoXhuG'. tw (idiet. In the first passage, the position of the soul is made subordinate to the influence exerted over it by the body, in consequence of that position. Consequently, we have the dative without the local preposition (l^siSannffixivr^v rut ffiofj-arc). Accordant with this is the qualifying ciyav, " very much." This is perfectly suited to quality influence, but not position. The body acts upon the soul, in unusual degree, and represses its development, wdiile the soul re- acts upon the body, mersing it, interpenetrating it, with those powers which are not allowed to have outward de- velopment. (3.) The third passage combines both those features. It gives the soul intusposition in the body (^v ro) awjiaTt. l^eftdrzKr- p.ivrj), and, then, describes the excessive and improper in- fluence exerted over it, through the body, as death to the soul, while the body lives. (4.) How the soul is mersed by the body, we may under- stand, measurably. By what process the soul becomes mersed in the body is not said. Ba~-t'Cu} does not throw one scintilla of light on this point. Dr. Ilalley says : " The Platonists evidently meant, by their baptism, the becoming inclosed iu the body, whether, as they sometimes speak, the soul enters the body, or, as at other times, the matter concretes around the soul" (p. 362). (5.) All these baptisms are marked by powerful influ- ence. Dipping is unknown to them. 266 CLASSIC BAPTISM. INTUSPOSITION FOR INFLUENCE. 1. Ba--i%a}v aoTO'j d-i/.TS'.vsv. . . . jEsop, Ape and Dolph. 2. Kai l3dKTc!^scy rd ayytia. ..." MuU. 3. Is TLbimai -o^Too ^a-ri'^cjv, oXiffto. . AlcibiadcS Oil Eupolis. 4. KovTov uu'j elq TO udwp [ia-zC'l.ouni. . Aclulles Tatius, ii, 14. 5. Da-Zi^effOat rov acSrjpov xazd rod (Tcbjiaroq. " " iii, 21. 6. Kai y.oil-qv [iaizziaa.' xai -lyiddiiz'^oq udaro'. " " iv, 18. 7. 'TTz'doToo zau-).rj6uu^TU)v zw-iov lja--t(Th{7]. I)ion CaSSVUS, L. 18. 8. Tpu)6ivzov uv G(pic!i zojy ffxaoaJv ij3a-zc!^ovzo. " " 1/. 32. 9. Ka) Tzizpatq xa} fj.rj^a>ijp.a(Tt [ia-ziXovzeq. " " 1j. 32. 10. UawfisvoL 6-0 zujy ivavzicov k^ia-ziZoyzo. " " 1/. 35. 11. Tubq 8k etq zyjV Xc/ivrjV . . . jSa-zi^ovziov. IleliodorUS, ^th., i, 30. 12. Acd ystpwv zov Ilspatbv azu)Mv /Sarr^'^ovra. IleimcriuS, X, 2. 13. Kai l^a-zt'Csiv -KaXtv iq yd?M yovauoq. . IlippocrateS, ii, 710. 14. ''QMv xai zuuzov im xs is acknowledged to have a secondary use, it will be found to have but little more figure about it than has /3d7rrw. To show the difference between figurative and simple statement, Dr. Blair gives the following : " A good man enjoys comfort in the midst of adversity." This, he says, " expresses thought in the simplest manner possible." But Baptist writers say no ; this is figure. It represents a good man " in the midst of a tempest — adverse winds, ad- verse waves, adverse skies, dark, glittering with lightnings, and shaking with thunderings, in all which he has peace and comfort"! Whither has simplicity of expression fled? Again : '"It is impossible, by any search we can make, to explore the divine nature fully,' is to make a simple proposition," says Dr. Blair. Baptist interpretation says, not so: "Search," "explore," demonstrate figure, and rep- resent the divine nature as a dark cavern, whose recesses are not fully penetrable! Yet again : " The simple style of Scripture, ' He spake and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.' " But Dr. Blair is sadly at fault according to Baptist interpreta- tion. This is not the sublimity of simplicity. This is highly wrought figure. The elements of chaos are rep- resented as endued with intelligence, hearing and obeying the voice of Omnipotence! Remember such cases when confronted by figures, con- jured up by our Baptist friends, out of elements less pro- pitious than those furnished by either of the above cases. Almost any sentence, of the most purposed simplicity, may be clothed in figurative habiliments until no longer recog- nizable by its author. "We, now, come to consider baptism as a controlling in- fluence, changing condition, without any mersion. SECONDARY USE. 283 CONTKOLLING INFLUENCE— GENERAL. WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION IN FACT OR IN FIGURE. SECONDARY USE. 1. ^ ExTzXy^aast rijv (I'UyTi^v xai y.are^dTtriffe. Achilles Tatius, Leucippe and Clit., 1. 3. 2. ToffouTuj TT^sTJist ^a-TttrSy^'^ac xaxaJv. " " " iii, 10. 3. "^0 8k TO) 6u;iu} l3ej3anTt(Tfj.ivoc; xaraduezat. " " vi, 19. 4. ' E/xTTiKTuuaat Si al TU^ac ^aTzri^uoat rjiidq. " " viij 2. 5. Kai aru-elov iXacoj (iaTtriaa'Z. . . JEsop, Man and Fox. 6. KarajSarcTiaSrjfferai fjioc TO Zjjv. . . Alciphron, Upist., ii, S. 7. To rrXy^So^ rot) otvoo. . . . xara^aT:Ti!^et. Alexander Aphrodisias, i, 16. 8. OuToc ;j.ev yap iTriffravrat zouruj d'.a[ianTi'^eGOa:. Demosthenes, Aristogeiton, 1. 5. 9. Mij TtavreXax; /Ji/SarTjff^aj dXX' dviy^zu. Demetrius Cydon., xiv, 4. 10. Tuh^ de idiwrar: . , . 6u ^aTTTi^ouffi ral^ itacpopaiq. Biodorus Siculus, i, 73. 11. Kai Tjy (Tup.(p(ipa ^t^aTriapho'^. Heliodorus ^thiopics, ii, 3. 12. Miaat vuxt£<; unvoi Trjv ttoXcv tjjdTTTd^ov. " " iv, 17. 13. Mi) ffupj3a~Tt^u);i$6a ruj zouroo ~d6si. " " iv, 20. 14. ^E-KBid-j G£ rd aupjSelSrjxora ii3a-Ti!^ev, " " v, 16. 15. ^EiSdTTTCffe yap SXrjv txel rrjv Affiav pa^opevoi;. JTcimeriuS., XV, 3. 16. CO av evfu:; iiSanri^^ero rd av -Kpaypdziuv. " SocrateS. 27. Ilevraxia^iXtiuv pupid8wv 6(pXr^p.aai. ^efiairriffpivm. Plutarch, Galba, xxi. 28. To'tq 8k 67t£p(3dXXou(Tt ^amiZerat. . " Education, xiii. 29. Be^a-KTiapivo^ tzoXXoj (ppudypart. . Proclus, Chrestom., xvi. 30. BaTZTC^opevov re U7:d r^? 68ovrji;, xal. . Themistius, Oration, XX. 284 CLASSIC BAPTISM. CONTEOLLING INFLUENCE— GENERAL. WITHOUT MERSION, IN PACT OR IN FIGURE. SECONDARY USE. 1. Astounds the soul, befalling it unawares, and de-mersed (de-baptized) it Achilles Tatius. 2. As in a few days to be mersed (baptized) by such a multi- tude of evils Achilles Tatius. 3. But he, mersed (baptized) by anger, sinks. " " 4. Misfortunes befalling merse (baptize) us. " " 5. And mersing (baptizing) the tow with oil. ^sop. 6. My life will be de-mersed (de-baptized). . Alciphron. 7. The quantity of wine de-merses (de-baptizes) the physical and vital power Alex. Aphrod. 8. For these know how to thorough-merse (thorough-baptize') with him Demosthenes. 9. Not wholly mersed (baptized), but bears up. Demetrius. 10. They do not merse (baptize) the people by taxes. Diod. Sicul. 11. And mersed (baptized) by the calamity. . Heliodorus. 12. "When midnight mersed (baptized) the city with sleep. Heliodorus. 13. But let us not be co-mersed (co-baptized) by this gi*ief of his. Heliodorus. 14. Because the events still mersed (baptized) you. " 15. For there fighting he mersed (baptized) all Asia. Heimerius. 16. By which the city would, immediately, have been mersed (baptized) Libanius. 17. Salamis, where thou didst merse (baptize) Asia. " 18. Would be mersed (baptized) hj a small addition. " 19. Who finding the unhappy Simon mersed (baptized). Libanius. 20. Grief mersing (baptizing) the soul and darkening the judg- ment. . . . . . . . . Libanius. 21. But the remaining part being small, was mersed (bap- ized) Libanius. 22. But now, as you see, the duty being mersed (baptized). Libanius. SECONDARY USE. 285 23. You have no spare time, but are mersed (baptized). Libanius. 24. Mersed (baptized) either by diseases or arts of the wizards. Plotinus. 25. Because he mersed (iajD^i-ec?) the stewards. . Plutarch. 26. That we, mersed (baptized) by the affairs of life. " 27. Mersed (baptized) by debts of fifty millions. " 28. But is mersed (baptized) by those which are excessive Plutarch. 29. Mersed (baptized) with much wantonness. . Proclus. 30. Both mersed (baptized) hj grief . . . Themistius. Altliongli a word may have attained to a secondary meaning, it is still possible, with more or less facility, and with more or less apparent fitness, to treat it merely as. tropical, and refer it back for exposition to its primary use. Dr. Carson says that " enlighten" has a secondary mean- ing. If so, it should be expounded directly by that mean- ing, and not by resorting, every time it is encountered, to the roundabout process of a reference to light and its effects in revealing the true position, character, worth, and relation of things. There is, however, scarcely any case in which this word is used, but that any one, who chooses to deny or to disregard its secondary meaning, may deny its acquired rights, and make out a case (in his- own judgment a triumphant case), by appealing to light, and darkness, and mental analogies. Whether such per- sons can be better answered than by being let alone, I do not know. If in those cases which illustrate the secondary mean- ing of /5a;rr:Cw, many of them can be robbed of their simple statement and acquired character by dressing them up, with more or less of violence, in the elements of fiirure, and dipping, or plunging, or sinking, or overflowing with water, no one need be surprised. The same can be done with the secondary meaning of almost any word, mutatis 7nutandls. This was done through long years, by Baptists, with the secondary meaning of /5«;77w, resolving every case of dyeing., into a dipplmj., unmindful of the havoc they 286 CLASSIC BAPTISM. made of rhetoric or common sense. The same blind per- sistency in maintaining an erroneous idea is shown in Dr. Carson when he sets up the astonishing error, that " iSaTznZui means dip and nothing but dip, expressing mode always;" and then, to make good his false position, brings in "cata- chresis" io dip the shore by the flowing tide, and the land of Egypt by the overfiowing of the Nile. This position of Dr. Carson is too grossly erroneous, and its defence too utterly indefensible, for some of his admirers longer to maintain ; but with inconsistency^, which ' has not yet settled down, they admit variety of modal ac- tion. They refuse, however, with one voice, still to admit any secondary meaning; and with no less violence to the laws of language development than in the case of /Jarrrw, turn every case of the secondary meaning of (jaTrnXu) into a dipping, or plunging, or sinking, or overflowing w^ith water. SECONDAKY MEANING. TO EXERCISE A CONTROLLING INFLUENCE CHANGING CONDITION. 1. "For what is sudden, all at once and unexpected, astounds the soul, falling on it unawares, and de-merses it." Achilles Tatius. What is there, on the face of this statement, suggestive of water ? Certainly, dipping, and plunging, and sinking, are out of all question. The only thing that could be, with any consistency, introduced, here, would be a wave, and from that Baptists shrink, because it moves the ele- ment and not the object. But to take " the soul" out to sea, and then conjure up a wave "suddenly," "all at once," "unexpectedly," "to fall upon" it, is a piece of extravagance in the way of taste which will commend itself to but few. How simply, clearly, and fully is the case met by attaching to the word the secondary meaning, to exercise a controlling influence, changing the condition. The notion that the soul is put under w^ater, in any way, BAPTISM BY ANGER. 287 or intended to be so represented, is simply absurd. It is influence only which is at issue. 2. "What crime have we committed, so great, as in a few daj's, to be mersed by such a multitude of evils?" Achilles Tatitjs. It would require some ingenuity to work up " a few days," and "a multitude of evils," and a mersion, so as to form a billow, or a dipping, out of them. But suppos- ing some imagination to be sufficiently inventive and con- structive, better save it for a better purpose, and take, what is on the face of the record, the exercise of a controlling influence. The agency is expressed by the dative without a preposition. 3. "But he, mersed by anger, is subdued; and wish- ing to escape into his own domain is no longer free, but is forced to hate the object loved." Achilles Tatitjs. " Speaking of love, contending with and subdued by anger, in the same bosom " ( Conant). I do not know how " love and anger" are to be got into the water, unless it be in a " dipping match " after the fashion of Philip and the Pancratiast. But this will hardly answer; for love, it would seem, is kept under the water, unable "to escape." A wave, or a sinking ship, will not answer. Until a better solution is found, therefore, we will accept, what every letter of the passage proclaims, controlling influence. Anger exercises a controlling influence over love; holds it in sub- jection; will not let it escape. The agency is marked by the simple dative. 4. "Misfortunes befalling us merse us." Achilles Tatius, I take this to be a very direct and prosaic statement 288 CLASSIC BAPTISM. announcing the homelj truth — Misfortunes exercise a con- trolling influence over us. The introduction of "falling" waves or wrecked ship going to the bottom is a freak of the imagination not to be laid to the charge of Achilles Tatius. So Virgil — " Mersed by these evils." 5. " And mersing the tow with oil, binding it to her tail, he set it on lire." ^sop. This is told of a fox that had been caught, and was thus punished for mischief done. " Dipping tow in oil," is Dr. Conant's translation. It is objectionable : 1. Because " dipping" is no translation of /Sa-ntw. 2. The proper form for expressing the element, in which, by the dative, requires the preposition. Its use may not, necessarily, indicate the element; but it lays the burden of proof, to the contrary, heavily, on the objector. 3. In every clear case, where the inclosing element is associated with the dative, the preposition, by itself or in composition with the verb, is used. 4. The dative, without the preposition, ordinarih% in- dicates instrumentality. It does so in all clear cases (in common with the genitive) with which we have to do. If such is not accepted as its import, in any particular case, proof to the contrary must be adduced. 5. No proof can be found in /5a7rr;''w. Once this word was deemed sufiicient to prove this point. The best Bap- tist scholars believe this no longer. Dr. Fuller escapes from the plunging fire of facts directed against the old position, confessing that any mode, " pouring," will an- swer, provided ike object is covered. A heavy gun is turned against this new position, and it, too, is abandoned, with the admission that pour will answer, even if it does not coveVy provided it wets very thoroughly, and there is a good deal BAPTISM OF VITAL POWER. 289 of water all around! Dr. Carson is very indignant at either of these admissions. Until Baptist doctors come to some . agreement among themselves we may be excused from accepting the dogma of either party. 6. It is beyond all rational controversy that this tow could be baptized as properly by pouring oil upon it as in any other way. Vessels in which oil is kept are best adapted for pouring. It is improbable that a mass of tow would be mersed in a large vessel of oil. AVe claim that tow brought, thoroughly, under the influence of oil, in any way, is baptized, saturated, mersed, of changed condition. 7. The translation should be, mersing the tow li'ith oil ; the dative being without the preposition. 6. " If I purpose to see all the rivers, my life will be demersed, not seeing Glycera." Alciphron. An invitation to visit Egypt, and see " the beautiful Nile," was declined, on the ground that equal reason might be urged for visiting the Euphrates, the Danube, the Tigris, &c., to do which would consume his life and deprive of fellowship with Glycera. Is there anything in this form of expression, or the nature of the sentiment, which shadows forth water and a dipping? Is there not the clearest statement, that to enter upon the course indi- cated would exercise a controlling influence over his life? 7. "Why do many, made drunk with wine, die? Be- cause the quantity of the wine de-merses the physical and the vital power and warmth." Alexander Aphrodisias. Wine drank neither dips, plunges, nor sinks ; not even by " catachresis." Kor does it, in this case, "cover" by 19 290 CLASSIC BAPTISM. pouring down the throat; for it is a physical impossibility thus to cover over "the physical and vital power and warmth." For another reason. If wine, as a fluid, effects this mischief, then as much water would do the same. But this is not true. Therefore, it is a case of controlling in- fluence; not exerted by wine as a fluid, but by its peculiar, influential qualities as a drink. Life is mersed by it on the same principle that the life of Semele w^as " mersed" by the thunderbolts of Jove. Each has its peculiar power to influence controllingly, changing condition. 8. " Not the speakers, for these know how to thor- ough-merse with him, but private citizens and the inex- perienced." Demosthenes. " Showing what kind of persons Aristogeiton was ac- customed to harass by false accusation and extortion. In this case the compound word is used metaphorically, and the sense is : For these know how to match him in foul language — in the game of sousing one another." (Conant.) Supposing this use to be derived from the contest in " thorough-mersing," it shows the very varied and facile apphcation of the word. The orator employs the word to show the mastery which practised speakers have over their opponents; being able to confound them by their skill and power in the use of language, and thus bring them under their controlling influence. 9. " For the soul has control over the body, and enter- ing into it is not v)holhj mersed by it, but rises above it; and the body, apart from her, can do nothing." Demetrius. "We are, certainly, exempt from the intrusion of water here. And we are, certainly, brought face to face with controlling influence. Will any one say, the soul "enter- ing into the body" — i^haav e'a; auTd — is not "wholly covered by the body " ? This would be a very nondescript sort of BAPTISM OP THE SOUL. 291 figure. For the soul "to enter the body, yet not be wholly" under the controlling injluence "of the body," is a very intelligible statement; very conformable with facts, and very much like what the wiiter declares. The soul *' controls the body," and is not controlled by it. 10. " On account of the abundant revenue from these sources, they do not mcrse the people with taxes." DiODORUS SiCULUS. The following exposition is given by Dr. Carson : " In this figure, the rulers are supposed to immerse the people through the instrumentality of oppressive taxes. Mr. Ewing very well translates, ' on account of the abundant supply from these sources, they do not oppress the com- mon people with taxes.' The literal translation is: 'They do not immerse the common people with taxes.' The people, in the case of oppressive taxation, are not supposed in such figures either to have the taxes poured upon them, nor themselves to be immersed in the taxes; but to sink by beina: weig-hed down with taxes. The taxes are not the element in which they si!ik, but are the instrumental bap-" tizers. They cause the people to sink by their weight. This suits the words; this suits the figure; this suits the sense ; this suits every example which refers to debt; this suits the analogy of all other languages. We say, our- selves, dipped in debt, drowned in debt, sunk by debt, or sunk in debt. To sink in debt figures the debt as that in which we sink. It is a deep water in which we sink. To sink by debt figures the debt as a load on our shoulders, while we are in deep water. In this view, it is not the drowning element, but the baptizer or drowner. To be dipped in debt, supposes that we owe something consider- able in proportion to our means. But we may be dipped without being drowned. The last cannot be adequately represented by baptize except when circumstances render the meanina: definite." 292 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Tlii8 exposition would answer better as the basia for a caricature in the " London Punch," than as a simple in- terpretation of the historian. Is it to be imagined, for a moment, that Diodorus means, by a word, to touch some secret spring in the imagination of his readers, whose movement would expose to their view the land of the Nile flooded, tlu'ough all its borders, while its inhabitants were seen, with packs on their backs, struggling and sinking in deep waters ? Is this the import of the phrase, " mersed by taxes"'? Dr. Carson commits a marvellous error in the transmutation of mersion bi/ taxes into such a water scene. What have "taxes" to do with water, shallow or deep? Do taxes dip people, or sink people, or drown people, in water? "But mersion has something to do with water." Mersion had something to do with water, once; but when it entered into fellowship with " taxes" it came to live on dry land, and if it did not wholly lay aside the character of a baptizer, it certainly did bid farewell to all baptisms into water. If any one, through curiosity or any other motive, has a fancy for tracing back the relations of this word, after passing through all w^atery depths, they can bring back nothing germane to the case in hand but the simple idea of ruin. Dipping, plunging, sinking of the Egyptians in water is pure impertinence. The dipping, plunging, or sinking of anything else is equally so, in all respects, save only as to the one point of destructive influence. Hence proceeds, for those who need it, a flash of light which illumines the passage. But the passage needs no such help. It is self-luminous. It proclaims with its own tongue the ruinous character of excessive taxation. This inerses not into water, but into a stinted icardrobe, into a liinched table, into the scde of a cow, « horse, a jjlour/h, a farm; into unrequited toil and bitter jjcnury ! If the historian must be made to write in figures, this is his figure, — heary taxes merse the 'people into fnancial ruin. But he uses no figure at all. He employs a word which was used every day to de- velop, in the fullest measure, the influence of its adjunct. Greek literature shows this secondary use and meaning BAPTISM BY TAXES. 293 to be as true, as broad, and as self-sustaining as is the primary use and meaning. So self-evidencing is this use, that if every primary use were blotted out from the Greek language, and the remembrance of its existence oblitera- ted from the minds of men, still this secondary use would live unharmed, "having life within itself," to vindicate its unborrowed rights and claim a controlling influ means nothing but dip." I will not sa}^ that this very remarkable language of Plotinus cannot, by ingenuity or violence, be made to take the aspect of figure; for, with "ample verge and room," this can be done to almost any language. When Marcus Antoninus speaks of a man o'./.aioGwrj (islSa/ipiivov, Dr. Gale says he speaks in figure, and /SaTrrw has its primary meaning. The man is " dipped in justice." Dr. Carson protests against this, declaring that (SaTzruj has here a secondary meaning, and is used literally, meaning to dge with. Again, Dr. Carson says : the sea^coast is baptized, not literally, but only by the help of figure; while Prof. Ripley says, there is no figure about it, l)ut jSaTrrt^o) means to overflow. Now, until these most estimable Doctors can agree as to what is primary and secondary use, what is literality and figure, in the case of these words, they should not press their opponents too hardly with the dogmatic asser- 20 306 CLASSIC BAPTISM. tion, that the case before us is figure, and that " diseases and wizard arts " represent ocean billows. 25. "He is praised because he mersed the stewards; being not stewards but sharks." Plutarch. I 'do not know the nature of this baptism. I cannot say that water had not something to do with it, or every- thing, because I have no certain knowledge. The passage, as it stands (I am indebted for it to Dr. Conant), does not throw a ray of light upon the nature of the baptism. It is impossible to tell whether it is primary or secondary, literal or figurative. The stewards might have been drowned, might have been put to sleep by an opiate, might have been made drunk, might have been confounded by an expose of their administration, or a dozen other things, and the language would apply equally well in either case. They would all, alike, be mersions, baptisms. IIow de- lusive is the position, — " One meaning, clear, precise, definite, through all Greek literature." Any such word could expound itself. But this word cannot. Complete- ness of condition is its essential demand. 26. " Mersed by worldly aflfairs — we should struggle out and try to save ourselves, and reach the harbor." Plutarch. Rhetorical figure carries the mind back to the circum- stances out of which the secondary use sprang. There- fore, to insist on introducing shipwreck, struggling, swim- ming, reaching a harbor, into every conversational use of the word, would be as stilted and as mistaken as to put on a state dress to go out and do a day's ploughing. 27. "Knowing him to be licentious and extravagant, and mersed by debts of fifty millions." Plutarch. BAPTISM BY DEBT. 307 " Whelmed witli debts amounting to fifty millions" (Conant). " Oppressed with a debt of five thousand myr- iads" (Carson). Conant figures the debts as a mass falling on the debtor, or as flowing waters rolling over him. It is entirely wrong, according to Carson, to expound yJoTrrttw as bringing the element over the object. The word demands that the object be put into the element. Hence the figure which he pictures, out of these same materials, is that of a man sinking, in still waters, with a millstone around his neck. " This debt was not poured upon him, nor poured into him; but oppressed by it, as a load, he su7ik, or became insolvent." " The figure does not represent the mode of putting the debt on him, for in this there is no likeness. It represents the debt, when on him, as causing him to sink." Carson forgets that he should make the debt io dip the man, not to aink him. But we get used to this slipping one word into the place of another, in reading this writer. I would, also, call attention to the confusion and error arising from the use of "oppress" as the equivalent of jpress. To press and to oppress are very difierent words. The same amount of pressure may cause oppression to one man and not to another. Debt or load may press on a man, and his ability to bear the one or the other be entirely adequate. Debt or load which oppresses a man has reached a measure exhaustive of his ability. When, therefore, Dr. Carson translates by " oppress," he vin- dicates (in like manner as Conant by his translation, "whelm") the point we advocate — namely, a secondary use expressive oi controlling influence, Carson has, heretofore, remarked: "To be dipped in debt, supposes that we owe something considerable in proportion to our means." In this he is professedly speak- ing of the Greek /Sa7rT£'>, while, really, he is expounding the English dip. Dipped, in connection wnth debt, in Eng- lish, implies but a slight indebtedness compared with the means to pay; baptized, in the same connection, was used 308 CLASSIC BAPTISM. by the Greeks to express indebtedness beyond all means to pay. "We may be dipped, in debt, without being drowned. The last cannot be adequately represented by baptizo, except when circumstances render the meaning definite." The reverse of this statement is the truth. A man baptized in water is a drowned man, unless there is evidence to the contrary; and a man baptized in debt is a ruined man, unless there is evidence to the contrary. It is very doubtful whether the English language can furnish a second book equalling that of Carson in its confusion of important words. It is not claimed that this mersion is in debts; the dative is instrumental, as elsewhere. In every aspect the passage vindicates the idea of controlling influence. 28. "Eager that their children excel, quickly^ in all things, they impose on them labors beyond measure, , , . For as plants are nourished by water, in measure,, but are choked by excess, after the same manner the soul grows by labors, in measm-e, but is mersed by excess." Flutarch. It is impossible to figure "mersed" as a dipping in water without makinff Plutarch one of the saddest of blunderers, " The soul (/rows by limited labors, but is dipped in water by unlimited labors." Is that the way in which the pre- ceptor of Trajan harmonized the members of a sentence? Certainly he succeeded better in the attempt immediately preceding — " Plants are nourished by water in measure, but are choked by excess." We cannot consent to an in- terpretation of "mersed" which easts shame on this ac- complished Greek writer. If he affirms that the influence of moderate labor is healthy growth, then he afiirms that the influence of excessive labor is unhealthy decay. Mod- erate labor is within the power, under the control, and made subordinate by the soul, to its advantage; immod- erate labor is beyond the power, not subject to the control BAPTISM BY STUDY. 309 of the sou], "but suT^ordinates the soul to itself, and injures or destroys it. To express such controlling influence, Plutarch employs the terra in question. Carson thus comments : " Mr. Ewing says, ' the refer- ence here to the nourishment of plants indicates pouring, only, to be the species of watering alluded to in the term.' But in this figure there is no reference at all to the mode of watering plants. The reference is to the quantity of water. The mode is not mentioned; but even were it mentioned, it would merely be a circumstance to which nothing corresponds in the thing illustrated. What critic would ever think of hunting after such likeness in figur- ative language? There is, actually, no likeness between the mode of watering plants and the proportioning of labor to the mind of a pupil; and Plutarch is not guilty of such absurdity. To Plutarch's figure it would be quite the same thing, if a pot of plants was dipped into water, instead of having the water poured into it. The pot itself might be dipped into water without any injury to the plants. The plants are injured when the water is suffered to lie about them in too great abundance, in whatever way it has been applied. The choking of the plant corresponds to the suffbeation in baptism or immersion. The choking of the powers of the mind is elegantly illustrated by the choking of the vegetable powers when a plant is covered in water. There is a beautiful allusion to the suffocation of an animal under water. Were Plutarch to arise from the dead, with what indignation would he remonstrate asraiust the criticism that makes him to refer to the mode of watering plants, in a figure intended to illustrate the bad effects of too much studj^! How loudly would he disclaim the cold, unnatural thought ! Is it not possible to illustrate, figuratively, something by a reference to the mountains buried under the snow, without referring to the ynamier of its falling, and pursuing the resemblance to the flakes of the feathered snow? So far from this, I assert, tha,t this manner of explaining figures is univcrsallij improper. No instance could be more beautifully decisive in our 310 CLASSIC BAPTISM. favor than the above figure of Phitarch. Mr. Ewing makes him compare the choking of one thing to the over- whelming of another. But the author himself compares the choking of a plant, or the extinction of vegetable life, to the choking or extinction of the mental poicers; and in both there is an elegant allusion to the choking of an animal under water." In this interpretation Carson abandons dip, all act, aud makes the solution turn on effect, a doctrine which he reprobated in Gale and Cox. This effect results from " water lying about" the plants. But can " dip" produce any such effect? Besides, it is not the "lying about," whether by pouring or any other way, with which the sentiment has to do; but the consequent result, the in- fluence proceeding from such a condition. It is that de- structive influence, and not a mersed condition, any more than the form of the act, inducing such condition, of which Plutarch speaks. Carson cannot interpret the passage without an utter abandonment of that meaning, of which, he says, he has made a " complete demonstration." Compare the views here announced with those on the baptism of taxes. "In this figure the rulers are supposed to immerse the people. The literal translation is — ' they do not immerse the people with taxes.' The people, in such figure, sink by being weighed down with taxes. They cause the people to sink by their weight. It is a deep water in which we si7ik. To sink by debt, iigures the debt as a load on our shoulders, while we are in deep water. A man struggling for life in deep water, and at last sinking by exhaustion, is a true picture of an insolvent debtor." Thus we see, when Dr. Carson can lay his hands on immersing, sinking, plunging, or struggling, in water, whether lawfully or unlawfully, he works them into figure with a will. But when the act is 2^our, why, then, to base inter- pretation on that, is enough to stir old Plutarch in his grave, and put a tongue between his crumbling teeth to cry out in indignation. When the act by which a baptism BAPTISM BY STUDY. 311 takes place is, or is supposed to be, dipping, plunging, sinking, mode is everytliing, and ^a-Kri^m denotes modal act; but when the act of baptism is i^our^ then, "it is nought, it is nought," cries the controversialist; and fia-Ti'^uj has nothing to do with the act; everything is con- centred in effect, resultant condition, water lying about the plants, and consequent choking influence! Wlien it is claimed that hot iron may be cooled by pour- ing water upon it, Carson is indignant that " the usual mode" should be disregarded. Wlien it is pleaded that "the usual mode" of watering plants is by pouring, why, then, the pot can be just as well dipped ! The choking or extinction of the mental powers is com- pared to the " choking of a plant." Plutarch does not say one syllable about the choking of the mental powers, and the introduction of the word is a surreptitious abandon- ment of the claimed figure, dipped in water, for the in- fluence which results from a mersion. And as for the elegant allusion in "the soul mersed by excessive labor" to an " animal sufibcating under water," Plutarch will not be indignant at such an allusion being, most gratuitously, attributed to him, for Plutarch, alas, is dead! But Dr. Carson thinks that no likeness can be pointed out between an act and an efiect. We are glad to hear him say so. How it happens that he has undertaken to point out the resemblance between the act of baptism (mode and nothing but mode) and the effect of debt, taxes, grief, sleep, wine drinking, &c., &c., we will not attempt to €xj)lain. He says: "Plutarch is not guilty of such absurdity." Put another name for Plutarch, and will the commission of the absurdity be ^visdom ? Whether we regard the passage itself, or its attempted exposition by those who would expound it as a water figure, we are shut up to the conclusion that controlling influence proceeding from excessive mental labor, is what is, only and directly, stated. 312 CLASSIC BAPTISM. 29. " The lo-Bacchus was sung in feasts and sacrifices of Bacclius, mersed with much wantonness." Proclus. "Ini-bathed with much wantonness" (Conant). Bap- tist transhitors have a remarkable pejichant for compound- ing the translation of iSaTzri^uj as in im-merse, im.-m.erge, sub-merge, over-whelm, zm-bathe, when there is no cor- responding feature in the original. It is, somewhat, remarkable that the power of the dative should assert itself as agency contrary to the tendency of the use of zm-bathe to convert it into the mersing ele- ment. Milton's language, probably, helped to this result. In " imbathe, " dipping, plunging, sinking, all disappear. The cherished dogma, "mode, and nothing but mode," has utterly vanished. Im-bathe has not the strength of an infant to put its object in anything. It may, but does not necessarily, envelop its object. It has extremely lim- ited use in application to physical elements, and I do not know that it is found in such use out of poetry. Im- bathe and bathe-in are no more equivalent, in use and meaning, than are op-press and press-on. Imbathe and oppress refer, almost exclusively, to things and influences which are un-physical. When Dr. Conant translates by the very unusual word " imbathe," (unusual, I mean, in his translations), he does, again, establish the position that the usage we are examining is declarative of controlling influence. He quotes Milton : " And the sweet odor of the return- ing gospel imbathe his soul with the fragranc}" of heaven." The soul is not put into this heavenly fragrance, but it comes upon the soul, and communicates to it its delights aboundingly. A passage more parallel in sentiment mav be found in Spenser : " Tluit nigh his manly hart did melt away, Bathed in wanton blis and wicked joy." Imbathe always implies influence from the element or agency imbathing. Milton gives an illustration : BAPTISM BY WANTONNESS. 313 " Bearing her straight to aged Nereus' hall, Who, piteous of her woes, rear'd her lank head, And gave her to his daughters to imbathe In nectar 'd la vers strew 'd with asphodel. And through the porch and inlet of each sense Dropt in ambrosial oils till she revived, And underwent a quick immortal change." Coinus, 835-41. Hence, when Dr. Conant says this is "tlie corresponding English word," there is much truth in it, so far as this secondary use is concerned; but very little so far as the primary use is concerned ; as the facts abundantly show. 30. " But when she (Philosophy) sees me mersed by grief and carried away into tears, she is displeased." Themistius. "Whelmed by grief and moved to tears " [Conant). In translating slq ddxpua y.ara^tpo[izvov — " moved to tears" — is it designed to treat this as figure? Is "tears" to be repre- sented as a town some distance off, to which "move" carries Themistius ? Or, is xarafspoij^vuv a rushing torrent, bearing the mourner for his flither into some gulf or bay denoted by " tears"? Does any one say, " this is inexcus- able ridicule." I answer, it is just such exposition as this that Carson treats us to when he represents Egypt flooded with water, and its inhabitants sinking in the flood with loads upon their backs labelled "taxes." Or, debtors floundering in deep water, and going down under the burden of unreceipted bills. If "moved to tears" is an everyda}'- phrase, well under- stood as directly expressive of a change in feeling under some powerful influence, which it becomes an imper- tinence to expound, soberly, as figure denoting a change in locality; by what law is it that "mersed by grief " is excluded from the same just method of interpretation? " Mersed by grief" was as familiar phraseology to the 314 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Greeks, expressive of the controlling influence of sorrow, as is "moved to tears" familiar to us, as expressive of a change of feeling under tender influences. While the origin of both is obvious, frequent use has given to each a direct power of expression which at Once carries thought to the mind without any, the least, reversion to a pri mary use. These phrases justly claim our recognition of them in this their acquired character. WHAT IS IN PROOF? Having seen exemplified by numerous passages — (1.) Simple intusposition without influence; (2.) Intusposition accompanied with influence ; (3.) Intusposition for the sake' of influence — we have, now, very conclusive evidence for, (4.) Influence without intusposition. That such a change is no novelty in the history of lan- guage is evident: 1. From an analogous change in iSdrrrcD. This word, orig- inally, meant to dip. By dipping into coloring matter the object became colored; hence, came the secondary mean- ing to dye, in which the original act, dip, was laid aside, and the resultant influence of the act, color, Avas retained. 2. By a similar change in steep. The primary use of this word requires intusposition within a fluid, for the purpose of giving or receiving thorough influence. In this respect it is quite identical with the third class above mentioned. But steep does, in usage, lay aside this intus- position, both as of fact and of figure, retaining only the idea of fulness of influence. Witness the following : " The soveraine wocde betwixt two marbles plaine Shee pownded small, and did in peaces bruze ; And then atwoene her lilly handes twaine Into his wound the juice thereof did scruze ; And round about, as she could well it uze, Thefiesh therewith she suppled and did steepe." F. q. iii, 5. BAPTISM WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. 315 Also tills : " But faire Priscilla (so that lady hight) Still, by her wounded love did watch all night, And all the night for bitter anguish weepe, And with her tears his wounds did wash and steepe." F. q. vi, 3. 3. If this usage were originally tropical, it is au uncoii- troverted point, that tropical use may become literal. 4. It is impossible to make these passages figure simple intusposition. "With this they have no shadow of sym- pathy. Every letter sends forth a ringing cry of influence. It must, then, be intusposition for influence. But if so, then we must rack our invention for an element (for none is stated) appropriate to each case. The idea of making water the element into which these varied agencies merse their objects, is sheerest nonsense. 5. There is no escape from influence under any inter- pretation. We claim it proved that (SanrtXa}, absolute or with appropriate case, in unphysical relations, expresses CONTROLLING INFLUENCE wUllOUt intuSpOSition. 316 CLASSIC BAPTISM. CONTROLLING INFLUENCE— SPECIFIC. WITH OR WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. SECONDARY USE, There are some tilings whicli exert over certain objects a definite and unvarying influence. Whenever, therefore, ^aTtrc^o} is employed to denote the relation between such agencies and their objects, it no longer expresses a merely general influence, or one which, while receiving some coloring, still admits a varied application; but gives de- velopment, in the completest manner, to that specific in- fluence which belongs to the case in hand. The specific influence exerted by water over a human being put within it, is to drown. The specific influence of wine, freely drunk, is io intoxicate. The specific influence of an opiate is to stupefy. The specific symbol, influence of pure w^ater, or sea water, used in religious rites, is to purify. The rising sun does not more surely, or more necessarily, bring with it light, than does this Greek word, in such re- lations, bring with it the specific conceptions of induced drowning, drunkenness, stupefaction, and purification. And it would be just as necessary and suitable to call in the help of an old broom to aid the sun in clearing away the mists of night, as to call in the help of figure to illumine a usage which is so perfectly self-resplendent. This usage justifies, in the fullest manner, the conclusion founded on the preceding passages, and goes beyond them, in that it justifies and enables us to employ specific terms, which definitely embody the influence in question, as the most legitimate translation of the word, used absolutely, or, of a phrase, wath which it is in living union. Some passages justifying this view will, now, be pre- sented. SPECIFIC INFLFENCE. 317' SPECIFIC INFLUENCE. 1. Hv Tu) duToj ^ap'idxio -/.araijuZTCcra^, Achilles Tatius, Leuc. and Clit., ii, 31. 2. Bej3a~TcaOac rs roj k'oixs. Lucicin ; Bacchus, vii. 8. 'AuTo^ ic/u Twv ^Os<; l3s,3a-TciT/j.ivcov. Plato; Ba7iquet, \v. 9. Aai iyuj yvubc; ^a-ri.'^uij.svuv ro pscpaxcuv. Plato; Euthedemus vii. 10. Ba~T{!^ovreg ix ttcOcuv /isydXwv . . . Ttpoi-tvnv. Plutarch; Alexander, Ivii. 11. Iipa:i:aXuj has a second- ary meaning in which no form of act appears, and every other error is carried with it. And, then, we liave — "the lake DYED hg blood." What adifterence! The recfifica- tion of one word works the change. Color takes the place of the form of an act; instrumentality takes the place of locality; and literality takes the place of figure. We, thus, see what vital issues depend on the right de- termination of the value of [-ia—r^M. Has it " but one 21 322 CLASSIC BAPTISM. meaning tlirongli all Greek literature — mode and nothing l»ut mode — to dip" ? Or, is it devoid of all modal action — demanding a condition of intusposition ? And does it, with a parallelism to (Sd-rw, lay aside this primary demand for intusposition, and substitute for it a demand, only, for controlling influence, which attends on some phases of in- tusposition, as djjeing on some cases of dipping? Apply the one view, or the other, to a passage, quite parallel to that just mentioned — S-^w 7r> -«/;■> f,Sd-T£^;i/ — and ^^ plunged the city in sleep," is the translation promptly offered by the advocates of the first view. It is all in vain to plead ao'ainst the use of a terra expressive of violence in connec- tion with sleep. It is vain to speak of the questionable rhetoric which picks up a city to plunge it into sleep. It is equally in vain to plead for instrumentality in the dative. The ear is deaf. It is filled, to repletion, with " one mean- ing, modal action, dip, plunge." Accept the alternative view, and — "the city is ihoroughlg influenced by sleep." So long as the old error in defining /?a--w is fastened on to /SctTTTi'^w, we must have errors of conception and translation in the latter word paralleling those, now abandoned, which mark the history of the former word. Carson dips, plunges, immerses Alexander in wine, in- stead of allowing him to be " influenced (made drunk) by wine." lie might as well have allowed Gale to dip the lake in blood, and not have insisted on its being influenced (dyed) by blood. Interpretation. — After having, most loyally, paid trib- ute to theory and system by introducing modal act and figure into his translation, Carson adds — " that is having made him. drunk with wine." With this admission of the meaning, and with the admission of Conant (in his trans- lation, " ?.t'/ie?me6? loith wine''), that there was no dipping, even in the figure, we may be satisfied that we do not greatly err in the position that influence is directly ex- pressed, and as that influence can take but one form, the translation is fiiithful which says, "having made Alexander drardi by much wine." BAPTISM BY WINE. 323 This baptism claims attention in other aspects : 1. A physical, flnid element was present in the baptism and causative of it, while there was no phi/sical mersion in this physical element. The idea of a figurative mersion in the wine drunk is untenable in every aspect. Carson would not put Otho in his debts; why will he put Alex- ander in his cups, or in his casks? But enough of figure. No one pretends that " the Tyrant" was physically dipped, mersed, or drowned. And yet a fluid clement was present, was operative, and there was no physical mersion in it, or in anything else, although we are told by controversialists, "Alexander was dipped, immersed in much wine." 2. There was a baptism, it was caused by this fluid, yet not by it as & fluid. The causative power of wine to effect this baptism was not its character as a liquid., but as possessed of an intoxicat- ing quality. The exercise of this quality over the husband of Tliebe did, in the estimation and absolute language of the Greeks, baptize him — merse him — as really and truly as if, instead of being laid in his chamber, he liad been laid in the lowest cavern of the sea. The nature of the baptisms differs : the reality is equal. 3. The mode of using this baptizing element was by drinking. Thus is its power to baptize developed. The skin is bapted by the rays of the sun falling on it. The intellect and the bodij are baptized by draughts from the wine-cup. 4. Symbol wine baptism may be set forth by sprinkling the intoxicating element. " Poure out the wine without restraint or stay; Poure not by cups, but by the belly full ; Poure out to all that wall, And sprinkle all the posts and wals with wine, That they may sweat, and drunken be withal." ^joenser, Epithalamion. 324 CLASSIC BAPTISM, 5. " Bacchus — wine — merses by sleep, the neighbor of death." Evenus. ^^ Plimges in sleep, neighbor of death" {Conanf). This form of translation differs, both remarkably and unaccount- ably, from the very uniform translation adopted in other cases, identical in spirit and in grammatical structure. I give the translation of all the passages from classical writers, containing the simple dative, under the head, " Fisfurative Sense." in Br. Conant's classification. 1. " Wlicrchy" [L e. by which desertion) " the city would have been whelmed." 2. "Whelmed by the calamity." 3. " "Whelmed with such a multitude of evils." 4. " Whelmed hy anger." 5. " Whelm the common people with taxes." 6. "Whelmed with debts." 7. "Overwhelmed by such as are excessive." 8. " Whelmed icith undiluted wine." 9. "Whelmed with much wine." 10. " Imbathed with much wantonness." 11. " Wlielmed witJi him in his grief." 12. " When midnight had plunged the cit}^ in sleep." Thus, in every passage (but one, and in that relating to sleep), the translation is by whelm, and with the preposi- tions (by, with) expressive of instrumentality. " Plunge in sleep" is not onlyout of harmony with Dr. Conant's trans- lations, but with the facts of nature. Br. Cox complains of opponents translating hy jyliwge, because that word ex- presses "suddenness and violence." But neither "mid- night" nor "wine"" does "suddenly" or "violently" plunge into sleep. Midnight perfects what earlier hours of the night have been steadily bringing on. Wine does not, primarily, induce sleep; that is a secondary result; therefore, it cannot be characterized as sudden or violent. It is very clear, both on' general views of the meaning of the word and the special features of the case, that "plunge" has no right to appear here. Bismissing it, then wo have no difficulty in recovering " sleep" from its false position as element, and instating it in its true posi- tion, as an instrument in the hands of Bacchus. BAPTISM BY SLEEP. 325 The alliance of a drunken sleep with death is founded in nature. "Ne would ke suffer Sleepe once thether-ward Approch, albe his drowsy don were next; For next to Death is Sleepe to be compared ; Therefore his house is unto his annext." Spenser. 6. "Since, now, a mass of iron, pervaded with fire, drawn out of the farnacc, is inersed by water, and the heat, by its own nature quenched by water, ceases." Homeric Allegories. " Since the mass of iron, drawn red-hot from the fur- nace, is plunged in water" [Cunant). 1. It is as certain as anything in philology, that "jolunge," distinctively, as expressing a form of action, does not define ^a-KTiZoi. To overflow^ as expressing a form of action, is as near the contradictory of plunge as it can well be; yet overflow is used by Baptist scholars to define this Greek word. And in such use overflow performs its duty, to say the least, as faithfully as does plunge. But it is a philo- logical axiom, that where two diiferiug forms of action can be employed in the exposition of the same word, such word can be, strictly, defined by neither. Plunge has no right to appear as the critical representa- tive of /SaTTTcCw. And in any case of baptism where the form of act is not expressly stated (it can never be learned from the word itself), it is entirely inexcusable for any one to bring forward the form of an act, insist upon its autocratic rights, and fashion the phraseology after its model. ]^o argument can be grounded on the assumption of a plunging. 2. The simple dative, with (Sa-riXw^ announces, with au- thority, the presence of agency and not of element. There is, therefore, no authority in uSan pa-nriUrai for saying that hot iron is '■'• inlmged in water." If it is urged, 326 CLASSIC BAPTISM. in defence, that water is capable of receiving liot iron by plunging; this is freely admitted. If it is urged, "hot iron is very frequently, in fact, plunged in water," this, too, is unhesitatingly admitted. And after all else can be said, the reply is short and crushing — 1. BaTrriZui says nothing about plunging. 2. Hot iron may be raersed in other ways than by plunging. 3. The phraseology indi- cates the agency by which, and not the element in which, the result is accomplished. Rational discussion must here end. Wine is capable of having an object "plunged in it;" yet Dr. Conant does not say that Alexander was plunged in it, in fact, but whelmed by it. A soporific p)otion is ca- pable of having an object plunged in it; yet Dr. Conant does not say that Leucippe's maid was so treated; but whelmed with it. 3. A FLUID ELEMENT may he used, as an agency, in baptism, and accomplish such baptism, without involving the baptized ob- ject in a physical mersion. This is a vital position, and, if made good, carries every- thing with it. In support of it, now, I observe : 1. Wine, a fluid element, has already been seen, as an agency, to effect a baptism without any physical mersion. " But this was figurative, and mersion is supposed to be in it." This is an error. First. There is no sign of any such figure. Second. The wine is used as agency, and not as element. Third. The physically mersing quality of the fluid has noth- ing to do with the baptism. It is, exclusively, its intoxi- cating quality and the introduction of its physical quality is a huge blunder. "When Alexander was brought, through the intoxicating principle, into a drunken condiiion, he was baptized. Call this figure, if you will; it was baptism by a fluid clement, in which its nature as a fluid had no con- cern. A distinctive principle, which is itself devoid of covering qualities, performed the baptism. Wine baptizes by its intoxicating principle solely; robbed of this it ceases to baptize. Baptize is applied to the case, not because of BAPTISM BY WATER WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. 327 any physical investiture of the object, real or supposed, but because of a controllina; influence. 2. An opiate potion, a fluid element, has, also, been seen to efiect a baptism without any physical mersion. As in the case of wine, the fluid character of the agency had nothing to do with the baptism. Xo one has suggested " plunging" the doorkeeper into the potion to put him to sleep; and into the wine to make him drunk. Why not? A man put into the " elixir of opium" would as soon be put to sleep, as one put into a wine-cup, or cask, would be made drunk. And both would be put into that long sleep which "knows no waking." But the physically mersing qualit}- of this drug-potion has nothing to do with the case. It is limited, solely, to the soporific principle. Had the drug been in the form of a pill, it would have baptized equally well. But what, then, would have become of the figure by which the baptized are to be " plunged in " a pill? The somnific quality of a potion drunk exhausts its bap- tizing power. Fluidity is an accident, a mere vehicle of the controlling influence. 3. Water, by its deintoxicating quality, when mixed with wine, baptizes wine. Does it do so by any physically mersing quality? All such notion, through figure or fact, is put to flight by such a baptism. 4. Dr. Fuller admits a case of baptism by water where the drenchbifi qualities of water took the place of phj'sical mersion. I do not enter into the case, because it is outside of classic writers; but I glance at the admitted existence of a case parallel with those in hand, and uniting to prove, that a quality of a fluid developed in a controlling degree over its object, is legitimately termed a baptism. Dr. Fuller retreats from the ruins of his falling system with the cry — " The writer is one of the most impassioned of men!" 5. The passage before us sustains the position. Water has many qualities besides that. which adapts it for physical 328 CLASSIC BAPTISM. envelopment. It will make very wet, as in Dr. Fuller's case, when poured on profusely; it will 7nake umnioxicating when poured in wine; and it will make cold, when poured on liot iron. And all these cases of controlling influence, apart from physical envelopment, the Greeks called baptisms. Heraclides Ponticus (if the writer of the passage) gives an allegorical representation of Mars, Vulcan, and Nep- tune, under the symbols. Iron, Fire, and Water. Mars (iron) is held under the power of Vulcan (tire); but Vulcau being brought under the power of Neptune (water), Mars is set at liberty. The point involved in this representation is not whether water can physically merse iron, but the relation between heat and water. The writer says that heat is of such a nature that it is mastered, mersed, completely controlled by water. This is not true of cold iron. Cold iron may be mersed in water; but this mersion is essentially different from the mersion of hot iron by water. The one is simply a mersion of position. Iron may be mersed a thousand years in water and not be influenced b}' it. The other is a mersion of influence. This has nothing to do with posi- tion. Hot iron is mastered, subdued, influentially bap- tized, robbed of its heat, by water, however brought in contact with it. Let it be remembered that it is the rela- tion of water and heat, and not of water and iron, which is involved. The live chicken of the Roman poet was mersed by wine through mersion in wine, because the influence desired (drowning) could not be secured in any other way. Alexander was mersed by wine, not by mers- ing in wine; because the influence desired could not be secured in this way. It was not designed to have the physically mersing quality in droirniiir/; but its influentially mcrsing quality in making drunk. Therefore, Alexander was not mersed in the wine, but the wine was mersed in Alexander. It was, only, thus that he could be 'mersed by wine. Hot iron, when desired to bo brought into a state of coldness, may be mersed by water by being mersed in BAPTISM BY WATER WITHOUT INTUSPOSITION. 329 water; or, if tlie iron be hollow, by mersing the water in tlie iron; or, if solid, by pouring the water over it; or, by sprinkling the water upon it. It is a matter of the most absolute indifference how the water is applied ; ^uttti^u} claims no control over it, and is infinitely indifferent to it. Although physical bodies are embraced in the transaction, still, physical mersion is not at issue; but the quality of water to induce a condition of coldness in a heated body. ISTo one will say, that to induce this, physical intusposition is necessary. Mersion by water, and mersion in water, are two vastl}^ different statements. Mersion by wine, and mersion in wine, are equally at variance. Mersion by a soporific draught, and mersion in a soporific draught, idiocy, onl}^, could confound. Heraclides does not say one syllable about a mersion in •water. He says, that ^'■rcd hot iron mersed by water" — brought under the cold-inducing quality of water — " the heat is quenched by the water, and ceases." The use of the word must not be made the occasiou of error. BanriXw, second, must neither be deprived of its peculiar rights and privileges, nor made responsible for duties which belong exclusively to ^araiZoj, first. Banrt^w, like fidTTTO), is geminal. For a very long time the distinct personality of the second was denied, and merged in the first. "Whenever the second /Sa-rw appeared he was made, will or nill, to dip, by figure. And, now, the second ^a-ri'^ut is made, rationally or irrationally, to ind under icater, by figure. It often happens that heated iron is of such weisrht, or form, or in such relations, that it cannot be physically mersed. I have witnessed such cases mersed — brought out of a hot state into a cold state— by water, both poured and sprinkled. Spenser seems to have had his eye on the very passage before us when he wrote : " And hundred furnaces all burning bright To melt the golden metall, ready to be trj^do: One with great bellowes gathered filling ayre, And with forst wind the I'cwoU did inflame ; S30 CLASSIC BAPTISM. Another did the djnng bronds repayre "With yron tongs, and sjy/'inckled oft the same With liquid waves ^ers Vulcans rage to tame, Who, maystering them, renewd his former heat." 5. Corollary. — ^Mlcncl•cr any liquid, jyossessed of a qualify capable of exerting a conirolling influence of any kind ivhatever, is applied to an object so as to develop such injiuence, it is said, on all classical authority, to baptize that object, without regard to mode of application, and with as little regard to physical position. 7. " When an old man drinks, and Silenus takes pos- session of him, immediately, he is, for a long time, silent, and resembles one heavy-headed and mersed." Lucian. This passage gives the clearest evidence for a secondary use aud sense. Lucian is not speaking of drinking from a wine-cup, but from the fountain of Silenas. lie does not describe directly the effect of such drinking, except as to its inducing "silence;" in other respects, he says, the drinker "resembles one heavy-headed and mersed." In this statement, ^anri'^u} is joined with a word which, in its literal, primary meaning, expresses one of the feat- ures of wine-iulluence over the system, — " heavy-headed- ness." It is incredible that a reference to intoxication would thus mix up together the literal and the figurative. If " heavj'-head" is literal, "mersed," also, is literal. Airain: TVe use for illustration thing's well known, to throw light on things less known. " Ileavy-headedness and mersion," therefore, must have been things well un- derstood, as they are the illustrative explanation of the influence exerted upon those drinking of the Silenic fount. ISTow, these terms are used by Lucian to express a state of intoxication. They must, therefore, have been in fa- miliar use, with such meaning. The language bears, on its face, evidence of well-worn, every-day use. "Mersed" is used absolutely and as self-explanatory. A coin worn BAPTISM BY DRINKING, AT A FOUNTAIN. 331 smooth by use, a golden eagle with the bird of Jove worn away by attrition in passing through the hands of the mil- lion, does not more fully self-evidence long and familiar use, than does this phraseology prove every-day familiarity to the popular lip and ear. But again: The idea of figure is precluded, because resemblances are not traceable between facts and fijrures. Figure cannot be the basis of figure. If Lucian uses the condition of mersion to expound some other condition, then the condition expressed by mersion must be a reality, and not the figure of something else. We, then, have the case of a man not only baptized by a fluid element, but at a fountain without any mersion in it. "What higher evidence we could have that the Greeks appropriated this word to express a state of drunkenness, I do not know. 8. " For I myself, am of those who, yesterday, were mersed." Plato. Again, we have the absolute use of the word without the slightest indication of a picture or a comparison. Lan- guage could not be used more deeply stamped with the evi- dence of self-completeness. Yet Dr. Carson says: " AVhen baptizo is applied to drunkenness it is taken figuratively; and the point of resemblance is between a man completely under the influence of wine and an object completelj^ sub- jected to a liquid in which it is completely immersed" (p. 80). It is an error to say, " a man completely under the influence of wine resembles an object completely immersed in water." Because, 1. There is nothiug in the former case to which the envelopment in the latter can be resem- bled. Wine does not exert its intoxicating influence by the envelopment of its object. 2. Envelopment of an object in water does not necessarily exert an influence over the immersed object. A flint stone, immersed in water, experi- 332 CLASSIC BAPTISM. ences uo influence from tlie enveloping fluid. 3. "When the object is of such a nature as to be influenced by such position, as a man suflbcated by encompassing water, there can be no resemblance to such position ; because a drunken man is in no analogous position. The resemblance must be confined to the influence, to the exclusion of position inducing such influence; and in the influence there must be a farther limitation : its specific character must be dis- regarded; for there is no resemblance between the spe- cific influence of wine drunk, and the specific influence of water over a man immersed in it. There is, then, noth- ing left but the controlling j)ower as common to the one and the other. Wine, in its fully developed influence, sways a comjylete and controlling influence over the intellect and body; water sways a comjylete and controlling influence over a living man immersed in it. There is no resem- blance between the mode in which the influence is exerted, for there is no resemblance between drinking and immer- sion ; there is no resemblance in the specific influence, for there is no resemblance between drunkenness and suf- focation; the resemblance is, and only is, in controlling power : the wine controls human intellect, the water con- trols human life. This is the original ground on which the word became applied in secondary use; but to say that every use through a thousand years must carry a designed, or an appre- hended, resemblance, is to set at naught endless facts and clearest principles in the development of language. All resemblance might be expected to disappear, first, from the form of utterance; then, from conscious intellectual apprehension, leaving behind, only, the abstract thought of controllino; influence. The facts of usasre show that such was the case. An advance step would give the word, by frequent appropriation, a specific character. This seems to have been done, as in this and other passages, by its identification with wine-influence. " I was of those, yes- terday, mersed — ina^le drunk." The perfectly analogous development of fidTrru) has al- BAPTISM BY WINE. 333 ready been pointed out. Dr. Conant translates: "I my- self am one of those who, yesterday, were overwhelmed." By this translation he fxills under the ban of Carson, who affirms, " The classical meaning of the word is, in no in- stance, overwhelm" (p. 311). "Whence this contradiction between the ablest Controversialist and the Scholar with- out a superior among Baptists, in regard to a word of " one meaning, easily understood, and to make a difficulty in translating which is all a pretence"? Carson rejects " overwhelm," because the word means the definite act, "dip and nothing but dip, through all Greek literature;" a 'position lohieli icill nexer he maintained again by any scholar of half the learning of Carson, after looking through the facts of usage. This is not Conant's position. But what his position is, is left in obscurity by the commingling of the inconsistent terms, dip and plunge, severely modal in form of act, and the use of immerse, immerge, and sub- merge, equivocal as to form of action; as, also, by the use of the terms whelm, overwhelm, irabathe, immodal as to act, but having a secondary use expressive of controlling influence, while such use is denied. In the passage before us, as an English word, " over- whelm" can, only, have the meaning of controlling in- fluence. To say that it does, and is designed to figure " mountain billows, rushing torrents, sweeping inunda- tion, sinking with a millstone weight in deep water," is preposterous. The meaning of controlling influence is sustained by the ciuotation given by Conant: " In this use, the Greek word corresponds to the English word drench. So, Shakspeare, Macbeth, i, 7, (speaking of the ' spongy officers' plied 'with wine and wassail,')" " When in swinish sleep Their drenched nature lies." m a note. Dr. Conant adds : " Icelandic, drechia, to plunge in water; Swedish, draenca, same sense; also, io drown. — Did. of Eng. Elymol., Wedgewood." lie might have forther added, Saxon, drenccan, to soak, to inebriate; Dutch, dren- 834 CLASSIC BAPTISM. ken, to water, to soak. Is any support, herein, given to the idea that "overwhehii" means to plunge, or to be swept away by billows and torrents? Is it not established that "drench" has a secondary meaning, and a specific appropriation like /JaTrrttw, to express "drowning" and in- ebriety? Drench, like par^riZu), expresses no form of act, but con- dition. The condition demanded may be effected by an}^, competent, form of act; whether it be that of sprinkling, pouring, dipping, plunging, sinking, whelming, or what not. " Drench with water" is a command, not to execute a form of action, but to effect a certain condition ; to loet ihorougldu, to bring completely under the wetting quality of water. "Drench with wine" is a command, not to subject to the wetting quality of wine, but to bring com- pletely under its intoxicaiing quality by drinking. "Drench with rhubarb" is neither to make wet, nor to make drunk, but to bring fully under its jnirgatwe quality. Dr. Conaiit is right in saying "the Greek word corres- ponds to the English word drench," inasmuch as drench expresses, 1. Condition, and not the form of an act. 2. Completely developed influence. 3. Appropriation to drowning and drunkenness. lie, therefore, errs when he translates the Greek word by " overwhelm," using it in any other sense than that of complete influence, unless he will attach to it the Saxon idea " to inebriate," and admit that /SaTTTc'Cw has secured to itself the power to express, directly, a condition of intoxication. TO BEWILDER. 9. " I knovv'ing that the youth was mersed, wishing to relieve him." Plato. Cleinias, a young man, in company with some sophists, was hopelessly embarrassed by a series of subtle questions addressed to him. And, on this foundation, shall we sketch a picture of a youth exposed to rolling billows and BAPTISM BY QUESTIONS. 335 sweeping torrents? If Gale was justly liable to the charge of a " monstrous perversion of taste," in clipping a lake into a frog's blood, to avoid a secondary meaning to (id-rco; what shall be said of those who will take Cleinias from his entangling questions to drown him in the sea, in order to escape a secondary meaning to /Ja-rj^w? If usage like this does not prove an absolute departure from water mersion, both in fact and in figure, what can prove it? To baptism, thus exhibited, there is but one idea to be attached ; it is that of bewilderment. And this case shows the greatness of the error, when a figure is attempted, in bringing water envelopment, or any specific influence flow- ing from it, into the foreground of the picture. What has "bewilderment" to do with immersion in water or with suffocation? Understood to express, generally, controlling influence, it has a facile adaptation to any case, of what- ever nature, marked by such influence. One bewildered by questions, or drunk with wine, is, equally, a baptized man. They are brought info new conditions of being. TO MAKE DRUNK. 10. "You would not have seen a shield, or a helmet, or a long pike ; but soldiers mersing with bowls and cups and flagons, along the whole way, pledged one another out of large wine-jars and mixing vessels." " El.deq S" uv ov tzHztjv, ou xpayor^ ob ffdptana'y akla q jyrocrusted. Was such the style of this Bacchus baptism ? 3. As to baptize. Dr. Carson says, I will make the word baptize find me water, enough to dip in, amid a sandy desert. The word need not go far, then, when standing on the sandy shore of the sea, to find sufficient for every demand. Does it make use of it for " dipping" Bacchus? Does the fisherman take his wine-vessel, in his boat, out far enough, and honestly dip it, putting in a short distance, and, then, promptly recovering it ? Or, as honestly bap- tize it by putting it under without regard to a recovery? The one way is baptirtg, the other way, unquestionably, is one mode of baptizing; and if there be "but one mode," then it is the only mode. Is this the fishermen's mode of baptizing Bacchus ? Plutarch says not. He declares that as he was ensconced in the goblet they took water from the sea and poured it over him. " True, they poured the sea-water over him, but pouring is not baptizing; yet, if you pour long enough and cover him all over, there wnll be a baptism " [Fidler). I do not think the pouring was " long enough." I rather think that Bacchus would have resisted the mode as heretical and un-Greekly. Had it been persisted in "long enough," I think that he would have overleaped the goblet's brim, and utterly refused to be "covered over," In plain English, covering over wine, BAPTISM OF BACCHUS. 341 by pouring water into it, cannot be done. The baptism must be sought in another direction. Dr. Fuller admits, that an altar on which water was poured, without being "poured long enough to cover it," was, still, said to be baptized; because it was "drenched." Will Dr. Fuller admit that wine is "drenched" bj water poured into it, although not " poured long enough to cover it" ? Dr. Fuller has progressed from dipping to immers- ing, and from immersing to pouring long enough to cover, and from pouring long enough to cover, to pouring long enough to drench; will he take one more step in advance (it is all that I care for him to take), and pass on from " pouring long enough to drench," to pouring long enough to change the quality or condition, of an object ? Let this be granted by Baptist brethren, and the ma- terial for controversy on this subject will be exhausted. Does the case before us necessitate such acknowledg- ment ? I think that it does, most unmistakably. 1. It is a fact, that Bacchus (v/ine) was commanded to be baptized. 2. It is a fact, that under this command water was poured into wine. 3. It is a fact, that water thus poured into wine exercises a controlling influence over it; "tempers it;" changes its character; takes away its intoxicating quality; removes it out of the class of intoxicating liquids into the class of un- intoxicating liquids ; changes its condition. 4. It is a fact that such baptism is in completest har- mony with the exposition of the baptism of hot iron by pouring water on it: it controls its pecuhar quality of heat; changes its character ; makes it cold; brings it into a new condition. 5. It is a fact, that such baptism accords, most fully, with the exposition given of drunken baptism by pouring wine into a man; it controls him ; changes his character; makes him irrational; removes him out of sobriety into inebriety. 342 CLASSIC BAPTISM. 6. It is a fact, that Dr. Conaut places tins among "literal, physical " baptisms. We are happ}^ to have his high author- ity for such a truth. It has onr very cordial concurrence. There is no clipping, no plunging, no immersing, but there is a controlling influence exerted over an object; and that, whether it be by putting water into wine, or wine into a man, or water upon hot iron, is true and literal baptism, if the usage of classical Greek writers is of any authority. Wine made uniutoxicating by water poured into it, is baptized wine. / PURIFICATION, 15. " Call the purifying Old Woman, and merse thyself (going) to the sea, and remain all day sitting on the ground." Plutarch. This baptism differs from all others which have claimed our attention (unless it be the baptism of Bacchus), in that it is a religious baptism. The passage constitutes the counsel given to one who had been disturbed, and was supposed to be defiled, by ill dreams. Sea-water is to be used for the sake of its purifying influence. "Plunge yourself into the sea" [Conant). "Baptize yourself into the sea — this baptism, also, must be by im- mersion" [Carson). 1. It will be ray endeavor to show that neither of the specific forms of action, " plunging into the sea," — " dip- ping into the sea," — is stated, or of necessity required, by the text. 2. To show that, no specific form of action being stated, it is wholly beyond our power to know (therefore with propriety to afiirm) by what form of action this baptism was consummated. 3. To state a possible way in which it may have been done. 1. There is nothing in the passage to indicate the form of the act but ^ami^iu ; and that word is incompetent to BAPTISM BY SEA-WATER. 343 13erform any sach clutj, as has been, abundantly, shown. Besides, 2^^^^W^ given by Conaut, and dij), given by Car- son (for "baptize means dip, and only, dip"), are words of essentially difierent character; and baptize is so far from expressing either, that Fuller is compelled, openly, to abandon both for the cloudier term — " im-merse." It is a point as settled as anything of the kind can be, that the demand for plunging or dipping rests in the fancy of these writers, and not in the Greek word. " If the specific forms of act claimed are not in the word, yet is not a mersion, stripped of specific forms, to be found in 'the sea'?" I answer, no; for Bacchus was baptized "by the sea" without mersion by any form in the sea. "But does not the phrase [ia-riUv^ el^ Oula,j(7ay, necessarily require that the object (without giving to it form) should pass into the sea?" I answer, yes; provided there is an immediate relation between these words. That, however is not necessarily the case in the present instance. The person to whom these words are addressed is not standing on the sea-shore. If he were, these words would carry him (in some way not defined) into the sea. But he is at a distance from the sea, and, therefore, d- OdXaaaav. may be exhausted by a relation established with a verb of motion to be supplied. That this suggestion is not groundless is evident from the fact, that such a verb of motion is supplied in a French translatfon (1599), met with in the Philadelphia Library. It is true that this translation, still, supposed that there was a passing into the sea; but if this phrase be construed with a supplied verb, it is divorced from ^ar-ilm^ and has no longer power to interpret that word. That such separation should take place may be, farther, argued from the unsuitableness of such phraseology to express the use of sea-water for purification. It is such language as is, elsewhere, used for drowning, and unless deliverance come from some other quarter than the phrase itself, drowning is inevitable. I do not say that every baptized man must become a drowned man; but I do say 344 CLASSIC BAPTISM. that (ia-riXui never did, and never will take any man out of tlie water; and a command to baptize a man in the sea^ or to baptize himself into the sea, is a command (inter- preted simplj^ by the force of its terms) to drown a man, or to commit suicide by drowning, just as surely as that 2 and 2 make 4. For this reason, I say that the weight of evidence is in favor of another, possible, interpretation. The translation mcuj he, "baptize thyself, going to the sea;"' leaving the way open, after arrival there, for the use of the water, in any way that fancy, or superstition, or religious usage may determine. 2. ISTo manner of using the water having been stated, and ^oKri^u) being absolutely dumb with silence on that point, no human being can throw one ray of certain light on the mode of practice on this, or on any other occa- sion, characterized, only, by this single word. This truth becomes emphasized when, as here, there is no demand for even a mersed, physical, condition; much less for a definite act to effect such condition. If the counsel, given to the Dreamer, require mersion in the sea, it is obvious that it does so, not as an end, but as a means, a means to purification; but unless sea-water cannot purify except mersed objects (which we know is not true), then, so far as the attainment of this end, we are not shut up to a mersion in the sea. And the way for the manner of use opens wider still. It is important to keep in remembrance that this was a case of religious defilement; and that the point to be secured was, to bring the man out of this condition of defile- ment into a condition of purity. Kow% whatever will accom- plish this will render him a baptized man, according to the principle, "whatever is capable of changing the condi- tion, character, and relations of its object, is capable of baptizhig that object." And, here, allow nie to trespass, once more, by a reference to a writer outside of the classic circle. In the Stromata, iii, 18, tx nMi,'jtiav fia-Tilovai — doy/iaziW''-^^, "^ve have a baptism out of one coudi- BAPTISM BY SEA-WATER. 345 tion into another, " out of purity into impurity,"' and the baptism is effected by " licentious teaching." This is the most perfect confirmation of the principle deduced from the classics — Whatever exercises a controlling injlucnce over its object, BAPTIZES THAT OBJECT, b// transferring it from one state or condition to another. If sea-water has a controlling influence over superstitiously induced defilement, then, in. ichatever way such icater may be used (securing the development of such influence), it baj^tizes, taking out of defilement and putting into purity, with all its rights and privileges, whether by sprinkling or otherwise. 3. This sea-water may have been used by pouring, by sprinkling, by Vv^ashing the hands, or in any other way in which it was popularly imagined, or religiously required, to secure purification. The word fta-ri^u) places, absolutely, no limits to the case. If it was supposed that the virtues of sea-water were secured by drinldng, then such mode of use would be just as legitimate a 7node of haptisyn as any other. It would control the condition. The Rev. R. S. Fullerton, missionary to Ilindostan, says: " Upon this the dying man is placed, and pieces of gold and silver and coral, together ivith some Ganges icater and a tulsi leaf, were placed in his mouth. The tulsi is a plant much worship- ped by the Hindoos. All this is done by loay of inu'lfying the man and preparing him for death." Kow, I do not say, as a matter of fact, that Plutarch's dreamer did take sea- water and " put it into his mouth" for purification; bat I do say, that if the purifying influence of sea-water was supposed to be thus developed, then, Greek usage would say that such a man was a baptized man. And whether, in this passage or not, we should read, '■'■ pimfy thyself, going to the sea," there is nothing in classic usage to prevent ^anzi^oj meaning to purify by the sprinlding or drinldng sea- loater, any more than to mean to intoxicate l)y drinking wine. Palinurus was baptized into sleep by sprinkling his temples with Lethean dew. — JEneid, v, 855. If this dreamer, having gone to the sea, had neither 346 CLASSIC BAPTISM. plunged, nor dipped, nor sprinkled, nor drank its waters, nor, as Dr. Fuller suggests, " laid down upon tlie shore and let its billows roll over him," but had merely gone through the "-mud-smearing" process of lustration, and was, thus, supposed to be free from defilement; Greek usage would give fullest sanction to his being called a baptized man. If classic Greek pronounces that man who is in a condi- tion of drunkenness to be a baptized man — or, in a condi- tion of indebtedness, to be a baptized man — or, in a con- dition of intellectual imbecility, to be a baptized man — or, in a condition of obloquy, to be a baptized man — or, in a condition of grief, anger, or vehement desire, to be a baptized man — or in a condition of profound stupor, to be a baptized man — or, in a condition of suffering from mis- fortune, or from oppressive taxes, to be a baptized man — or, in a condition of mental perplexity, to be a baptized man — or, in a condition of disease, and under the influence of magical arts, to be a baptized mau, — then, I say (although no instance may be found, cither in the case before us, or in auy other case " through all Greek literature,^ where a man restored by auy competent influence to religious purity is said to be a baptized mau, still), any one who chooses thus to apply the term (and to associate it with spriukling as the act), will have, in so doiug, the unani- mous support of every classic Greek writer through a thousand years. Take, for example, the following: ^^ (ft kv Alyuzro} hpeiq iaoTooz T:tpippaivouatv ob ttuvtc udarc^ a)X ixzivio i^ ob ~e-tti apa y.ai 'A?:? Tze-coxev."* " The priests in Egypt besprinkle themselves, not with any water, but with that of which they believe that Isis drank." — Plutarch dc Isid. ct Osir., cap. 89. The term baptism is not applied to tliis transaction; but I affirm, that a state of eojnplcte purificaiion induced by the sprinkling of Ibis water, is as legitimate and true a baptism, interpreted by classic Greek, as would be a state * I follow Matthsei ; Exp. Bapt., p. 338. I have not found this precise language. BAPTISM BY TEACHING. 347 of complete covering of their bodies by tlieir being sunk to the bottom of the Mle. The baptisms diifer in their nature; but as to their legitimacy, under the severest in- terpretation, the former is as complete as the latter. Sprinkling demands, not as of grace, but as of absolute right, the acknowledgment of its power to baptize. A CLASS OF PEESONS— THOKOUGHLY IMBUED. OuTU) xai -^ij-stq ■Kapa^ar.riaTat.. So, also, wc are Parabaptists (spuriously mersed). Arriak, ii, 9. As this passage has some special interest and import- ance, I will give it more fully : To -dOo^ rod (jsiSa/iiiivou xai f^py^'iivou tots xat eart toj wzl v.di y.aXztTa'. ^loudaioq. ourio xai rj/jlc: ~apa^aTcri<7Tat, Xoyw pAv "louSawt^ epyio S'lDdoTt, dtTup-aOsli^ 7:pd<; rov Xoyov. paxpdv d-o rou yp7,a&ai ruoxoi- a kiyoptv i(p oiq dig £:(5wrc? aura irzacpopeSa. The caption to the chapter from which this extract is made is as follows : "When we are unable to fulfil what the character of a man promises, we assume that of a philosopher." His theme- is Character — True Manhood — False Assumption. The translation and remarks of Prof. Stuart have been already given in connection with that part of the passage which relates to /Sa-ra». For convenience, I repeat what relates to the point before us : " Where we see any one acting with both parties, we are wont to say : lie is no Jew, but plays the hypocrite. But when he takes on him the state and feelings of one who is w^ashed or baptized, and has attached himself to the sect, then he is in truth and is called a Jew. But we are -apai^aizriarat^ transgressors as to our baptism, or falsely baptized, if we are like a Jew in pretence and something else in reality." Another translation : " But when he assumes the sen- timents of one who hath been baptized and circumcised, then he both really is, and is called a Jew. Thus we, fal- sifying our profession, are Jews in name, but in reality 348 CLASSIC BAPTISM. are sometlilng else. Our sentiments are inconsistent with our discourse ; far from practising wliat we teach, and we pride ourselves in the knowledge of. Thus, while we are unable to fulfil what the character of a man promises, we assume, besides, so vast a weight as that of a philosopher. As if a person, incapable of lifting ten pounds, should endeavor to heave the same stone with Ajax." — Elizabeth Carter. London, 1758. " Parabaptistic sumus, et non le- gitime tincti." — FoUtiani, Lufjdum, 1600. AVben speaking, heretofore, of "rd -deug rod ps^aiiiiivou-' I remarked that I bad not found any writer who brought the secondary meaning of ^jdnru) to bear upon the passage. Since then, I am happy to say, I have met with one who does. In jEjrktcti, ^c, London, 1G70, H. ^YoJfe, we have this translation : " Cum autem affectum ilia dlsdpUnd imhuti sectamque professi ad- liibuerit, tum revera Judaius et est et nominatur." All idea of any reference to Christian baptism, or Jewish baptism, or to the rite of circumcision, must, I think, be excluded, as incongruous, from the passage. I would read it thus : " When we see any one, now on one side, now on the other, we are used to say, he is not a Jew but a pre- tender. But when he adopts the sympathies of one imbued and convinced, then he is both in reality and is called a Jew. So, also, we are Parabaptists — mis-mersed — Jews in word, but something else in fact, un-sympathizing in heart with the utterances of our lips." (See Rom. 2: 28, 29.) 1. The scope of a passage must largely control the in- terpretation of its parts. The passage has an exclusive regard to man's nature, and to genuine and spurious char- acter. There is a severe exposure of the inconsistency exhibited between profession and practice. It is impossi- ble, under these circumstances, that the elements of a profession should be made the chosen exponents of char- acter. But this is done if a ritual baptism and a ritual circumcision are spoken of Outward rites do not confer inward character. To adopt the character or sympathies of one ritually baptized, &c., is to adopt a nullity. BAPTISM BY TEACIima. 849 2, The phrase ^Jt^jajj.idvoo y.di T,pr^!ihoo may be interpreted in completest harmony with the scope of the passa2:e. This has been, ah^eady, sliown, and need not be repeated. To adopt " the sympathies of one imbued and convinced," is to adopt a real, and not a merely ritual character. 3. Uapa^a-Ttarai 13 capable of a like harmonious inter- pretation. Nothing is more unquestionable tlian that pro- found influence belongs to /Ja-rt^w, and is inseparable from all its forms. The form before us is met with, now, for the first time. It may occur, elsewhere, in classical writ- ings; but, if so, I am not aware of it. In this infrequent occurrence, as well as in construction, it resembles J: (Sd-rac. The resemblance does not stop here. They both refer to classes of persons marked by decided character; /3a-T7j?, through dyeing; j3a7TTt(TTVjc, through mersion. The former drops the element of color; the latter drops the form of intusposition. Parabaptist is very clearlj^ expounded as one whose character is traceable no deeper than the utter- ances of the lip; while a Baptist, by implication, is one whose utterances are from the heart, or, as Antoninus sa^'s, '' imbued with honesty to the bottom/'' A ritual water dipping is utterly out of place. "0 fiaizzr^q was one tinc- tured with all that is vile; 6 [ia~iarriq is one thoroughly penetrated with the elements of character, honestly ex- hibited, whether good or bad. We have, thus, in the progress of our classical inquiries, been brought face to face with the Jew, interpreters tliink with Jewish baptism. The outer confine of the limits assigned to ourselves has been reached. Sacred Baptism can have no possible influence over Classic Baptism ; whatever influence the latter xaay have over the former. Every rational consideration demands that Classic Baptism should be discussed first in order, and be determined without any disturbing influence. In an attempt to do this, the materials within my reach have, now, become exhausted. And here wo rest. 350 CLASSIC BAPTISM. GENEKAL EESULTS. In concluding this inquiiy, and in gathering up results connected with it, it may be remarked : 1. Certain old and long-cherished errors have been abandoned. (1.) That, jSd-ru) and fia-ri'^ui are absolute eqidmlents, is an error maintained through two centuries of controversy^, but, at length, abandoned by all. (2.) That, [3d-ru} does 7ioi mean to dije, is an error, now, left without a defender. It is instructive to remember that all cases of dyeing were once, controversially, treated as cases of Jlgure, in which dipping was always present in fact or in imagination. (3.) That, /SarrtTw means to dip repeatedly^ is an error thoroughly exploded. Lexicons still give this meaning; but lexicographers must take a great deal on trust, or on a necessarily imperfect examination. Thoroughly devel- oped usage is supreme. 2. Other errors remain to be corrected. (1.) That, (idnru), primary^ is sternly adherent to the modcdity of dipping, through all its usage, is an error to be corrected. Why not accept to moisten, to wet, to wash, without mo- dality, as well as to dye? These are the natural out- growths of dip, as are to color, to stain, to gild, to glaze, to temper, to tincture, the legitimate language offspring of dye. (2.) That, ^aizri^u) is but a reapiKarance of i3d-T-d of Publication. 3. To immerse, immerge, submerge, to dip, to plunge, to im- batlie, to whelm. T. J. Conant, D.D., Baptist Bible Union. I would place this answer : Whatever is capable of thoroughly changing the character, state, or condition of any object, is capable of baptizing that object ; and by such change of char- acter, state, or condition does, in fact, baptize it. Will soon be Ready for Publication. JUDAIC BAPTISM. JEWISH WRITERS. JOSEPH us. PHILO. JEWISH SCRIPTURES. Passages of Scripttire in the Old Testa?nent which are interpreted by Patristic Writers as expressive of Baptis?n. 1. Baptism by the Flaming Sword — Genesis 3 : 24— Ambrose. 2. Baptism by the J)d\\ge— Genesis 7 : 18— Tektullian, Cyprian. 3. Baptism by the Cloud and by the Sea.— Exodus U : 31— Basilm. 4. Baptism by Wood— Exodus 15 : 25— Ambro.se. G. Baptism by Washing Hands and Feet—E.vodus 40: 31— Cyril. G. Baptism by Sprinkling— Leri/tc?/s 14 : 7— Ambrose. 7. Baptism by Wiidnng— Leviticus 15 : 5— Chrysostom, Clement. 8. Baptism by the Jordan— JosAwa 3 : 17— Orioen. 9. Baptism by Circumcision— Jos/ma 5: 3— Justin Martyr, Greoory. 10. Baptism by Pouring Wi\tev—I Kings 18 : 33— Origen, Basil. 11. Baptism by Crossing the Jordan— // /liw^s 2 : 8— Orioen, Cyril. 12. Bai>tism by Washing— 7/ A'i«(7s 5 : 14— Septuagint. 13. Baptism by Weight of Sins—// Kings 6 : 5— Justin Martyr. 14. Baptism by Corruption— Jo/; 9 : 30— Aquila. 15. Baptism by Sprinkling and Washing— Paw/wi 51 : 7— Ambrose, Cyril. 16. Baptism by Trouble— PsaZ/n 69 : 2— Symmachus. 17. Baptism in Sincerity by True Fiuth— Canticles 5 : 12— Ambrose. 18. Baptism by Repentance- /sf/ZaA 1 : 16— Justin Martyr, Jerome. 19. Baptism by Water, by the Spirit, and by Fire— /.s«i«A 4 : 4— Basil. 20. Baptism by a Coal of F'u-c— Isaiah 6 : 7— Ambrose. 21. Baptism by Iniquity— /so/«A 21 : 4— Septuagint. 22. Baptism by Washing— i^^eAie/ 16 : 4— Jerome. 23. Baptism by Effusion and Sprinkling— AVA/W 36 : 25— Jerome. APOCRYPHA. Judith 12 : 7. Sirach 81 : 30, NEW TESTAMENT. Mr/-/,- 7 : 4, 8. /y»A7'll:38. Jhbrcws [): 10. ALSO, JOHANNIC BAPTISM WHAT IS ITS TllUE CHAEACTEH? I. WHAT WAS JOHN'S KNOWLEDGE AS TO THE USAGE OF BAUTIZQ. ? 1. As TO FIGURATIVE USE. 2. As TO LITERAL USE. ' II. THE COMMISSION OF JOHN TO BAPTIZE, III. THE NATURE OF JOHN'S BAPTISM. 1. As SHOWN BY VARIOUS STATEMENTS AND ALLUSIONS. 2. As SHOWN BY THE BAPTISM PREACHED. 3. As SHOWN BY THE BAPTISM RITUALLY ADMINISTERED. lY. THE PLACES OF JOHN'S BAPTISM. « V. THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD JESUS. VI. THE BAPTISM OF JOHN HIMSELF. 1. By TOUCHING THE PERSON OP THE LORD JeSUS. 2. By HIS OWN BLOOD AS A MARTYR. YII. PHILOLOGICAL AND GRAMMATICAL EXAMINATION OF RULING PASSAGES. P';'""ton Theological Seminary Lib. 1 1012 01189 8964 Date Due .^, i f' ■7--'' ■ :'J ^J^gf^ff'^^'''''-^'-'- »-— - 1 '!-" "■■ —000^^ f)