M i^ H^fe=^^«Hl .A-»r^,mit==i^^^a f'^tM-mi-', »^^H »yfe=7-^3,^jb^^i»i THE FAITHS OF THE WORLD; AN ACCOUNT OF ALL RELIGIONS AND RELIGIOUS SECTS. THEIR DOCTRINES, RITES, CEREMOxNIES, AND CUSTOMS. COMPILED FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES BY THE REV. .JAMES G^\RDNER, M.D. & AM., AUTHOR OF HIE CHRIiTUN CYCLOPJ:DLi, EIC, ginb lllusttatei from ^utl^cntit an!) Crusttooilbg Slutljoritits. PROSPECTUS. This Work has been prepared in the hope of supplying what has been exten- sively felt to be a desideratum in the literature of our day. Various treatises, indeed, have appeared of late years, which have shed much light on almost every portion of the mythologies and religions of the past; and from the narratives of travellers, as well as the reports of missionaries, much new and important information has been obtained on the present state and character of the Religions of the world. In reference, however, to both the past and the present, a comprehensive view of the whole subject seems to be still wanting. The Religion of God is one, but the Religions of man are many. The one God-derived religion, Christianity, stands separate and apart as it were from all the others. It not only is, but on comparison with others is seen to be infinitely superior to them, and is shown thereby to be alone the product of Divine inspu-ation. " Holy men of old " we know, " spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ; " and the Revelation thus sent from above is, without doubt, specially adapted to the character, the condition, and the circumstances of man. All human systems of religion, even the most degrading that exist upon the earth, are, on examination, discovered 3t to be founded to some extent on these religious sentiments .and feelings wliich are inherent in the constitution of ever}' mind. But far above all these, Christianity rises pre-eminent and alone; and the exhibition of its peculiarities, as contradistinguished fi-om those of every other system of religious doctrine which the world has ever seen, forms a most important and powerful argument in favour at once of its truth and of its divine origin. Such a comparison proclaims Christianity to be the religion, the only religion which is worthy of God and suitable for man. It proclaims at the same time, with equal power and effect, the utter ftitility of the infidel maxim, — that all religions ai-e alike. A false religion, whether recorded in the Koran of the ^luhanimedan or the Shaster of the Brahman, may contain many truths which in themselves are far ft'om unimportant, but the fact that it is a human instead of a divine^ a false instead of a true religion, indelibly stamps it as miacceptable and unrecognized in the sight of Him who is " Just and true in all His ways," as well as " Holy in all His works." To discover the points of contrast between mere human systems ot religion and that which is alone Divine, forms a most interesting and instructive subject of investigation. To this point earnest and thought- ful men have for some time past been directing their attention, and after the extensive, varied, and minute inquiries which, for half a century past, have been made into the Religions, both of Ancient and of Modem times, it appears to the Publishers that the present period is peculiarly favourable to the production of a work which is intended to take a careful and accurate survey of the whole field, exhibiting as faithfully and minutely as possible the various Beligious systems and practices which have existed, or do still exist, among the nations of the earth. Such, accordingly, is the object of the present undertaking. The Religions of the world may be viewed as comprehended imder four great systems, so conspicuous and well-marked as to stand in no danger of being confoimded with one another : — Paganism, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Chkistianity. I. Paganism. — In this extensive department of the work will be treated not only the gi*eat leading systems of mythological heathenism which pre- vailed among the Greeks and Romans, as well as the other nations ol antiquity, vnth an account of their idols, festivals, cei'emonies, their super- stitions, opinions, and practices, but also the gi-eat systems of modem Pagan- ism, —such as Hinduism and Buddhism, — and all the minor religions and modes of superstition which ai'e still found to prevail among the nations of Asia, Africa, and America. II. Judaism. — This department involves a detailed account of the opinions, ceremonies, and customs of both the ancient and modern Jews ; the sects and parties which have from time to time arisen among them, and the numerous and often strange modifications which the Eabbis have engi-afted on the original system of the Old Testament. III. i\IoHAMMEDANiSM. — This part of the subject includes a history of the great Eastern impostor ; an account of the rise, progress, and actual nattu-e of the Mohammedan system, and of its blendings of a Eabbinical Judaism with a perverted Christianity ; and a description of its so called orthodox and heretical sects, with the modified aspects which Islamism has assumed in the various coimtries where it has fomid its way, IV. Christianity. — Under this head falls to be considered the whole range of the distinctive featm-es of the Christian chm-ch from its first foundation to the present day ; its constitution, principles, and observances ; the vari- ous sects which have spnmg up within it at different periods, and their opinions and practices ; and a detailed account of the churches and denomina- tions existing at present throughout the world, with their distinctive peculi arities both in doctrine and practice. The dogmas of the Chm-ch of Eome, the Greek Chm-ch, the Eusso-Greek, and various Oriental churches, with their different festivals and ceremonies, will be minutely described. In traversing a field so vast as that which is indicated by this rapid sketch, it must be obvious on tlie slightest reflection, that the form of a Dictionary is the only one that is at once the most convenient for the reader, and the most likely to present the subject in a varied and interesting aspect. It affords, moreover, an opportunity of introducing various subordinate, i)ut still highly important departments of the subiect. Biogi-aphical Sketches, tor instance, of the founders or most mfluential exponents ot the various Sects and Kclij^ions of the world, and especially of the heresiarchs, heads of orders, doctors, and originators of denominations in the Christian church, fall most conveniently under thi? fonn. The introduction of numei'- ous technical terms pertaining to the Religions of the earth, such as Avatai;, Imam, Flamen, Fetish, Pagoda, Chapter, Stole, and Rubric, could not indeed well be accomplished under any other arrangement of its matter. The Publishers feel satisfied that they have been fortunate in securing for the production of this important publication — one requiring qualities and acquirements of no common order — the sei'A"ices of the Rev. Dr. James Gardner, author of " the Christian Cyclopajdia," and other works of reputa- tion, who has lone: directed his attention to the peculiarities of Human Religions, and has ably exhibited some of those of our common Christianity in the work above referred to. The carefiil study and laborious research which he has bestowed upon this work, cannot fail to recommend it to the public as a valuable treasury of accmvite, curious, and highly important infoniiation on a subject which deeply concerns all classes of readers. The immense number of authorities, ancient and modem, which have been con- sulted by him in its preparation, renders it impracticable to notice them in detail, or indeed to do more in this short Prospectus tlian to assure the public, that the information which it contains, as well as the numerous engravings with which its letterpress is illustrated, are drawn from the most authentic, accurate, and trustworthy sources. CONDITIONS. The woi-k will be publislied in 24 I 'arts, price 2 Sliillings each, super imperial 8vo, also in 8 Divi- •"ions, rich cloth, price Ts. 6<1. each ; — the whole fonning two niaf,Tiificent volumes, with 48 original en- ^ivinjp. Each 2 Shilling part will be accomp;inieil with two beautiful illustrative Steel Engraviiigj. the Publishers bind themselves to complete the Wurk on these terms, and will expect every Subscribei uO do the same, and to take and pay for each Part as published. A. FULLARTON ft CO., STEAD'S PLACE, LEITH WALK, EDINBURGH; AND 45 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON, TESTIMONIALS THE FAITHS OF THE WORLD, FROM CLERGYMEN OF VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Cljitrcl] of O^nglanir. I. I HAVE looked over a part of "The Faiths of the World." 1 have no hesitation in saying that, if the remaining parts are equal in merit, it will supply what lias hitherto been a desideratum in the popular litera- ture of the day. The description of tlie heresie-s which have arisen in the Christian church during tlie last 1800 years will lie most beneficial to the interests of true Christianity at the present time, as it will show that the opinions which appear at intervals now on religious subjects, and which seem to those who have not studied Eccle- siastical History to be novel, are not really so, but that they have arisen before, and were satisfactorily refuted at the time of their first ajipearance. Again, the definitions and e.xplanations of words, which occur in the religious controversies of the pres- ent time, will be most useful, as the readers of this work will be enabled to arrive at a correct conclusion with respect to their true meaning in the earliest and purest ages of Christianity, without the trouble of turn- ing to large and expensive works on Ecclesiastical History. See, for instance, the word Altak in the first part of The Faiths of tlie World. WILLIAM CAINE, M.A., MancliesUr, late Scholar of Trinity College, Dublin. "The Faiths of the World" appears to me, so far as I have been able to examine it, a work of great interest and value, calculated to furnish the Christian student with information on various subjects which he could not obtain without much labour and expense. The articles already published have been compiled with so great care and judgment as to warrant the hope that the whole work, when completed, will be deemed worthy of extensive patronage. WILLIAM HOWARD, Hector of Clifton, Nottingham. The book entitled "The Faiths of the World " is, so far as I have had time to judge of it by a rapid per- usal, a very comprehensive and valuable work. It gives in reference to Christianity both sides of great controverted points with exact care and nice impartial- ity; whilst in other cases, when dealing positively upon certain points, it gives the clearest statement of truth. It is altogether, 1 believe, a very greatly needed and important undertaking, and I think will afi'ord satisfaction to those who may be under the necessity of consulting it. From what I have seen of the work 1 strongly recommend it to the support of the public. JOHN WING, Vicar of St. Mary's, Leicester. i. Having read several of the articles in the first por- tion of the work entitled "The Faiths of the World," I consider that as a compilation it is judicious, and calculated to be useful as a book of reference for infor- mation upon the several points which it discusses. CHAKLES JOSEPH CAMIDGE, M.A., Vicar of IVakeJield. I HAVE had much plea-sure in perusing Mr. Gard- ner's new work, entitled "The Faiths of the World." It appears to be a work that has been much wanted, anil I think it likely to be most useful as a book of reference to clergymen and those engaged in the work of Sunday School teaching. I hope it may find its way into many of our public libraries. CHARLES TROLLOPE, Rector of Stibhington, Hunts. 6. From what I have seen of the work entitled "The Faiths of the World," I am led to form a very high opinion of the ability with which it is performed. It is edited by a scholar of no ordinary attainments. The arrangement is new and comprehensive — the historic and other information which it sujiplies is large and extremely valuable; and the style of the work, with the singular beauty of the engravings, do honour to the enterprising publishers. I cordially recommend it, and wish it a wide circulation and exteuoive use fulness. GEORGE TOWNSHEND FOX, M.A., Vicar of St. Nicholas, Durluim. I nAVE examined "TiiK Kaitiis of tite WonLi>," *n(l think it likely to prove a work of useful reference, at the suine tiiiii- tliiit tlie views of the compiler seem lo bo practicjilly true. CHARLES DEANE, D.C.L., liUsvorth, iliddUsez, 8. TiiK new publication, "TiiE Faiths of the Worui," supplica, in my oniniim, n Jesiilcratum in our theolo- gical literature. It will I think bo fouuii especially useful to all cnipiged in promoting missions to the heathen world, and indeed to all who may bo desir- ous of learning the jircsent and pa.st aspect of false religions and idolatry. Its sale is likely to bring many helpers to God's work against the mighty, among those who, for want of information on tliis especial subject, have not given it much attention hitherto. J. J. ELLIS, Chaplain at iZi'i^l. I HAVE rend attentively many of the loading articles in the work published by Fcllartos & Co., called "The Faiths of the World," and have been very much impressed with the talent, research, and varied knowledge displayed by the writer. I believe it is un- rivalled as a work of general reference on the religious controversies of the day, and I consider no library can be complete without it. WILLIAM ARTHUR DARBY, M.A., Rector 0/ St. Luke's, Manchester. 10. I HAVE very great pleasure in saying that I consider Dr. Gardner's " Faiths of the Would " to be a mo.st valuable addition to the popular literature of the pres- ent day. J. W. OSMAN, CuraU o/St. Mary's, Cardiff. 11. I HAVE examined the first part of a work entitled "The Faiths of the Would," and do consider it a very important addition to our useful and jiopular literature, and therefore I most heartily commeud it. C. B. TWI.SS, M.A., VtcarcifSI. iuJte, BiUlon, IVolMrhamplon. 12. I HAVE great pleasure in stating that the publication now issuing by Messrs. A. Fullarton & Co., entitled "The Faiths of the Would," compiled by Dr. Gard- ner, seems to me to be a most valuable addition to the library of any public body or jirivate individual ; and if we may judge of the whole from the numbci-s already issued, it will be a most invaluable work as a book of reference. HENRY HUGHES, Vicar 0/ BadtUnham. 18. I HAVE great pleasure in recommending this work of Dr. Gardner, the plan of which I greatly approve. CHARLES E. DONNE, M.A., Vicar 0/ Farcrtham, Kent, and Domestic Chaplain to the Viscount Sydney. 14. Having looked over the specimen volume of "The Faiths of the Would," I can roconiniend itasaniost useful and interesting work in which much learned industry is displayed. RICHARD YOKKE, Vicar letc may be clcomed ra.sli and Frei'ipitate, and subject the person so doing to censure. n this case wo can only judge of tlio Imrvcst by the first fruits. And should the work in question be equal to the Jhsl volume submitted to the judgment of the public, it will be a.s creditable to the Author and the Publishers as it will prove benefiiial to the reader. It promises to embody in it not only everytliing useful in Hurd, Evans, and others of that cla.ss of writers, but whatever is useful in Calmet, Huck, and others of that school, — apart from new and important matter, — and will, therefore, be found to be a work of ready reference, not only for the private Christian, but for the public Teacher. JAMES EVERETT, LaU Praident of the United Churches. 37. I HAVE examined a few of the articles in the first Division of "The Faiths of the Would" and have been led to form a very high opinion of the work, — I do therefore cordially recommend it. LEWIS JONES, Westeyan Minister, Denbigh. 38. I HAVE seen Dr. Gardner's specimen volume of "The Faiths of the World." In pronouncing au opinion of its merit*, we take it for granted that all the volumes will be eciual to the one submitted to our inspection. It promises to be a most invaluable work, ana an important addition to Iho sacred literature of the times. It will give something more than a bird's- eye view of the world's religions, jiast and present. It will present the reader witli as comprelicnsivc au txpusi as can be given within its limit.s. The illustrations are beautiful, and all the parts are got ny in the highest style of art ; thus combining, as it does, the elegant with the useful, it would grace the libraries of the rich, whilst it would be found of great service to the student of divinity and the minister of the Gospel. I can con- fidently recommend the work. JOSEPH BROWN, ^yes^eyan Minister, (Itexham,) Ilawes. 39. I cohdially endorse the above recommendation of my worthy colleague in the ministry, the Rev. J. Brown, and will bo happy to subscribe for a copy of the work in vols. JAMES S. THOMAS, Westeyan Minister, {Hexham,) Tipton. 40. Having had repeated opportunities of examining "The Faiths ok the Would," published by Messrs. A. Fullarton & Co., I can testify to the extent and accuracy of the information contained in the work, and believe it to be a most valuable contribution to the library of the Biblical and Ecclesiastical student, and not less so to that of the general reader. JOSEPH GARRETT, Weslcyan Minister, IVhitchurch. 41. IIavixo carefully examined specimen volume of " 'I'liE Faiths of the World," and judging from the high character of the gentlemen who have already re- corded their testimony in its favour, I have great plea- sure in very strongly recominending the work to my numerous friends in this neighbourhood. The superior style in which it is got uji, its cheapness, and above all the excellency of its contents, render the book of a surpassing importance and interest. ARCHIBALD THOMPSON, Metlwdist New Connexion Minister. Coii(irf(i;ition;ilists. 1. I HAVE looked over a few of the articles of this new publication, and from the examination I have made I can speak very favourably of the work. It is likely to supply information in a condensed form which can only now be had from books of bulk, and some of them rare. I do not think that the purcha.ser will be disap- pointed in the character of the work. JOHN KELLY, Liverpool, "The Faiths of the World " contains in a form admirably arranged and condensed a mass of useful and most valuable information, illustrated by beautiful plates, on a subject of great importance to the literary man, the teacher of the young, the minister of the gospel, the private Christian, and all sections of the church of God. JOHN SIDNEY HALL, London, 3. Having carefully examined the first number of the new serial,— "The Faiths of the World," — 1 feel warranted in expressing my great satisi'iiction with its contents. 'J'he information which it conveys is very full and accurate, displaying competent learning and a regard for general usel'uluess, and extending to many points of recondite and curious interest, of which it would not be easy to find sufficient ex]ilanations else- where. I can confidently recommend the work to the patronage of the religious public. ALEXANDER THOMSON, M.A., Malichester. I ALWAYS consult "The Faiths of the World" with a great deal of confidence. It supplies an indis- pensable want in the library of a theological student. There is no book in our language to take its place. It gives a full, compendious, clear and trustwortliy account of all the difl'erent religions, sects, religious beliefs, and customs in the world. For reference it is invaluable, putting the reader in immediate possession of the essential facts, with regard to the difl'erent forms of Heathenism, and the ditferent modes of Christian faith and worship, which otherwise would have to be hunted up from rare and expensive books. There are few books in my library I use or prize more. J. B. PATON, M.A., The Congregational Institute for Theo- logical and Missionary Training^ Nottingltam. I H.WE looked through the first number of your forthcoming work on "The Faiths of the World," and am much pleased with the plan and execution, 'i'he work was much needed, and whilst the author ap- ]ioars to bring to it qualities eminently adapted for the elfective acconiiilisliment of the task, the very admir- able illustrations which accompany the letterpress add very greatly to its value. I trust the sale will be commensurate with the merits of the book. JAMES GWYTHER, Manchester. I HAVE looked over the first part of "The Faiths op the World," and am happy to express my sense of the value of the work, and confidence in the ability and care with which it is m-itten. ROBERT H ALLEY, D.D,, New College, London. Messrs. A. Fullarton & Co.'s new work, entitled "The Faiths of the World," is on subjects, — some of rich, and others of painful interest, — and from the established reputation of the house may be presumed to be well got up and accurate. WILLIAM GUEST, London. "The Faiths of the World " appears to me to be extremely interesting and important as the subject of a popular Dictionary ; and the woik published by the Messrs. A. Fullarton & Co. seems to be full of well- selected information, and must be of great service to those who wish to become acquainted with the various forms of religion that have influenced the minds of the human race. JOHN S. EASTMEAD, Wakejield. 9. So far as I can judge by the first number of the book called "The Faiths of the World," it seems likely to be an interesting and useful book of reference to tliose interested in such subjects as are therein to be treated of, and as such a work I give it my recom- mendation. BENJAMIN BEDDOW, Wansteud, Essex. 10. "The Faiths of the World " seems to me, from the attention I have been able to give to the first part of it, a highly interesting and useful work. The arti- cles are written judiciously and fairly, the letterpress is distinct and readable, and the illustrations speak for themselves. SAMUEL GOODALL, Durham. 11. "The Faiths of the World," judging from the parts I have seen, seems to be very well conducted ; and if it be completed in the same style as it is begun, is likely to be a very useful work. I concur in the testimonials already given. JOHN WADLAND, B.A., Hexham, Northumberland. 12. I have carefully read a .specimen of "The Faiths of the World," and have admired the beautifully executed plates, and have been much pleased with the able and learned articles on the doctrines and prac- tices pertaining to the religious systems of the world. ROBERT MACHRAY, Dumfries. 13. A.M., The book entitled " The Faiths of the World " is a "desideratum in the literature of the day," and more especially in the religious literature of the day. For extent and accuracy of information regarding the sub- jects of which it treats it has had no predecessor. But if the following parts be equal to the ten which I have already seen, 1 consider that the lack will be well sup- plied. To the student who wishes to make himself familiar with the philosophy as well as the history of the great leading religions of the world, and of their all but end- less ramifications, "The Faiths of the World " pro- mises to be an invaluable treasure. SAMUEL FAIRLEY, Wan^tyrd. 14. I HAVE perfect confidence in the house of Fullarton & Co. that they wiU bring ont nothing but what is for the benefit of the human race, and I think this work on the " Faiths of the World " worthy of the atten- tion of all whoso desire and prayer is that the world I may at length have but one "faith and one Lord." I W. LEGG, B.A., ■ Reading, 16. 1 HAVE looVi'.l over a ]>urt of "TiiF. Faiths of tmk World," and it appears to be a well-written, compre- hensive, talente.l work, beantifully illustrated, and will l)e especially valuablo to Sulibath .School teachers and others engaged in the work of education. D. WATERS, Grtal Bruise. 10. JiTDOiNo from the first part of " TnF. Faiths of the World," 1 slmuld consider it will prove a verj- vain- nhle work, supplying a most important place in onr religious literature. The illustrations too appear very admirable and most appropriate. B. II. Kl.UHT, Gravaend, 17. I CAN safely and cordially aild my testimony to the high chanuter of "The Faith.s of the Worli>." There is no book in the lanpiage on the same subject in all respects so full and complete. JOSEPH SHAW, Boston. 18. This is the very best work I know on the subject. It is full of information, and as a book of reference is invnUiablc. It is deeply interesting to be made ac- quainted with the history, the manners, and customs of dilTercnt nations, but ecjually or more so to know their religious usages, what they believe, what tliey practise, and what are their modes of worshi]). In "The Faiths of the World" we are made ac- quainted with the religions of the world's va.st popula- tion ; and from the view given of the ditrcreiit false systems of religion, we may be led, with thankfulness to God, to value all the more our life-giving Christi- anity, as the onlv religion that can bring salvation to man and glory to God. I have great pleasure in re- commending the work. THOMAS BETTY, IlomcaslU. 19. TiTF, book entitled "The Faiths of the World," whii-h you are now ollVring to the reading public, is a desiileratum in the literature of the day. For extent and accuracy of information regarding the subjects on which it treats, it has had no predecessor. The student who wishes to make himself familiar with the philoso- phy, as well as the liistorj', of the great leading reli- gions of the world, and all but endless ramifications, Thf Pailhs of the World promises to be an invaluable treasure. In the present and prospective volumes you have my hearty thanks. SAMUEL FAIRLEY, King's Cliff, Wanfford. 20. riAvnio examined the first Part of the "Faiths of the World," now in course of Publication by Messrs. A. Fpllakton & Co., I feel a siitisfaction in comnnnd- ing the work to all who take an interest in this cla-ss of Publications. It will prove a welcome addition to tlio religious literature of the day. S. B. SCHOFIELD, Iv.depcndent MiniiUr. BuTtlcitv. 21. IIavino carefully examined several articles in the work entitled "The Faiths of the World," pub- lished by Messrs. A. Fl'LLARTox ft Co., I have much pleasure" in stating that it contains very valuabh. and useful information in a condensed form on the vavious subjects of which it treats. JOSEPH MOORES, CmgrtgoiUmal i^inUler, CongUUm. 22. Is glancing over the Specimen Number of "The Faiths of the World," 1 have been struck both with the fulness and accuracy of the information on the several topics treated of, and have no hesitation in giving it, as my opinion, that if the subsequent por- tion of the work prove to be of equal merit with the first it nmst greatly surpass cveiy other publication of this kind already given to the public. WILLIAM CHAMBERS, Imlepciidtnt Minister, XeiccastU-undcr-L^/nt. 28. The New Serial which Messrs. A. Fullarton ft Co. are bringing out seems to me to be a really valuable and interesting work. I have looked into different parts of the first three Nnml)ei-s, and have been much pleased with the variety, fidness, and extent of the information they contained. One verj' valuable feature of the work is this, where the learned author has to give au account of erroneous doctrines, he is careful to refute them. This he doe^ in a ver)' satisfactory manner, — often condensing the substance of the best arguments into a few lims. 'I'lie work is well written, well printed, and illustrated by many beautiful engravings. It is well worthy of support, and I hope the sale will be such as to remuucriite the enterprising Publishers. JOSEPH TWIDALE, Pastor qf the Congrtgational Cliurdl, McUon. Mowbray. 24. I CAN candidly recommend Dr. Gardner's work, " The Faiths of the World, " as evidently conducted with great ability and Christian fidelity. It will prove, when completed, an invaluable book of reference upon the very cttcnsivc range of subjects on which it treats. J. T. BARKER, Independent Minister, ITarwteh. 25. " The Faiths of the World " seems to be a cor- rect and well arranged compendium of knowledge which would (without it) be inaccessible to all persons not possessing large libraries. Considerable labour has been expended upon it by competent hands, and it well deserves a large circulation. HENRY W. PARKINSON, Milton Congreoational Church, Rochdaie. 26. "The Faiths of the World," seems to me, from the attention I have been able to give to the first volume, a highly interesting and useful work. The articles are written judiciou.sly and fairly, the letter- press is distinct and readable, and the ilIu.stration» speak for themselves. SAMUEL GOODALL. Congregational Minister, Durtiarz, 27. The first division of "The Faiths of the ■Wori.h," by the Rev. Dr. Gardner, which I hare examined, I consider to furnish first-class information — by a first- rate compiler, got up in the first style of workman- ship — on the first subject to those who study to make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the bases upon which ancient sects have been founded ; and the con- densed form in which it is written is not the least de- sideratum to those who have not the means or the leisure to peruse more expensive books. DAVID ROBERTS, Independent MinisteT^ Carnarvon. I HAVE carefully looked over the firet Divisional Parts of "The Faiths of the World," and am niucli pleased with its design and execution. It is clear and comprehensive ; candid and catholic. The author ap- pears thoroughly master of his subject ; and the tj'po- graphy and illustrations fully sustain the reputation of the enterprising Publishers. ^YILLIAM SPENCER, Independent ilinUter, Nottingltam. MISSIONARIES. 29. I H.VVE now for some time had in my possession the work entitled "The Faiths of the World." The more I read it the more I am pleased with it. Its varied and numerous details collected ft-om man's uni- versal experience, prove most powerfully what I have had many opportunities of observing — the deep uni- versal yearnings of humanity after truth, peace, and God. It also proves the utter insufficiency of either nature or reason to meet man's present case of experi- ence and desire. The more men read "The Faiths of the World," the more will they realize the Chris- tian revelation as the one, only, true faith adapted to man's wants — the more will they love this one faith and seek its universal diffusion. Most sincerely do I recommend " The Faiths of the World" to every man's careful perusal. AVILLIAM GILL, Sixteen Years Missionary in the South Pacific, and Author 0/ ' Gems from the Coral Islands.' 30. From the examination I have been able to make of "The Faiths of the World" I have no hesitation in saying that I believe it will prove an extremely useful book of reference in a library. It contains the cream of much more ponderous volumes, and possesses information which cannot be reached except by those who live in the vicinity of large and old-established libraries. DAVID LIVINGSTONE, Hadley Green. 31. I have been much pleased that this deeply-felt de- sideratum in the literature of the day, a fuU account of aU Religions and Sects, has at last appeared ; and as far as I have had an opportunity of seeing, has been composed in so able a manner as proves the Author a man of vast research well digested. It must be of the greatest value to Ministers and all friends of the Missionary cause, and ought to ba found on every parlour table of a Christian family. E. R. W. KRAUSE, 0/Borabora Society Islands, 32. The object of this work, " The Faiths of the World," is to supply an important desideratum in the literature of these times. The subjects selected are very appropriate, and, as far as I am able to judge from what I have seen of it, the work is worthy of being recommended to all who are interested in tha religious liistory of mankind from the beginning. W. C. MILNE, ilissianary/rom China, §:iptlsts. From a careful peru.sal of your work called "The Faith.s of the World," I am inclined to think that it will command as it deserves an extensive circula- tion. Its information will be highly useful, and I have no hesitation in saying that it is worthy of a place in any library. J. A. SPURGEON, Baptist Minister, London. 2. I h.we read the first two parts of "The Faiths OF the World," and have been very favourably im- pressed with the talent and industry which they ex- hibit. Historical articles are written with great per- spicuity, and argumentations are in an impartial spirit. C. M. BIRKELL, Baptist Minister, Liverpool. 3. Judging from the specimen volume Mr. M'Veigh has submitted to me for my approval, I should say that every student of theology would regard it as a truly valuable addition to his library, and am glad to have the opportunity of subscribing for one copy in volumes. J. W. LANCE, Baptist Mimister, Newport. Monmouth. Having glanced at the first Division of the "Faith.s OF the World," I am happy to bear my testimony to the value of the work, and most heartily wish the Messrs. A. Fillaeton & Co. success in their laudable and important enterprise. J. MAKEPEACE, Baptist Ministir, Bradford, 10 6. Tins work— isNUi'il umliT llic auspices of the well- known ami enterprising Publishers, Messrs. A. Fub- LAKToy & Co. of Etlinl>urf;li, wlioso reimtation for the publiftttion of first-iliuw works has long been highly established— supplies ii (iesiileratuni in literature which has been mu.h felt by the stuilent. There are many who are familiar with the nam-s of ancient sects and obsolete creedsi, but coini>aratively few who are tlior- oughly acquainted with the traditions npon which they arc ba.scd. We arc presented, in the lulmimblc Work of the Rev. .lames Gardner, with all the in- formation which can be collated respecting the history and origin of the mythologies of antiquity,— the vari- ous forms of idolatry— and, in short, with all the vari- ations and phases of religious conviction or super- stition from the earliest times, whether embellished by the refinements of civilization, or invested with the Tuggedness of barbari.sm. The work is beautifully illustrated,— and I feel persuaded that no real .student will regret enrolling it amongst the choicest titles in his literary catologue. ARTHUR JIURSELI.S Itaptist Minister, London. 6. Haviso carefullv examined severiil of the most im- portant articles in "this work, and taken a general sur- vey of a number more, I cflii bear my testimony to the excellence and value of the whole. It is edited by a scholar of no ordinary attainments,— the arrangement is new and comjirchcnsive,— the historic and other in- formation which it supplies is large ane name of the fast of our Lmty. The iixtli day is called Tiyinlln, or ijlorljkation, in me- mory of oiir Lord's transtignration, and the twenty- ninth day is kept in memorial of the beheading of John the Baptist. ABAIJlliES, a name alleged by AngJistine to have been applied to the higher class of Cartha- ginian deities, corresponding to the Dii vuijonim gentium of the Greeks and Romans. In Roman mythology, it was the name of a stone which was worshipped as haWng been swallowed by Saturn. ABARIS, a priest of Apollo mentioned by Hero- dotus. He came from the country about Caucasus to Greece, while his own countrj* was visited by the plague. His prophetic powers, as well as his Scy- thian dress and simplicity of mannere, excited no little interest in Greece. He travelled from place to place, carrying with him an arrow, in honour of Apollo, and gave oracles. Toland, in liis ' History of the Druids,' concludes tliat Abaris must have been a Druid of the Hebrides, an arrow being part of the usual costume of a Druid. His historj' appears to be entirely mythical ; he is said to have lived without earthly food, and to have rode on an arrow through the air. Great doubt exists as to the time when this personage appeai'cd in Greece. Lobeck supposes it to have been in the fifty-second Olym- piad, about 570 B.C. ABASSIXES, a sect of the Greek church, inhab- iting an extended and wooded region along the coast of the Black sea. They seem to form a rough va- riety of the Circassians, and chiefly support them- selves by plunder and jjiracy. From their isolated position they have fallen away from many of the doctrines as well as practices of the Eastern Church to which they nominally belong. They observe several fasts. They believe in the seven sacraments, holding confession to be one of them ; but they nei- ther confess the munber, nor the particular species of their sins, contenting themselves wHth crying out in general, " I have sinned, I have sinned." On the repetition of these words, the offender is absolved in a few words accompanied with some gentle stripes upon the side with an olive twig. In the case of heinous crimes however, such as homicide, adultery, and theft, they are often severely scourged. The Metropolitan sometimes hears confession, when, if an aggravated offence is acknowledged to have been committed, he rises up, and, after administering a sharp rebuke, he cries out, " Hast thou done tliis ? Dost thou not fear God ? Go to, let him be scourged thirty or forty times." Amongst the Abassines mar- riage is contracted by a mutual promise of love and constancy to each other before proper witnesses. Their fimeral rites are ushered in by cries, sighs and groans. The relatives lash themselves, and the wo- men disfigure their faces while the priest sjiys a re- (/uiein over the deceased and perfumes the corpse. They put their dead into coffms constructed out of the hollowed trunks of trees, and bound rotmd with the sprigs or branches of vines. After the perfor- mance of the funeral obsequies, they bring out pro- visions and lay them upon the sepidclires of their deceased friends. AIJATA, inaccessible, a word applied to the chan- cel, or altar-part of ancient Christian churches, be- cause that portion was carefully railed oil', and thus rendered inaccessible to the multitude. None but the clergy, as Eusebius informs us, were ])crmitted to enter it in time of divine 8cr\ice, hence it was called a/iitta or adyta. But this part of the church has not been equally inaccessible in all ages. In the time of the Refonnation, Bucer complained loudly against the chancel or altar-part being distinguished from the rest of the church, as being a practice tending only to magnify the priesthood ; but the chancel still re- mains m Lutheran and Romish churches as a separate portion of the edifice. See Bema. ABBA, a word signifying, in the Syriac language, my father. It b often applied in the Sacred Scrip- tures to God. It is a Jewish title of honour given to certain Rabbis called Tanaites. It was some- times a])plied also, in the middle ages, to the superior of a monastery. In the Syrian, Coptic, and Elhiopic churches, Abba is a title usually appHed to their bishops ; while the bishops themselves give the title only to the bishop or patriarch of Alexandria. Hence the people were accustomed to style this latter dig- nitary Baba, or Papa, long before the bishop of Rome received that appellation. It is probable that the word AniiOT (which see) is derived from Abba. ABBE', a term which, used in a monastic sense, is equi\alcnt to the word AnnoT (which sec). ABBESS, the lady superior or ruler of a convent of nuns, exercising the same authority as that of an abbot in a monastery. In entering upon her office she is blessed by the bishop according to a regular form prescribed in the Pontijicale Rumanum. The ceremony is as follows. The bishop comes prepared with all his pontifical ornaments, and mass is cele- brated. The lady abbess elect is present at the mai-s, and hears it in her robes. She appears with two senior matrons with the scroll of her appoint- ment in her hand, duly scaled and attested. Kneel- ing before the bishop, after mass is ended she swears before him the following oath of due allegiance to the prelate her ordinary : — " I, N., about to be or- d.iined Abbess of the Monastciy of N., do promise in the presence of God, and his saints, and this sol- enan congregation of Sisters, fidelity and meet sub- jection, obedience, and reverence to my mother, the Church of N. and to thee N. my Lord, Patriarch (or Archbishop, or Bishop) of the said Church, and thy successors, according to the institutes of the sacred Canons, and as the inviolable authority of the Ro- man PontilT enjoins. So help me God, and the.«e the holy Gospels of God." It may be observed, that in this oath the abbess does not swear as an ABBEY. abbot does, direct dependence upon and gubmissiou to the Roman See, but simply to tlie bishop of the diocese, so that all local female disputes and ap- peals in convents are settled and take end in the diocese where they originate. If the abbess be ex- empt from local jurisdiction, the oath wliich she takes is thus framed : — " I, N., of the monastery N., of the order of St. N., of the diocese of N., will be fi'om this time henceforth obedient to the blessed apostle I'eter, and the holy Roman Chm-ch and our Lord, J^ord N., and his successors canonically instituted, and to thee for the time being my religious supe- rior, according to the rule of our holy father N., imd the constitutions of the foresaid order." After the Litany, the same two prayers are used as in the blessing of an abbot. Then follows the Pre- face in which the bishop says, " holy Lord, Al- mighty Father, eternal God, pom- out tlu-ough oiu- jirayers, on this thy sei-vant, the abundant spirit of ihy bene4-diction." At this word the bishop lays both liis hands stretched out, but without disjoining liis lingers, on the head of the abbess elect, saj-ing, " That she who being chosen by thee is this, day made an abbess by the imposition of our hands, may continue worthy of thy sancti-|-tication ; and never after be separated &-om thy grace as unworthy." Here the bishop removes his hands fi-om the head of the abbess elect, and again holding them stretched out before his breast, proceeds with the Preface, which is a long prayer for the bestowment of ascetic virtues, ending vdlh. these words, " That so ser\Tng thee, Lord, through thy bounty, with a clean heait, blame- lessly in aU thy commandments, she may come with midtiplied usury to the prize of the vocation from on high, and with the hundredfold fruit, and the crown of righteousness, to thy rewards of heavenly trea- sures." The bishop then delivers to the abbess the rule of her order in these words : — " Receive the rule deUvered by the holy fathers to govern and guard the flock committed to thee by God, as God himself shall sti'engthen thee, and human frailty per- mit. Beceive the maternal oversight of the flock of the Lord, and the care of souls ; and walking in the precepts of the Di\ine law, be thou their leader to the heavenly inheritance ! our Lord Jesus Clirist assist- ing." At this part of the ceremony the bishop sprinkles the white veil with holy water if the abbess is not a Him already, and ha\ing blessed it, places it on hei- head in such a manner as to hang loosely do^^•n over her breast and shoulders, saying : — " Receive thou the sacred veil, whereby thou mayest be known to have contemned the world, and truly, and humbly, OTththe whole endeavour of thy heart, subjected thy- self a^ o wife to Jesus Christ for ever; who defend thee from all evil, and bring thee to life eternal." Ha^-ing received the veU, while still on her knees before the bishop, she presents him with two large wax candles Ughted, and kisses the episcopal hand. She is now enthroned by the bishop in the seat of her predecessor, the following charge being given : — " Receive full and free power of ruling this monas- tery and congregation, and all that perfciins to its in- ternal and external, spiritual or temporal afi'airs. Stand fast in justice and hohness, and keep the place appointed thee by God, for God is powerfid, that he may increase in thee his grace." The ab- bess then accepts the homage of the sisters, and ha^-ing given and received the kiss of sisterhood, she enters upon her office as ruler of the convent. Her authority over the nuns is complete. She is not allowed, indeed, to perform the spiritual functions annexed to the priesthood with which the abbot is usually invested; but there are some instances of abbesses who have the pri%'ilege of commissioning a priest to act for them. The time was when abbesses claimed a power almost equal to that of the priest- hood, and so boldly did they advance in rank and authority, that about A. D. 813 it became neces- sary to repress the pretended right of the abbesses to consecrate and ordain and perform other sacer- dotal functions. At the Council of Beconfield in Kent, abbesses subscribed their signatures as well as abbots and other ecclesiastics. This is recorded to have been the first instance of such assumption of equality with the priesthood. The nuns were also required at one time to confess to the abbess, but tliis practice was found to be attended with so many inconveniences that it was speedily discontinued. It would appear that at an early period in the eccle- siastical liistory of Britain, the power of abbesses must have been of an extraordinary kind. Lingard says, that during the first two centuries after the con- version of our ancestors, nearly all nunneries were built upon the principle of those attached to Fonte- \Tault, wliich contained both monks and nims under the government of an abbess, the men being subject to the women. The abbey of St. Hilda at Whitby was of this kind. In one part was a sisterhood of mms, and in another a confraternity of monks, both of whom obeyed the authority of the abbess. In convents of the present day, however, while the strictest subordination of the sisterhood to their lady superior is imiformly maintained, she herself is en- tirely imder the control and duection of the bishop of the diocese, so that any abuse of her authority in the management of the mms imder her care meets with an instant check. See Nuns and Nunneries. ABBEY, a society of persons of either sex who have retired from the world and secluded themselves for purposes of devotion and spfritual meditation. The nione Abbe;/ is also applied to the building in wliich such individuals reside. These religious houses, as they are usually called, aboimd in Roman Catholic countries, and are each of them subject to the authority of an abbot or abbess, who is appointed to enforce all the regulations of the institution. The executive power is vested in the persons placed at the head of each convent or of the whole society ; the legislative authority resides in the commimity to wluch the convent belongs. Afliurs of moment v- ABBEY. ating to particular convents are determined in con- ventual chapters ; such as respect tlie whole order are considered in general congregations. Abbeys in their tirst institution were the offspring of Christian munificence and devotion ; but in the more corrujit ages of the church numberless evils arose out of these societies. In Kg)l)t, i?>Tia, Palestine, and other countries where the monastic life had its origin, no abbeys or monasteries were judged nccessarj-; the raouks lived separate, without being combined into a society or congregated under one roof. It was not till the fourth century that the plan of a regular con- frateniity of monks, dwelling together in one nion.is- tery, wa-s proposed by Pachoraius, a disciple of An- thony, an Egyptian monk, and the rejiuted founder of the monastic .system. So rapidly did the rage for the secluded lite of a monk spread throughout society, tliat in Egypt alone, at the death of Pachomius, A. d. 348, there were no fewer than 70,000 m.iles and 27,000 females who had embraced the monastic life. Still, up to the middle of the sixth century monasti- cism had not been reduced to a regular system. About that period, however, A. D. 529, Benedict of Nurcia instituted a new order of monks, and built a monastery which still exists at Monte Casino neai- Naples. The strictness with which the monks of this order were organized and disciplined came to be imitated throughout Europe generally. The number of monasteries was multiplied, and the great and the wealthy lavished their treasures in support of them, thinking thereby to obtain the benefit of tlif prayers of those who were the mmatcs of such in- stitutions. Each abbey or monaster)- usually consisted of three principal apartments, the oratory or chapel, where the monks assemble for prayer or public worship ; the refectorj', where they eat their meals together ; and the dormitory or sleeping apartment, which was generally situated in the upper part of the building and diWded into separate cells or bed-rooms for each monk. Besides these, the large abbeys nsually contained a cloister or central apartment in which the monks were wont to meet ai particular ho'irs ; the library or chartidary, where the books and records were deposited ; the apartments of the superior, and other smaller rooms. Abbeys were early introduced into Britain, and many of them were richly endowed, and, by the dona- tions and bequest.i of the wealthy, became possessed not only of large sums of money but of landed pro- perty of great value and extent. The frequency and amount of these befiuests gave rise to the statutes against gifts in mortmain, which prohibited donations to these religious houses. Abbeys were at length totally abolished in England by Henry VIII. and their revenues seized by the crown. There were 190 such religious houses dissolved at that time, thus putting the crown in possession of nearly £3,000,000. Uv thio arrangement the abbey-lands became vested in the Crown. In Scotland, the first abbeys belonged to the an- cient Culdees, by whom they were used, not for pur- poses of sujjerstition, but as centres whence were diiVuscd civilization and knowledge over the whole surrounding country. The principal abbey belong ing to the Culdees was built on the island of lona, and in addition to that important institution, there were branch establishments at Abcmethy, Dunkeld, St. Andrews, Dunblane, Brechin, Dunfermline, Scone, and various other places. Dr. .lamiesou tells us, that the Culdce fraternities were in jirocess of time displaced by Koman Catholics, who planted three canons regular of the Augustinians, as being nearest to the Culdees in point of discipline and re- gulation. Colonies of monks were now introduced in great numbers from Enghuid and the Continent. But of all the kings that have ever reigned in Scot- land, David I. was the most active in rearing and endowing abbeys. Under his patronage, and at his expense, monastic establislmients were planted in every district of the coimtry, and richly endowed, not only with the tcinds or tithes of parishes, but also with liberal gi-ants of land from the royal do- mains. The example of the monarch was followed by many of the nobility. Abbeys were built both in the large towns and in the niral districts. So thai it is stated that before the liefonnation there were in all about 2G0 abbeys or conventual establishments in Scotland. The most important of these were Dunfermline, Kelso, Arbroath, Kilwinning, Ilolyrood, Jedburgh, and Inchati'ray, Melrose, Newbattle, Dry- burgh, Paisley, and Crossraguel. The wealth of these abbeys was enormous, and the lauds belonging to them were the richest and most fertile in the whole country. Their superiors ranked with the nobles of the land, and very frequently rose to the highest civil dignities in the kingdom. The wealth of the abbey of St. Andrews alone amounted to £10,000 per annum, an enormous income in those days. At the Reformation many of the most magnificent abbeys and priories in Scotland fell a prey to the fury of the nuJtitude, whose hatred of Komanism was intense and bitter. The lands, tithes, and other possessions belonging to the abbeys, the Protestant ministers sought to appropriate chieily to educational and charitable purposes. Their benevolent and pa- triotic designs, however, were frustrated by the nobles, who, after setting apart a third for the main- tenance of Protestant ministers, churches, and schools quietly seized the rest for their own use. The lay nobility who had succeeded many of them in obtain- ing the office of commendatory abbots and priors o( the ditferent convents, retained in their own posses- sion the property of the mona.stic orders. Five of the richest abbeys in the kingdom, Melrose, Kelso, St. Andrew's, Holyrood, and Coldinghara, in this way fell into the hands of the five illegitimate sous of Iving James V., who had made them commenda- tors of these monastic establislmients. Others of them reverted to the Crown, and were bestowed by ABBOT. James VI. ca his favourites and flatterers, and from these sources many of our nobility derive both their titles and estates. On the Continent at the Reformation, the abbeys, instead of being demolished as too often liappened in Britain, were turned to pious and charitable uses, being converted into hospitals for the sick or edu- tational establishments for the young. Though the suppression of the abbeys, when con- sidered in a religious and political point of view, could not be other than beneficial, it is not to be denied that these institutions wliile they existed were pro- ductive of no little good. Literatiu'e as well as re- ligion found a refuge there in times of turbulence. In them were laid up, as in a storehouse, valuable manuscripts and historical records which would otherm'se have perished. To them we are indebted for much important historical information both as regards our own and other countries. In the dark ages the abbeys were the only seats of learning, ■ whether of a secular or a religious nature. See Mo- NACHiSM, Monastery. ABBOT, the father or superior of an abbey or monastery, the name being e^^dently derived from the Syriac word Abba, father. In the Greek church, they are termed Hegumenm, presidents and Archi- mandrites, rulers of the sheepfolds. At first they were laymen, and subject to the bishops and ordi- nary pastors. At length, however, being many of them men of learning and talent, they aspired to be independent of the bishops, and succeeded in obtam- ing the title of lord, with other badges of episcopal dignity, particularly the mitre. Hence arose a class of abbots who were distinguished by the title of mitred abbots, who exercised episcopal authority, and were exempt from the jiuisdiction of the bishop. Others received the name of crosiered abbots, from bearing the crosier or pastoral staff; others were styled oecumenical or universal abbots, in imitation of the patriarch of Constantinople ; and others were called cardinal abbots, as being superior to all other abbots. The only distinction among abbots which is at present known in Koman Catholic countries, is into regular and commendatory, the former taking the vow and weaiing the habit of their order ; and the latter being seciUars, though bound to take orders when arrived at the proper age. The power of the abbots over the monks among whom they presided was supreme, and in case of wilful transgression or disobedience, on the part of any of the inmates of the convent, they were authorized to inflict both spiritual and temporal pimisliments, the one including the censures of the church, suspen- sion from the privilege of receixing the eucharist, and as a last resource, excommunication ; the other including whipping and expidsion from the monas- tery. The abbots were at one period of great repute in the church. They were often summoned to eccle- siastical councils, and allowed to sit and vote there in the quality of presbyters. But while such hon- ours were in many cases bestowed upon them, the abbots were always understood to be strictly subject to the bishop of the diocese. And yet the ancient liistorian Bede informs us, that, in one case at least among the Culdees, a presbyter abbot ruled a whole prox^ince, and received the implicit obedience of the bishop. And in one of the canons cited by the same historian, it is decreed that the bishops who are monks shall not wander from one monastery to another without leave of their abbot, but contiime in that obedience which they promised at the time of their conversion. And it cannot be denied, that from the fifth century, there were frequent cases both in the Eastern and Western churches, of monas- teries being entirely exempt from episcopal visita- tion. At the Reformation in England, when, by order of Henry VHI., the monasteries were dissolved, there appears to have been a considerable number of abbots. Bishop Burnet says twenty-eight, who had obtained the dignity of mitred abbots, and who sat and voted in the House of Lords. An abbot can scarcely, in strict ecclesiasrical lan- guage, be said to be ordained, but rather blessed into liis ofiice. The benediction is perfonned by a bishop, with the assistance of two abbots. Both the person who consecrates, and the candidate for consecration, are obUged previously to fast, and a solemn mass is said. On the credence table near the altar the monas- tic habits of the abbot-elect are laid, llie abbot-elect now presents himself to the bishop, accompanied by the abbots-assistant, and delivers the apostoUcal letters authorizing his election. The bishop then blesses the habit in which the abbot is to be dressed, praying over it, and sprinkling it with holy water. If the abbot-elect has not preWously been a monk, he goes through the ceremonies of admission into the order. (See Monk.) He then takes the oath of allegiance to the Papacy, which is succeeded by an examination consisting of the following questions proposed, and answers audibly given : " 1. Wilt thou persevere in thy holy purpose, and keep the rule of St. N. and diligently train thy sub- jects to do the same ? Ans. I will. " 2. WUt thou refrain from all that is exil, and, with God's help, as far as thou art able, change thy life to ail that is good ? Ans. I is-ill. " 3. WUt thou, with God's help, keep chastity, sobriety, humility, and patience thyself, and teacli thy subjects the same ? Ans. I will. "4. wot thou keep faithfully the goods of the monastery conamitted to thy charge, and distribute them to the uses of the Church, the brpthren, the poor, and the pilgrims (strangers) ? Ans. I will. " 5 Wilt thou always devoutly and faithfully ren- der in all things faith, subjection, obedience and re- verence, to our holy Mother the Church of Rome, to our most holy Lord N. supreme Pontifl" and his surcessors ? Ans. I will "' ABBUTO— ABELLIO. An additional oath of submission to the bishop is Uien administered if ncccssarj'. But such oath is not unifurnily taken, as some abbots hold directly of the Roman see, and othere of the bishop, and under his jurisdiction, llien follows the mass cele- brated by the bishop and tlie abbot-elect, each apart, after which comes the Prcfiice, in the course of wliicli the bishop lays be th his hands upon tlie head of the candidate, thus making liim an abbot by the impo- sition of hands, a ceremony which has been already noticed in the article Abbess : which see. The nde of his order is next presented to him, after which the bishop blesses the pastoral stafl', and gives it to him saying, " Receive the staff of the pastoral office that the society committed to thee may carry It before tliee, and that, m correcting their faults, thou mayest be mercifully severe, and when angry mayest be mintlful of mercy." The ring is then blessed and presented to him in token of his espou- sal to God, and to holy mother Church. He now presents to the bishop, in a kueelmg posture, two large lighted candles, two loaves, and two baiTels of wine, reverently kissuig liis hand. The communion having been administered, if he be a mitred abbot, the mitre is blessed and put upon his head, tliis be- ing according to the Pontifical, the helmet of salva- tion, representing also the two horns of the two Testaments, whose enemies he is preparing to com- bat. The gloves are now blessed and presented to him, after which he is entltfoncd in the seat of his predecessor, or if the benediction does not take place in the monastery, he is placed on the faldstool ; he "eceives the ])astoraI stall" in his left hand, and has .he care of the monaster)' formally and solemnly intrusted to liim. The ceremonial closes with the kiss of peace, and the salutation of the monks now imder liis charge. The abbot having thus been in- stalled into his office, goes roimd with his assistants and blesses the people. See Monachism — Mon- astery. ARBUTO, one of the idols worshipped in Japan. It is noted for curing many inveterate diseases, and also for procuring a favourable wind and a quick passage at sea. To propitiate this god, accordingly, Japanese sailors and passengers generally tic some small pieces of coin to sticks, and cast them from the vessel into the sea by way of an oll'ering to Abbuto; but liis priests contrive to pick up the coins for their own use, while they persuade the people that the offerings have been accepted by the god. Nay, it often happens that the god Abbuto, dressed up like one of liis priests, comes in a boat to demand tliis offering, and lie remains near the shore till the ship is out of sight of land. ABDALS, a name given to a very peculiar class of men among the Mohammedans, who derive their name from being wholly devoted to God. They are also called Saiitons, and by Ricault, they are termed Calenders or Calenderans. They go bareheaded, and with naked legs, half covered with the skin of a bear, or some other wild beast, lianng a leathern girdle about the waist, from which hangs a bag. Some of them have about the middle of their bo- dies a copper-serpent, bestowed upon them by theii doctors as a mark of learning. Tlicir opinions are of a very dangerous character, totally subversive of all good order in society, holding aa they do that all actions are mthlTcrent ; and that God is served ill the haunts of the prolligate as much as in the mosques. They carry in their hands a kind of club, which they use as conjurors do their rods. They chiefly employ themselves in wandering about, sell- ing relics, as the hair of Mahomet and other arti- cles, calculated to deceive the superstitious and weak minded. ABECEDARIAN HYMNS. In the fourth cen- tury, hynms which received this name were com- posed in imitation of the acrostic poetry of the He- brews, in wliich each verse or each part commenced with the first and succeeding letters of the alphabet in their order. Augustine composed a hymn or psalm of this kmd against the Donatists, for the com- mon people to Icam, and, in imitation of the 119th Psalm, ho di\nded it into so many parts, acconUng to the order of the letters of the alphabet. Hence these psalms were called Abecedarii, each part hav- ing its proper letter at the head of it, and the hjpo- psalma, or answer, to be repeated at the end of every part of it, not by canonical singers, but by the whole body of the congregation, who seem to have had generally a share in the psalmody of the ancient Christian church. See Mu.sic (Sacred). ABELI.VNS, or Abelites, a small and short- lived Christian sect, which is mentioned by Augus- tine as having risen in the diocese of Hippo, in Africa, in the fourth century. They derived tlicil name from .\bel, the son of Adam, who, they alleged, though married, had lived in a state of continence. This example they sought to imitate; and, accord- ingly, it is represented that every man married a female child, and every woman a little boy, v\ith whom they lived, and whom they made their heirs. im.Tgining that in this way they fulfilled hterally what Paul says (1 Cor. \ii. 29), that " they that have wives be as though they had none." This sect, enter- taining notions so absurd, could not be expected to be of long continuance. We are mformed, accord- ingly, that it originated in the reign of the emperor Arcadius, and lasted only till the time of TheodosiuB. Some writers have doubted whether such a sect ever existed ; but even in the present day, sentiments of a somewhat similar kind are current among the Shakers in Xorth America. ABELLIO, the name of a heathen divinity, found in inscriptions wliich were discovered at Commiiiges, m France. Some wTiters have considered Abellio to be the same as Apollo. The root of the word has been traced by others to Belus, or Baal (which see), a SjTian deity referred to in the Old Testamen. Scriptures. ABESTA. ABESTA, or Avesta, the most ancient records of the doctrines of the Persian ma^. These ^Titings ttre attributed to Zoroaater. and belong to a very remote period, wliicli luis not yet been settled with (exactness and certainty. It is probable that when they were composed, or, at least, when the doctrines contained in them were promulgated, the tratUtional trutlis that conitituted the primitive religion had been corrupted in Persia by p. gross star-worship. The object of the doctrine of Zoroaster was to reform and pm-ify the worship by recalling it to spiritualism, that is, by representing the sensible world as the envelop and symbol of the spiritual world. The Abesta, or, as it is often termed, the Zendavesta, contained two kinds of documents. (1.) The Ven- didad, wnitten in the Zend language, is principally liturgical. But this work contains, in the midst of a multitude of prayers and ceremonial prescriptions, some doctrinal notions of a strange description. (2.) The Boundehesch, or that which has been created from the beginning, written in the Pehlvi dialect, contains a cosmogony wliich sheds great hght upon many portions of the doctrine of the Zend documents. From this cosmogony proceeds a variety of notions, relating both to the intercourse of men with God, and to the intercourse of men with each other. The ideas which it contains respecting as- tronomy and agricultio'e, reflect, imder this twofold celestial and terrestrial relation, the intellectual con- dition of the mysterious band of the Magi, a sacer- dotal corporation, wliich was to Media and Persia what the Brahmins have been to India. The Abesta contains not so much a system of re- ligion as of philosophy: and 3-et as it imfolds the fundamental piinciples of the ancient Persian re- ligion, it may be useful to give a rapid sketch of its l>eculiar tenets. In the beginning existed Time illimitable. Under this name the Abesta recognises the primitive unity, the source of beuig. The Eternal, or Time without bounds, tirst produced Ormu^d, or, as he is termed by the Greeks, Oromasdes, the supremely piu-e and good being. He is the Light, and the Creative Word. Time without bounds produced also Alui- man, or, according to the Greeks, Ai-mianes, the evU being, the principle of darkness. He is the essence hidden in crime, the author of discord and anarchy. According to ancient Pereian traditions, collected by Sharistani, Onnuzd should be regarded as properly the spiritual principle, and Ahriman as the genius of matter, which is the shadow of spirits. Dependent originally upon these two principles, the creation contains in its bosom a radical hostility, a necessary strife, and the idea of conflict becomes the general formula of the imiverse. This conflict is re- presented in the physical world by the succession of day and night, which dispute the empire of Time, and alternately put each otiier to flight. Thus, according to the Abesta of the ancient Per- xians, the superhuman creation is twofold: it com- prises two opposite worlds ; and this hostility is in troduced also into the inferior creation, the human or terrestrial world. Ormuzd had produced the germ of this inferior creation ; a germ which con- tained the principle of hiunan, and also of animal and vegetable life. This creation in the germ is i-e presented by a bull, the symbol of organic force. Ahriman, after ha^-ing urged liis elVorts against heaven, redescended to the earth and wounded the mystic buU ; but liis fruitfid death became the source of life. From the left shoulder issued his soul, the vital and conservative principle of all animals, and from his right shoulder proceeded the first man. His blood produced the clean ammals, and the wholesome plants sprang from his body. To main- tain the confhct in tliis sphere of creation, Ahriman formed immediately the unclean animals and noxious plants. It may be observed here, that the myth of the primitive bull envelops the philosopliical concep- tion of the unity of the vital principles in all organ- ized beings. Ormuzd created a world of good genii, to oppose whom Aluiman had created a world of evU genii ; Onnuzd produced an animal and vege- table creation placed below man in the scale of being to oppose whom Ahriman produced a creation of the same order, but conuipt and corrupting. Man, placed between these two extremes, had alone escaped this antagonism of the creation. Ahrunan had not been able to find any means of creating a bad man. He had no resource but to slay the primitive man, Kaio- morts, who was at once man and woman. From his blood sprang, by means of transformations, Meschia and Meschianee, ancestors of the human race, who were soon seduced by Ahriman, and became wor- shippers of the Dews, to whom they offered sacrifice. Hence has ainsen a great conflict, wliich has been maintained in the human race between Ormuzd and Ahriman. Men pass their lives upon the earth un- der a twofold influence, from the good and the evil genii, which tends to sanctiiy or to defile their souls, and under a twofold contact, TN-ith pure and with im- pure material objects, wliich produces either purity or defUeraent of body. Hence the necessity of a double purification, spiritual and corporeal, — a puri- fication wrought by prayers and rites taught by Or- muzd to Zoroaster. The souls of men who follow Ahriman will go to dwell with the evil genii in the abyss of darkness ; those who follow Ormuzd will be united to liim and to the good genii in light and blessedness. In the end, however, there -n-ill be a imiversal restoration ; Ahriman himself shall be purified, e\Tl shall be subdued, and the antagonism of creation shall disappear. The Persian conceptions, viewed philosophically, otTer a striking contrast to those of the Hindus. In the pliilosophy of the Vedas, the unity of the crea- tion is the predominating, and in certain respects, the exclusive idea ; the presiding idea, on the other hand, of the Abesta, is not only the duphcity, but the antagonism of creation throughout all its de 8 ABHASSAIU -ABIB. partments. Tliis antagonism docs not, Iiowever, con- stitute dualism in the sense iji wliich it desi^atcs subsequent dcvelo])mcnts in tlie liistory of philoso- phy, that is, dualism as maintaining two co-etenial, necessary and uncreated principles. The principle of light and the principle of darkness in the Abcsta, both proceed from a primitive imity, Time without boimds. Unity appears at the origin of creation ; it appears again at tlie final consummation in the idti- mate triumph of good. The character of the dualism of the philosophy of the Abesta depends upon the determination of the question, whether Aluiman was bom e\il by nature, or became so by the abuse of Uberty. The latter is the more probable supposition. In the philosophi- cal traditions of the Magi, and wliich probably con- tained a transformation of the doctrines of the Abesta, the principle of darkness, identified with matter, is represented as essentially evil ; but in «rder not to attribute the origin of ev\\ to God, the same traditions maintain, that the production of this principle was not contained in the primary will of the Creator; but that it was solely an ine\"itable consequence of the creation of good beings, because darkness necessarily follows light as the shadow fol- lows the substance. Under this figui'e seems to have been couched the jirofound idea, that as every created being is necessarily imperfect, the creation neces- sarily contains two principles, the one limiting, the other limited, and that in this sense the Creator, the limiting being, is the principle or author of imperfec- tion and e\'il. Whether this was the idea really in- tended to be conveyed is by no means certain ; but, at all events, the system which we have now un- folded, as contained in the Abesta, gives no slight coimtenance to such a conception. See Persians (Keligion op the Ancient). ABHASSARA, a superior celestial world, accord- ing to tlie Budliist religion. The Sacred Books of that religion teach, that pre\"ious to the creation of the pr«< part of the building only the ahika, and those wlio arc consecrated as priests are privileged to enter. The ark is consecrated with holy oil ; but none of the laity, deacons, or persons not Clu-istians, dare touch 22 ABYSSINIAN CHURCH. it, othenvise both it and the church itself must be consecrated anew. Upon the ark depends the sanc- tity of the church and of the surrounding burj-ing- ground. Di^^ne service in the Abyssinian church consists of singing psahns, reading passages from tlie Scrip- tures, and legends of the saints. Prayers are ad- dressed to the Virgin and to saints, but Mary in par- ticular is honoured with the highest titles, such as Creator of the world. Every beggar utters the name of some one of the numerous saints, in order to excite pity. The Abyssinian church observes both the Jewish and Christian Sabbaths, the latter of which they term the gi-eat Sabbath. They keep no fewer than one hundred and eighty holy days and festivals. One of the most prominent of these is Epiphany, on the occasion of which festival, on the 4tli of January, the priesthood go out, carrj-ing the ark of every church in the city or neighbourhood to a stream, where, amid songs and rejoicings, the festival com- mences, and clothes are given to the poor. At mid- night, by torchlight, the priest steps into the water and blesses it. Then suddenly the whole crowd of people strip themselves quite naked, and plimge into tlie consecrated water to bathe, and, amid sluneks and noises of every kind, the festival tenninates. On the occasion of one of the festivals, thousands set out on pilgrimage to Debra Libanos, and fetch dust from the gi^ave of the saint, which they imagine can prevent or cure sickness. The Abyssinian church holds fasting in very high estimation, as a means of salvation. Every Wednesday and Friday, and every day on wliich the communion is observed, is a fast on which they must taste only nettles and bare bread. To the pious there are properly two hundred fast days in the year, the great proportion of wliich, however, are not kept; and still fewer would be kept, did not their intennent in conse- crated ground depend on the strictness of such ob- servances. Much merit is considered as attached to the giving of alms to beggars, pilgrims, monks, and priests, and bestowing presents upon churches and monasteries for their building and embeUishmeiit. Pilgrims are much respected, and the man who has made a, pilgrimage to Jerusalem is distinguished above all others as being most holy, so that his bene- diction is \'iewed by the man who is fortunate enough to receive it, as possessed of peculiar value and effi- cacy. Much superstition prevails in this church, ana amulets and channs are in frequent use among the people. The ancient Jewish difference between clean and imclean animals is strictly maintained. Marriage may be celebrated without the consecra- tion of the priest, and is therefore easily dissolved. This, however, in the case of any man, is permitted to happen only four times. Those marriages which are ratified by the parties partaking together of the Lord's Supper, are considered indissoluble. Divorce must be pronounced by the priest. Wlioever hai four wives, and lias divorced them or survived them, is excommunicated, imless he sliall enter one of the orders of monks. That, however, is generally done. It often happens tliat a man, without saying a word, deserts his wife and children and goes into a monas tery. Polygamy is forbidden, but, in defiance of the biw, instances arc not uncommon of priests aiul nobles liaving foiu- wives, besides numerous concu- bines. It is customary for those who are on their death-beds to confess to a priest and receive absolu- tion. The funeral takes place sliortly after death amid lamentations such as were customary among the Jew^s, and also amid nmnerously attended fiuieral repasts, at which the priests are present. On these occasions suitable passages are read from the Bible. Crucifixes are carried before the body. The inter- ment takes place either in or near the church. The Abyssinians explain then- adherence to so many Jewish customs, by alleging their descent from the race of Jewish kuigs. The whole, indeed, of their sacred ritual, as well as civil customs, is a strange com- bination of Jewish, Christian, and Pagan traditions. The moral and religious beliaviour of the people is far from satisfactory. Indillerence to religious prin - ciple, laxity of morals, and habitual indolence, are tlie prevailing features of character in the gi"eat body of the people. Heathenism has not yet entirely given place to Cliristianlty. In the mountains of Ackerban, near Gondar, a tribe of people are to be found who practise withcraft, and worship the Cac- tus plant. A Jewish remnant still exist in Abys- sinia who expect the Messiah, and pray to the an- gels for his coming. They live in the most ascetic manner, fasting five times every week, sleeping only upon wooden benches, scourging themselves with thorns, &c. They join outwardly in aU Christian obser\ances, but are regarded by the people as Jews and sorcerers. Amid all the comiption which attaches to the Abyssinian church, the prospects for that coimtry are evidently brightening. The translation of the Hible into Amharic, and of a portion of it into the Tigr6 dialect, has conferred a great boon upon the people of that interestmg countrj-. The Rev. Mr. Jowett has been mainly instrumental in caUing the atten- tion of British Cliristiaiis to the importance of Abys- sinia as a missionary field. In 18.30. the Rev. Samuel Gobat, who had been educated in the Missionary Institution at Basle, was sent along with the Rev. Mr. Kugler to conduct a mission in that countrj-. The early death of his colleague in Adowa, and the political commotions which prevailed, compelled Mr. Gobat to return to Europe. Another reinforcement was sent out in IS.'i-l; but foimd themselves unable to carry on their missionary labours in the disturbed state of the country. The Romish church despatched a missionary to Abyssinia in 1838, and by means of intrigue and management, the expulsion of the Pro- testant missionaries was efl'ccted. The I'apal partj ACACIANS— ACADEMICS. 23 were now in liiyh hopes that they would be able to form a large faction in the Abyssinian church in fa- vour of Rome. Their hopes, however, were speedily disappointed, by the appointment to the office of Abuna of a pupil of the English Protestant mission at Cairo, who lost no time in using all his endea- vours to destroy Romish influence in Tigi'^. A struggle then commenced, which has been can-ying on ever since, between the independent Abyssinian church and the Papal emissaries, wlule Protest-ant missions have been contending with almost insuper- able difficulties which, by prayer and perseverance, may, by the Divine blessing, be yet overcome, and a Chiistian Church, which has maintained its posi- tion since the fourth century, may at length sliine forth with a glorious emanation of Christian hght and knowledge, scattering the Mohammedan and pagan darkness in which Africa has so long been en- shrouded. ACACIANS, a sect of heretics which arose in the Clmstian Church in the fom-th centiuy, and are usually classed among the Arian sects. (See Arian- ISM.) They derived then- name from Acacius, a bishop of Caesarea, whom Jerome ranks among the most learned commentators on Scriptm-e, and who held that the Son was hke the Father, but only in respect of liis vnll. At first he professed himself a Serai-Arian, and aftenvards became the foimd- er of the sect of the Hojiceans (wliich see). At length he became an Anomoean or pure Arian, and ended with signing the Nicene creed. — The name of Acacians was also given to a sect of the Eutychians or Monophysites (which see), in the fifth centm-y. They derived their name from Aca- cius, bishop of Constantinople. To put an end if possible to the disputes which had so long been car- ried on in reference to the Person of Christ, and which were disturbing the peace of both chm-ch and state, the Emperor Zeno, in a. d. 482, by the advice of Acacius, offered to the contending parties that for- mida of concord which is usually called the Henoti- con. Tliis foiTOula, which was subscribed by the lead- ers of the Monophysite party, was approved by Aca- cius, as well as the more moderate of both parties. In this famous decree, the emperor recognizes the creed of the Nicene and ConstantinopoUtan councils as the only estabhshed and allowed creed of the chiu-ch, and declares every person an alien from the true chiu-ch who would introduce any other. This creed, he says, was received by that council of Ephesus which condemned Nestorius, whom, along with Eu- tyches, he pronoimces to be heretics. He also acknowledges the twelve chapters of Cyril of Alex- andria to be sound and orthodox, and declares Mary to be the Mother of God, and Jesus Clu-ist to be possessed of two natures, in the one of which ho was of like substance with the Father, and in the other, of like substance with us. This fonnula of union was calculated to unite the more consi- derate of both parties. The Roman ponti (f, Felix III., however, attacked Acacius, who had favoured, and indeed almost originated the Henoticon, as a be trayer of the truth, and excluded liim from church communion. To justify this severe conduct towards Acacius, who had now many supporters, Felix and his successors cliarged Acacius with favoiuing the Monophysites. Mosheim, however, alleges, that the real gi-ound of this opposition, on the part of the Roman pontiffs, was, that Acacius, by his actions, though not in words, denied the supremacy of the Roman See, and was extremely eager to extend the jurisdiction, and advance the honour of the see oi Constantinople. " The Greeks," says Mosheim, " de- fended the character and memory of their bishop against the aspersions of the Romans. This con- test was protracted till the following centiuy, when the pertinacity of the Romans triumphed, and caused the names of Acacius andPeterFuUo, another leader of the party, to be struck out of the sacred registers, and consigned, as it were, to perpetual infamy." Thus the Acacian sect or party, who not only held (u-mly by the Nicene creed, in opposition to the doc- trinal eiTOrs which had arisen, but also denied plain- ly the supremacy of the Roman pontiff, was brought to a violent end. ACADEMICS, the name usually apphed to the followers of Plato, the Greek philosopher. They are generally considered as having derived theii name from Academia, a gi'ove in the neighbourhood of Athens, favourable to study and philosophic thought. The name Academics is commordy given to tln-ee different schools of philosophy — the first, the middle, and the new Academy, all of them, how- ever, professing more or less to follow the opinions of Plato ; but the first, as being nearest to his own time, being a more con-ect reflection of his pecuUar views. The first and fimdamcntal object in the system of tliis eminent thinker, is the pursuit of that wisdom which contemplates absolute existence. The material world he regarded as consisting of two principles, ideas, and matter, and our impressions of outward objects are the produce of both. The soul has ideas within itself, copies of the etenial exem- plars that reside in the Divine mind, and these it remembers the more it sees of their imperfect copies without. Hence arises a distinction between the world wliich is perceived by sense, and the world wliich is discerned by mtellect. The senses present us with imperfect objects ever varj-ing, because ever diverging from the central and eternal types. The intellect, on the other hand, possesses the copies of these tjTies, certain and imchanging hke the tj-pes themselves. The copies reside in the human, the originals or exemplars in the Divine mind. The first existence, according to Plato, is the infinite mind ; the second, the Logos, or intellectual world of ideas ; thirdly , Matter, with its eapabihty, to a certain extent, of receiving the stamp and impres- sion of those ideas; and, lastly, the soul of the world, imparted to that world, after it has been £* ii ABUBEKEB— ACCENSORH. Bhioned Recording to the pattern existing in the Divine intellect. And as the soul of the world is derived from the infinite mind, so are mdividual Bouls in their turn derived from the soul of the world, whether they be tlie mtelligenccs that guide the stars, or of beings superior to man that occupy the higher regions, or lastly, of man liimself. Virtue, in the system of Plato, consists in the highest pos- sible conformity to the Deity. It is fourfold in its nature, including wi.sdom, fortitude, prudence or tem- perance, and justice. These can only be reached by an escape from the senses, and a return to the Di\"ine life. Plato's philosophy was a system of lofty idealism, and from the subordination to which it reduced the senses, it naturally led, among thinkers inferior to Plato himself, to a system of scepticism. Hence Arcesilaus, the founder of the new academy, taught, that nothing whatever could be kno^vn with certain- ty, tliat doubt was the region in wliich man wa.s des- tined to live. No such opinion was entertained by Plato. On the contrary, he taught, as the leading prineii)le of liis system, that to tind an absolute and unconditional ground for all that is relative and con- ditional, is the true aim of philosophy. In the early ages of Cliristianity, the academic pliilosophy was held in very higli esteem, so much 80 that, wliilo Josephus tries to trace the philo- sophy of Plato to the Bible as its source, several of the Cluistian fathers were of opinion, that the phraseology of the inspired writers of the New Testament is. in some cases, boiTowed from the plii- losophy of Plato. This is generally regarded as particularly the case mth the Logos or Word of the Apostle Jolni, an expression identical with one which occupies a prominent place in the Platonic system. There can be no doubt that whatever may have been the case mth the apostles, the specula- tions of this profound philosopher afl'ected not a Ut- tle the current of tliought among the early Christian writers. Nor could it fail to be so, for as Goethe reniarks, when speaking of Plato, " Every thing he said had a relation with the good, the beautiful, and the immutably true." No philosopher, indeed, whe- ther of ancient or of modem times, has more directly and habitiuilly referred all tilings in creation to the Almighty Creator, and all things in providence to an All-Wise Disposer, than the illustrious Plato. ABUBEKER, (Arabic. The FaAer of the Virgin,) the immediate successor of Mohammed, and one of his earhest converts, besides being his father-in-law, the prophet liaving married his daughter Ayesha. He was the faithful friend and associate of Mohammed, and by liis wealth and influence he was one of the main instruments in advancing the new faith. Abube- ker was the only companion of Mohammed in liis dight from Mecca. Such was the confidence reposed in him by the followers of the prophet, tliat they elected him his successor, and in tliis capacity he took the name of Caliph, wliich has been adopted by all who succeeded him. His right to the succes- sion was at first disi)utcd by All, the soii-in law oi the prophet, who, however, at length was compelled to acknowledge his authority. The fierce contest, however, which ensued between the two claimant.^ led to a schism whicli has divided the Moliamme- dans into two great factions, who entertain towards each other the most unplacablc liatred to this day. The two opposing sects are named the Somiiteji and the Schiites, the former considering Abubeker, Omar, and Othmaii as the legitimate successors of Mo- hammed, and the latter viewing these three caliphs as usurpers and intruders. Among the Sonnitcs or followers of Abubeker are to be ranked tlie Turk.-^, Tartars, Arabians, and greater part of the Indian Mo- hammedans; whereas the Persians and subjects ol the Great Mogul are Schiites or followers of Ali. Hence the deep-rooted antipathy which has long subsisted between the Turks and the Persians. See SoNNiTEs — Schiites. ACAFOTU, a peculiar ceremony which is ob- sen'ed by some of the modem Jews on the Continent. ^V^len a Jew has died, and the coflm has been nailed down, ten chosen persons of the chief relatives and friends of the deceased, turn seven times round the coffin, offering up, all the while, their prayers to God for Ills departed soul. ACATHYSTUS, (Gr.a, notjcathio), to sit,) a hymn used by the Greek church in honour of the Virgin -Mary. It receives its name from the circumstance, that it is sung while the congregation are not sitting, but standing. The occasion of the composition of tliia hymn is rather curious. In the reign of Heraelius, the city of Constantinople, having been besieged by the Persians, was in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, when tlie patriarch Sergius, carrying in his anns an image of the Virgin, and attended by a great crowd of people, otlcrcd up prayers to God in behalf of the city ; upon which Heraelius obtained a remarkable -lictory over his enemies. The same thing is also said to have happened in the time of Constantine Pogonatus and Leo Isaurus. Hence a hymn to the Virgin was appointed to be sung ou every fifth Simday in Lent. ACCA LARENTIA, a mj-thical woman occur- ring in the legends of early Roman history. According to some accoimts she was the wife of the shepherd Faustulus, and the nurse of Romulus and Remus, after they had been taken from the she-wolf. Othei-s represent her as having lived in the reign of An- cus Martins, who instituted a festival in her honour called the Lare.ntalia (which see), at which sacri- fices were offered to the Lares. ACCENSORn, or Liguteks, a name sometime.-! given to the Acolytes (which see), in the early Latin church, because one of the duties of the office to which they were ordained was to light the can dies of the church. Accordingly, in the canon of ordination laid down by the fourth coimcil ot Cartilage, it is expressly provided, tluit an acolyth ACCESSU8— ACERRA. 25 8haU, when ordained, receive a candlestick witli a taper in it from the archdeacon, that he may under- stand that he is appointed to hght the candles. Bingliam very properly thinks, that this refers to nothing more than the lighting of the candles when the church met for sen-ice at the lucernalis oratio, or time of evening prayer This office has been ex- changed in the modem Latin or Roman Catholic church for that of the ceroferarii, or taper-bearers, whose office is only to walk before the deacons, &c. with lighted tapers in their hands. ACCESSUS, one of the modes which is frequently resorted to in electmg the Pope of Rome. When the cardinals have given their votes, a scnitiny is made which consists in collecting and examining the votes ^ven in by printed billets, wliich the cardinals put into a chaUce that stands on the altar of the cliapel tvhere they are met together to choose the Pope. If the votes do not rise to a sufficient number, bil- lets are taken in order to choose the Pope by way of acce.imns. According to this mode, wliich is in- tended to con-ect the scrutiny, they give their votes by other billets, on which is wiitten accedo Domino, &c., when they join their vote to that of another ; or accedo nemlm, when they adliere to their first vote. The practice of the acce-ssus seems, to be derived from the ancient method of voting in the Roman senate. Wlien one senator was of another's opinion, he rose up and went over to his colleague with whom he agi-eed. See Cardinal — Pope. ACCURSED. See Anathema, Curse. ACDAH, a name given by the idolatrous Arabs to a species of arrows, without iron and feathers, which were used for purposes of divination. Dr. Jamieson, in his valuable edition of ' Paxton's Illus- trations of Scripture,' thus describes the process from D'Herbelot : " The ancient idolatrous Arabs used a sort of lots, which were called lots by arrows. These an-ows were without heads or feathers; they were three in number ; upon one of them was wiitten, ' Command me. Lord ;' upon the second, ' Forbid, or prevent. Lord.' The tliird arrow was blank. When any one wanted to determine on a course of action, he went with a present to the diviner (who was the chief priest of the temple), who drew one of his arrows from his bag. and if the arrow of ' command' appeared, he immediately set about the affair ; if that of prohibition appeared, he defeired the execu- tion of his enterprise for a whole year: when the blank arrow came out. he was to draw again. The Arabs consulted these arrows in all their affau-s, particularly their warUke expeditions." To these remarks, it may be added, that divination by ar- rows was used also by the Arabs in the case of mar- riages, the circumcision of their cliildren, and on setting out on a joiuney. Tliis kind of di\-ination is expiessly prohibited in the Koran. We find an allusion to the same practice in Ezek. xxi. 21 : " For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divina- tion : he made his airoios brijitt, he consulted with unages, he looked in the liver." See DrvTNA- TIOS. ACEPHALI, a term applied in Ecclesiastical History to those bLshops who were exempt from the discipline and jiurisdiction of their ordinary bishop or pati-iarch. It was a name particularly given to a sect of the Eutychians or Monophysites, in the fifth century. AVhen Peter Moggus, bishop of Alexan- dria, gave in his adherence to the Henoticon or for- mula of concord proposed by the Emperor Zeno, those who rejected the Henoticon formed themselves into a new party, which was called that of the Acepha- li, because they were deprived of their head or leader. The date of their appearance is a. d. 482. From the time of the councU of Chalcedon the Eutychians gra- dually departed from the peculiar views of Eutyches, and therefore discarded the name of Eutychians, and assiuned the more appropriate one of Monophy- sites, which indicated their distinguishing tenet, that the two natm'es of Christ were so united, as to con- stitute but one natiu-e. The whole party, there- fore, ha^Tng long renoimced Eutyches as their leader, when a part of them renounced also Peter Jloggus, they were indeed Acephali, without a head. The name came at length to be applied to all wlio re- fused to admit the decrees of the coimcil of Chal- cedon. In the sixth centmy, the Emperor Justi- nian was persuaded by Theodorus of Csesarea to \ believe that the Acephali would retiun to the church, provided certain obnoxious writings favourable to the Nestorian heresy were condemned. In a. d. 544, accordingly, the emperor pubUshed a decree, which is usually called Justinian's creed, and which professes to define the Cathohc faith, as estabUshed by the first four general coimcUs, those of Nice, Constan- tinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, and to condemn the opposite eiTors. Tliree chapters or subjects were condemned by Justinian : 1st, The person and writ- ings of Theodorus of Mopsuestia, whom the decree pronounced a heretic and a Nestorian ; 2d, The writ- ings of Theodoret, bishop of C}"prus, so far as they favom-ed Xestorianism, or opposed C^tiI of Alexan- di-ia and liis twelve anathemas ; 3d, An Epistle said to have been written by Ibas, bishop of Edessa, to one Maris, a Persian, which eensiu'ed Cyril and the first coimcil of Ephesus, and favoured the cause ol Nestorius. Much and violent opposition was raised to this decree ; but Justinian was resolved to per- severe, and he again condemned the three chapters by a new edict in A. D. 551. The matter was at last refen-ed to a general council, which assembled at Constantinople in a. d. 553, and which is usually called the fifth general cotmcil. Here the creed of Justinian was in substance ratified, but few of the Western bishops were present, and many of them dissenting from the decrees of the coimcil, canied their opposition so far as to secede from communion with tlie Roman pontitf. See Monophysites. ACERRA, a censer used by the ancient Romans !G ACESIUS— ACOLYTES. m their sacred rites, for burning incense It was also cjiUed tlmribulmn. See Censer, Sacuifice. ACESIUS, a name given to the Pagiin deity Apollo, as being the avcrter of evil. Under tliis name he was worshipped in Elis, where he had a splendid temple. See Ai'Ollo. ACHELOUS, the deity who presided over tlie river Aclieloiis, wliich was aocountcd one of tlie greatest and moat ancient rivers of Greece. This was from the earliest times regarded as a great divi- nity throughout Greece, and he was invoked in prayers, oaths, and sacrilices. Zeus of Dodona usu- ally added to each oracle he gave, the command to oftcr sacrifices to Achelous. He was considered to be the source of all nourishment. ACHERON, one of tlie rivers alleged in the Pa- gan theology of the Greeks and Romans to rim through the infernal regions. The idea may have arisen from tlie circumstance, that a river bearing that name was found in Epirus, a country whicli the earliest Greeks regarded as the end of the world in the west, and thence they considered it as the entrance into the lower world. Homer describes it as a river of Hades, and Virgil as the principal river of Tar- tarus. Late ^\Titors use tlie word Aclieron to denote tiie lower world in general. ACHEKUSIA, a lake in Epinis, tlirough which the Acheron (lowed, and which was considered as belonging to the lower regions of the Pagans. Va- rious other lakes bearing the same name were also regarded as passing through the shades below, and among these was one near Memphis in Egypt, to which the Egyptians used to cairy their dead bodies to be deposited in the seiiulchres erected for them. ACHIN, a deity worshipped among the Adigli^, a race of modem Circassians. He is regarded as the god of homed cattle, and is so popular among his victims, that the cow otl'ercd to him leaves lier com- panions of her own accord, with the calm desire and uitention of being so honourably sacrificed. ACHTAKIEL, one of the three ministering an- gels, alleged by the Rabljinical traditions to be en- gaged in heaven in weaving or making garlands out of the pra3'ers of the Israelites in the Hebrew tongue. AC(EMETAE, an order of monks instituted in the beginning, or as IJaronius alleges, towards the middle of the fifth century, by a pereon of the name of Alexander, under the auspices of Gcimadius the patriarch of Constantinople. Tliey were called Acoemetae, or sleepless, because they so regulated their worsliip that it was never intermpted by day or by night, one class of the brethren suc- ceeding another continually. Tlie piety of these watchers caused them to be held in great veneration, and many monasteries were built for their use. One of these was erected by Studius, a wealthy Roman nobleman, and from him the monks who inhabited that building were called Studitcs. This Bingham supposes to be the first instance of monks taking their name from the founder of a monastery. Tills order of monks in 484 opposed Acacius, patriarcli of Constantinople, in his support of tlic llenoticon, anil in the sixth century they fell themselves into the Xestorian heresy, and were condemned in A. i>. 532, by the Emperor Justinian and l'(jpe John II. The ])ractice of ]iraying day and night is supposed to have been founded on a literal adlicrence to the apos- tolic admonition, Ist Tliess. v. 17, " Pray without ceasing." ACOLYTES, or Acolyths, an order of office- bearers in the Latin church. Several Romish writers, particularly IJaronius and liellarniine, assert, that this and the other minor ordera of their clergy were in- stituted by the apostles. The greater number, how- ever, both of Roman Catholic and Protestant cli%'ine», maintain that they were unknown until the third century. Cyprian, in the middle of that ccnturj-, and Cornelius, a coteinjioraiy of C_\^)ria^, mention the acol)-tes expressly by name. They were im- knowTi in the Greek churcli luitil the fifth century. The fourth council of Carthage decrees the form o/ their ordination, and bricfiy explains the nature ol their ofiice. The canon which treats of this subject is as follows : " AVheii any acolyth is ordained, the bishop shall infomi him how he is to behave himsell in his oflice ; and he .shall receive a candlestick with a taper in it from the archdeacon, that he may under- stand that he is appointed to liglit tlie candles of the church. He shall also receive an empty pitcher to furnish wine for the eucharist of the blood of Christ." They were not ordained by imposition of hands, but only by the bishop's appointment. Some think that they had another office — to accompany and attend the bishop whei-evcr he went, and that on this ac- count they were called acolyths or followers. The meaning of the word is simply an attendant, or one who continually waits upon another. Bingham sup- poses that they may have received the name from their havuig been obliged to attend at funerals in company of the canoiu'cw and ascctria:. They re- ceived also the name of Accensokii (which see), or lighters. In the church of Rome, in the present d.ay, the office of the acolyte is usually held by mere boys, and is properly a menial office. .And yet the acolyte has his ordination, in which the bishop, hav- ing presented him with an extinguished wax taper and an empty jar or vase, addresses to him the fol lowing admonition : " Having imdertaken, most dear son, the office of an acolyte, consider what you undertake. It is the jiart of the acolyte to cany the wax bearer, to kindle the lights of the chm-ch, to minister wine and water at the eucharist. Study therefore to fulfil your office worthily. . . . Lei your light so sliine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," &c. The prayers and rubrics for the acolyte occupy together tlirce pages of the I'ontifi calc Romamtin In Rome, the acolytes are diWded into three classes. L lihe palatine, who wait upon the Pope. 2 The stationarii, who serve in the ACROB— ADAraC DISPENSATION. 27 church ; and, 3. The regiunarii, who atteud in vari- ous parts of the city, a sort of beiullcs. ACROB, tlie superintendent of the angeis, accord- ing to the rehgiou of the Guerres (whicli see). ACROSTIC, a fonn of poetical composition among I he Hebrews, composed of twenty-two lines or stanzas according to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, each line or stanza beginning with each letter ui its order. There are twelve hymns of this kind in the Old Testament. The hundi-ed and nineteenth Psahn is the most remarkable specimen of it. Augustine in the fifth century wrote Latin verses of this kind, called Abecedarii (which see). ACT OF FAITH. See Auto da Fe'. AD, the father, according to Mohammedan tradi- tion, of one of the four tribes or nations of the pri- mitive or ancient Arabians. He is said to have been the son of the scripture Uz, the son of Aram, son of Shem, son of Noah. At the confusion of tongues. Ad went to the southern part of Ai-abia called Ha- dramaut. Wlien the Ai-abians speak of any thing as ha\Tng hg' ^ened very long ago, they make use of the proverbiii; expression, " This was in the tunes of^rf." ADAB, whatever Mohammed has done once or Hvice, and is on that accoimt lawful to be done by any of his followers. ADAD, a Pagan deity of the ancient Assyrians representing the sim. The name signified in their language one. He was usually pamted with beams shooting downwards towards the earth, thus indi- cating that the earth was indebted for its produc- tiveness to the genial warmth of the sun's raj-s. Some are of opinion, that the true name of this deity was Hadad, identical with the Benhadad of scriptiure, the second of the name, who is .'^aid by Josephus to liave been deified after his death. Others suppose that Isaiah the prophet refers to this worship of the sun, imder the name of Achad, which means in He- brew one alone. The wife of Adad was called Adar- GYRIS (which see). ADALBERTINES, a Christian sect wliich arose in the eighth centmy, deriving both its origin and name from Adalbert, a Frenchman, who obtained consecration as a bishop against the wiU of Boniface, who, from his zeal in promoting the Papal cause, has been sometimes tenned the apo.stle of Germany. The cliief scene of Adalbert's labours was Frauconia, and from Ins opposition to many of the doctrines, as well as the authority of Rome, he was denounced by Boniface as a pubHc heretic, and blasphemer of God and the Catholic faith. He was condenuied ac- cordingly by the Roman pontiff Zacharias, at the in- stigation of Boniface, in a council convened at Rome, A. D. 748. He appears to have died in prison. His followers held him in great veneration. He was ac- cused, however, of liaving fabricated ;m epistle wliich pui-ported to have been written by our Lord Jesus Qirist, and to have fallen down from heaven at Je- rusalem, where it was foimd by the archimgel Mi- chael, near the gate of Ephraim. Semler conjectures, and not without some probabiUty, tliat this epistle was framed by the enemies of Adalbert, and palmed upon him for the sake of injiuing his reputation. Enough may be gathered from the represeniations wliich Boniface made concerning this remarkable man, to con^Tnce us that his chief ofl'ence consisted in resisting Papal rule, leading gi-eat multitudes, as was alleged, to despise the bishops and forsake the ancient churches. ADAJUC DISPENSATION. The primevaJ form of religion was of course that which existed in the da3'S of Adam, the progenitor of the human fa- mily. Created in a state of perfect innocence and purity, he enjoyed direct and immediate fellowship with his God. It is difficult for man in his fallen state to form an adequate conception of the religion or rehgious worship of an unfallen creature. The mind, the heart, the whole natm'e were habitually du'ected towards God. Religion in such a case was strictly spiritual ; forms were scarcely necessary. But scriptm-e conve)'s to us the impression that God dealt with Adam not as an individual, but as the re- presentative and head of that race which was to be descended from him. Perfect oberhence to the will of the Divine Being was demanded of him, not as an individual creature merely, responsible for his own acts, but as the federal head of an entire race. Life in the highest and pm-est sense, the hfe of the soul as well as of the body, life not limited to a few short years only, but stretching tliroughout the endless ages of eternity ; and what is more, not his own life merely, but the life of the whole human race, hung suspended on his obedience to the divine will, em- bodied in a single precept, " Do this, and thou shall live ; transgress, and thou shalt die ;" such were the tenns of the original dispensation or economy under which Adam was originally placed. Even at the very outset of the world's histoiy, man was made to feel his dependence, and to recognise his responsi- bility. He was under law, and must render an ac- coimt to the Lawgiver. But the law of the loving Creator was itself an expression of his love. It was accompanied both with promises and penalties ; pro- mises in case of obedience, and penalties in case ol disobedience. And these, to man, a sentient crea- ture, were exhibited in a sensible form. The tree of life in paradise indicated the promise, and the tree of good and evil indicated the condition on wliich both the promise and the penalty rested. On tliis subject. Dr. Candhsh makes the following apposite remarks, in his ' Contributions towards the Exposi- tion of Genesis : ' " The tree of Ufe eWdently tj-pi- fied and represented that eternal life which was the portion of man at first, and is become in Christ Jesus his portion again. It is found, accordingly, both in the paiadise wliich was lost, and in the paradise which is regained. For, ' saith the Spirit to tlie chm-ches. To liim that over:ometh will I give to eal of the tree of lite wliich is in the midst of the gar- ?R ADAMITE9-ADDEPHAG1A. dcii;' — the garden, which is become at last a city, for the multitude of the redeemed to dwell in. (Hev. li. 7. See also K'"7. xxii. 2, 14.) Uy the use of tliis tree, man was reminded continuaJly of his depoiKl- ence. He had no life in himself, lie received hie at every instant anew from Him in whom alone is life. And of this continual reception of life, his con- tinual participation of the tree of life was a standing sjTnbol. Again he is reminded of what is liis part in the covenant, of the tenns on which he holds the favour of liis God, which is his life. The fatal tree is to him, even before his fall, in a certain sense the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a standing memorial of the reality of the distinction. It suggests the possibility of evil — of disobedience, — which otherNvise, in tlie absence of all lust, might not occur. And so it is a test and token of his sub- mission to his Maker's will. Hence the titness of this expedient, as a trial of his obedience. If he was to be tried at all, it could scarcely, in paradise, be otherwise than by means of a positive precept. And the more insignitieant the matter of that precept was, the better was it litted for being a trial. The less was the temptation bcforeliand ; the greater, conse- quently, the sin. Such a tree, then, might well ser\'e the purpose intended. It might seal and ratify his compliance with the ^¥ill of God, and his enjoyment of the life of God ; or, on the other hand, it might occasion liis sin and his death." How long Adam continued to yield obedience to the law of God we are not informed ; but in an e^il hour he lent a too ready ear to the suggestions of the tempter, and having incuned the penalty of dis- obedience, and fallen under the displeasure of liis God, the original Adamic dispensation was brought to a close. This religion and worship of innocence gave place to the religion and worship of a faUen creature, with whom God must deal, if he deal at all, in another and far dilVerent way from that which characterized liis early intercourse with man. ADAMITES, a sect of heretics which sprimg up in the second centui-y. They derived their name from a distinguishing tenet which they held, — that since the death of Christ, his followers were as inno- cent as Adam before the fall. Hence they are said by E|)iphanius to have worshipped naked in their assemblies. Their church they called Paradise, the paradise promised by God to the righteous. They held tliat clothes are the badges of sin, and therefore ought not to be worn by those that have been deh- vered from sin by Christ. They maintained that marriages were unlawful among Christians, because, if Adam, they alleged, liad not sinned, there would have been no marriages. The accoimts of the an- ijient wTiters in regard to this sect are very contra- Uctor)-, and some of the modems have even gone so far as to deny that such a sect ever existed. Both lipiphanius and Augustine describe this singidar sect with great minuteness. They originated from Pro- dicus, who seems to have belonged to the Carpocra- tians, one of the Gnostic sects. Ur. Lardner argue? very strenuously against the existence of the Adam- ites, no ancient writer before Epiiihanius having even alluded to such a sect. But if the allegation tluu Adamites existed in the second centurj' be unfounded, it is an imdeniable fact that in the twelfth century a .- ject of frequent and earnest discussion. Amoiii; the schoohnen particularly, it was a favourite topic. Abelard taught that " all actions abstractly and exter- nally considered are in themselves inditVerent ; the intention only gives them moral worth. Only when considered in connection with the intention of the agent are they cfip.ible of moral adjudication. That is the tree which yields either good fruit or bad." There is no doubt embodied in this saying an im- portant principle, but it requires to its full develop- ment the additional idea, that the intention must bo pure and clear. " The eye," as our Lord expressed it, " must be single, if the whole body is to be full of light." Thomas Aquinas, also, takes up the subject of indifferent actions, alleging that nothing is indif- ferent, because every action is either one correspond- ing or not corresponding to the order of reason, and nothing can be conceived as holding a middle placi . " Thus," he says, " eating and sleeping are things in themselves indifferent ; yet both are subserWent to virtue with those who use the body generally as an organ of reason." But without dwelling on purely abstract questions, as to the indifference of huraau actions in themselves, we may remark, that the Adiaphoristic controversy, such as it presented itself among the Reformers m Gennany in the sixteenth ccnturj', lias again and again broken forth in differ- ent parts of the Cluu-ch of Christ since that period. Thus, in the end of the seventeenth century, Si)ener, in liis anxiety to recall Cliristiansin Germany to tlie importance of cultivating tiie inner life of the be- liever, raised a dispute which lasted for several years, on the question, whether dancing, playing at cards, attending theatrical representations, and such thmgs, were to be regarded as sinful, or were merely indif- ferent. A controversy of the same kind has more than once been carried on in both Britain and Amer- ica. All discussions on the lawfuhiess of rites and ceremonies, the use of meats, the propriety of ab- stinence from the use of alcohouc liquors, the obser- vance of days, whether for fasts or feasts, may be classed under the head of topics connected with the Adi'iphor-istic controversy. See Interim. ADI-BUDHA, the one tsupreme Intelligence in the creed of the Budhists of Nepdl, th only school or sect of the followers of Budha which believes in a Supreme Being, either like the Auji (which see) of the Vaidic period, or the Brahm (wliich see) of the later period of Hindu history. Budhism is essen- tially atheistic in its character. It disclaims all knowledge of the Great Soiurce of all, and teaches without reserve that all things may be seen to come into the world according to a law of succession. ADITI, in the Hindu mythology, the mother of Indra, and of the other great gods, all solar. Mythi- cally viewed, she seems to be Light abstractly consi- dered in its complete unity, in its goodness, and in its salutary action. These ai'e the three senses of the word Aditi. In a special sense, she is the dawn of day, and the sister of darkness, who ushers in the brightness and the beauty of that glorious orb who sheds his refulgent radiance over the whole creation. Every morning this grand goddess appears with majes- ty, attended by her sons, her generous children, who rise above the horizon, opening the way to immortal- ity, and securing the progress of the travelling star. ADMO^TnON, the fu-st step of ecclesiastical discipline as laid down by the Apostle Paul, Tit. iii. 10, " A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject." In conformity with this rule, the admonition of the oft'ender, in the early Clu-istian Chiu-ch, was solemnly repeated once or tmce before proceeding to greater severity. ADJIONITIONISTS, a class of Piu-itans in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who received tliis name from the " Admonition to the Parliament," in 1571, in wliich they lay it down as a great principle on which the CMstian Chmxh is boimd always to act, that nothing is to be received as an article of faith, or admitted as an ordinance of the Chuixh, which is not laid down in the Word of God. ADONAI, one of the names of the Divine Being frequently employed in the Sacred Scriptures. Ac- cording to an ancient idea among the Jews, this word is substituted for the inefiable name Jehovah, wliich they consider it milawful to pronoimce. They assert that aU the names of God proceed from that of Jehovah, as the branches of a great tree issue from the stem. The Jewish Cabbahsts teach that God did not assume the name Jehovah untU he had finislied the creation of the world. This sentiment they imagine is contained in these word.? of Moses, " He is a rock, his work is perfect." According to the Cabbalistic writers, the name Jehovah forms a bond of union to all the splendours, and constitutes the pillar upon which they all rest. Every letter oi which it is composed is fraught with mysteries. They assert that this name includes all things, and that he who pronounces it puts the whole world, and aU the creatures and tilings which comprise the uni- verse, into his mouth. Hence it ought not to be pronoimced but with great caution, for God himseli says, " Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." According to the Cabbahsts, the prohibition does not apply to the violation of oaths, but the pronouncing of Ms name, except by the high priest in the Holy of HoUes on the great day of atonement. Tliey allege that the name Jehovah has a supreme authority over the world, and govenis all things ; and that aU the other names and sm-names of God, amounting, according to Jew- ish reckoning, to seventy, take their station aromid it like so many officers and soldiers aroimd their general. They attribute to each of the letters of this mysterious name a specific value, and they teach that the highest measure of knowledge and perfec- tion is to know the whole import of the inefiable name of Jehovah. From aU these considerations, wherever the name jEnovAii occurs in the Old Testament Scriptures, the Jews always in reading pronounce Adonai, and hence the letters of which the word Jehovah is composed, are usually in the Hebrew Bibles writ- ten with the points belonging to Adonai or Lord. They contend that the true pronunciation of the word, which we render Jehovah, has been lost, and that whosoever possesses it conld reveal secrets or mysteries. The practice of writing the ineffable name in the manner refen-ed to, seems to have been pecuhar to the later Jews, and to have been im- known until the Babylonish captivity. Hebrew scholars and critics, indeed, have been divided in opinion on the subject, and according as they ranged themselves on one side or the other, have re- ceived the name of Adonists or Jehovists. See Jehovah. ADONIA, the heathen mysteries and sacrifices of Adonis celebrated every year at Byblos in Syria. The Adonia were accompanied with pubUc mourn - uig, when the people beat themselves, and lamented and celebrated his fimeral rites as if he had been dead, though the day following was observed i]i honour of his resurrection. The men shaved their heads as the Egyjitians did at tlie death of their god Apis ; but the women, who would not consent to shave tlioir heads, were compelled to prostitute them- selves for a day to strangers for hire, and to dedicate their unhallowed gain to Venus. It was absurdly alleged, that a river in Sj'ria, called by the name oi Adonis, changed its colour at times, the water be 32 ADONIS— ADOPTIANS. coming blood-reil, and wliat was regarded as espe- cially miraculous was, that this change took iilace during the celebration of the Atlonia, that is, in tiio month of Tamnuiz or July. As soon as the water of the river began to be tinged nnth blood, the wo- men commenced tlieir weeping, and when tlie red colour disappeared, the return of Adonig to life was announced, and sonow was exchanged for jov. This is the festival proljably alluded to in Ezekiel, and to which reference is made in the article Adonis (whicli fee). The Adonia were celebrated not only at Byblos in Syria, but also at Alexandria in Eg)-pt, Athens in Greece, and other places. The worsliip of Adonis, though originating probably in Asia, Bproid over almost all the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. ADONIS, in the fabulous mythology of the Greeks, was a beautiful young shepherd with whom the god- dess Venus became enamoured. In a fit of jealousy. Mars, who happened to meet him in hunting, killed him. Lucian says that he was killed by a boar. The goddess was deeply grieved at tlie death of her lover, and obtained from Proserpine permission for him to leave the infernal regions six montlis in the year. Accordingly, the anniversary of the death of Adonis, which was observed with mourning and sor- row, was followed by a season of joy. Ovid relates, tiiat Venus produced from his blood the flower called Anemone. The story of Adonis became connected with that of Osiris in the Egyptian mythology. Osiris was said to have been shut up in a box by Typhon, and tlirown into the Nile, and was foiuid by Isis at Byblos in SjTia. Typhon, however, obtained possession of the body, cut it into many pieces, and scattered them abroad ; but Isis succeeded in col- lecting tliem togetlier again, and binying them. We find a reference to Adonis in the Vulgate version of Ezekiel viii. 14, which represents the prophet as having seen women in the temple weeping for Ailonii, which the Hebrew reads Tammiiz. The name Adonix seems to imply tlie sun, whose departure in autumn gives occasion to no little sorrow. So strictly connected are tlie two deities, Adonis and Osiris, the one belonging to SjTia, and the other to Egypt, tliat there seems to have been a combina- tion of the two in the ancient god Adoni-Siris. In the ancient sculjitured monuments of Mexico some traces are found of the worsliip of this twofold deity. " Various cliaracteristics," it has been remarked, " of the worship of Osiris and Adonis are complete in the sculptured tablets of Mexico. A priestess kneels before the Toltecan god in the attitude of adoration, and oilers him a pot of flowers, not the mint oflcred to Osiris, but the blood-stained hand-plant or maniUis, which all the monuments attest was anciently held sacred throughout Mexico. On the sculptured ta- blet over the head of the divinity, appear, precisely in the Egyptian fashion, the phonetic characters of his name in an oblong sijuare, which in ICgypt was devoted to the names of gods. Of the phonetic or symbolic character, however, nothing as yet is known, The same divinity is represented on one of the walls at Palen(iue, not in a human, but an animal foiin. Instead of the hawk of lOgypt, however, the Toltecans chose as their sacreord's re- surrection. Prostration on tlie ground lias lieon fre- quently adopted among the Orientals as an expres- sion of the fervour of their devotion. The ancient Komans likewise used to prostrate thcmselvis before the statues of their gods, and even while yet at a distance from them. The Turks fall down on their faces whenever they hear an Imam pmnounce the name of God with a loud voice. The ancient Egyp- tians were accustomed also to prostrate themselves before Anubis. The ditVerent postures assumed by the Turks in their devotions are very peculiar. The most devout of the modem Jews, in some pkces, wrap the veil they wear on their head romid their neck during their divine service in the synagogue. The arrangement of the hands in the act of adora- tion has been often considered as of great importiuice. Thus, when the ancient heathens addressed their in- fernal deities, they stretched their hands downwards; when to the sea-deities, they stretched out their himds toward the ocean. The Turks cross their hanils over their breasts. Christians usually clasp their hands. Koman CatlioUcs generally make the sign of the cross. The Jewish priest, when he con- fessed the sins of the people, was wont to lay his hands upon the bonis of the altar. In adoration the pagan idolaters often embraced the statues of their gotls, weeping and wailing al their feet, tearing their hair, and promising to lead a new life. Sometimes they grasped the knees of theu' idols, put crowns on their heads, and presented be- fore them the choicest fruits and flowers. The an- cient Greeks on some occasions took branches witli wool twisted roimd them, and touched the knees ol the gotls to whom they applied ui times of distress ; and when the suppliant was Ukely to obtain his ob- ject, he touched with his branch the right hand, and even the chin and cheeks of the god to whom he was tendermg his prayer. The Uoman Catholics to this day ot'ten express their reverence for the images of saints by touching them with handkerchiefs or linen cloths, and sometimes even kiss them in the ardour of their devotion. The ancients made it a constant practice in wor- ship to turn themselves round, and the practice seems to have the express sanction of Pythagoras. The precise design of this circular movement is by no means obvious. Some suppose that in doing so the worshipper intended to imitate the circular movement of the earth. I'lutarch, who also notices the custom, explains it by alleging, that as all temples were built fronting the east, the people at their en- trance turned their backs to the sun, and conse- quently, in order to face the sun were obliged to make a half-turn to the right ; and then, in order to place themselves before the deity, they completed the round in oliering up their prayer. Whatever ADRAM5IELECH— ADVENT. 95 end was intended to be served by it, the actual exist- ence of the practice is undoubted. The Romans turned to the right and the GaiJs to the left. The Hindus turn to the right in walking round the sta- tues of their gods, and at every roimd are obliged to prostrate tliemselves with their faces to the ground. The ancient Jews, as we learn from the Mischna, went up on the right side of the altar and came down on the left. In the custom of turning round, the Persians had in view the immensity of God, who comprehends all things in Iiimseh". The same cere- mony is stiU observed in the Mass am jng Roman Cathohcs. The custom of salutation lias often foimed a part of the ceremony of adoration. From both Cicero and Tacitus we learn that it was a not uncommon practice to salute the hands and even the very mouths of the gods. It was usual also to kiss the feet and knees of the images, and to kiss the doors uf the temjiles, the pillars, and posts of the gates. The Mohammedans who go on pUgrimage to Mecca, kiss the black stone and the four comers of the Kaaba. In the sprinkling of holy water, the Romish priest kisses the aspergillum with which the cere- mony is performed ; and at the procession on Palm- Simday, the deacon kisses the pahn, wliich he pre- sents to the priest. Thus kissing has in all ages been frequently regarded as a token of adoration. It was anciently a mark of idolatrous reverence wliich was done either by kissing the idol itself, or by kiss- ing one's own liand, and then throwing it out towards the idol. Hence the allusion in Hosea xiii. 2, " And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen : they say of them, Let the men that sac- rifice kiss the calves ; " 1 Kings xix. 18, " Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees wliich liave not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." Ab an act of adoration, dancing has been resorted to, even in very ancient times. DaWd danced be- fore the Lord with holy joy. Idolaters also have been found in all ages to dance round the statues and altars of their gods. Men and women, young and old, bear a pait in these dances. It is admitted on all hands, that whatever may be the form or attitude in which adoration is given, it belongs as an act of worship to God alone. The Roman CathoUc divines endeavour to maintain tlvree dift'erent degrees of worship, to all of which the term adoration may be applied : 1. Latria, Di\-ine wor- ship strictly so called, or tliat wliich must be given exclusively to God. 2. Dulia, that homage, respect, and reverence which may be given to saints and angels, as faitliful senants of God. 3. HijperduUa, that superior homage which is due to the Virgin Mary, as the mother of our Lord. Such distinctions are entirely of human origin, and are altogether un- warranted by any command in the Word of God. To cover the veneration awarded to mere outward representations, Romish writers have invented an- other distinction, speaking of absolute and relative adoration, the first being given to the true object of worship, and the second paid tc an object as belong- ing to, or representative of, another. In this latter sense, the Romanists profess to adore the cross, or crucifix, not simply or immediately, but in respect of Jesus Christ, whom they suppose to be on it. The same excuse, however, is given by the heathen in defence of the grossest idolatry. It is not the image or idol simply and absolutely which he professes to adore, but this great Being whom the image repre- sents. The command of God is explicit against every act of this nature : " Thou slialt not make unto thee any graven image ; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor sene them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." See Idolatrt. ADRAMMELECH, one of the gods worsliipped by the inliabitants of Sepharvaim, a people who set- tled in Samaria, in place of the Israelites who were carried into Assj-ria. From 2 Kings x\ii. 31, we learn, that the worshippers of this idol caused their children to pass through the fire in honour of it, as well as of another god called An.^mmelech (which see}. The Babylonian Talmud alleges, that Adrammelech was represented under the form of a mide, and Kim chi declares it to have been that of a peacock. There is some reason to suppose that this deity was the same %vith Jlolech, whom the Ammonites worsliipped, for Melee, or Molech, signifies a king, and with Adar or Adra prefixed the word Adiammelech denotes a mighty king. Dr. Hyde explains the word to mean the king of the flocks, and supposes tliis god to pre- side over cattle. Some conjecture that this idol re- presented Saturn, others the sun. ADRAXUS, a Pagan divmity worshipped in the island of Sicily, and particularly at Adranus, situated in the neighbourhood of Moimt .(Etna. SMaa as- serts that a thousand sacred dogs were kept near his temple. Some modem critics are of opinion that this deity is of eastern origin, and has a connection with the Persian Adar or fire, confounding him with Adrammelech the Ass\Tian god, and representing liini as personify-ing the Sim or Fire. ADRIAN.£A, certain temples biult by Adiian, emperor of Rome, in several towns about A. d. 127. As these temples contained no statues, nor any marks of being dedicated to Pagan gods, some have ima- gined that they were bmlt in honour of Jesus Clirist, whom Adiian wished to worship, but was dissuaded from it, lest the whole country should be thereby led to embrace Cliristiauity. ADVENT, a name given to the four Sundays be- fore Christmas, as being preparatory to the celebra- tion of the advent or coming of Christ in the flesh These four Sundays, L'Estrange savs, " are so many heralds to prockim the approaching of the Feast." Some writers allege that this observance originated with the apostle Peter, but the eailiest record of it 'n J6 ADVOCATES— iEACUS. whiuh exists is about the middle of the tifth ccntiirj-, when Maxiiiuis Taurinenais wTote a liomily upon it. Advent is observed in tlie Roman CatlioUc chiirch with great solemnity. It is regarded as representing the time which preceded the incarnation of Clirist, and the hopes wliich the Old Testament saintst en- tertained of liis coming to redeem mankind. Hence, it is considered as a season calling for an intennix- ture of joy with sorrow. For tliis reason the Gloria in excclaii is not siiid in Advent, nor the Te Deiim at matins. The priests abstain from using the dalmatica, that being a part of dress suited to joyous occasions only. Funnerly it was a custom to fast in Advent. During the whole of this season the Pope goes to chapel on foot. In the Ambrosian OfBce, Advent has six weeks, and St. Gregory's Sacramentary gives it only live. The Church of England commences the annual course of her serrices firom the time of Advent. ADVOCATES (Pope's). Tliese are important officers in the apostolical chamber at Home, one be- ing the legal, and the other the (iscal advocate. Both are employed to defend the interests of the cham- ber, in all courts. There are never more than twelve consistorial advocates in Rome. They are nominated by the Pope, and jilead in consistories, whether i)ublic or private. Tluy supplicate the Pallium for all newly created archbishops in the se- cret consistory. They have the pririlege of creat- ing doctors in the canon as well as civil law, when assembled in tlieir college Ddla Stijnenza. They wear a long robe of black wool, of which the tail is purple, lined with red silk, and a cape falling down between the shoulders of the same colour, and luied with ciinine. But their ordinary dress is a cassock lined with black serge, and a cloak trail- ing on the ground. One of these advocates is rec- tor of the college Delia Sapienza ; he is to receive all the rents which are appropriated to it, and to pay the salaries of the pubUc readers or lecturers, whose cliairs are tilled by a congi'egation of canU- nals, deputed by the Pope for that pui-pose. The seven senior consistorial advocates have large sala- ries, twice as large indeed as the live junior advo- cates, and the fees drawn fi-om those who obtain doctorates are very considerable. ADVOWSOX, the right of patronage to a church or an ecclesiastical benefice in connection with the Church of England. The person possessing the right of advowson is called the patron. Advowsons are of two kmds; advowsons appendimt, and ad- vowsons in gloss. The first cla.->s are those which are annexed to a manor or land, and sold along H-ith it; the last class are separated from the land, and possessed by the owner as a personal right. Advow- sons, besides, receive different names. Thus, where the patron has a right to present the person to the bishop or ordinary, if found qualified, the advowson in such a case is tciined presentative. An advowson colla- 'ive is where the bishop is both patron and ordinary. An advowson donative ie where the kmg, or any one by royal license, founds a church or chapel, and or- dains tliat it slrnll be merely in the gift or disposal of the patron; subject to his visitation only, and not to that of the ordinary. Where there are dilTerenl claimants of the right of advowson, and they make diticrent appointments, the ordinarj* is not bound to admit any one of their presentees ; and if the six months elai)Sc within which they have a right to present, he may himself present jure t/cvoliito, but in no other case. Where au advowson is mortgaged, the mortgager alone sliall present when the church becomes vacant ; and the mortgagee can derive no advantage from the presentation in reduction of hia debt. If an advowson is sold when the church is vacant, it is decided that the grantee is not entitled to the benefit of the next presentation. If, during the vacancy of a church, the patron die, his executor or personal representative is entitled to tliat presen- tation, unless it be a donative benefice, in wliich case the right of donation descends to the heir. But it the incumbent of a church be also seized in fee of the advowson of the same church and die, liis heir, and not his executors, shall present. ADYTUM, a Greek word signifying, like Abata (which see), inaccens-ible, by which is understood the most retired and secret part of the heathen temples, into which none but the priests were permitted to enter. The a/tum of the Greeks and Romans, from which oracles were delivered, coiTcsponded to the SaiKlum sanctorum, or holy of holies of the Jews. In the ancient Christian churches the altar place or sanctuary received also the name of adytum, being inaccessible to all but the clergy in the time of divine service. The council of Laodicea has one canon forbidding women to come within the altar part, and another in more general terms allowing only sacred persons to commimicate there. The practice on this point seems to have been different at differ- ent times. Thus in the third century, Dionysius of Alexandria speaks both of men and women commu- nicating at the altar. And the same privilege was allowed to the people of France in the sixth century ; for in the fourth canon of the second council of Toiu-s A. D. 5G7, it is decreed, that the holy of holies be open for both men and women to pray and communicate in at the time of the oblation ; though at other times, when there was any other ser\'ice without the com- munion, they were not permitted to come within the rails of the adytum, which now coiTesponds to the chancel. .lEAClJS, one of the three judges of Hades, ac cording to the Pagan mythology. Plato represent.'* him as chiefly judging the slmdes of Europeans. He is usually represented in works of art as bearing a sceptre, and the keys of Hades. He was the son of Zeus and iEgina, and from this circumstance the inliabitants of the island of JBgrnn not only built a temple in liis honour, but regarded him as their tu- telar deity. The truth seems to have been, tliat he iEDES— AER. 37 was au early lung of that island, who liad been noted throughout all Greece for his justice and piety. On Uiis account he was deified after his death, and pro- moted by Pluto to the office of a judge in the infer- lal regions. .SIDES, a name given by the Romans to unconse- crated temples. jEDICULA, a small temple or chapel among the ancient Romans, called also sacellum. jEDITUUS, an officer among the Romans who had the charge of the offerings, treasm-e, and sacred (itensils belonging to the temples of the gods. A female officer of the same kind, termed ^ditua, pre- sided over the temples of the goddes-es. jEGiEUS, a simiame of Poseidon, a heathen god, derived from the town of .3iga3 in Eubcta, near which he had a magniticent temple upon a liill. jEGEKLI, or EttERlA, one of the Camense, from whom, according to the fabulous early Roman liistory, Numa received his instructions as to the foniis of worship which he introduced. Two places are pointed out in legendaiy story as sacred to jEgeria ; the one near Alicia, and the other at the Poita Capena near Rome. She was regarded as a prophet- ic divinity, and also as the giver of life. Hence she was invoked by pregnant women. JEGIDUGHOS, or .Sgiochos, a surname of Zeus, from his bearing the aegis with which he in- timidates his enemies. .iEGIN.ra, however, is com|)uted from the creation of the world, wliich coiTesponds, accord- ing to their reckoning, with the year 953 of the Ju- lian period. It is not certain when this a'ra of the creation was first adopted ; one Jewish writer repre- senting it as having been introduced subsequent to the completion of the IJabylonian Talmud, and an- other dating it so late as the end of the tenth or the beginning of the eleventh centur)'. The precise epoch of the creation is one of the most difficult questions connected witli ancient his- tory. This difficulty has arisen from the remarkable discrejiancies between the received Hebrew text, the Samaritan text, and tlie Greek version of the Septua- gint, in recording the genealogies of the patriarchs, both antediluvian and postdiluvian. The years from the creation to the deluge, and from tlie deluge to the birth of Abraham, are thus variously stated : Ilcb. Samnr. Scptunf;. To the deluge. 1,656 1,397 2,2C2 To the birth of Abraham, 352 942 1,132 Archbishop Usher's clironology, which is followed both in this coimtry and among the most distin- guished Protestant di\incs of other countries, is founded on the Hebrew text. This system, how- ever, has been ably controverted by Dr. Hales in his ' Analysis of Clironology,' which agrees gener- ally with the computations of the Septuagint. It may be remarked, that Josephus ditl'crs little from the Septuagint, and Dr. Marshman, in his ' Elements of Cliinese Grammar,' obsenes that " The amials of China, taken in their utmost extent, syudu-onize with the chronology of Josephus, the Siimaritan Penta- teuch, and the Septuagint, rather tlian with that conlaincd in our present copies of the Hebrew text.' Tliis curious coincidence refers probably to the post- diluvian chronology. After the Jews became subject to the Syro-Mace- doiiian kings, they were obliged to use, in all theii contracts, the ara of the Selcucidic, wliich thus re- ceived the name of the a'ra of contracts. In the books of the Maccabees, the a'ra of the Seleucidae is called the a'ra of the kingdom of the Greeks, and the Alexandrian a;ra. It begjm from the year when Se- leucus Nicanor, one of the successors of Alexander the Great, attained the sovereign power, that is, about B. c. 312. This xr& continued in general use among the Orientals, with the exception of the Mohamme- dans. The Jews had no other epoch imtil a. i>. 1040, when, on their expulsion from Asia by the Caliphs, they began to compute from the creation of the world, with the occasional use even aftcr>vards of the a^ra of the Seleucida;. The Mohammedans compute from the .-Bra of the flight of Mohammed from Mecca to MecUna, which happened on the ICth of July A. D. G'2'2. The ancient pagans computed from various asras. The first 01)^npiad began B.C. 776. The taking of Troy happened in the year of the world 2820, and B.C. 1884. The expedition for the carrying away ol the Golden Fleece occuiTed in the year of the world 2760. The foundation of Rome was laid B.C. 753 The a:ra of Nabonassai- was in the year of the world 3257. The ara of Alexander the Great, or his last victory over Darius, was B.C. 330. jERIANS, a sect of heretics which arose in th€ fourth century, in the reign of Constantino the Great, and during the pontificate of Julius I. It derived its name from jKrius, a native of Pontus, or of the Lesser Armenia, an eloquent man and a friend of the Scmi-Arian Eustathius, who was aftenvards, to the chagrin of ^Erius, raised to the see of Sebaste. Tlui two friends had been fellow-monks, and when Eus- tathius was promoted to the episcopate, he ordained iErius a priest, and set him over the hospital oi Pontus. This marked kindness, however, failed al- together in subduing the feelings of en\'y by which iErius was animated. He quarrelled openly with his bishop, accusing him of avarice and misappro- priation of the funds designed for the poor. Such feelings towards his ecclesiastical superior obUgcd him to resign his office and the charge of the hosjii- tal. He now became the leader of a sect, and as- sembling a number of followers of both sexes, he proclaimed the duty of renouncing all worldly goods, and, being driven from the cities, he and they wan- dered about the fields, lodging in the open air or in caves, exposed to the inclemency of the seasons. The leading doctrine which he inculcated was that the Scriptures make no distinction between a bishop and a presbjter. In support of this tenet, he ad- duced 1 Tim. iv. 14, " Neglect not the gift that is in thee, wliich was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbrtery : " and be AEROJIANCY— ^TIAXS. 39 niiies, ho iuiJiiueJ the aihiiitteJ Tact tliat presbyters as well as bishops baptized, and also consecrated the elements of the Lord's Supper. As his followers in- creased, he became bolder in assailing various cor- ruptions which had crept into the church, and called for a return to primitive simplicity both in doctrine I and practice. In particular, he inveighed against the practice of prayers for the dead, and celebrating the eucharist as an offering in their behalf. Although originally a monk, he was opposed to the laws regu- lating fasts, and to the confining of fasts to set times, as Wednesday, Friday, the Qiiadiigesima, and Good Friday. He complained of all such practices in the Christian church as an attempt to restore Jewish ob- servances. He objected strongly to the custom then j prevalent in these parts of Asia, of celebrating the passover, as being a confounding of Jewish rites I with Christian. Both .^rius and his party were ex- j posed to severe persecution ; but as Mosheira weU observes, " He seems to have reduced religion to its I primitive simplicity ; a design which, in itself consi- dered, was laudable, though in the motives and in the mode of proceeding, there were perhaps some things censurable." AEROJLA-XCY, a species of divination practised among the Greeks and Romans, by which future events were foretold from certain appearances or noises in the air. One mode of aeroraancy was as follows. The person emplojTng it folded his head in a cloth, and ha\-ing placed a bowl tilled with water in the open air, he proposed his question in a low whispering voice, when, if the water was agitat- ed, they considered that what they had asked was answered in the affirmative. See Auguby — Divi- nation. .^RUSC.\TORES, a name given to the priests of Cybele among the Romans, because they begged alms in the pubhc streets. The word came to be appUed to fortune-tellers generally, or vagrants, Uke the modem gj-psies. .iESCULAPIUS, among the pagans, the god of medicine. He was worshipped over all Greece, the temples reared to his honour being usually built in healthy places, on hUls outside the towns, or near wells which were thought to have healing qualities. These temples were not only frequented for worship, but resorted to by the sick in expectation of being cured. The symbol of ^sculapius is tlie serpent, and hence the notion that the worship of this deity is of Eg_\-])tian origin, .(Esculapius being supposed to be identical with the serpent Cnuph, worsliipped in Egj-pt, or with tlie Phcenician Esmim. The proba- bihty is, tliat though afterwards exalted to the honours of a deity, jEsculapius had been a person eminent for his medical skiU. The principal seat of the worship of iEsculapius in Greece was Epidaurus, where he had a temple surrounded with an extensive prove, witliin which no person was allowed to die, and no woman to give birth to a child. The sick "■ho visited the temples of 3Isculapius had usually to spend one or more nights in his sanctuary, during which certain rules were obser\'ed which had been laid down by the priests. The remedies to be em- ployed were generally revealed in a dream. After being healed, it was customary to offer a cock in sacrifice to the god, and a tablet was hung up in the temple, on which were inscribed the name of the patient, the disease of which he had been healed, and other particulars connected with the case. Pausjmias says that jEsculapius was the air ; and that Hygeia, the goddess of health, was his daughter. >ESIR, the gods of the ancient Scandinavians. .aiSUS {Mighty), a name given in the theology of the ancient Druids to the Supreme Being, who was worshipped under the form of an oak. In their re- presentation of this di\Tnity, the Druids, with the consent of the whole order and neighbourhood, fixed upon the most beautiful tree they could discover, and having cut off its side branches, they joined two of them to the highest part of the trunk, so that they were stretched out Uke the arms of a man. Near this transverse piece was inscribed the word Thau for the name of God ; while upon the right arm was written yEsu.^, on the left Belenus, and on the centre of the tnmk Theranis. Towards the decline of Druidism, however, when a belief in the unity of God was lost in polytheism, .Ssus is sometimes said to have been identified with Mars, the god of war, though it is also believed tliat he was adored imder another name, in the form of a naked sword. To him were presented all the spoils of battle ; and " if" says Cjesar, " they prove victorious, they offer up all the cattle taken, and set apart the rest of the plun- der in a place appointed for that purpose ; and it is common in many provinces to see these monuments of offerings piled up in consecrated places. Nay, it rarely happens that any one shows so great a disre gard of rehgion, as either to conceal the plunder, or pillage the public oblations ; and the severest punishments are inflicted npon such offenders." jESYiDTETES, a surname of Dionysius, which signifies a Lord or Ruler. Under this designation he was worshipped at Aroe in Achaia. A festival was instituted in his honour. .STERNALES. See Eternales. .iETHIOPS, the Black, a surname of Zeus, imdet which he was worshipped in the island of Chios. .3iTLVNS, a branch of the Arian heresy, which arose about the year a.d. 336, during the reign of Coustantius, and in the pontificate of Liberius .^Etius, the originator of tliis sect, was a native of Antioch, in Coele-Syria, and has sometimes been sumamed the Atheist, from liis being supposed to deny the God of revelation. In his early youth, being in great poverty, he became the slave of a vine-dresser's wife, and afterwards he learned the trade of a goldsmith ; but quittmg that employment, he applied liimself to study, and acqitired consider- able reputation as a theological disputant. On the death of his mother in 331, he began to study undei 40 iETNiEITS— AFFLATUS. faulinus II., Ariaii bishop of Antioch ; but linviug given offeneo to some Ic.iiling persons by his powers of disputation, he was obliged to leave tliat city for Anazarbiis, a city of Cilicia. Here he applied him- self to the acquisition of grannnar and logic; but liaving dilfered with his miustcr on some points of theology, he went to Tarsus, where he studied divmity. Prom this pLice he returned to Antioch, his native city, where he studied for a time under Leontius. rio daringly impious, however, were his opinions, that he was driven from Antioch, and took refuge in Cilicia, and engaged in the practice of the medical art, until his former master Leontius was promoted to the see of Antioch A.n. .348, when he was ordained a deacon. Ilis ordination was strongly objected to on the ground of his hereticjvl opinions, and Leontius was under the necessity of deposing Iiim. After some time he rei)aired to Alexandi-ia, and opposed Atlianasius openly, declaring his adlier- ence to the Arian party. Besides, however, main- taining, in common with the Arians, that the Son and the Holy Ghost were entirely dissimilar to the Father, lie taught various other doctrines along with his disciple Eunomius, which were regarded as en- tirely heretical. A section of the Arian party, shocked at the iiTcligion of ^■Etius, accused him to the em- peror Constantius, urging the necessity of calling a general coimcil to decide the theological question. The opponents of jEtius charged him with holding a diflerence in substance in the three persons of the Trinity. His party were now diWded, and he was abandoned by his friends, who, while they agi-eed with him in regarding the Son as a creature, shrunk from the admission of what might have appeared a plaui corollary from this proposition, viz., that he is of unlike substance to the Father. .3^tius was now exposed to severe persecution, and banished to Am- blada in I'isidia. On the death of Constantius, and the succession of Julian to the throne, iEtius was re- called from exile and invited to court. His ecclesi- astical sentence was removed, and he was appointed bishop at Constantinople, where he eagerly embraced the opportunity of spreading his heretical opinions. This unexpected elevation was followed by various reverses of fortune, in the course of which he was twice driven from Constantinople, and at length died in that city a.d. ,3G7, unlamented, save by his friend vnd discijile Eunomius, by whom he was buried. In his work De Fide, .Stius maintains the doc- trine that faith without works is sufficient for salva- tion, and that sin is not imputed to believers, — both of them doctrines which, if rightly understood, are in complete accordance with the AVord of God. He denied the necessity of fasting and self-mortification. The idea which prevailed among some of liis con- temporaries, that he denied the God of revelation, probably arose ft-om the doctrine which he taught in re- gard to the illuminating intluence of the Holy Spirit, and which was more cleaily explained by hi^ disciple Eunomius. See Anomians — Arians — Eunomians. iETNyEUS, a name given to many ancient I'a- gan deities and mythicjil beijigs connected with Mount yEtna. This surname was applied to Zeus, to whom there was a festival celebrated, which re- ceived the name of ./Etna'a ; and also to Hepha'B- tus, who Imd his workshop in the mountaui, and a temple near it. The Cyclops also were termed ^t- nicus. ..■ETOLE, a simiame of Artemis, by which slio was worshipped at Xaupactus, where a temple was erected to her honour. AFGHANS, a people inhabiting Afghanistan, a country bordering upon the kingdom of Persia, and situated to the west of China. According to their own traditions, the Afghans are descended from Me- lic Talut, that is, from King Saul. Sir William Jones, in a veiy interesting paper which appeared iu the second volume of the 'Asiatic Kesearches,' threw out the conjecture, that this people is a rem nant of the ten tribes carried off in the captivity. His words are these : " We leani from Es 60 ALBAXKXSES— ALniGEXSKS. Hve form. In the Greek clmrclies it is almost iden- tical with tliat wliich is used in the Cliurcli of England. ALU.VNENSES,orALn.\NOis,a sect of Christian heretics, who arose about the year A.n. 79'), in the reign of the emperor Constantino VI., and the ponti- ficate of Leo III. Their opinions were some of them of Gnostic and others of Alanichean origin. They believed in two great principles, the one good, tlie other evil, the Old Testament being ascribed to the latter, and the New Testament to the former. They believed in the Pythagorean doctrine of the transmi- gration of soids. Not only did they deny the diraiity of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they even dis- believed his humanity, asserting that he was not really and truh' man. They de^iied the resurrection of the body, asserted the general judgment to be already past, and that the torments of hell were en- dured in this life. They taught that not a single good man existed in the world before Jesus Christ. Tiicy held that there was no virtue or efficacy in baptism, and that the immoral conduct of the clerg)' prevented the sacraments from being attended with benefit. The doctrine of a commimity of goods was also maintained by them, and they asserted that the church did not possess the power of excommunica- tion or of making constitutions. They rejected the sacrament of the altar and extreme unction ; they held only baptism of adults, and denied the doctrine of original sin. They denied free "nil, and held the eternity of the world. They prohibited mairiage; they said that usury was lawful, and that no one was obliged to make restitution. They held that man gives the Holy Spirit of lumself, and that it is un- lawfid for a Christian to take an oath. See C.VTn.\ui — M.wrciiKAXS. ALBATI, a kind of Christian hermits, who came down from the Alps uito several provinces of Italy in the year 1399, in the pontiticate of Iioniface IX. They received the name of Alljati from the white linen garments which they wore ; and besides, they were headed by a priest clothed in white, and cany- ing a crucifix m his hand. The followers of this priest, who professed a great zeal in the cause of religion, increased in numbers so i-apidly, that Boniface be- came alai-med lest their leader aimed at the popedom ; accordingly, he sent out against them a body of armed men, who apprehended the priest and put him to death. Upon this the whole multitude fled, being dispersed in all du-ections. Some writers class the Albati among heretics, but they seem rather to have been animated by strong fecluigs of piety, lamenting their own sins, and those of the tunes in wliich they Uved. Popish nvTiters speak of them as having lived together promiscuously like beasts ; but such calumnies are often raised mthout the slightest foundation, against the most ardent friends of truth and righteousness. ALBIGEXSES, drssenters from the Church of Rome in the twelfth century. They appear to have derived their name from Albi, a town in Languedoc, where their supposed errors were first condemned in a council held a. n. 1176. For seveml centuries before there liad existed a number of faithful and devoted adherents of Bible truth, who had jiresciTcd the light of the gospel amid the darkness and igimrance of the Middle Ages. A goodly chain of Reformers, indeed, can be proved to have li\'ed long before tlie Refonnation, and althongli it has ever been the ])0- licy of Rome to persecute, even to the death, all who should dare to dilVer from her, or to resist her power, yet there were witnesses for the truth of God ever and anon springing up, in various parts of Europe, who counted not their lives dear unto themselves in defending " the faith once delivered to the saints." The Albigcnses ha\c been traced back by Mr. Elliot, in his ' Ilorre Apocalyptic^,' to the Paulicians, who had prc.iched the pure gospel of Christ, in the south of France, tlu'ce lumdred years before the days of Luther. Nay, Dr. Allix, in an able monogi'apli on the 'Ecclesiastical History of the .\ncient Chmvhes of the Albigenses,' has brought forward a powerful mass of evidence to prove that, in the dioceses of" Xarbonne and Aquitain, there had been, even from very early times, a systematic hostility to the grow- ing errors of Rome. In that favourite district the light continued to shine amid the surrounding darkness. Onward even until the beginning of the twelfth century, the Papal authority, which had re- ceived implicit submission from even" other part of Christendom, was utterly disowned in the coimtry of the Albigenses. It was not likely that Rome would continue to endure with calmness this resistance to her sway. Two legates, Guy and Reinier, were despatched from the Papal see, armed with full au- thority to extirpate these heretics; and in fullilment of their commission, the rutldess Papal emissaries committed multitudes of these unofl'ending people to the flames. Still the heresy grew and gathered strength, and Innocent III. found it necessary to adopt more vigorous measures. He proclaimed a crusade against these heretical rebels, sending hosts of priests through all Em-ope to summon the faith- ful to a holy war against the enemies of the chiu\h. In prosecutuig their embassy from countiy to coun- try, the priests roused the people everj-where by the most inflammatory harangues. Archbishop Usher infoi-ms us, that they had one favourite text from which they preached, viz. P.«al. xciv. 16, "Who mil rise up for me against the evil-doers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" From this passage they called upon their hearers, if they had any zeal for tlie faith : if they were touched Avith any concern for the glory of God ; if they woidd reap the benefit of the I'apal indulgence, to come and receive the sign of the cross, and join themselves to the anny of the crucified Saviour. The reigning Coimt of Toulouse, Raymond VI., was still an independent sovereign, and knowing the blameless character and imolTending dispositions of ALB1UEN6ES. 51 the Albigenses, who were his own subjects, he was most iinmllmg to johi in the war which Rome had proclaimed against them. The Pope was na- tiu'ally anxious, however, to enhst his services in cxtcnninatmg the obstinate lieretics ot' Languedoc. In A. D. 1207, Peter of Castelneau was despatched from Home to demand of Kaymond that he sh.ould ioin the neighbouring princes in a treaty to destroy the Albigenses. The prince gave to the Pope's re- quest a prompt and decided refusal, wliich, of course, was follov.'cd by his immediate excommunication by tlie Papal legate, and the subjection of his country to a rolemn interdict. The Holy Father no sooner heard what had happened than he wi-ote with liis own hand a letter to Count Raymond, coufinning the excommunication which his legate had jjro- nounccd, and appealing to liim in language full of in- dignation, " Pestilential man ! What pride has seized your heart, and wliat is your folly to refuse peace with your neighbours, and to brave the Divine laws by protecting the enemies of the faith ? If you do not fear eternal flames, ought you not to di-ead the temporal chastisements wliich you have merited by so many crimes?" Tlie tierce fuhninations of the Vatican frightened Raymond into submission, and, although with the utmost reluctance, he sigTied the treaty for the exteiTnination of the heretics from his dominions. His adherence to the engagement, however, was rather nominal than real, and the Pa- [lal legate perceiving his imwiUingness to proceed with actiWty and zeal in the work of persecution, could not conceal his rage ; but, breaking out into the most reproachfiJ language against the prince, agahi cxcommimicated him. Ra\Tiiond was mdig- nant at the insolence of Castlenoau, and so em-aged were his friends also, that the next day, one of them, after an angiy altercation in words, drew his poniard, and struck the legate in the side and killed him. On hearing of this murder, the Pope was roused to the most imcontrollable anger. He uistantly pub- lished a bull, addressed to all the counts, and barons, and knights of the four southern provinces of France, in which he imputeil the conduct of the Count of Toulouse to the inlluenoe of the Evil One, and de- manded that he should be pubUcly anathematized in all the churches, discharging, at the same time, all his subjects from allegiance or fidelity, and permit- ting every Catholic to pursue liis person, and to occupy and retam his teiTitories, especially for the purpose of exterminating heresy. This bidl was immediately followed by others to the same etfect, and, in particular, the Pope ad- di-essed a letter to the King of France, Phihp Au- gustus, calling upon him personally to aid in destroy- ing the wicked heresy of the Albigenses, " to per- secute them with a strong liand ; deprive them of theu' possessions, banish them, and put Roman Ca- tholics in thou- room." That the people might be excited to join this crusade against the heretics, the •ame extent of mdidgence was promised as had been formerly granted to those who labom-ed for the de- liverance of the Holy Land. Multitudes from all parts of Em'opc hastened to enrol themselves in tliis new anny, persuaded by the priests and monks to beheve, that, by eng.aging in this sacred enterjirise, tliey would atone for the vices and crimes of a whole life. And in conductuig the warfare not the slight- est restraint was put upon the soldiers, who were permitted to pillage and massacre at will. One of the most active and enthusiastic among the monks, in rousing the people to go forth on this crusade, was Arnold Amahie, abbot of Citeaux, who, along with numerous ghostly friars, cliiefly of the Beniai'- dine order, smnmoned a large army into the field, en- couraging them ■with the assm-ance, that all who should die in tins holy expedition would receive a plenary absolution of all the sins they liad commit- ted from the day of their birth to that of then- death. The success of the Papal emissaries alamied Ray- mond not a little, and anxious if possible to prevent wliat he saw, if carried out, woidd be a war of exter- mination, he, accompanied by liis nephew Roger, Count of Beziers, waited upon Ai-nold, the leader of the crusade, who received them with an an of haughty disdain, declaring that he coidd do nothing for them, and that their only resource, if they would avert the threatened evils, was to appeal to the Pope. The yomig Count of Beziers, seeing that negotiations were utterly friutless, resolved on prosecuting the war, and preparing themselves for a vaUant defence. Ray- mond, however, Ivnowiug the power and influence of Rome, was struck with terror and alann, and declared himself I'eady to make the most hmni- liating concessions rather than see the war carried into his states. This was what Rome desired. Ray- mond's ambassadors were received by the Pope with the utmost condescension and kindness ; his offer of assistance in the war against the heretics was gladly welcomed, and to prove liis sincerity, he was required to smrcnder seven of liis principal castles. If this were agi-eed to, his Holiness engaged to gi-ant Riy- mond not only a full absolution, but a complete re- storation to favom\ No sooner had the tunorous Count of Toulouse be- come the dupe of the crafty and deceitful Innocent, than he found himself cncompasspd with diliieidties. A veiy ku'ge anny, amounting, some say, to 300,000, and others to 500,000 men, poured into the rebeUious provinces. Leamuig that this immense nia^s of soldiers was about to attack Iiis states, he was panic- struck, and more especially as he felt tliat he had consented to piu-chase his absolution from the Papal see on the most degi'ading conditions. lie was or- dered to repair to the chm-ch that he might receive the .promised absolution from the hands of the Pope's legate. Before this was granted, however, he was compelled to swear upon the consecrated host, and the rchcs of the saints, that he would obey the Pope and the holy Roman chm-ch as long as he hved that he would pursue the iUbigcnscs with fire 52 AT.UIGEN'.SK?. and sword, till they were citluT entirely rooted out or brought into subjectimi to the Konian sec. Hav- ing taken this with at tlic door of the chnrcli, ho was ordered by the Lcjrate to strip himself naked, and submit to penance for the murder of Casteliie;iu. In vaui did the Count protest his entire uuiocence of the murder of the monk. Tlie Loirate was inexorable ; it was necessary that the discipline of the church should be intlictcd. On the 18th of June accordingly, A. P. 1209, the humiliatuig spectacle was pi'csented of Count Kayniond doing penance in the most humi- liating form. " Having stripped himself naked from head to foot," says Uower in his Lives of the I'opes, " with only a linen cloth around bis waist for decen- cy's sake, the Legate threw a jiriest's stole around liis neck, and leading him by it into the church, nine times around tlie pretended martyr's gi'ave, he in- tlictcd chastisement upon the naked shoulders of the prince, with the bundle of rods that he bold in liis liand." Having thus performed the rcquii'cd pen- ance, Kaymond was obliged to renew his oath of obedience to the Pope, and his engagement to ex- tirpate heretics, after which he received a plenary absolution. lioger. Count of Bezicrs, following bis uncle's example, applied to t!>o Pope, olVering submission, but being repelled, be made vigorous preparations for his defence. The two places on which he clnelly calculated as bis strongholds were, Bezicrs and Car- cassone. The former was attacked by the crusading annj' in three divisions. Ovoi^powcred by immbers, the citizens yielded, and the crusaders entered the city without opposition or resistance of any kind. An indiscriminate slaughter followed, and out of sixty thousand inhabitants, not one person was spared alive. The houses were then pillaged of all that was valuable, and the whole city set on lire and reduced to ashes. Meanwhile Itoger, who had shut liimself up in Carcassone, which was much better for- tified than Beziers, prepared to defend that city against the assaults of the crusaders. By treachery, however, he was betrayed into tlie hands of the Le- gate, who threw hiin into prison, where he soon after died, not without strong suspicions of being poisoned. On hearing of the imprisonment of the Count, the in- liabitants of Carcassone lost courage, and though closely besieged, they contrived in a body to escape from the city by a subteiraneous passage, and dis- persed themselves through diU'ercnt parts of the sur- rounding country-. The cnisiidcrs were amazed on entering the city, the following day, to find it ulteriy deserted and solitary. At first tliey suspected that there was a stratagem to di-aw them into an ambus- cade, but fmding that in reality the city was without an inhabitant, they exclaimed with joy, " The Albi- gonscs have fled ! " Thus the two principal strongholds of the Albi- genses, Beziers and Carcassone, were in the power of the enemy. The govemment of the captm-ed ter- ritory was olTered to several noblemen in succession. but refused At length Simon de Montfort aecoi)ted the lordship? of Beziers and Carcassone, to hold them for itnalf of the church, and for the extirpa- tion of heresy. In the year 1210, Montfort caused Itaymond to be once more excommunicated, and the unfortunate prince, (piailing under the papal tliiindcrs, was deeiily distressed. The war proceeded with un- abated activity, but BajTiiond was reluctant to lake any share in the persecution of his subjects and friends. And yet be still strictly adhered to the observances of the Itomish religion, so that while tlio sentence of excommunication was resting upon him, he continued for a long time in prayer at the doors of the churches which he durst not enter. At length on the 10th of November, while still under the ban of the church, this unhappy Count was suddenly cut ofl" in a tower of the palace of Carc;issone. It was generally repiorted that be had died from the effects of poison, and Innocent III. himself acknow- ledged that the Count had perished by a violent death. Simon de Montfort had now become the feudal lord of the two fortified towns, the reduction of which cost the criisailers so much trouble. He was bound by his ecclesiastical tenure to extirpate the heretics. He therefore continued the campaign, and took several to^^•ns, though not without consi- derable loss. The gi'eater part of the Albigeois, which was the chief scat of the obnoxious doctrines, was in the possession of the Count de Foix, whoso name was also Baymond Roger. Ho resisted tho progi-ess of the crusaders under Montfort with consi- derable bravery and skill, but at length, after losing sev- eral castles, he was obliged to submit. Tho war was conducted by Montfort with the most savage cruelty Attacking the castle of the Lauragnais and Mener- bois, he caused those of the inhabitants who fell into his bands to be hanged on gibbets. After as.sault- ing another to\ni successfully, he selected more than a hundi-cd of the inhabitants, whose eyes be tore out, and cut ofi' their noses. In the course of this ann- paign, he attacked the castle of Menerbe, situated on a steep rock, suiTounded by precipices, not far from Narbonno. This place was accounted the strongest in the south of France, and Guiard its possessor was distinguished for his bravery. In the month of June 1210, the crusaders laid siege to the town, and after a bravo defence of seven weeks, the in- habitants were compelled to capitulate from want of water. The crusaders took possession of the castle on the 22d of July; they entered singing Tc Deum, and preceded by the crucifix and the standards of Jlontfort. The Albigcnses were meanwhile assem- bled, the men in one house, the women in another, and there on their knees, with hearts resigned to their fate, they prepared themselves by prayer for the worst that could befall them. The abbot of Vaux- Cemay began to preach to tbem the doctrines of I'opeiy, but with one voice they interrupted him, exclaiming, " AVe will have none of your faith ; we ALBIGEXSES. 53 Lave renounced the cluircli of Kome ; your labour IS in vain, for ncitlier deatli nor life shall make us renounce the opinions we have cuihraced." The abbot then passed to the apartment where the wo- men were agserabled, but he found them equally de- termined. Montfort also visited both the women and the men ; he met with a similar reception to that of the monk. He had previously caused a prodi- gious pile of dry wood to be made. " Be converted to the Catholic faith," said he, " or mount this pile." Not one of the assembled Albigenses wa>'cred for a moment. The tire was lighted, and the pile was soon one mass of flames. The undaunted adherents of the truth, committing their souls into the hands of Jesus, threw themselves voluntarily into the tlames, to the number of more than one hundred and forty. The next place which the crusaders attacked, was a strong castle called Termes. This garrison held out for four months, but at lengtli, in consequence of drought and disease, here also the brave Albigenses were overcome. Endeavouring to escape by night, many of them were detected, pm-sucd, and put to deatli. Some were taken prisoners, and by the or- ders of cruel Jlontfort were bumt aUve. llaymond do Termes, the commander of the fortress, was thrown into a dungeon, wliere he endm-ed a wretched captivity for many years. These multiplied suc- cesses on the part of the crusaders proved vciy dis- couraging to the Albigenses, who wore di'ivcn from their native plains, and compelled to seek refuge among the woods and moimtains. Midtitudcs of them were discovered and put to death by the sword, and not a few were committed to the flames. Not contented with the lordships he had already obtained, Montfort's eye was now turned u; on the county of Toulouse, which he hoped to add to his present possessions, and thus to raise himself to a level with sovereign princes. Prompted by ambi- tion accordingly, and encouraged by the number and enthusiasm of his forces, as well as ]>y the success which had already attended his amis, he commenced another campaign in the spring of 1211, by a siege of the castle of Cabaret, which was soon taken. Other castles also yielded in rapid succession. The crusaders continued theu" march until they reached Lavaur, a strongly fortified place about fi\e leagues from the city of Toulouse. After a hard siege they succeeded in taking it. Eighty knights, among whom was Aimcry lord of Montreal, were di-agged out of the castle and ordered to be hanged. But as Boon as Aimery, the stoutest among them, was hanged, the gallows fell. To prevent delay, Jlont- fort caused the rest to be immediately massacred. The lady of tlie castle was thrown into a pit, which was then filled up with stones. Afterwards all the lieretics who could be found in the jilace, were col- lected and bunicd amid the joyful acclamations of the crusaders. Tlie monkish historian, Petrus Val- iensis, in speaking of the cruel tortures to which the Albigenses were subjected, describes the feelings of the ruthless crusaders in witnessing such spectacles as being those of boundless joy. Intoxicated with the success which had every- where attended his progi-ess, Jlontfort advanced upon the city of Toulouse, in the confident expect.i- tion that like many other places it would surrender itself into his hands. Tlie Count of Toulouse, how- e\cr, having fonned a coalition with several of the Counts of France, who had been suspected of heresy, resolved to make a vigorous resistance, and at last, after several imsuccessful attempts to take the city, de Montfort was compelled to raise the siege. The state of matters was now completely changed. Raymond, instead of acting on the defensive, became the active and energetic assailant ; and before a few months had elapsed, he recovered the places which had Ijccn seized by the cnisaders, and once more be- came possessor of th.e gi'cater part of the Albigeois. De Jlontfort, on the other hand, had so declined in power and influence, that he was scai'cely able to de- fend himself, notwithstanding the numbers which, at the instigation of the priests, were eveiy day flock- ing to his standard. In a short time, howe\er, Mont- fort regained the ascendency which he had lost for a time, and the Albigenses, driven from the open coun- tiy, were compelled to take refuge in tlie cities of Toulouse and Jlontauban. Raymond, feeling liis owii weakness, sought the protection of liis friend Don Pedro, the King of AiTagon, on whom he had strong claims, as both he and his son had married two sisters of that sovereign. Don Pedro lost no time in appealing to Innocent III. in favour of Ray- mond, and the Pontiil". imwilliiig to disregard an ap- plication coming from a monarch who was the chief support of the Christian cause in Sjiain. adopted an entirely altered line of policy. Ho issued an impera- tive command, that Arnold the legate and Simon de Montfort should henceforth stay proceechngs in the war against the Albigenses. liajnnond was now de- clared to be a true son of the church, and taken under the powerful protection of the Pope. But this favourable movement of the Holy Father was merely temporarj-. In a few short mouths, on the 21st May 1213, he revoked every concession he had made in favour of Raymond of Toulouse, and con- firmed his sentence of excommimication. The war was of course resumed with greater fierceness than ever, the Iving of AiTagon having sent Spanisli troops across the Pyrenees to aid his brother-in-law ill repelling de Jb ntfort, and thus compelling the Pope to agree to fa\ourable tcnns. On reaching the seat of war, Don Pedro with a large aiTny laid siege to the town of Murct, about nine miles distant from Toulouse, but de Montfort, with forces greatly infe- rior in number, obtained a complete victory over Don Pedro, who, after resisting gallantly to the last, was oveq owered and slam, while the army of Ray- mond was put to flight. The cause of the Albigenses, in consequence of the battle of Jliuet, had now become desperate. Ray. 54 ALBIGEXSES. mond was stripped of his territories, wliieli were conferred upon liis enemy do Montfort ; the heretics were reduced to a very small number, and the few who survived retireil into concealments. For a time, therefore, the bloody warfare, which had all but ex- terminated these daring rebels against Rume's au- thority, was brouglit to an end. In 1215, indeed, an attempt was made to revive the crusado aj^ainst the unhappy Albiironses. Louis, the son of I'liilip Augustus, ICing of France, led a large anny into Languedoc, resoUed to earn renowi by his zeal in the destruction of the heretics. The campaign, however, was most inglorious. In his march he met with not the slightest resistance, but the peace- ful inhabitants were plundered and pillaged by the merciless soldiers. The conquerors now began to quarrel among themselves. Arnold the legate had assumed the rich archbishopric of Narbonne, to which he pretended the rights of temporal sovereignty were attached ; but Simon do Montfort, who took to himself the title of Duke of Xarbonne, lelt indig- nant that a priest should lay claim to that temporal authority which he proudly asserted was all his omi. A hot contention ensued. The people of Xarbonne favoured the archbishop, and do Montfort, therefore, branding them as heretics, entered the city, and took possession fif it by force of arms. Arnold, exercis- ing his S])iritual Authority, laid all the churches of the city under an interdict, as loiigas his rival should remain there ; but Simon made light of the sentence. The state of affairs was now such that IJay- monil VI. was encouraged to appear once more up- on the field, and recover if possible the possessions whicli had been wTcstcd from him. The spirit of disunion, which had tmned tlie aims of the con- queror against one another, and the decree of the council of Lateran, in 1215, which had prohibited the further preaching up of the crusades, rendered it all the more likely that, if conducted vigorously, a war, in present circumstances, might restore the fortunes of the oppressed inhabitants of Langucdoc. Inspired by such hopes as these, Rajnnond VII., son of the Count of Toulouse, resolved to raise an anny, and make a heroic eflbrt to regain the conquered domi- nions of his father. Advancing accordingly against Beaucaire, the gates were immediately thrown open before him ; and the castle itself, which was defend- ed by a French garrison, yielded to his power. And wliile the son was thus victorious on one side of the province, the father, who had raised forces in Cata- lonia and .ViTagon, rushed do«Ti upon the other, and made for Toulouse, whicli was I'eady to receive him. De Montfort was now beset mth two antagonists at once ; but, after making a tnice with the young Ray- mond, he hastened to defend his new capital. Ra\'- mond VI., feeling that he was imable to encomiter de Monttbrt in the open lield, retreated to the moun- tains. The Touloueians were now at the mercy of the cruel conqueror, and being betrayed by Fouquet, their cwti bishop, who breathed only slaughter and bloodshed against the heretics, multitudes of them perished by famine or execution, while the rest were compelled to pay an enormous ransom to .«ave them- selves from massacre, and tlieir city from the flames. Even such treatment as this did not destroy the at- tachment of the Toulousi;ms to the cause which they had espoused, and in September of the lolluwing year, while de Muutfort w.is making war in Valcntinois, Raymond VI. entered his capital, jind was receivc. GGO, the two sects are to this day bitterly opposed to each other. The one called the Schiites in Persia, and the Metawilali in Syria, hold the imamship or pontilicate of Ali as the heir and rightful successor of Jloh.im- med ; and the other, c.Vlcd the Sonnites, including the Turks and .tViabs :f Syria, maintain the legiti- macy of the first three caliiilis, Abubeker, Omar, and Othman. Some of the followers of Ali believe that he is still alive, and that he will come at the end of the world in the clouds, and fill the earth with righteousness ; othei-s hold him in such venemtion, that they m.ay be .--aid to deify him. The more mo- derate among them say, that though he is not a di- vine being, he is the most exalted of human beings. The family of Ali was cursed by a long series of the Ommiades, who held the caliphate down to Omar, the .son of Abdalig, who su])prc.«sed the malediction. Multitudes of the Mussulm.ans belong to the sect of Ali wherever Mohammedanism prevails ; but pnr- lieuhuly in Persia, and among the Persian portion of the Usbec Tartars. Some of the Indian sovereigns are of the sect of Ali. The descendants of Ali still continue to be distinguished by a green turban. See MirrAWiLAii, MoiiAMSii.DAXs, SciiiiTi;.s, Son- nites. ALIEX.VTION'. Among the Jews it was under- stood, that whatever was dedicated to the service of God could not be alienated from that to any other inu'pose, except in cases of absolute necessity (.Sec CoRBAN). The same principle was adhered to in fhn early Christian church. The gooils or revenues which were once given to the church, were always esteemed devoted to God, and, therefore, were only to be em- ployed in his service, and not to be aUenated to any other use, unless some extraordinary case of charity required it. Ambrose melted down the communion plate of the church of Milan to redeem some captives, who would have otherwise been doomed to perpetual slavery, and when the Arians charged liim with having alienated sacred things to other than sacred purposes, he «Tote a most conclusive defence of his conduct. Acacius, bishop of Aniida, did the same for the re- demption of seven thousand Persian slaves from tlio h.inds of the Koinan soldiers. Deogratius, also, bishop of Carthage, sold the communion-plate to re- deem the Uoman soldiers who had been taken pri- soners in war with the Vandals. This was so tat from being regarded as sacrilege or unjust alienation, that the laws against sacrilege excepted this case alone. Thus the laws of Justinian forbid the selling or pawning the church plate, or vestments, or any other gifts, except in case of captivity or famine, to redeem slaves or relieve the poor, because in such cases the lives or souls of men were to be prelerred before any vessels or vestments whatsoever. The poverty of the clergy was also a case in which the goods of the church might be alienated; so that it theannu.al income of the church would not maintain them, and there was no other source of provision whatever, in that case the council of Carthage allowed the bishop to alienate or sell certain goods of the church, that a present maintenance for the clergy might bo raised. The alienation of hands for tha use of convents is called Mout.main (which see). ALILAT (Arab. ILilllah, the night)'. Herodotus infonns us, that the Arabians anciently worshipped the moon by this name, as being the queen of night. It has sometimes been alleged, and not without some probability, that the Jlohammedans adopted tha crescent as their favourite sign from the ancient re- ATJZUTH— ALLEGOraSTS. Cl Ktpon of tlie Arabians, who worsliiiiped t!ie moon, and not from tlio circumstance tliat Molianimcd lied Irom jrcrliiia to Mecca during tlic new moon. ALITTA, a goddess worsliipped among the an- cient Arabians, and identical with Mithra, the prin- cipal (iro-goddess among tlie ancient Persians. AL-JAUEDH, the founder of a sect among the Mohammedans, ■ndiicli maintained the Koran to be an animated being, sometimes a man, sometimes a beast. Tliis opinion has been sometimes supposed *o be an allegory, signif^-ing that the Koran becomes .good or bad accorduig to the true or false exposition of it, and in tliis sense tlie most orthodox JIussuI- mans often say, that the Koran has two faces, that of a man, and that of a beast, meaning thereby the lit- eral and spiritual sense. AL-KADHA, a term used by the Mohammedans to denote the visit of consummation or accomplish- ment, and pilgi'imagc to Jlecca, which Mohammed and his followers perfomied in the seventh year of the Ilegira. At the distance of six miles from the town, they all took an oath to perform religiously all the ceremonies and rites prescribed in that visit. J-caving their aims and baggage outside, they entered the holy city in triumph, devoutly kissed the black stone or the Ka'aba, and went seven times round the temple. The three first rounds they made rimning, iumping, and shaking their shordders, to show that •hey were still vigorous not'n-ithstanding the fatigue of their journe)-. The other four rounds they walked sedately, not to exhaust themselves. This custom is kept up to this day. Having finished their seven rounds, prayer was proclaimed, and the I'rophet, mounted on a camel, rode seven times be- tween two hills, in which were to lie seen at that time two idols of the Koraishites. The Mussulmans were shocked at the sight, but they were reconciled to it by a passage of the Koran, sent from heaven, in wliich God declared that these two hills were a memorial of him, and that the pilgi-ims who should visit them, should not be looked upon as guilty of any sin. The whole concluded with a sacrifice of seventy camels, and the Mussulmans shaved them- selves. The ci^tom of performmg a pilgrimage to Jlecca is still in use amongst the Arabs, who allege it to be as ancient as their ancestor IshiTiael, and look upon it as a part of the religious worship prac- tised by Abraham. See PiLcr.utAcr.s. AL-KELAM (Arab, the knoiclcc/r/e of the word), the scholastic and metaphysical theology of the Mo- hammedans. It treats of speculative pouits, such as the attributes of God, and is full of subtleties in re- ference to abstract notions and tenns. This kind of theology was not much esteemed in the early liistory of Mohammedanism, till an Arabian began to teach that any doctor who should neglect the Koran or the Sonna, that is tradition, to apply himself to scholastic divinity or controversial wranglings, de- 6or\ed to be impaled and caiTied about the to'rni as a terror to others. Tlie Mohanmiedan scholastic theology is divided into fom- heads. The first treats of the nature and attributes of God. The second discus«es predesti- nation, n-ee will, and other kindred subjects. The thu'd contains the questions about faith and its clii- cacy, repentance, and other doctrines. The fourth in(iuires into the evidence of history and reason, the nature and force of religious belief, the oiHce and mission of prophets, the duty of the Imams, the beauty of virtue, the turpitude of vice, and other kindred topics. The various disputes which have from time to time arisen on all the ditferent points of their scholastic thcolog}', have given rise to a large number of diti'erent sects and parties, all of whom adhere to the Koran as the stand- ard of their faith. Among these may be enume- rated the Ascharians, the ICeramians, the ilota- zales, the Cadliarians, the Nadhamians, the Giaba- rians, and the Jlorgians, all of which will be ex- plained under separate articles. There are five prin- cipal sects of Jlohammedans, which will also be de- scribed, viz., the Hanafees, the Bhafees, the Mali- kees, the Hambalees, and the Wahabees. There are also two orthodox subdi\ isions, the Sonnitcs and the Schiites. See Mohammedans. AL-KITAB (Arab, t/ie loo!.-), a name given to the Koran, as the book, by way of eminence, superior to all other books. In the same way we speak of the sacred scriptures, as the Bible or Book. ALLAH (Arab. Gocl), tlie name of the Di\ine Being, coiTesponding to the Elohim and Adouai of the Hebrews, and derived from the Arabic verb fl/a/i, to adore. Mohammed, when asked by the Jews, idolaters, and Christians, wliat was the God he wor- shipped and preaclied to others, answered : " Allah, the one only God, self-existent, from whom all other creatures derive their being, who begets not, nor is begotten, and whom nothing resembles in the wliolo extent of beings," ALLAT, an idol of the ancient Ai-abians, before the time of Mohammed, It was destroyed by order of the I'rophet, in the ninth year of the Hegira, not- withstanding the earnest entreaties of the inhabi- tants of Tayef, by whom it was worshijiped, that it might be spared for a time. See Mohammed. ALLEGORISTS, a class of interpreter of sacred scripture, who attach more importance to the spiri- tual than to the literal sense. There can be no doubt that witliin certain limits the allegorical sense is to be admitted. Thus, in Gal. iv. 24. we are expressly told of particukr historical facts to which the apos- tle refers, that they are an allegory-, that is, under the veil of the literal sense they farther contain a spiritual or mystical sense. 'We must not for a mo- ment suppose, however, that Paul made the facts in question allegorical, luit that he foimd them so. The distinction is important, and on this subject Bishop Marsh makes the following judicious re- marks. " There are two diflcrent modes, in which Scripture history has been thus allegorized. Accoi'din^ 62 ALLEGORISTS. lo one mode, facts ami circunistaiiccs, especially those recorded in tlie Old Testament, have been applied to other facts and circumstances, of which they have been described as rcjtrcsentative. According to the Other mode, those facts and circumstances liavc been described as wiecc emblems. The former mode is war- ranted by the practice of the sacred vnitcrs tlicm- selves ; for when facts and circumstances are so ap- plied, they arc applied as t;ij}es of those things, to which the application is made. But the latter mode of allegorical inteqirctation has nn such autliority in its favour, though attempts Iwve been made to i>ro- ciu'c such authority. For the same things are t/ien described, not as types, or as real facts, but as mere ideal representations, Uke the immediate representa- tion in allegory. By tills mode, therefore, history is not only treated as allegorj', but convertal into alle- gory; or, in otlicr words, history is thus converted into fable." The Bishop goes on to \indicate tlie apostle I'aul from ha\Tng hi this sense allegorized Scripture, referring to what he says in Galatians of Sarah and Ilagar, and showing that in the use made of it by the apostle the historical verity of the Old Testament narrative was not destroyed, but pre- served. " In short," he concludes, " when St. I'aul allegorized the history of the two sons of Abraham, and compared them with the two covenants, he did nothing more than represent the first as types, the latter as onlitj/pes. Though he treated that portion of the Mosaic history in the same manner as we treat an allegory, he did not thereby convert it into alle- gory. In the interpretation, therefore, of the Scrip- tiu'es, it is essentially necessary that we observe the exact bomidaries between the notion of an allegoiy, and the notion of a tj-pe. And it is the more neces- sary-, tliat some of our own commentators, and among others even Macknight, misled by the use of the term allegoi-y in our authorized version, have consi- dered it as synonymous witli ti/pc. An allegory, as already observed, is a fictitious narrative ; a type is something real. An allegory is a pictm-e of the ima- gination ; a t^•pe is a historical fact. It is true, that typical intei-pretation may, in one sense, be consi- dered as a species of allegorical interpretation ; that they are so far alike, as being equally an inteqireta- tion of things ; that they are equally founded on rc- gemblance; that the tyije con-esponds to its anti- tj-pe, as the Immediate representation in an allegory corresponds to its ultimate representation. Yet the quality of the things compared, as well as the pur- j>ort of the comparison, is very different in the two eases. And though a type in reference to its anti- t}.-pe is called a shadow, while the latter is called the substance, yet the use of these temis does not imply that the former has less historical verity than the latter." In the early history of the Christian Church, both the Greek and Latin Fathers, but especially the Greek, were much given to allegorical intciTiretation of the Old Testament Scriptiu-es. They no doubt admitted the rcahty of the historical facts, but they attached little importance to the jilain literal narra- tive, and chiefly dwelt upon the spiritual or aliego- riail mcanmg. Origen, liowever, was the first of the true allegorists. He went far beyond all wlio had preceded him in the principles of Scripture iulerpre- tation which he adopted, denying cxjiressly tliat many of the incidents recorded in the Old Testament liad any fomidation in reality. In many cases, to use his own language, there was "not a relation of histories, hut a concoction of mysteries." Nor did he confine this fallacious and absurd mode of inter- pretation to the Old Testament, but he applied it also to Scripture generally. The Latin Fathers were many of them comparative!)' free from the alle- gorizing tendency: and yet Augustine, the most eminent theologian by far of the M'cstcm Church, is occasionally chargeable with the same vicious mode of inteiin-etation. In the ninth centmy, we find Rabanus Slaurus, in a work expressly devoted to the Allegories of Scripture, laj-ing do^^^l princi- ples which decidedly fa^•oured the allegorists. This ■\nnter was followed by Smaragdus, llajnics, Scotus, Paschasius, lladbert, and many others of the same class. These expositors all of them agreed, that be- sides the liter.il import, there are other meanings ot the Sacred books ; but as to the number of these meanings they are not agreed; for some of them hold three senses, others foiu- or five ; and one wTiter, who is not the worst Latin interpreter of the age, in the view of Mosheim at least, by name Angelome, a monk of Lisieux, maintains that thei'e are seven senses of the Sacred books. Amid the darkness of the middle ages, the theo- logy of the schoolmen was strongly imbued with the allegorical spirit ; but when the Reformation tlamied upon the world, the ascription to the Sacred Scrip- tLU-es of manifold meanings was discarded. Luther declared all such interpretations to be " trilling and foolish fables," while Calvin had no hesitation in stamping the " licentious system," as he termed the allegorical, as " undoubtedly a contrivance of Satan to undennine the authority of Scripture, and to take away from the reachng of it the true advantage." The CocxKiAN School (which see), in the seven- teenth century introduced a mode of cxpbiinuig Scrip- ture somewhat allied to the allegorical, and which was adopted also by Witsius and Vitringa, and in Britain by Mather, Keach, and Guild. Many Gennan theologians of late years have pushed the allegoriz- ing tendency so far, that even the pLiincst historical nan-atives of Scripture have been treated as myths or fables. This has been particidarly the case with Strauss and the other writers of the rationalist school. Olshausen, however, has founded a far more satisfactory system, "recognizing no sense besides the hteral one, but only a deeper-lying sense, boiuid up with the literal meaning, by an internal and es- sential connection given in and witb this; which, therefore, must needs present itself whenever the ALLELUIA— ALL-HALLOW EVEN. 63 suhjeet is considered in a Iiigher point of view, and whicli is capable of being ascertained by fixed rules." Tliis statement, though scarcely expressed with suffi- cient caution, holds out the prospect of a more cor- rect interi)retation of the Divine Word than has for a long time prevailed in that coiuitrv. ALLELUIA, or Hallelujah {Praise the Lord), a Hebrew tenn which occurs at the beginning and end of a number of the Psalms. It was always sung by ihe Jews on days of rejoicing. It is represented by the apostle John as being employed by the in- habitants of heaven. Rev. xix. There are some I'salms wliich have been called Alleluiatic Psalms, from having the word Alleluia prefixed to them. This is the case with the cxlth Psalm, and the Psalms which follow it to the end. At one period, as we are informed by Augustine, the Hallelujah was used only at Easter, and dm'ing the fifty days of Pentecost. It has been forbidden to be nscd in the time of Lent since the eleventh century, and the fonrth connoil of To- ledo prohiljited it also on all days of fastuig. Jerome says, it was nsed at funerals in Ids time, and also in private devotion, and that the ploughmen while en- gaged in the fields sung their Hallehijahs. In the second council of Tours, it was appointed to be sung after the Psalms both at matins and vespers. The monks of Palestine were awoke at their midnight watchings by the singing of Hallelujahs. ALLENITES, a small sect -which arose in Xova Pcotia last century. They were the disciples of Heni-y Allen, who began to propagate his singular Ecntiments about 1778, and at his death in 1783, left a large party who adhered to his doctrines, but hav- ing lost their leader they speedily declmed. The peculiar tenets which Allen and his followers held, were that the souls of the whole human race are emanations or rather parts of the one great Spirit ; that they were all present in Eden, and were actually engaged in the first transgression ; that our first parents while in a state of innocence were pure spi- rits, and that the material world was not then cre- ated ; but in consequence of the fall, that mankind might not sink uito utter destruction, this world was produced and men clothed with material bodies; and that all the human race ^nU in their turn be in- vested with such bodies, and enjoy in them a state of probation for immortal happiness. ALL FOOLS' DAY. On the first day of April a custom prevails, not only in Britain, but on the Continent, of imposing upon and ridiculing people ui a variet)' of ways. It is very doubtfid what is the pre- cise origin of this absiu'd custom. In France, the per- son imposed upon on All Fools' Day is called Poisson iVArril, an April Fish, which BcUingen, in his ' Ety- mology of French Proverbs,' published in 1G5G, thus explains. The word Poisson, he contends, is cor- rupted through the ignorance of the people from Passion, and length of time has almost totally de- faced the original intention, which was as follows : that as the passion of our Sanoiu' took place about this time of the year, and as the Jews sent Christ backwards and forwards to mock and toi-raent him, that is, from Annas to Caiaphas, from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate ; this ridiculous custom took its rise from thence, by which we send about from one place to another such persons as we think proper objects of om- ridicule. In the same tram of thinking, a writer in the ' Gentleman's Magazine,' for July 1783, conjectm-es that this custom may have an allusion to the mockeiy of the Saviour of the world by the Jews. Another attempt to explain it has been made by refening to the fact that the year fomierly began m Britain on the 2.jth of Mai-ch, wliich was supposed to be the IncaiTiation of our Lord, and the commence- ment of a new year was always, both among the an- cient heathens and among modem Christians, held as a great festival. It is to be noted, then, that the 1st of April is the octave of the 25th of March, and the close, consequently, of that feast which was both the festival of the Aimimciation and of the New Yeiu-. Hence it may have become a day of extraordinary mirth and festi\-ity. Another curious explanation of this peculiar cus- tom, giving it a Jewish origin, has also been sug- gested. It is said to have begun from the mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the water had abated on the fii'st day of the Hebrew month, answering to om' month of April; and to pei-petuate the memoiy of tliis deliverance, it was thought proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a cir- cumstance, to punish them by sencUng them iqion some sleeveless ciTand similar to that inetibctual message upon which the bird was sent by the pa- triarch. Colonel Pcaree, in the second volume of the ' Asia- tic Researches,' shows that the general practice of making April-fools, on the first day of that mouth, has been an immemorial custom among the Hindus, at a celebrated festi\al held about the same perioij in India, which is called the Hiili festival. Maurice, in his 'Indian Antiquities,' says, that the custom prevailing, both in England and India, had its origin in the ancient practice of celebrating with festival rites the period of the vernal equinox, or the day when the new year of Persia anciently began. ALL-HALLOW EVEX, the vigil of All Saints' Day, which is the first of November. Yoimg peo- ple are accustomed both in England and Scotland to celebrate various superstitious ceremonies on tliis evening, and to amuse themselves by diving for apples and burning nuts. It is often foimd that festivals, which are now held on some alleged Chris- tian ground, had their origin in some heathen obser- vance. Thus it has been alleged that the 1st of November, wliich is now celebrated in Romish coun- tries, more especially as All Saints' Day, was once a festival to Pomona, when the stores of smnmer and harvest were opened for the printer. Such practices among the heathen were usually accompanied with 64 ALLOCUTIONS— ALMS divinations and consulting of omens. In Sir Jolin Sin- clnir's Statistical Account of Scotland, the following statement occurs in reference to Callender in I'ertli- sliirc. " On All Saints' Eve tliey set up bonliios in every village. When the lionrtro is consumed, the a.ihesare carefully collected into tlic fonii of a circle. There is a stone put in near the circumference for every person of the several families in the bontire ; and whatever stone is removed out of its place or injured before the next moniing, the person repre- sented by that stone is devoted or fiij, and is sup- posed not to live twelve months {^^^^m that day ; the people received the consecrated fire from the Uruid priests next morning, the virtues of which were s\ip- posed to continue for a year." The All-Hallow Even fire seems to have been a relic of Druidism. Among Koman Catholics the lighting of fires on All Saints' Night has been suggested as indicating the ascent of the soul to heaven, or perhaps the lighting of souls out of purgatory. It was customary also in Papal times to ring bells all the night long. See Druids. ALLOCUTIONS, tlie name applied byTcrtul- lian to sermons in the early Christian church. lie divides the whole service into these four parts, read- ing the scriptures, singing the pstdms, making allo- cutions, and ofl'ering up prayers. Gregory the Great, in his writings, CiiUs the sermon £oc((^'o. SeePltUACH- IKG. ALL SAINTS' DAY, a festival observed l)y the Church of Rome on the first of November. In tlie Eastern churches it had been observed from the fourth ecntin-y, on the eighth day after Whitsund.ny, and was called the Feast of all the JIartyrs. But in the Western churches it had the following origin. Vope Boniface IV. who ascended the throne in tiio year 610, obtained by gift from the Greek Emperor Phocas the Pantheon at Itome, and consecrated it to the honour of the Virgin Slary and all tlie luar- tyrs ; as it had before been sacred to all the gods, and particularly to Cybele. On this occasion he ordered the feast of all the Apostles to be kept on the first of May, which was aftcnvards assigned only to Philiji and James; and the feast of all tlie MartjTs on the 12th of May. But this last feast being frequented by a large concourse of people. Pope Gregory IV. in the year 834, transfciTcd it to a season of the year when provisions were more easily obtained, that is, to the first day of November ; and also consecrated it to AH Saints. The Church of England celebrates this fes- tival as a day on which it becomes the church mili- tant on earth to hold commmiion and fellowsliip with the church triumphant in heaven. ALL SOULS' DAY, a festival of the Pomish church, on wliich prayers are specially oll'cred for the benefit of souls departed. It was established in the year 99.3. Before that time it had been usual on certain days, in many places to jiray for souls shut tip in jiurgatory ; but those prayers were oft'ercd by each religious society only for its own members, friends, and patrons. The circumstances which led to the establishment of this religious festival m.iy be thus brielly stated. Odilo, abbot of Chigny, had been informed by a Sicilian monk, that when walking near Mount Etna, he had seen llamcs issuing from the open door of hell, in which lost souls were suf- fering torment for their sins, and that he heard Ihe devils uttering loud shrieks and lamentations, be- cause the souls of the condemned had been snatched from their grasp by the prayers of the monks of Clngny, who had been incessantly supplicating in behalf of the dead. In consequence of this fabulous story, Odilo appointed tlio festival of All Souls to bo observed. At its first institution, it seems to have been limited to the monks of Clngny, but afterward.s, liy orders of the Pope, All Souls' Day was enjoined to be observed throughout all the Latin Churches on the 2d of November, as a day of prayer for all soids departed. Various ceremonies belong to this day. In behalf of the dead, pcr.sons dressed in black marched through the cities and towns, each carrying a loud and dismal-toned bell, which they rung in the public thoroughfares, on jinrposc to exhort the peo- ple to remember souls in purgatory, and pray for their deliverance. Both in Prance and Italy the people arc often found on this day clothed ui mourn- ing, and visiting the graves of their deceased friends. The observance of this day, called on the Continent Jour dcs Mortx, is limited entirely to Koman Catho- lic countries. ALMAUICIANS. Sec A.m.vlhician.s. ALMIGHTY, or Ai-i.-Scfficiext (Heb. SIml- ihu), an epithet of the Divine Being, and one whii,!! is peculiar to Ilitn who created all tilings out of nothing; who by liis power and grace supports what he has created ; and whenever he jileascs can put an end to their being. It is never applied to angels, or men, or false gods in any manner. Their power and sutficiency, if they ha\ e any, arc wholly derived; nor could they subsist from moment to moment but by that divine and inexhaustible ful- ness which produced them from nothing, and car. with equal case reduce them to iiotliing. See God. ALMO, the god of a river in the neighbourhood of Iioiiic, to whom the augiu's prayed. It was in the water of the Almo that the statue of the mother of the gods was washed. ALMONER, one employed by another party to distribute alms or charity at his expense. In pri- mitive times it was applied to an officer in religious houses to whom were committed the management and distribution of the alms of the house. This office in the Christian church was pcrfoimed by the deacons. Sec Alms. ALMONKY, a room where alms were distributed, generally near to the church or fonning a part of it. ALMOSHAF (Arab, the rolumc), one of the names of the Koran. See Kokax. ALMS, what is given gi'atiiitou.'^ly for the rcliel of the poor. AJmsgivingis a duty which ir> frequcnir ALMS. 6b ly inculcated throughout both the Old and New Testa- ments Thus Deut. xv. 7 — 11, " If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren ■n-ithin any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from tli y poor brother : but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him suificient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying. The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand ; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought ; and he cry imto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give hira, and tliine lieart shall not be grieved when thou givest imto him : because that for this thing the Lord thy God shaU bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the Land ; therefore I command thee, saying, Thou slialt open thine hand wide imto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land." Lev. XXV. 35 — 37, " And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee ; then thou slialt relieve him : yea, though he be a stranger, or a fcojouiTier ; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usiu-y of liim, or increase : but fear thy God ; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give hira thy money upon usury nor lend him thy victuals for mcrease." In beautiful ac- cordance with the spirit of such injimctions as tliese, the Israelites were commanded to leave the "• forgotten sheafs in the field in the time of harvest ;" not to " go over the boughs of the olive tree a sec- ond time;" nor "twice glean the grapes of their rineyard ; " but that what remained after the first gathering should be left for the " stranger, the fa- therless, and the widow." Da's'id declares, Psahn xU. 1, " Blessed is he that considereth the poor : the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble ;" and So- lomon to tlie same pui-pose says, Prov. xix. 17, " He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord ; and that which he hath given will he pay him again." And passing to the New Testament, we find our blessed Redeemer testing the rehgion of the amiable young man, who came to liim, by the tr^Tng com- mand, " Go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor." The result showed that the living prin- ciple of Cliristianity was wanting : " He went away soiTowful, for he was very rich." In the same spirit John the Baptist commanded the multitudes who followed him, professing a wish to be baptized by him, " He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none ; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." Such is the generous spirit of the reli- gion of Christ ; and, accordingly, an apostle ex- pressly teaches, 1 Jolin iii. 17, " But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him ?" The Pha- risees are not blamed by our Lord as having ne- i. glected tins important Christian duty. They appear, on the contrar)', to have abounded in it ; but from no other, no higher motive than to be seen of men. They were wont to give their ahns in the most pub- lic and ostentatious way ; and in exhorting them in these words, " Do not sound a trumpet before thee," Jesus probably alludes to a custom which prevailed among men of wealth in eastern countries, of sum- moning the poor by soimd of trumpet to receive alms on a certain day. From a similar spirit of osten- tation, the hypocritical Pharisees selected the syna- gogues and the streets as the most public places for the distribution of their .alms ; and in doing so their prevailing desire was to " have glory of men." Nor did they lose their reward ; men saw, admired, and applauded. The spirit which Christ inculcates, how- ever, is of a very diti'erent kind : " \^'hen thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know wliat thy right hand doeth." So strong, so all-absorbing ought to be the Christian's anxiety to glorify his heavenly Father, and render all subordinate to this great end, that, far from seeking the praise of men in almsgiv ing, he should strive to hide the deed of charity even from himself, lest, " being putled up, he should fall into the condemnation of the devil." This almost total imconsciousness of his own good deeds is one of the highest attainments of the Christian. One of the chief characteristics of the apostolic cluu-ch, considered in itself, was the kindness and charity which prevailed among its members. Many of the Jews of Palestine, and therefore many of the earliest Christian converts, were extremely poor. Some, in consequence of embracing the new doc- trine, were deprived of their usual means of support, and thus thrown upon the charity of their fellow- Chi-istians. In the very first days of the Chiu-ch, accordingly, we find its wealthier members placing their entire possessions at the disposal of the Apos- tles. Not tliat there was any abolition of the rights of property, as the words of Peter to Ananias very clearly show, Acts v. 4, " 'VMules it remained, was it not thine own ? and after it was sold, was it not in thine o^vn power? WTiy hast thou conceived this tiling in thine heart ? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." But those who were rich gave up what God had given them in the spirit of generous self-sacrifice, according to the true principle of Christian commimism, wluch regards property as intrusted to the jiossessor, not for liimself, but for the good of the whole community — to be distributed according to such methods as his charitable feeling and conscientious judgment may approve. On tliis subject Dr. Jamiesou, in his admirable volume, en- titled 'The Mamiers and Trials of the Primitive Christians,' thus remarks : " One very remarkable way in wliieh this love manifested itself, was in tlie care they took of their poorer brethren. Among them, as in every association of men, the needy and destitute were found. The duty of proWding for these was not left to the gratuities of private indivi- S6 ALMS. duals, whoE« situation gave them opportunities of ascertaining, and whose benevolence prom|)ted them .0 relieve, their necessities. It devolved on the whole community of believers, who regarded it not as a burden, but a privilege, to minister to the wants of those who bore the image of Christ ; and by tlieir unwearied attentions to the discharge of this labour of love, they made the light of tlieir liberality and benevolence so shine, as to command the admiration even of the cold and selftsh heathens around them. As duly as the Sabbath returned, and as soon as they had brought their sacred duties to a close, the lists of the poor, the aged, the widow, and the orphans, were produced for consideration ; and, as if each had been liastening to bring forth the fruits of faitli, and to prove tlie sincerity of that love tliey had just pro- fessed to their Saviour by the abundance of their liberality to liis people, they set themselves to the grateful task, with a zeal and enthusiasm, whose fresh and unabated vigour betrayed no symptoms of tlieir having already been engaged iii a lengthened service. The custom was for every one in turn to bring under public notice the case of a brother or sis- ter, of whose necessitous circumstances lie had any knowledge, and forth\vith a donation was ordered out of the funds of the cliurch, which the vohmtaiy con- tributions of the faithful supplied. No strong or heart-stuning appeals were necessary to reach the hidden source of their sympathies, no cold calcida- tions of prudence regulated the distribution of tlieir public alms ; no fears of doubtful propriety suggested delay for the consideration of the claim ; no petty jealousies as to the preference of one recommenda- tion to another were allowed to freeze the genial cuiTent of their charity. By whomsoever the case was recommended, or in whatever circumstances the claim was made, the hand of benevolence had an- swered the call almost before the heart found words to express its sjinpathy, and with, a unanimity sur- passed only by their boundless love, they dealt out theirsupplicsfromthe treasury of the church, when- ever there was an object to receive, or a known ne- cessity to require it. 'WTiere the poor in one place were numerous, and the brethren were unable from their limitedmeans to atford them adequate support, they applied to some richer church in the neighbour- hood, and never was it known in those days of active benevolence, tliattheappeal was fruitlessly made, or coldly received. Though they had poor of their own to maintain, neighbouring and foreign churches were always ready to transmit contributions in aid of the Christians in distant parts, and many and splendidaretheinstancesonrecord ofministers and people, on intelligence of any pressing emergency, hastening witli tlieir treasures for the relief of those whom they had never seen, but with whom tliey were united by the strong ties of the same faith and hopes, Thus when amultitudeofChristianmenand women in Numidia had been taken captive by a horde of neighbouring barbarians, and the chiirches to which they belonged were unable to raise the sum demanded for their ransom, they sent deputies to the church that was planted ui the metropolis of North Africa, and no sooner had Cyprian, who was then at the head of it, heard a statement of the distressing case, than he commenced a subscription in behalf of the unfortu- nate slaves, and never relaxed his hidefatigable ef- forts, till he liad collected a sum equal to eight him- dred pounds stcrlmg, which he fonvarded to tlie Numidian churches, together with a letter full of Christian sympathy and tenderness." Almsgiving was accounted, in the early Christian Church, so ]iaramount a duty, that, in eases of great or pubUc calamity, fasts were sometimes made that, out of the savings from tlieir daily expenditure, provi- sion miglit be made for the poor ; and, in ca.se8 of emergency, the pastors sold or melted the gold and silver plate wliich had been given to their churches for sacred purposes. Many were in the habit of observing weekly, monthly, or quarterly fasts, that they might save money for charitable uses, and others set a.side a tenth part of their income for the poor. " The Christians," as Dr. Jamieson observes, " were never without objects, in everj' foi™ of human wTetchediicss, towards whom their benevolence was required. Indeed it is almost incredible to what offi- ces the ardour of their Chi-istian spirit led them to condescend. The females, though all of them were women moving amid the comforts of domestic life, and some of them ladies of the highest rank never inured to any kind of labour, scrupled not to perform the meanest and most servile offices, that usually devolved on the lowest menial. Not only fhd they sit by the bedside of the sick, conversing with and comforting them, but with their own hands prepared their victuals, and fed them — administered cordials and medicine — brought them changes of clothing — made their beds — dressed the most repul- sive and putrefying ulcers — exposed themselves to the contagion of malignant distempers — swaddled the bodies of the dead, and, in short, acted in the character at once of the physician, the nurse, and the ambassador of God. Their purse and their expe- rience were always ready, and the most exliausting and dangerous services were freel3Tendered by these Christian women. In process of time, however, as the Christian society extended its limits, and the victims of poverty and sickness became proportion- ally more numerous, the voluntary sertices of the matrons were found inadequate to overtake the im- mense field, and hence, besides the deacons and dea- conesses who, at a very early period of the Church, were appointed to superintend the interests of the poor, a new class of office-bearers arose, under the name of Parabolani, whose province it was to visit and wait on the sick in malignant and pestilential diseases. These, whose numberbecame afterwards very great — Alexandria alone, in the time of Theo- dosius, boasting of six hundred, — took charge of the sick and the dying, nnder circumstances in which ALMS-BOWL. 67 while it was most desirable they should have every attention paid to them, prudence forbade mothers and mistresses of families to repair to them, and thus, while the heathen allowed their poor and their sick to pine in wretchedness and to dio before their eyes unpitied and imcared f.')i, there was not in the first ages a sohtary individsal of the Clnistian poor, who did not enjoy all the comforts of a temporal and spi- ritual nature that his situation required." The apostohc plan of collecting every Lord's day is still followed in all Christian chiu-ches, the contri- bution being made in dilTerent modes. In Presby- terian churches the collection is made by voluntary contributions at the chm-ch-door on entering the church. The order in the English Episcopal church is, that the ahns should be collected at that part of the Communion Service which is called the Ofl'er- tory, wliile the sentences are reading wliich follow the place appointed for the sermon. In early times the poor ranged themselves at the doors of the churches, and were supplied with alms by the peo- ple as they entered. Chrysostom refers to the cus- tom, expressing his warm approval of it. Alms were also more liberally distributed during the sea- son of Lent : " For the nearer," says Bingham, " they approached to the passion and resiu-rection of Clu-ist, by which all the blessings in the world were poured forth among men, the more they thought themselves obliged to show all manner of acts of mercy and kindness toward their brethi-en." Among the Moliammedans, very great importance is attached to the duty of almsgi\'ing. In some cases alms are entu-ely volimtary ; but in other cases, the mode of gi\'ing is prescribed by the Law. In the latter cases, six conditions are requireil in the giver : L He must be a Mussulman, that is, a true behever. 2. A freeman. 3. Lawful possessor of what he is to give away. 4. His patrimony must be increased. As riches increase, it is alleged alms should increase at two and a half per cent. Those who have not twenty pieces of gold, or two hundi-ed in silver, or live camels, or thirty oxen, or thirty sheep, are not obUged to give alms. 5. He must have been in possession about a year, or more minutely still, at least eleven months, without pawning it. 6. He must not give as alms liis working cattle, but one of those which are at gi-ass, because alms are to be out of what is not necessary. The Mohammedans call alms Zacat, which signifies increase, because it draws down God's blessing ; and Sadakat, because they are a proof of a man's sincerity in the worship of God. AlnisgiWng is regarded by them as so pleasing to God, that caliph Omar Ebn Abdalaziz used to say, " Prayer carries us half-way to God ; fasting brings (IS to the door of liio palace ; but alms procure us admission." Of all the modes of acquiring merit in the system nf Budhism, tliat of almsgiving is the principal ; it is ilie chief of the virtues tliat are requisite for the at- 'ainnipnt of the Budhaship ; it is the first of the four great virtues, viz., almsgiving, afl'ability, promotuii: the prosperity' of others, and loWng others as our- selves ; it is superior to the obseri'ance of the pre- cepts, the path that all the Budhas have trod, a lineage to which they have all belonged. "When the gift, the giver, and the receiver are all piu-e, the re- ward is regarded as proportionately great. The givei must have purity of intention. Wlien he presents the gift he must think. May it be to me as a hiddec treasure, that I may find again greatly increased in a future birth. And he must think both before and after the gift is presented, that he gives to one who is possessed of merit. When any one gives that which has been procured by his own labour, he will have wealth as his reward, but no retinue or attendants. ^^Hien he gives tliat which lie has received from others, he will have attendants but no wealth. When he gives both kinds, he will have both rewards ; but when he gives neither, he -mO. have neither of the rewards. The reward for the giving of alms, accord- ing to this ancient system of rehgion, is not merely a benefit that is to be received at some future period ; it promotes length of days, personal beauty, agree- able sensations, strength and knowledge ; and if the giver be bom as a man, he will liave all these advan- tages in an eminent degree. It was expressly de- clared by Gdtama Budha, that " there is no reward, either in this world or the next, that may not be re- ceived tlirough almsgiving." Thus almsgiving has been converted into a mercenary act, whereby a man earns a reward both here and hereafter. The same views are promulgated in connection with the Brah- manism of the Hindus. To ask ahns and five on the charity of their fel- lowmen, is reckoned in many systems of religion a merit of a peculiar kind. Thus the fakirs and der- \ashes of Mohammedan, and the begging friars of Popish coimtries are restricted to a fife of poverty, relying for their support on the charity of the faith- fid. Cliristianity recognizes no such practices. It teaches in plain language that if a man will not work neither should he eat, and that it is the duty of every Christian man to labour, working with his own hands. I that he may have to give to him that needeth I ALMS-BOWL, a vessel used by the priests oJ Budha, for the purpose of recei\'ing the food present- ed in alms by the faithfiJ. It is laid down as a strict ride that they must cat no food wliich is not given in alms, unless it be water, or some substance used for tlie jHirpose of cleaning the teeth ; and, when in health, the food that a priest eats must be procured by his own exertions in carrying the alms-bowl from house to house in the village or citj- near which he resides. Wlien going to receive alms, his bowl is slung across his shoulder, and is usually covered by the outer robe. It may be made of either iron or clay, but of no other material. It must first be re- ceived by a chapter, and then be officially delivered to the priest whose bowl is found on examination to be in the worst condition. No priest is allowed to 68 ALMS-CHEST. procure a new bowl so long as his old one has not been bound with five ligatures to prevent it from falling to pieces ; and he is not allowed to use an extra bowl more than ten days, without permission from a chapter. When a priest approaches a house with the alms- bowl, he must remain as though unseen ; he may not hem, nor make any other sign that he is present ; and he is not allowed to approach too near the dwell- ing. He must not strctcli out his neck like a [lea- cock, or in any way bend liis head that he may at- tract the attention of those who give alms ; he is not allowed even to move the jaw, or Uft up the linger for the same puqiose. The proper mode is for the priest to take the alms-bowl in a becoming manner ; if anything is given he remains to receive it ; if not, he passes on. IJudlia has said, " The ■wise priest never asks for anything ; he thsdains to beg ; it is a proper object for which he can-ics the alms-bowl ; and this is his only mode of solicitation." The priest is forbidden to pass by any house when going with the bowl to receive alms, on accoimt of its meanness or inferiority; but he must pass by tlie house if near it there be any danger, as from dogs. Wien he \'isits a village, street, or house, throe suc- cessive days without receiving anything, he is not required to go to the same place again ; but if he re- ceives only the least particle, it must be regularly visited. When he has gone out with the bowl and not received an)'thing, should he meet a person in the road who is carrying food intended for the priest- hood, he may receive it ; but if anything has pre- viouiily been given him, this is forbidden. As he goes his begging rounds, he is prohibited from utter- ing a single word ; and when the bowl is sufliciently tilled, the priest is to return to his dwelling, and eat the food he has received, of whatever kind it may be. Some of the regidations in regard to the use of the alms-bowl, as observed by the Budhist priests in Ceylon, are too curious to be omitted. We quote from a very interesting work on Eastern Monachism by Mr. Hardy, a Wesleyan missionary, who spent many years in Ceylon, and acquired an intimate ac- quaintance with both the doctrines and practices of the Budhists. "The food," .says Mr. Hardy, "given in alms to the priest is to be received by liim medi- tatively ; it is not to be received carelessly, so that in the act of being poured into the alms-bowl some may fall over the sides ; the hquorand the solid food are to be received together, without being sepa- rated ; and the alms-bowl is not to be piled up above the mouth. The food is also to be eaten medita- tively, with care, so that it is not scattered about ; without pickingand choosing, the particles that come tu-st to hand being first to be eaten ; tlie liquor and the solid food are to be eaten together, not beginning ■n the centre ami heaping the food up, nor covering he hquor with rice. The priest, unless when sick, Jttay not ask for rice or curr)- to cat ; he may not look with envy into the bowl of another ; nor eat mouth- fuls larger than a pigeon's egg, but in small roun.i balls ; he may not till the mouth, nor i)Ut the hand into the mouth when taking food ; nor talk when hia mouth is full ; nor allow particles to drop from his mouth ; nor swallow his food wthout being properly masticated ; aiul one mouthful must be swallowed before another is taken. He may not shake his hand to free it from the particles that may be at- tached to it, nor may the food be scjittered about nor the tongue put out, nor the lips smacked, nor the food sucked up with a noise. He may not lick his hands, nor the bowl, nor his lips, when he eats. A vessel of water may not be taken uii when the hand is soiled from eating, and the rinsing of the bowl is not to be carelessly tin-own away. No priest can paitake of food imless he be seated." From the Thibetan works on Budhisra, we learn, according to Mr. Hardy, that the priests of Gotama were accustomed to put under ban, or interdict, any person or family in the following mode. In a jjublic assembly, after the facts had been investigated, an alms-bowl was turned with its mouth downiwards, it being declared by this act that from that time no one was to hold communication with the individual against whom the fact had been proved. No one was to enter his house, or to sit down there, or to take ahns from him, or to give him religious instruc- tion. After a reconciliation had taken jilace, the ban was taken otl'by the ahns-bowl being ])laced in its usual position. This aetwjis as significant as the bell, book, and amdie ; but much less repulsive in its aspect and associations. Not only was the ahns-bowl carried by the priests, it was carried also by the priestesses, or chief female recluses, who went from door to door in the same manner as the jiriests, receiving the contributions ot the faithful. The figure of a priest of Budha, as he is to be seen in all the WUages and towns of Ceylon that are inhabited by the Suighalese or Kandians, is cmious .and picturestpie. He usually walks along the road at a measured pace, without taking much notice of what passes around. He hai' no covering for the head, and is generally barefooted. In his right hand he carries a fan, not much imlike the hand-screens that are seen on the mantel-iiiece of an Enghsh fireplace, which he holds up before his face when m the presence of women, that the entrance oi evil thoughts into his mind may be prevented. The alms-bowl is slimg from his neck, and is covered by his robe, except when he is receiving alms. When not carrying the bowl, he is usually followed by an attendant with a book or small bundle. See Bud- msTs. ALMS-CHEST. By the 84th canon of the Church of England, it is appointed that a chest be provided and placed in the church to receive the otierings for the poor of such persons as might br disposed to contribute on entering or leaving tin church, at evening service, and on days when thero is no commimion. ALOA— AL SIRAT. 69 ALOA, a holy day obsen-ed by the heathen la- bourers of Athens, after they had received the fruits of the earth in honoiu- of Dionysus and Demeter. ALOGIANS (Gr. a, not, and lo(/os, the Word), a Christian sect which arose towards the end of the second ceimuy, according to Epiphanius and Augustine, who represent them as holding that Je- sus Christ was not God the Logos, but mere man. They are also said to have rejected tlie Gospel and Revelation of John. Dr. Lardner confidently asserts that this is a fictitious heresy, and there never were any Christians who rejected John's Gospel and Revelation, and yet received the othgr Gospels, and the other books of the New Testa- ment. It is no doubt somewhat suspicious, that no notice is taken of the Alo.gians in Irenseus, Eusebius, or any other ancient writer before Pliilaster and Epiplianius. Still the authors who do speak of them are so respectable and trustworthy, that we cannot deny a heresy to have existed which attracted such notice that it spread through Asia Minor. The Alogiaiis appear to have been keen antagonists of the MONTANISTS (wliich See), and to have either denied the continuance of the mu-aculous gifts which distin- guished the ApostoUc Church, the charismata which in their form discovered something of a supernatural character; or were not ready to acknowledge the prophetic gift as a thing that pertained to the Chris- tian economy, but considered it as belonging exclu- sively to the Old Testament ; and hence they could not admit any prophetic book into the canon of the New Testament. Hence their rejection of the Apo- calypse, and ill this point they agreed with some of the earlier Millenarians, who ascribed the authorship of that book to Cerinthus. ALPHABETICAL POEMS. These poems, several of which ai-e to be foimd in the Old Testa- ment, are characterized by tlie general pecuUarity, that each of them consists of twenty-two lines or twenty-two stanzas, corresponding to the nimiber of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. When the h\Tnn or poem consists of twenty-two lines, each line begins with a letter of the alphabet in its order ; or if it consists of twenty-two verses or parts, then each verse or part commences with a letter of the alpha- bet, the letters being in regular succession. Tliis metrical an-angement is foimd in Psalms xxv. xxxiv. xxxvii. cxi. cxix. cxlv. Prov. xxxi. Lam. i, ii, iii, iv. There is a curious peculiarity in the construction of Psal. cxix. It is divided into twenty-two sections, each of which begins with a letter of the alpliabet like the other alphabetical poems with which it is usually classed. But each section consists of eight stanzas of two lines each ; and each of these eight stanzas begins with the same letter wliich character- izes the section to which it belongs. Thus for ex- ample, the lir.