took several cities, and carried away captives, principally from the
tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 2 Kings xv, 29.
In the year of the world 3283, Shalmaneser took and destroyed Samaria,
after a siege of three years, and transplanted the tribes that had been
spared by Tiglath-pileser, to provinces beyond the Euphrates, 2 Kings
xviii, 10, 11. It is generally believed, there was no return of the ten
tribes from this second captivity. But when we examine carefully the
writings of the Prophets, we find a return of at least a great part of
Israel from the captivity clearly pointed out. Hosea says, “They shall
tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of
Assyria; and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord,” Hosea
xi, 11. Amos says, “And I will bring again my people Israel from their
captivity: they shall build their ruined cities and inhabit them,” &c,
Amos ix, 14. Obadiah observes, “The captivity of this host of the
children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites,” &c, Obadiah
18, 19. To the same purpose speak the other Prophets. “The Lord shall
assemble the outcast of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of
Judah,” Isa. xi, 12, 13. Ezekiel received an order from God to take two
pieces of wood, and write on one, “For Judah and for the children of
Israel;” and on the other, “For Joseph and for all the house of Israel;”
and to join these two pieces of wood, that they might become one, and
designate the reunion of Judah and Israel, Ezek. xxxvii, 16. Jeremiah is
equally express: “The house of Judah shall walk with the house of
Israel; and they shall come together out of the north, to the land which
I have given for an inheritance to their fathers,” Jer. iii, 18. See
also Jer. xxxi, 7–9, 16, 17, 20; xvi, 15; xlix, 2, &c; Zech. ix, 13; x,
6, 10; Micah ii, 12. In the historical books of Scripture, we find that
Israelites of the ten tribes, as well as of Judah and Benjamin, returned
from the captivity. Among those that returned with Zerubbabel are
reckoned some of Ephraim and Manasseh, who settled at Jerusalem with the
tribe of Judah. When Ezra numbered those who returned from the
captivity, he only inquired whether they were of the race of Israel; and
at the first passover which was then celebrated in the temple, was a
sacrifice of twelve he-goats for the whole house of Israel, according to
the number of the tribes, Ezra vi, 16, 17; viii, 35. Under the
Maccabees, and in our Saviour’s time, we see Palestine peopled by
Israelites of all the tribes indifferently. The Samaritan Chronicle
asserts that in the thirty-fifth year of the pontificate of Abdelus,
three thousand Israelites, by permission of King Sauredius, returned
from captivity, under the conduct of Adus, son of Simon.
CAPTIVITIES OF JUDAH. The captivities of Judah are generally reckoned
four: the first, in the year of the world 3398, under King Jehoiakim,
when Daniel and others were carried to Babylon; the second, in the year
of the world 3401, and in the seventh year of the reign of Jehoiakim,
when Nebuchadnezzar carried three thousand and twenty-three Jews to
Babylon; the third, in the year of the world 3406, and in the fourth of
Jehoiachin, when this prince, with part of his people, was sent to
Babylon; and the fourth in the year 3416, under Zedekiah, from which
period begins the captivity of seventy years, foretold by the Prophet
Jeremiah. Dr. Hales computes that the first of these captivities, which
he thinks formed the commencement of the Babylonish captivity, took
place in the year before Christ 605. The Jews were removed to Babylon by
Nebuchadnezzar, who, designing to render that city the capital of the
east, transplanted thither very great numbers of people, subdued by him
in different countries. In Babylon the Jews had judges and elders, who
governed them, and who decided matters in dispute juridically, according
to their laws. Of this we see a proof in the story of Susanna, who was
condemned by elders of her own nation. Cyrus, in the year of the world
3457, and in the first year of his reign at Babylon, permitted the Jews
to return to their own country, Ezra i, 1. However, they did not obtain
leave to rebuild the temple; and the completion of those prophecies
which foretold the termination of their captivity after seventy years,
was not till the year of the world 3486. In that year, Darius Hystaspes,
by an edict, allowed them to rebuild the temple. In the year of the
world 3537, Artaxerxes Longimanus sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem. The Jews
assert that only the refuse of their nation returned from the captivity,
and that the principal of them continued in and near Babylon, where they
had been settled, and where they became very numerous. It may, however,
be doubted whether the refuse of Judah was really carried to Babylon. It
appears from incidental observations in Scripture that some remained;
and Major Rennell has offered several reasons for believing that only
certain classes of the Jews were deported to Babylon, as well as into
Assyria. Nebuchadnezzar carried away only the principal inhabitants, the
warriors, and artisans of every kind; and he left the husbandmen, the
labourers, and in general, the poorer classes, that constitute the great
body of the people.
CARAITES, or KARÆITES, an ancient Jewish sect. The name signifies
_Textualists_, or _Scripturists_, and was originally given to the school
of Shammai, (about thirty years or more before Christ,) because they
rejected the traditions of the elders, as embraced by the school of
Hillel and the Pharisees, and all the fanciful interpretations of the
Cabbala. They claim, however, a much higher antiquity, and produce a
catalogue of doctors up to the time of Ezra. The rabbinists have been
accustomed to call them Sadducees; but they believed in the inspiration
of the Scriptures, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment.
They believe that Messiah is not yet come, and reject all calculations
of the time of his appearance: yet they say, it is proper that even
every day they should receive their salvation by Messiah, the Son of
David. As to the practice of religion, they differ from the rabbinists
in the observance of the festivals, and keep the Sabbath with more
strictness. They extend their prohibition of marriage to more degrees of
affinity, and admit not of divorce on any slight or trivial grounds. The
sect of Caraites still exists, but their number is inconsiderable. They
are found chiefly in the Crimea, Lithuania, and Persia; at Damascus,
Constantinople, and Cairo. Their honesty in the Crimea is said to be
proverbial.
CARBUNCLE, ברקת, Exod. xxviii, 17; xxxix, 10; Ezek. xxviii, 13; and
ἄνθραξ, Eccles. xxxii, 5; Tobit xiii, 17; a very elegant and rare gem,
known to the ancients by the name ἄνθραξ, or _coal_, because, when held
up before the sun, it appears like a piece of bright burning charcoal:
the name _carbunculus_ has the same meaning. It was the third stone in
the first row of the pectoral; and is mentioned among the glorious
stones of which the new Jerusalem is figuratively said to be built.
Bishop Lowth observes that the precious stones, mentioned Isa. liv, 11,
12, and Rev. xxi, 18, seem to be general images to express beauty,
magnificence, purity, strength, and solidity, agreeably to the ideas of
the eastern nations; and to have never been intended to be strictly
scrutinized, and minutely and particularly explained, as if they had
some precise moral or spiritual meaning. Tobit, in his prophecy of the
final restoration of Israel, Tobit xii, 16,17, describes the new
Jerusalem in the same oriental manner.
CARMEL, in the southern part of Palestine, where Nabal the Carmelite,
Abigail’s husband, dwelt, Joshua xv, 55; 1 Sam. xxv.
2. CARMEL was also the name of a celebrated mountain in Palestine.
Though spoken of in general as a single mountain, it ought rather to be
considered as a mountainous region, the whole of which was known by the
name of Carmel, while to one of the hills, more elevated than the rest,
that name was usually applied by way of eminence. It had the plain of
Sharon on the south; overlooked the port of Ptolemais on the north; and
was bounded on the west by the Mediterranean sea; forming one of the
most remarkable promontories that present themselves on the shores of
that great sea. According to Volney, it is about two thousand feet in
height, and has the shape of a flattened cone. Its sides are steep and
rugged; the soil neither deep nor rich; and among the naked rocks
stinted with plants, and wild forests which it presents to the eye,
there are at present but few traces of that fertility which we are
accustomed to associate with the idea of Mount Carmel. Yet even Volney
himself acknowledges that he found among the brambles, wild vines and
olive trees, which proved that the hand of industry had once been
employed on a not ungrateful soil. Of its ancient productiveness there
can be no doubt; the etymology and ordinary application of its name
being sufficient evidence of the fact. Carmel is not only expressly
mentioned in Scripture as excelling other districts in that respect;
but, every place possessed of the same kind of excellence obtained from
it the same appellation in the language both of the prophets and the
people. Mount Carmel is celebrated in the Old Testament, as the usual
place of residence of the Prophets Elijah and Elisha. It was here that
Elijah so successfully opposed the false prophets of Baal, 1 Kings
xviii; and there is a certain part of the mountain facing the west, and
about eight miles from the point of the promontory, which the Arabs call
Mansur, and the Europeans the place of sacrifice, in commemoration of
that miraculous event. Near the same place is also still shown a cave,
in which it is said the Prophet had his residence. The brook Kishon,
which issues from Mount Tabor, waters the bottom of Carmel, and falls
into the sea toward the northern side of the mountain, and not the
southern, as some writers have erroneously stated. Its greatest
elevation is about one thousand five hundred feet; hence, when the sea
coast on one side, and the plain on the other, are oppressed with sultry
heat, this hill is refreshed by cooling breezes, and enjoys a delightful
temperature. The fastnesses of this rugged mountain are so difficult of
access, that the Prophet Amos classes them with the deeps of hell, the
height of heaven, and the bottom of the sea: “Though they dig into
hell,” (or the dark and silent chambers of the grave,) “thence shall
mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring
them down; and though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will
search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in
the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall
bite them,” Amos ix, 2, 3. Lebanon raises to heaven a summit of naked
and barren rocks, covered for the greater part of the year with snow;
but the top of Carmel, how naked and sterile soever its present
condition, was clothed with verdure which seldom was known to fade. Even
the lofty genius of Isaiah, stimulated and guided by the Spirit of
inspiration, could not find a more appropriate figure to express the
flourishing state of the Redeemer’s kingdom, than “the excellency of
Carmel and Sharon.”
CART, a machine used in Palestine to force the corn out of the ear, and
bruise the straw, Isaiah xxviii, 27, 28. The wheels of these carts were
low, broad, and shod with iron, and were drawn over the sheaves spread
on the floor by means, of oxen.
CASTOR and POLLUX. It is said that the vessel which carried Paul to Rome
had the sign of Castor and Pollux, Acts xxviii, 11. Castor and Pollux
were sea-gods, and invoked by sailors; and even the light balls or
meteors which are sometimes seen on ships, were called Castor and
Pollux. An inscription in Gruter proves that seamen implored Castor and
Pollux in dangers at sea. It is to be observed, that St. Luke does not
mention the name, but the sign, of the ship. By the word sign, the
sacred writer meant a protecting image of the deity, to whom the vessel
was in some sort consecrated; as at present in Catholic countries, most
of their vessels are named after some saint, St. Xavier, St. Andero, St.
Dominique, &c. It appears to be certain, that the figure which gave name
to the ship was at the head, and the tutelary deity was placed on the
poop.
CASUIST, one who studies and decides upon cases of conscience. Escobar
has made a collection of the opinions of all the casuists before his
time. M. Le Feore, preceptor to Louis XIII, said that the books of the
casuists taught “the art of quibbling with God;” which does not seem far
from truth, by reason of the multitude of distinctions and subtleties
with which they abound. Mayer has published a bibliotheca of casuists,
containing an account of all the writers on cases of conscience, ranged
under three heads; the first comprehending the Lutheran; the second, the
Calvinistic; and the third, the Roman casuists.
CASUISTRY, the doctrine and science of conscience and its cases, with
the rules and principles of resolving the same; drawn partly from
natural reason, or equity, and partly from the authority of Scripture,
the canon law, councils, fathers, &c. To casuistry belongs the decision
of all difficulties arising about what a man may lawfully do or not do;
what is sin or not sin; what things a man is obliged to do in order to
discharge his duty, and what he may let alone without breach of it.
Although the morality of the Gospel is distinguished by its purity and
by its elevation, it is necessarily exhibited in a general form; certain
leading principles are laid down; but the application of these to the
innumerable cases which occur in the actual intercourse of life, is left
to the understanding and the conscience of individuals. Had it been
otherwise, the Christian code would have swelled to an extent which
would have rendered it in a great degree useless; it would have been
difficult or impossible to recollect all its provisions; and, minute as
these would have been, they would still have been defective,--new
situations or combinations of circumstances modifying duty continually
arising, which it would have been impracticable or hurtful to
anticipate. When the principles of duty are rightly unfolded, and when
they are placed on a sound foundation, there is, to a fair mind, no
difficulty in accommodating them to its own particular exigencies. A few
cases, it is true, may occur, where it is a matter of doubt in what way
men should act; but these are exceedingly rare, and the lives of vast
numbers may come to an end without any of them happening to occasion
perplexity. Every man may be, and perhaps is, sensible, that his errors
are to be ascribed, not to his having been at a loss to know what he
should have done, but to his deliberately or hastily violating what he
saw to be right, or to his having allowed himself to confound, by vain
and subtile distinctions, what, in the case of any one else, would have
left in his mind no room for hesitation. The manner, however, in which
the Gospel inculcates the law of God, combined with other causes in
leading to a species of moral discussion, which, pretending to ascertain
in every case what ought to be practised, and thus to afford plain and
safe directions to the conscience, terminated in what has been
denominated casuistry.
The schoolmen delighted in this species of intellectual labour. They
transferred their zeal for the most fanciful and frivolous distinctions
in what respected the doctrines of religion to its precepts; they
anatomized the different virtues; nicely examined all the circumstances
by which our estimate of them should be influenced; and they thus
rendered the study of morality inextricable, confounded the natural
notions of right and wrong, and so accustomed themselves and others to
weigh their actions, that they could easily find some excuse for what
was most culpable, while they continued under the impression that they
were not deviating from what, as moral beings, was incumbent upon them.
The corruption of manners which was introduced into the church during
the dark ages rendered casuistry very popular; and, accordingly, many
who affected to be the most enlightened writers of their age, and
perhaps really were so, tortured their understanding or their fancy in
solving cases of conscience, and often in polluting their own
imaginations and those of others, by employing them on possible crimes,
upon which, however unlikely was their occurrence in life, they were
eager to pronounce a decision. The happy change which the Reformation
produced upon the views of men respecting the sacred Scriptures, tended
to erect that pure standard of duty which for ages had been laid in the
dust. Yet for a considerable time Protestant divines occupied themselves
with the intricacies of casuistry, thus in some degree shutting out the
light which they had fortunately poured upon the world. The Lutheran
theologians walked very much in the tract which the schoolmen had
opened, although their decisions were much more consonant with
Christianity; and it was not uncommon in some countries for
ecclesiastical assemblies to devote part of their time to the resolution
of questions which might have been safely left unnoticed, which now are
almost universally regarded as frivolous, and about which almost the
most ignorant would be ashamed to ask an opinion. Even after much of the
sophistry, and much of the moral perversion connected with casuistry,
were exploded, the form of that science was preserved, and many valuable
moral principles in conformity to it delivered. The venerable Bishop
Hall published a celebrated work, to which he gave the appellation of
“Cases of Conscience Practically resolved;” and he introduces it with
the following observations addressed to the reader: “Of all divinity,
that part is most useful which determines cases of conscience; and of
all cases of conscience, the practical are most necessary, as action is
of more concernment than speculation; and of all practical cases, those
which are of most common use are of so much greater necessity and
benefit to be resolved, as the errors thereof are more universal, and
therefore more prejudicial to the society of mankind. These I have
selected out of many; and having turned over divers casuists, have
pitched upon those decisions which I hold most conformable to
enlightened reason and religion; sometimes I follow them, and sometimes
I leave them for a better guide.” He divides his work into four
parts,--Cases of profit and traffic, Cases of life and liberty, Cases of
piety and religion, and Cases matrimonial; under each of these solving a
number of questions, or rather giving a number of moral dissertations.
Casuistry, as a systematic perversion of Christian morality, is now, in
the Protestant world, very much unknown; though there still is, and
perhaps always will be, that softening down of the strict rules of duty,
to which mankind are led either by self-deceit, or by the natural desire
of reconciling, with the hope of the divine favour, considerable
obliquity from that path of rectitude and virtue which alone is
acceptable to God. But the most striking specimen of the length to which
casuistry was carried, and of the dangerous consequences which resulted
from it, is furnished by the history of the maxims and sentiments of the
Jesuits, that celebrated order, which combined with profound literature,
and the most zealous support of Popery, an ambition that perverted their
understandings, or rather induced them to employ their rational powers
in the melancholy work of poisoning the sources of morality, and of
casting the name and the appearance of virtue over a dissoluteness of
principle and a profligacy of licentiousness, which, had they not been
checked by sounder views, and by feelings and habits favourable to
morality, would have spread through the world the most degrading misery.
See JESUITS.
CATERPILLAR. חסיל. The word occurs Deut. xxviii, 38; Psa. lxviii, 46;
Isa. xxxiii, 4; 1 Kings viii, 37; 2 Chron. vi, 28; Joel i, 4; ii, 25. In
the four last cited texts, it is distinguished from the locust, properly
so called; and in Joel i, 4, is mentioned as “eating up” what the other
species had left, and therefore might be called _the consumer_, by way
of eminence. But the ancient interpreters are far from being agreed what
particular species it signifies. The Septuagint in Chronicles, and
Aquila in Psalms, render it βροῦχος: so the Vulgate in Chronicles and
Isaiah, and Jerom in Psalms, _bruchus_, the chafer, which is a great
devourer of leaves. From the Syriac version, however, Michaëlis is
disposed to understand it the _taupe grillon_, “mole cricket,” which, in
its grub state, is very destructive to corn and other vegetables, by
feeding on their roots. See LOCUST.
CATHOLIC denotes what is general or universal. The rise of heresies
induced the primitive Christian church to assume to itself the
appellation of _catholic_, as being a characteristic to distinguish
itself from them. The Romish church now proudly assumes the title
_catholic_, in opposition to all who have separated from her communion,
and whom she considers as heretics and schismatics, while she herself
remains the only true and Christian church. The church of Christ is
called catholic, because it extends throughout the world, and endures
through all time.
2. CATHOLIC, _general_, Epistles. They are seven in number; namely, one
of James, two of Peter, three of John, and one of Jude. They are called
catholic, because directed to Christian converts generally, and not to
any particular church. Hug, in his “Introduction to the New Testament,”
takes another view of the import of this term, which was certainly used
at an early period, as by Origen and others:--“When the Gospels and Acts
of the Apostles constituted one peculiar division, the works of Paul
also another, there still remained writings of different authors, which
might likewise form a collection of themselves, to which a name must be
given. It might most aptly be called _the common collection_, καθολικὸν
σύνταγμα, of the Apostles, and the treatises contained in it, κοιναὶ and
καθολικαὶ, which are commonly used by the Greeks as synonyms. For this
we find a proof even in the most ancient ecclesiastical language.
Clemens Alexandrinus calls the epistle which was despatched by the
assembly of the Apostles, Acts xv, 23, the ‘catholic epistle,’ as that
in which all the Apostles had a share, την ἐπιστολὴν καθολικὴν τῶν
Ἀποστόλων ἅπαντων. Hence our seven epistles are catholic, or epistles of
_all_ the Apostles who are authors.”