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النشر الإلكتروني

VOLTAIC ELECTRICITY.

VOLTAIC ELECTRICITY. VII.

POWER OF THE ELECTRIC LIGHT-WAY'S MODIFICATION OF IT-LIGHT IN EXHAUSTED TUBES-HEATING EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT-MODE OF FIRING ORDNANCE-FUZES.

Ir is somewhat difficult to obtain an exact estimate of the intensity of the electric light, as it varies very greatly according to the batteries employed, the time they have been in action, and the care with which they are set up. The mode in which the power of the light is measured is a subject that belongs more properly to Optics. We may state, however, that it is usually expressed by comparing it with that of a sperm candle burning at the rate of 120 grains per hour. Now, as the result of a series of careful measurements, the power of the light, when sixty cells of Grove's battery are employed, may, under ordinary circumstances, be set down as equal to about 2,000 candles. By taking great care, however, in setting up the cells, and insulating them carefully so as to avoid all local action, more than double this power may be obtained.

When working with from thirty to seventy cells, it is found that the power of the light increases more rapidly than in proportion to the number of cells employed, the power with sixty cells being much more than double that when only thirty are at work. As a general rule, too, the length of the arc of light depends on the number of cells, and its thickness on their size. When a crucible is used for the lower pole, and a small portion of a salt of lithium is placed in it, the length of the luminous are will be much increased; the colour will also be very beautiful.

B

H

Fig. 40.

|

There is one modification of the electric light devised by Professor Way, and named after him, which must just be referred to before passing on. In this the carbon poles are altogether dispensed with, and the light is produced by the electricity passing along a stream of mercury, which is falling into a cup. Fig. 38 shows a simple plan of exhibiting this light. A cast-iron vessel A, having a fine tube inserted in the bottom, is supported by means of an ordinary retort-stand B. On the base of this is placed a dish c, usually made of glass. A metal one is, however, sometimes employed, but it must then be placed upon a sheet of glass or some insulating C material, to prevent the current passing down the rod of the retort-stand to it. A gas jar, or a glass bottle without a bottom, D, is placed around the column of mercury to prevent the escape of the fumes into the air, as they are highly dangerous. The vessel A is now filled with mercury, and the positive wire connected with the binding screw on it, the negative wire being dipped | into the mercury in c. The electric fluid will now pass down the column of mercury, and produce a very powerful light at the place where it meets that in the lower vessel. So intense is the heat that some of the mercury is converted into vapour, and condenses on the inside of D. The colour of this light is very remarkable, it being monochromatic, or composed of only one colour, so that all objects seen by it appear of the same hue.

VOL. V.

Fig. 38.

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There is another way in which the luminous effects of tho electric fluid may be seen, and that is by causing what is called an induced current to pass through an exhausted glass tube. The apparatus employed for this purpose is known as an Induction Coil, and will be described in a future lesson. Fig. 39 will give a faint idea of this light. A is an exhausted glass tube hermetically sealed, pieces of platinum wire being fused into it

at two different parts, A, B, for the current to enter. Inside A is a goblet c, made of uranium glass. As soon as the wires from the coil are connected with the platinum wires, the whole interior of A becomes highly luminous, the goblet appearing to be running over with liquid fire. In a dark room this is an exquisitely beautiful experiment.

We must now pass on to notice the next class of effects produced by the current. These are the calorific or heating effects, and are very easily observed: if we are working with a large number of batteries, and the conducting wire be small, it will soon become so hot that it cannot be handled with any degree of comfort.

This heating property of electricity appears only to be developed when the wire along which it is passing is too small to convey it properly. Hence & heated wire is a sure sign that it is too small, and that, therefore, a portion of the power is lost by being converted into heat, instead of doing the work required. When, however, our object is to show the heating power, as small a wire as possible is chosen for the purpose. The shock from a large battery of Leyden jars will be found sufficient to deflagrate a fine iron wire, but the voltaic current answers much better, and is more easily applied. If we take a piece of very fine platinum wire, and having wound one end of it round the scraped end of one of the battery wires, we bring another part of it against the other battery wire, we shall soon find

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Fig. 41.

that it becomes heated. By slipping the wire gently along so as to diminish the length of the platinum that is included in the circuit, it will first become red-hot, then white-hot, and ultimately will melt. The length of wire that can in this way be maintained at a red heat varies with the power of the battery; three or four feet may, however, be easily ignited, and much greater lengths have been rendered luminous.

This experiment is best shown in the way represented in Fig. 40. Two brass rods, A and B, are fixed vertically on round stands; at the top of these rods are binding screws, by which the fine wire may be held and adjusted for length.

The battery wires are put through holes in A and B, or may be simply twisted round them, and thus all danger of

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burning through the platinum is avoided.

As soon as the current is caused to pass along the wire it becomes luminous, and at the same time expands, dropping in the middle, and thus affording further proof of the heat produced. When the current is interrupted, the wire at once cools and contracts. If a chain composed of alternate links of silver and platinum wire be placed between A and B, the platinum links will become luminous; but, as the silver is a

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better conductor, the links of that metal will retain their ordinary colour.

As the heating effect arises from the quantity of electricity, and not from its intensity, the best results will clearly be obtained when the batteries are set up side by side; all the zincs being connected together for one pole, and all the platinums for the other. The battery known as Hare's Deflagrator is the best for this purpose. It consists of long strips of copper and zinc, separated by a hair rope and wound round into a spiral coil. In this way a great quantity of electricity of small tension is produced. The exciting liquid used for it is dilute sulphuric acid.

The heating properties of the electric current are applied to a great number of important practical uses. If we place a small piece of gun-cotton on the wire in Fig. 40, it will be ignited the moment the circuit is completed, and this will be the case whether the connection is made close to the uprights or at a great distance from them. The only thing needed is to let the fine wire come in the circuit, and to let it be complete at every place except the point where the contact is to be made. If the wire be left slack, and made to dip into a little heap of gunpowder or coloured fire, they will in like manner be ignited by it. Now the practical application of this principle is very simple. Suppose it is required to light a gas-burner from a distance, as, for instance, one situated near the roof of a lofty building, we have merely to lead two wires to the burner, and place between their ends a short piece of platinum, so that the jet of gas may play upon it. As soon now as the current is made to pass through this it becomes white-hot, and the gas, on being turned on at the main, is immediately lighted. Fig. 41 will show the way in which the wires may be arranged. A simpler plan, however, is to take a large cork, and cut a hole in the middle, so that it may slip over the burner. The ends of the battery wires may now be brought, one to each side, and tied with a piece of string, so as to stand a little above the cork, and the platinum wire is adjusted between these. A large number of burners may in this way be lighted simultaneously. Another application of the same principle is seen in firing cannon from a distance. The platinum wire is made to dip into the powder over the touch-hole, which is thus ignited, and fires the piece. For this purpose fine iron wire may be used in place of platinum; indeed, it is preferable to it, as the iron melts and burns more easily, and the sparks falling from it render the ignition of the powder more certain. In the same way torpedoes may be fired from a distance as soon as one of the enemy's vessels comes over them. Large masses of masonry have also been thrown down in a similar way, a very successful experiment of this kind having been made when removing the massive brickwork of the Great Exhibition of 1862.

Fig. 42,

A further remarkable application of the same principle has been made in surgery by the use of the galvanic knife and cautery.

This is an instrument having somewhat the shape of a knife. The cutting edge, however, is a strip of platinum, and is so arranged that a powerful electric current may be made to pass along it, and thus it may be raised to almost any temperature that may be desired. It is stated that by properly regulating the temperature, almost all loss of blood during some operations may be avoided, the heat of the blade completely destroying the tissues and closing the vessels. In many cases this is, undoubtedly, a matter of the greatest importance. In the same way, too, heat may be applied to various internal parts of the body, the current being turned on after the instrument is in its place. In these and all other experiments, when powerful batteries are employed, it will be found very convenient to have a wire dipping into a cup of mercury, or some other arrangement for instantaneously shutting off the current when desired.

The fact already mentioned, that pieces of various metals are not only fused but actually volatilised when placed between the poles, affords further proof of the heat produced by the

current.

If we twist a piece of fine iron or platinum wire into a spiral coil, and immerse it in a wine-glass filled with water, the tempe

rature will be raised by the passage of the current, so that in a short time the water may be made to boil. The whole of the spiral must, of course, be immersed, for if any portion of the thin wire be in the air, its heat will not be carried away by the liquid, and it will, therefore, be melted.

An apparatus for determining the heat produced by the electric current is made in this way :-A cork (Fig. 42) is fitted to the mouth of a wide-necked flask, and the tube of a thermometer is passed through a hole in the centre of it, so that the bulb may dip down into the liquid in the flask. Two binding screws are also placed in the cork, and from these pieces of brass wire pass down into the liquid, the coil of fine wire being placed between the ends of them, so as to be entirely in the liquid. The flask is usually filled with alcohol, as this is a worse conductor than water, and also has a less specific heat, so that the same intensity of current would raise it to a higher temperature than it would a similar quantity of water.

Fig. 43,

If now we connect the wires from the battery with the instrument, we shall soon see by the thermometer that the temperature of the liquid is increasing. Let us note the time that is required for it to rise any given amount-say, for instance, 5°. Now double the power of the battery, and let the current pass for a similar length of time. It will be found that the thermometer has risen 20°, or four times as much as when the current was only half as strong. We see, then, that the temperature produced in a wire by the passage of an electric current along it increases as the square of the strength of the current.

The re

Now let us remove the fine wire, and substitute for it one that offers twice the resistance, and, as before, notice the amount through which the thermometer rises in the given time; it will be found to be just twice as great as before. sistance is doubled, and the heating power is doubled likewise. They increase, therefore, in the same proportion. then, that for exhibiting the thermal effects of the current the wire should be made of a badly-conducting material, and should be as small as practicable.

We see,

Before leaving this class of effects, it will be well just to notice the construction of the electric fuzes usually employed for mining purposes, or for firing ordnance. A good model of one may be made by taking a small phial (Fig. 43) capable of holding about half an ounce. Make a small hole through the cork, and pass through this the ends of two insulated wires, which should be twisted together for a short distance. The inner ends should now be carefully cleaned, and about an inch of fine iron wire placed between them, the ends being carefully fastened, or, better still, soldered to the thicker wires. The bottle may now be filled with gunpowder, and we have a fuze ready for use. If it is to be placed under water, the cork should be covered with sealing-wax, or some other waterproofing material, so as to keep the powder dry.

Fig. 44.

The fuzes usually employed are made of short pieces of brass tube closed at each end by discs of wood or leather, but are otherwise just like that shown here. There is, however, another variety in which the explosive powder itself is the imperfect conductor. These are charged with a mixture of chlorate of potash and subsulphide and subphosphide of copper; the latter of these is a conductor, and the proportions of the different ingredients are so arranged that this shall become heated by the current and ignite the compound. In this kind of fuze the fine wire is dispensed with, and the ends of the battery wires are brought so close together as almost to touch, so that the current has to pass through but a very small portion of the mixture. The usual way in which this is accomplished is by bending the piece of wire in the middle, and putting the two ends of it through one cap of the fuze. When the wire is thus fastened, a narrow slit is made through the bend by means of a fine saw in the way shown in Fig. 44; the fuze is then filled with the composition, and the flame from it will ignite gunpowder with certainty.

There is another kind of fuze known as Statham's. A piece

READINGS IN GREEK.

of copper wire is covered with vulcanised gutta percha, and it is found that, after the lapse of a few months, a part of the sulphur from the covering combines with the wire, and forms a layer of a sulphuret of copper. If now part of the coating be removed at any place, and a small piece of the wire be cut away, the current will pass along the layer of sulphuret, and in so doing will render it white-hot. The gunpowder or other inflammable body has in this case merely to be placed in the cavity, and it will be ignited. A powerful current is, however, requisite for this, unless the spark from an induction-coil be employed.

Having now seen that heat can be evolved from electricity, we must inquire whether the converse of this is true--that is, whether electricity can be produced by means of heat. Experiment soon shows to us that it can, and thus we learn that electricity and heat are to a certain extent mutually convertible. This is the first step towards a series of important experiments, which seem to show very clearly what is called | the correlation of the Physical Forces, or, in other words, that electricity, heat, light, and other forces, are in reality but different manifestations of the same cause. A description of the mode in which electricity may be thus produced by means of heat must be deferred till our next lesson.

READINGS IN GREEK.-XI.
THE NEW TESTAMENT (continued).

IN our present reading we propose to give a further selection
of passages from the Greek Testament, taken from the Gospels
and Acts of the Apostles. Our next paper will contain ex-
tracts from the Epistles, which are somewhat more difficult
of interpretation. For our present reading, no further intro-
ductory remarks are necessary than those prefixed to our last
reading. The student will take care to watch for any unusual
form of expression which we have already noticed as found
principally in the Greek of the New Testament.

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291 "Αμα πρωί, with the dawn, or, as the English version has it, in the morning.

Μισθώσασθαι, infin. after verb of going, to express a purpose or object, as noticed in last reading.

2. Εκ δηναρίου, at the rate of a denarius a day. This use of ex is rarely if ever found in classical Greek, but it appears to spring out of th notion of cause or ground, which that preposition sometimes bears, the denarius being the ground or basis of the engagement. The denarius was the regular sum paid to a Roman labourer for a day's work. Τὴν ἡμέραν, acc. of duration of time. The more usual construction would be the genitive.

3. Τρίτην ώραν. According to our computation of time, et nine o'clock in the morning. The different times mentioned are not to be insisted upon in the explanation of the parable: the point to be looked at is merely that the calls were frequent.

̓Αργούς, idle, from ὦ ἔργον, without-work.

5. Οἱ δὲ (the article used for a demonstrative pronoun), and they. 8. Οψίας. Supply τῆς ἡμέρας. By the Mosaic law, the labourer's wages were to be paid by sunset. Deut. xxiv. 15, “Thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon thee."

9. ̓Ανὰ δηνάριον. ̓Ανὰ is used in a distributive senseat the rate of a denarius each.

10. Θτιλήψονται. The more usual construction would be the infinitive λήψεσθαι, but additional vividness is added to the description by putting it into the tense the men would naturally have used themselves.

13. Δηναρίου. Genitive of price ; us in Xen., " Mem.” 4. 1, τῶν πόνων πωλοῦσιν ἡμῖν πάντα τἀγάθ' οἱ θέοι, at the price of toil. 15. Πονηρός, εκcious.

MATTHEW xxΙν. 422.

4 Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Βλέπετε μήτις ὑμᾶς πλανήσῃ.

5. Πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐλεύσονται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου, λέγοντες, Εγώ εἰμι ὁ Χριστός· καὶ πολλοὺς πλανήσουσι.

6 Μελλήσετε δὲ ἀκούειν πολέμους καὶ ἀκοὰς πολέμων. ὁρᾶτε, μὴ θροεῖσθε· δεῖ γὰρ πάντα γενέσθαι. ἀλλ ̓ οὔπω ἐστὶ τὸ τέλος. 7 Εγερθήσεται γὰρ ἔθνος ἐπὶ ἔθνος, καὶ βασιλεία ἐπὶ βασιλείαν· καὶ ἔσονται λιμοὶ καὶ λοιμοὶ καὶ σεισμοὶ κατὰ τόπους. 8 Πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων.

9 Τότε παραδώσουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς θλίψιν, καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσιν ὑμᾶς· καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου. 10 Καὶ τότε σκανδαλισθήσονται πολλοὶ, καὶ ἀλλήλους παραδώσουσι, καὶ μισήσουσιν ἀλλήλους·

11 Καὶ πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐγερθήσονται, καὶ πλανήσουσι πολλούς

12 Καὶ διὰ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν, ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν·

13 Ὁ δὲ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος, οὗτος σωθήσεται.

14 Καὶ κηρυχθήσεται τοῦτο τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ, εἰς μαρτύριον πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι. καὶ τότε ἥξει τὸ

τέλος.

15 Οταν οὖν ἴδητε τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως, τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Δανιὴλ τοῦ προφήτου, ἑστὼς ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ· (δ ̓ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω·) 16 Τότε οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη·

17 Ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος, μὴ καταβαινέτω ἆραί τι ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας αὑτοῦ·

18 Καὶ ὁ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, μὴ ἐπιστρεψάτω ὀπίσω ἆραι τὰ ἱμάτια αὑτοῦ.

19 Οὐαὶ δὲ ταῖς ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσαις καὶ ταῖς θηλαζούσαις, ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις.

20 Προσεύχεσθε δὲ ἵνα μὴ γένηται ἡ φυγὴ ὑμῶν χειμῶνος, μηδὲ ἐν σαββάτῳ.

21 Εσται γὰρ τότε θλίψις μεγάλη, οἵα οὐ γέγονεν ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς κόσμου ἕως τοῦ νῦν, οὐδ ̓ οὐ μὴ γένηται.

22 Καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐκολοβώθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι, οὐκ ἂν ἐσώθη πᾶσα σάρξ· διὰ δὲ τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς κολοβωθήσονται αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι.

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NOTES.

7. Εγερθήσεται, etc. It is to be observed that there is a double meaning running all through this chapter. Our Lord's words have reference not only to the ultimate end of the world, but also to a more immediate catastrophe—the taking of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish polity. The period antecedent to this was full of "wars and rumours of wars' throughout the length and breadth of the Roman empire, with their natural accompaniments of famine and Four There were also several alarming earthquakes. especially are noticed as having occurred about this period-one in Crete, A.D. 46; at Rome, A.D. 51; in Campania, A.D. 58; and at Laodicea, A.D. 60.

NOTES.

1. Η βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. This phrase, which is almost invariably | pestilence. used by our Lord to introduce a parable, may be explained to mean "the way of God to men "-the dealings of God with mankind.

Οστις is used here, as it is frequently in the New Testament, for the simple relative år.

8. Ωδίνων, The death-throes of the Jewish Church and of the world

9. Παραδώσουσιν. As in the cruel persecutions at Rome under the earlier emperors.

11. Ψευδοπροφῆται. Numbers of these pretenders were continually rising up just before the final dispersion of the Jews, each claiming to be the promised Messiah.

12. Ἡ ἀγάπη. The mutual trust between Christians.

13. Σωθήσεται, primarily, as was actually the case at Jerusalem; and secondly, in a moral sense.

14. Ολῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ. The whole world (literally, inhabited-supply γῇ: from this we get acumenical): The Gospel had actually been preached throughout the whole of the Roman empire, which comprised the greater portion of the then known world, before the destruction of Jerusalem.

15. Βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως. There is considerable difference of opinion about the meaning of this phrase. Some make it to refer to the Roman standards; but (1) they had often been there before, and | (2) the word is generally used to express something done by the Jews | themselves. Another explanation refers it to the amazing impiety and criminality practised by the Zealots and others, which made, as it were, the last drop in the Jews' cup of iniquity-"an abomination causing desolation.” The reference appears to be to Dan. ix. 27, “ And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate," a passage about the translation of which there is much dispute; and Dan. xii. 11, "The abomination that maketh desolate."

Ὁ ἀναγινώσκων. This is probably a note added by some commentator. Let the reader mark this.

16. Ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη. A large number of the people fed to Pella, a small town on the other side of the Jordan, after the taking of the city.

17. Καταβαινέτω. This could be avoided by making use of the staircase outside the house, common in Eastern dwellings, which would be a speedier means of departure than through the house.

21. Οὐ μὴ, with the aorist subjunctive, is equivalent to a very strong negation in the future.

ΜΑΡΚ VI. 35-44.

35 Καὶ ἤδη ὥρας πολλῆς γενομένης, προσελθόντες αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ λέγουσιν, "Οτι ἔρημός ἐστιν ὁ τόπος, καὶ ἤδη ὥρα πολλή

36 ̓Απόλυσον αὐτοὺς, ἵνα ἀπελθόντες εἰς τοὺς κύκλῳ ἀγροὺς καὶ κώμας, ἀγοράσωσιν ἑαυτοῖς ἄρτους· τί γὰρ φάγωσιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν. 37 Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Δότε αὐτοῖς ὑμεῖς φαγεῖν. Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Απελθόντες ἀγοράσωμεν διακοσίων δηναρίων ἄρτους, καὶ δῶμεν αὐτοῖς φαγεῖν;

38 'Ο δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε; ὑπάγετε καὶ ἴδετε. Καὶ γνόντες λέγουσι, Πέντε, καὶ δύο ἰχθύας.

39 Καὶ ἐπέταξεν αὐτοῖς ἀνακλῖναι πάντας συμπόσια, συμπόσια ἐπὶ τῷ χλωρῷ χόρτῳ.

40 Καὶ ἀνέπεσον πρασιαὶ πρασιαὶ, ἀνὰ ἑκατὸν καὶ ἀνὰ πεντήκοντα. 41 Καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς πέντε ἄρτους καὶ τοὺς δύο ἰχθύας, αναβλέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, εὐλόγησε· καὶ κατέκλασε τοὺς ἄρτους, καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὑτοῦ, ἵνα παραθῶσιν αὐτοῖς· καὶ τοὺς δύο ἰχθύας ἐμέρισε πᾶσι.

42 Καὶ ἔφαγον πάντες, καὶ ἐχορτάσθησαν·

43 Καὶ ἦραν κλασμάτων δώδεκα κοφίνους πλήρεις, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἰχθύων.

44 Καὶ ἦσαν οἱ φαγόντες τοὺς ἄρτους ὡσεὶ πεντακισχίλιοι ἄνδρες.

NOTES.

35. 1δη-πολλῆς, had already become far advanced.

"Or is frequently used in New Testament Greek to introduce a speech reported in oratio rectami.e., in the speaker's actual words. It is not to be rendered in the translation.

36. Τοὺς κύκλῳ ἀγρούς. An elliptical construction for the surrounding | fields and villages.

Τί γάρ, used for ὁ τί.

37. Φαγεῖν. The infinitive is used here much as we have noticed it in previous passages. The more usual construction would be ó Tí or iva φάγωσιν.

39. Συμπόσια συμπόσια. Α Hebrew form of speech, equivalent to ἄνα συμπόσια. 80 πρασιαί πρασιαί in the following verse.

χλωρῷ, the green grass. This minute notice of detail would seem to show that the account was written from the description of an eyewitness.

40. Πρασια (for construction see note on verse 39). This word originally means a garden bed,, and was very likely suggested by the sight of these groups of people, probably in light-coloured clothing, grouped together in patches upon the green grass.

41. Εδίδου, he proceeded to give. Αὐτοῖς, sc. the multitude.

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, VI. 1—7.

1 Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις πληθυνόντων τῶν μαθητῶν, ἐγένετο γογγυσμός τῶν Ἑλληνιστῶν πρὸς τοὺς Ἑβραίους, ὅτι παρεθεωροῦντο ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ τῇ καθημερινῇ αἱ χῆραι αὐτῶν.

2 Προσκαλεσάμενοι δὲ οἱ δώδεκα τὸ πλῆθος τῶν μαθητῶν, εἶπον, Οὐκ ἀρεστόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς, καταλείψαντας τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, διακονεῖν τραπέζαις.

3 Επισκέψασθε οὖν, ἀδελφοὶ, ἄνδρας ἐξ ὑμῶν μαρτυρουμένους ἑπτὰ, πλήρεις Πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ σοφίας, οὓς καταστήσομεν ἐπὶ τῆς χρείας ταύτης·

4 Ἡμεῖς δὲ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ διακονίᾳ τοῦ λόγου προσκαρτε ρήσομεν.

5 Καὶ ἤρεσεν ὁ λόγος ἐνώπιον παντὸς τοῦ πλήθους· καὶ ἐξελέξαντο Στέφανον ἄνδρα πλήρη πίστεως καὶ Πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ Φίλιππον, καὶ Πρόχορον, καὶ Νικάνορα, καὶ Τίμωνα, καὶ Παρμενᾶν, καὶ Νικόλαον προσήλυτον ̓Αντιοχέα,

6 Οὓς ἔστησαν ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀποστόλων· καὶ προσευξάμενοι ἐπέθηκαν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας.

7 Καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ηὔξανε, καὶ ἐπληθύνετο ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν μαθητῶν ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ σφόδρα, πολύς τε ὄχλος τῶν ἱερέων ὑπήκουον τῇ πίστει.

NOTES.

1. Ελληνισταὶ were Grecian Jews who spoke Greek, and used the Greek version (Septuagint) of the Old Testament. Εβραίοι were those who spoke Hebrew, and used the Hebrew version. The distinction was not one necessarily of birth or locality, for St. Paul, & native of Tarsus, in Asia Minor, speaks of himself as 'Εβραίος ἐξ Εβραίων. 2. Τὸ πλῆθος, the general assembly.

Οὐκ ἀρεστόν (like the Latin non placet), it is not our pleasure. Διακονεῖν τραπέζαις. This may refer either (1) to distribution of food or (2) of money. The latter explanation is supported by the fact that τραπεζίτης is the Greek word for a banker; while, on the other hand, the fact that it was a daily distribution (καθημερινῇ) seems to favour the tormer.

3. Μαρτυρουμένους, as in the English version, of good report—acell reported of. This passive use of the verb is rare. Josephus, " Ant." iii. 5, Ιησούν μαρτυρούμενον ἐφ ̓ οἷς ἔπραξεν,

4. Τῇ προσευχῇ. The use of the article is believed by many to imply a fixed form of worship. 5. Ηρεσεν ἐνώπιον. A Greek Testament phrase taken from the Hebrew ; lit., was pleasant in the face of. Cf. the expression, “If I have

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found favour in thy sight."

It is to be noticed that all the names of those chosen are Greek.

Probably, therefore, they had all at least some Greek connection,

which would be a special qualification for their appointment.

sentence is changed. The form of laying on of hands by way of conse6. Προσευξάμενοι ἐπέθηκαν, sc. οἱ ἀποστόλοι. The subject of the gration is Arst mentioned in the case of Joshua (Numb. xxvii. 18). It is mentioned in Gen. xlviii. 14, but there only as a form of blessing. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, X. 34–41.

βάνομαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι προσωπολήπτης ὁ Θεὸς, 34 ̓Ανοίξας δὲ Πέτρος τὸ στόμα εἶπεν, Επ' ἀληθείας καταλαμ

δικαιοσύνην, δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστι. 35 ̓Αλλ ̓ ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούμενος αὐτὸν καὶ ἐργαζόμενος

36 Τὸν λόγον ὃν ἀπέστειλε τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ, εὐαγγελιζόμενος εἰρήνην διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὗτός ἐστι πάντων Κύριος,

37 Ὑμεῖς οἴδατε τὸ γενόμενον ῥῆμα καθ ̓ ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ἀρξάμενον ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας, μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα ὃ ἐκήρυξεν Ἰωάννης·

38 Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέτ, ὡς ἔχρισεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ δυνάμει, ὃς διῆλθεν εὐεργετῶν καὶ ἰώμενος πάντας τοὺς καταδυναστευομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἦν μετ ̓ αὐτοῦ· 39 Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν μάρτυρες πάντων ὧν ἐποίησεν ἔν τε τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ· ὃν ἀνεῖλον κρεμάσαντες ἐπὶ ξύλου.

40 Τοῦτον ὁ Θεὸς ἤγειρε τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὸν ἐμφανῆ γενέσθαι·

41 Οὐ παντὶ τῷ λαῷ, ἀλλὰ μάρτυσι τοῖς προκεχειροτονημένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡμῖν, οἵτινες συνεφάγομεν καὶ συνεπίομεν αὐτῷ, μετὰ τὸ ἀναστῆναι αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν.

NOTES.

A Hebrew expression, "God accepteth

34. Προσωπολήπτης, an acceptor of persons. implying a disregard of all outward appearances.

no man's person” (πρόσωπον οὐ λαμβάνει). Similarly, we find it said to Abraham, "See, I have accepted thee," where the literal translation of

43. Κοφίνους. This ordinary part of a Jew's equipment is noticed by the Hebrew is thy face. Juvenal, who speaks of36. Τὸν λόγον όν, etc. There are several ways of taking this passage, but the best appears to be to put a stop at Κύριος, and commence fresh sentence with ὑμεῖς οἴδατε. In that case, τὸν λόγον will refer to

66

‘Judæi, quorum cophinus foenumque supellex." (Whose goods consist of a basket and a wisp of hay.)

ENGLISH LITERATURE.

verse 35, being, in fact, governed by karadaμßávoμai, I perceive-the word—namely, that every one is accepted under the Christian dispensation who fears God and works righteousness. You know the story of the facts that happened-namely, the baptism and anointing of Christ. By this means we get rid of two great difficulties in the English version-(1) as a matter of fact, they did not know the teaching; (2) pñua and λóyos are there used for the same thing. pua is properly a recital of facts, and in that use our interpretation takes it.

37. Fadiλaías. It was from thence that his fame first spread. Cf. Luke iv. 14.

anointed him.

38. 'Ingouv. Ye know the subject of the pña-namely, Jesus-how God Kataduvastevoμévos, subdued. So that he is their duvárns, or tyrant. The same expression is used of bodily disease (Luke xiii. 16), and of spiritual bondage (2 Tim. ii. 26).

32. Kai nueis contrasts with iueis oidare, you know as matters of history, while we are witnesses of the facts.

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plenty of material for attack. Jonson's later days were clouded by poverty and ill health, and what to a strong and selfreliant nature, such as his, must have been not less painful than either of these, the consciousness of failing intellectual powers. He died in 1637.

Two of Jonson's plays are tragedies, "Sejanus" and "Catiline." They are founded upon, and follow with singular fidelity, the authentic and contemporary accounts of the lives and deaths of the two men whose names they bear. The subject in each case was one likely to attract the taste of Ben Jonson. The con

LESSONS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE.-XIII. tragedies are read, we think, by few people with much pleasure.

THE ELIZABETHAN PERIOD: THE DRAMATISTS.

BEN JONSON.

NEXT to Shakespeare in point of time among the greater Elizabethan dramatists, and next to him, perhaps, also in genius, stands Jonson, always called by himself and his contemporaries, as well as by posterity, by the abbreviated title, Ben Jonson. He was born in London in 1573. His family had a generation earlier been in prosperous circumstances, but he was born to great poverty. He was the posthumous son of a clergyman; but his mother married for her second husband a bricklayer, and Jonson in early youth was obliged to follow the employment of his stepfather. He afterwards served for some time as a soldier in the Low Countries. But while still young, like many another young man of his day, whose tastes and aspirations were above his fortune, he turned actor. From acting he advanced, as others did, to dramatic writing; and down to the time of his death, in 1637, his diligence as a play-writer was unceasing. Singularly unfavourable as the circumstances of his early life were for learning, Jonson's love of knowledge triumphed over them. His reading was wide and accurate, his acquaintance with classical authors very minute. He was beyond doubt one of the most learned men of a learned age.

Jonson had written several plays, some perhaps of those still in existence being among the number, but they had all proved failures; when in about 1596 the comedy of "Every Man in his Humour" was brought out at the Globe Theatre, and its success was so great as at once to establish its author's position in the very front rank of the dramatists. It is said, though the story rests upon no direct evidence, that Jonson owed the production of this play at the Globe to the good offices of Shakespeare, whose fame with the public and influence in the Globe Theatre were then at their height. It is very likely that this story may be true, and that either the incident may have been the beginning of the life-long friendship between the two dramatists, or that Shakespeare's conduct was prompted by a friendship already subsisting. Those, however, who have made very much of this circumstance, and so sought to exaggerate Jonson's obligations to Shakespeare, have omitted to observe that it was no extraordinary effort of friendship on Shakespeare's part to bring out at a theatre, in which he was very largely interested, a play of such surpassing merits as "Every Man in his Humour." The reputation thus established Jonson continually increased. Nor was it only as a dramatist that he was distinguished. In 1619 he became poet laureate, a post to which his poetical merits fully entitled him. And amongst those brilliant circles of wits and men of letters which became so famous in the Elizabethan period, Jonson's position was supreme.

Jonson's whole career shows us that the leading features of his character were strength of will, indomitable energy, and a proud self-reliance; and these high qualities were accompanied by a certain roughness and an outspoken freedom both in praise and blame. He certainly did not want the genuine kindness which secures friends, but was deficient in the geniality and tact which avoids or conciliates enemies; and he was constantly at war with some of his brother dramatists and poets. The very varied incidents of his career, and particularly the fact of his having at one time changed his creed and become a Roman Catholic, and afterwards re-joined the national Church, gave

spiracy of Catiline and the fall of Sejanus afford ample opportunity for the display of striking dramatic situations. They gave peculiar scope for Jonson's great power of noble and lofty eloquence. They enabled him to use his stores of classical learning; and the skill with which he has worked into his plays every expression, every hint almost, of the Latin historians and poets, and the completeness in every detail of the picture of Roman manners and customs, are extraordinary. Yet Jonson's They are stiff and lifeless, and the characters are unreal. We are interested in the story, the speeches, everything except the men and women themselves. Catiline and Sejanus themselves are both characters purely repulsive. Their fate and their fall excite our wonder, and perhaps a feeling of horror, never our sympathy or pity. Nor is this want of human interest in the principal story balanced by any strong pathos in any of the subsidiary incidents in the play. When Shakespeare made the leading character in his play the base and odious tyrant John, he supplied the missing element of tenderness and pity by introducing the pathetic story of Prince Arthur. In "Sejanus the one really pathetic incident of the whole play, the murder of the innocent children of Sejanus, and the grief of their brokenhearted mother, forms no part of the action of the play; it is simply related as a fact in an eloquent but not very appropriate speech, within a few lines of the end of the play.

Of far higher merit than these two tragedies are the comedies of Jonson. These are strongly contrasted in many respects with the comedies of Shakespeare and most of his contemporaries. Jonson's plots are always most carefully and skilfully elaborated, and they are, we believe, always of his own invention. He is never content to follow the usual course of his brother dramatists, and take the story of some Italian novel or earlier play, following the narrative of the original with only such alteration as is absolutely necessary for stage effect. And from this cause Jonson's comedies are peculiarly effective as plays, and carry on the interest of the reader to a remarkable degree. His style is always clear, manly, and vigorous; it is never vulgar or commonplace, seldom deficient in ease and simplicity, though, as compared with Shakespeare and many others among the dramatists, it has an air of deliberation about it. It is like a noble building erected by art, rather than a tree of spontaneous growth. His extensive learning furnished him with an inexhaustible store of words, phrases, and longer passages from the ancient writers, which he uses in general with admirable judgment. But now and then his learning has betrayed him into a fault. Thus when Knowel, the prudent and matter-of-fact merchant in "Every Man in his Humour," pours out an eloquent diatribe, borrowed from Juvenal, on the wickedness of the age, and especially on the vices of parents grown the corruptors instead of the protectors of their children, every one must be struck with the incongruity between this and the whole tone of society depicted in the play, and must feel that however true of Rome in the days of Domitian, it is not true of England in the days of Elizabeth. The morality of Jonson's plays is always pure. He is often coarse in expression; nothing can be much grosser than some of the language and some of the scenes in his best comedies-the "6 'Alchemist," for instance. But this is merely the coarseness of his times, when men did not hesitate to speak openly of things now left in silence. He never confuses the boundaries of right and wrong, and therefore is never really immoral.

One characteristic of Jonson's comedies must strike every reader, that though they are comic and humorous always, yet they are, above all, satirical. Except when they are broadly farcical, they are keen satires upon vice, upon hypocrisy, sensuality, avarice. And this, though, perhaps, owing partly to the somewhat severe cast of Jonson's mind, is still more, no doubt, connected with the defect in his dramatic genius to which we

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