Chapter LXXIII: Act 46: , Parl. 3, Act 106, Parl. 7, Act 24, Parl. 11, King James VI., do (49)

2. The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel, upon the Prophets, that is, upon Joshua, Judges, the two Books of Samuel, the two Books of Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets.

3. The Targum ascribed to Jonathan Ben Uzziel, upon the Law.

4. The Jerusalem Targum, upon the Law.

5. The Targum on the five lesser books, called the Megilloth, that is, Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah.

6. The second Targum upon Esther.

7. The Targum of Joseph the Blind, upon the Book of Job, the Psalms, and the Proverbs.

8. The Targum upon the First and Second Books of Chronicles.

Upon Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, there is no Targum at all. Indeed, a great part of Daniel and Ezra is written originally in Chaldee; and therefore there was no need of a Chaldee paraphrase upon them: but Nehemiah is written wholly in the Hebrew tongue, and no doubt anciently there were Chaldee paraphrases upon all the Hebrew parts of those books, though they are now lost.

The Targum of Onkelos is, without doubt, the most ancient that is now extant. He was certainly older than Jonathan Ben Uzziel, the author of the second Targum, who is supposed to have lived in our SAVIOUR’S time, and who could have no reason to omit the Law in his paraphrase, but that he found Onkelos had done this work with success before him. No Chaldee writing, now extant, comes nearer the style of what is written in that language by Daniel and Ezra, than the Targum of Onkelos, which is a good argument for its antiquity. It is rather a version than a paraphrase; for the Hebrew text is rendered word for word, and for the most part with great exactness.

The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel, upon the Prophets, is next to that of Onkelos in the purity of its style, but not in the manner of its composure; for Jonathan takes the liberty of a paraphrast, by enlarging and adding to the text, and by inserting several stories and glosses of his own, which are no reputation to the work. The Jews not only give him the preference to all the disciples of Hillel, but equal him even to Moses himself.

The Targum ascribed to Jonathan Ben Uzziel, upon the Law, is none of his, as appears by the style. Who was the true author of it, or when it was composed, is utterly unknown. It seems to have lain long in obscurity among the Jews themselves; for no notice was taken of it till it was published at Venice, about a hundred and fifty years since; and the name of Jonathan, it is probable, was prefixed to it for no other reason than to give it the more credit, and the better to recommend it by that specious title.

The Jerusalem Targum, upon the Law, was so called, because it was written in the Jerusalem dialect. There were three dialects of the Chaldean language. The first was spoken in Babylon, the metropolis of the Assyrian empire. The second was the Commagenian, or Antiochian, being that spoken in Commagena, Antioch, and the rest of Syria. The third was the Jerusalem dialect, which was spoken by the Jews after the captivity. The Babylonian and Jerusalem dialects were written in the same character; but the Antiochian was in a different, and is the same with what we call the Syriac. The purest style of the Jerusalem dialect is, first, in the Targum of Onkelos, and next, in that of Jonathan; but the Jerusalem Targum is written in a most barbarous style, intermixed with a great many foreign words, taken from the Greek, Latin, and Persian languages. This Targum is not a continued paraphrase, but only upon some parts here and there, as the author thought the text most wanted an explication; and sometimes whole chapters are omitted. It was written by an unknown hand, and probably some time after the third century.

The fifth Targum, which is that on the Megilloth, and the sixth, which is the second Targum on the book of Esther, are written in the corrupted Chaldee of the Jerusalem dialect; but the author of these is unknown. The seventh, which is upon Job, the Psalms, and the Prophets, is equally corrupt, and said to be written by Joseph the Blind, who is as unknown as the author of the other two. The second Targum on Esther is twice as large as the first, and seems to have been written the last of all the Targums, by reason of the barbarity of its style. There is also a third Targum on Esther. The first Targum upon Esther is a part of the Targum upon Megilloth, which makes mention of the Babylonish Talmud, and therefore must have been written after the year of CHRIST 500. The last Targum, upon the First and Second Books of Chronicles, was not known till the year 1680, when Beckius, from an old manuscript, published, at Augsburg in Germany, that part which is upon the First Book; the paraphrase upon the Second he published three years afterwards, at the same place.

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS. (“We praise Thee, O God,” &c.) This sublime composition has been referred to several different authors. Some have ascribed it to Ambrose and Augustine, others to Ambrose alone; others, again, to Abondius, Nicetius, bishop of Triers, or Hilary of Poictiers. In truth, it seems that there is no way of determining exactly who was the author of this hymn. Archbishop Usher found it ascribed to Nicetius, in a very ancient Gallican Psalter, and the Benedictine editors of the works of Hilary of Poictiers cite a fragment of a manuscript epistle of Abbo Floriacensis, in which Hilary is unhesitatingly spoken of as its author; but Abbo lived five or six centuries after that prelate, and therefore such a tradition is most doubtful. Some reasons, however, appear to justify the opinion, that Te Deum was composed in the Gallican Church, from which source we also derive the inestimable creed bearing the name of Athanasius. The most ancient allusions to its existence are found in the Rule of Cæsarius, bishop of Arles, who lived in the fifth century, and in that of his successor Aurelian. It has been judged from this, that the Te Deum may probably have been composed by some member of the celebrated monastery of Lerins, which was not far from Arles; or perhaps by Hilary of Arles, who seems to have composed the Athanasian Creed in the fifth century. Another presumption in favour of the same notion is deducible from the wording of this hymn. The verse, “Vouchsafe, O LORD, to keep us this day without sin,” (“Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire,”) gives reason to think that it was originally composed for the matin, and not for the nocturnal office, for it appears that the day is supposed to have actually commenced. Now Cæsarius and Aurelian both appoint Te Deum to be sung in the morning, while Benedict directed it to be sung in the nocturnal office on Sundays; and thence we may observe that the former appear to have adhered closer to the intentions of the author of this hymn than the latter: that therefore they were better acquainted with the author’s design than Benedict; and therefore the hymn was probably not composed in Italy, but in Gaul.

In the office of matins this hymn occupies the same place as it always has done, namely, after the reading of Scripture. The ancient offices of the English Church gave this hymn the title of the “Psalm Te Deum,” or the “Song of Ambrose and Augustine,” indifferently. As used in this place, it may be considered as a responsory psalm, since it follows a lesson; and here the practice of the Church of England resembles that directed by the Council of Laodicea, which decreed that the psalms and lessons should be read alternately.

In the Roman office it is only used on Sundays and certain festivals; but even on these omitted at certain seasons of the year. In the Church of England it is prescribed for daily use; but the _Benedicite_ may be substituted for it.

TEMPLARS, TEMPLERS, or KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE. A religious order instituted at Jerusalem, in the beginning of the twelfth century, for the defence of the holy sepulchre, and the protection of Christian pilgrims. They were first called _the Poor of the Holy City_, and afterwards assumed the appellation of _Templars_, because their house was near the temple. The order was founded by Baldwin II., then king of Jerusalem, with the concurrence of the pope; and the principal articles of their rule were, that they should hear the holy office throughout every day; or that, when their military duties should prevent this, they should supply it by a certain number of Paternosters; that they should abstain from flesh four days in the week, and on Friday from eggs and milk meats; that each knight might have three horses and one squire, and that they should neither hunt nor fowl. After the ruin of Jerusalem, about 1186, they spread themselves through Germany, and other countries of Europe, to which they were invited by the liberality of the Christians. In the year 1228, this order acquired stability by being confirmed in the Council of Troyes, and subjected to a rule of discipline drawn up by St. Bernard. In every nation they had a particular governor, called Master of the Temple, or of the Militia of the Temple. Their grand-master had his residence at Paris. The order of Templars flourished for some time, and acquired, by the valour of its knights, immense riches, and an eminent degree of military renown. But as their prosperity increased, their vices were multiplied; and their arrogance, luxury, and cruelty rose at last to such a great height, that the order was suppressed in 1312.

TEMPLE. In the Bible, this title generally refers to that house of prayer which Solomon built in Jerusalem, for the honour and worship of GOD. The name of temple is now properly used for any church or place of worship set apart for the service of Almighty GOD. Thus the services of the Church are frequently introduced by the words, “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” Here, by the word “temple,” allusion is made to the church in which we have met together to offer our prayers and praises to the MOST HIGH.

The church called the Temple Church in London, was built by the Knights-Templars in 1185: and the circular vestibule was built after the fashion of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem: as also the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Cambridge, and a few others.

TERMINATOR. A sort of master of the ceremonies in some of the cathedrals of Sicily.—_Pini’s Sicilia Sacra._

TERRIER. By Canon 87, the archbishops and all bishops within their several dioceses shall procure (as much as in them lies) a true note and terrier of all the glebes, lands, meadows, gardens, orchards, houses, stocks, implements, tenements, and portions of tithes lying out of their parishes, which belong to any parsonage, vicarage, or rural prebend, to be taken by the view of honest men in every parish, by the appointment of the bishop, whereof the minister to be one; and to be laid up in the bishop’s registry, there to be for a perpetual memory thereof. It may be convenient also to have a copy of the same exemplified, to be kept in the church chest.

These terriers are of greater authority in the ecclesiastical courts, than they are in the temporal; for the ecclesiastical courts are not allowed to be courts of record; and yet even in the temporal courts these terriers are of some weight, when duly attested by the registrar.

Especially if they be signed, not only by the parson and churchwardens, but also by the substantial inhabitants; but if they be signed by the parson only, they can be no evidence for him; so neither (as it seemeth) if they be signed only by the parson and churchwardens, if the churchwardens are of his nomination. But in all cases they are certainly strong evidence against the parson. (See _Burn_, _Eccl. Law_, under this head, for the form of a terrier, which is given at great length. It is, however, merely an inventory of the matters enumerated in the above-quoted canon.)

TERSANCTUS. The Latin title of the hymn in the liturgy, beginning “With Angels and Archangels,” &c. This celebrated anthem is probably the most ancient and universally received of all Christian songs of praise. Its position in the established liturgies has always been (as in the Prayer Book) a little antecedent to the prayer of consecration; and the hymn itself does not appear in any other office than that of the Communion. The antiquity of the _Tersanctus_, and its prevalence in the liturgies of the Eastern and Western Churches, naturally lead to the conclusion that it was derived from the apostolic age, if not from the apostles themselves. It is remarked by Palmer, that no liturgy can be traced to antiquity, in which the people did not unite with the invisible host of heaven in chanting these sublime praises of the Most High GOD. From the testimony of Chrysostom and Cyril of Jerusalem, we find that the seraphic hymn was used in the liturgy of Antioch and Jerusalem in the fourth century. The Apostolical Constitutions enable us to carry it back to the third century in the East. It is also spoken of by Gregory Nyssen, Cyril of Alexandria, Origen, Hilary of Poictiers, Isidore, and other Fathers, as having formed a part of the liturgy. In the liturgy of Milan it has been used from time immemorial, under the name of _Trisagion_; in Africa we learn from Tertullian, that it was customarily used in the second century. As has already been observed, (see _Preface_,) the preface ends just before the words “Holy, holy, holy:” and the congregation or choir ought not to audibly join their voices with the priest till this hymn begins.

TESTAMENT, THE OLD AND THE NEW. The title of the Old Testament is given to those books which the Hebrews received as sacred and inspired before the coming of our LORD, in order to distinguish them from those sacred books which contain the doctrines, precepts, and promises of the Christian religion, which are distinguished by the appellation of the New Testament. The appellation of _Testament_ is derived from 2 Cor. iii. 6, 14, in which place the word ἡ Παλαιὰ Διαθήκη and ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, are by the old Latin writers rendered _Antiquum Testamentum_ and _Novum Testamentum_. Although the appellation of New Testament is not given by Divine command to the writings of the evangelists and apostles, yet it was adopted in a very early age, (according to Bishop Marsh, in the second century). The title “New Covenant” signifies the book which contains the terms of the New Covenant, upon which GOD is pleased to offer salvation to mankind, through the mediation of JESUS CHRIST. But the word _Testament_ seems to have been preferred, as implying that the Christian’s redemption is sealed to him as a son and heir of GOD; and because the death of CHRIST as testator is related at large and applied to our benefit. (See _Canon of Scripture_, _Bible_, _Scripture_.)

TESTIMONIAL. A testimonial of good conduct from his college, or from three beneficed clergymen, required of every one that seeks to be admitted into holy orders, is among the safeguards which the Church has appointed for the purity of her ministry. The testimonial is directed to the bishop to whom application is made for orders, and is as follows:

“Whereas our well-beloved in CHRIST, A. B., hath declared to us his intention of offering himself as candidate for the sacred office of [a deacon], and for that end hath requested of us letters testimonial of his learning and good behaviour; we, therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do testify that the said A. B., having been previously known to us for the space of [three] years last past, hath during that time lived piously, soberly, and honestly, and diligently applied himself to his studies; nor hath he at any time, so far as we know or believe, held, written, or taught anything contrary to the doctrine or discipline of the united Church of England and Ireland: and, moreover, we believe him in our consciences to be a person worthy to be admitted to the sacred order of [deacons]. In witness whereof,” &c.

It is needless to add, that no conscientious man can sign such a document, without well weighing its terms, and the solemnity of the occasion on which it is required.

The apostle having laid it down as a standing canon in the Church, that “a bishop must be blameless, and have a good report of them that are without,” (1 Tim. iii. 2, 7,) thence the Church of GOD has, in all ages, taken especial care to require a sufficient satisfaction, that all persons who are to be admitted into that or any other inferior order of the clergy, have such a good report for a pious and virtuous conversation. This Tertullian mentions as a very singular honour of the Christian priesthood. In pursuance of which practice of the ancient Church, our Church of England has forbidden the bishop to admit any person into sacred orders, “except he shall then exhibit letters testimonial of his good life and conversation, under the seal of some college in Cambridge or Oxford, where before he remained, or of three or four grave ministers, together with the subscription and testimony of other credible persons, who have known his life and behaviour by the space of three years next before.”—_Can._ 33. The same is further provided for by our statute law: “None shall be made minister, unless he first bring to the bishop of that diocese, from men known to the bishop to be of sound religion, a testimonial both of his honest life, and of his professing the doctrine expressed in the said articles,” 13 Eliz. chap. xii.—_Dr. Nicholls._

Such as sign these testimonials have it put into their power to discover evil men, and commend only those that are worthy: wherefore, since so great a trust is reposed in them, they ought never to sign any testimonial which they know to be false; yea, which they do not know to be true; lest they become guilty of bearing false witness, and mislead the bishop, who cannot see all things with his own eyes, nor hear all with his own ears, and so must rely on others to direct his choice. And let him be ever so desirous to keep out wicked pastors, an hypocrite commended by eminent hands may deceive him; and then the dishonour of GOD and mischief to souls, which are the sad consequence of such misinformation, are to be charged only upon those who, for fear, favour, or negligence, signed the false certificate; who deserve a severe punishment in this world, if our law did allow it: however, they shall certainly answer for it in the next world. And I heard a most reverend and worthy prelate (Archbishop Dolben) charge his clergy, “not to impose upon him by signing testimonials which they did not know to be true, as they would answer it to him at the dreadful day of judgment.” Which being duly considered will, I hope, prevent that evil custom of giving men’s hands, out of custom or compliment, to mere strangers, or to oblige a friend that we know doth not deserve it.—_Dean Comber._

A sham testimonial of life and manners, doth not only deceive the bishop in a point of the nicest concernment, both with regard to his office and his reputation, but does an injury to the Church itself, and affects the interests and credit of the ministry at large. And therefore, to attest worthy characters of unworthy persons, in order to bring them into a situation where they may expose themselves and their functions, do public mischief, and give open scandal, is destitute of any justifiable pretence; and I wish I could add it were equally destitute of any precedent.

I must acknowledge that human respects, and solicitations of acquaintance, and other mere social regards, are great temptations with people of kind dispositions, to too easy a compliance in granting this favour; and such persons may be sometimes drawn into the signing of testimonials, when their judgment doth not concur with their good nature. I am loth to blame any friendly or neighbourly qualities, yet sometimes they do deserve blame, as in this case in particular; where they are the occasions of a mischief which much better qualities cannot repair, or make sufficient amends for.—_Archdeacon Sharp._

TEXT. The letter of the sacred Scriptures, more especially in the original languages. In a more limited sense, the word _text_ is used for any short sentence out of the Scripture, quoted in proof of a dogmatic position,—as an auctoritee, as it was formerly called,—or taken as the subject or motto of a discourse from the pulpit. Thus Chaucer has—

“He needeth not to speken but of game,
And let _auctorites_ in GODDES name
To preching, and to scole eke of clergie.”

And so a sermon is called “_Expositio auctoritatis_.”

The custom of taking a text for a sermon is probably coeval with that of preaching set discourses; and it is needless to remark, that the use of texts as authority in doctrinal points is of the very essence of true theology, and was ever the custom even of those who, professing the name of _Christians_, denied the truth of CHRIST. Even the most abominable and shameless heretics quoted Scripture for their worst tenets. A simple Christian, therefore, may well be on his guard against receiving everything for which a text is quoted, remembering that the “inspired writings are an inestimable treasure to mankind, for so many sentences, so many truths. But then the true sense of them must be known; otherwise, so many sentences, so many authorized falsehoods.”

THANKSGIVING. Giving of thanks is an essential part of Divine worship, as St. Paul expressly declares to St. Timothy, (1 Tim. ii. 1,) and has ever formed a part of the service both of Jews and Christians. In our own Book of Common Prayer there are many forms of thanksgiving, particular and general: as especially the general thanksgiving, which was added (being composed, as is conjectured, by Bishop Sanderson) at the last review, and appointed for daily use; and the eucharistic hymn, always used in the holy communion, sometimes with an appropriate preface, and introduced with the versicles,

“Let us give thanks unto our LORD GOD.

“It is meet and right so to do.

“It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks,” &c.

But there are, besides, particular thanksgivings appointed for deliverance from drought, rain, famine, war, tumult, and pestilence; and there is an entire service of thanksgiving for women after child-birth, (see _Churching of Women_,) and certain days on which we commemorate great deliverances of our Church and nation, are marked also with a solemn service of thanksgiving. (See _Forms of Prayer_.)

THANKSGIVING, THE GENERAL. The general thanksgiving may perhaps, to some, appear superfluous, after we have thanked and praised GOD in the use of the psalms and hymns. But it was inserted at the Restoration, because others complained it was wanting.—_Abp. Secker._

After the general intercession, there follows likewise a general thanksgiving. For though in the psalms and hymns after the lessons, with the several doxologies interspersed, we have everywhere “set forth GOD’S most worthy praise,” yet it seemed meet also, in a distinct and appropriate form of thanksgiving, “to render thanks for the great benefits we have received at his hands,” which, according to the first exhortation, we therefore do, beginning with that original blessing, “our creation,” then “preservation,” attended with all these secondary benefits and “blessings of life,” “but above all,” because the greatest of all, “our redemption,” attended with all “the means of grace and hope of glory,” thus ascending gradually through the long scale of blessings received at GOD’S hand, from temporal to spiritual, from the first to the last, from our coming forth to our returning to him again.—_Dr. Bisse._

Indeed, this is a more methodical summary of the several mercies of GOD “to us and to all men,” than we had before: it furnishes an opportunity of thanking him more expressly for the late instances of his loving-kindness to the members of our own congregation; and besides, as we cannot be too thankful to GOD, the acknowledgments, which we offered up at the beginning of the service, are very properly repeated at the end. For surely we ought to ask nothing of GOD, without remembering what we have received from him: which naturally excites both our faith and resignation, and prepares the way for that admirable collect, with which we conclude.—_Abp. Secker._

After enumerating the blessings for which we return our humble and hearty thanks, the form from eucharistic becomes petitionary. We beseech GOD to make us truly sensible of his mercies, and really thankful for them, that we may show our gratitude, and promote his glory, not only by celebrating his praises day by day in the public assemblies of the Church, but by walking in the paths of holiness and righteousness all our lives. These petitions we enforce through the merits of JESUS CHRIST; and we conclude the whole with a doxology, in which we ascribe to the SON, with the FATHER and the HOLY GHOST, all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.—_Shepherd._

THEOLOGAL. An officer in some foreign cathedrals, generally a canon, often a dignitary, whose business it was to profess theology.

THEOLOGY, (From Θεὸς, _God_, and λόγος, _a discourse_.) A discourse concerning GOD, it being the business of this science to treat of the Deity. The heathens had their theologues or divines, as well as the Christians; and Eusebius and Augustine distinguished the theology of the heathens into three sorts: first, the fabulous and poetical; secondly, natural, which was explained by philosophy and physics; the third was political or civil, which last consisted chiefly in the solemn service of the gods, and in the belief which they had in oracles and divinations, together with the ceremonies wherewith their worship was performed.

Divinity among the Christians is divided into positive and scholastical; the first being founded upon fact and institution, having the Scriptures, councils, and Fathers for its bottom and foundation, and, properly speaking, this is true divinity: the other, called scholastical, is principally supported by reason, which is made use of to show, that the Christian theology contains nothing inconsistent with natural light; and with this view it is that Thomas Aquinas makes use of the authority of philosophers, and arguments from natural reason, because he was engaged with philosophers, who attacked the Christian religion with arguments from those topics.

THEOPHORI. (Θεὸς and φέρω.) See _Christophori_.

THOMAS’S, ST., DAY. A festival of the Christian Church observed on the 21st of December, in commemoration of St. Thomas the apostle.

THOMAS, ST., CHRISTIANS OF, who are of the Chaldæan and Nestorian sect, notwithstanding the several attempts made to reform them, remain firm to their ancient customs, and if they sometimes comply with the Popish missionaries, it is but in outward appearance: when they are desired to submit to the Church of Rome, they answer, that as St. Peter was chief of that Church, so St. Thomas was head of theirs, and both Churches were independent one of another, and they stand stedfast in acknowledging the patriarch of Babylon, without minding the pope: they hold, as Moreri relates, Nestorius’s opinion, receive no images, and do not much reverence the cross. They hold that the souls of saints do not see GOD before the day of judgment. They allow three sacraments, viz. baptism, orders, and the eucharist: but even in these they do not agree, there being several forms of baptism in the same Church: they abhor auricular confession; and for their consecration make use of small cakes, made with oil and salt; the wine they use is nothing but water in which they steep raisins: they observe no age for orders, but make priests at seven, eighteen, twenty, &c., who may marry as often as their wives die. They administer no sacrament without their fees or reward, and, as for marriage, they make use of the first priest they meet with. They have all an extraordinary respect for the patriarch of Babylon, chief of the Nestorians, and cannot abide to hear the pope named in their churches, where, for the most part, they neither have curate nor vicar, but the eldest presides: it is true they go to mass on Sundays, not that they think themselves obliged in conscience to do so, or that they would sin mortally if they did not. Their children, unless it be in case of sickness, are not baptized till the fiftieth day. At the death of friends, the kindred and relations keep an eight days’ fast in memory of the deceased: they observe the times of Advent and Lent, the festivals of our LORD, and many of the saints’ days, those especially that relate to St. Thomas, the Dominica in Albis, or Sunday after Easter, in memory of the famous confession which St. Thomas on that day made of CHRIST, after he had been sensibly cured of his unbelief; another on the 1st of June, celebrated not only by Christians, but by Moors and Pagans. The people who come to his sepulchre on pilgrimage, carry away a little of the red earth of the place where he was interred, which they keep as an inestimable treasure, and believe it to be a sovereign remedy against diseases: their priests are shaven in fashion of a cross; but Simon does not charge them with so many errors as Meneses does, from whom this account is taken.

THRONE. The bishop’s principal seat in his cathedral. At St. Paul’s the bishop has two thrones; that at the end of the stalls probably representing the episcopal throne, properly so called, which he assumed at the more solemn part of the service; that more westerly his ordinary seat, or stall. In old times the bishop of London often occupied the stall usually assigned to the dean, as is still the custom at Ely and Carlisle. The bishop’s throne in the ancient basilicas and churches was at the apex of the apsis, a semicircle behind the altar. The marble chair of the archbishop at Canterbury, in which he is enthroned, formerly occupied a place behind the altar; a remnant of the old arrangement, as appears from Darl’s Canterbury. The cumbrous pew occupied by the doctors and university officers at St. Mary’s, Cambridge, is called the throne.

THUNDERING LEGION. (See _Legion_.)

THURIFICATI. In times of persecution Christians who were brought to be examined before the heathen tribunal, were permitted to escape punishment by casting frankincense on an altar dedicated to an idol. This was of course an act of idolatry, and amounted to open and unreserved apostasy: some however there were who were betrayed into this act by present fear, rather than a real wish to deny CHRIST, and who sought afterwards, by a rigid penance, the peace of the Church. These were called _Thurificati_. (See _Libellatici_ and _Sacrificati_.)

TIARA. The name of the pope’s triple crown. The tiara and keys are the badges of the papal dignity, the tiara of his civil rank, and the keys of his jurisdiction; for as soon as the pope is dead, his arms are represented with the tiara alone, without the keys. The ancient tiara was a round high cap. John XIII. first encompassed it with a crown; Boniface VIII. added a second crown; and Benedict XIII. a third.

TILES. The use of ornamented tiles in churches is at least as old as the Norman æra, and was never discontinued till the fall of Gothic art. A very valuable paper on the arrangement of tiles, by Lord Alwyne Compton, will be found in the first number of the collected papers of the Northamptonshire and other architectural societies.

TIPPET. In the 74th canon, in which decency in apparel is enjoined to ministers, it is appointed that “All deans, masters of colleges, archdeacons, and prebendaries, in cathedral and collegiate churches, (being priests or deacons,) doctors in divinity, law, and physic, bachelors in divinity, masters of arts, and bachelors of law, having any ecclesiastical living, shall usually wear gowns with standing collars and sleeves straight at the hands, or wide sleeves, as is used at the universities, with hoods or _tippets_ of silk or sarsenet, and square caps.” And that all other ministers admitted, or to be admitted, into that function shall also usually wear the like apparel as is aforesaid, except tippets only. (See “The Tippets of the Canons Ecclesiastical,” by G. I. French, London, 1850.) And in the 58th canon: “It shall be lawful for such ministers as are not graduates to wear upon their surplices, instead of hoods, some decent _tippet_ of black, so it be not silk.” See Mr. Gilbert French’s ingenious treatise on the Tippets of the Canons Ecclesiastical: from which it would appear that the present black scarf worn by some of the English clergy represents three things: 1. The stole; 2. the chaplain’s scarf; 3. the choir tippet. The chaplain’s scarf is a remnant of the ancient badges, or liveries, worn by the members of noblemen’s households, their chaplains included. The choir tippet grew out of the ancient almutium, or amice, that is, a vesture which covered the shoulders, and included the hood: the _liripipium_, or pendent part of the hood, sometimes hanging singly behind, (as in our modern hoods,) sometimes in duplicate before, like the scarf. In process of time the hood became separated from this pendent part in front, and hence the choir tippet. It is certain that the tippet so called, often made of sables or furs, was worn in the form of the scarf, by dignitaries of the Church and State for many ages in England. The _scarf_ has been called a _tippet_ immemorially in Ireland, and within memory in many parts of England. The law of the Church therefore seems to be this, that all ecclesiastics (whether priests _or deacons_) being prebendaries or of higher rank in cathedral and collegiate churches, and all priests _or deacons_ being Masters of Arts or of higher degree, may wear either hoods or _tippets of silk_: and _all_ non-graduate ministers (whether priests _or deacons_) may not wear hoods, but only _tippets_ not of silk. Whence the tippet is to be worn by all clergymen. The 58th canon however is explicit as to the use of hoods by graduates. By the constant usage of cathedrals, both hood and scarf are worn by all capitular graduates.—_Jebb._

TITHES, in the religious application of the phrase, is a certain portion, or allotment, for the maintenance of the priesthood, being the tenth part of the produce of land, cattle, or other branches of wealth. It is an income, or revenue, common both to the Jewish and Christian priesthood.

The priests among the Jews had no share allowed them in the division of the land, that they might attend wholly upon Divine service, and not have their thoughts diverted by the business of tillage, or feeding cattle, or any other secular employment. Their maintenance arose chiefly from the first-fruits, offerings, and tithes.

The ancient Christians, it is generally thought, held the _Divine right of tithes_, that is, that the payment of tithes was not merely a ceremonial or political command, but of moral and perpetual obligation; though Bellarmine, Selden, and others place them upon another foot. St. Jerome says expressly, that the law about tithes (to which he adds first-fruits) was to be understood to continue in its full force in the Christian Church. And both Origen and St. Augustine confirm the same opinion.

But why, then, were not tithes exacted by the apostles at first, or by the fathers in the ages immediately following? For it is generally agreed, that tithes were not the original maintenance of ministers under the gospel. It is answered, first, that tithes were paid to the priests and Levites, in the time of CHRIST and his apostles; and the synagogue must be buried, before these things could be orderly brought into use in the Church. Secondly, in the times of the New Testament, there was an extraordinary maintenance, by a community of all things; which supplied the want of tithes. Thirdly, paying tithes, as the circumstances of the Church then stood, could not conveniently be practised; for this requires that some whole state or kingdom profess Christianity, and the Church be under the protection of the magistrates; which was not the case in the apostolical times. Besides, the inhabitants of the country, from whom the tithes of fruits must come, were the latest converts to Christianity.

The common opinion is, that tithes began first to be generally settled upon the Church in the fourth century, when the magistrates protected the Church, and the empire was generally converted from heathenism. Some think Constantine settled them by a law upon the Church; but there is no law of that emperor’s now extant, that makes express mention of any such thing. However, it is certain tithes were paid to the Church before the end of the fourth century, as Mr. Selden has proved out of Cassian, Eugippius, and others. The reader may see this whole matter historically deduced, through many centuries, by that learned author.

The custom of paying tithes, or offering a tenth of what a man enjoys, is not so peculiar to the Jewish and Christian law, but that we find some traces of it even among the heathens. Xenophon has preserved an inscription upon a column near a temple of Diana, whereby the people were admonished to offer the tenth part of their revenues every year to the goddess. And Festus assures us, the ancients gave tithe of everything to their gods.

Before the promulgation of the law, Abraham set the example of paying tithes, in giving the tenth of the spoils to Melchisedech, king of Salem, at his return from his expedition against Chedorlaomer and the four confederate kings. And Jacob imitated the piety of his grandfather in this respect, when he vowed to the LORD the tithe of all the substance he might acquire in Mesopotamia. (See _Revenues, Ecclesiastical_.)

TITLE. (See _Orders_.) Canon 33. “It has been long since provided by many decrees of the ancient Fathers, that none should be admitted, either deacon or priest, who had not first some certain place where he might use his function: according to which examples we do ordain, that henceforth no person shall be admitted into sacred orders, except (1.) he shall at that time exhibit to the bishop, of whom he desireth imposition of hands, a presentation of himself to some ecclesiastical preferment then void in the diocese; or (2.) shall bring to the said bishop a true and undoubted certificate, that either he is provided of some church within the said diocese where he may attend the cure of souls, or (3.) of some minister’s place vacant either in the cathedral church of that diocese, or in some other collegiate church therein also situate, where he may execute his ministry; or (4.) that he is a fellow, or in right as a fellow, or (5.) to be a conduct or chaplain in some college in Cambridge or Oxford; or (6.) except he be a Master of Arts of five years’ standing, that liveth of his own charge in either of the universities; or (7.) except by the bishop himself that doth ordain him minister, he be shortly after to be admitted either to some benefice or curateship then void. And if any bishop shall admit any person into the ministry that hath none of these titles, as is aforesaid, then he shall keep and maintain him with all things necessary, till he do prefer him to some ecclesiastical living; and if the said bishop refuse so to do, he shall be suspended by the archbishop, being assisted with another bishop, from giving of orders by the space of a year.” The same rules apply to the Irish portion of the united Church.

TOBIT, THE BOOK OF. An apocryphal book of Scripture, so called. Tobit, whose history is related therein, was of the tribe of Nephthali, and one of those whom Salmanassar, king of Assyria, carried away captive, when he took Samaria, and destroyed the kingdom of Israel. This happened in the fourth year of the reign of Hoshea, king of Israel, and the sixth of Hezekiah, king of Judah. The tribe of Nephthali was indeed carried away before by Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria; but this was not a general captivity, there being several still left behind.

The Book of Tobit was written in Chaldee, by some Babylonian Jew, and seems, in its original draught, to have been the memoirs of the family to which it relates, first begun by Tobit, then continued by Tobias, and finished by some other of the family; and afterward digested by the Chaldee author into that form in which we now have it. It was translated out of the Chaldee into Latin by St. Jerome, and his translation is that which we have in the Vulgar Latin edition of the Bible. But there is a Greek version much ancienter than this, from which was made the Syriac version, and also that which we have in English among the apocryphal writers, in our Bible. But the Chaldee original is not now extant. The Hebrew copies of this book, as well as of that of Judith, seem to be of a modern composition. It being easier to settle the chronology of this book than that of the Book of Judith, it has met with much less opposition from learned men, and is generally looked upon, both by Jews and Christians, as a genuine and true history; though, as to some matters in it, (particularly that of the angel’s accompanying Tobias, in a long journey, under the shape of Azarias, the story of Raguel’s daughter, the frightening away of the devil by the smoke of the heart and liver of a fish, and the curing of Tobit’s blindness by the gall of the same fish,) it is much less reconcilable to a rational credibility. These things look more like poetical fictions than the writings of a sacred historian, and afford an objection against this book, which does not lie against the other.

This book is very instructive, full of religious and pious thoughts, and written in a plain, natural, and easy style. Tobit lived an hundred and two years; lost his sight at fifty-six years of age, and recovered it in the sixtieth. Before his death, he foretold the destruction of Nineveh, which happened under Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus, that is, under Astyages and Nabopalasar.

TOLERATION. Johnson defines this word as “the allowance given to that which is not approved.” The Church, as the depository and dispenser of religious truth, cannot bring within the range of its theory the allowance of that which it holds to be error. The Church of England holds (see _Art._ VI.) that it is not to be required of any man, that anything should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation, which is not read in Holy Scripture, nor may be proved thereby. But if any man profess what is clean contrary to that which the Church has laid down as an article of the faith, then, in the Church’s view, he professes what is contrary to the Scripture, and there can be no warrant for allowing that which is contrary to the Scripture. The Church, however, while refusing any allowance to error, may refrain from denunciation and persecution of those who profess and maintain erroneous doctrines; and in this respect the Church of England is conspicuously more charitable than the Church of Rome: that Church, which dares not venture to say that she requires nothing to be believed but that which may be found in Holy Scripture, or may be proved thereby, nevertheless, wherever she has the power, punishes those who refuse assent to her theories, and makes them personally answerable for the heterodoxy of their principles. Such is not the practice of the Church of England.

The State or political government in England, admits toleration, in the sense of the word as defined by Johnson. Although the Church is united with the State, and the State must be held to approve of the doctrines of the Church, yet it allows, and to a certain extent supports, religious teaching which the Church holds to be erroneous. Whether this be done upon the principle that the State does not hold itself competent to decide between truth and error in religion, but acts merely as the head of a community, in which a variety of conflicting doctrines are maintained, or whether it be done upon the ground of expediency, or what Dr. Paley calls “general utility,” (see his “Moral Philosophy,” book vi. ch. x.,) it is not necessary here to inquire.

Previously to the year 1688, the statute law (see 35 Eliz. and 22 Car. II. c. 1) forbade the public exercise of other religions than that of the Church of England. But the statute of 1 W.& M. c. 18, commonly called the Toleration Act, recognised and admitted the public profession of the religion of Protestant Dissenters, (except those who denied the doctrine of the TRINITY,) while it confirmed all the severities, then upon the statute book, against the religion of Papists. This act, however, did not relieve Dissenters from the operation of the Corporation Act, 13 Car. II. c. 1, nor from that of the Test Act, 25 Car. II. c. 2. These acts, which made it necessary that all members of the corporations of towns, and all persons holding office under the Crown, should receive the sacrament of the LORD’S supper according to the usage of the Church of England, continued in force until the year 1828, when they were repealed by the 9 Geo. IV. c. 17.

By the Toleration Act of 1 W. & M. c. 18, it was provided, that no law or statute of the realm, made against Papists or Popish recusants, should extend to persons dissenting from the Church of England, who should take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and make and subscribe the declaration against Popery.