Chapter V: Part II: The Song of the Three Holy Children (2)

Considerable talent and art in devotional composition are manifested in confession, petition, and praise--talent and art of which the Christian Church has widely availed herself from a very early period. The tone of Azarias' prayer is not discordant with Daniel's description of his own prayer in ix. 20, nor with the prayer itself immediately preceding that verse, either in sentiment or phraseology. They may well have come from the same editor, whether the prime author of the whole book or not. Verse 16 (39) apparently contains phrases culled from Pss. xxxiv. 18, li. 17. M. Parker on Deut. xxviii. 56 (_Bibliotheca Biblica_, Oxf. 1735) thinks that the declaration of the three in v. 9 (32) corresponds with Deut. xxviii. 49, 50, being in fact a public acknowledgment that national impiety had brought upon them the distress in which they were at present involved. If so, it shews knowledge of the law on their part. But the connection is one solely of idea, and not of phraseology. There is a strong connection in phraseology, however, between v. 27 and Deut. xxxii. 4 in LXX. In any case the religious tone of the whole production is not inconsistent with what we might have expected.

SOCIAL.

The nature of this piece does not afford much scope for the display of the social condition of Babylon and its inhabitants. It is to be expected therefore that it will shew us far less of these matters than either Susanna or Bel and the Dragon. But so far as it gives any indications, it is in accord with the canonical Daniel, and with what we know from other sources of the customs of the country. Evidently Israel was in a state of subjection to the Babylonian king, who ordered idolatry to be practised by captives and natives alike. It is shewn by v. 9 (32) _sqq._ that the former smarted under his tyranny, and appealed to God for redress, like their forefathers in Egyptian bondage.

The punishment of burning, on which the whole story turns, is quite Babylonian. Jer. xxix. 22 is another instance, so that there is no lack of _vraisemblance_ in its introduction here. (_See_ Hastings' _D.B._ art. _Crimes and Punishments_, I. 523, for other instances). It has been thought (Smith's _D.B._ ed. 2 art. _Furnace_, I. 1092b) that this furnace in Daniel is alluded to by our Lord in St. Matt. xiii. 42, 50; but how opposite on this occasion are the consequences of being cast into it! Here prayer and praise from the righteous, there weeping and gnashing from the wicked. The allusion must be considered a very doubtful one.

The subservience of the king's servants[24] in performing their cruel work, and the absence of a protesting voice or of a helping hand from any quarter, is very characteristic of the results of Eastern despotism. All, except the three martyrs, were afraid of Nebuchadnezzar, whose murderous rage under contradiction is of a piece in both the Chaldee and the Greek portions of the chapter. No one else on this occasion dared to disobey his decree, and there is no sign of anyone venturing so much as to intercede for the Jewish victims.

In such small glimpses as are given, in this extension of chap. iii., of the social state of Babylonia there is nothing clearly indicating that the interpolation (if such it be) is of an unhistoric or untrustworthy character, nothing wholly irreconcilable with the rest of the book. Indeed the author (W.T. Bullock) of the note on Daniel iii. 23 in the S.P.C.K. _Commentary_ goes so far as to write of "that noble canticle _Benedicite_," as an "historical document." This expression may require qualification, but it is not beyond the bounds of possible fact.

THEOLOGY.

The theology appears to be of a perfectly orthodox character, quite what might have been expected from the three children; nor is it inconsistent with that contained in the rest of the book of Daniel. The exile had not now contaminated the Jewish religion, but had rather purged it of its corruptions, and eradicated in particular the fatal tendency to "serve other gods." Such sins are thoroughly confessed by Azarias in a style not without resemblance to Daniel's confession. (_Cf._ v. 6 (29) with ix. 5 in both versions; also Esther xiv. 6, 7.)

The God of their fathers is He alone to whom prayers and praises are to be addressed. He is regarded as the Lord of all creation, both as a whole and in its specific parts. He is looked up to to make good the old promises (13), being full of mercy (19), as well as of power and glory (20, 22, 68). He is a king (33), just (4), and gracious (67), with an ear open to the addresses of his people. The righteousness of even His heavy judgements is acknowledged in the prayer; and the hymn throughout shews that the gratitude of man is plainly deemed acceptable to Him.

As to the question of praise being called for from inanimate things or irrational beings, we must remember that though unfitted, so far as we understand them, for conscious praise, their creation, maintenance, and usefulness give evidence of God's greatness and goodness. As Cornelius à Lapide notes on v. 35 (57) "Inanimes creaturæ benedicunt Deum creatorem suum, non ore sed opere, ait S. Hieronymus," giving, however, no reference to the passage in Jerome. Ps. civ. 4 and Heb. i. 7 afford some helpful clues to the operations of Nature in this connection. Man is treated by our author as the interpreter of Nature, with a right, as made in the image of God, to call upon it to glorify its Maker. He offers vocal praise on its hehalf as well as on his own; though things without life praise God silently, by fulfilling the parts for which He made them. A somewhat similar idea of the elevating influence exerted by natural beings may be discerned in the second of the _New sayings of Jesus_ as restored by Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt (Lond. 1904, p. 15). And Addison fitly writes (_Spect._ No. 393), "The cheerfulness of heart which springs up in us from the survey of Nature's works, is an admirable preparation for gratitude "(_cf._ 'Early Christian Literature and Art,' _s.v._ 'Hippolytus').

Azarias desires that the rescue of the party may redound to the knowledge among all men of the sole deity of Jehovah (22)--a petition for the conversion of the Gentiles. The phrase in the last verse of the Song, θεὸς τῶν θεῶν, might be taken as an admission of the existence of other gods over whom Jehovah was supreme. But clearly this is not so intended, as may be proved from the use of the phrase in Deut. x. 17, Pss. xlix. I (LXX), cxxxvi. 2. Yet it is not unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar used the phrase in this acceptation in ii. 47. The other occasion, however, on which it is used in Daniel (xi. 36), allows it to be taken only in an orthodox sense; nor is any other likely in the mouth of Azarias, who resisted to the utmost the command to sin by idolatry. It is observable that Azarias omits the clause "in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. xxii. 18, xxvi. 4) from his quotation of the patriarchal promise. This might arise from dislike to the nations, who had conquered Israel; but on the other hand, the gist of it is contained in his concluding petition in v. 22.

The objection that Ananias, Azarias, and Misael are invoked as saints (which probably caused the omission in 1789 of v. 66 (88) from the American P.B.) is sufficiently answered by pointing out that the Song is praise, not prayer; and that these three do not stand on a different footing in this respect from the other objects apostrophized. Moreover, a highly poetical composition of this kind is not to be too literally interpreted. As Liddon remarks in his _Elements of Religion_ (Lond. 1892, p. 182), "The apostrophes of the Psalms and Benedicite are really acts of praise to God, of which his creatures furnish the occasion;" and Addison again (_Spect._ No. 327), "Invocations of this nature fill the mind with glorious ideas of God's works." v. 43 (65) is oddly applied by Archdeacon Frank, _Serm._ XLII. to Pentecost (Oxf. 1849, II. 254).

Belief is plainly shewn in an angelic ministry, sent down to help God's suffering servants, and endued with miraculous powers. The angel comes, too, after their humble confession and prayer for rescue (vv. 43--45), and before their song of praise. The very propriety however of this arrangement, from a theological point of view, induces Rothstein to deem the prayer a subsequent introduction, in order to supply the want of request for deliverance before praise for its accomplishment; and he thinks that the opening in the narrative for the insertion of the prayer (between vv. 23 and 46) was not, in the Ο´, very deftly effected (Kautzsch, I. 175, 181).

The natural and the supernatural, without any incongruity, are blended as being all under one control, all subserving the same great ends, as in the Hebrew Bible. But there is no increase of the miraculous element beyond that in chapter iii., in which this piece is inserted; and at a later age increase would have been highly probable. What essential difference is there to be found between the miracles of the Chaldee and of the Greek Daniel? Surely none.

A typical resemblance was discerned by St. Antony of Padua (_Moral Concordances_, ed. Neale, p. 123), between v. 26 (44) and the Annunciation, but this will be regarded by many minds as a very fanciful theological discovery, and one surely not in the purview of the composer of the passage.

CHRONOLOGY.

There is but little in the way of chronological indication in this addition; considerably less than in the other two, and what there is, is indirectly brought in.

A time after the Captivity is evidently pointed to in vv. 26, 32, 37, 38. Jerusalem was lying under a heavy visitation, the people delivered over to the enemy, almost denationalized, and deprived of the sacrificial worship to which they had been accustomed. Yet this position of affairs is spoken of as if it were not one of very long standing. (_Cf._ the use of νῦν in vv. 31, 33, 42, though in the last of these instances its use may not perhaps be temporal.)

It has been objected, quite unnecessarily, that v. 38 is inconsistent with v. 53, the one implying the destruction of the temple, the other recognizing its existence; v. 84, too, may be taken as supposing priests to be still capable of performing their offices. It is even possible that the corrections of Cod. A in v. 38 may have had behind them some idea of softening a discrepancy. This supposed lack of consistency has been taken as an indication of double authorship of the Prayer and the Song; and of course, if the Prayer were a later interpolation than the Song, even the appearance of contemporary inconsistency is avoided. But if we were to decline this hypothesis, and take Prayer and Song as from the same pen, there is still no real difficulty; for v. 38 is thinking of the earthly temple, v. 53 of the heavenly. Grotius (_Critici Sacri_), apparently accepting the statements of v. 38 as correct, writes: "Harum rerum penuria animos venture Evangelio præparabit."

Another chronological difficulty, that of "no prophet,"[25] in the same verse (38) has even been offered as a 'proof' of non-canonicity (Cloquet, _Articles_, p. 113). So T.H. Horne in Vol. IV. of his _Introduction_, quoted by A. Barnes on Daniel (I. 81), says that "v. 15 (38) contains a direct falsehood"; and in Vol. II. 937 of his _Introduction_ (ed. 1852), he asserts that the author "slipped in the part he assumed." More just is his observation that "Theodotion does not appear to have marked the discrepancy." Ball, too, joins in the condemnation, by expressing an opinion that the writer had "lost his cue" (_Introd. to Song_, p. 308); and Reuss, "Hier verrät sich der Verfasser" (_O.T._, Brunswick, 1894, VII. 166). It has been suggested (J.H. Blunt _in loc._) that Ezekiel, who was both priest and prophet, had just finished his utterances, while Daniel, if he had commenced his, would, out of modesty, not reckon himself. The same commentator also attempts, still less successfully, to overcome the difficulty of "no prince." Probably, however, this merely means that no monarch was actually reigning, and that Jewish rulers were themselves ruled and their authority superseded, not that no member of the royal house or of the ruling classes was in existence. And this seems to fit in better with an early period of the Captivity than with a later age, when Simon Maccabeus is said to have had the title נָשִֹיא on his coins: and Mattathias is called ἄρχων in I Macc. ii. 17. Gesenius says in his _Thesaurus_ under נשיא on the authority of F.P. Bayer (_de numis hebraeosamaritanis_, p. 171, append, p. xv.), that Simon's coins had the inscription שמצון נשיא ישראל[26]; but it is now doubted whether the coins formerly attributed to Simon are really of his time. (_Cf._ Bp. Wordsworth of Lincoln on I Macc. xv. 6.) Zöckler's idea (_Comm. in loc._) that ἡγούμενος must be understood here as equivalent to "priest" is unsupported and needless. כּׄהֵן is never so translated by LXX.

Cornelius à Lap. (Paris, 1874), deals with the difficulty of "no prophet" in a different way. He writes, "Quia Dan. potius somniorum regiorum erat interpres, quam propheta populi; Ezech. autem propheta aberat agebatque in Chobar aliisque Chaldaeae locis, eratque is unus et captivus. Itaque 'non est,' _i.e._ vix nullus erat." Of "princeps et dux" he says nothing; but Peronne adds a note to say that Daniel was thinking of Judaea only. It is not unlikely that Hos. iii. 4 was in the mind of the writer of the Song, as being fulfilled in his days.

If, however, we assume a date for the whole piece considerably later than that of the canonical book, it is quite conceivable that the author may have made a backward transference of the circumstances of his own time to that of the earlier exile. For this is a species of error all traces of which even expert forgers find it difficult to remove.

It is generally assumed, and probably rightly, that v. 88 is intended as a contemporary utterance of the Three calling upon themselves; nevertheless it is quite intelligible as the expression of a later writer summoning them, with the rest of creation, to praise their Maker. And, assuming this verse to be contemporary with the rest, this latter idea would of course mark the hymn as not really issuing from the mouths of the Three.

Everything said and done in this piece takes place within one day, the day on which Nebuchadnezzar's subjects were ordered to worship the golden image. There is therefore much less scope than in Bel and the Dragon, or even Susanna, for those who seek to discover chronological difficulties, because devotional compositions afford fewer openings than narrative matter for the raising of such questions.

CANONICITY.

Like Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon, the Song of the Three Children formed, so far as we know, part of the original LXX text of Daniel, having a connection with it closer even than theirs. For while they take their places at the beginning or the end, this one is incorporated into the narrative of chapter iii. as one connected whole. Prof. Robertson Smith does indeed write (_O.T. in Jewish Church_, 1895, p. 154), "these are perhaps later additions to the Greek version"; but this is only conjecture, and as such he puts it forward.

Until the correspondence of Origen with Africanus, the canonicity of these pieces does not seem to have been called in question by Christians who used Greek or Latin Bibles; nor do Greek-speaking Jews appear to have disputed the matter seriously. "Commonly quoted by Greek and Latin Fathers as parts of Daniel," says Westcott (Smith's _D.B._, ed. 2, I. 713b). So Schürer (II. III. 185), "Julius Africanus alone among the older Fathers disputes the canonicity of these fragments." See also Bissell's admission on p. 448 of his _Apocrypha._ But Jerome seriously called their canonicity in question (_Præf. in Dan._), although he included them in his translation, with a notice that they were not found in the Hebrew. Polychronius, Theodore of Mopsuestia's brother, refused to comment on this piece because it was not part of the original Daniel, nor in the Syriac, οὐ κεῖται ἐν τοῖς Ἑβραϊκοῖς ἢ ἐν τοῖς Συριακοῖς βιβλίοις. In this latter respect it keeps company with the Catholic Epistles in the earliest stage of the Syriac N.T. (Carr, _St. James_, p. XLVII). But it gained a place in the Peshitto (_D.C.B._ arts. _Polychronius & Polycarpus Chorepisc._). Buhl (_Kanon und Text des A.T._, 1891, p. 52) says that the Nestorians recognise "die apokryphischen Zusätze zum Daniel als kanonisch;" and the Malabar Christians regard this, with its two companions, "as part and parcel of the book of Daniel." (Letter to the writer from F. Givargese, Principal of Mar Dionysius' Seminary, Kottayam, 1902.) They formed part of the Sahidic, and probably other Egyptian versions of Daniel, which may be as early as century II.; as also of the Ethiopic and, seemingly, of the Old Latin (Swete, _Introd._ 96, 107, 110).

It seems very difficult to prove that the Alexandrian Jews who used the LXX did not regard this piece as canonically valid; though how they reconciled their canon with the Palestinian one is not clear. Their frequent communication with Palestinian Jews must have brought any considerable discrepancy to the notice of both sides. F.C. Movers (_Loci quidam Hist. can. V.T._, Breslau, 1842, pp. 20, 22) solves the difficulty by imagining that this and the other Apocrypha were similarly regarded both in Palestine and Alexandria, "vix credibile est alios libros a Palestinensibus inter profanos repositos ab Alexandrinis codici sacro adscitos esse." Acts ii. 10 proves the presence of Egyptian Jews at Jerusalem for Pentecost, and vi. 9 that they had a synagogue there. This close connection must have brought their religious practices to one another's knowledge, and any differences, considered seriously important, could hardly have failed to raise disputes. Now Bleek (_Introd. to O.T._, II. 303, Engl. transl, Lond. 1869), says "the additions to Esther and Daniel were certainly looked upon by the Hellenistic Jews in just the same light as the portions of the books which are in the Hebrew." And this seems to have been done almost without question, difficulty, or protest, although Alexandrian ideas must have been, brought under the notice of the religious authorities in Jerusalem. (_Cf._ Meyer's note on Acts vi. 9, and Jos. _cond. Ap._ I. 7, as to regular intercourse between Palestinian and Alexandrian Jews.)

Professor, now Bishop, Ryle (_Can. of Script_, p. 157) thinks that the amplification of Daniel, as of Esther, may have been tolerated because Daniel was not then deemed canonical. But we must remember that additional sections, though smaller in extent, appear in other books of the LXX, of whose canonicity there appears to have been no question, _e.g._ Job xlii. 17, Prov. xxiv. 22, I. Kings xvi. 28, this last being taken from chap, xxii., though still left there. It has also been suggested by Prof. Swete (_Introd._ p. 217) that the כתובים were probably attached to the canon by a looser bond at Alexandria than in Palestine. However this may be, certain it is that this addition was frequently quoted or referred to by early Christian writers as if part of Dan. iii., without qualification or sign of misgiving, as may be seen in the quotations given in the chapter on 'Early Christian Literature,' p. 76 _sqq._ Loisy's contention is a noticeable one (_A.T._ p. 236), "Presque tous les auteurs catholiques, anciens et modernes, qui ont emis des reserves touchant l'autorité des deutero-canoniques, ont regardés ces livres comme inspirés. Ils ne les croyaient pas bons pour établir le dogme; mais cela est parfaitement compatible avec l'inspiration, attendu qu'un livre peut-être inspiré sans être dogmatique, et que s'il n'est pas dogmatique par son contenu il ne saurait regler le dogme." But this contention savours somewhat of clever special pleading in order to evade the force of opposing evidence. Loisy, however, for a Roman Catholic, is a wonderfully frank and fair writer on these matters.

The explanation of the early mixture of non-canonical books with canonical, by reason of their having been kept as separate papyrus rolls in the same chest (Swete's _Introd._ p. 225), seems not an unlikely one in the case of independent works such as Judith or Wisdom. But it appears to lose its force in the case of additions such as these, or those to the book of Esther. For the Song of the Three, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon are hardly likely to have had separate rolls assigned to them; least of all this first piece, which fits into the middle of the accepted narrative, and is scarcely intelligible without it. Something more therefore is wanting to explain the inclusion of those portions in the Greek Bible.

Bengel's explanation (_Gnomon on Matt._ xxiv. 15), that the apocryphal books in Latin Bibles were mixed with the canonical "pro argumenti affinitate," though distinguished at first by marks (afterwards omitted) in the index, however likely so far as it goes, fails to account for their admission on so slender a plea into Biblical MSS. at all.

If the additions are to be regarded with Streane (_Age of the Macc._ p. 161) as "specimens of fiction," this one, more strongly than the other two, shews the pre-existence of the canonical Daniel; but it is very hard to understand how 'fiction' of this kind could be introduced into the Bible with no general protest, and ultimately come to be treated as of Divine authority; and this position is defended, even in these critical days, by the greater number of Christians in the world.

When the Council of Trent made the canon of Scripture co-extensive with the Vulgate, this, with the other additions, was of course included in the decree. But in the Roman Church up to the present day attempts have not been wanting to minimize the force of this decision, which, if it removes some difficulties, certainly introduces others. Outside the Roman Church the position of these books, in common with the rest of the Apocrypha, remains, as always, more or less insecure.

A. Scholz, in condemning the principle that Christians are tied to the O.T. canon, rather amusingly supposes: "Wenn Jemand sich bei den Juden jetzt als Prophet geltend machen und ein Buch schreiben würdem so müsste es nach diesem Grundsatz von den Protestanten als kanonisch wohl anerkannt werden" (_Esther und Susanna_, Würzburg, 1892, p. 140). But such argument is mere polemic, which cannot be seriously taken into account in establishing the position of this or the other additions. Something is needed much deeper and more convincing in character.

EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE AND ART

LITERATURE.

In the N.T. _possible_ references may be found in St. Matt. xi. 29 (ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ) from v. 65 (87); II. Tim. i. 18 (εὑρεῖν ἔλεος) from v. 15 (38); [in Numb. xi. 15 only does the phrase elsewhere occur, but in another tense]; Heb. xii. 23 (πνεύματα δικαίων) from v. 64 (86).

Our 'apocryphon' is often referred to or quoted by early Fathers to a remarkable extent, considering the brevity of the piece and its merely episodic character in the main narrative. The following are specimens:

JUSTIN MARTYR (†167?), _Apol._ I. 46, Ἐν βαρβάριος δε Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἀνανίας καὶ Ἀζαρίας καὶ Μισαὴλ καὶ Ἠλίας καὶ ἄλλοιπολλοὶ. The names of the Three occur in this form and order in v. 88 of the Song only.

CLEM. ALEX. (†220) in his _Eclogæ propheticæ_, § I, quotes several verses with ἐν τῷ Δανιὴλ γέγραπται.

HIPPOLYTUS (†230) recognizes the Song of the Three in his comment on Daniel, _in loc._, as well as in the Fragment preserved in the "Catena Patrum in Psalmos et Cantica" (_Ante-Nic. Christian Lib._ p. 484). In the former place he comments on the words καὶ διεχεῖτο ἡ φλόξ, and says that the Three ἐδροσίζοντο in reference to v. 50; in the latter, on the verse "O Ananias, Azarias," etc., he notes that everything is called to praise, ἵνα μὴ ὡς ἐλεύθερον αὐτεξούσιον νομισθῇ.

TERTULLIAN (†240) _de Orat._ § 15, says that they prayed, "in fornace Babylonii regis orantes." In § 29 he quotes vv. 26, 27.

ORIGEN (†254) _Comm. in Ep. ad Rom._ I. c. 10, II. c. 9, VII. c. 1; _Comm. in Matt._ XIII. c. 2 (naming the LXX); and in _de Oratione_ XIII. XIV.

CYPRIAN (†258) _De lapsis_ 31 and _De dom. orat. 8_, quotes this piece, in the latter case agreeing with Θ rather than Ο´. Pseudo-Cypr. (some of whose writings Professor Swete, _Patristic Study_, 1902, p. 67, deems to be contemporary with Cyprian or nearly so) in _Oratio_ II. 2 says "misisti angelum tuum cum roribus tuis," agreeing with Ο´.

EUSEBIUS (†342), in his first _Fragm. on Daniel_, comments on iii. 49, ὡσει πνεῦμα δρόυ διασυρίζον (Θ), and quotes Psalm xxviii. 7 as illustrative. (In Constantine's "To the Convention of Saints," given in the translation of Eusebius (Camb. 1683), much mention is made of Daniel in Babylon, but there is no clear indication of knowledge of the additions.)

ATHANASIUS (†373) quoted the Song in _Ep. Pasch._ x. 3; and in _Agst. Avians_ II. 71 he employs the Song to "arraign the Arian irreligion" (Newman's translation).

EPHREM SYRUS (†378). His commentary on Daniel does not embrace the additions, but in his _Morning Hymn_, rendered by H. Burgess (Lond. 1853), we have "Sprinkle me with Thy dew, like the young men in the furnace."

CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (†386) quotes both the Prayer of Azarias (v. 29) and the Song (v. 54) in _Catech._ II. 18 and IX. 3 respectively, without hesitation (ed. Reischl, Munich, 1848).

AMBROSE (†397) _in Luc._ VII "Cantaverunt Hebræi cum vestigia eorum tactu flammæ rorantis humescerent."

HIERONYMUS GRÆCUS THEOLOGUS (cent. IV?) _de Trin._ treats the hymn, flames and dew in the furnace, μία κάμινος οὐσα, as an emblem of the Three in One.

SULPICIUS SEVERUS (†400?) _Hist. sacr._ II. § 5 shews knowledge of this Song by writing of the Three as "deambulantes in camino psalmum Deo dicere cernerentur."

CHRYSOSTOM (†407) _De incomprehensibili Dei natura_ V. 7, οί τρεῖς παῖδες ἐν καμίνῳ διῆγον... λέγουσιν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν κ.τ.λ. _In Isaiam_ VI. ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ παἱδες οἱ τρεῖς τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἔλεγον σχεδὸν ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ ὄντες· οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἀνοῖξαι τὸ τόμα. _Hom._ IV. _ad pop. Antioch._ (de statuis) τὰς ίερὰς ἐκείνας ἀνπεμπον εὐχας. Also _De incarnatione_ VI.

RUFINUS (†410) _adv. Hieron._ lib. II. upbraids Jerome for not reckoning the piece canonical.

JEROME (†420). In the _Comes_ or Lectionary, the Song is made use of, but probably the Comes is not really Jerome's. (_See_ art. _Lectionary, D.C.A._ 962a.)

THEODOERT (†457) in _Letter_ CXLVI. quotes v. 63 amongst a string of canonical texts; and also deals with the whole in his _Commentary on Daniel_, as consolidated with chap. iii.

SEDULIUS (†460?). In his poem _De tribus pueris_ there is nothing which goes beyond the canonical record; but, strangely enough, in his _Miraculorum recapitulatio proedictorum_ there are the lines

".... flagrante camino
Servavit sub rore pios."

And equally in the prose version "rore sydereo puerorum membra proluit in camino." This shews a recognition of v. 50 (de la Bigne, _Bibliotheca Patrum_, ed. 4, 1624, pp. 660, 661, 914).

VERECUNDUS (†552) wrote a comment on some of the ecclesiastical canticles including the prayers of Azarias and Manasses (printed in _Spicilegium, Solesmense,_ Vol. IV.).

It is manifest, therefore, that Early Christian writers regarded the Song as of much value and importance; were well acquainted with it, and often quoted it in much the same manner as the canonical books. Occasionally, however, a knowledge of it is not shewn where we should have expected it; and in some cases we know that those who quoted it denied, or doubted, its canonicity.

ART.

This Greek insertion in the book of Daniel has, on the whole, offered less scope for the exercise of artistic talent than the history of Susanna or even than that of Bel and the Dragon. The nature of its contents, which consists in the main of a prayer and a song, reasonably accounts for this paucity of illustration. It does not lend itself so readily as its two companions to pictorial treatment. Nevertheless a certain number of examples are not wanting.

Loisy in his _Canon of the O.T._ (1890, p. 95) remarks, "Dès avant le IV^e siècle, on ornait les catacombes de peintures dont les sujets avaient été fournis par Tobie et les fragments de Daniel."

In a fresco from the cemetery of St. Hermes, the Three Children are represented, each over a separate stoke-hole (or what looks like one), with hands elevated as if in prayer or praise, most likely in reference to v. 1 (24), (_see D.C.A._ art. _Fresco_, p. 700a). Another picture of figures somewhat different, yet with outstretched hands, is given from Bottari in the same Dictionary under art. _Furnace._ There are sculptured representations of the Three on the high crosses at Moone Abbey, and at Kells (M. Stokes, _Early Christian Art in Ireland_, Lond. 1887, II. 22).

In the Utrecht Psalter, over the Song are depicted, as well as in other places, the sun and the moon, very appropriately (_D.C.A._ art. _Sun_), and in other illuminated Psalters, pictures of the Three in the furnace are not uncommon. Thus Brit. Mus. MS. Additional 11836 has an illumination of the furnace scene.

The under side of the wooden roof of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, was painted about 1870 with the series of natural objects mentioned in the Song proper, and with the words appertaining to each. A few extracts from _Benedicite_ are on scrolls in a modern window on the south side of the chancel of St. James' Church, Bury St. Edmunds.

It is a little surprising that the series of objects named in this Song has not been more frequently chosen for decorative purposes on roofs, walls, or windows of ecclesiastical buildings, where a long series would be appropriate. Perhaps the length of the series, and the difficulty of making any but an arbitrary selection, has something to do with the rarity of its appearance.

A set of not very satisfactory wood-engravings by MacWhirter and others, one illustration to each verse, was published in a small book under the title of the _Song of the Three Children illustrated_ (London, 1887)

The verse "O ye wells," etc., is said to be a frequent motto for the floral well-dressings at Tissington, in Derbyshire, and elsewhere, on Ascension Day; and a more appropriate one could hardly be found. But in general the Song of the Three Children has not, for the reason given above, and doubtless others besides, proved a popular subject in art.

LITURGICAL USE.

GENERAL.

There is, strange to say, no record of the Song's employment in this way amongst the Jews. Statements sometimes made to the contrary in works on the P.B., _e.g._ by W.G. Humphry, F. Procter, E. Daniel, and J.M. Fuller (S.P.C.K. _Comm._ "Introd. to the Song"), "in the _later_ Jewish Church," all appear to have originated in a misunderstanding of an ambiguous sentence in Wheatley's _Rational Illustration_ (1875, p. 143). He says that it "was an ancient hymn in the Jewish Church." But this does not necessarily imply that it formed any part of Jewish services. Nor did Wheatley probably intend to assert that it did. In point of fact no evidence of such use is forthcoming, though it certainly would not have been surprising if the Song had been so used, at least among the Hellenistic Jews. For as Rothstein says in Kautzsch's Apocrypha, like Ps. cxxxvi. it is "offenbar antiphonisch aufzufassen" and "litaneiartig."

Notwithstanding the previous neglect, as it would seem, of this Song in Jewish worship, its use by Christians dates from an early period. So Bp. Gray (_O.T.,_ p. 611) says, "It was sung in the service of the primitive Church;" and Ball, "the instinct of the Church, which early adopted the _Benedicite_ for liturgical use, was right" (p. 307). Yet after it had come into high esteem with Christians its chances of Jewish acceptance would of course be largely diminished.

EARLY.

The liturgical use however was generally confined to the Song proper, commencing with v. 29, and not always extending to the whole even of that. In the Greek Church it is divided into two odes, said at Lauds on two different days, vv. 3--34 (A.V. verses) forming one, and the remainder of the Song the other (art. _Canticle D.G.A._). In the Ambrosian rite the first part only of the Song is used as an invitatory before the Matin Psalms, under the title, somewhat confusing to us, of "Benedictus" (_D.G.A._ art. _Benedictus_).[27]

For some reason not easy to assign, the Song, whether divided or entire, has always been treated as a morning canticle, although there is nothing in its words to suggest any time of day as specially appropriate.

Rufinus, according to Dr. Salmon (_Speaker's Comm._ Introduction to Apocr. XXVIIb), speaks of the Song as "sung on Festivals in the Church of God." No reference is given to the passage quoted. But in Rufinus' _Apol. in Hieron._ II. 35 we find the words, "Omnis Ecclesia per orbem terrarum... quicunque Hymnum trium puerorum in Ecclesia Domini cecinerunt," etc. Whether this be the passage Dr. Salmon intends or not, it is at any rate sufficient to prove that the canticle was in use in and before Rufinus' time, who is believed to have died in the year 410.

Bishop Barry (_Teacher's P.B._) notes that it was used at Lauds (τὸ ὄρθρον) in the East as well as in the West: and so Mr. Hotham in his art. _Canticle_ in _D.C.A._ In his art. _Psalmody_, however, no mention is made of its Eastern use; but in the Western Church in the Gregorian and its derived rites, including the Roman and cognate Breviaries, he says, "Benedictiones sive canticum trium puerorum" comes in Sunday Lauds, and likewise in the Benedictine Psalter.

In the Ambrosian Psalter, while the first part "Benedictus es" is said daily at Matins as stated above, the usual _Benedicite_ is said at Lauds on Sundays. In the Mozarabic Psalter an abridgment of both parts is said at Lauds, but not "in feriis." "Benedictus es" also comes on weekdays at Prime. In the Mozarabic Missal _Benedicite_ occurs in the service for the first Sunday in Lent. In the use arranged by Cæsarius of Aries (†542) for the Gallican Church _Benedicite_ was sung at Sunday Lauds.

Duchesne says (_Christian Worship_, Eng. tr. S.P.C.K. 1903, p. 195), "In the Gallican Mass between the Apostolic and the Evangelic lections the Hymn of the Three Children was sung. It was known also by the name of the Benediction (_Benedicite_) because in it the word 'Benedicite' is continually repeated." In a note he adds, "The Luxeuil Lectionary, however, prescribes for the Nativity, _Daniel cum Benedictione, i.e._, the Hymn of the Three Children before the Apostolic Lection. It is true that in the Mass of _Clausum Paschale_ it places it after this lection."

The fourth council of Toledo in 633, condemns the omission of the Song at Mass, threatens with excommunication those who in Spain or Gaul (or Gallicia, margin) persist in leaving it out, and styles it "Hymnum quoque trium puerorum in quo universa coeli terræque creatura dominum collaudat et quem ecclesia catholica per totum orbem diffusa celebrat" (Mansi, _Concil._, Florence, 1764, X. 623).

In the Roman Missal at the end of the Canon, the last Rubric is "Discedens ab Altari, pro gratiarum actione dicit Antiphonam Trium Puerorum cum reliquis, ut habetur in principio Missalis;" where is given as an antiphon before it these words, "Trium puerorum cantemus hymnum quem cantabant sancti in camino ignis, benedicentes Dominum."

Possibly there is a reference to this Eucharistic use in Bishop Wordsworth's Michaelmas Hymn, No. CII. in his _Holy Year_, 1864.

Angelic voices we shall hear
Joined in our jubilee,
In this thy Church and echoing
Our Benedicite.

Angelic faces we shall see
Angelic songs o'erspread
Above thy holy Altar, Lord,
And Thou, the Living Bread.

In the Saram Breviary (and in Cardinal Quignon's) _Benedicite_ is a canticle at Lauds on Sundays only. It is to be said without "Glory"; "dicatur sine Gloria Patri per totum annum quandocunque dicitur" (Procter, p. 188); but a doxology is provided in the Roman Breviary, "Benedicamus Patrem et Filium cum Sancto Spiritu," etc., and 'Amen' is directed not to be said at the end. This doxology is said to have been added by Pope Damasus I., who also transposed v. 56 to stand as the finale of the Song (_see_ James M'Swiney, _Psalms and Canticles_, Lond. 1901, p. 643). This R.C. writer calls the use of the canticle on Sundays "a thanksgiving for the resurrection of the Crucified, the earnest of the glories wherewith nature is to be invested at His second coming." But this sounds like an _ex post facto_ reason for its appropriateness.

_Benedicite_ appears, at any rate sometimes, to have been said subsequently to _Te Deum_ after the election of an Abbot (_see_ Jocelin of Brakelond's _Chronicle_, Sir E. Clarke's ed., 1903, p. 38). It also appears in the _Cantica_ after the Psalter, between _Te Deum_ and _Benedictus_, in the Scottish _Breviarium Bothanum_, which is thought to be of about 15th century (Lond. 1900).

Thus it is evident that the use of this hymn became general at an early period, and so continued, having never receded in Christian esteem as a valued factor in public worship.

Besides the use of the Song, or part of it, as a canticle, verses or small portions often occur in liturgies; _e.g._, vv. 28--30 are borrowed in an Ἐκφώνησις before the offertory prayers in the Liturgy of St. James; at the censing of the Gospel in that of St. Mark; in a Byzantine Liturgy of the ninth century in the second prayer of the faithful; in that of St. Chrysostom immediately before the lections in the Mass of the Catechumens; and v. 19 in the Ἐπίκλησις in that of the Coptic Jacobites (Brightman's _Liturgies_, I. Oxf. 1896). In the Leonine _Sacramentary_, in a Preface, Mense Junio, IIII. 1. 13, ad Fontem, the last words of the Song appear to be cited "plena sunt omnia saccula misericordia tua" (Dr. Feltoe's ed., Camb. 1896, p. 31). The verse "Benedicite omnes angeli" occurs in a "Communio" for Michaelmas in the Rosslyn Missal; "Benedictus es Domine patrum nostrorum" occurs in the Mass of the Holy Trinity in the Westminster Missal as a "gradale," also in a Mass "pro sponsis", and other places (Hen. Bradshaw Soc., Lond. 1899, p. 70, 1897, p. 1239). v. 34 (56) occurs in the Sarum Compline after the Creed, as also in the Roman.

In the Greek Euchologion a great part of the Song is embodied, with other Scripture odes, in what is styled "the Canon at Great Matins in the All Night Vigil" (_Euchology_, translated by G.V. Shann, Kidderminster, 1891, p. 34).

LATER ENGLISH USE.

Burbidge (_Liturgies and Offices of the Church_, 1885, p. 268), gives a number of instances of the use of _Benedicite_ in foreign service books, and says, "In other churches _Benedicite_ has been held in higher esteem than amongst ourselves." Esteem for it has never been entirely lacking, however, as its prominence in the P.B. shews.

In a Prymer of circ. 1400, as given by Maskell (_Mon. rit._ 1882, Vol. III. p. 21), _Benedicite_ occurs in Matins, beginning "Alle werkis of the Lord, bless ye to the Lord: herie ye and overhize ye him in all time." On the same page, note 49, he gives a quotation from _Gemma animae_, II. 53, "canticum trium puerorum est festivius et ideo in omnibus festis dicitur." Also in his _Append, to Prymer_, p. 243, another version is given, from Bodl. Douce MS. 275, fol. 9b: "Alle werkes of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise and overheie ye him in to the worldes." There was an authorized translation into Welsh early in the 14th century, according to H. Zimmer (_Urtext und Uebersetz_, Leipzig, 1897, p. 172), together with _Magnificat, Benedictus_, and several Psalms, evidently for liturgical purposes.

In the P.B. of 1549 the use of the _Benedicite_ as a substitute for the _Te Deum_ was confined to Lent "all the which time" its recital was obligatory. It has been suggested by W.G. Wyon (_Letter to "Guardian,"_ May 14, 1902) that mediæval devotion read into it an allegoric meaning of deliverance from temptations and dangers of this naughty world, and this made the Song suitable for Lent. He also suggests that the 'Oratio' of the Roman Missal in the 'Gratiarum actio' after Mass, which contains it, shews us its suitability for penitential seasons indirectly, "Deus qui tribus," etc. No doubt hope of deliverance from fierce spiritual perils may be in Lent a proper frame of mind; but this attempt to prove the _Benedicites_ special appropriateness to that season is more ingenious than satisfying. It is strained and far-fetched. Compare what is said above (p. 88), where M'Swiney is cited as shewing in similar style its special appropriateness to Sunday. The tone of the canticle is unmistakeably joyful, and the 1549 rubric disappeared in 1552, leaving _Benedicite_ as a simple alternative to the _Te Deum_, at any time according to the taste of the officiant. And so it still remains, though often preferred to the _Te Dewm_ during Lent. Septuagesima and Trinity XXI. are, on account of their first lessons, fitting Sundays for its use; nor is it by any means unsuitable for a harvest festival. An entirely different kind of reason for its Lenten suitability is provided by H.P. Cornish (_Notes on P.B._, Evans, Redditch, n.d., p. 17). Lent, he says, is the time "when all nature begins to wake from its Lenten sleep": hence its appropriateness in spring. It is questionable, however, whether mediæval liturgical authorities paid much attention to the natural seasons of the year; and the variety of 'reasons' proves the difficulty of discovering a really conclusive one. The idea that the _Benedicite_ is consonant with Lenten feelings is singularly out of accord with the opinion expressed as to its character as being 'festivius' in the _Gemma animae_, given above, p. 90. Indeed it can hardly be disputed that its tone is joyful. But though its special aptness for a fasting-time is not easy to make out clearly, few unprejudiced people will dissent from the opinion of Freeman as to its scope when he writes, that "though wanting in the grand structure of the _Te Deum_, in point of range it is in no way inferior" (_Divine Service_, Lond. 1855, I. 356).

In the scheme for the revision of the Prayer-Book in William III.'s reign it was actually arranged to expunge _Benedicite_, and to substitute Ps. cxlviii. It would have been extruded in good company however, as _Magnificat_ and _Nunc Dimittis_ were to be replaced by psalms in a similar way. Happily the deplorable proposals of 1689 came to nothing. But strange to say, previously to this, in the Laudian Scottish Prayer-Book, Psalm xxiii. had been substituted for _Benedicite_. In England, however, in 1662, the Church, taught by the persecution of the Commonwealth, declined "to appoint some psalm or scripture hymn instead of the apocryphal _Benedicite"_, as demanded by the Puritans at the Savoy Conference (Procter, _P.B._, 1872, p. 119).

At a rather earlier period, Dean Boys of Canterbury, in his quaint _Prayer-Book Notes_ (1615?) says: "I finde this hymne less martyred than the rest, and therefore dismisse it, as Christ did the woman (John viii.), 'Where be thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? No more doe I; goe thy way.'"

At least three English metrical renderings of _Benedicite_ exist, one of the 18th and two of the 19th century, by J. Merrick, J.S. Blackie, and Richard Wilton respectively. The first of these writers, who expands freely, concludes with a stanza designed to put the Song unmistakeably into the mouths of the Three:

Let us, who now impassive stand, Plac'd by the Tyrant's stern Command Amid the fiery Blaze, (While thus we triumph in the Flame) Rise, and our Maker's Love proclaim In hymns of endless praise.

The objection that in using this hymn we pray to angels and heavens, to ice and snow, etc., shews how hard it is to find reasonable cause of complaint against its use. (_See_ p. 62).

The whole canticle was however actually omitted in the P.B. printed at Oxford in 1796, an edition notorious for the liberties taken with the book in many ways (A.J. Stephens' _P.B._, Lond. 1849).[28] The last verse, "O Ananias," etc., which was omitted in the United States' P.B. is, as well as the above, dealt with under 'Theology,' p. 64.

In an _Altar Service Manual_, ed. 1837, which was very popular in the middle of the 19th century, by S. Isaacson, certain extracts from the _Benedicite_, with presumably original additions, are formed into what is called "the canticle" in an "Evening Liturgy for use after Holy Communion." The five added verses, in rather unrhythmical English, are modelled in imitation of the Song, _e.g._ "O ye who have partaken of the Holy Communion, bless ye the Lord: praise Him and magnify Him for ever."

The Song of the Three Children is, with other canticles, frequently found in appendices to both Greek and Latin Psalters. And on this account it is included sometimes in commentaries on the Psalter, as in that of de Muis (†644), Louvain, 1770, beginning with v. 51, "tunc hi tres quasi ex uno ore laudabant," etc. It stands in this book between Hezekiah's and Jonah's prayers. In the mediæval Psalters, _Benedicite_ may constantly be found, though its place in the series of canticles varies considerably.

Many of the LXX MSS. too contain these canticles, or some of them, repeated from their regular places in the text, such as Alexandrinus and the Veronese and Turin Psalters; of these the first has vv. 26 to 45 and 52 to 58, as two separate canticles between the Prayer of Manasses and Magnificat; the second, vv. 52 to 90 after Magnificat as its last canticle; and the third has vv. 26 to 45, 52 to 56, and 57 to 90 as three separate canticles between the P. of M. and Benedictus. In each case, it will be observed, the narrative portion is naturally excluded.

In the first and third of these MSS., A. and T., it may here be noted that there is a non-biblical Morning Hymn, Ὕμνος ἑωθινός, a kind of Eastern "Gloria in excelsis," which contains an apparent extract from vv. 29, 30 (52), or v. 3 (26) of our Apocryphon, in line 34 of the hymn. Very nearly the same words occur in Tobias' song (Tob. viii. 5), which curiously enough (in common with the song of Deborah), is not included in these canticles. Doubtless it was not in ecclesiastical use; but the reason why the Christian Church abstained from availing herself of it for choral purposes is not evident; any more than why the Jewish Church abstained from the use of _Benedicite_.

Although the employment of _Benedicite_ in the services of the Church is interesting, as shewing the value set upon, and the use made of, this canticle, it reflects little or no light on its origin, or indeed on any of the heads under which it has been previously discussed.

"EXAMPLE OF LIFE AND INSTRUCTION OF MANNERS."

The conduct of Azarias and its results shew us the _value of Prayer_ made by those under persecution. He led the way, and his comrades joined him.

Azarias is not so taken up with the wrongs of himself and his fellows as to forget the wrongs which his own nation had done; therefore his prayer commences with a _humble Confession_. Then he relies on the great promises of the past (vv. 12, 13). It may be thought that _Humility_ is also shewn in the Song by the Three putting their own names in the last place of the series. But another cause may have contributed to the choice of this order; for, so far as animal life is concerned, the Song follows the order of Gen. i., bringing in human beings last, not as being least important, but as forming the crown of creation.

Although Nebuchadnezzar is severely spoken of in v. 9, A.V. (and in iv. 27 of the canonical book 'sins and iniquities' are attributed to Nebuchadnezzar), there is great _Self-restraint_ shewn in wishing for retribution (vv. 20, 21); and indeed it is asked that he and his servitors may be brought to the knowledge of God (v. 22).

The pleasure of _Thanksgiving and Praise_ on delivery are exemplified by the Three in the production of the Song itself. As soon as ever their prayer was answered, before they emerged from the furnace, they united their voices in thanking God with a glow of fervid faith, recognizing in Him the universal Lord and Benefactor.

They sang in harmonious accord their song of praise at once (v. 28). Though staunchly refusing to worship in a wrong way, they were very ready to do so in a right, and lost no time in proving it, publicly and before all creation. As de Muis (†1644) says in his _Comm. in Psalmos_ (Louvain, 1770, II. 705), "Ut calamitatibus tanquam igne probatur; fidelis animus non modo non deficiat sed etiam animata inanimaque omnia ad Dei laudes provocet." Eager to honour God, they join in unreserved devotion.

Their _Reliance upon God_ is obviously great. To Him they turn in their martyrdom with prayer and praise; to Him they address themselves with the heart and voice of sure conviction. He is their unfailing resource.

A _Love of Nature_, as created by the same hand as ourselves, is very apparent in this canticle; there is a thorough fellow-feeling with natural objects, as derived from, and responding to, the same Almighty source. This love of nature appears in Holy Scripture most strongly, as here, in the poetical books, and hardly anywhere does it take a deeper tone than in this canticle.