PBIMI-PRIMEOSE 



with this period, the relations of the priests to the 



altar arc distinctly aflinn 



Further, tin' assertion that "priesthood was i 



.1111- family." hut tluit there were then in I.-iael 

 many different priesthoods of different families, min- 

 istering at various sanctuaries, and all counted as 

 e<|ually tin- legitimate priest.- of .Jehovah, is in contra- 

 diction with 1 Sain. it. L'T. anil with all tlio account 

 that is given of tin- priest* mentioned in the Hooks of 

 Samuel, as being the descendants of either Eleay.ar nr 

 Itham.ir. the sons ol' Aaron. The Hebrew tcxtsavs, 

 not that "The temple at Sliiloh . . . w:us the lineal de- 

 nt nf thi* Mosaic sanctuary. . . . and its priests 

 claimed kin with Moses himself, ' hut that the Mosaic 

 sanctuary either was itself (he temple at Shiloh, or 

 wi- there at the temple. I Sam. ii. ! ; that it> priests 

 d. limed kin with Moses appears in no other way than 

 by their claiming descent from Aaron. The assertion 

 that "this sanctuary was hardly visited from beyond 

 Mount Ephniim " MM not airrec with the statements 

 in the narrative, 1 Sam. ii. 14, .L', l, LN. iii. 20, etc., 

 to the effect that "all Israel" came up thither. 



Evidently, the priesthood of Micah's son. Jud. xvii., 

 i> not reeoirnized by the wriler of Judges as legal. No 

 more is the priesthood of Jonathan, Jud. xviii., 

 although the facts in the ease show that the priestly 

 character of the tribe of I^cvi was then recognized. 

 We have no information as to the descent of Kleazar, 

 1 Sam. vii. I, and no intimation that his consecration 

 to be keener of the ark was regarded as giving him 

 the character of a priest. The priesthood of J>avid'.s 

 sons, - Sam. viii. IS, is best understood as an irregu- 

 larity of the same nature with the contemporary 

 attempt to carry the ark on a cart, instead of on the 

 honlden of men. (See paragraph on "David's 

 Period of Rest" in article IsRAKI.). 



If it is fair to infer from Dcut. xxxiii. 8-10 that 

 " the ritual functions of the priesthood still appear as 

 i.iry to that of declaring the sentence of (iod." 

 it is equally fair to draw the same inference from the 

 yet more decided passage in Malachi ii. 5-8. That is, 

 this double function of the priests belongs equally to 

 the latest times of the Old Testament, and to the 

 times when Pent, xxxiii. was written. The 

 that the Old Te.-tame.nt attributes it to the priests of 

 l.-rael of every date. And at all dates the function 

 of the priests in regard to the law differs from that of 

 the prophets ; the priest administered and interpreted 

 the law that the prophet brought from Jehovah. 



In fine, the Old Testament account of the priest- 

 iroii and !>>vi is that it was organized in the 

 time of Moses; that from the death of Joshua to the 

 later years of David it maintained its sue 

 though in those troubled times it was largely shorn of 

 ii- dignity, and often compelled to share the field with 

 illegitimate rival priesthoods : that it suddenly rose to 

 magnificence with the 1 iiuick blossoming out of Israelite 

 that marked the timed following David's 

 conquests ; that from the death of Solomon to the 

 .ni-li exile it was maintained in Judah. but with 

 limes of decline and times of revival, according to the 

 characters and circumstances of the various kings: 

 that it was preserved through the exile, and restored 

 in the times of the second temple ; that it underwent 

 .mzations, with changes more or less marked, in 

 the times of David, and airain after the exile. The 

 \icw nl the matter that represents the priesthood as a 

 gradual growth in the times later than the judges, 

 through the consolidatinir of the shrine-keeper.-- of the 

 various high [daces, attaining its distinctive character 

 only in the post exilic times, is a view that makes 

 more difficulties than it*" contra- 



dictory to the only sources of information we have on 

 the subject, (w. .1. n.) 



PRIMK, SAMTF.I. TREND'S (I812-iss:,). i 

 terian editor nnd author, was burn at. Ball-ton, N. V.. 

 Nov. 4. ISI'J. Hi* grandfather, lleniamin Young 



York city, who wrote several Revolutionary songs. 



i.er, Rev. Nathaniel Seudder Prime >. 

 1856), WHS an able preacher and teacher. Ii- 

 graduated at Williams College in ISl".!. Mudicdth. 

 at Princeton, and enter, .i | . lerun ministry 



He had pa.-lor.il charges at l!allston Spa 

 and Mattawan, but in 1S40 was compelled by ill health 

 to relinquish preaching. He then became editor of 



r. which by hi- able in. 



ment was rendered one of the most successful religious 

 newspapers. Dr. Prime's \i-its to Europe and the 

 E.i.-t in is.",: 1 ,. ISM, and Is7<'> were narrated in his 

 paper, and these letters afterwards published in vol- 

 umes. His personal connection with toe leliiriuus move- 

 ments of his time gave variety and freshness to his 

 writings. He took a prominent part in the organiza- 

 tion and various meetings of the Kvangdieal Alliance. 

 About fifty volumes are attributed to his pen. Among, 

 these, besides his books of travel, the three Sci 



l.ftt-rs arc the r:ost attractive. The third 

 series, published p isthumoii.-lv. is chiefly autobio- 

 graphic. He had also prepared biographies of Rev. 

 Nicholas Murray, known as Kirwan (,1 s1 -). and of 

 Samuel F. R Morse ( isT.'i). II iely circu- 



lated volume was Tlie /'mrrr of /'/">/</ (IS.V.i). which 

 gave the historv of the Fulton street Prayer Meeting ill 

 New York, ife published three later books on tho 



same subject, the last being 1'rmiir mat ilx 

 (lss-_>). He died on July is, !ss:,. a t Manchester, 

 Vt.. whither he had gone on a vacation journey. 



His brother. \Vn.i.i.\M COWIT.R PUIMK, was bom 

 at Cambridge, N. Y.. Oct. SI. IS'J.j. He graduated 

 at Princeton College in IS4.'!and became a lawyer in 

 New York city, lie was a frequent contributor to the 

 newspapers and was editor of t lie New York Jminxil 

 'inrrce for many years. Much of his. leisuru 

 was devoted to numismatics anil ceramics. He has 

 published The. Old Ifmixr I,;/ tltr /.'/"/<; (I s"tS) ; I!<it- 



' 



Liff in Ki/tfjit nnd Niiliin (Is.'iTl ; T> tit- 1. iff in //if Holy 

 Lninl (l-."i7) ; Cains, .Mfiliilg <tm! Sf'tla ('lsi'i(i) ; / ijo- 

 ii-jixltiiig (1H73) ; and a handsomely illustrated work on 

 I'uttfn/ mill I'iri'f/iiiii. lie has also pulilislicd mono- 

 graphs on the hymn Mntliiv <ln\ ,l> n,il<-m (IKG5) 

 and on the Il'ili/ ('msx (1877). His valuable cera- 

 mic collection has been presented to Princeton College. 

 Another brother. KDVVAKD hmut CKIKIIN PRIMK, 

 was born at Cambridge. N. Y., Nov. _'. 1-14. Ho 

 graduated at 1'nion OoUege in Is:!- and at Pri; 

 Theological Seminary in |s:;s. He was pastor of a 

 icrian church at Scolchtown. N. \.. ls:;'.i-:,l. 

 He had charge of the Americaii cha]iel at Rome in 

 ".. and. then relumed to New York to assist in 

 editing the New Yuri; (itisirnT. In ]siV> he 



al.-o one of its proprietol-s. He has published Annual 

 lln llo/7./(ls7l) and l-'iirtiiYmrsintlir Turkish I 



the last being a biography of Rev. William 

 ..11. 



PRIMROSE (Lat. iirima rn*a, the first rose), a 

 handsome flowering shrub, genus 1'i-iniula, ! 

 European in habitat, ,0 species growing wild in (ireat 

 Britain. Different species are known liy the common 

 names of Primrose, Cowslip, and Oxlip. the European 

 /' r/riniiliH'irii Inking the typical primrose. '! 

 United Slates have but two species of the genus. One 

 of these, P. faruUKl, the bird s-eye primrose, is also 

 a native of England and other parts of Europe. It is 

 lished by a while mealiness on the underside of 

 :he flower stems, anil the calyx, the ilower.-i 

 being of u pale lilac color with yellow centre. It is a 

 rare plant, found on the northern liordcrsof the States. 

 Another rare species, 1'. mixliiMiiiirn, ix-eurs from 

 Maine to AVisi-on-iu along the lake shores. It is a 

 pretty little species Ix-arim: from 1 to olored 



flowers on a stem 2 to fi inches high. Several other 

 occur in the far We-t, the most important being 

 /'. 1'nrryi, found originally on Pike's Peak, an i 



i several other Rocky Mount. lin peal,.-. It is 



Am*. T, I - I _. iii.-i ^ i 11 1 1 > i ii i 1 1< i , i >< 1 1 i " in i ii i ''ii nil rw i \ I .1 1 i'iii\i A*' '\ t\ t > .'ii'itiit.iiii | n .1 r\o. AV '* 



Prime (1743-1791), was learned phybician of New t the most beautiful member of t its flowers 



