EPIPHAN1US, SAINT. 



ERASMUS. 



to the Eomenide*, nd of two altars to Hybris and Aruedeia, the two 

 ril power* which were exerting their influence on the Athenians), 

 there can bj little doubt but that his object wai political, and that 

 Solon's conrtitution would har.lly have been accepted had it not been 

 recommended and lanotioned by tome person who, like Epimenides, 

 claimed from men little leas than the veneration due to a superior 

 befog. The Athenian* wiahed to reward Epimeniilea with wealth and 

 public honour*, bat be refuted to accept any remuneration, and only 

 demanded a branch of the aaored olive-tree and a decree of perpetual 

 (Headship between A them and hU own country, Cnossus. Epimenide* 

 visited Athena about the year ac. 696, and died aoon after hi* return 

 to Crete. He wrote a poem on the Argonautio expedition, and other 

 work*, which are entirely lost For a more detailed account of this 

 remarkable peraonage the reader ia referred to C. F. Heinrich's 

 ' Epimeoido* aus Kreta,' Leipzig. 1801. 



EPIPHA'NIUS, SAINT, a Christian bishop and author, of the 4th 

 century, w born of Jewish parents at a village called Besanducan, 

 near Kleutheropolis, in Palestine. He spent his youth under the 

 discipline of the Gnostics in Kgypt, where he acquired a great fond- 

 neas for the monkish asceticism then so prevalent in that country. 

 Having become a zealous disciple of Hilarion, the patriarch of 

 the monks of Palestine, he founded and long presided over a 

 monastery near his native village. About the year 368 he was 

 made bishop of Salami*, the metropolis of the island of Cyprus, where 

 he continued about 36 years, and composed moat of his writings. 

 His spirit of opposition wan especially excited by the Platonic 

 doctrine* of tho learned and laborious Origen, against which he wrote 

 and preached with implacable bitterness. On this subject he hotly 

 quarrelled, in 391, with John, bishop of Jerusalem, who favoured 

 Origan's views; but he found in Theophilus, the violent bishop of 

 Alexandria, n worthy coadjutor, who in 399 convened a council, and 

 condemned all the works of Origen. I'piphauius himself then called 

 a council in Cyprus A.D. 401, and reiterated this condemnation, after 

 which be wrote to St. Chrysottoro, then bishop of Constantinople, 

 requesting him to do the same ; and on finding this prelate disinclined 

 to sanction his violent proceedings, he forthwith repaired to Conntan- 

 tinople for tie purpose of exciting the bishops of that diocese to join 

 in executing the decrees which his Cyprian council hod issued ; but 

 having entered a church in the city in order to repeat his anathemas, 

 he was forewarned by Cbrysostom of the illegality of bis conduct, and 

 ww obliged to desiit Exasperated at this disappointment, he applied 

 to the imperial court for assistance, where he soon embroiled himself 

 with the Empress Kudoxia ; for, on the occasion of her asking him to 

 pray for the young Theodosius, who was dangerously ill, he replied 

 that her son should not die provided she would not patronise the 

 defenders of Origen. To this presumptuous message the empress 

 indignantly answered, that her ton's life was not in the power of 

 EpiphaniuH, whose prayers were unable to save that of his own arch- 

 deacon, who had recently died. Failing to gratify his animosity, he 

 resolved to return home, but died at sea, on his passage to Cyprus, 

 A.D. 403. His works in Greek were first printed in fol. at Basel, in 

 1544. Several editions, with a Latin translation by Comarius, subse- 

 quently appeared at Basel and at Paris during the 16th century; but 

 the belt is by Petaviua, who made a new Latin translation of the 

 Greek text, and added a biography of the author and critical notes. 

 This edition U in 2 vol. fol, Paris, 1622, and Cologne, 1682. In the 

 Kpir.banii Opuscula, ex editione Petavii,' are some very curious and 

 valuable old print*. The principal works of Epiphanius are, 1, The 

 1 1'anarion,' or a treatise on Heresies, that ia, peculiar sect*. This is 

 the nxwt important of tho author'* writings. It treats of 80 sects, 

 from the time of Adam to the latter part of the 4th century. The 

 first section of the first three books into which the treatise U divided 

 contains an account of 20 heretical sects before the birth of Christ ; 

 UM remaining portion U occupied with tho description of 60 heresies 

 of Christianity. 2, ' AnacephaUeotu,' or an Epitome of the Panarion. 

 8, ' Ancoratu*,' or a Discourse on the Faith ; explaining the doctrine 

 of the Trinity, Resurrection, *c., in confutation of the Pagans, Mani- 

 ebeans, Sabellians, and Arians. 4, A Treatise on the ancient Weights, 

 Measure*, and Com* of the Jew*, with a Catalogue of Canonical 

 Scripture.. Betide* this there are soveral treatise* and epistles, some 

 of which are falsely attributed to Epiphanius. (See Riveti, ' Crit 

 Sacr.' o. 28 and 29.) 



Epiphanius was an austere and superstitious ascetic, and, as a bitter 

 wtr*>vnialiat, he often resorts to untrue arguments for the refuta- 



n of heretic*. That his inaccuracy and credulity were equal to his 

 tMJjpotH zeal a apparent from his numerous mistakes in important 

 jMorical fact*, and bis reliance on any false and foolish roporta, 

 Jerome admire* Epiphanius for his skill in the Hebrew, Syriac, 

 Egyptian, Greek, and Latin languages, and accordingly styles him, 

 PtntagloUo., or the Five-tongued ; but Scaliger calls him an ignorant 

 man, who committed the greatest blunders, told the greatest false- 

 h u . **. " nt to nothing about either Hebrew or Greek. 

 However hi* writings are of great value as containing numerous 

 ata ? k !L fro ? curious work* which are no longer extant 



(Dn Pin, BOMMivH Bed*, torn. 2 j Cave, Lit. ffitl. ; Bayle, Diet. ; 

 Dr. A. Clark, &KOMKI* of Sacred Literature ; Neander, CAurcA 

 //utery.) 



KPJSCO'PIUS, SIMON (whose ml Dutch nan* was Bischop), 



wan one of the most learned men of the 17th century, and the chief 

 supporter of the anti-calvinistic doctrines advocated by his contempo- 

 rary Arminius. He was born in the year 1583, at Amsterdam, where 

 he received his school education. In 1600 he went to tho th-n newly- 

 founded university of tayden, of which he became a distinguished 

 member, and entered with zeal and great ability into the predestinarian 

 controversy between the Arminians and Gomarites, which at that 

 time excited a deep and general interest. He was ordained in 1610, 

 as the minister of tho village of Bleyswyck, near Rotterdam, nnd in 

 the following year he was deputed to the office of Arminian a<i . 

 at the conference held at the Hague between the Itemonstranta and 

 their opponents, the Calvinists. He was chosen to fill the chair of 

 professor of divinity in the university of Leyden, as the successor of 

 Professor Gomar. The predestinarian controversy was carried on 

 shortly after with such virulence and popular excitement that 

 Episcopius was not only exposed in the streets and in the pulpit to 

 the greatest abuse and insult, but, on one occasion, barely escaped 

 from being stoned to death. The predominant party of Calvinists 

 treated him with great injustice and tyranny at the synod of Dort, to 

 which he went as a deputy from the states of Holland. He was 

 refused a hearing in behalf of tho less numerous party of Arminian. 

 He was told that the synod had met not to discuss but to judg, 

 and it having been decreed that he and the other professors who 

 formed the body of the Arminian delegates should neither explain nor 

 maintain any point without being asked to speak, Episcopius and his 

 colleagues refused to submit They were, in consequence, < 

 from the synod, and were subsequently deposed from the functions 

 of the ministry and bauixhed from the territory. Episcopius i 

 to France, and continued to write in defence of Arminiauism, and to 

 console and encourage his unfortunate brethren. In I"-'!. \\h>ji 

 sectarian animosity had somewhat subsided, he returned to Holland, 

 and became the minister of the church of Remonstrants at Hotter- 

 dam. Finally, he was made rector of the college founded by tho 

 Remonstrant party at Amsterdam, where he died in 16(3, at the age 

 of sixty. His works were published collectively in 2 void, fol., 

 entitled ' Opera Omnia Theologicn,' &c. t Curcellici edita, Amsterdam, 

 1650, 16C5, and 1671 ; and in London in 1678. They consist chiefly 

 of the following treatises : ' Collegium Disputationuui Theologioarnm 

 in Academia Leydeusi,' TJortdrecti, 1688 ; ' Fur I'raodestinatup,' 

 1642; 'Antidotum adversus Synodi l)ortdrac?mc Canones;' 'Con- 

 fession of Faith ; ' ' Popish Labyrinth, or a Treatise on Infallibility,' 

 &c., English translation, London, 1763. The latter works were ,. 

 on the occasion of the author's being solicited by Peter Wadingus, a 

 learned Jesuit, to become a Papist 



(Lift of Kjntcopita, by Limborcb, and by Curcellasus ; Life and 

 Death of Arminini and Epitcopiiu, London, 1672, 12ino; Moreri, &c.) 



EliASMUS was born on the 28th of October 1467, at Rotterdam. 

 He was the illegitimate son of a citizen of Gonda, named Gerrit 

 (Gerard), which, according to a pedantic fashion of tho day, he trans- 

 lated doubly into Desidcrius Erasmus ; and in future years he found 

 time to lament his carelessness in calling himself Erasmus int 

 by the more accurate form Krasmius. During his father's life he wag 

 well and tenderly educated ; but at the age of fourteen he fell into 

 the hands of dishonest guardians, who wasted his patrimony, and to 

 conceal their peculations, drove him, very unwillingly, into a monas- 

 tery. He took the vows at Stein in I486. Fortunately his skill in 

 Latin caused him to be employed as private secretary to the bishop of 

 Cauibrai, who in 1496, at the end of their connection, authorised him 

 to proceed to Paris to continue his studies, instead of returning to the 

 monastic life, which he hated. At Paris Erasmus barely supported 

 himself, by taking pupils, in sickness and poverty. For many years 

 he led a wandering life, relying on the bounty of those patrons who 

 were attracted by his learning and sprightly wit, sometimes in France, 

 sometimes in the Netherlands, sometimes in England, to which he was 

 a frequent visitor. In England he became intimate with More, ' 

 dean of St Paul's, and other learned men, of whom he has spoken in 

 high terms of praise ; and England, if any permanent establishment 

 had been offered, would have been the home of his choice. For seve- 

 ral years ho applied himself diligently to the study of Greek, which, 

 after ages of general neglect, was just beginning to bo an object of 

 attention. He was ' autodidactos ' (self-taught) he says ; and one of 

 his favourite employments was the translation of short Greek treatises 

 into Latin, which answered the double purpose of improving himself, 

 and furnishing him with a number of books to dedicate to his wealthy 

 friends ; for in those days the honour of a dedication was generally 

 acknowledged by a handsome present Careless however of economy, 

 and not averse to pleasure, Erasmus was continually in want ; ami in 

 one of his letters (xii. 21) he duns Colet for fifteen angels, promised as 

 the price of the dedication of his treatise ' De Copia Verborum.' 



In 1506 Erasmus paid his first visit to Italy, during which he 

 obtained from Pope Julius II. a dispensation from his monastic vows. 

 At Bologna, Venice, and Padua, he improved his knowledge of Greek 

 under the instruction of tho best Greek and Italian scholars. At 

 Rome be met with a Battering reception, and promises of high 

 advancement; but having engaged to return to England he did so iu 

 l.M", iu the expectation -that tho recent accession of Henry VIII., 

 with whom he had for some time maintained a correspondence, would 

 ensure to him an honourable provision. During this visit ho i 



