M E T 
thodifts. Nightingale’s Portraiture of Methodifm. Kelk's 
Letter to the Rev. Mr. Carlyon. Weiley’s Life, Journal, 
Further Appeal, &c. Evans’s Sketch of the Denomina¬ 
tions of the Chriftian World. Life of Kilham, by Thom 
and Grundell. Myles’s Chronological Hillory of the 
People called Methodills, of the Connexion of the late 
Rev. J. Wefley. Candid Enquiry into the prelent State 
of Methodiftic Societies in Ireland. Malkin’s Scenery of 
South Wales. Hamplon’s Memoirs of Welley. White¬ 
head’s Life of Welley. Pulpit, vol. iii. Mofheim, vol. vi. 
Minutes of Conference, 1816. Methodift Mag. Sept. 1816. 
METHODIS'TICAL, adj. Belonging to the people 
called Methodills. 
METHODIS'TICALLY, adv. After the manner of the 
Methodills. 
METHO'DIUS, a Chriftian bilhop and martyr, who 
flouriihed towards the dole of the third century; and, 
unlefs there were two of the fame name who lived about 
this period, he was bilhop of feveral places, viz. of Olym¬ 
pus in Lycia, of Tyre, and of Patara, &c. He is not men¬ 
tioned by Eulebius in his Eccleliaftical Hiltory, which 
has been afcribed, not without probability, to his relent- 
ment againll him for having written with leverity againft 
Origen, of whom it is known that Eulebius was a great 
admirer.' There were two opinions concerning the death 
of this prelate ; fome fay he fullered under Decius or Va¬ 
lerian, and others contend that he was one of thofe who 
fullered in Dioclefian’s perfecution. He is highly ap¬ 
plauded by Epiphanius, Jerome, and others, by whom he 
is charafterifed as a learned and eloquent man, and a 
zealous defender of the truth. Lardner has given a pretty 
full account of his works. That learned and candid 
critic fays, that in the Remains of Methodius there are 
many interpretations of texts of fcripture, which, in his 
opinion, do little honour to the author’s judgment; and 
he gives inltances in proof of this decifion. Dr. Lardner 
likewife oblervss, that Methodius admitted into the canon 
of the holy fcriptures the four Gofpels, the A6ls of the 
Apollles, the Epillles of St. Paul, the Firll Epiftle of 
St. Peter, and the Firft of St. John. His opinion about 
the reft is not known. He quotes the Revelations as a 
bpok of facred fcripture, -written by John, whom he pro¬ 
bably regarded as the apoftle and evangelill. 
Of Methodius’s writings, the firll mentioned by Jerome 
is the work “ Againll Porphyry,” of which there is now 
nothing remaining excepting a few fragments, which are 
but of little conlequence. 2. The Banquet of Ten Vir¬ 
gins, or, of Chaftity ; a dialogue on that fubjedt between 
ten pious females, who deliver their opinions both elec 
gantly and learnedly. 3. The Book of the Refurredtion, 
written againft Origen, was alfo in the dialogue form, and 
is called by Jerome an excellent work. 4. Concerning 
the Pythonefs, or pretended witch of Endor, likewife 
written againft Origen ; of this nothing now remains ; 
nor any thing that is conllderable, and that can be relied 
upon, of his Commentaries on Genefis, and the Canticles. 
5. On Free-Will, or the Origen of Evils. 6. Of the 
Creatures ; this is not mentioned by Jerome. Theodoret 
has quoted a palfage of Methodius out of a piece entitled, 
A Difcourle of Martyrs, of which there is nothing elfe 
remaining; neither have we any thing of a dialogue called 
Xeno, which is noticed by Socrates. There are alfo fome 
other pieces extant which are alcribed to him. In the 
year 1644, father Combelis publilhed at Paris all the wofks 
and fragments of Methodius, which could then be met 
with, in Greek and Latin, together with the works of 
Amphilochius and Andrew bilhop of Crete, in folio, il- 
luftrated with notes. Lardner''s Cred. part vii. ch. 57. 
METHO'DIUS (furnamed the Confeffor), who flou- 
rifhed towards the middle of the ninth century, was a Si¬ 
cilian by nation, and born at Syracufe. Being defcended 
from a noble and wealthy family, he had the advantage of 
receiving a good education; and afterwards went to Con- 
ilantinople, w'here he embraced the religious life, and 
took up his reiidence in a monaltery in the ifle of Chios. 
3VI E T 267 
Afterwards he was ordained prieft by the patriarch Nice- 
phorus ; and, upon the expulfion of that prelate from the 
fee of Conllanfinople, was lent by him to Rome, to im¬ 
plore the aiTiftance of pope Pafchal on his behalf. Upon 
liis return to Greece after the death of that patriarch, he 
fignalized himfelf by his zeal for image-worlhip ; on which 
account he was committed to prifon, by order of the em¬ 
peror Michael the Stammerer, where he continued till the 
death of that monarch. Having regained his liberty on 
the acceftion of the emperor Thedoiius, the recolledlion 
of the perlecution which he had fullered did not deter him 
from again boldly defending the worlhip of images ; by 
which means he acquired fuch credit with the fuperftitious 
populace, that when, in the year 834, the emperor marched 
againft the Saracens, he ordered Methodius to accompany 
the army, under the appreheniion that he would other- 
wile excite tumults and fedition at Conftantinople. Upon 
the emperor’s return to that city, Methodius, was again 
committed to clofe confinement, in which; it is faid, he 
was treated with great hardlhip and cruelty, till by the 
death of that prince, and the lucceiiion of his Ion Mi¬ 
chael III. under the regency of the emprefs Theodora, a 
zealous worlliipper of images, he again recovered his li¬ 
berty, in the year 842. In the-fame year he was preferred 
to the patriarchate of the church of Conftantinople ; and 
no fooner was he fettled in his fee, than he convened a 
fynod, in which the iconoclafts were condemned, and 
image-worlhip re-ellablilhed in the Greek church. Thii 
prelate died in the year 847. He was the author of feve¬ 
ral works, among which was a “ Conftitution, or Manual 
for Perfons who, after having apoftatized, returned agaii> 
to the Profeffion of the Chriftian Faith.” Mojheim. 
METKO'NE, a town of Peloponnefus, where king 
Philip gained his firft battle over the Athenians, B. C. 360.. 
—A town of Macedonia, fouth of Pella, in the fiege of 
which, according to Juftin, Philip loft his right eye. 
METHON'ICA, J'. in botany, the Malabar name of 
the Gloriosa, or fuperb lily. See that article, vol. viii, 
p. 620. 
METHO'UGHT, the preterite of methinhs. See Me* 
thinks and Meseems. I thought; it appeared to me. 
Methought I Hood on a wide river’s bank, 
Which I mull needs o’e'rpals, but knew' not how. Dn/den* 
METH'VEN, a town of Scotland, in the< country of 
Perth, near which is an ancient caftle. The principal 
manufacture is that of-broad and narrow linens ; with 
two paper and fome other mills. It is fix miles weft of the 
towm of Perth, on the turnpike-road leading to Crieff, 
from which it is eleven miles dillant. It contains, ac¬ 
cording to the population-returns of 1811, about 950 
fouls. Excepting about a dozen families, the inhabitants 
are all either mechanics or labouring people ; but in this 
little town education is very laudably attended to. The 
inftitutions for the purpofe of education, and for diile- 
minating knowledge, are as follow : 
1. The Parochial School. The object of this inftitu- 
tion, as of all fimilar ones in Scotland, is to communi¬ 
cate inftruCtion in the arts of reading, writing, arith¬ 
metic, &c. at a fmall expenfe, to the children belonging to 
the parilh, and to all others who find it convenient to at¬ 
tend. The teacher has an annual falary of400 merk Scots, 
or about 22I. 4s. llerling, belides the l’chool-fees paid by 
the heritors of the parilh, and feveral other perquifites 
arifingfrom the office of precentor or clerk, the proclaim^ 
tion of bans, and granting certificates. For a. number of 
years this inllitution had fallen into dilrepute, on account 
of the age and infirmities of the teacher, who kept no af- 
fiftant, and who died above fix years ago, at the age of 
eighty. Soon after his demile, a young man. of good 
charafter and abilities was admitted into the office, 
whofe diligence and iuccefs in teaching have again raifed 
this leminary to its former importance. Soon after his 
admilfion, a’very large and elegant fchool-room was built, 
at the expenfe of the parilh, which coll between four and 
£vs 
