a divine of the fourth century, the head of the Arians, and founder of the Arians*, a sect which denied the eternal divinity and consubstantiality of the Word. He was born in Libya, near Egypt. Eusebius bishop of Nicomedia, a great favourite of Constantine's sister of the emperor Constantine and wife of Licinius, became a zealous promoter of Arianism. He took Arius under his protection, and introduced him to Constantia; so that the sect increased, and several bishops embraced it openly. There arose, however, such disputes in the cities, that the emperor, in order to remedy these disorders, was obliged to assemble the council of Nice, where, in the year 325, the doctrine of Arius was condemned. Arius was banished by the emperor, all his books were ordered to be burnt, and capital punishment was denounced against whoever dared to keep them. After five years banishment, he was recalled to Constantinople, where he presented the emperor with a confession of his faith, drawn up so artfully, that it fully satisfied him. Notwithstanding which, Athanasius, now advanced to the see of Alexandria, refused to admit him and his followers to communion. This so enraged them, that, by their interest at court, they procured that prelate to be deposed and banished. But the church of Alexandria still refusing to admit Arius into their communion, the emperor sent for him to Constantinople; where, upon delivering in a fresh confession of his faith in terms less offensive, the emperor commanded Alexander, the bishop of that church, to receive him the next day into his communion; but that very evening Arius died. The manner of his death was very extraordinary: as his friends were conducting him in triumph to the great church of Constantinople, Arius, pressed by a natural necessity, stepped aside to ease himself; but expired on the spot, his bowels gushing out.
But But the heresy did not die with the heresiarach; his party continued till in great credit at court. Athanasius, indeed, was soon recalled from banishment, and as soon removed again; the Arians being countenanced by the government, and making and deposing bishops as it best served their purposes. In short, this sect continued with great lustre above 300 years: it was the reigning religion of Spain for above two centuries; it was on the throne both in the east and west; it prevailed in Italy, France, Pannonia, and Africa; and was not extirpated till about the end of the 8th century.
This heresy was again set on foot in the west by Servetus, who, in 1531, wrote a little treatise against the mystery of the Trinity. After his death, Arianism got footing in Geneva; from whence it removed into Poland; but, at length, degenerated, in a great measure, into Socinianism. Erasmus seems to have aimed at reviving Arianism, in his commentaries on the New Testament; and the learned Grotius seems to lean a little that way.
With regard to the state of Arianism in England, it may be sufficient to observe, that from the numerous publications of that cast which are daily making their appearance, it seems to be rather a growing, than exploded doctrine there.
Plate XII. ARK, or Noah's Ark, a floating vessel built by Noah for the preservation of his family and the several species of animals during the deluge.
The ark has afforded several points of curious inquiry among the critics and naturalists, relating to its form, capacity, materials, &c.
The wood whereof the ark was built is called in the Hebrew Gopher-wood, and in the Septuagint square timbers. Some translate the original cedar, others pine, others box, &c. Pelletier prefers cedar on account of its incorruptibility, and the great plenty of it in Asia, whence Herodotus and Theophratus relate, that the kings of Egypt and Syria built whole fleets thereof, instead of deal.
The learned Mr Fuller, in his Miscellanies, has observed, that the wood whereof the ark was built was nothing but that which the Greeks call κυπαρισσίαν, or the cypress-tree; for, taking away the termination, κυπαρ and gopher differ very little in sound. This observation the great Bochart has confirmed, and shewn very plainly that no country abounds so much with this wood as that part of Assyria which lies about Babylon.
In what place Noah built and finished his ark is not less made a matter of dilatation. But the most probable opinion is, that it was built in Chaldea, in the territories of Babylon, where there was so great a quantity of cypresses in the groves and gardens in Alexander's time, that that prince built a whole fleet out of it for want of timber. And this conjecture is confirmed by the Chaldean tradition, which makes Xithurus (another name for Noah) set sail from that country.
The dimensions of the ark, as given by Moses, are 300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in height; which some have thought too scanty, considering the number of things it was to contain; and hence an argument has been drawn against the authority of the relation. To solve this difficulty many of the ancient fathers, and the modern critics, have been put to very miserable shifts: But Buteo and Kircher have proved geometrically, that, taking the common cubit of a foot and a half, the ark was abundantly sufficient for all the animals supposed to be lodged in it. Snellius computes the ark to have been above half an acre in area. Father Lamy shews, that it was 110 feet longer than the church of St Mary at Paris, and 64 feet narrower: and if so, it must have been longer than St Paul's church in London, from west to east, and broader than that church is high in the inside, and 54 feet of our measure in height; and Dr Arbuthnot computes it to have been 81062 tons.
The things contained in it were, besides eight persons of Noah's family, one pair of every species of unclean animals, and seven pair of every species of clean animals, with provisions for them all during the whole year. The former appears, at first view, almost infinite; but if we come to a calculation, the number of species of animals will be found much less than is generally imagined, not amounting to a hundred species of quadrupeds, nor to two hundred of birds; out of which, in this case, are excepted such animals as can live in the water. Zoologists usually reckon but a hundred and seventy species in all; and bishop Wilkins shews that only 72 of the quadruped kind needed a place in the ark.
By the description Moses gives of the ark, it appears to have been divided into three stories, each ten cubits or 15 feet high; and it is agreed on, as most probable, that the lowest story was for the beasts, the middle for the food, and the upper for the birds, with Noah and his family; each story being subdivided into different apartments, stalls, &c. though Josephus, Philo, and other commentators, add a kind of fourth story under all the rest; being, as it were, the hold of the vessel, to contain the ballast and receive the filth and faeces of so many animals: but F. Calmet thinks, that what is here reckoned a story, was no more than what is called the keel of ships, and served only for a conservatory of fresh water. Drexelius makes 300 compartments; F. Fournier, 333; the anonymous author of the Questions on Genesis, 400; Buteo, Temporarius, Arias Montanus, Holtus, Wilkins, Lamy, and others, suppose as many partitions as there were different sorts of animals. Pelletier makes only 72, viz. 36 for the birds, and as many for the beasts. His reason is, that if we suppose a greater number, as 333 or 400, each of the eight persons in the ark must have had 37, 41, or 50 stalls to attend and cleanse daily, which he thinks impossible to have been done. But it is observed, that there is not much in this: to diminish the number of stalls without a diminution of animals is vain; it being perhaps more difficult to take care of 300 animals in 72 stalls, than in 300. As to the number of animals contained in the ark, Buteo computes that it could not be equal to 500 horses; he even reduces the whole to the dimensions of 56 pair of oxen. F. Lamy enlarges it to 64 pair of oxen, or 128 oxen; so that, supposing one ox equal to two horses, if the ark had room for 256 horses, there must have been room for all the animals. But the same author demonstrates, that one floor of it would suffice for 500 horses, allowing nine square feet to a horse.
As to the food in the second story, it is observed by Buteo from Columella, that 30 or 40 pounds of hay ordinarily suffices for an ox a-day; and that a fo- lid cubit of hay, as usually pressed down in our hayricks, weighs about 40 pounds; so that a square cubit of hay is more than enough for one ox in one day.
Now, it appears, that the second story contained 150,000 solid cubits; which divided between 206 oxen will afford each more hay, by two thirds, than he can eat in a year. Bishop Wilkins computes all the carnivorous animals equivalent, as to the bulk of their bodies, and their food, to 27 wolves; and all the rest to 380 beves. For the former, he allows 1825 sheep; and for the latter, 109,500 cubits of hay: all which will be easily contained in the two first stories, and a deal of room to spare. As to the third story, nobody doubts of its being sufficient for the fowls; with Noah, his sons, and daughters. Upon the whole, the learned bishop remarks, that of the two, it appears much more difficult to affix a number and bulk of necessary things to answer the capacity of the ark, than to find sufficient room for the several species of animals already known to have been there. This he attributes to the imperfection of our list of animals, especially those of the unknown parts of the earth; adding, that the most expert mathematician at this day could not affix the proportion of a vessel better accommodated to the purpose than is here done: and hence he finally concludes, that the capacity of the ark, which had been made an objection against scripture, ought to be esteemed a confirmation of its divine authority; since, in those ruder ages, men, being less versed in arts and philosophy, were more obnoxious to vulgar prejudices than now; so that, had it been an human invention, it would have been contrived according to those wild apprehensions which arise from a confused and general view of things as much too big as it had been represented too little.
But it must be observed, that, besides the places requisite for the beasts and birds, and their provisions, there was room required for Noah to lock up household utensils, the instruments of husbandry, grains and seeds to sow the earth with after the deluge; for which purpose it is thought that he might spare room in the third story for 36 cabbins, besides a kitchen, a hall, four chambers, and a space about 48 cubits in length to walk in.
Plate XLII. Ark of the covenant, a small chest or coffin, three feet nine inches in length, two feet three inches in breadth, and two feet three inches in height, in which were contained the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod, and the tables of the covenant. This coffin was made of shittim-wood, and was covered with the mercy-seat, which was of solid gold; at the two ends whereof were two cherubims, looking toward each other, with expanded wings, which, embracing the whole circumference of the mercy-seat, met on each side in the middle. The whole, according to the Rabbins, was made out of the same mafs, without joining any of the parts by folder. Here it was that the Schechinah or Divine Presence resided, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, and was visibly seen in the appearance of a cloud over it; and from hence the Divine oracles were given out by an audible voice, as often as God was consulted in the behalf of his people.