"Jamque venenifero sanguis manare palato "Cœperat ; et virides ADSPERGINE TINXERAT herbas." "And now the blood had begun to flow from his venomous palate, and HAD DYED BY ITS DROPPING the green herbage." Metamorph. III. 85, 86. "ut vero VESTEM quoque SANGUINE TINCTAM Repperit ;" "but when she found his GARMENT also STAINED with blood." Metamorph. IV. 107. "et incerto fontem MEDICAMINE TINXIT." "And STAINED or infected the fountain with an ambiguous DRUG. Metamorph. IV. 388.* An, quia cunctarum contraria semina rerum Sunt duo, discordes ignis et unda Dei ; "Is it because the contrary seeds of all things are *This Example is similar to the Πορφυρέω, · ἐβάπτετο δ' αἵματι λίμνη "And the lake was STAINED with purple BLOOD."-in Homer's Battle of the frogs and mice, 218, which Dr. Ryland thinks might, in consideration of the burlesque nature of the poem, be understood of the Lake as immersed in the frogs' blood. Candid Statement, Notes, XII. two; the discordant gods, fire and water; that our fathers have joined those elements, and have thought fit to stain, mark, the body with [SPRINKLED, i. e. SCATTERED] fires, and with SPRINKLED water?" Fastorum iv. 787-790. In like manner, Horace uses the word in every instance for staining, by aspersion and pouring. "Tinget pavimentum mero," "shall stain the pavement with wine," II. Od. 14. 26, 27. Victima, pontificum secures cervice tinget," ""the victim-shall stain with its neck the axes of the priests," III. 23. 12, 13. "Non ego te meis-meditor tingere poculis," "I do not intend to stain you with my cups," IV. 12. 22, 23. In Virgil it is used in the sense of stain in G. 3. 492. but most frequently signifies to immerse, and, like Bárra, generally relates to operations on a small scale, and of a gentle nature. Bacchus is invited to dip his legs in new wine, G. 2. 8. Camilla does not dip the soles of her swift feet in the surface of the ocean, E. 7. 811. "The Cyclops, and Vulcan himself, dip the heated pieces of metal they have been forging, a sword for instance, in a lake or in a river, to temper them," G. 4. 172. E. 8. 450. The waves do not reach the lofty sides of the Cyclops, Æ. 3. 665. The Bears (the two heavenly constellations so called,) fear to be dipped in the ocean, G. 1. 246. And winter suns hasten to plunge into it, G. 2. 481. E. 1. 749 If the latter instances be thought exceptions to the remark last made, they tally perfectly with the use of all these words, in an exaggerated figurative sense. The fellows called ẞárra (bapta) in Juvenal, II. 92. were not so called because they had been immersed in a dyer's vat, (although they would have been well served, had they been so treated,) but because they were painted, from Bárтw, to paint, that is, TO LAY ON colours. See Potter's, and Robinson of Ravenstondale's, Archæologia Græca. I shall now give an instance in which ßánrw signifies immersion, or popping into water. Herod. Euterpe, 47. ν δε Αἰγύπτιοι μιαρὸν ἥγηνται θηρίον εἶναι, καὶ τοῦτο μὲν, ἦν τις ψαύσῃ αὐτῶν παριὼν ὑὸς, αὐτοῖσι ἱματίοισι ἀπ ̓ ὧν ἔβαψε ἑωῦτον, βὰς ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμόν. "The Egyptians reckon a swine an unclean beast, and abhor it to such a degree, that if any of them should in passing touch a swine, he would go strait to the river, and, with his very clothes on, PLUNGE (pop) himself INTO it." I have selected this example, because, as far as immersion is concerned, it is exactly an Antipædobaptist's baptism. I have been obliged to go for it to Herodotus, because, even under the form of Bárrw, I could not find one in the Holy Scriptures. After all, there is one very manifest point of difference. The person who adopts this summary method of purification, performs the operation for himself. The immersing of one person by another, for any purpose except that of medical treatment, or that of murder, I can discover in no writings whatever, sacred or profane. There is, also a point, not of difference but of resemblance, between this example and an Antipædobaptist's baptism, which seems to have very much astonished the his torian, namely, the person's plunging himself, auroîð iparios, "with his very clothes on." It was evidently regarded as a singular and monstrous sort of purification by this heathen writer; and we shall meet with abundant evidence that it was never so seen in Israel. As a collateral proof that Bárra signifies to pop, in any direction, I shall further mention only its compounds. In the quotation from Herodotus, we have met with ἀποβάπτω, (ἀπ ̓ ὧν ἔβαψε,) we have also επιβάτε τω and μεταβάπτω, as well as ἐμβάπτω and καταβάπτω. Finally, on this word, we may make the same remark which we made on tingo; every instance in which it is used in the Septuagint and New Testament, with a single exception, relates to operations on a small scale, and of a gentle nature. We have the dipping of a bunch of hyssop, the dipping of the priest's finger, the dipping of any vessel wherein any work is done, the dipping of a bird, the dipping of one's foot in oil, the dipping of the feet of the priests in the brim of the water of Jordan, the dipping of Ruth's morsel in the vinegar, the dipping of the end of Jonathan's rod in a honey-comb, Hazael's dipping a thick cloth in water, the dipping of the foot of a man and of the tongue of a dog in the blood of enemies, and the wetting of Nebuchadnezzar's body with the dew of heaven. The single exception, which I mentioned to prevent disputes, is Job ix. 31. To me it does not appear to be an exception as to the small scale of operation, for the "plunging" or dipping, not "in 1 the ditch," as our translators make it, but "in filth," seems to be merely the counterpart of "the washing," which is defined to be the washing of the hands. It could not be immersion, for it left his clothes clean, which are therefore said to abhor him. Goode's translation, which I believe to be correct, is as follows: "Should I wash myself in snow, And cleanse my hands in purity, So much for the Septuagint. In the New Testament use of Barr, there is no exception. We have merely the dipping of the tip of Lazarus' finger in water, and our Saviour's dipping of the sop, which he gave to Judas Iscariot, besides the passage in Rev. xix. 13. already considered. I believe the preceding illustration of ẞárrw (bapto) will, in substance, be found to apply to BaTTilw (bap-tizo). It has the same root, and the same general meaning. It includes various methods of applying water or other fluids, either in a literal or metaphorical sense. But I have never found it to signify, or to include in its signification, the raising out of the water any person or thing which was once immersed in it. In the Septuagint, the word is found in the following passages: 4 Kings v. 10. compared with 14. πορευθεὶς λοῦσαι ἑπτάκις ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ—καὶ κατέβη Ναιμὰν καὶ ἐβαπτίσατο ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ἑπτάκις κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Ελισαιέ. |