It is clear, by Bellarmine's confession, that S. Austin affirmed that the plain places of Scripture are sufficient to all laics, and all idiots or private persons.-J. TAYLOR, A Dissuasive from Popery, part ii. b. i. § 1. Christ was received of idiots, of the vulgar people, and of the simpler sort, while He was rejected, despised, and persecuted even to death by the high priests, lawyers, scribes, doctors, and rabbies.-BLOUNT, Philostratus, p. 237. It [Scripture] speaks commonly according to vulgar apprehension, as when it tells of the ends of the heaven;' which now almost every idiot knows hath no ends at all.-JOHN SMITH, Select Discourses, vi., On Prophecy. Truth is content, when it comes into the world, to wear our mantles, to learn our language; it speaks to the most idiotical sort of men in the most idiotical way. The reason of this plain and idiotical style of Scripture it may be worth our farther taking notice of.-Id. ibid. ILL-NATURE, This is now rather one special evil ILL-NATURED. quality, as kakia is often in Greek; it was once the complex of all, or more properly the natural substratum on which they all were superinduced. See 'Good-nature,' and, in addition to the passage from South, quoted below, a very instructive discussion on both words in his Sermons, 1737, vol. vi. pp. 104-III. I may truly say of the mind of an ungrateful person, that it is kindness-proof. It is impenetrable, unconquerable; unconquerable by that which conquers all things else, even by love itself. And the reason is manifest; for you may remember that I told you that ingratitude sprang from a principle of ill-nature; which being a thing founded in such a certain constitution of blood and spirit, as being born with a man into the world, and upon that account called nature, shall prevent all remedies that can be applied by education.-SOUTH, Sermons, 1737, vol. i. P. 429. King Henry the Eighth was an ill-natured prince to execute so many whom he had so highly favoured.-Sir T. OVERBURY, Crumbs fallen from King James' Table He is the worst of men, whom kindness cannot soften, nor endearments oblige; whom gratitude cannot tie faster than the bands of life and death.-He is an ill-natured sinner.-J. TAYLOR, The Miracles of the Divine Mercy, serm. 27. IMP. Employed in nobler senses formerly than now. To imp' is properly to engraft, and an 'imp' a graft, scion, or young shoot; and, even as we now speak of the scions' of a noble house, so there was in earlier English the same natural transfer of 'imps' from plants to persons. I was some tyme a frere, and the conventes gardyner Piers Ploughman, 2744. Of feble trees there comen wretched impes. CHAUCER, The Monkes Prologue. The sudden taking away of those most goodly and virtuous young imps, the Duke of Suffolk and his brother, by the sweating sickness, was it not also a manifest token of God's heavy displeasure towards us?—BECON, A Comfortable Epistle. The king returned into England with victory and triumph; the king preferred there eighty noble imps to the order of knighthood.-STOW, Annals, 1592, p. 385. IMPOTENT, The inner connexion between weakIMPOTENCE. ness and violence is finely declared in Latin in the fact that 'impotens' and 'impotentia ' imply both; so once did 'impotent' and 'impotence' in English (see Spenser's Fairy Queen, ii. 11, 23) though they now retain only the meaning of weak. An impotent lover Of women for a flash; but his fires quenched, MASSINGER, The Unnatural Combat, act iii. sc. 2. The Lady Davey, ever impotent in her passions, was even distracted with anger, that she was crossed in her will.-HACKET, Life of Archbishop Williams, part i. p. 194. The truth is, that in this battle and whole business the Britons never more plainly manifested themselves to be right barbarous ; such confusion, such impotence, as seemed likest not to a war, but to the wild hurry of a distracted woman, with as mad a crew at her heels.-MILTON, History of England, b. ii. If a great personage undertakes an action passionately and upon great interest, let him manage it indiscreetly, let the whole design be unjust, let it be acted with all the malice and impotency in the world, he shall have enough to flatter him, but not enough to reprove him.-J. TAYLOR, Holy Living, c. 2, § 6. IMPROVE. So long as the verb 'to improve' was directly connected in men's thoughts with the Latin 'improbare,' it was inevitable that it should have a meaning very different from that which now attaches to it; and so we find it used as equivalent to the Greek Aéyxe, the Latin 'reprobare,' to disapprove of, to disallow. If tho thre [opinions] be sufficiently improved, that is to saie, if it be sufficiently schewen that the thre be nought and untrewe and badde, alle the othere untrewe opiniouns bilded upon hem muste needis therebi take her fal.-PECOCK, Repressor, part 1. C. I. For love of the world the olde pharesies blasphemed the Holy Ghost, and persecuted the manifest truth which they could not improve.-TYNDALE, Exposition on the First Epistle of S. John. If ye cannot improve it [my doctrine] by God's word, and yet of an hate and malicious mind that you bear to the truth, labour to resist it and condemn it that it should not spread, I ensure you your sin is irremissible and even against the Holy Ghost.FRITH, Works, 1572, p. 3. Be instant in season and out of season; improve [ěλey§uv], rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.—2 Tim. iv. 2. Genera Version. 128 Incense-Incredulous. INCENSE. Now to kindle anger only; but once to kindle or inflame any passion, good or bad, in the breast. Anger, as the strongest passion, finally appropriated the word, just as in Greek it made Ovμós and opy its own. He [Asdrubal] it was, that when his men were weary and drew back, incensed [accendit] them again, one while by fair words and entreaty, another while by sharp checks and rebukes. -HOLLAND, Livy, p. 665. Prince Edward struck his breast and swore, that though all his friends forsook him, yet he would enter Ptolemais, though only with Fowin, his horsekeeper. By which speech he incensed the English to go on with him.-FULLER, The Holy War, b. iv. c. 28. INCIVILITY. See 'Civil.' By this means infinite numbers of souls may be brought from their idolatry, bloody sacrifices, ignorance, and incivility, to the worshipping of the true God.-Sir W. RALEIGH, Of the Voyage for Guiana. INCREDULOUS, In Low Latin, and in ages of a INCREDULITY. blind unintelligent faith, 'credulitas' came to be regarded as equivalent to 'fides,' and 'credulity' to 'faith.' The two latter, with their negatives, 'incredulity' and 'unbelief,' have been usefully desynonymized in our later English; but the quotations which follow will show that this was not always the case. For we also were sometime unwise, incredulous, erring, serving divers lusts and voluptuousnesses.-Tit. iii. 3. Rhemish Version. And we see that they could not enter in because of incredulity. -Heb. iii. 19. The same. But let us take heed; as God hates a lie, so He hates incre Indifferent-Individual. 129 dulity, an obstinate, a foolish, and pertinacious understanding.J. TAYLOR, Sermon at the Funeral of the Lord Primate. INDIFFERENT, INDIFFERENCE, It is a striking testimony of the low general average which we INDIFFERENTLY.) assume common to most things, that a thing which does not differ from others, is thereby qualified as poor; a sentence of depreciation is pronounced upon it when it is declared to be indifferent.' When in Greek diapépɛir means 'præstare,' and rà diapépovra 'præstantiora,' we have exactly the same feeling embodying itself at the other end. But this use of these words is modern. 'Indifferent' was impartial once, not making differences where none really were. God receiveth the learned and unlearned, and casteth away none, but is indifferent unto all.-Homilies; Exhortation to the Reading of Holy Scripture. If overseer of the poor, he [the good parishioner] is careful the rates be made indifferent, whose inequality oftentimes is more burdensome than the sum.-FULLER, The Holy State, b. ii. c. II. Come Sleep, O Sleep, the certain knot of peace, The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe, The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release, The indifferent judge between the high and low. Sir P. SIDNEY, Astrophel and Stella, 39. Requesting that they might speak before the senate, and be heard with indifference.-HOLLAND, Livy, p. 1214. That they may truly and indifferently administer justice.—Book of Common Prayer. INDIVIDUAL. Properly not capable of division indivisible, as is an atom; then undivided, inseparable, and so used in the quotations which follow. We, using individual as = person, have in fact recurred to the earlier meaning. , K |