ries should walk on the fire. If a man is sick, he | visible, before the wood of the sacrifice was lighted, vows, "O Kâli, mother, only cure me, and I will as much as when visible upon the altar. The anwalk on fire in your holy presence." It is difficult cient Medes and Persians held all kinds of fire in to come to any definite conclusion as to the precise religious veneration; for actual, visible fires reminded mode in which the ancient Hebrews made their them of the primitive fire, Ormuzd, the god of fire children pass through the fire. Some suppose that and of light. (See ABESTA.) In Cappadocia the either their parents or the priests led them between Magi kept up a perpetual fire in the temples of Antwo fires; others, that they waved them about in the aitis and Amanus. The Sauromatians or Medes of the flames, while the worshippers of Moloch danced North worshipped the fire. They have been lost amid round or leaped through the fire. The fire being the Sclavonians, whose religion partook much of the an emblem of Moloch or the sun, perhaps this cere- character of Sun-worship, and who maintained sacred mony might be intended to denote that the children fires in honour of Perun at Kiew, of Znicz at Novwere thereby consecrated to that deity. gorod and in Lithuania, and of Perkunos at Romowe in Lithuania. Among the Celts virgin priestesses had charge of the sacred fire which was annually renewed at the winter-solstice. (See DRUIDS.) Sacred fires existed also among the ancient Peruvians, the Red Indians, and the Aztecs. In China, at the present day, both the Budhists or worshippers of Fo, and the sect of Lao-Tzé, maintain their ever-burning holy fires. FIRE PHILOSOPHERS. See THEOSOPHISTS. FIRE (STRANGE). In Lev. x. 1, we are informed that Nadab and Abihu “offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not." Considerable difference of opinion has existed as to what is precisely meant by the "strange fire" here mentioned. Some Rabbins, as well as modern critics, have alleged, that the sin of the two youthful priests | lay in their offering incense which they had no right to do. This notion, however, is shown to be groundless, by simply noticing the expression, "their censers," which evidently implies that it was part of their duty to offer incense. On carefully examining the whole incident as narrated by the sacred historian, it appears plain that "strange fire" is to be understood as fire not taken from the altar which was there miraculously kindled. Some, however, while they admit that the fire may have been taken from the altar of burnt-offering, allege that the incense was applied to the fire in a manner different from that which God had appointed. To the general opinion that the strange fire had not been taken from the altar of burnt-offering, the objection has sometimes been raised, that it is difficult to conceive from what other quarter it could have been obtained. The Targum of Jonathan alleges, that the offending priests received it from the fires at which the priests' portion of the sacrifices was dressed for food in the court of the tabernacle. #FIRE TEMPLE. See PRYTANEUM, PYRÆUM. FIRE-WORSHIP. This species of idolatry is of very remote antiquity. It is understood to have existed as far back as the time of Abraham, whose ancestors belonged to Chaldea, where, as is generally believed, Pyrolatry was established by Nimrod, and, accordingly, Abraham's birth-place, Ur, denotes fire. The Jews have an old tradition, that Terah and Abraham were expelled from Chaldea because they refused to worship the fire. Throughout Syria, the worship of fire was mixed up with that of the sun. In the religion of ancient India, AGNI (which see), the resplen dent, golden-haired god of fire, occupies a very conspicuous place. The first act of a pious Hindu, when he awoke in the morning, was to invoke Agni. The sacrificial fire was kindled and looked upon as heavenly light come down to dwell with man; it was a god conceived as present, though in Among the ancient heathens fire was held in high veneration. Thus we find that a lamp burned constantly in the Prytaneum at Athens in honour of Minerva. Rome worshipped Vesta under the form of a perpetual fire. These sacred fires were kept burning in a variety of places, at Delphi, Argos, Naxos, Rhodes, Tenedos and Ephesus; they were looked upon as essential to the prosperity of the city and of the empire, and the extinction of one of them was regarded as a public calamity, betokening some heavy disaster, or even the overthrow of the nation itself. These sacred fires, however, have not in all cases been kept constantly burning. The ancient Peruvians annually extinguished their sacred fire for the purpose of kindling it anew. In such cases fire is no longer viewed as an emblem of the eternal God, but of that natural and moral life which requires tc be periodically renewed. Thus, in Persia, where fire-worship anciently prevailed, and is not yet entirely abolished, the sacred fire was wont to be extinguished on the death of the king. Among the Mexicans all their fires were put out at the close of each cycle of fifty-two years. Among the Guebres, the last remnants of the ancient fire-worshippers of Persia, all the fires are extinguished once every year. The ancient Romans also were accustomed annually to renew the sacred fire of Vesta on the first of March. See GUEBRES, PERSIA (RELIGION OF ANCIENT). FIRMAMENT, the material expanse or arch of heaven, which seems to stretch over our heads, and to rest at all points of the horizon upon the earth. The Hebrews considered it as transparent like a crystal or sapphire. Over this arch they supposed were the waters of heaven. Their firmament, therefore, differed from the brazen firmament of the mythology of Homer. The ancient Egyptians saw in the azure firmament, as it were, a celestial Nile, or rather ocean, which communicated on all sides with the ocean which surrounds the earth. The vault of heaven was compared by the ancient Greeks to a round and convex shield. FIRST-BORN. See BIRTHRIGHT. FIRST-FRUITS, an offering made to God by the ancient Hebrews of part of the produce of harvest as an acknowledgment of the Divine goodness in sending them fruitful seasons. This was agreeable to the command of God as laid down in Exod. xxii. 29, "Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me." In the verse which immediately follows, the command is made to extend to animals. Thus verse 30, "Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me." The name first-fruits was derived from the circumstance, that they were offered in the temple before any part of the crop was touched. There were two kinds of first-fruits. The first kind was offered in the name of the whole people, and | consisted either of two loaves of bread, or of a sheaf of barley, gathered on the evening of the 15th of Nisan, and thrashed in the court of the temple. This was cleansed and winnowed, then three pints of it were roasted and pounded with incense and oil, and waved by the priest before the Lord towards the four winds; the priest then threw a handful into the fire, and kept the remainder for himself. When this ceremony was concluded, every man was allowed and gather in his harvest. The other kind of first-fruits is said by the Rabbins to have consisted of a sixtieth part of each man's harvest, which every private individual was expected to bring to the temple. These first-fruits consisted of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, apricots, olives, and dates. They were carried in procession by twenty-four persons, preceded by an ox for sacrifice, with gilded horns, and crowned with olive. Besides these two species of first-fruits offered to the Lord, there was another offering of corn, wine, and oil, along with sheep's wool, which was presented for the use of the Levites, according to the command given in Deut. xviii. 4. No precise arrangement is made as to the extent of this gift to the Levitical priesthood; but the Talmudical writers say, that liberal persons were accustomed to give a fortieth, or even a thirtieth, while less generous persons contented themselves with giving a sixtieth part only of the entire produce. The first of these was called an oblation with a good eye, and the second an oblation with an evil eye, and to this tradition our Lord is supposed by some to allude in Matth. xx. 15, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" The time of offering the first-fruits extended from the feast of Pentecost until the feast of Dedication. It was unlawful for the Jews to gather in the harvest until they had offered to God the omer or new sheaf, which was presented the to reap day after the great Day of Unleavened Bread; neither were they permitted to bake any bread made of new corn until they had offered the new loaves upon the altar on the Day of Pentecost. The practice of offering the first-fruits was not unknown to the ancient heathens. Porphyry says it was appointed by the laws both of Triptolemus and Draco. Diodorus Siculus also mentions it as practised by the ancient Egyptians. FIRST-FRUITS OF BENEFICES. See AN NATES. FISH-WORSHIP. The Philistine god DAGON (which see), was represented partly under the form of a fish, and hence Plutarch says, that among the Egyptians, Syrians, and Greeks, to abstain from fish was accounted a sacred duty. Both Cicero and Xenophon affirm, that the Syrians worshipped fish. Lucian says, that they thought them sacred, and, therefore, never used them as food, and he expressly tells us, that "adjacent to the temple at Hierapolis, there was a lake in which many sacred fish were kept, some of the largest of which had names given them, and would come to you when called." Diodorus also affirms, "At this very day the Syrians eat no fish, but adore them as gods." And it is not a little remarkable, that when God warns the Israelites against following the idolatry of the neighbouring nations, he mentions among the graven images that are to be avoided, Deut. iv. 18, "the likeness of any fish that is in the waters." Fish-worship still prevails in some parts of the heathen world, though not extensively. In one district of Western Africa, on the Bonny river, the shark is held sacred, not perhaps on its own account, but because it is regarded as the dwelling-place or temple of evil spirits, to appease whom human sacrifices are sometimes offered to the voracious fish. So tame, in consequence of the indulgence extended to them, have the sharks on the Bonny become, that, as we learn from Wilson, they come every day to the edge of the river to see if a human victim has been provided for their repast. Father Froes, a Jesuit missionary in Japan, speaks of sacred fishes in a river in that country, which the Bonzes or priests are afraid to taste, lest they should immediately be struck with leprosy in punishment for their audacious sacrilege. One of the principal deities of the Japanese is CANON (which see), who presides over the waters, and is represented as swallowed up by a fish as far as the middle. FISHERMAN'S RING, one of the Pope's two seals. The impression on it is St. Peter holding a line with bait attached to it in the water. This seal is used for those briefs which are sealed with red See BULL. wax. FIVE ARTICLES. See ARTICLES OF Perth. FIVE POINTS. See ARMINIANS, CALVINISTS. FLAGELLANTS (Lat. scourgers), a class of people who appeared first in Italy in the thirteenth century, amid the contests carried on between the FLAGELLATION. Guelphs and the Ghibellines, the party friendly to the pope, and the party friendly to the emperor. In the excitement of the period, large bodies of men, girded with ropes, marched in procession through the cities and villages, singing hymns, and calling upon the people to repent. The spectacle which thus presented itself as the Flagellants passed along, produced a great sensation. Such processions spread from Italy to other countries. In Germany especially, the deep impression produced in the minds of the people by the prevalence of the black death contributed to call forth demonstrations of that kind. Large bodies, accordingly, of Flagellants, marched through Flanders, France, and Germany, singing hymns, and scourging themselves till the blood flowed freely. To such an extent did the fanatical spirit spread, that both the civil and ecclesiastical authorities found it necessary to interfere. Pope Clement VI. issued a public prohibition of all such processions, on pain of the heavy censures of the church. This only roused the Flagellants to oppose the dominant church of the time, and at length these processions assumed an heretical tendency. Those who took part in them complained bitterly of the corruptions of the church, declaring that the sacraments in the hands of a wicked clergy had lost their validity, and that nothing remained but to share in the sufferings of Christ, who was so obviously crucified afresh, and put to an open shame. Many of these enthusiastic opponents of mother church were visited with the most bitter persecutions, and not a few died at the stake, both in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Flagellants held various peculiar opinions, which, to the number of fifty, were condemned by the council of Constance. Their principal tenets were, that the teaching of the Romish church respecting the efficacy of the sacraments, purgatory, prayers for the dead, and the like, are utterly erroneous; and on the contrary, whoever believes simply what is contained in the Apostles' Creed, frequently repeats the Lord's Prayer and the Ave Maria, and at certain periods lacerates his body with scourging, and thus punishes himself for the sins he commits, will attain eternal salvation. It was not so much, however, the affirmative opinions of the Flagellants, as their negative sentiments, their refusal to receive the chief corruptions which had been engrafted on pure Christianity by the Church of Rome, that drew down the thunders of the Vatican upon these zealous, though, in several points, erring enthusiasts. FLAGELLATION (Lat. scourging), a practice sanctioned by the Romish church, and which they usually term Discipline, whereby an individual, for the mortifying of the flesh, voluntarily scourges himself. Such an exercise of voluntary penance is resorted to in many monasteries at regular intervals, for instance, three times a-week; but in many cases it is much more frequent. In the 'Lives of the Saints Canonized in 1839,' a work edited by Cardinal Wise 901 man, we find various remarks, which clearly evince the high importance attached to the practice of flagellation. Thus, in speaking of St. Liguori, it is stated, "Seeing the severity with which he disciplined himself, and the austerity of his fasts and mortifications, it was a source of wonder how he could live." And, again, concerning the same saint, we are informed, "His mortifications seemed to increase both in severity and frequency, and one day his secretary had to burst open his door, and snatch the discipline out of his hands, fearing lest the violence with which he scourged himself might cause his death." Of St. Pacificus, we are informed in the same treatise, "Besides the regular disciplines prescribed by rule three times in the week, he cruelly scourged himself thrice each day with chains or cords, so as to fill all those with horror who heard the whistlings of the lash, or saw the abundance of blood which he shed during the flagellation." The practice, however, is not limited to private individuals; it is regularly performed at Rome on particular days during the time of Lent. The following account of the process is given by an eyewitness: "Being resolved to satisfy my curiosity on this singular subject, by being present at the ceremony, I went one evening, along with several friends, to the church of the Caravita, where it is performed on the Tuesdays and Thursdays of Lent. The service commenced about an hour after sunset. The church is spacious, and the number of men present was, as nearly as we could judge, about five hundred. There were only six or eight small candles, so that from the first we could only see indistinctly. During prayers, two or three attendants entered, each having an iron hoop, on which were suspended about a hundred leathern thongs, which were distributed among the congregation; but some had brought their whips along with them. We examined the thongs and found them exactly like good small English dog-whips, hard and well-knotted towards the point, but we did not succeed in obtaining one. After prayers, we had a sermon of some length, on the advantages of punishing the body for the good of the soul, and especially that sort of penance which is inflicted by means of whips. During the sermon the lights were extinguished one after another, and the concluding part of it was delivered in total dark ness. "After the sermon was concluded a bell rang, and there was a slight bustle and hustling, as if those present were removing part of their dress; a second bell rang, and the flagellation commenced. It lasted fully a quarter of an hour; hundreds were certainly flogging something, but whether their own bare backs, or the pavement of the church, we could not tell. To judge from the sounds, some used the whips, and others their hands, but the darkness was so total, we could see nothing; and besides having some little fear for our own persons we had got into a snug corner where we calculated no thongs could |