NAMES OF RELIGION.

239

MEN.

Arabic.

Abd Allah—Servant of God.
Abd el Ahad—Servant of the
One (God understood).

Abd el Melik—Servant of the
King (of kings).

Amine Deen-Faithful to the religion.

Sofi ed Deen-Pure of faith.

Sofian (8.) Devoted to God. Shems ed Deen-Sun of the religion.

Abd el Kader—Servant of the Bedr er Deen-Full moon of re

NOTICES TO CLASS I. DIVISION 1.

1 Nana. This name, rendered lately of such infamous notoriety, is of great antiquity, as the name of a goddess worshipped by the Babylonians.

* Class I. Division 2.—This division also may have been enlarged to almost any extent. Hebrews and Arabians loved to profess themselves Servants of God; the Greeks especially loved to call themselves (as noticed by St. Paul) the offspring of God; they also delighted in naming their children a gift from one of their many divinities. GoaVs gift has its synonymes in all languages. But to each division a few characteristic names—in due proportion to the numbers out of which they are selected—will, it is thought, be sufficient.

2 Thomas.—The signification of a twin is generally attached to the name of Thomas; but is it really so? If synonymous with the Greek Didymus, why should the two names be repeated together? 'Thomas which is called Didymus;' Simon is spoken of ' as called Cephas,' and as 'surnamed Peter,' the two Greek names being svnonymes, but different to his Hebrew name, which signifies obedient. The writer ventures to suggest: may not the origin of our familiar name of Thomas be found far away amongst the countless synonymes of the sun-god, Phoenician Thammuz, from whom the Greeks borrowed their Adonis? In his vision of Jerusalem Ezekiel mourned to see Jewish women 'weeping for Tammuz,' the beloved idol in which was personified the summer sunshine, yearly blotted from the sky by the rude hand of winter. This festival was in June, part of the month was called Tamuz, and we may well believe that to sons born to them at that time the daughters of Judah, who worshipped him, would love to give his name. Once established as a favorite name, it would continue to be used long after its idolatrous significance had passed away, even as many heathen names are used by us.

3 Saturnino. This name, in the days of St. Cyprian, the martyred bishop of Carthage, in the eighth century, was at the same time so common and so distasteful to him, that in epistles written by him in the name of the principal members of his church, it is mentioned as 'Saturnino, another, and again another.' It would seem still to find strange favour amongst the Italians. A short time back, at a London police-office, Saturnino Terribile was brought up on a charge of murder—this name of terrible import, unfortunately, seeming in his case to have been too suggestive.

NOTICES TO CLASS I. DIVISION 2.

4 Joachim is said to be the Hebrew name given to Moses by his parents before he was carried as an infant from his home.

5 Lazarus.—How much significance there is in the names of Lazarus and Bethany in connection with Christ's first victory over the grave! Bethany sig. house of dates, a village of palms; palmbranches in all lands and in all times being symbolical of victory. The village venerated by the Arabs is called by them El Azariah, in Arabic and Hebrew a synonyme for Lazarus. Azrael* is their

* In Arabic, Azr signifies strength.

NOTICES TO CLASS I.

241

angel of death; was not that name also derived from the Hebrew Esrael, the meaning of which is identical with the former names, all four signifying the help of God? If so, then in the words 'Lazarus, come forth!' we have the angel of Death himself summoned, and in his name all the dead ransomed from the power of the grave. By God's help with Lazarus will be our victory over death, by God's help with Joshua our entrance into the promised land.

* Spiridion, Spiro.—This name and its diminutive, belonging to a bishop of Cyprus in the fourth century, patron saint of Corfu, is a favourite name amongst modern Greeks. The grand old classical names have a strange sound to us, used, as they are there, so commonly: Leonidas, Lycurgus, &c.; and, amongst women, Calypso, Calliope, Cleopatra, Aspasia. Besides these, some of their most favourite names are: (Hebrew) Michaelis, (Latin) Constantis, their own Petros, Kyrios (was it not originally from the Persian Kouresh, the sun?), and Kyrillos, our Cyrus and Cyril; for women's names, Helena, Aglaia, Agathonia, Polyxene; and for men and women both, Dimitri.

Thor.—In the Land nama-bok of Iceland, one-third of the names given have reference to Thor (the Daring), the favourite divinity of the Scandinavians, as his father Wodin, or Odin, was of the Anglo-Saxons.

s Anselm.—Anses, As, Os, inferior gods worshipped by the Teutonic race, corresponding to the deified heroes of Greece and Rome.

Amin, the name of Mohammed when young, his mother's name having been Amina. The strange combination of Jewish traditions and Christian reminiscences is supposed to have been owing to his mother having been a Jewess converted to Christianity by the Syrian monk Sergius.* Deen, or Din (religion), signified the practical part, and Iman (faith) the doctrinal part of Islamism, Islam, salvation, or, as some translate it, to mean originally resignation—are they not the same? and in Christianity also? Man must renounce his own will in all things; he must look up to, depend upon God as a child upon his father, ere he can accept and rejoice in His will, and His revealed will become his guide in life, his hope in death. Is not Heaven's song 'Amen! Alleluia ?' So be it! Praise the Lord!

* Von Hammer.

R

CHAPTER XII.

Classified List-Class II. Abstract qualities-Twelve divisions and notices - including names principally from the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Celtic, Arabic, North American Indian, &c. &c.

Zenobia (w.) - Gift of life, or Zopyra-Fire of life.

gift of Zeno.

Amaranth-Unfading flower.

Aristotle Having the best end Agarista-The best.

Latin.