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 PLACITUM

143

PLAGUES

order ran across the surface of the lake below the monastery and drew Placidus safely to shore. It ap- pears certain that he accompanied St. Benedict when, about 529, he removed to Monte Cassino, which was said to have been made over to him by the father of Placidus. Of his later life nothing is known, but in an ancient psallerium at Vallombrosa his name is found in the Litany of the Saints placed among the confessors immediately after those of St. Benedict and St. Maurus; the same occurs in Codex CLV at Sub- iaco, attributed to the ninth century (see Biiumer, "Johannes Mabillon", p. 199, n. 2).

There seems now to be no doubt that the " Passio S. Placidi", purporting to be written by one Gordianus, a servant of the saint, on the strength of which he is usually described as abbot and martyr, is really the work of Peter the Deacon, a monk of Monte Cassino in the twelfth century (see Delehaye, op. cit. infra). The writer seems to have begun by confusing St. Placidus with the earlier Placitus, who, with Euticius and thirty companions, was martyred in Sicily under Diocletian, their feast occurring in the earlier martyrologies on 5 October. Having thus made St. Placidus a martyr, he proceeds to account for this by attributing his martyr- dom to Saracen invaders from Spain — an utter an- achronism in the sixth century but quite a possible blunder if the "Acta" were composed after the Mos- lem invasions of Sicily. The whole question is dis- cussed by the Bollandists {infra).

Ada SS.. Ill Oct. (Bruasels, 1770). 65-147; Mabillon, Acta SS. 0. S. B.. I (Paris, 1668), 45; Idem, Annahs O. S. B., I (Paris, 1703); Idem, Iter ilalicum (Paris, 1687), 125; Gregory the Great, Dial.. 11, iii, v, vii, in P. L., LXV, 140, 144, 146; Pirri, Sicilia sacra (Palermo, 1733), 359, 379, 432, 1128; Abbatissa, Vita di s. Ptacido (Messina, 1654) ; Ave, Vita S. Placidi (Venice, 1583); Compendia delta vita di s. Placido (Monte Cassino, 1895); Delehaye, Legends of the Saints, tr. Crawford (London. 1907), 72, 106.

G. Roger Hudleston: Placitiun Regium. See Exequatur.

Plagues of Egypt, ten calamities inflicted on the Egyptians to overcome Pharao's obstinacy and force him to let the Israelites leave Egypt (Ex., vii, 8-xii, 30; Ps. Ixxvii, 42-.51; civ, 26-30). Moses's notifica- tion of God's will to Pharao only produced an aggrava- tion of the condition of the Israelites, and the wonder of changing Aaron's rod into a serpent, which was wrought in proof of Moses's Divine mission, made no impression, as it was imitated by the Egyptian magi- cians (Ex., v; vii, 8-13). A series of afflictions, culminating in the destruction of all the first-born of Egypt, was required before Pharao jielded. Of the ten plagues seven were produced through the agency of Moses and Aaron or of Moses alone, and three, namely the fourth, fifth, and tenth, by the direct action of God Himself. The interval of time within which they occurred cannot be stated with certainty. The last four must have followed in close succession between the beginning of March and the first days of April. For when the hail fell barley was in the ear and flax in bud, which in Lower Egypt happens about March, and the Israelites left on the 14th of Nisan, which falls in the latter part of March or the early part of April. The first six seem also to have succeeded one another at short intervals, but the interval, if any, between them and the last four is uncertain. The Scriptural account produces the impression that the ten plagues were a series of blows in quick succession, and this is what the case would seem to have required. The scene of the interviews of Moses and Aaron with Pharao was Tanis or Soan in Lower Egypt (Ps. Ixxvii, 12, 43).

In the fir.it plague, the water of the river and of all the canals and pools of Egypt was turned to blood and became corrupted, so that the Egyptians could not drink it, and even the fishes died (Ex., vii, 14-25). Commentators are divided as to whether the water was really changed into blood, or whether only a phenona-

enon was produced similar to the red discoloration of the Nile during its annual rise, which gave the water the appearance of blood. The latter view is now com- monly accepted. It should be noted, however, that the red discoloration is not usual in Lower Egypt, and that, when so discoloured, the water is not unfit to drink, though it is during the first, or green, stage of the rise. Besides, the change did not take place during the inundation (cf. Ex., vii, 15). The second plague came seven days later. Aaron stretched his hand upon the waters and there appeared an immense number of frogs, which covered the land and penetrated into the houses to the great discomfort of the inhabitants. Pharao now promised to let the Israelites go to sacrifice in the desert if the frogs were removed, but broke his promise when this was done. The third plague con- sisted of swarms of gnats which tormented man and beast. The magicians who in some way had imitated the first two wonders could not imitate this, and were forced to exclaim "This is the finger of God". The fourth was a pest of flies. Pharao now agreed to allow the Israelites a three days' journey into the desert, but when at the prayer of Moses the flics were taken away, he failed to keep his promise. The fifth was a murrain or cattle-pest, which killed the beasts of the Egypt ians, while sparing those of the Israelites. The sixlli con- sisted in boils which broke out both on men and beasts. The seventh was a fearful hailstorm. "The hail destroyed through all the land of Egypt all things that were in Hie field, both man and beast: and the hail smote every herb of the field, and it broke every tree of the country. Only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were, the hail fell not." The frightened king again promised and again became obstinate when the storm was stopped. At the threat of an unheard of plague of locusts (the eighth) the serv- ants of Pharao interceded with him and he consented to let the men go, but refused to grant more. Moses therefore stretched forth his rod, and a south wind brought innumerable locusts which devoured what the hailstorm had left. The ninth plague was a horrible darkness which for three days covered all Egypt except the land of Gessen. The immediate cause of this plague was probably the hamsin, a south or south- west wind charged with sand and dust, which blows about the spring equinox and at times produces dark- ness rivalling that of the worst London fogs. As Pharao, though willing to allow the departure, in- sisted that the flocks should be left behind, the final and most painful blow (the tenth) was struck — the destruction in one night of all the first-born of Egj-pt.

As the plagues of Egypt find parallels in natural phenomena of the country, many consider them as merely natural occurrences. The last evidently does not admit of a natural explanation, since a pesti- lence does not select its victims according to method. The others, howsoever natural they may be at times, must in this instance be considered miraculous by reason of the manner in which they were produced. They belong to the cla.ss of miracles which the theo- logians call preternatural. For not to mention that they were of extraordinary intensity, and that the first occurred at an unusual time and place and with un- usual effects, they happened at the exact time and in the exact manner predicted. Most of them were pro- duced at Moses's command, and ceased at his prayer, in one case at the time set by Pharao himself. Purely natural phenomena, it is clear, do not occur under such conditions. Moreover, the ordinary phenomena, which were well known to the Egyptians, would not have produced such a deep impression on Pharao and his court.

ViGonRonx, La Bible el les dicouv. mod.. II (Paris. 1889)_, 285 sqq.: HuMMELAUER, Comment, in Exod. et Letit. (Paris. 1897). 83 sqq.; Selbst, Handbuch zur biblisch. Geachichte (Freiburg, 1910), 405 sqq.

F. Bechtel.