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"here were but few new foundations; some groat mis- ions (Japan, Abyssinia, the Congo) wore given up or n full decline, though others still were growing and lourishing. And the reason was that the interior crvour, the enthusiasm had cooled down. The same hing was true also about the Protestants. An age of air mediocrity had taken the place of the fiercely ras no wonder. It is the ordinary course of human lature to slacken down after unusual effort, to wax ool after an effervescence of excitement. \\'hat was lot ordinary, what was on the contrary one of the trangest things in the history of the world, was the lisplay of life and vigour which had been given by the "hurch just when she seemed to be about to fall be- lind, and to be beaten out of the field by her rivals, jnder such circumstances the Counter-Reformation aay be regarded as one of the most striking proofs of he inherent vitality of the Church which Providence las ever vouchsafed, only to be paralleled by her tri- imph over the persecutions of the Roman Empire, the ii\asions of the Barbarians, or the subversive forces of he French Revolution. This wide-spreading subject bas occasioned an immense terature. no adequate account of wUicli can be given here, hough its classifications may be followed by referring to The !.vTHoLic ExCYCLOPEDiA.where the various persons and subjects lentioned above are treated in detail. Very few writers, bow- ver, have studied the broad but subtle influence of ideas, in irtue of which this re\Tval originated, passed from land to ind. grew, flourished and failed. No Catholic writer has escribed the whole movement with adequate fullness. (1) The »est contemporary witnesses were the floman nuncios, whose pecial business it was to study these subjects and to report ipon them. But few of their papers are however yet published, xcept those relating to Germany. The reports of the nuncios Germany i Xunziaturbericlite aus Drutschland) are being dited (since 1S92\ partly by the Prussian and .\ustrian Histor- ml Institutes at Rome and partly by the Gorres Gesellschaft; )e Hinojosa. Lo9 despachos de la diplomacia pantificia en ^spaiia (Madrid, 1896); Cauchie, Instructions gcnerales atix '^nces de FUindre, 1506-1535; Pollex, Papal Nefjotiations with \tary Queen of Scots, 1501-1507 (London, 1901"); HtiBXER, \izlc-Quinl (Paris, 1870); Pastor, History of the. Popes from the 'lose of the Middle Ages: Jaxsses'. History of the German Pco- 'le, with criticisms of Maurexbrecher. Geseh. der Kathol. ^formation (1880, only one volume published), and counter riticism by Dittrich in Jahrbuch dcr Gyrrcs Ges., ii, 610. 'here are several monographs on the details of the progress, rst of the Reformation, then of the rounter-Refomiation, in -articular parts of Gennany, e. g. Wif.demaxx. Gesch. dcr Reformation und Gegenrrformation im I.'ir '■ ,,'.,■ ^ t- Enns 5 vols., 1879-.S6); others by Gixdei.t n - . K'ki.lkr Westph.ilia). Loserth (.\ustria). .Mavkk ~ ■ - i' i ;". Mev- R (Schleswig). etc.; Dlthr. Gesch. der Jrx!'.:. n. , ,,, i, l.nndem eulscher Zun<le (1907^; Droysex. Gesch. der <,c(,rnrrj,,rmatlon 190.3. 'iaOscKV.:i,AllgcmeincGr.'^chie}U€). Frenchhistory is the ardest to follow. Consult Vicomte de Meaux, Liittes reli- ieiises en France (Paris, 1879\and Lo r^orme et la politique Wancai.se en Europe, 3u.^qufi la paixdc Westphalie (Paris, 1.S89); 'ERREX3, L'iglise el Vctat en France sous Henri IV (1873); 'ouzARD. line ambnssade h Rome sous Henri IV (1902); Prat, Whcrrhes suT la C. de Jesus du temps du P. Colon, l.'K/.-miG 1S761: Chenox. r^ Cour de Rome et la riforme ealh. in Lavisse xn HiMBM-n. Histnire Gcnrrole (Paris, 1897). V. A more hjpctive tre.itmcnt of the period is to be desired. For the crlesi.astical writers of the period, see Hurter, Nomenelator; OMMERVOOEL. Bibl. rf« la c. de J. (1890-1900); Hilgers, Dcr adcx der verbotenen Biichcr (Freiburg, 1904).
 * een ardour of the previous century. In this there

J. H. Pollen.

Court (ly ScRiPTUnEl. — T. Opex Space. — The lord court, in the English Bible, corresponds to the lebrew IVPI Off^) enclosed space. Tlie latter is ised to designate: (1) an encampment of nomails; 2) a space protected by a stockade or palis;ides, or l)y , rampart of stones or earth, hence a village; (.3) the ourt-yards of the hou.ses or temples. In the first ense the lieorew term is, in the D.V., rendered in 'arious ways: "ca.stlc" (Cion., xxv, 16), "cities of the lesert " (Is., xlii, 11). "private places" (i. e. places of imbush near the .settlement.s, Ps. ix, 8). The word 'Mnge usually expresses the second meaning (Lev.,
 * xv, .31; Jos., xiii, xv, xvi, etc.; I Par., iv, .33, etc.

lowever, in Ex., viii, 13, village is a mistransla- ion for court-yard). In connexion with this .sense t may not be amiss to notice that the Hebrew word, ither in the form fIaf(T, or in the slightly different

form lli'ifor, was not infrequently used in proper names. One of the first encampincnts of the He- brews after their departure from the foot of Mount Sinai was at a place called Haseroth (Num., xi, 34). There was a Chanaanite city of Asor near the waters of Merom (Jos., xi, 5; Josephus, Ant. Jud., V, v, 1); this city, taken and burned by Josue (Jos., xi, 10, 1 1 ), was allotted to the tribe of Nephtali (Jos., xix, 36), but proliably rebuilt by the Chanaanites (Judges, iv, 2), fortifietl liy .'>olomon (III K., ix, 15), and seized by Thcglathphalasar (IV K., xv, 29). This Asor or Aser was, according to the Greek text, the native place of Tobias (Tob., i, 2), and at a short distance from it Jonathan Machabeus defeated the army of Demetrius (I Mach., xi, 67). We read (Jos., xv, 23) of another Asor, called Esron, in Jos., xv, 3, and Hesron, xv, 25 on the southern frontier of Juda. The same text (xv, 25) even mentions in the same borders a New Asor. A third Asor existed, at least after the Captivity, near Jerusalem, in the territory of Benjamin (II Esd., xi, 33). Among the compound proper names may be mentioned: Hasar Adar (D. v., "the town called Adar", Nimi., x.x,xiv, 4) ; As- ergadda (Jos., xv, 27) ; Hasersusa or Hasarsusim (Jos., xix, 5; I Par., iv, 31); Hasar Enon (D. V., "court of Enan", Ez., xlvii, 17; xlviii, 1; "village of Enan", Num., xxxiv, 9, 10); Hasersual or Hasar- suhal (Jos., XV, 28; xbc, 3; II Esd., xi, 27; I Par., iv, 28); Hasar hattikhon (D. V., "the house of Tichon", Ez., xlvii, 16); Baalhasor (II K., xiii, 23); Enhasor (Jos., xLx, 37).

The recent excavations in Syria and Palestine, as well as the modern custoins inherited from olden times, give preci.se indications concerning the house- courts, not seldom alluded to in Holy Writ. When, as occurs frequently, the house does not open directly on the street, there is a first court-yard extending be- tween the outer wall and the building. From this outer court an entrance doorway leads into the inner court, around which the various apartments are lo- cated. The inner court sometimes contains in the centre a well (II K., xvii, 18) or a fountain surrounded with fine trees; the walls, porches, and verandas are usually covered with vines and creepers, and an awn- ing may be stretched overhead to keep off the sun. From the narration of the Passion we may infer that such was the arrangement in the high-priest's house. While Jesus was being tried in one of the halls, the servants and ministers had gathered around a fire of coals in the inner court; thither Peter came to warm himself, and there he denied his Master. From the judgment-hall, Jesus turning (Luke, xxii, 61) could easily look outside (Matt., xxvi, 69) on Peter. Then the latter, smitten with remorse, betook himself to the outer court (.Mark, xiv, 68; D. V., "before the court ", a literal tran.slation of the awkward Latin rendering: ante atrium), there to weep freely. Royal residences displayed, on a larger scale and in a more elaborate way, a similar general arrangement. The Bible speaks of the courts of the palaces of Solomon (III K., vii, 9, etc.), Ezechias (IV K., xx, 4), and Sedecias (Jer., xx.xii, 2, 12; xxxiii, l;xxxvi, 20; xxxviii, 6), aa well as tho.se of Assuerus at Susan (Esth.. ii. 11; iv, 1 1 ; V, 2; etc.) and of Seleucus at TjTe (II Mach., iv, 46).

In connexion with sacred places, courts are most freqtiently mentioiuul. We le;irn from Ex., xxxviii, 9 sq. that the place of meeting in the wilderness was a court, a hinidred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, encompas.sed by pillars supporting hangings of fine twisted linen. The sacred precincts contained, l)c- sides tho tabernacle and its furniture, the altar of holo- causts and the brazen laver (Ex., xl, 6, 7). Still more famous are Solomon's constructions. All the buQd- ings erected by this prince on Mount Sion were sur- rounded by a wall encompassing what may be styled "the greater court". Southernmost in the lowest court were the public halls, namely: the "house of the