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HECKER

of ancient architecture in Palestine, and has Ijeen admired since the time of the Pilgrim of Bordeaux (fourth centiu-y). In the opinion of many it is of Jewish origin and dates from the time of the kings of Juda (cf. Legendre in Vig., "Diet, de la Bible", s. v. Hebron). Consult Riant, "Archives", II, 412, for a Ust of the few travellers who, diu-ing the nineteenth century, were able to visit this sanctuary so fanatic- ally guarded by the Mussulmans. In 1S62 the pres- ent King of England, then Prince of Wales, and in 1869 the Crown Prince of Prus.sia, later Frederick III, were among the visitors. The trade of the town is much the same as in all Arab countries. The compara- tive fertility of the soil and an abundance of water contribute to increase this trade, which consists mainly in the making of goat-.skin water bags, jars, and especially gla.ss ware for which, for centuries, Hebron has used a soda extracted from the trans-

ligious faith; his wife, who had originally been a Lutheran, became an ardent Methodist; none of the three children, all boys, ever joined any of the Prot- estant sects. A reverse in the family fortune made it necessary for Isaac, who was the youngest of the sons, to begin work at the age of eleven, helping his elder brothers in their business as bakers. His conse- quent want of e\en a complete common-school educa- tion woukl have been a serious and iiermanent impedi- ment to any future intellectual work had he not been a studious, thoughtful boy, instinctively eager for knowledge. Even while kneading the dough in the bakery he studied Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason", which he had fixed conveniently before his eyes. His mind was original, intuitive, and prone to seek the hidden solution of the grave prol)lenis of philosophy and of life. .\s a lad, he was anxious to inijirove the social condition of American workingmen. While

Hebron with Mosqu£ oi"er Cave of M.\chpelah

Jordan regions. The \nneyards around the town are very fine; they belong mainly to the Jews who trade in dried raisins, and manufacture a sjTup and an ex- cellent wine, known as Heljron wine. Of late years the Russians have contrived to get a foothold at El- KJialil, and they have now a hostelry at the entrance to the town.

.\ complete bibliography of Hebron would mean a lengthy enumeration; the principal works alone will be mentioned here. GcERiN, Description de la Judt^e, III. 214-256: Robinson, Biblical Researches in Palestine, II. 73-94: C'onder and Kitch- ener, Memoirs of a Survey of Western Palestine, III, 305-S: 333-46: Thomson. The Land and the Book, I: Southern Pales- tine (London. 1881). 26S-82: Rosen. Ueber das That und die ndehste Umgebung Hebrons in Zeitschrift des deutschen morgcnl. Gesellschaft, XII. 477: Legendre in Vig., Diet, de la Bible, s. v. On its Christian histor>-, see the works referred to in the body of this article; Lequien, Du Cange, Eubel. and the historians of the Crusades at places indicated: also, for both epochs. Sau- vaire, H istoire de J erusalem ei d' Hebron depuis Abraham jxtsqu'a la fin du X V' siecle de J. C. (Paris, 1876). containing fragments of the chronicle of Moudjired-din, translated from the .\rabic text.

S. S.*.L.A.\1LLE.

Hecker, Isaac Thomas, missionary, author, foun- der of the Paulists; b. in Xew York, 18 December, 1819; d. there, 22 Dec, 1888. His parents were John Hecker, a native of Wetzlar, and CaroUne Freund, of Elberfeld, Prussia. John Hecker professed no re-

still in his e;irly teens he was accustomed to make street speeches on politico-social topics, and before he liecame of age, he w;is a friend and correspondent of Orestes A. Brownson, who was already famous as a philosopher and social reformer. Along with his keen sense for practical alTairs, yovnig Hecker was then, as always, predominantly mystical, and of a profoundly religious temperament. Perhaps because his reli- gious sentiments were instinctively C;itliolic, he was repelled by the teachings of Luther and Calvin. Their doctrines of the total depravity of human nature and of the necessary sinfulness of reason were especially repugnant to him. On the other hand, becoming acquainted with the Transcendentalists, he found that they overexalted human nature. Driven from both extremes he sought religious truth re.stle.ssly until he became convinced of the Divinity of the Catholic Faith. He was baptized by Bishop McCloskey, in New York January, 1S44. Once within the Catholic Church, he was powerfully attracted by the ideal of religious life in community, while his ever-increasing consciousness of a vocation to help his fellow-men drew him towards the apostolic priesthood. To sat- isfy both demands of his soul, he applied for admission into the Redemptorist commimity. He entered their novitiate in Belgium in 1845.