Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/354

 HEXAEMERON

310

HEXAEMERON

of St. Paul the Apostle in New York, with a rule en- joining poverty and obedience without the obligations of the vows. Father Hewit, on account of his rare judgment, learning, and piety, was chosen to draft the first constitution and laws of this new institute, which aims to satisfy the aspirations of clerics who desire to lead an apostolic and religious life in community without assuming the canonical responsibilities of the religious state, strictly so called. As a Paulist, Father Hewit laboured assiduously in the parochial and mis- sionary fieltls and in the establishment and manage- ment of " The Catholic World " magazine. He was a deep student of philosophy, theology, patristic litera- ture, church history, and Scripture, and taught all of these branches to the first novices of the institute. He was also a prolific writer and for twenty years was one of the foremost Catholic apologists in the United States. In this field he was chiefly noted for his loy- alty to the magisterium of the Church and his agree- ment with the opinions of tlic most approved theolo- gians. He wrote nothing that could be stjded original ; he simply aimed to explain and popularize the teach- ing of the doctors and saints of Holy Church. Most of his articles were pubhshed in " The Catholic World " and " The American Catholic Quarterly Review", and a few of them have reappeared in a volume entitled " Problems of the Age with Studies in St. Augustine on Kindred Topics". His most popular book was "The Life of Rev. Francis A. Baker", one of his com- panions, who died in 1S65. "The King's Highway", which he wrote in 1874, is an excellent work to place in the hands of Protestants who are seeking truth from Scripture. Upon the death of Father Hecker (1888), Father Hewit was almo.st unanimously chosen superior general of the institute and held this office until his death. One of liis first acts as superior was to pledge the Paulist community to support the Cath- olic University at Washington, D. C. St. Thomas College for the education of candidates of the institute was accordingly opened in one of the university build- ings in 1889. Under his direction, Rev. Walter Elliott, C. S. P., gave the first regular missions to non-Catholics in the United States, and a new foundation of the in- stitute was established in San Francisco, Cal.

Hewit, How I became a Catholic, Stories of Conversions (New York, 1892). Fcrj/ Jiev. Augustine F. Heu-it in The Catholic World (.\ugust, 1S97); O'Keefe, Very Rev. Augustine F. Hewit in Amcr.Cath.Quarterhj Review {.)u\y, 1903); Hewit, Life of Rev. Francis A. Baker (New York, 1865): Elliott, Life of Isaac Thomas Hecker (New York, 1891); Walwohth, The Oxford Movement in America (New York, 1895).

Henry H. Wyman.

Hexaemeron signifies a term of six days, or, techni- cally, the history of the six days' work of creation, as contained in the first chapter of Genesis. The Hexaem- eron in its technical sense — the Biblical Hexaemeron — is the subject of the present article. We shall con- sider: I. Text; H. Source; III. Me.vni.no.

I. Text of the Hex.4emeron. — The Hexaemeron proper deals with the six days of the earth's formation, or the so-called Second Creation. In its Biblical setting it is preceded by the account of the First Creation, and is followed by the mention of the .seventh day, or the Day of Rest. Completeness and clearness render it advisable to give the text of both of these additions.

A. First Creation. — Verse 1: In the beginning God created heaven, and earth. 2: And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.

B. Second Creation. — (a) Work of Division. — First Day. — Verse 3: And God said: Be light made. And light was made. 4: And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness. .5: And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and there W'as evening and morning one day.

Second Day. — Verse 6: And God said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7: And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament, and it was so. 8: And (iod called the firmament. Heaven; and the evening and morn- ing were the second day.

Third Day. — Verse 9: God also said: Let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into one place: and let the dry land appear. And it was so done. 10: And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

(b) Work of Adornment. — Verse 11: And he said: Let the earth bring forth the green herb, ami such as may seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done. 12: And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed each one accord- ing to its kind. And Gocl .saw that it was good. 13: And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Fourth Day. — Verse 14: And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: 15; To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done. 16: And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars. 17: And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth. 18: And to rule the day antl the night, and to divide the light and the tlarkncss. And (Jod .saw that it was good. 19: And the evening and morning were the fourth day.

Fif t h Day. — Verse 20 : God also said : Let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven. 21: And God created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, which the waters brought forth, accord- ing to their kinds, and every winged fowl ac- cording to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22: And he blessed them, .saying: In- crease and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea: and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth. 23: And the evening and morning were the fifth day.

Sixth Da v.— Verse 24: And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done. 25: And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creep- eth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26: And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have ilominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth. 27: And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. 28: And God blessed them, saying: In- crease and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth. 29: And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be your meat: 30: And to all beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all