Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/895

Rh M O S M O S 863 Geography, is of opinion that we have in it a writing of the 7th century. In this judgment we must concur ; and, if the limits within which the Geography was composed are to be more nearly defined, we may say that, from isolated traces of Arab rule l (which in Armenia dates from 651), it must have been written certainly lifter that year, and perhaps about the year 657. 3 Another extant work of Moses is a Manual of Rhetoric, in ten books, dedicated to his pupil Theodoras. It is drawn up after Greek models, in the taste of the rhetoric and sophistry of the later imperial period. The examples are taken from Hermogenes, Theon, Aphthonius, and Libanius ; although the author is also acquainted with lost writings, e.g., the Peliadcs, of Euripides. On account of the divergence of its stylo from that of the History of Armenia, Armenian scholars 3 have hesitated to ascribe the Rhetoric to Moses of Khor ni ; but, from what has been said above, this is rather to be regarded as a proof of its authenticity. Smaller works bearing the same honoured name 4 are the Letter to Saliak Arderuni ; the History of the Holy Mother of God and her Image (in the cloister of Hogotsvanch in the district Andzevatsi of the province of Vaspurakan), which is also addressed to Sahak ; and the Panegyric on Saint Rhijjsimc. Of the sacred poems attri buted to him, there is only one short prayer, contained in the hymnal of Sharakan, which can really claim him as its author. Of works passing under the name of Moses of Khor ni, the follow ing are regarded by the historians of Armenian literature as spurious : a History (distinct from the Panegyric] of the wanderings of Saint Rhipsime and her companions ; a Homily on the transfiguration of Christ ; a Discourse on Wisdom (i.e., the science of grammar) ; the Commentaries on grammar (an exposition of Dionysius Thrax). In the case of the grammatical writings, it has been suggested that there may have been some confusion between Moses of Khor ni and a Moses of Siunich, who lived in the 7th century. (A. v. G.) MOSHEIM, JOHANN LORENZ VON (c. 1694-1755), well known as a church historian, but also distinguished in his day as a master of eloquence, was born at Liibeck on the 9th of October. There is some uncertainty as to the year, but the probability is in favoiir of 1693 or 1694. He received a somewhat irregular education at the gymnasium of his native place, and afterwards entered the university of Kiel, where he took his master s degree in 1718. His first appearance in the field of literature was in a polemical tract against Toland, Yindidse, antiqux Christianorum dis- ciplinx (1720), which was soon followed by a volume of Observations sacrgs (1721). These works, along with the reputation he had acquired as a lecturer on philosophy, and also as a fervent and eloquent preacher while acting as assistant to Albrecht zum Felde, his teacher and future father-in-law, secured for him a call to a theological chair at Hehnstjidt, in 1723. The Institutionum Histories Ecde- siasticas libri IV. appeared in 1726 (2 vols., 12mo), and in the same year he was appointed by the duke of Bruns wick abbot of Marienthal, to which dignity and emolu ment the abbacy of Michaelstein was added in the following year. Mosheim was much consulted by the authorities when the new university of Gottingen was being formed ; especially had he to do with the framing of the statutes of the theological faculty, and with the provisions for making the theologians independent of the ecclesiastical courts. But having signed in 1726 a promise to remain in Helmstadt he was unable to accept the call to the Georgia Augusta which was urgently pressed upon him, until the year 1747, when the duke of Brunswick at last released him from his obligation. To enhance the dignity he already possessed as a learned and brilliant theological professor at Gottingen, a new office was specially created for him, that of chancellor, which, however, proved some what burdensome, exciting the jealousy of the nobles whom he governed. He died at Gottingen on 9th September 1 The passage about the trade of Basrah, which was founded in 635, is decisive on this point (Saint Martin s edition, ii. p. 368). 2 The peculiar interest which the author (Saint Martin, ii. p. 340) takes in the origin of the Slavs in Thrace is best explained by the war against them which called the emperor Constans II. away from the East in the year 657. In other respects the writer displays the most complete indifference, and even ignorance, with regard to the state of affairs in the West. 3 Cf. Langlois, ii. 49. 4 Cf. Langlois, I.e. 1755, shortly after the completion of a new and greatly improved edition of his Church History. For Mosheim s place as an ecclesiastical historian, see CHURCH HISTOKY, vol. v. p. 765. In this department of literature, in addition to the Institutiones must be specially mentioned his De Rebus Christianorum ante Constantinum Magnum Commentarii (1753), and Gibbon s just criticism : &quot;Less profound than Petavius, less independent than Le Clerc, less ingenious than Beausobre, tho historian Mosheim is full, rational, correct, and moderate.&quot; His exegetical writings, characterized by learning and good sense, include Cogitationcs in N. T. loc. select. (1726), and expositions of 1 Cor. (1741) and the two Epistles to Timothy (1755). In his sermons (Heilige Redcn) considerable eloquence is shown, and a mastery of style which justifies the position he held as president of the German Society. There are two English versions of the Insti tutes, that of Machine, published in 1764, and that of Murdock (1832), which is much more correct. The latter was revised and re-edited by Reid in 1848. An English translation of the De Rebus Christianorum, begun in 1813 by Vidal, was completed and edited by Murdock in 1851. MOSQUE (Jdmi or more fully Masjid Jdrni 1, the place of congregational prayer). Owing to the almost complete absence of ritual in the Moslem worship, the mosque, at least in its earlier forms, is one of the simplest of all re ligious buildings, its normal arrangement being an open court (Sahn) surrounded by a covered cloister (Liwdn), in the centre of which is a cistern for the ablutions requisite before prayer (Mida a) ; 5 the side of the mosque which is towards Mecca is occupied by a roofed building (Maksura), or place reserved for prayer, sometimes screened off from the court, but frequently quite open towards it. In the centre of this sanctuary is a niche (Mihrdb or Kibla) showing the direction of Mecca ; and by the side of the niche is a lofty pulpit (Mimbar). In front of the pulpit i* a raised platform (Dakka) from which certain exhortations- are chanted, and near it one or more seats and lecterns combined from which chapters of the Koran are read to the people. Minarets (Mdddhin, sing. Ma dhana) were not built during the first half-century after the Flight, but now as a rule no mosque is without at least one. From the upper gallery of this the Moedhdhin announces to the faithful the times for prayer, five times during the day, and twice at night. Blind men are generally selected for this office, so that they may not overlook the neighbouring houses. Most mosques have endowed property, which is admi nistered by a warden (Ndzir), who also appoints the imanm and other officials. The larger mosques have two imams : one is called (in Arabia and Egypt) the Khatib, and he preaches the sermon on Fridays (the Moslem Sabbath) ; the other, the JKdtib, reads the Koran, and recites the five daily prayers, standing close to the Mihrdb, and leading the congregation, who repeat the prayers with him, and closely follow his postures. The imdms do not form a priestly sect ; they generally have other occupations, such as teaching in a school or keeping a shop, and may at any time be dismissed by the warden, in which case they lose the title of imam. Doorkeepers and attendants, to sweep the floor, trim the lamps, and perform other menial offices, are attached to each mosque, in numbers varying according to its size and endowment. Moslem women, as a rule, are expected to say their prayers at home, but in some few mosques they are admitted to one part specially screened off for them. This is the case in the mosque of Sitta Zainab in Cairo. In the Aksd mosque at Jerusalem there is a latticed balcony for the women, who can see without being visible to the male worshippers below. The greatest possible splendour both of material and workmanship is often lavished on the building and its- 5 In mosques frequented by Turks or other members of the Hanaff sect running water is provided from a raised tank with flowing jets, called a hanaf,ya after the sect who require it. Other Sunnis are content to wash in a stagnant tank.