Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/707

 POLYGLOT 687 It is now punishable, by the statute 24 and 25 Victoria, c. 100, by penal servitude not ex- ceeding seven years, or by imprisonment not exceeding two years, with or without hard labor. In the United States, the punishment varies in the different states, being usually im- prisonment for a certain period, or fine, the second marriage being of course a nullity. In these countries, however, the term bigamy is most in use, as the plurality seldom extends beyond two ; and in legal proceedings it is even employed where that number is exceeded. In modern times polygamy has had some defend- ers, most of whom have grounded their de- fence on the absence of an express prohibition in the Scriptures. Bernardus Ochinus, general of the Capuchin order and afterward a Prot- estant, published in the 16th century " Dia- logues in favor of Polygamy," to which Beza replied. A still stronger view was taken in a work called Polygamia Triumphatrix, pub- lished at London by John Lyser, a Lutheran divine (1692). It was boldly maintained in a treatise called " Thelyphthora, or a Treatise on Female Ruin," by the Rev. Martin Madan (2d ed., 3 vols. 8vo, London, 1781), who how- ever limited the privilege to men. He ar- gued that St. Paul's injunction that a bishop " should be the husband of one wife " im- plies that other men should have as many as they choose. Singularly enough, the Mor- mons, the only sect among Christian nations in which this custom is still practised, explain this same passage as meaning that a bishop should be the husband of one wife at least, and that there is no prohibition of his hav- ing more if he wishes. Polygamy was intro- duced among the Mormons by a "revelation " of Joseph Smith in 1843, but for some years only existed secretly. An act of congress, ap- proved July 1, 1862, makes bigamy committed in a territory of the United States, or other place over which the United States have ex- clusive jurisdiction, punishable by a fine not exceeding $500, and by imprisonment not ex- ceeding five years. POLYGLOT (Gr. TroMf, many, and yAwrra, a tongue), a book with versions of its text in several languages. In common use the word is generally restricted to the Bible. The Bil- lia Hexapla of Origen is regarded as the first polyglot, though only two languages, Hebrew and Greek, are used in it. Only some frag- ments of this work have come down to us, and these were published by Montfaucon under the title Hexaplorum Originis qucs supersunt (2 vols. fol., Paris, 1714). In 1501 Aldus Manu- tius planned a polyglot in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, but only one sheet of it was printed. The Complutensian polyglot is the earliest of the several Bibles properly called polyglots. It vas printed at Complutum, the Latin desig- nation of Alcala de Henares, in Spain, at the expense and under the superintendence of Car- dinal Ximenes. Though begun in 1502 and finished in 1517, it was not published till 1522, appearing in 6 vols. fol. The first four con- tain the Hebrew text, with Hebrew primi- tives in the margin, and ancient versions of the text. The first contains the Pentateuch in four languages on each page, namely, the He- brew text, the Latin Vulgate, the Septuagint Greek version with interlinear Latin transla- tion in parallel columns, and below them the Chaldee Targum of Onkelos with a Latin trans- lation side by side. Vols. ii., iii., and iv. con- tain the rest of the Old Testament in three lan- guages on a page, Hebrew text, Latin Vulgate, and Septuagint Greek version, with interlinear Latin translations in parallel columns ; vol. iv. containing the 1st, 2d, and 3d books of Macca- bees, in Greek with interlinear Latin transla- tion, and the Latin Vulgate. Vol. v. contains the New Testament in two languages, the Greek text and the Latin Vulgate, side by side on the same page, with marginal references. Vol. vi. contains a Hebrew lexicon and gram- mar, a Latin and Hebrew vocabulary, proper names with their derivation and meaning, &c. Of this work only 600 copies were printed. Cardinal Ximenes spared no expense in secu- ring the best scholars of the age and the best manuscripts accessible for their use. The current Greek text of the New Testament is largely indebted to that of the Complutensian polyglot. The Antwerp polyglot was printed by Christopher Plantin (8 vols. fol., 1569- '72). The work was conducted by Arias Mon- tanus, who had about 60 assistants, and was published under the sanction of Philip II. of Spain. It contains the whole Compluten- sian polyglot, with a second Chaldee para- phrase of a part of the Old Testament, a Sy- riac version of the New Testament, and the Latin translation of Sanctes Pagninus, altered by Arias Montanus. Vols. vi., vii., and viii. consist of lexicons and grammars. Of this polyglot only 500 copies were printed, and the greater number of these were lost at sea on their way to Spain. The third great poly- glot, the Parisian, published by Gui Michel le Jay, was printed at Paris by Antoine Vitre (10 vols. largest fol., 1628-'45). It contains all that is in the Complutensian and Antwerp polyglots, with an Arabic version of the Old and New Testaments, a Syriac version of the former, and the Samaritan Pentateuch. A work superior to all these is the London poly- glot, edited by Brian Walton (6 vols. large fol., 1654-'7). In the course of this work nine languages are used, viz.: Hebrew, Chaldee, Samaritan, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Ethiopic, Greek, and Latin. No one book is given in all these, but portions of the work are printed in seven languages all presented at one view. It was printed during the protectorate of Cromwell, who allowed the paper to be im- ported free of duty. For this the lord protec- tor received in the preface a merited acknowl- edgment, which was cancelled at the restora- tion, and another leaf was substituted, with a paragraph reflecting severely on the anti-roy-