Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/229

* SIMONIS. 18." SIMONY. Pepin of Hcristal (Palais de la Nation, ib.), ami that of the geologist Andrg Dumont (18ti0, Place de rUniversit^.. Lifge). SI'MON MACCAB^ffi'trS. One of the five biotlu'is who won iiideiiciuU'noe for the Jews in the war with Syria. B.C. 1117-142. (See Macca- UEEs. ) In the capacity of an oHici'r and trusted adviser he worked with his brothers Judas and Jonathan. When the latter was murdered, B.C. 143, Simon, the last of the brothers, at once stepped into the vacant position. Simon soon (B.C. 142) secured the capitulation of the Syrian garrison in Jerusalem and innnunity from further tribute to Syria. In the following year ( Septem- ber 18, B.C. 141) a popular assembly of the Jews voted to make Simon high priest and civil and military head, and these ottices were made heredi- tary in his family. The Jews now considered that a new epoch had begun and dated their docu- ments accordingly. The reign of Simon, high priest and ethnarch (he did not call himself king), was very prosperous. The Romans recog- nized his administration and such opposition as came from S.vria was easily repulsed. The aged ruler was treacherously slain at Dak by a son- in-law, Ponipey, commander of the Jericho dis- trict, at a banquet given by Pompey in his honor. The assassin's scheme for seizing the supreme power for himself miscarried, as Simon was at once succeeded by his son, John Hyrcanus I. (B.C. 135). Consult: I. Jlaccabees xiii.-xvi.; Sehiirer, Histortj of the Jcuish People in the Times of Jesus Christ (Edinburgli. 1886-90) ; Streane, Ape of the Maccabees (London, 1898). SIMON MA'GTJS. A character who figures brii'lly in the Now Testament, and at greater length in the writings of the early Christian Fathers. According to the New Testament ac- count (Acts viii. .5-24). he was a sorcerer of much repute in the city of Samaria and was con- verted by the preaching of Philip. When the gift of the Holy Spirit was conferred upon the con- verts in Samaria, through the imposition of hands by Peter and .John. Simon sought to pur- chase from Peter, by the offer of money, a like power. Peter rebuked him sternly and charged him to repent; w'hereupon Simon displayed a penitent temper, and the narrative closes with his petition for the Apostle's prayer in his behalf. With .Tustin ^lartyr the legend of Simon Magus takes its first form outside the New Testament. He says that .Simon JIagus was a Samaritan of Gitta ; that he went to Rome, worked miracles there by magic, and became so famous that a statue was erected in his honor, inscribed, "To Simon the Holy God." He was honored as God, above all other power and authority. He was the originator of heresy and the source froni w-hich all subsequent error was derived. The details of the later elaboration of the legend are often grotesque and the philosophy at the basis of the heresies is obscure or absurd. The centre of interest is the conflict between Simon Jfagiis and Peter in Rome. The climax is reached when Simon asserts that he will take his flight to God at a certain time before them all. All Rome is gathered to witness the scene. Simon appears flying over the city. Peter then prays and Simon falls to the ground with his leg shattered. The people stone the impostor and follow Peter. The legend of Simon JIagus received fresh attention when the German historian Baur asserted that Simon was not an historical character, but a. name of reproach invented for Saint Paul, and tliat the conllict between Simon Peter and Simon Magus represented in the legends was in reality the original conllict between I'eter and Paul. The theory has been worked out clabcualely by Baur, Lipsius, and Hilgenfeld, but is not main- tained widely at present. For the most valuable early reference to Simon Magus, consult Kusebius, Church llistori/, ii. 13, 14. For the later elaborations, consult the Apostolic Conslilutioiis. vi. 7-9: the Clementine Homilies, where note especially ii. 22-20. the dis- cussions with Peter in the liomilies following, and xvii.; and the Acts of Peter and Paul (in the Ante-Xiccue Christian Librari/, vols. xvi. and xvii., Edinburgh. 1870). The articles "Simon Magus" in the Hastings Bible Dictionary (by Headlam) and the Encyclopwdia liiblica (by Schmiedel) represent the opposing points of view mentioned above. SIMONOSEKI. se'mo-no-sa'ke. A town of Japan. S<'e Siiimo.o.seki. SIMON PURE. A Pennsylvania Quaker in Jlrs. Ccntlivre's comedy .1 Bold stroke for a Wife, who has a letter of introduction to the guardian of an heiress. This is taken by Colonel Feign- well, who personates the Quaker and marries the girl. Simon afterwards proves his identity, hence the phrase 'the real Simon Pure.' SI'MON'S TOWN. The capital of a district of Cape Colo^iy. South Africa, on Simon's Bay, a western inlet of False Bay, 20 miles south by rail of Cape Town. It is a naval station with forti- fications of considerable strength, and docks, on which large sums of money are being expended. The town is under the headland which forms the Cape of Good Hope. Population (estimated), 5000. SIMONY (ML. simonia. so called from Himon Magus, who attempted to buy the power of con- ferring the Holy Spirit). In English law, the giving or receiving of holy orders or ecclesiasti- cal preferment for a valuable consideration, or an attempt or agreement to do so. It was severe- ly condemned by the canon law from the earliest ages of the Church, being considered akin to heresy. Canon 40 of 1603 required every person appointed to an ecclesiastical preferment to take an oath that he had not obtained it simonia- cally. In addition to the penalties prescribed by the ecclesiastical law^, the statute of 31 Eliz.. c. 6 (1589), imposed fines upon a person guilty of the offense. The statute also provided that a simoniacal presentation should be void, and that the corrupt luesentee should thereafter be dis- qualified to hold the same benefice, however ap- pointed. However, to-da.y it is not simony for either a layman or an ecclesiastic to purchase a right to an advowson or to make presentation to a benefice, provided he is not buying for himself, and the church be full. This is true even if there is an immediate prospect of a vacancy, provided it will not be caused as a result of a contract or arrangement between the parties. As there is no established Chiireh in the United States, simony is not recognized as a civil offense, and probably not as an ecclesiastical wrong. Con- sult: Phillimore, Eccle.iinsticnl Lain of the Church of Enqlnnd (2d ed.. London. 1895) ; Cribbs, Law Relating to the Church and Clergij