Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/278

* THOMA. 234 THOMAS. scape" (Munich). Consult Thode, Bans Thoma (Vienna, 1891). THOMAS, tom'os (Lat., from Gk. eo/zaf, from Heb. ThomCi, twin). One of the Twelve Apostles. In each of the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts Thomas is mentioned only in the lists of the twelve disciples (Mark iii. 18; Matt. x. 3; Luke vi. 15; Acts i. 13). In the fourth Gospel lie appears as one who was inclined to overestimate ditliculties and to be troubled with doubts (.John xi. 16; xiv. 5: xx. 24-29). Though nothing more is said of him in the New Testament, lie figures prominently in the tradi- tions concerning the spread of Christianity in the Far Kast. The Syrian Abgar legend relates that Thadd;eus. tlie Apostle of Eastern Syria, was sent thither by the Apostle Judas Tliomas. This double name probably has some connection with the fact (see John xxi. 2) that Thomas's Greek name was Did3'mus, i.e. twin. Who his twin was is unknown. Some have suggested that it was James, the 'Lord's brother,' and that Tlionias's real name was Jude or .Judas. A tra- dition older than Eusebius gave Parthia as the mission field of the Apostle Thomas, while an- other, embodied in the Gnostic Acts of Thomas, made him the Apostle of India and related won- derful stories concerning him. To liim the 'Thomas Christians' of Southern India assign their origin. Mount Saint Thomas, near Madras, is the place of his reputed martyrdom. As these Christians were closely connected with East- Syrian Christianity, it is probable that the basis of the whole fabric of tradition is some actual missionary labor of the Apostle Thomas in Eastern Syria. See Christians of Saint Thomas ; Apocrypha. THOMAS THE Rhymer, or more correctly Thomas of Erceldoune (c.l220-c.l297). A Scottish seer and poet, about whom very little is positively known. Erceldoune (now called Earlston) was a village in Berwickshire on the river I^eader, about two miles above its junction with the Tweed. The earliest extant mention of Tliomas as a seer is in the continua- tion of Fordun's Scotidironicon. attributed to Walter Bower (d. 1449). For centuries all sorts of prophecies were connected with his name. A collection of them was published at Edinburgh in 1603 under the title The VThole Prophesie of Scotland. To Thomas the Rhymer has been attributed a beautiful fairy story in verse. According to the legend, Thomas was wont to meet a 'lady fair' on Huntly Banks near Eildon Tree. By her he was conveyed to fairy- land, where he acquired the knowledge that made him famed. After living there for a period, he was permitted to go -to the earth to practice his prophetic skill, on the condition that he should come back at the fairy's bidding. One day, while he was making merry with his friends, the sum- mons came. He instantly arose, and disappeared in the forest never to be seen again on earth. Huntly Bank and the neighboring lands became a part of Abbotsford. The poem, consisting of the minstrel's usual prologue and three fyttes, con- tains 700 lines. It exists in four complete manu- scripts, of which the oldest is the Thornton at Cambridge (assigned to 1430-40). Though they are all in English, they point to an older origi- nal, which may have been the composition of Thomas. Sir Walter Scott and others also as- cribed to Thomas the verse romance of Sir Tris- trein. It exists in a single manuscript in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh. It seems to have been copied from a noithern original by a southern scribe about 1450. Though the poem contains allusions to Thomas of Erceldoune, his authorship is now questioned. Consult: The Romance and Prophecies of Thomas of Ercel- doune, ed. by J. A. H. Murray for the "Early English Text Society" (London. 1875) ; Thomas of Erceldoune, ed. by Brandl (Berlin, 1880). THOMAS, Chriistians of Saint. See Chris- tians OF .Saint Thomas. THOMAS, Gospel of. See Apocrypha, sec- tion on A eit: Testament. THOMAS, to'iiui', Ambroise (1811-96). A distinguished French operatic composer, born in Metz. In 1828 he entered the Paris Conservatory, studied under Zimmermanu and Kalkbrenner (piano), and under Dourlen, Barbereau, and Le Suer in counterpoint, harmony, and composition. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1832. He succeeded Aulier as director of the Conservatory in 1871. He was one of the most noted composers of the modern French school, and ranked second onlj' to Gounod, whom he resembled in style. His chief success lay in op^ra comique, the best example of which was Mignon (1866). His com- positions include: Le panier ficuri (1839); Le (laid (1849) ; Le songe d'line niiit d'ete (1850) ; Psyche (1857); Hamlet (1868); Frangoise de Rimini (1882); ballets; cantatas; requiems; chamber-music; and choruses for male voices, which are much esteemed. THOMAS, Arthur Goring (1850-92). An English composer, born in Eastbourne. Susse.v. He received his musical education in Paris, and later at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he won the Lucas prize of 1879. He took up his residence in London, and devoted himself entirely to composition. His works include a grand anthem for soprano solo, chorus, and orchestra (1878) ; a cantata, The Sun Worship- ers (Norwich Musical Festival, 1881); operas: Esmeralda (1883), Xaileshda I1SS5). and The Golden Well ( 1S1I3. produced after his death); Stiite de hallet, an orchestral suite (1887) ; and many popular songs, of which perhaps the best- known are from the Swan and the Skylark cantata, written just before his death in London. THOMAS, Calvin (1854—). An American educator, born near Lapeer. Mich. He gradu- ated at the University of Michigan in 1874, and studied philology for a time at the University of Leipzig. In 1878 he became instructor in German at his alma mater, where in 1881 he was made assistant professor and in 1886 pro- fessor of Germanic languages and literature. In 1896 he accepted the same chair at Columbia University. His publications include A Prac- tical German Grammar (1895) and Goethe and the Conduct of Life (1886). In addition he edited, among other German works. Goethe's Faust (first part, 1892; second part, 1897); Hermann und Dorothea (1891); and Torquato Tasso (1888). THOMAS, David (1813-94). An English Congregational minister. He was born at Vat- son, near Tenby, Wales ; was educated at New- port-Pagnell College; and from 1844 to 1877 was minister of the Independent Church at Stock-