Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/360

NAZARETH. 316 NEAX. popular pilfrrini sliiiinn in Palestine. The bouse in wliirh Mary lived is said to have been niiiacu- louslv trans(Kuted to Loroto (q.v. ), Italy. Of late years Nazareth has materially increased in popu- lation, at present containing over 10.000 souls, of whom nearly 8000 are Christians. The situa- tion is most beautiful. In the upper reaches of a. vallej' leading down to the Plain of Esdrae- lon to the south, shut in by hills, with a very fertile soil, it is isolated from the world. It is only necessary to climb the hills, however, to gain one of the finest views in Palestine. The modern town, mainly on the steep slopes of the southwest side of the valley or basin, is prob- ably farther from the summit of the hill than was the ancient town of Jesus' day. Of all the •holy places' in Palestine few can rival the spring near the Greek Church of Gabriel, a spot prob- ably often visited by Jlary and -Tesus. Consult : Stanley, Sinai and I'ale-stinc (Xew York. 1SS3) ; George -Vdam Smith. Historical Ocoqraphji of the Holi) Land (Xew York. ISnO) : Baedcker- Socin, Palestine and Syria (Leipzig, 1898). with a plan of the town and description of the antiqui- ties: Rittcr, Erdhande. vol. xvi. (Berlin. 18.i2) ; Guirin. Galilee (Paris. 1880) ; Buhl, Geographic Paliislinnx (Freiburg, 1S9G). NAZARITE. See Xazirite. NAZARITES (from Lat. Xazarita, from Gk. NafopiTTjs. XazarilCs, from Heb. nuzar. to sep- arate oneself). A Christian sect found in Hun- gary, and particularly numerous in the Jlagyar districts of Eastern Hungary. They believe in the Trinity, but •reject transubstantiation and infant baptism. They have no inicstbood. refuse to take oaths, to perform military service, or ))artici])ate in politics, and have given the Gov- erninciit inuc-li trouble. NAZIRITE (Heb. twzir, from nuzar, to con- secrate). Among the Hebrews, one who had de- voted himself in a peculiar sense to Yahweh. The term is used of two classes: (a) Xazirites for life, and (b) Xassirites for a limited period. The law in the post -exilic Priestly Code ( Xum. vi.) refers to the latter class alone. According to this law, one who had taken the vow of Xaziriteship was to abstain from wine or any intoxiialing ilrink. not to sutler a razor to touch his head, but to let the locks of his hair grow long, and to avoid all ceremonial defilement. It is evident from these regulations — particularly the first two — that the Xazirite was to lead a life marked by the return to the simpler and rougher fashions of primitive times. The original purpose of such vows among the Hebrews, as among the Arabs, where they are also found lef. Wellliausen, Ilesle rirahixchen Heidenthiinis. p. 143, Berlin, 1897: W. R. Smith. Helifjion of the Semites:, pp. 482 sqq., Lonilon. 1894), was for war or revenge, but it was natural also to extend the cu.stonis involved to sacred seasons of the year when the deity was to be approached. So among the Arabs to this day. during the days s(icnt by the pilgrims in Mecca (see H..ni), it is forbidden to cut the hair, and other restric- tions are imposed, most of which emphasize the return in the holy season to more primitive fashions. .s for the Xazirite for life, we have only two instances in the Old Testament, Samson anil Samuel. The former, in so far as he em- l)odies popular elements, represents the hero of a rude age. It is not said of him that he wa.s to abstain from wine, and, as a matter of fact, he frequently was involved in acts (such as con- tact with the carcass of a lion) which brought in their wake ceremonial defilement. The long hair in his case may have originally been the natural condition, just as the hero Eabani among the Bai)yIonians is described as "hairy.' In the case of Samuel, the Xaziriteship involves, like- wise, merely the obligation to let the hair grow, and this may have been customary among the guardians of the sanctuaries, wlio were in a per- petual state of "sanctity.' The application, there- fore, of the term Xazirite to Samson and Samuel in the post-exilie sense of the word is due to the projection into the past of a conilition'which reached its development centuries after the age of these two personages. Xaziriteship in time lost its old significance and became a species of private asceticism. In this sense. .lohn the Bap- tist is a 'permanent" Xazirite (Luke i. 15) and Saint Paul possibly (though not certainly) a temporary one (Acts xxi. 17-2()). Consult: Dillmann. Die Biicher yiimeri, Deuteronomium vnd Josua (Leipzig, 188C) ; Driver, "Tlie Books of Joel and Amos," in the Canibridye liibU for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge, 1897); Xo- wack, Ilehraische ArcMologie (Freiburg, 1894); Benzinger, flebriiische ArchJiologic (ib., 1894 1 ; Smcnd, Lehrbuch der alttestamentlichen Reli- (liiinsfiesrhiehte ( ib., 1893). NEjE'RA (Lat., from Gk. N^oipo, AVoiVa). The name of several nymphs in Grecian mythol- ogj". and of a maiden mentioned in the poems of Horace, Vergil, and Tibullus. It is used also in Milton's Lycidas, to designate an imaginary charmer. NEAGH, na, Ir. pron. nii'iia, Lough. The largest lake of the British Isles, in the north- eastern part of Ireland, 13 miles west of Belfast (Map: Ireland. E 2). It is rectangular in shape, 17 miles long by 10 miles wide, and has a mean depth of 40 feet. It is drained northward into the Atlantic Ocean through the Bann River. Canals connect it with Belfast on the east and Lough Erne on the southwest. NEAGLE, n:i'g'l. John (179618G5). An American portrait painter. He was born in Bos- ton. X'ovember 4, 1790. but his parents moved to Philadelphia soon after his birth. He was practie:illy self-taught. About 1818 he began painting ])ort raits in Lexington, Ky., and later practiced in other cities. On his return to Phila- delphia, he married the daughter of Thomas Sully, the painter, from whom he received instruction and encouragement. He made rapid progress and rose in public favor, was made directnr of the I'l'nnsylvania Academy ( 1S3()-3I ) , and lirst presi- dent (if the Artists' Fund Society of Philadelphia (183,5-44). Ncagle was a good draughtsman and colorist. and clever in delineation of character. Most of his important works are in Pliiladelphia, and include a full-length portrait of Patrick Lyon at the Forge (182G), Pennsylvania Academy; portraits of Rev. Dr. .Toseph Pilmore. .'saint Geiuge's Hall: Henry Clay. Vnion League Club; Dr. Thomas Parke. City IJbrary; and George Washington, ln<liqien<lenee Hall. Other works are a portrait of (iillu'rt Stuart, Atlii'ua-um, Bos- ton, and several ln<lian ])ortraits, Xew York His- torical Society. NEAL, Daniel (10781743). The historian of the Puritans, lioni in London. He entered Ox-