Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/877

OFFENBACH. 747 OFFICE. I grande duchesse de Ofrolstein (1807); La vie pdrisirnne (ISfiG); Kobinson Crusoi (1867); Vert-Vert (1809) ; Les hrigandx (ISO!)) ; La jolie parfumeuse (1873); Madame Facart (1879); La fillc du tambour-major (1879); Belle Lurette (1880); Les contes d'Uoffmann (1881); and many otlifrs. Consult Martinet, Offenbach, sa vie et son ceuvre (Paris, 1892). OFFENBURG, uf'fcn-boorK. A town of Baden, SnulluTn Germany, capital of the circle of the same name (ilap: Germany, B 4). It is situated on a tributar_y of the Rliine, ten miles soutlicast of Strassburg. It contains ruins of old fortifications, numerous monuments, a town hall in the baroque style, and a gymnasium occupying an old Capucliin monastery. There are cotton and linen weaving and dyeing establish- ments, tanneries, breweries, and machine shops for the manufacture of agricultural machinery. The town has considerable trade in wine, timber, and cattle. Population, in 1890, 8570; in 1900, 1 3,004. OFFERING (AS. off rung, of rung, from of- frian, from Lat. offerre, to ofter, from ob, toward, before + ferre, to bear; connected with Gk. (pegew, pherein, Skt. bhar, Goth, bairan, OHG., AS. beran, Eng. bear). A term primarily ap- plied to the different forms of sacrifices in the Hebrew ritual. Offerings are of various kinds, as the burnt offering ( ' oldh) , peace offering (shelem) , thank offering (toduh) . free-will offer- ing (uulabSh) . meal offering Iminchuh) , sin of- fering (chattath) , guilt offering i'tishuin), drink offering (nesek). The common Hebrew word for an offering in the sense of a ritualistic sacrifice is Icorbun, which designates the sacrifice as some- thing 'brought near' to the deity, or to the altar, and as such korbfin is occasionally used to desig- nate a sacred gift in general. (See Corban.) Another term for offering in a more secular sense is minchfih. which is primarily a 'tribute' offered cither by way of a compliment or for the purpose of retaining the good-will of an individual or a deity. In the Old Testament ritual minchi'ih has acquired the technical sense of a meal (or bloodless) sacrifice, in contrast to zrbach (slaugli- ter), which is invaria1)ly a 'bloody' sacrifice. An- other specific form of religious offerings, though distinct from sacrifices, is the heave offering (terumah) , denoting (a) that which is 'lifted off' or separated and used of the gifts taken from the soil (first-fruits, tithes, firstlings) : (b) con- tributions of money and spoils of war offered for sacred purposes; (c) portions of the sacrifices and other dues belonging to the priests. See Sacrifice; Fibst Fruits; Offertory. OFFERTORY (OF., Fr. offertoire, from Lat. offertorimii. place where offerings are brought, from offertor. one wlio offers, from offerre, to offer). In the liturgical sense, an antiphon in the mass which introduces the more sacred part or missa fidelium, as the analogous introit (q.v.) does the missa catechumenoriim. It is taken from the Psalms (since the thirteenth century limited to a single verse, except in requiem masses), and varies with the season or festival. It is immediately followed by the oblation of the bread and wine: hence the name, which is incor- rectly applied by many people to the collection sometimes taken up at this stage of the service. The name is also used for the musical composi- tion which is rendered at that time, and which Vou XIV.— 18. may be an anthem, motet, or even a purely instru- mental selection. OFFICE (OF., Fr. officier, from IVIL. officia- rius, oUicer, from Lat. officium, office, from opi- ficiuin, performance of work, from opifex, work- man, from opus, work -|- faeere, to do). In gen- eral, a delegated service or authority of a public or semi-public character. In practice the tfnn is usually limited to positions of trust or au- thority under the Government or in a corporation or voluntary association. At the common law public office was not regarded as a public trust, but as a private emolument, and Blackstone in his book on property enumerates offices among incorporeal hereditaments. Thus conceived, a public oMice may, like otiier real property, be held in fee simple, in fee tail, for life, or for years, and it may even be made the subject of sale and be alienable by deed or will. Offices of this char- acter have generally become obsolete or have been abolished, but in England certain honorary of- fices are still held by a species of tenure and descend to the heirs of the holder thereof. See Civil Service. An appointment to office carries with it, as an incident thereof, the right to its emoluments. Civil or public offices are usually classified as ministerial and judicial. An office is minis- terial when its e.xercise depends on the com- mand or direction of others; judicial, when tlio officer is- called upon to employ his own dis- cretion. An example of the first is a sheriff, of the second a judge of a court of law. The two are sometimes united in one. The office is lield for the benefit of the public, and may be abolished by legislation, unless such action be expressly forbidden by the Constitution. When the office is in its nature judicial, the duties cannot be performed by deputy, as the personal skill and judgment of the officer are the reasons for his liolding the office. With ministerial offices the reverse is the case. Thus a sheriff or other court officer may appoint deputies, and their acts are good in law : and the appointing officer remains responsible for such acts. Statutes in most of the States provide that offices sliall not be sold, and such a sale would be void anywliere as contrary to the policy of the common law. So any agreement between the officer and one who" by influence procures his ap- pointment, to divide the compensation received, would be altogether void. It was a principle of the common law that no term of office should be created so as to end at a certain time in the future, nor for a fixed term of years, but should be held for life or during good behavior. This was to prevent the holding of office after com- petency to perform the duties had ceased, and to render it impossible that the office should sur- vive the officer. It is common in this country to limit the term to the life of the incumbent and to the attaining of a certain age, as seventy years. Two offices cannot be held by the same person where one is in the nature of its duties inconsistent willi the other. Tliis inconsistency may lie patent from the nature of the offices or it may be declared to exist by act of legislation. Where an office is filled in common by several ])ersons. it has been lield that if the office is of a public character all the officers must meet for consultation, but that a majority may act, while if the office is private, all must concur; but this