New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-06-11

Joseph thus spoken of in the last two verses of
the fourth chapter of the Acts "And Joses, who
by the apostle was suruamed Barnabas, (which is,
being interpreted, the son of consolation Levite
and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold
it, and brought the money and laid it at the apos.
ties feet" He is supposed to have founded the
first Christian community at Antioch, and to have
been the first bishop of Milan. The place and cir.
eumstances of his death are not positively settled
one account stating that he suffered martyrdom at
the hands of the Cyprot Jews in A. D. 81, another
that he died natural death.
In the collection Of writings published in this
country with the title of The Apocryphal New
Testament" there is an epstle attributed to Bar
nabas. Like the rest of the collection It's anthem
ITCHY and its oanonioal value have been the sub
| ject of great controversy. The Protestant Epis.
| copal Church ignores the whole of these writings,
although under the sixth of the thrtynine articles
| it acknowledges the apocryphal books of the Old
Testament, and says Of them, g the church doth
read for example of life and instruction of man
ners but yet doth it not apply to them to establish
any doctrine There is irregular service appointed
for the day; and in the collect, special allusion
is made to the enduing of the {" holy Apostle Bar
nabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost"
For the epistle the eleventh chapter of the Acts
from the twenty second verse is selected; and for
| the gospel the fifteenth chapter Of St. John from
| the twelfth verse. The former gives brief ac-
count of the movements of Barnabas, and the gos-
pei incuoates the great lesson g That ye love one
another as | have loved you.'
The epistle of Barnabas contains twenty-one
chapters. As might be expected, its object evi,
IDENTITY is to establish the truths of the Christian
| faith. Itdecares sacrifices abolished, and shows
| where Christ was foratold in the Old Testament
ain the tenth chapter it spiritually allegorizes the
commands of Moses concerning clean and unclean
| beasts in the fifteenth, 1t explains the true
meaning Of the Sabbath and in the sixteenth,
what the Temple really prefgured This concludes
what may be termed the doctrinal portion of the
epistle the remainder, which IS of practical
character, describes the two ways oflife-the way
oflght, and the way Of darkness, and closes with
an exhortadon that those who read it may so live
that they may be blessed to all eternity. It is
simple, pious, and earnest work but makes far
more judicious use of the New Testament than of
the Old"
CanonicaI or not, these books and the main argu-
ments advanced in support of their claims, and in
opposition to them, are Of much interest They
involve great many points Of importance and
contain passages which strongly support doctrinal
teachings about which there have been bitter con-
troTersies. The weight of evidence is by no means
so eonelusvely in favor of either the utter rejec
ton or the unconditional reception of them as
writers on either side would make it appear, and
the names that have supported their claims to in
corporation with the received scriptures comprise
some ofthose best known for profoundness of crit
ical biblical knowledge. The epistie of Barnabas
has perhaps been more strongly supported than
any other of the ApoGrypha'of the New Testament
st. Barnabas has his records in the pages of gu.
perstition as well as elsewhere, and not little
curiously. Before the time of the change from old
style to new style, his anniversary was celebrated
on the longest day in the year-which now answers
to tile 21st Of June-and hence d proyerb about
him z.E-5
"Barnaby bright
! The longest day and the shortest nigh
But as the celebration Of his anniversary was fixed
for the lIth of June in the new calendar, it is no
longer applicable.
st, Barnabas is the anniversary of the birth and
death of quite number of some of the greatest
names in British annais-as of Roger Bacon Of Sir
Kenelim Digby of Dr.. William Robertson, of Du-
gald Stewart, Of Sir John Franklin The general
knowledge Of the real and legendary history of the
great author Of the Opus Majus, Opus Minus, and
Opus Tertium, who died in 1894 on this date rem
ders unnecessary to make further reference to lin
here. or Sir Kenelim Digby, not less remarkable
was the superstition tkan the learning is il we
receive the accounts that have come down to u.s.
Some Of the most strange of these, however,
would admit of a strictly scientific relation with
but very slight alteration. One, for instance tells
US that he cured Mr.. Howell of "a wound in the
hand, in which gangrene was feared, by merely
9fg1vN e -
wound on it in a solution of yitrioI Now, if he
had applied this wet rag to the wound, he would
have been treating it in consonanee with the
scientific principles received at this day. And we
cannot but conceive it probable that this is what
was actually done, Notwithstanding the circum-
stantiaIity with which he is quoted as having
worked the cure solely by sympathetic relations
between the soaked bloody rag and the wound.
Be that as it may, he was an able man, seems to
have foreseen the possibility of discovering some
thing like electric INSTRUMENTATION, of means
of flying, and perhaps of visiting the moon. His
epitaph, besides this, shows him to have been re-
markable, even if simply as the subject of brei
anniversary note. It is as follows:
Under this tomb the 1natchIess Digby lies,
Digby the great, the valiant and the wise;
This ages wonder, for his noble parts,
Skilled in six tongues and learned in all the
E Born on the day he died, the eleventh of June,
And that day bravely fought at ScanderoOn;
It's rare that and the day should be
His day ofbirth Of death, of victory"
George Withers, who was born on this date ii
1885, is well known as poet of no little merit
although the greater part of his writings consisted
of political satires published at most eventfu
period, as he lived first under Queen Elizabeth
and then successfully under King James, Charles
the King and Parliament together, the King alone
the Army, Oliver Cromwell, Richard Cromwell, {
Council of State, the Parliament again, and Charles
II. Most of his writings were tinctured with puri
tanism, although he was by no means of puri
tanic sternness in adherence to puritanic princi
PIES He first served under Charles T. then raised
troop of horse on the side of the Parliament ant
: held office under both Cromwell and Charles II
His political TRADES often got him into prison. ant
he was once captured by the Royalists when fight
ing against them. On this last named occasion
his life was spared at the quaint intereesson of Sill
John Denham with Charles I--"If your Majesty
! kills Withers, viii then be the worst poet il
! England.n Withers, however, wrote much better
than to warrant this irony. Here is one of the
verses from his poem or carol for Christmas time,
every one of which is as good as this,-and quite
= - bo 70, Al.