Sufficient attention has already been called to the frequent and intimate association of the two terms ' Soul ' and ' Spirit ' (see art. SoUL) occurring so often in the Bible as nearly parallel psyclio- logical expre.ssions ; yet each implying all tnrough the characteristic distinction : 'soul,' the individual and personal life ; ' spirit,' the principle of life.
There is another antithesis, more peculiarly Pauline, of the ' spirit ' over against the ' flesh.' The more obvious antithesis of ' body ' and ' spirit' (Ja 2^) is upon purely natural ground. But the Pauline is a moral distinction, and belongs to specially Christian doctrine. It occurs chietiy in those passages where St. Paul is describing the conflict of tlie old nature, or the ' old man ' as he calls it, with the new nature or the new man. Human nature, as it comes to any one through the ffdpf, manifests itself in the (rdpj, is determined by it, and called after it, comes to stand in contrast with ' spirit ' (Tri-cD/ia), the Divine nature, or the divinely originated and sustained new nature. Thus ffip^ came at length, in distinct and pre- supposed antithesis to vfevfUi, to signify the sinful condition of human nature, and in such a manner that this same <r(£p{ mediates or efl'ectuates that sinful condition — the adp^ a/iaprlat, ' the flesh deter- mined by sin ' (Ro 8'). In this antithesis there is progress or intensification in the meaning of irveO/ia as well as of <rdp^. The rvevfia in man, which is the element originally created by God, and which ought to rule or govern his whole nature, is used by St. Paul for the new nature divinely originated in the Christian, so that a direct antithesis is brought out between ' flesh ' and ' spirit,' and everything wvev/iaTiicdy, spiritual, is a Divine pro- duct or creation, according to that new nature.
This use of Trv(vtiaTiK6i> for ever3'tliing determined orinfluenced by the Divine Tticvixa extends beyond St. Paul's \mtings, and is quite general in the Epistles of the NT. There is the 'spiritual house' (o'aos irycu- *ioTi)t45, 1 P 2') because ' built up of living stones ' ; ' spiritual sacrifices,' i.e. ofTeringsCxed or determined bv the Spirit (t6.) ; 'spiritual tmderstanding ' (Col 1') ; ' spiritual songs ' (45al ri/evfuiTiKal, Col 3") ; 'epiritiial food, drink, rock' {^puiia, ■wifta, rh-pa,
1 Co 10'- *). In two sets of passages St. Paul con. trasts it with tfuxiKdv (1 Co 2'-' lo"- *>). There is one curious exception from this Pauline use of it for divine, viz. Eph 6'^ ra rveviJiariKa rrjs iroin}ptat = ' wicked spirits,' or something equivalent.
There is another antithesis in which St. Pan] places it as contrasted with xoCs or aiviffis, where the intention plainly is to contrast tlie action of the 'understanding' in man with that of spiritual or ecstatic impulse even in a Christian (1 Co W*-^). It is also once or twice opposed to ypiniia, where inwardness or reality is the thing to be brought out (Ro 2=» 7«, 2 Co 3^).
There are two things mainly noticeable and dis- tinctive in this biblical use of ' spirit.' The first is the habit of biblical writers to explain the • spirit ' in the natural man as the product or creation directly of God, and as accounted for only by the direct contact of man with the Almighty in his origin. This is peculiarly prevalent in the OT (Gn 2', Is 42'). Then there is the assertion of a parallelism and communication between the self- conscious, inner life of man — his spirit — with the Spirit of God (1 Co 2"' '=, Ro 8'-", Philem "). There is a foundation laid in this way for the whole spiritual life of man, and especially for the renewed and redeemed life of whicn, according to Christianity, he is made a partaker.
See also art. HOLV SPIRIT : for ' unclean {or evil) spirit ' cf . art. DEMON, vol. i. p. 593 ; for ' familiar spirit ' art. SORCERY, p. 606 ; for ' spirits in prison ' see voL iii. p. 795. J. Laidlaw.
SPITE. — Like Despite (which see), 'spite' means in AV 'injury' (rather out of contempt than malice). It occurs only Pa 10" ' Thou be- boldest mischief and spite' (0^1, properly 'vexa- tion '). Cf. Child's Ballads, v. 299—
* Da.v and night he'll work my spigbt. And hanged I shall be.'
The adv. ' spiteftilly ' is used in the same sense ; the phrase is ' entreat spitefully,' Mt 22", Lk 18" (u^pifoi, RV ' entreat shamefully ').
J. Hastings.
SPONGE (AV spunge, <nriyyoi, spongia). — The medium by which vinegar or sour wine was carried to the mouth of Jesus on the cross (Mt 27**, Mk 15", Jn 19^). This well-known substance is a porous, fibrous framework, composed of a material called keratode, invested by a fleshy covering and lining of amceboid bodies. Sponges grow only in sea water, near the coast, and mostly in the warmer seas of the globe, although some kinds are found even in the jiolar regions. Sponge fishin" is a considerable industry along the coasts of Syria, Asia Minor, and the iEgean Sea. The divers go out in row-boats or sailboats, a short distance from the shore ; they then strip, and holding in their hands, high above their heads, a heavy stone attached to a rope, fill their chests with air, and then plunge, stone downmost, and so rapidly reach the bottom. They often dive to a depth of 60 ft. or more. They then walk or creep quickly along the bottom, holding the stone to steady themselves, and tear the sponges oil tho stones to which they are attached, and put them into a netted bag hung around their neck. When they are exhausted they jerk the rope, and their companions quickly haul them to the surface. Few can stay under water more than 60 seconds, none as long as 100. Their occupation usually develops emphysema, and other diseases of the lungs, from which they are apt to die early.