Literature.— Hastings' DB, art. ' Courage' ; Aristotle, Ethics, iii. 6-9 ; Denney, Gospel Questions a7id Answers, p. 85 flf.
Joseph Muie. COURSE.— See Abijah, and Priest.
COURT {avXri, tr. 'court 'in Rev 11=, 'sheepfold' or ' fold ' in Jn 10'- "', and ' palace ' [RV ' court '] in Mt 26'- *' etc. ). * — The ' court ' is an essential part of the typical Oriental house. The Eastern house represented on the monuments of Egypt and Assyria is much like that now found, and doubt- less found in the time of Christ, in Palestine. It is built around an open square called ' the court,' into which each room opens, seldom one room into another. Sometimes the house has more than one ' court,' if the wealth or the official station of the owner warrants it.
In the richer private .and public houses the ' court ' is fitted up with great magnificence. In Damascus we find several courts connected with a single house, in some cases of rare richness and beauty. The houses of two or more storeys have chambers on each floor opening on to a common balcony running round the inside of the court, with a staircase in a corner of the court open to the sky. This type of ' court ' is usually paved with marble or flagging, and has a well or foun- tain in the centre (2 S 17'*), with orange and lemon trees and other shrubs .around it. Some of tliem are planted with choice tropical trees, and the walls, verandahs, staircases, etc., are covered and adorned with creepers and vines oif untold varietie.s.
In Mt 26«» it is .said that ' Peter sat without, ii> ■nj aiiXJ,' i.e. in the 'court' of the high priest's house (v.-™). It w.as during the trial of Jesus ; and ' without ' is used in contrast with an implied ' within ' — the interior of tlie .audience-room in which Jesiis w.is .ipin-aiiiiL: ln'foie the authorities. Peter wa> n.it allo^^,■,l int.. this room, but was out in th.' i.|.iii air ..t tlir ■...urt"; and this was 'beneatir (Mk 14*' i. i.e. >m a suiiiewhat lower level than the audience-chamlter.
The 'court of the Gentiles,' wliich was 'without tlie temple' (Rev 11=), was on the lowest level or terrace of the Holy Mountain, and .separated from the 'Sanctuary' or 'Mountain of the Honse' by a stone wall four or five feet high, called ' the Soreg.' AH Gentiles were warned to remain out- side of this sacred enclosure under penalty of death (cf. Ac 2I=«- =» 24" 26='}. See also artt. DoOR, House. Geo. B. Eager.
COURTESY The courtesies of life have always
received more strict and formal recognition in the East than in the West. The people of Palestine in Christ's time were no exception to this rule. They were punctilious about tliose conventional forms which hedge in and govern social life, and were not slow to resent the breach or neglect of
COYEXANT
COVENANT
these forms when it att'ected them directly (Mt 22^-', Lk W^--^). A remarkably complete picture of the ordinary forms of courtesy observed by them may be made up from the Gospel narratives. The incidents of Christ's life, together witli His sayings and parables, show us the marked defer- ence paid to authority, position, and learning (Mt 1714 22'6- 24 23«- ' etc.), the elaborate and somewhat burdensome hospitality bestowed on friends and strangers when received as guests into a house (Lk T"-**), the embracings and prolonged saluta- tions practised (Mt 26", Mk 14« ; cf. Lk 10«- IS-^" 22^', Mt 10'2), the formalities observed in connexion Arith feasts in rich men's houses (Mt 22'^, Lk 14"). These courteous habits must not be regarded as mere superficial forms. Tlie fact that the neglect of them, especially if believed to be intentional, caused such serious offence to the suffering party, is a sufficient evidence that they were more than surface forms. At the same time the courtesies practised were not always .sincere (note the kiss of Judas), and were, moreover, occasionally violated in a peculiarly flagrant manner, as we learn from the treatment Christ received once and again from those who opposed Him, especially the treatment He received immediately before His death. The warm Oriental temperament, indeed, which had so much to do with creating these courtesies, and which found so much satisfaction in observing them, was ready, under certain circumstances, to violate them to an extent that the colder Western tem- perament would never have done.
Christ's attitude towards the established rules of courtesy is a question of interest and importance. His relation towards these time-worn rules was the same as His relation towards the Law of Moses. He observed them in the spirit and not in the letter, and only in so far as they .sincerely re- vealed His thoughts and feelings. They were never mere forms to Him, much less forms used to hide the real intents of His heart. That His attitude was not the conventional attitude of others, but was peculiar to Himself, like His atti- tude towards the Law (Mt 5"), is evident from the following considerations: (1) He recognized and followed the customary laws in so far as they served to express His real sentiments (Lk T"""* 10^, Jn 13^f-) ; (2) He transgressed them boldly a.t times, as in His cleansing of the Temple, His injunction ' Salute no man by the way ' (Lk 10^), and His iuter- course with tax-gatherers and sinners ; (3) He gave a larger and more humane interpretation to them by His generous and considerate treatment, not only of tax-gatherers and sinners, but of women, children, Samaritans, and others who were re- garded as more or less outside the ordinary rules of courtesy.