and wrong right. Charity is the gi-eatest virtue of all, so that the want of it makes every other virtue worthless (1 Co 13).
To summarize the doctrine, the revelation of the new relationship between God and man, and the new law which rests thereon, make of love the highest principle in life, and make the love of God and the love of man one and the same ; and since love is the divinest element in human nature, it must be love's object to beget and to increase love in others. Hence towards all who are our brethren in the Lord we must be humble and meek and for- giving, 'in honour preferring one another' (Ro 12^"), seeking greatness not in dominion but in service (Mt 20'-^- -"^ Lk 22-'') ; for it is ever the over- estimate of self that takes offence and causes hate (Mk 7--) : and to the sinner and the unbeliever who are ignorant of love, there is but the greater need to make love manifest bj- unwearying self-sacrifice and unceasing kindness ; for so the evil in the other's heart will be overcome, and the Divine germ of love within him will be fanned into a living flame, and he also will become a true son of God (Mt 5^-^ ■ Lk 6^'-^i Ro 12J«-2i). It is those whose whole lives make for peace — the peace that springs not from indifference but from love — who shall be called the children of God (Mt 5").
Literature. — Works on ST Theol. by Beyschlag and by Weiss : the Comm. on the XT, and works on the Parables ; J. H. Thorn, Laws of Life after the Mind of Christ, 330; JI. Creiorhton, The Mind oi St. Peter, 38.
W. J. S. Miller. NERI. — An ancestor of Jesus, Lk 3'^.
NEST — Orientals, Mhile often inditt'erent to the study and explanation of natural jirocesses, have always been attracted by the provisions of instinct for the preservation of animal life. They observed the home-like motive of rest and safety in the selection and construction of birds' nests (Job 29^*, Ps 843 1041', jei- 4g28 49i6)_ i^ the Gospels the word tr. 'nest' (KaTa<rKr]v(joais) means generally the place of night shelter for birds (3lc S"-*"), or where they alight in search of food during the day ( 13^^- *-). By contrasting His own with the more fortunate condition of the birds, Christ intimates that who- ever, like the scribe, would follow Him to the uttermost, may for His sake have to endure loneli- ness, misunderstanding, and rejection. The refer- ence to the mustard seed, which in its wild state produces a shnib reaching to the seat of a horse's saddle, indicates that power of rapid expansion inherent in Christ's Kingdom which has often sur- prised both its friends and its foes.
G. M. Mackie.
NETS. — Nets were in ancient times used not only in fishing but in hunting beasts and in bird- catching. In the Gospels they are mentioned only in connexion with fishing, which was an important industry on the very jDrolific inland waters of Pales- tine. See Fish. Three terms occur. 1. BLktvov (perhaps from diKctv, 'to cast'), A'ulg. rete, is the general term, including various kinds of nets. It is found in the parallel accounts of the call of the disciples (Mt 4-'«- '-i, Mk li^- w, Lk S'--^) always in the plural. In St. John's narrative of the gi'eat draught of fishes (21®' *• ") it is found in the sing., possibly refeiTing to a net of larger size. See 3 below.
2. afx4>i^\Tj(TTpoi' (which may perhaps be an ad- jective, SiKTvov being understood), a casting-net (deriv. dfx<pi^d\\(j}, which verb stands, Avithout a noun, for the action of the fisherman in using the net, Mk V^), bell- or pear-shaped, thrown by hand from the shore or from a boat, which was skilfully wielded so as to fall upon the water with its cir- cular mouth fully extended. The edges, being weighted, sank immediately to the bottom, and
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NEW COMMANDMENT
the fish within tlie area of the movitli were enclosed. This net is still much used in Palestine. The indi- vidual skill required in its employment is in point if it was with this kind of net in mind that our Lord invited the fishermen to become ' iishers of men.' In the Gospels the word is found only in Mt 418 and (in the TR) Mk V.
3. aayqvt) (Lat. [so Vulg.] sagena ; French and English, 'seine'), from crdrrw, 'to load, fill': <a drag-net (Mt IS^'^ RVni) or sweep-net, often of immense size (Manilius, ' vasta sagena'). Such nets hiive been in use from early times down to the present day, and are extensively employed on our own coasts, as, for instance, in Cornwall. A common way of working the seine is to have one end of it attached to the shore, while the other is taken seaAvards by a boat in a wide circuit, and at length brought to land again. The upper side of the net is sustained by corks, while the lower, being weighted, sweeps along the sea- bottom. The ends are gradually drawn in till the whole net is brought up on the beach, carrying Avith it all the fish in the area through which it has jmssed. The seine may also be worked entirely from a boat or boats. In classical Latin this kind of net is called everricnlum (verro, 'to SAveep'); cf. Hom. II. v. 487, \ivov navaypov, a take-all net. crayrjVTj is found in tiie Gospels only in Mt 13'*'^ (tr. ' net,' the word ' draw-net is not in the Eng. text, but only in the AV chapter - heading), where the choice of this term instead of SIktvov or afx<f)L^\T](7Tpov greatly strengthens the meaning of the parable. See Draw-net. It occurs in LXX Is lO^, Ezk 26-' ; and dp.4>ij3\r](rTpov and aayrjur] are mentioned to- gether in Hab V^.