The desiring of evil things St. Paul regards as the moral ground of all sinful acts (1 Co 10) — of sensuality both as fornication and idolatry — of un- belief in its varied forms. This desiring does not Avork in vacuo ; it is active in an atmosphere already tainted with idolatry, sensuality, and devilry { 1 Co W^«-, 1 Th Z=, Eph 6"ff- ). God allows this testing of men, but He also ati'ords a way of escape from it, so that men with this hope can bear up under temptations. The consequence of follow- ing one's own lust is regarded both subjectively and objectively. It produces corruption of the personality, ending in complete ipdopa (Eph 4-^ ; cf. 2 P I'*, where 4>66pa is said to be the fruit of lust), whereas the will of God leads to righteousness and holiness. The man who sets his heart on riches falls into many foolish and hurtful desires, and these bring him to the depth of destruction (SXedpos and (XTTciXeta are the inevitable consequences). Lust is also said to pollute the soul (2 P 2^"). Besides this, lust brings one face to face with God's destruc- tive anger against sin (cf. 1 Co 10 and Dt 32-**'^').
It is not possiljle, however, from the NT to arrange in psychological order the stages in the development
of lust. The progress is as varied as life itself. Catalogues of sins are given because these sins are closely connected in actual experience, and in ex- perience the cause is often the eli'ect and the effect the cause.
St. John (1 Jn 2^^'^^) is not to be taken as making the ' lust of the flesh ' the origin of the ' lust of the eyes ' and of the ' pride of possession,' nor are these a complete summary of sin. Tliey are compre- hensive and characteristic, but not necessarily ex- haustive. The genitives in this passage are of course subjective, i.e. ' the lust springing from the flesh,' etc. Here again the ' flesh ' is the origin of evil desire — not the bodj' as such, but the sin- ful personality (Law [Tests of Life^, 1914, p. 149] explains ' flesh ' otherwise here, but the very fact that the 'flesh' is regarded as causing desire is against him). To St. John also the issue of sinful desire is destruction, as it is contrary to the abid- ing will of God.
To the NT, then, evil desires contaminate, cor- rupt, and destroy the soul itself and bring upon it God's punishment. These desires, however, ai"e ^ already proofs of a personality out of order, and to set the desii-es right the personality must be set right. This is done by the new gracious creation of God through His mercy which operates through Christ. Thus man is made God's noLrjfM by the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit is the privilege of the new creature (Eph 2^'''), and in this way he can overcome the desires of the ' flesh ' (Ro 13"), and learn to do the will of God.
Literature. — See Grimm-Thayer, under the various Greek words translated ' Lust' ; H. Cramer, Bib.-Theol. Lex. of NT Greek, 1872, pp. 273-278. For the general teaching see C. Clemen, Christl. Lehre von der Siinde, Gottingen, 1S97 ; J. Muller, Chris. Doet. of Sin, Eng. tr., 1877-S5, i. 157. For the Jewish i'ezer Hara see F. C. Porter in Bib. and Sem. Studies, New York, 1901 ; W. O. E. Oesterley, in EGT : ' St. James,' 1910, pp. 408-413. For Concupiscence see L A. Dorner, System of Christian Doctrine, Eng. tr., 18S0-S2, Index, s.v. 'Concupis- centia.' See also Literature under art. Flesh. The various Commentaries are indispensable : Mayor (^1910) and Carr (Camb. Gr. Test., 1896) on St, James in relevant places, and Plummer on St. John (Camb. Gr. Test., 1SS6), pp. lo4-15& See further artt. ' Lust ' in HD£ and ' Desire ' in DCG.
Donald Mackenzie.
LYCAONIA (AvKaovia), — Lycaonia, tiie countiy of the Lycaones, who spoke AvicaoviaTi ('in the speech of Lycaonia,' Ac 14^^), was a vast elevated plain, often called ' The Treeless ' (to d<;^v\ov), in the centre of Asia Minor. It was bounded on the N. and E. by Galatia and Cappadocia, on the W. and S. by Phiygia, Pisidia, and Isauria ; but its limits were very uncertain and liable to change, especially in the N. and S. Its physical character is described by Strabo (Xll. vi. 1) :
' The places around the mountainous plane of Lycaonia are cold and bare, affording pasture only for wld asses ; there is a great scarcity of water, and wherever it is found the wells are very deep. . . . Althouprh the countrj' is ill supplied with water, it is suprisingly well adapted for feeding slieep. . . . Some persons have acquired great wealth by these flocks alone. Amyncas had above 300 flocks of sheep in these parts.'
Having no opportunity and perhaps little capa- city for self-government, the Lycaonians had no history of their own. Driven eastward by the Phrygians, they were always under the sway of some stronger power, which cut and carved their territory without ever asking their leave. In the 3rd cent. Lycaonia belonged to the empire of the Seleucids, who more or less hellenized its larger towns, such as Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. After the Roman victory over Antiochus the Great at Magnesia (190 B.C.), it was given to the Attalids of Pergamos ; but as they never efl'ectively occupied it, the northern part of it was claimed by the Galatians, while the eastern was added to Cappadocia. When Pompey re-organized Asia Minor after the defeat of Mithridates (64 B.C.), he left northern Lycaonia (somewhat cirrtailed) to the Galatians, and eastern Lycaonia (also dimin-