Canne, John, a Baptist minister, was bom in En- gland about the year 1590 or 1600. In early life he was a minister in the Established Church, bat joined the Baptists not for from 1630. He was for some time pastor of the church in Southwarlc, London, being suc- cessor to Mr. Hubbard, its first pastor. He was ban- ished to Holland, where (not considering baptism a prerequisite to communion) he succeeded Ainsworth <q. V.) as pastor of his church in Amsterdam, and was
deservedly popular. While fai banishment fai 1634, he published a work on the NeoeaUg of SeparoAom from ike Church of England, In 1640 he returned on a visit to England, and founded the BapCiat Church kk Broadmead, BristoL Mr. Canne was equally emineBt for learning, piety, knowledge of the Scriptures, and seal for reformation. Canne*s most important labor is his selectkm of marginal references to the Bible. He was the author of three sets of notes, whidi accom- panied three editions of the Bible. His great ambi- tion was **to make the Bible its own interpreter."— Ivimey, Englith BapHete; Jamieson, (^fckp, of Bicg- raphg,10b; Henl^HistorgofthePmHam,
Can'neh (Heb. Kamuh', his, one codex ftilly naia ; Sept. Xauady v. r. Xavdav ; Vulg. Cheme), doubtless a contracted form (Esek. xxvil, 28) for the earlier Calnbh (q. v.) of Gen. x, 10.
Cannon Jamss S., D.D., an eminent minister of the Reformed Dutch Church, was bom in Cura^^ia, Jan. 28, 1776, and was educated under Dr. Peter WO- son and Rev. Alex. Miller at Hackensack, N. J. He was licensed to preach in 1796 by the Classb of Hackensack, and shortly after becune pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church of Millstone and Six-mile Run, finally devoting his whole service to the latter church. His pastonl industiy was remarkable, yet he wrote and committed to memory all his sermons. During part of his pastoral work he had to preach one sermon in Dutch and one in English every Sunday. In 1826 he was chosen Professor of Pastoral Theology and Ecclesiastical History in the Seminary at New Brunswick, and here he spent the remainder of his life, a laborious student, and a feithAil and sucoessfbl teacher. ** His views of truth were more distinguished by exactness and solidity than by any fer-reaching power ; and yet, when he had discussed a subject, there was litUe left to be said." A large number of ministers were trained by Dr. Cannon. He died in great peace, July 25, 1852. After his death, the sub- stance of his course of instruction was published under the taXe Leotmree on PadondTheologg (Sew York, ISbi, 8vo). "The subjects embraced in the lectures are: *The qualifications for the pastoral office,' * pastoral duties,' ' the administration of the sacraments,* * cat> echetical instruction,' * visitation of the sick,' * pas- toral visitation,' * religious declension,' 'extensitm of the Church,' ' instruction by example.' Dr. Cannon's discnsston of the sacraments is particulariy able, clear, and conclusive."— JNT.^rtmnnci; Bemew, May, 1854, p. 104; £<Mib<Aeca^Sacra, April, 1854, p. 420.
Canon of Scbipturb, as the phrase is usually employed, may be defined as **the Authoritative Standard of Religion and Morals, composed of those writings which have been given for this purpose by God to men." A definition frequently given of the Canon is, that it is "the Catalogue of the Sacred Books;" while Semler (Von Freier Untersnckungen des Cttnom% Doederlehi {IndUutio TheoL ChrieL i, 88X and others, define it as "the List of the Books public- ly read in the meetings of the early Christians ;" both these, however, are defective, and the latter is not only historically incorrect, but omits the essential idea of the divine authority of these Scriptures. The account which we here give is chiefiy compiled from the arti- cles on the subject in Kitto's CydoptadkL and Smith's DicHonarg of the Bible,
I. Origin and uses of the term " Cbnoa."— 1. In ofaa- tical Greek, the word (Koyetv, akin to na^, a " reed," [comp. Gesen. Thee, s. v.] kovti, K6vva, oanma [coao- b, channet], cans, oonaoa) signifies, (l) Properly, a etraighi rod, as the rod of a shield, or that nsed in weaving (ticiat&rkm)^ or a carpenter's rule. (2) Met- aphorically, a tetting nde in ethics (comp. Aristot. Eth. Nic, iii, 4, 5), or in art (the Canon of Polydetus ; Luc. de Salt, p. 946 B), or in language (the Cdnona of
CANON
75
CANON
Gnmmar). Th« gift of tongues (Aots ii, 7) was re- garded as the ".canon'' or test which detennined the direction of the labors of the several apostles (Severian. sp. Cram. CaL m Ad, ii, 7). Chronological tables were caUed '< canons of time'' (Plot. iSo^ 27) ; and the tommaiy of a book was called KavCw, as giving the "rule," as it were, of its compositioa. The Alexan- drine grammarians applied the word in this sense to the great "classical" writers, who were styled "the role" (& JLavwv\ or the perfect model of style and langoage. (3) But, in addition to these active mean- ings, the word was also used passively for a measured space (at Olymid&), and, in later times, for a fixed tax (bu Cange, s. v.).
2. In ecdesicuticcU usage, the word occurs in the Sept in its literal sense (Jud. xiii, 6), and again in Aqoila (Job xxxvHi, 5). In the N. T. it is found hi two places in Paul's epistles (Gal. vi, 16 ; 2 Cor. x, 1^16), and in the second place the transition from an active to a passive sense is worthy of notice. In pa- tristic writings the word is commonly used both as a rale in the widest sense, and especially in the phrases "the rule of the Church," "the rule of faith," "the role of truth. " In the fourth century, when the prac- tice of the Church was farther systematized, the deci- sioDS of synods were styled " Canons," and the dis- cipline by which ministers were bound was technically "the Bule," and those who were thus bound were styled Qmonici ("Canons"). In the phrase "the canon (L e. fixed part) of the mass," from which the popalar sense of "canonize" is derived, the passive sense again prevailed. (See below.)