sented the papal btiU of invitation and letters to the several princes, but niet with no success, the letters being returned unopened and the invitation declined. Subsequent eflbrts to prevail upon the elector of Bran- denburg and the kings of Denmark and Sweden to send deputies to the council remained likewise without efifect. More successful was a mission to Poland in 1568. Whilst staying at the Polish court he was ap- pointed a cardinaL In 1566 and 1568 he was sent to the Emperor Maximilian, who was suspected of lean* ing toward Protestantism, in order to detain him fh>m making concessions to the Protestants. Soon after he was again sent to Poland in order to secure the election of a French prince, who was known as a fa< natical partisan of the Church of Rome, as king of Poland. He returned to Rome in 1578, and died in 1584. His life was written by A. Maria Gratiani, his secretary, and subsequently bishop of Amelia. See Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex. i, 707 sq. ; Prisac, Die pdpstUchen Legaten Commendone und Cappacdni m Berhn (Neuss, 1846).
Commentary (v'TrofivrifiaritTfiSct Lat. oommenta- m, 2 Mace, ii, 13), Biblical (see Carpenter's Guide to the Study of the Bibie, pt. i, ch. iii, sec. 1-4 ; David- son, in Home's Introd. new ed. ii, 877-885 ; M. Stuart in the Am. Bib. Repoe. iii, 180 sq.). See Intebpbeta-
TION.
I. Definition. — By commentary^ hi its theological ap- plication, b usually meant an exhibition of the mean- ing which the sacred writers intended to convey ; or a development of the truths which the Holy Spirit willed to communicate to men for their saving enlighten- ! ment. This is usually efftected by notes more or less . extended — ^by a series of remarks, critical, philologi- ' cal, grammatical, or popular, whose purport is to bring out into view the exact sentiments which the inspired ' authors meant to express. It b true that thb can only be imperfectly done, owing to the various causes by which every language b affected ; but the tubskmce of revelation may be adequately embodied in a great variety of garb.
(1.) The characterittics of commentary are : (a.) An elucidation of the meaning belonging to the words, phrases, and idioms of the originaL The signification of a term b generic or specific. A variety of signi- fications also belongs to the same term, according to the poMtion it occupies. Now a commentary pdnts out the particular meaning belonging to a term in a particular place, together with the reason of its bear- ing such a sense. So with phrases. It should like- wise explain the construction of sentences, the peculi- arities of the diction employed, the dtfilculties belong- ing to certain combinations of words, and the mode in which they affect the general meaning.
(5.) Another characteristic of commentary b an ex- hibition of the writer's scope', or the end he has in view in a particular place. Every particle and word, every phrase and sentence, forms a link in the chain of re»> soning drawn out by an inspired author — a step in the progress of hb holy revelations. A commentary should thus exhibit the design of a writer in a certain connection — the alignments he employs to establbh hb positions, their coherence with one another, their general harmony, and the degree of importance as- signed to them.
(c.) In addition to this, the train of thought or rea- soning pursued throughout an entire book or epbtle, the various topics dbcnssed, the great end of the whole, with the subordinate particulars it embraces, the digressions made by the writer — these, and other particulars of a like nature, should be pointed out by the true commentator. The connection of one argu- ! ment with another, the consbtency and tdtknaie bear- ing of all the statements advanced'*-4n short, their various relations, as far as these are developed or inti- mated by the author, should be clearly apprehended and intelligently stated.
COMMENTARY
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COMMENTARY
(d) Another characterietic of commentary is, that h presents a comparison of the sentiments contained in one book, m one entire connected portion of Scriptore, with those of another, and with the general tenor of revelation. A beaadful harmony pervades the Bible. Diversities, indeed, it exhibits, just as we should ex- pect it ^ priori to do ; i^ presents difficulties and mys- teries which we cannot fathom, but with this variety there is a uniformity worthy of the wisdom of God. A commentator should therefore be able to accoont for diversities of sentiment, in reference to the same topic, that appear in the pages of books written at dif- ferent periods, and addressed to individuals or commn- nities whose circumstances, intellectual and physical, were dissimilar. Without it religious truth will be seen in disjointed fragments; no connected system, compact and harmonious in tts parts, will meet the eye.
(2.) From what has been stated in regard to the constituents of commentary, it will also be seen that it differs from translation. The latter endeavors to find in another language equivalent terms expressive of the ideas which the words of the Hebrew and Greek lang^uig^ were framed to convey. It is easy to see, however, that in many cases this cannot be done, and that in others it can be effected very imperfectly. There are and must be a thousand varieties of concep- tion expressed in the original languages of Scripture, of which no other can afford an adequate represents^ tion. The inhabitants of the countries where the sa- cred books were written lived amid circumstances in many respects diverse fh>m those of other people. These circumstances naturally gave a coloring to their language. They affected it in such a way aa to create terms for which there are no equivalents in the lan- guages of tribes who are conversant with different ob- jects, and live amid different relations. In such a case no expedient is left but circumlocution. By the help of several phrases we must try to approximate at least the sentiment or shade of thought which the in- spired writers designed to express. Commentary is thus more diffuse than troMlcUion, Its object is not to find words in one language corresponding to those of the original languages of the Scriptures, or nearly resembling them in significance, but to set forth the meaning of the writers in notes and remarks of consid- erable length. Paraphrase occupies a middle place between translation and commentary, partaking of greater diffnseness than the former, but of less extent than the latter. It aims at finding equivalent terms to those which the sacred writers employ, accompanied with others that appear necessary to fill up the sense, or to spread it out before the mind of the reader in such a form as the authors themselves might he sup- posed to have employed in reference to the people to whom the paraphrast belongs. Scholia differ from commentary only in brevity. They are short notes on passages of Scripture. Sometimes difficult places alone are selected as their object ; at other times they embrace continuously an entire book.