ECLIPSE
50
ECLIPSE
ceit, would be more unreal and lieartlef s than any one of the sci'tarian elements out of whieh it was fashion- ed. It Mould want the belief and eonviction ■\vliich dwell, with whatever unsuitable companions, even in the narrowest theory. Many of the most vital cliar- acteristies of the original dogmas would be effaced un- der pietence of taking off their rough edges and fitting them into each other. In general tlie superficialities and formality of each creed would be jjreserved in tlie new system ; its original and essential characteristics sacrificed"' (Fleming, Vocahulni-y of Philosophy, s. v.).
(■-'.) " ]\Iodern eclecticism is conceived bj' some to have originated witli Bacon and Descartes, but Hegel may be more properly considered its founder. In his riii'osoph>i of [listorij and other works he endeavors, among other things, to point out the true and false ten- dencies of philosophic s))eculation in tho various ages of the world; but it is to the lucid and brilliant elo- quence of Victor Cousin (<i. v.) that modern eclecti- cism owes its popularity. This sj'stem, if it can be so called, maj^ best be defined as an effort to expound, in a critical and sym|)athetic spirit, the previous systems of philosophy. Its aim is to apprehend the specula- tive thinking of past ages in its historical development, and it is the opinion of some that such a method is the only one possible in our daj' in the region of meta- physics" (Chambers, Eticyclopcedia, s. v.). — Murdoch's Mosheim, Ch. Hist. bk. i, c. ii, pt. ii, ch. i ; Neander, Ch. Hist, i, 658 ; Jlosheim, Commentaries, ch. i, § 30. See Amjionius; Pi.atoms.m.
Eclipse. An eclipse of the sun is caused by the intervention of the moon when new, or in conjunction with the sun, intercepting iiis light from the earth, either totally or partially. An eclipse of the moon is caused by tlie intervention of the earth, intercepting the sun's light from the moon when full, or in opposi- tion to the sun, either totally or partial!}'. An eclipse of either luminary can only take place when they are witiiin their proper limits, or distances, from the nodes or intersections of both orl)its. A total eclipse of the moon may occasion a privation of her light for r<n hour and a lialf, during her total immersion in the shadow; whereas a total eclipse of the sun can never last in any particular place above four minutes, when the moon is nearest to the earth, and her shadow thickest. See Sux ; Moon.
No historical notice of an eclipse occurs in the Bible, but there are passages in the prophets wliich contain manifest allusion to this phenomenon. (Conip. Lucan, i, 540 sq. ; Virgil, Geort/. i, -IGG ; Curt, iv, o; Evang. Xicod. c. 11.) They describe it in the following terms : " The sun goes down at noon," "the earth is darkened in the clear day" (Amos viii, 9), "the day shall be dark'' (Mic. iii, fi), "the light shall not be clear nor dark" (Zech. xiv, G), "the sun shall be dark" (Joel ii, 30, 31 ; iii, 15). Some of these notices have been thouglit to refer to eclipses that occurred about the time of tlie respective compositions : thus the date of Amos nearly coincides with a total eclipse which oc- curred Fei). 9, B.C. 784, and Avas visilde at Jerusalem shortly after noon (Hitzig, Comm. in Projih.); that of Micali with the eclipse of June 5, B.C. 716, referred to by Dioiiys. Hal. ii, 56, to wliich same ])eriod the latter part of the liook of Zechariah has been assigned by some. A passing notice in Jor. xv, 9 ncarl}' coincides in date with the eclipse of Sept. 30, B.C. GIO, so well known from Ilerodotus's accomit (i, 74, 103). The Hebrews seem not to have philoso))hized much on eelipse.s, which they considered as sensilile marks of God's anger (see Joel ii, 10, .">1 ; iii, 15; Job ix, 7). Ezekiel (xxxii, 7) and Job (xxxvi, 32) speak more particularly, tliat God covers the sun with clouds wiien lie deprives tlie earth of its light by eclipses. These passages, however, are highly figurative, and the lan- guage the}' present maj' simply be borrowed fl'om the lurid lodk of the heavenly orlw as seen through a hazy atniosjihere. Yet, when we read that "the sun shall
be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood," we can hardly avoid discerning an acquaintance with the ajipearance of those luminaries while under eclipse. The interruption of the sun's light causes him to ap- pear black ; and the moon, during a total eclipse, ex- hibits a copper color, or what Scripture intends b\' a blood color. See Astronomy. The awe which is naturallj' inspired by an eclipse in the minds of those who are unacquainted with the cause of it rendered it a token of impending judgment in the prophetical books. See Earthquake.
The plague of darkness in Egypt has been ascribed by various neologistic commentators to non-miraculous agency, but no sufficient account of its intense degree, long duration, and limited area, as proceeding from any physical cause, has been given. See Plagues
OF EdYPT.
Josephus mentions (Ant. xvii, 6, 4 s. f.) an eclipse of tlie moon as occurring on the night when Herod deprived Matthias of the priesthood, and burnt alive the seditious Matthias and his accomplices. This is of great importance in the chronology of Herod's reign, as it immediately preceded his own death. It has been calculated as happening March 13, B.C. 4. See Herod (the Great).