Equivocation ^^(eeqiie, voco, to use one word in difterent senses). ' How absolute the knave is ! We must speak bj' the card, or equivocaiie,n will undo us' Qlamlet, act v, scene 1). In morals, to equivocate is to offend against the truth by using language of double meaning, in one sense, with the intention of its being understood in another — or in either sense according to circumstances. The ancient oracles gave responses of ambiguous meaning. Aio, te, JEacide, Rom,anos vincere posse may mean cither, ' I say that thou, 0 descendant of /Eacus, canst conquer the i;(mans,'or ' I say that the Romans can conquer thee, O descend- ant of iEacus.' Latronem Petrum occidisse may mean 'a robber slew Peter,' or 'Peter slew a robber.' Ed- icardiim occidere nolite timere honwn est. The message penned bj^ Adam Orleton, bishop of Hereford, and sent by queen Isabella to the jailers of her husband, Ed- ward II. Being written without punctuation, the words might be written two ways : with a comma after timere, they would mean, 'Edward, to kill fear not, the deed is good;' but with it after nolite, the meaning would be, ' Edward kill not, to fear the deed is good.' Henry Garnet, who was tried for his partic- ipation in the Gunpowder Plot, thus expressed him- self in a paper dated March 20, 1G05-6 : ' Concerning (qidrocatiov, this is my opinion : in moral aflaiis, and in the common intercourse of life, when the truth is a.^ked among friends, it is not lawful to use equivoca- tion, for that would cause great mischief in society ; wherefore, in such cases, there is no place for equivo- cation. But in cases where it becomes necessary to an individual for his defense, or for avoiding any in- justice or loss, for obtaining any important advantage, without danger or mischief to any other person, then equivocation is lawful' (Jardine, Gunpowder Plot, p. 233). Dr. Johnson would not allow his servant to say he was not at home when he really was. 'A servant's strict regard for truth,' said lie, 'must be weakened by such a practice. A philosopher may know that it is merely a form of denial, imt few servants are such nice distinguishers. If I accustom a servant to tell a lie for me, have I not reason to apprehend that he will tell many lies for himself?' (Boswell, Litters, p. 32.) There may be equivocation in sound as well as in sense. It is told that the queen of George III asked one of the dignitaries of the Church if ladies might knot on
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Sunday. His reply was, Ladies ma}"- not ; which, in so far as sound goes, is equivocal." — Fleming, Vocabu- lary of rhilosophy, s. v.
Br (Heb. id. -\'J, watchful; Sept. and N. T. "Hp, Vulg. Her.'), the name of three men. See also Eki.
1. The oldest son of the patriarch Judah by Bath- Shuah (daughter of Shuah), a Canaanitess. His wife was Tamar, but he had no issue, and his widow even- tually became the mother of Pharez and Zarah by Judah. Er " was wicked [""), a paronomasia of ir] in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him" (Gen. xxxviii, 3-7 ; Num. xxvi, 19). B.C. cir. 189G. It does not appear what the nature of his sin was ; but, from his Canaanitish birth on the mother's side, it was probably connected with the abominable idola- tries of Canaan.
2. A "son" of Shelah (Judah's son), and "father" of Lecah (1 Chron. iv, 21). B.C. prob. ante 1618.
3. Son of Jose and father of Elmodan, in Christ's genealogj', of David's private line prior to Salathiel (Luke iii, 28). B.C. cir. 725.
Era. See ^ra.
Erakim. See Talmud.
E'ran (Heb. Eran , "("i^, watchful; Sept. 'Eckv, appar. reading "pi.'', with tlae Samar. and Syr. ; Vulg. Heraii), son of Shuthelah (oldest son of Ephraim), and progenitor of the family of the Eranites (Num. xxvi, 3G). B.C. post 185G. The name does not occur in the genealogies of Ephraim in 1 Chron. vii, 20-29, though a name, Eladau (ver. 20) or Elead (ver. 21), is found which may be a corruption of it.
E'ranite (Heb. with the art. ha-Erani', "iSII'fl, Sept. 6 'EvEvi [lilce the Samar. and Sj'r. reading "1 for ")], Vulg. HeranUm, A. V. "the Eranites"), a patro- nymic designation of the descendants of the Ephraim- ite Eran (Num. xxvi, 3G).
Erasmus, Desiderius, was born at Rotterdam, October 28, 14G7 (14G5). His father's name was Ger- hard, his mother's Margaretha ; they were never mar- ried. The bo}' was called Gerhardus Gerhardi, which he changed into the name Desiderius Erasmus (prop- erly' Erasmius), having the same meaning in Latin and Greek (cimiahle). The father went to Home. Being informed there that Margaretha was dead, he entered into orders ; but, finding her alive on his return, he and she devoted themselves to the training of their son. At six he was a chorister in the cathedral at Utrecht. At nine he was sent to school at Deventer, where he had for school-fellow a j'outh who afterwards became pope Adrian VI. He displayed so great tal- ent at Deventer that it was even then predicted that he would one 6.i\y be the most Ijarned man in Germa- ny. After the deatli of his parents, when he was under fourteen, his guardians determined to make a monk of him, in order, it is said, that thej' might secure his pat- rimony for themselves. He refused to enter the mo- nastic life ; but his guardians placed him in the semi- nary at Herzogenbusch, where, as he says, he spent three useless and unhappy years. He was then put at the monastic house of Zion, near Delft, and finally he entered the Augustinian monastery of Emails, or Stein, near Gouda. Here, after sturdy resistance, he entered on his novitiate in 148G. His life at Stein M'as unhappy, except so far as it was relieved l»j' study, to which he devoted all tlie time possible. His hatred of monkery increased with each j'ear of his stay in the monastery. In 1491, the bishop of Cambray, desiring a capaljle Latinist as his secretary' for a projected jour- ney to Rome, obtained permission for Erasmus to leave the convent. The journey did not come off, and Eras- mus (who was ordained priest in 1492) remained some years under the bishop of Canibraj', who authorized bim to proceed to Paris to continue his studies, instead of returning to the monastic life. At Paris, Eras-