Esnig (or Esnag, Eznig, Eznag), one of the most prominent men of the Armenian Church. He was born in 397, at Gochp or Golp, a place near Mount Ararat, and was one of the pupils of the pa- triarch Isaak and of Saint Mesrop. As he was ac- quainted with the Syrian language, he was sent in 425, together with Joseph of Palin, to Edessa, in order to translate the writings of the Syrian Church fathers into Armenian. After finishing this work they went to Constantinople, learned the Greek language, and began the translation of Greek works. On returning home in 431 they took with them many writings of Greek fathers, the acts of the synods of Nice and Eph- esus, and a correct copy of the Alexandrine version. From the latter the Armenian version of the Bible, in which Esnig co-operated, was made. Maiij' other the- ological works were translated by him, and he is one of the six learned Armenians to whom the honorav}' title " Targmanitschk" (translators) was given. In 449 Esnig was present at the national synod of Arta- chad, which replied to the Persian king's demand upon the Armenians to embrace the doctrine of Zoroaster. He died al)Out 478, as bishop of Bagrewand. Besides the numerous translations of foreign works, Esnig wrote an original work against heresies. It is divided
into four books, of which the first is directed against the pagans, the second against the Parsees, the third against the Greek philosophers, and the fourth against tlie Marcionites and Maniclneans. This work contains some valualjle information on the Parsees and on the system of Marcion which is not known from any other source. It has been published at Smyrna (1762) and at Venice (182G), and a French translation has ap- peared by Le Vaillant de Florival (^Refutation des dif- ferent Sectes des pa'iens, Paris, 1853. Parts of it have been translated into German by Neumann (in Htrmes, vol. xxxiii, and in Zeitschrift far hisior. Theolog. 1834) and by Dr. Windischmann {Jjaijrische Annideii, 1834), and into Latin by Dr. Petermann (in his grammat. ling. Armen. p. 44-48). A Latin translation of the whole work was promised bj' the distinguished Orientalist, Dr. Windischmann, but it has never appeared. An appendix to the Venice edition contains a "collection of sentences drawn from the Greek fathers, and in par- ticular from St. Nilus." In point of style, Esnig is counted among the classics of Armenian literature. — Ilerzog, Real-Enryhlop. iv, 103 ; Hoefcr, Nouv. Biog. Gen. xvi, 88(5 ; Wetzer u. VVelte, Kirchen-Lex. iii, 711 ; Neumann, Versuch eiuer Gesck. der armen. Lit. (Tub. 1841). (A. J. S.)
Eso'ra (properly ^sora, Almopu, Vulg. omits), a place fortified by the Jews on the approach of the As- syrian ami}' under Holofernes (Judith i v, 4). The name may be the representative of the Hebrew word Hazor or ZoRAH (Simonis, Onom. N. T. p. 19). The Syriac reading {Bethchoni) suggests Beth-horon, which is not impossible.
Esoteric (Greek so-wrEptKot), scientific as opposed to popular ; applied, especially with regard to the an- cient mj'steries, to doctrines taught only to the initia- ted, as distinguished from exoteric (t'£w, without^ doc- trines, which could be taught to the vulgar and nnin- itiat„'d. "The philosophy of the Pythagoreans, like that of the other sects, was divided into the exoteric and the esoteric ; the open, taught to all ; and the se- cret, taught to a select number" (Warburton,/)«y. Zejr. bk. ii, note B B). "According to Origen, Aulus Gel- lius, Porphj-r}^, and Jamblichus, the distinction of eso- teiic and exoteric among the Pj'thagoreans was applied to the disciples, according to the degree of initiation to which they had attained, being fully admitted into the societj^, or being merely postulants (Ritter, Hist. Philos., French transl., i, 248). Plato is said to have had doctrines which he taught publicly to all, and oth- er doctrines which he taught only to a few, in secret. There is no allusion to such a distinction of doctrines in the writings of Plato. Aristotle {Physica, iv, 2) speaks of opinions of Plato which were not written. But it does not follow that these wei-e secret. Aristo- tle himself frequentlj^ speaks of some of his writings as exoteric, and others as acroamatic or esoteric. The former treat of the same subjects as the latter, but in a popular and elementary way, while the esoteric are more scientific in their form and matter (Ravaisson, Essai sur la Metaph. d'A ristote, t. i, c. i ; Tucker, Light of Niiture, vol. ii. ch. ii)." — Fleming, Vocabulanj of Philosophy, s. v.
Espen, Zeger Berniiard van, one of the most celebrated writers on the ecclesiastical law in the 18th century, was born at Louvain July 9, 1646. He stud- ied theology and philosophy at the university of his native city, and after having been ordained priest in 1673, he was two years later made Doctor Juris (doc- tor of law), and appointed professor of canonical law at the Collegium Adrianum at the Universitj'. He lived very retired, devoting his whole time to study; but such became soon his reputation that he was consulted by a number of princes, bishops, tribunals, and learned corporations. Many of his opinions, how- ever, particularly on the Congregation of the Index, on dispensations, immunities, exemptions, the roya2
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placet, and the appeal from the ecclesiastical to civil power, were not tavoral)le to the pretensions of the popes, and in 1704 and 1734 all iiis works were put on tlie Index. Ilis defense of tlie consecration of a Jansenist archbishop at Utrecht caused in 1728 his sus- pension from all priestly functions, as well as from his cliair at tlie University. All demands made upon him by tlie archbishop of Malines to revoke his opin- ions he tirnily refused. He fled to Amersfort, a common refuge of Jansenist exiles, where he died Oct. 2, 1728, at the advanced age of b2 years. Van Espen is univer- sally clixssed among the ablest writers on ecclesiastical law, and even pope Benedict did not withhold a recog- nition of liis ability. The best edition of his works is the one published by Baren (Jus Eccksiasticum Uni- versum, 5 vols. Louvain, 1753-65 ; also Cologne, 1777, 5 vols. ; iVIentz, 1791, 3 vols.). An abstract of this work was published by Oberhauser (Augsburg, 1782 ; Cilli, 1791). — Wetzer u. Welte, Kirch.-Lex. iii, 711 ; Hoefer, Nouv. Bio(j. Gener. xvi, 410; Herzog, ReaUEncykl. iv, 164; G. du Pac de Bellegarde, Vie de Van Espen (Lou- vain, 17G7). (A. J. S.)