1()44) ; 2. De tribus Nebuloiubvs (namely, Thomas Ani- ello, Oliver Cromwell, Julius Mazarinus); 3, llintori/ nf the three famous Impostois (Lond. 1667); 4. Cliristiani Kortholdi Liber de tribus nwynis impostoribus (ntnipe Eduardo Herbert de Cherbury, Thoma Hobbes, ct Ben- edicto de Spinosa) (Kiloni, 1680). In 1716 an unknown person of Haag claimed to possess the original in his library, and that it was the work of Petrus a A'ineis, containing the thoughts of the emperor Frederick II, and written in 1230. Several copies of this work ap- peared soon alter in French ; the owner claimed to have made a vow not to copy the book, which, however, did not prevent him from translating it. A German chee- alier d'iiulustrie named Fcrber finally published a work under the title of De tribus impostoribus, des trois impos- teurs (Francfort sur le Main, 1721), but it was iound to be only the work IJEsjvit de Spinoze (which had been published in ]S1S. at the beginning of the 18th century) under a new name. In the mean time there appeared a Latin work of the same title, the IMS. of which bears the date of 1598. Tliis may be the original work, though probably the date has been altered, as it bears internal evidence of having been written about 1556 or 1560. Nothing is known of its author, except that, judging from the bad Latin in which it is written, he could not have belonged to the educated classes. Some think that the original title could hardly have been De tribus inipostorifhis, as it does not call either of the found- ers of the three religions— Moses, Christ, Mohammed- outright impostors, but that the real title must have been Va' iinposturis reliffionum. The existing i\ISS. pre- sent two different recensions: one, the shortest, bears the latter title; the other, which is longer, and is evi- dently an enlarged and altered edition, has the title De tribus impostoribus. Yet, with the exception of a few unimportant passages, the two are essentially alike.
The author attacks the morality of the Jews and of the Cliristians, saying that Abraham wished to honor God by offering up human sacrifices, and that the Christians wickedly pray for the destruction of their enemies ; that polygamy is permitted by Moses, and even by some of the passages of the N. T., etc. " That twice two make four is so self-evident that there is no necessity of bring- ing all the mathematicians together to demonstrate it; but religions are so diversified that they do not agree either in the premises, the arguments, or the conclu- sions, and any one brought up in one of them is likely to continue to believe his own, whatever it be, the only true religion, to the exclusion of all others." Hence the author rejects equally the Jewish, Christian, and Mo- hammedan religions, and proposes that everj^ point of belief should be established by a system of witnesses and comiter-witnesses, forming a regular j'rocessus in infinitum. See Rosenkranz, Der Ziceifel am Glauhen (HaUe, 1830); F.W. Genthe, De impostura relig. breve compendium (Lpz. 1833) ; Prosper INIarchand, Diet. His- torique, i, 312 sq. ; Farrar, Crit. Hist, of Free Thought, p. 212 sq. ; Mosheim, Eccles. Hist. bk. iii, cent, xiii, pt. i, ch. ii, p. 284, note 5 ; Herzog, Theol. Enq/Jdop. vi, 645 ; -1 m. Presb. Rev. Jan. 1 862, p. 1 64 sq. (J. H. AY.)
Impotency, the want of procreative power, is, ac- cording to the ecclesiastical law of the Roman Catholic Church, a good ground for either of the two parties an- nulling the marriage, if the impotency existed at the time the contract was entered into (cap. 2, 3, 4, X, De frifjidis, 4, 15). But the defect must not only be proved by competent medical advisers, but also pronounced by them as incurable (cap. iv, 14, X, De probationibus, ii, 19; cap. 5, 6, 7, X, De friyidis, iv, 15; Resolutio 96 to Sess. 24 of the Tridentiue Council of 1731, 1732, in the Leipzig edition by Richter, p. 258 sq.). If any doubt arises the marriage coi;tract continues in force three years longer, to further test the impotency of the person so accused. At the expiration of this additional term of trial the oath of one or both of the parties is neces- sary to obtain permission for separation. The oldest ecclesiastical laws of the Protestants follow in the main
BIPRECATION
524
IMPUTATION
these practices (compare Goschen, Doctrina de mntrimo- nio, note G, p. 102-106 ; Eichhorn, Kirchenrecht, ii, 348 ; Permanender, Kirchenrecht, p. C97; Walter, Kircheiv- recht, p. 305). In Great Britain this practice is sanc- tioned by the civil law of the land (compare Chambers, Encyclop. v, 527). See Herzo^, Real-Encykloj). iii, 474. See also Matuimony. (J. H. W.)
Imprecation, an appeal to God, invoking his curse upon (1) citlier one's self or (2) another. For the former, see Oath. The latter, which occurs frequently in the so-caUed "imprecatory Psalms" (see Edwards, On the Divine Inqjrecations, in the Bibliotheca Sacra, i, 97 ; Presb. Quart. Rev. App. 1861 ; British and For. Ev. Rev. Juh', 1864 ; Heine, A bus. Ps. cix, imprec. Helmst. 1739), is justified partly by the atrocity of some of the crimes execrated (e. g. that of Doeg), and partly by the fact of special authority in the act of inspiration. See Ac- cursed ; Caxaasites, destruction of ; Psalms.