sible to make good his promises to assist Kepler, to se- cure the necessary means to aid him in the completion of the liudolphine Tables; it was not, however, till 1627 that these tables — the first that were calcidated on the supposition that the planets move in elliptic orbits — made their appearance ; and it will be sufficient to say of them in this place, that, had Kepler done nothing in the course of his wln)le life but construct these, he would have well earned the title of a most useful and inde- fatigable calculator. He died in the early part of No- vember, 1030, and his body was interred in St. Peter's church-yard at Katisbon. "Ardent, restless, burning to distinguish himself by his discoveries, he attempted ev- erything; and, having once obtained a glimpse, no labor was too hard for him in following or verifying it. All his attempts had not the same success, and, in fact, that was impossible. Those which have failed seem to us only fanciful; those which have been more fortunate appear sublime. When in search of that which really existed, he has sometimes found it; when he devoted himself to the pursuit of a chimera, he could not but fail; but even there he unfolded the same qualities, and that obstinate perseverance that must triumph over all difficulties but those which are insurmountable." See Breitschwerdt, Jo/;o«?j Keple7-'s Leben u.Wirkcn (Stuttg, 1831); Brewster, />ices of the Martyrs of Science (Lond. 1841) ; Bailly, Ilistoire de Vastronomie moderne, ii, 4 sq. ; Bayle, Hist. Diet. s. v. ; Aschbach, Kirchen-Lexik. s. v. ; Brockhaus, Conversaf. Lex. s. v. ; Enylish Cyclop, s. v. ; Menzel, Gesch. der Deutschen, v, 104 sq., 327 sq., 471 ; vi, 10 sq.
Kerach. See Crystal.
Keralay, De, a French Eoman Catholic mission- ary, who flourished in the early part of the 18th ccn- turj', joined the Congregation of Foreign jMissions, and in 1720 took charge of the mission at INIergui. In 1722 he was consecrated bishop of Eosalia, and became co- adjutor to M. de Cire, apostolic vicar of Siam,whom he succeeded in 1727. The court, which had at first ap- peared favorably inclined towards the Christians, soon began, at the instigation of the bonzes, to persecute them violently. The missionaries were forbidden pub- lishing any books in the Siamese language, or teaching their doctrines to the people. Inscriptions insulting to the Christian faith were placed on the front or inside of the churches. Keralay himself also was repeated- ly summoned before the authorities, to answer for his infringements of their regulations, but he disjilaycd throughout great firmness and patience. The death of the king and the civil war which followed gave the Christians some respite, but after a short time persecu- tions began anew, and it was during these that Keralay died atjuthia, Nov. 27, 1737. See Lettres edif antes; Henrion, Hist, des Missions ; Pallegoix, Description du royuume Thai (Paris, 1854, 12mo); Uocfer, Xouv. Bioff. Generale, xxvii, 595. (J. N. I\) Keraziu. See Chorazix.
Kerchief (only in the plur. nnSS'S, mispachoth', so called from being spread out; Sept. tTrijiuXata v. r. TTioiSt'Xaia, Symmachus in7avxivia,\vlg. ccrricalia), an article of apparel or ornament that occurs only in Ezek. xiii, 18. 21, where it is spoken of as something ap- plied to the head by the idolatrous women of Israel, but the meaning of which it is difficult to discover. Some of the ancient versions (e. g. Symmachus, the A'ulgate, etc.) understand 7«Yfo?c.s or cushions for the head, as in the paraUel member (so Ilosenmiiller, Gcsenius, etc.) ; others (e. g. the Sept., Syriac, etc.) think that manths or coverings for the head are intended. Hitzig understands the talith or long doth worn by Jewish worshippers. See Fringe. The derivation of the Hebrew word, and the fact that the article might be torn (ver. 21), shows that it was long, loose, and flexible, like the shawl with which Oriental women envelop themselves (Ruth iii, 15 : Isa. iii, 22)-, and the statement that they were adapted to be placed " upon the head of every stature" (d"n 5"
KERCKHERDERE
49
KERI AND KETHIB
tl12'ip"^5, i. e. persons of whatever height), confirms this view. Kimclu says it was a rich upper garment. It was probably a long and elegant veil or head-dress, perhaps denoting by its shape or ornament the charac- ter of those who wore them. See Veil. The false prophetesses alluded to practiced divinations, and jire- tended to deliver .oracles which contradicted the divine prophecies. (See H;ivernick,6'omH?fH^ ad loc). Schroe- der {De vest. mul.IIehr. p. 2G0, 2G9) well interprets " veils such as those with which in the East women cover the entire head, especially the face" (comp. Paith iii, 15 ; Isa. iii, 22 ). The Eastern women bind on their other orna- ments with a rich embroidered handkerchief, which is described by some travellers as completing the head- dress, and falling without order upon the hair behind. See Head-dkess. This, if of costly and splendid ma- terial, would be a not unapt decoration for the meretri- cious purpose in question. See also Handkerchief.
Kerckherdere, John Geuard, a Dutch theolo- gian anil philologian, was born near IMaestricht about 1G78, and was educated at Louvain, where he afterwards became a professor. He died March IG, 1738. His the- ological works of note avQ, Systeina Ajwcalypiicum (Lou- vaiu, 1708, 12mo) : — Prodromus Danielicus, sive novi co- nntus historici critici in celeberrimas difficultates hisforice Vet. Test, monarchic! rum Asice, etc., ac prmcipiie Daniel. 2)ro2)het. (Louv. 1711, 12mo) : — Be MonarcJda Rovim pa- game secundum concordiam inter jJropketas Danielem et Joannem; consequens historiu a monarch ia; conditoi-ihus uSiiue adurlis et imperii ruimim ; accessit series historice ApoculifpticcB (Louv. 1727, 12mo) : — De Situ Paradisi terr?stris (Louv. 1731, 12mo). — Hoefer, Nouv.Biog. Gene- rale, xxvii, GOo.