In the apocryphal Scriptures the ]Medes occupy a more prominent place. The chief scene of one whole book (Tobit) is ]\ledia, and in another (.ludith) a very striking portion of the narrative belongs to the same country. But the historical character of both these books is with reason doubted, and from neither can we derive any authentic or satisfactory- information con- cerning the people. From the story of Tobias little could be gathered, even if we accepted it as true, while the history of Arphaxad (which seems to be merely a distorted account of the struggle betAveen the rebel Phraortes and Darius Ilystaspis) adds nothing to our knoAvledge of that contest. The mention of Khages in both narratives as a Median town and region of impor- tance is geographically correct, and it is historically true that Phraortes suffered his overthrow in the Khagian district. But beyond these facts the narratives in ques- tion contain little that even illustrates the true historj' of the Median nation.
IV. Literature. — The ancient authorities for the liis- tory and geography of Media and the Modes are He- rodotus, especially when read with the learned and val- uable notes of Kawlinson; Strabo, Xenophon, Ptolemy, Diotlorus Siculus, Arrian, and Josephus. The monu- ments and inscriptions discovered, and in jiart <leci- phered, Avilhin the last few years, add vastly to our stores of inf(»nnation. The various works and articles of Sir H. I.'awlinson referred to in the body of this arti- cle serve to set forth and illustrate their contents. Among modern writers the student may consult Bt>chart, Cellarius. Pittor ; Crote's Iliatory of Greece, iii, 301-312 ; Prof. Pawlinson's .1 ncieiit ifonarrhics ; Bosanquet's Chro- uoliigii iiftlie .\fedes, read before the lioyal Asiatic Soci- ety, .Tune 0, 1858; Brandis, lierum A.iKi/riariim tempora emeiidata, p. 1-14; and \\\.\\\MiYs Kxcrcilatiomim I/ero- dotearinn Specimiiia duo, yi. 5() sq. For tlie present state of the country, see Sir K. Porter's Trarels; Kinnier's Persian JCiiipire ; Layard's Xinere/i and Babylon ; Chos- ncy'a Euphrates Expedition; Sir II. Kawlinson's articles in the Journal of R. G. S. vols, ix and x ; and the valu- able dissertations in Kawlinson's Herodotus, vol. i.
Me'diau (Chald. Madaya'. N"^^":, marg. ^X^"?."
MEDIATION-
21
MEDIATION
Sept. 6 MJ/^ocVulg. Medus), a patrial epithet of Darius, " the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes" (Dan. ix, 1), or " the Mede" (xi, 1), as described in Dan. v, 31. See IVIede.
Mediation, in the Christian sense, is the interven- tion of Jesus Christ between God and sinners. It im- plies a condition of alienation and hostility on the part of man towards God, and a corresponding state of disfa- vor and condemnation in the divine mind with respect to man. Such a mutual relation of dissatisfaction lies at the basis of the whole remedial scheme of salvation, originating in the fall (q. v.), and provided for in the atonement (q. v.). It is presumed in every form of re- ligion and worship, whether heathen, Jewish, or any other ; and has its natural exponents in sacrifice (q. v.), the priesthood (q. v.), and ritual (q. v.). In addition to the considerations adduced under the head Mediator (q. v.), there remain certain fiuidamental aspects of this question which we propose here briefly to discuss. See Expiation.
1. Mini's Enmity towards God. — This is a fact too ap- parent to require detailed proof. Its historical origin is given in the Bible in the account of Eden, its record is engraven in the whole course of human conduct, and its conclusive attestation is found in the deepest conscious- ness of man's nature. The sense of guilt and condem- nation, to which it inevitably and legitimately gives rise in the human conscience, is a testimony so uni- versal, so profound, and so overwhelming as to call for little if anj'^ external corroboration.
2. God's Displeasure towards Man. — This is a doctrine which of necessity results from the preceding one. If God be holy, as the Scriptures represent him, and as the purest forms of faith depict him, he cannot but regard all sin with the utmost abhorrence, and he cannot be supposed to entertain amicable emotions towards those who commit and delight in sin. This feeling in the divine mind, however, must not be regarded as one of vindictiveness or personal hatred. A pure and unself- ish being, raised above the petty jealousies and haz- ards of earth, cannot be conceived as entertaining senti- ments of malice. Such a vie^v of the divine nature is inconsistent with the emphatic statements of Scripture (such as that " God is love," etc.), with the interest he still takes in fallen humanity (" God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son," etc.), and even with the benevolent provision which he makes in nat- ure for the continuation and comfort of the race. In like manner Christians are forbidden to indulge any malevolence towards their own personal enemies, much more towards their fellow-creatures at large. That view of the Almighty which represents or imagines him as taking anj' delight in human suffering is characteristic of heathenism, not of Bible truth. See Love.
Nevertheless the purest ethics, as well as the sound- est theology, demands a place in the divine mind for that sense of indignation with moral evil, and that call for its punishment, which are instinctive in the human breast. In this light are to be interpreted the many and pointed declarations of the Bible respecting God's anger against sin, and his inexorable determination to intiict vengeance upon its perpetrators. Justice, no less than mercy, is one of the indispensable attributes of a holy deity. The ultimate grounds of this doctrine are not to be sought so much in any considerations of ad- ministrati\-e policy or governmental consistency — mere views of expediency and safety — as in the essential con- tradiction of the divine nature itself to all that is incon- sistent with its own character.