Merton, AValtkh, an English prelate noted for his philanthropy, flourished in the 13th century. He was surnanied from the place of his birth, a village in Surrey. His education he received at a neighboring convent, and was there influenced to enter the ecclesias- tic life. After filling various important offices in the Church, he was in 1258 advanced to the post of chan- cellor of England; but he held this position only a very short time. In 12()4 he founded a college at 0.\for<l, which still bears his name. In 1274 he was advanced to the see of IJochester. He died before the expiration of 1277. — liiof). lirit. s. v.
Meru or Merus (O. M/;poc), a word of donl)tful etymology, is in Hindu mythology the name of a myth- ical mountain. It is said to be situated in the centre of the seven continents, and its height is supposed to be 84,000 ijojanas. of which 16,000 are l)elow the surface of the earth. (A yojana is usually reckoned at 16,000 yards, or about nine of our miles ; but, according to some authorities, it is only five miles.) The sacred river Ganges ((Janga), we are told, falls from heaven on its siunmit, and flows to the surrounding worlds in four streams, of which the southernmost is the Ganges of India. Brahma, attended by rishis (sages) and celes-
MERUTH
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MESHA
tial minstrels, is supposed to visit them, and also Siva and his consort Parvati. See Wilson, Sanscrit Dictionary, s. V. ; jMoor, Hindu Pantheon, s. v. ; Coleman, Hindu Mytholoijy, p. 253.
Me 'ruth (E^fiepovSr, Vulg. Emerus), put (1 Esdr. v, 24) for Immek (Ezra ii, 37).
Mervrin, Sajiuel, an early and eminent Methodist Episcopal minister, was born at Durham, Conn., Sept. 13, 1777 ; was converted while young; entered the New York Conference in 1800 ; in 1803 was stationed at Mon- treal, Canada ; in 1804 at New York ; in 180(3 at Boston ; in 1807-8 at Newport, K. I. ; in 1812-13 at Albany; in 1814 at Brooklyn : from 1815 to 1818 was presiding elder on New York District; in 1819 preached in New York; in 1820 in Albany; from 1821 to 1823 was on the New Haven District; in 1824-5 at Baltimore; in 1826-7 at Phila- delphia; in 1828-9 at Troy; in 1830-31 at New York; from 1832 to 1835 on the New York District ; in 1836 at New York ; in 1837-8 at Rhinebeck, N. Y., where he died, Jan. 13, 1839. ]Mr. Merwin was a man of great influence and usefulness in his whole public career. His ministerial and administrative talents were of the highest order. He possessed a mind of great richness and power, a vivid imagination, a commanding voice and person, and fervent piety; these, combined with the gift of utterance, made him one of the most eloquent men of his time ; and the important stations which he filled in the New England, New York, Philadelphia, and Balti- more Conferences, testify to the opinion of his brethren respecting his abilities. In the presiding eldership his masterly judgment and influence over men made him conspicuous as a peace-maker and an organizer. Many souls were converted through his labors, and his memory in the church is blessed. See Minutes of Conferences, ii, 669; Sprague, Annals of American Pulpit, vol. vii. (G.L.T.)
Merz, Philipp Paul, a German theologian, was born at Augsburg near the close of the seventeenth century. After having been received as a candidate for orders in the evangelical ministry in 1724, he suddenly turned to Romanism ; was subsequently ordained a priest, and became the curate of Schwabsoyen, and sometime afterwards retired into his native city. He died in 1754. He wrote Thesaurus Biblicus (Augsburg, 1733-38, 1751, 1791, 2 vols. 4to; Venice, 1758, 4to). This work is very useful to preachers. At the end of each impor- tant word it contains a reference to such passages of Scripture as bear upon it. Merz also published Quotlibet Catecheticum (Augsburg, 1752, 5 vols. 4to), which is a complete and methodical abstract of the best catechisms then extant. See Zapf, A ugsburrjische Bibliotheh, p. 11 ; Veith, Bibliotheca Augustana ; Meusel, Gelehrten-Lexi- kon, a. V.
Mesa, Christobal de, a Spanish poet, was born at Zafra (Estramadura) in 1550. The little that is known of him is gathered from his own poetical compositions, and particularly his two epistles to the count de Lemos, together with that addressed to the count de Castro. From these productions it appears that in his youth Mesa was the pupil of Sanchez, the most eminent of Spanish philologists, and that he had also deeply studied both Fernand de Herrera and Louis de Soto. In after- life he spent some years in Italy, where he became inti- mately acquainted with the poet Tasso. He died, poor and obscure, about 1620. One of his poems is founded upon the tradition that the corpse of St. James, after his martyrdom in Jerusalem, was miraculously translated to Spain and deposited at Compostella, where from that day to this James has been honored as the patron saint of the realm. See Jajies. Another of his poems treats of Pelagius and the struggles of the Christians against the jMoors up to the battle of Covadonga. His third poetical work relates the battle of Tolosa, Avhich de- stroyed the power of the Mohammedans, and secured the emancipation of the Peninsula. He also wrote £1 Patron de Espana (Madrid, 1611, 12mo). See Tickaor,