Different from this is the Heb. maneh (n!"C), origi- nally likewise a weight, but used of the precious metals, and hence ultimately determining the value of coin. The word has perhajis an etymological connection with the Greek mina. See Meti!oi.ogv.
Minaeans (i. e. deniers, heretics) is the nam* of a Jewish sect mentioned in the writings of the Church fathers. This is oidy another name for the Kazaraans (q. v.). Conqi. Keiin, Leben Jesu, p. G08.
Miiiaid, Abel, a prominent layman of the iSIcth- odist Episcopal Church, noted for his great ]»hilanthro]iic labors, was born in ^Massachusetts September 25. 1814, His father died soon after his birth, and he lost his mother when he was about tight years old, so that as a mere youth he was left alone in tlie world. His early life was an earnest struggle for success; he was subject- ed to all the disadvantages which attend those who are compelled to work their own way from poverty to for- tune. He learned the trade of a tanner; but his energy of character soon sought a broader field of action in business operations, which proved sueccssftd, and rapid- ly secured him wealth and infiuence. In 184G he went to California; in 185G removed to Lockport. X. Y. ; and in 18GG settled at !Morristown, N. J., where he died, Jan. 31, 1871. In early life INIr. Jlinard was a meml)er of the Free-will Baptist Cliurcii. but in the prime «f his days he neglected his Church jirivileges. In the spring of 1.S70 he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church at Mor- ristown, in whose communion he si)ent his last days. In early life he promised his (iod that if he would bless him he would give away the tenth (lart of his income, and he dealt out largely to the iwor and to the Church ; in later years, fearing that he had not kejit the vow fully, he failed not to make com|iensation for his neglect by nu- merous ))rivate and iuil)lic benefactions. The churches both of Morristown and Lockport were remembered in his will. He also left a sum, the interest of which is annually a]iplied for the education of four young men in Drew Theological Seminary at JIadison, N. J. But the crowning work of his life was the establishment of the '• Minard Ilnmo," in .Morristown (; valued at 5^5().(»00), for
the education of the female orphans of missionaries and
MINARD
287
MIND
home ministers of the jMethodist Episcopal Church. See Xew York Christian Advocate, June 15, 1870; Prof. Biittz, in the Ladies' Repository, 1872. (J. H.W.)
Minard, Louis Guillaume, a French ecclesi- astical writer, was born at Paris January 31, 1725. Ed- ucated at the College of France by the care of Ptivard, with whom he was a favorite pupil, he joined the " Broth- ers of the Christian Doctrine," and was appointed while still young to some of the superior offices of his congre- gation. He entered the secular clergy and obtained the benefice of Bercy, near Paris. His tolerance and easy profession of religion brought upon him many admoni- tions from his superiors; finally, Christophe de Beau- mont, archbishop of Paris, suspended him from his sa- cred functions — liaving been offended by a book that jNIinard had written, entitled Puneyijrique de Saint Charles Borromee. Minard continued to dwell among his ex-parishioners, devoting all his time to study and to charity. In 1778 he refused the generalship offered him by the lay brethren. In 1795 he became a member of the Presbytery of Paris. He died, poor and infirm, at Paris, April 22, 1798. Besides the Punerjyrique de Saint Charles Borromee, condemned by the Sorbonne and his provisor the archbishop of Paris, Minard wrote .4 vis aux Jid'eles sur le schisine dont VEglise de France est menacee (Paris, 1795, 8vo). In this tract, written to establish peace with the Jansenists, he says that all parties should unite to establish harmony in the Church, and that the resistance of a part of the clergy to the laws is as injurious to the di- vine service as to the state. It was replied to by Bernard Lambert la Plaigne, a Do- minican Jansenist, who, aided by Maultrot, wrote four Lettres aux ministres de la ci-dc- vant erjlise const itutionelle (1795-1796). Mi- nard afterwards replied to these by a Sup- plhnent to \\\q Avis aux Fideles. See Nou- velles ecclesiastiques (Utrecht, 1798); Diet, historique, s. v. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gene- rale, XXXV, 591.
Minaret (or Minar) is the name of a tall turret used in Saracenic architecture. The minaret, as it is called by the Turks, contains a staircase, and is divided into sev- eral stories, with balconies from which the priests summon the Mohammedans to prayer — bells not being permitted in their religion [see Mohammedanism] — and is terminated with a spire or ornamental thiial. The min- arets are among the most beautiful features of Mohammedan architecture, and are an in- variable accompaniment of the mosques (4. v.). In India, minurs, or pillars of victory, are frequently erected in connection witli mosques; some of these are lofty and splen- did monuments, that of Kutub, at Old Dellii, being 48 feet 4 inches in diameter at the base, and about 250 feet high. They are often built on a plan of a star-like form, and are divided into stories by projecting balconies, like the minarets.