In many references of Holy Scripture the minstrel and the prophet appear to be identical, and their functions the same; but in 2 Kings iii, \b their resi)eitive func- tions are clearly distinguished. The prophet Klisha needed the influence of "the minstrel" to soothe the irri- tation occasioned by the aggravating alliance of Israel with Judah. Not until this was effected would the pro- phetic intluence guide him to a sound vaticination of
j the duty and destinj' of the allied forces. The min- strelsy was produced, according to Procopius, by a Le- 1 vite, who sung the Psalms of David in the hearing of the prophet; if so, he was thus the means of producing that condition of mind by which the pro])het was lifted above the perceptions of his senses, and the circum- stances which surrounded him, into a higher region of j thought, where he might by divine grace penetrate the secret purposes of God, Jarchi says that " on account , of anger the Shechinah had departed from him ;" Eph- ] raem Syrus, that the object of the music was to at- tract a crowd to hear the prophecy; J. H. Jlichaelis, that the prophet's mind, disturbed i)y the impiety of the Israelites, might be soothed and i prepared for divine things by a siiiritual song. According to Keil (Comm. on Kings, i,359, Eng. tr.),"Elisha calls for a minstrel, in order to gather in his thoughts by the soft tones of mu- sic from the impression of the outer world, and, by re- pressing the life of self and of the worid, to be transferred ' into the state of internal vision, by which his sjtirit j would be prepared to receive the divine revelation." I This in effect is the view taken by Joseiduis {Ant. ix,3, 1 1), and the same is expressed by !Maimonides in a pas- j sage which embodies the opinion of the Jews of the I ^Middle Ages. "All the prophets were not able to I prophesy at any time that they wished; but they pre- \ pared their minds, and sat joyful and glad of heart, and abstracted; for prophecy dwelleth not in the midst of melancholy, nor in the midstof apathy, but in the midst of joy. Therefore the sons of the prophets had before them a psaltery, and a tabret, and a piiie, and a harp, and [thus] sought after prophecy" (or proplietic inspira- tion) {Yad hachazakah, vii. 5, Bernard's Cired and Eth- ics of the Jeii-s, p, IG ; see also note to p. 114). Kimchi quotes a tradition to the effect that, after the ascension of his master Elijah, the spirit of prophecy had not dwelt upon Klisha because he was mourning, and the spirit of holiness does not dwell but in the midst of joy. The references given above to the power and dignity of song may sufficiently explain the occurrence. The spir- itual ecstasy was often bestowed without any means, but many instances are given of subordinate physical agencies being instrumental in its production (Eztk. ii, I 2 ; iii, 24 ; Isa. vi, 1 ; Acts x, 9, 10 ; Kev. i, 9, 10). j The word minstrel is used of the aiXlj-ai^ who, in IMatt. ix, 23, are represented as mourning and making a noise on the death of .lairus's daughter. Tlie custom of hiring mourners at the death of friends is seen on Etruscan amphone, tombs, and bass-reliefs (see Dennis's Etruria, i, 295; ii. .344,354, where music was considered appropriate; and Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, ii, 306- 373). Skill in lamentation (Amos v, 16 ; Jer. ix, 17) was not necessarily skill in playing on the pipe or tiute, but probably included that accomplishment (Ecdes. xii, 5; j 2 Chron. XXXV, 25), — Kitto; Smith. See Molkxixg.
Minstrels' Gallery, in a church, forms a sort of ' orchestra for the accommodation of vocal and instru- I mental performers. It is quite conmion in Continental churches, but is very rarely met with in ICngland. i There is a gallery of this sort over the altar-screen at Chichester cathedral, and another, much more remark- ; alile. near the middle of the north side of the choir of I Exeter cathedral. It is supimrted upon thirteen pil- I lars, Iwtween every two of which, in a niched recess, there is a sculptured representation of an angel playuig upon a musical instrument. Among these we observ-e the cittern, bagpi|ie, harji, violin. pi])e, tambourine, etc. The roof of Out well church, Norfolk, and the minstrels' column at Beverley, also exhibit a great variety of mu- sical instruments anciently used in our churches, in- dependent of the organ and the regalls, which was a small portable organ, having one row of jiipcs giving the treble notes, the same number of keys, and a small pair of liellows moved with the left hand. — Staunton's Eccks. Diet. s. V.
Mint {t'lSioapoi', sweet-scenteil) occurs fMatt. xxiii.
MINT
305
MINUCIUS
23 ; Luke xi, 42) among the smaller garden herbs which the Pharisees pmictiliously tithed. See Anise ; Dill. It was much esteemed as a warming condiment by the ancients (Pliny, xix, 47; xx, 53; xxi, 18; Dioscor. iii, 41 ; Martial, x, 48, 8 sq. ; the Romans calling it mentha, and the Greeks jxii'Sii)) as well as the Jews (Mishna, Okzim. i, 2 ; Ohol. viii, 1 ; also the Talmudical tracts Shem ve-Jobel, vii, 2 ; Sheb. vii, 1 ; the rabbins call it KripTD ; it was even strewed, for the sake of its odor, upon the floors of houses and synagogues, Buxtorf, Lex. Rah. p. 1228), and as it still is in Eastern countries (Raf- fenau DAWe, Flora Aegypt. in the Descr. de VEf/ypte, xix). " Some commentators have supposed that such herbs as mint, anise (dill), and cumin, were not titha- ble by law, and that tlie Pharisees solely from an over- strained zeal paid tithes for them ; but as dill was sub- ject to tithe {Masserotli, iv, 5), it is most probable that the other herbs mentioned with it were also tithed, and this is fully corroborated by our Lord's own words: ' These ought ye to have done.' The Pharisees, there- fore, are not censured for paying tithes of things un- tithable by law, but for paying more regard to a scru- pulous exactness in these minor duties than to impor- tant moral obligations" (Smith).