Nahum of Gimso (the present Jimzu, near Lydda), a rabbi noted for his great exegetical knowledge, was a disciple of Jochanan ben-Zachai (q. v.), and one of the most prominent Tanaite teachers. He had a school of his own, and is reported as the hero of many wonderful adventures, and even the name of his native place was hagadically interpreted as having been his usual excla- mation : " This also intends to benefit" (garn-su V-toba'). He was severely tried, and, with rabbinical resignation, he viewed his trials as so many consecjuences of his own hardness and unkmdness. Many stories regarding his personal history are afloat. Thus the following ex- travagant story is told of him : On one occasion he carried to the house of his father-in-law some valu- able presents. A poor person asked him for assistance while he was engaged unloading the beasts which had carried the rich burden. Nahum bade him wait; but before he was at leisure to attend to him, the person who asked his help had sunk down from want and
exhaustion. la grief for an unkindness which had caused the poor man's death, he invoked blindness upon his eyes, and paralysis upon his hands and feet. These imprecations were soon verified, and Nahum gladly suf- fered in order to expiate, as he thought, his sin. Ac- cordingly, when his pupils, at the sight of his sufferings, exclaimed, " Alas ! that we see thee in such suffering," he replied, " Nay, rather, alas ! if ye did not see me so suffering." In theology, Nahum was distinguished as an original thinker, and followed Hillel's (q. v.) meth9d of Biblical interpretation. The latter had laid down a number of rules, the so-called mi^ T (seven rules), according to which the meaning of the text was to be ascertained. To these exegetical principles Nahum added another canon, important in the development of Rabbinism, called '■^the rule o/ extension and restriction" {Ribbuj u-mi'ut), according to which certain articles and prepositions in the text were now stated to serve not only a grammatical purpose, but also to indicate that the obvious meaning of the text required either to be enlarged or else restricted. This rule, which, as will be readily conceived, opened a wide door to fanciful inter- pretation, was generally adopted, but found also oppo- nents, especially in Nechuajah ben Ha-Kanah (q. v.). See Griitz, Gesch.d.Juden (Leipsic, 1866), iv, 21 sq.; Jost, Gesch. d. Juden. u. s. Sekten, ii, 26-89 ; Edersheim, His- tory of the Jews (Edinburgh, 1857), p. 157 sq.; Frankel, Hodegetica in Mishnam (Leipsic, 1859), p. 99. (B. P.)
Naiads (from Gr. vdnv, to su-im?) is the name of the nymphs who figure in Greek and Roman mythologj% They presided over fresh waters, and were supposed to inspire those who drank of them with oracular powers and the gift of poetry. They could also restore sick persons to health. They are represented in works of art as beautiful maidens, half draped, with long hair. See Yollmer, Mythologisches Worterbuch, s. v,
Na'i'dus (Naiooc, Vulg. Raanas), one of the priests, the "sons" of Pahath-]\Ioab, who had taken foreign wives after the captivity (1 Esdr. ix, 31) ; evidently the Benaiah (q. v.) of the Heb. text (Ezra x, 30).
Naigon, Jacques Axdri^, a modern French infidel of note, was born at Paris or at Dijon in 1738. He was intended to be an artist, either painter or sculptor, and was afforded all the opportunities to secure him distinc- tion in his profession. But brought in contact with the eminent philosophers of his time, especially with Diderot and Holbach, Naigon was inspired with a love for study, and he soon began to write for the pub- lic, at first under a nom-de-plume, and later under his own signature, and ably defended his friends from the severe and just attacks of the theological and critical world. He was himself inclined to accept a more sub- stantial philosophy than Diderot and Holbach taught, but by his defence of these wild thinkers he was led away, until he taught and thought as they did. Thus in his Theologie Portative (Lond. and Amsterd. 1768, 12mo) he defines the soul as an unknown substance, which in a certain way controls our body, but which we can never definitely know. Spirituality he defines as an occult quality, invented by Plato, perfected by Des Cartes, and changed into an article of faith by the theologians. Immortality is not much better treated : " It is essential for the Church that our soul be immor- tal : as without it we could not verj' well find employment for the ministers in churches — it would force the clergy to bankruptcy." In the same manner he treats the doc- trine of Free Will, and all other theological dogmas. Engaged as editor on the philosophical portion of the Encyclopedie Methodique {^Dictionnaire des phUosophes anciens et modei-nes [Par. 1791-94, 3 vols. 8vo]), he there incorporated his views, and laid down doctrines clearly evincing a philosophy of fatalism, materialism, and even atheism. He entered the political life, but was not as notably successful. He died Feb. 28, 1810. His works are largely collections of ancient philoso- phers. He also edited the writings of his friends Dide-
KAIL
832
NAIL
rot and Holbach; and assisted in an edition of Rous- seau's and Montaigne's works. See Damiron, Memoires pour sei-vir a I'histoire de la Philosophie au dix-huitihne Steele, voL ii, pt. viii; Dictionnaire des Sciences philoso- phiques, vol. iv, s. v. (J. H. W.)