IVdengei, the highest and principal deity wor- sliip])oil by the Fiji Islanders. Ndengei is to tlicni an impersonation of the abstract idea of eternal existence. He is subject to no emotion or sensation, nor to any appetite except hunger. They believe tliat this god manifests himself in a variety of forms from age to age, but he is actually worshipped in the form of a huge serpent. According to the Fijians, Ndengei passes a monotonous existence in a gloomy cavern — tlie hollow of an inland rock near the north-east end of Viti Leon; evincing no interest in any one but his attendant Uto, and giving no signs of life beyond eating, answering his priest, and changing his position from one side to the other. There are points in this description which remind one of the Chronos of (jreek mythology. The word Ndengei is supposed by some to be a corruption of the first part of tlie name Taiigasoa. or great Tanga, the chief deity of Polynesia; but whether this idea be well founded or not, great veneration is entertained for Ndengei, as they believe that to this deity the spirit goes immediately after death, either to be jiurilied or to receive sentence. All spirits, however, are not allowed to reach the judgment-seat of Nilengei. for the road is obstructed by an enormous giant wielding a large axe, with which he attacks all who pass him, and those who are wounded dare not jireseiit themselves to Ndengei, and are obliged to wander about in the mountains. ''At Kewa," says cMjjtaiii Wilkes, of the American exjiloring expedition, ''it is believed that the spirits first repair to the residence of Ndengei, wlio allots some of them to the devils for food, and sends tlie rest to Mukalon, a small island ofl" Bewa. wliere tliey remain until the ap- pointed day, after w liich they are all doomed to annihila- tion. The judgments thus attributed to Ndengei seem to be ascribed rather to his caprice than to any desert of the departed soul." See Williams, Fiji and the Fiji- ans, cd. by Kowc (Lond, 1870, 12rao), ch. vii. (Ji. H. W.)
NEAH 88
Ne'ah (Heb. Neah', tli'S [with the definite article], the shaking or settlement or descent; Sept. kvvova [but Vat. MS. omits] ; Vulg. A'oo), a town in the tribe of Zebuhni, on the southern border east of Rimmon (Josh. xix, 13). Eusebiiis and Jerome {Onomast. s. v. Anna) speak only of another place by the same name ten miles south of Neapolis. As Neah is stated to have been not far from Rimmon (" methoar," i. e. " which pertains to" Neah), it lay perhaps at the modern site A'imrin, a little west of Kuril Hattin (Robinson, Later Researches, p. 3-il, note). See Tribe.
Neal, Daniel, an English dissenting divine and ecclesiastical writer of considerable eminence, was born in London Dec. 14, 1678. His early education was re- ceived at Merchant Tailors' School. About 1G96 or 1G97 he was offered a foundation at St. John's College, Ox- ford ; but feeling that he could not conscientiously meet the religious demands involved in his acceptance, he went to a dissenter's academy, conducted by the cele- brated Rev. Thomas Rowe, to whom Dr. Watts address- ed his animated ode, called Free Philosophy. After three years' study in this school, he went abroad and studied in the Dutch universities of Utrecht and Ley- den. Near the close of 1703 Neal returned to England, enjoying at this time the society of the afterwards cele- brated Dr. Lardner. Shortly after his return home he was ordained minister of the Independent body, and be- came assistant to Dr. Singleton, the pastor of a congre- gation in Aldersgate Street; and at the death of the latter was chosen as successor. He continued in this position until within a year of his death, which occurred April -i, 1743. As a pastor, Mr. Neal met with more tlian usual success; even as a young man, while yet the assistant of Dr. Singleton, men of all stations came to hear him preach ; and so largely did his congrega- tion increase that when he ministered to his people as sole pastor a new church had to be secured. He was known far beyond the pale of his own congregation, and frequently invited to lecture in the interests of Christianity and on Protestant polemics. Mr. Neal had an eas}', agreeable manner, both in the style and in the delivery of his sermons, free from affectation. In con- versation, he knew how to mix grave and prudent in- struction or advice with a becoming cheerfulness, which made his company pleasing and profitable. Yet, not- withstanding these official duties, in the discharge of which he was eminently faithful, he found leisure for valuable literary labors ; and the name of Daniel Neal will for some time to come figure prominently in Eng- lish ecclesiastical history. His chief work is the History of the Puritans, which is written with great minuteness and accuracy, though it reflects seriously and often unjustly on the English establishment, and frequently palliates the errors of the Puritans. It was originally published in 4 vols. 8vo, the first of which appeared in 1732, and the second, third, and fourth in 1733, 1736, and 1738 respectively. It has since passed through many editions (Amer. ed. revised, corrected, and enlarged with additional notes bv John O. Charles, A.M. [N. Y. 1844], 2 vols. 8vo, and often since). The first volume was revie^ved by Dr. JMaddox, bishop of St. Asaph, and the remaining volumes by Dr. Zachary Grey. To the former Neal himself replied ; and an answer was given to the latter by Dr. Toulmin, in an edition of Neal's History published in 1793-7. Various opinions have been expressed on the character and value of Neal's History, yet no English critic has ever question- ed Neal's honesty. Bishop Warburton considered it grossly unjust to the Anglican establishment, but he never impugned Neal's integrity. Bickersteth, him- self of the establishment, calls it " a valuable and in- structive history, with a strong bias in favor of his sub- jects, but an upright mind" {Christian Student, p. 514). The truth is, Neal is about as far from the mark, as a historian, as Heylin; and Disraeli has well said that " Heylin, in his History of the Presbyterians, blackens