Novensiles (or Novensides) Dei are men- tioned in the solemn prayer which the consul Decius repeated after the pontiles previous to his devoting himself to death for his countrj' (Livy, viii, 9). Instead of Novensiles, we also find the form Novensides, whence we may infer that it is some compound of insides. The first part of this compoimd is said by some to be novus, and by others novem (Arnob. iii, 38, 39), and it is ac- cordingly said that the Novensiles -were nine gods to whom Jupiter gave permission to hurl his lightnings (Arnob. /. c. ; Pliny, Hist. Nat. ii, 52). But this fact, though it may have applied to the Etruscan religion, nowhere appears in the religion of the Romans. We are therefore inclined to look upon Novensides as the compound of ?iore and insides, so that these gods would be the opposite of Indigetes, or old native divinities; that is, the Novensides were the gods who were recently C)r newly introduced at Rome after the coufpiest of some place. It Avas customary at Rome after the conquest of a neighboring town to carry its gods to Rome, and there either to establish their worship in public, or as- sign the care of it to some patrician family. This is the explanation of Cincius Alimentus (ap. Arnob. iii, 38, etc.), and seems to be quite satisfactory. — Smith, Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Blocj. and Mythol. s. v.
Novi or Infantes was the name by which the early Christian Church designated its newly made con-
verts, and they continued to be called such until Easter week, when, on the " great Sabbath," and on the octave of Easter, they laid aside their white garments, and ap- peared with the rest of the Church, after having been solemnly exhorted by the bishop to be faithful to their baptismal vows. See Guericke, Man. of Ch. Hist. {A nc. Ch. Hist.) p. 298.
Novice {vt6(f>vToc, a neoj^hyte), one newly convert- ed (literally, 7mrli/ planted), not yet matured in Chris- tian experience (1 Tim. iii, C). The ancient Greek inter- preters explain it by " new-baptized" (I'loftcnvTiffTog'), "proselyte" (Trpoff/yXurof), etc. The word continued to be in use in the early Church; but it gradually ac- quired a meaning somewhat different from that which it bore under the apostles, when "newly converted" and "newly baptized" described, in fact, the same condition, the converted being at once baptized. For when, in sub- sequent years, the Church felt it prudent to put con- verts under a course of instruction before admitting them to baptism and the full privileges of Christian brother- hood, the term vtocpvroi Qnovitii, novices) was sometimes applied to them, although they were more usually dis- tinguished by the general term of catec/nnnens (q. v.).
Novice eventually was technically the appellation given to persons of either sex who are living in a mon- astery in a state of probation previous to becoming pro- fessed members of a monastic order. Persons who ap- ply to enter the novitiate state, on being admitted by the superior of the monastery, promise obedience to him during the time of their stay, and are bound to conform to the discipline of the house ; but they make no per- manent vows, and may leave if they find that the mo- nastic life does not suit them. The period of the noviti- ate must not be less than one year, and the person who enters as a novice must have attained the age of pu- berty. Richard, in the Bihliotheque Sacree, article Novice, describes the qualities required, according to the canons of the Council of Trent, for the admission of a novice: the}' are health, morality, voluntarj^ dis- position for a monastic life, intellectual capacit}', etc. No married person can be admitted unless by the con- sent of both parties; no person who is encumbered with debts, or whose assistance is necessary for the support of his parents, is admissible. Widowers and widows may be admitted as novices, unless their labor is re- quired for the support of their children. After the ter- mination of the }-ear of probation, the novice, if he (or she) persists in his vocation, and his conduct and ca- pacity have proved satisfactory, may be admitted into the order by taking the solemn vows, which are bind- ing for life. Dncange, in his Glossarium, article No- vitius, quotes the 34th canon of the Council of Aquis- grana, A.D. 817, in which superiors of monasteries are cautioned against admitting novices with too great fa- cility, and without a full examination of their disposi- tion, morals, and mental and bodily qualifications. But in after-ages, as the number of monasteries was multi- plied beyond measure, prudential restrictions were dis- regarded, and all means were resorted to in order to induce young people to enter the monastic profession, and parents often forced their children into it against their will. The misery and guilt which resulted from this practice are well known; but few perhaps have exhibited them in so vivid and fearful a light as a mod- ern Italian writer, Manzoni, in his Promessi Sposi, in the episode of " (iertrnde." It was in order to guard against such abuses and their fatal results that the Council of Trent (sess. 25, can. 17) prescribed that female novices, after the expiration of their novitiate, should leave the walls of the monastery and return to their friends, and be carefulh* examined by the bishop of the diocese, or by his vicar by him delegated, in order to ascertain that they were under no constraint or deception ; that they were fully aware of the duties and privations of the monastic life, and that they vol- untarily chose to enter it. These humane precautions, however, have been evaded in many instances ; and it