See Bingham, A ntiquities of the Christian Church, bk. viii; Riddle, Chi-istian Antiquities, p. 741 sq., 811 sq. ; Coleman, Aiwient Christianity exempilijied, p. 2G0 sq. ; and for the Church of England especially, Hook, Church Diet. s. v. (J. H. W.)
Or'nan (Heb. Om(TO', ■3'IX; Sept. 'Opva; Targum usually IJ^l^X, but also ')'l3"iX, 'S'lN, "illlX, and "I'lIX ; Vulg. Oi-nan), the form in which the name of the Jebu- site king, who in the older record of the book of Sam- uel is called Araunah, Aranyah, Ha-avarnah, or Haor- nah, is given in Chronicles (1 Chron. xxi, 15, 18, 20-25, 28 ; 2 Chron. iii, 1). See Araunah. In some of the Greek versions of Origen's Hexapla collected by Bahrdt, the threshing-floor of Oman ('Epi/a tov 'ItjSovaaiov) is named for that of Nachon in 2 Sam. vi, 6 (Smith).
Oro is (1) the name given in the Yoruba country of West Africa to Mumbo Jumbo (q. v.). (2) The princi- pal war-god of the pagan natives of Polynesia. Such was the delight which he was supposed to have in blood that his priest required every victim offered in sacri- fice to be covered with its own blood in order to its ac- ceptance. When war was in agitation a human sacri- fice was offered to Oro, the ceremony connected with it being called fetching the god to preside over the army. The image of the god was brought out; when the vic- tim was offered, a red feather was taken from his per- son and given to the party, who bore it to their com- panions, and considered it as a symbol of Oro's presence and sanction during their subsequent preparations. Oro was, in the Polynesian mythology, the first son of Tau- roa, who was the founder and father of the gods; he was the first of the fourth class of beings worshipped in the Leeward Islands, and appears to have been the me- dium of connection between celestial and terrestrial be- ings. In Tahiti Oro was worshipped under the repre- sentation of a straight log of hard casuarina wood, six feet in length, uncarved, but decorated with feathers. This was the great national idol of the Polynesians. He was generally supposed to give the response to the priests who sought to know the wiU of the gods or the issue of events. At Opoa, which was considered the birthplace of the god, was the most celebrated oracle of the people. See Gardner, Faiths of the World, vol. ii, s. V.
Orobio, Isaac de Castro, a Spanish physician, noted as a philosopher and polemic against Christian- ity, was born at Braganza about the }'ear 1620. His parents, who were Jews, though outwardly professing Romanism, educated him in Judaism. Bulthasar Oro- bio— this was his name while in the Church — studied
OROBIO
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Ecclesiastical Ornaments and Vestments.
J CoMOck : 5, Cotta and Cassock , 3, Surplice and Cassock ; 4, Rochet and Cn.so^k ; 5, Cpe ; 6. Slole ; 7 Alb ; 8. Chasuble ; 9, Censer ; 10, Chali, 11, Cruet; 12, Maniple; 13, Amice; 14, Ciboriura ; 15, Burse; IB, Pyx; 17, Chalice-veil.
the scholastic philosophy at the University of Alcala de Honores, in which his acquisitions were so considera- ble that he was appointed lector in metaphysics in the University of Salamanca. He afterwards applied himself to thestudy of medicine, which he practiced at Seville. Upon suspicion of Judaism he was cast into
the prisons of the Inquisition, where during three years he underwent torture worthy of the barbarity of that infamous tribunal, and whicli often, acconiinff to his own declaration, so perplexed his understanding as to make him ask himself, "Am I really Don Balthasar Orobio, who walked about freely iu Seviile, who lived.
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at ease, and had the blessing of a wife and children?" Sometimes lie thought that his past hfe had been noth- ing but a dream, and that the frightful dungeon where he was had been his birthplace, as, according to all ap- pearance, it Avas destined to see him die. At other times, as he had a very metaphysical mind, he formed arguments and then resolved them, thus performing the parts of opponent, respondent, and moderator at the same time. In this way he amused himself, and con- stantly denied that he was a Jew. After appearing twice or thrice before the inquisitors, he was treated as follows: At the bottom of a subterraneous vault, lighted by two or three small lamps, he appeared before two persons. One was the judge, and the other the secre- tary of the Inquisition, who asked him to confess the truth, declaring that, in case of a criminal's denial, the holy office would not be deemed the cause of his death if he should expire under the torture, but it must be attributed to his own obstinacj-. Then the execution- er stripped off his clothes, tied his hands and feet with a strong cord, and set him on a low stool, while he passed the cord through some iron rings fixed in the walls; then, drawing away the stool, he remained sus- pended by the cord, which the executioner drew tight- er and tighter to make him confess, until a surgeon as- sured the court he could not bear more without expir- ing. These cords put him to exquisite torture by cut- ting into the flesh, and making the blood burst from under his nails. To prevent the cords tearing off the flesh, of which there was danger, bands were girded about the breast, which were drawn so tight that he would not have been able to breathe if he had not held his breath while the executioners put the bands around him. By this device his lungs were enabled to perform their functions. During the severest of his sufferings he was told that was but the beginning of his torments, and that he had better confess before they proceeded to extremities. Orobio adds that the exe- cutioner, being on a small ladder, to frighten him, fre- quently let it fall against his shin-bones. The staves, being sharp, caused him dreadful pain. However, all the tortures of the holy office were insufficient to wrest from'lnm the avowal of his true sentiments, which would have drawn down upon him the most cruel punishment. He was at length set at liberty, left Spain for France, and was appointed b}' Louis XIV as professor of medi- cine at Toulouse. But weary, at length, of the neces- sity under which he lay of concealing the religion which he believed to be the true one, and which, without doubt, the ill-treatment received from Christians had rendered more dear, he went to Amsterdam, where, after having received circumcision, he made an open profes- sion of Judaism, taking the name of Isaar. He died in the year 1687. It was in the city of Amsterdam that Orobio had his famous conferences with the theologian Philip de Limborch (q. v.), who, persuaded of the force of his own arguments in favor of the Christian religion, published them, together with the objections of Orobio : De veritaie reli(jionis Judaicce cum cunfutatione religionis Christiance, in three treatises, under the title of Phi- lippi a Limborch arnica collafio cum erudito Judmo (Ter- gow, 1G87 ; Basle, 1740). Orobio wrote, Certamen j)hilo- sophicum propugnafie reritatis divime ac naturalis ad- versus Jolt. Bredenhui-rjii priiicipia (Latin and Dutch, Amsterd. 1G84, 1703, and 1731) : — Respuesta a un Pre- dicantc sobre la perpefua, obxervancia de la divina Ley : — Krji/icacion del capitulo liii d' Ysaias : — Krplicacion paraphrastica de las Ixx Semanas de Daniel: — Una epistola invectiva contra un Judio philosopJio medico, que negava la ley de Mose y siendo Atheista affectava la ley de Naturulezza: — Israel i-enge, on exposition naturelle des prnpheties Ilebratques que les Chretiens appUquent a Jesus leur pretendu ]\fessie (translated from the Span- ish into French by Henriquez, Lond. 1770). With re- gard to the last work, it has been sujiposcd by De Eossi that it was not written by Orobio himself, but only ■compiled from his works -by Henriquez, who is men-