"Previinis to the compleiion of the New Test, some
progress had been made iu the translation of the Old ; nnd, iu 1S4S, an edition 4)f l(l,(K)0 copies of the book of Psalms was put throuirli the press, bound, and circulated.
"In lS4it, editions of 10,000 each of the books of Gene- sis and Exodns were primed ; and iu 1850 Leviticus, Num- bers, and Deuteionoiny were also printed, in editions of 7000 copies each. The" Pentateuch was then bound iu one volume.
" In 1853, editions of 5000 each of the books from Joshua to 2 Samuel inclusive were printed, and in 1854 the re- maining historical books; and the whole were bound up in one volume, forming the second volume of the histori- cal books.
" In the same year, editions of 3500 each of the books of Solomon, the Lamentations, and the minor prophets were pnl through the press; and in March of the present year Ezekiel and Daniel were in circulation, Isaiah iu the press, and Job ready for it. The only remaining book to be revised was Jeremiah ; so that before this time the whole of the Old and New Testa, will have been com- pleted and printed. The book of Job, with those of Sol- omon and the Prophets, will, besides the book of Psalms, form the third volume of the Old Test.
"The plan adopted in trauslation has been to assign to individuals separate books or porticms for most careful trauslation. These portions have been further submit- ted to the criticisms of the other members of our Mis- sion, and finally revised for the press by a committee of not less than live, including the translators, and then |)rinted in every respect according to the decision of the committee.
" In the Old Test., our translations have been made from the Hebrew text sent out to us by the British and For- eign- Bible Society, and executed agreeably to the rules of the Society. Our English Authorized Version has been constantly before us, and adhered to as nearly as possi- ble. Constant reference has been made to the Septua- j;iut and Vulgate, and the best use made of the various Polynesian translations. With regard to the lexicogra- phy, criticism, and renderings of the sacred text, we have availed ourselves of the labors of Roseumiiller, Gesenius, Lee, Ainsworth, Blayuey, Henderson, LoWth, Dathe, Pat- rick, Good, etc.
"These translations and revisiims have cost the mem- bers of our Mission many years of patient thought and labor; and it is a cause of {rreat and most devout thank- fulness to God that some of us who commenced the work on the Samoan group, and have from the beginning tak- en a part in the translating of the Sacred Word into its languajre, have lived to be engaged in it to its comple- tion. To the great Head of the Church, who has enabled us to pnt this invaluable boon into the hands of the Sa- moan people, be all the praise."
Since that time new revised editions have been pub- lished. The last edition of the entire Bible left the press at London in 1873, under the editorship of the Rev. Dr. Turner. (B. P.)
Saniogitian Version. The Samogitian is a di- alect of the Lithuanian language, spoken in three dis- tricts of Lithuania — namely, Telcha, Schaul, and Rosina. The Samogitians number about 112,000 individuals, and are, with few exce|)tions, of the Roman Catholic persua- sion, whence it is also called the ''Catholic dialect." In 1814, the New Test, had been for the first time trans- lated into this dialect by prince Gedroitz, bishop of Samogitia, who designed to print one thousand cop- ies at Wilna at his own expense. In 1816, a second eilition left the press, and in 1831 a third one, printed by the monks in the monastery of St. Cazemir at Wil- na. Of the Old Test, nothing has as yet been trans- lated into this dialect. Comp. Dalton, Das Gebet des I term in den Sprachen Russlands, p. 41, 79; The Bible of Every Land, p. 313. (B. P.)
Samoiede (or Samoyed) Mythology, the re- ligious system of three Arctic tribes which persist in heathenism, despite repeated efforts to convert them to Christianity. Their supreme being, who is regarded aa the creator and director of the universe, is called Num. Innumerable subordinate spirits or gods, called Ta/ibi, are acknowledged, who combine both good and evil qualities in their natures. The priests govern the ele- ments and control the health of human beings. They perform ceremonies in connection with births, marriages, and deaths. The Samoieds build temples, but do not set up representations of Xmn in them, as he is held to be invisible. The only images are those of subordinate deities.— Vollmer, Wor/erb. d. }fi/lhol. s. v.
Samokrestschentsi. See Samokrisciitciiina.
SAMOKRISCHTCIIINA
310
SAMOS
Samokrischtcbiua, a sect of Russian dissenters, whose name signitios "sell-baptizers," and expresses the peculiarity by which they are distinguislied from other Kaskolniks.
Samonas, archbishop of, Gaza, flourished about 10,')l). His known work is DL^cugsioii icith Achmvd con- ceniinf/ the Ileal Presence (if Christ's Body and Blood in the Sdcriimeiit, found in Bi//l. Max. Patr. xviii, 577 ; Gr. and Lat. in Bill. Putr. Gallandi, xiv, 225.
Sa'mos (^Sa/iof, distiiKjuished), a noted island in the ^Egean Sea, near the coast of Lydia, in Asia Minor, and separated only by a narrow strait from the promontory which terminates in Cape Trogyllium. This strait, in the narrowest part, is not quite a mile in width (Pliny, Hist. jXat. V, 34; Strabo, xiv, 634; comp. Leake, Map of Asia Minor). For its history, from the time when it was a powerful member of the Ionic confederacy to its recent struggles against Turkey during the war of in- dependence, and since, we must refer to Smith's Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Geog. s. v. Samos is a very lofty and commanding island; the word, in fact, denotes a height, especially by the sea-shore : hence, also, the name of Samothracia, or •• the Thracian Samos," for another sim- ilar island. Samos was illustrious at a period of remote anli(|uity, and was at one time mistress of the sea, but its greatness was of no long duration. Tradition as- cribes the birth of Pythagoras to this island, and Cre- ophiius, said to be the son-in-law of Homer, and himself a poet of no mean pretensions, was also a Samian. The period during which Samos enjoyed the greatest pros- perity was that occupied by the government of Polyc- rates, who made liimself master of many among the surrounding islands. The island fell subsequently un- der the Athenian dominion, and was considered as one of the most valuable dependencies of Athens. The peo- ple of Samos were especially worshippers of Juno or Hera, and her temple, called the Heneon, was enriched by some of the finest works of art known in Greece, par- ticularly statues by Myron, Polycletus, and Praxiteles. The chief manufacture carried on by the inhabitants was that of pottery, the Samian ware being celebrated all over the civilized world. It was made of a fine smooth claj' of a deep red color, and many specimens of it remain to adorn the cabinets of archajologists. It must be borne in mind, however, that the term Samian ware was soon applied to all of a similar character, wherever fabricated, just as at the present time all por-