Sarvagna, in Hindu mythology, is the all-seeing one, a surname of Siva.
Sarvastivadas, or Sarvastivadins (literally, those icho maintain the realit;/ of all existence), is the name of one of the four divisions of the Vaibhashika system of Buddhism. Its reputed father was Rahula, the son of the Buddha Sakyamuni. See Kfippen, Die lieliffion des Buddha (Berlin, 1857); Wassiljew, Der Buddhismus u. seine Dogmen (St. Petersburg, 1860). — Chambers's Eiicyclop. s. v. Sas. See Worm.
Sasnett, William Jeremiah, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was born in Han- cock County, Ga., April 29, 1820, and graduated at Ogle- thorpe University in 1839. After gratluation he studied law, but very earh^ entered the ministry. His active work was soon interfered with by rheumatism. He then engaged in the work of education, and accepted, in 1849, the chair of English Literature in Emory College, which he filled until 1858, when he became president of La Grange Female College. In Sept., 1859, he opened the East Alabama Male College, as its president. At a very early day its halls were tilled with young men, but the war coming on, so many of them entered the army that college exercises were necessarily suspended. Dr. Sasnett retired to his fartn in Georgia, where he remain- ed until his death, Nov. 3, 1865. As a scholar, the at- tainments of Dr. Sasnett were varied and extensive. As a preacher, his gifts were far from ordinarj'. Besides a large number of contributions to the periodical press, he published, I'l-ogress (1855) : — Discussions in Literature (I860). — Minutes of Annual Conf. Meth, Epis. Church, South, 1865, p. 574.
Sason, Aaron ben -Joseph. See Aaron ben- JosEi'ii Sason.
Sasportas, Jacob ben-Aaron, a Jewish writer, was burn in KilO at Oran, North Africa. Very little is known about his early youth. In 1634 he became chief rablii of six African communities, which position he held for two decades, when lie was obliged to leave the comitry. In 1654 he arrived at Amsterdam, and a year later he was recalled by tlie emperor of Morocco, and charged with the ambassadorship to Spain. In 1664 he appeared as chief rabl)i of London, which he left in 1672 for Hamburg. In the same year he was
called to Amsterdam, and so likewise in 1680, where he went in 1693, to be gathered to his fathers in 1698. He is best known as the author of 2p"'' mPIH, or in- dex of Biblical passages which are explained in haga- distic manner in the Jerusalem Talmud, being a sup- plement to the "jinx rrnbin of Ah. Pesaro (q. v.). He also wrote against the Pseudo-Messiah, Sabbatai Zebi (q. v.), in his "'2:J bnii r:i"':J (Amst. 1737). See Filrst, Bibl.Jud. iii, 251 ; Jost, Gesch. d. Judenth. u. s. Sec- ten, iii, 168 ; Griitz, Gesch. d. Juden, x, p. 110 sq. (B. P.)
Sassanidae, the dynasty which succeeded that of the ArsacitUe on the throne of Persia (q. v.). See MuUer, Chips from a German Workshop.
Sassi, Francisco Girolamo, a noted monk, was born at Milan in 1673. He took orders in the brother- hood of the Oblates, and was made general of the order in 1700. He died at IMilan, Nov. 2, 1731. He gave his life to religious instruction, and published several devotional works, among them Christi Laudes and Ma- I'ice Laudes. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s. v.
Sa'tan, the Scripture term for the chief of fallen spirits, and the arch -principle of evil. The doctrine of Satan and of satanic agency is to be made out from revelation, and from reflection in agreement with reve- lation. (In the following article we chiefly follow those in Kitto's and Smith's dictionary.)
I. Scripture Names or Titles of Satan. — Besides Sa- tan, he is called the Devil, the Dragon, the Evil One, the .1 ngel of the Bottomless Pit, the Prince of this World, the Prince of the Power of the Air, the God of this World, Apollgon, Abaddon, Belial, Beelzebub. "Satan" and " devil" are the names by which he is oftener dis- tinguished than by any other, the former being applied to him about forty times and the latter about fifty times. See each term.
Satan is the Hebrew word "IJiU, satan',- transferred to the English. It is derived from the verb '\'^''^, which means " to lie in wait," " to oppose," " to be an adver- sary;" hence, the noun denotes an adversary, ot opposer. The word in its generic sense occurs in 1 Kings xi, 14 : "The Lord raised up an adversary (s«fa« ; Sept. crorn)') against Solomon," i.e. Hadad the Edomite. In the 23d verse the word occurs again, applied to Rezan. It is used in the same sense in 1 Sam. xxix, 4, where David is termed an adversary, and in Numb, xxii, 22, where the angel "stood in the way for an adversary (satdn) to Balaam," i. e. to oppose liim when he went with the princes of Moab. See also 2 Sam. xix, 22 , 1 Kings v, 4, xi, 25, Psa. cix, 6, where the Sept. has tTTi/SouXoc:, civTiKaipti'og, Oi«/3oXo^, etc. In Zech. iii, 1,2, the word occurs in its specif c sense as a proper name . " And he showed me Joshua the high-priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord re- buke thee, O Satan." Here it is manifest, both from the context and the use of the article, that some par- ticular adversary is denoted. In Job i, ii, the same use of the word with the article occurs several tiities. The events in which Satan is represented as the agent con- firm this view. He was a distinguished adversary and tempter. See also 1 Chron. xxi, 1. In all these latter passages the Se])t. has aaTc'iv, and the Vulg. Satan.