Servu.s Servorum Dei {Servant of the servants of God), an official title of the Roman pontiffs, in use since the time of Gregory the Great, by whom, accord- ing to his biographer, Paul the Deacon, it was assumed as a practical rebuke of the ambitious assumption of the title of " QLcumenical (or universal) Patriarch" by John, surnamed Nestentes, or the Faster, contemporary patri- arch of Constantinople. Other Christian bishops pre- vious to Gregory had employed this form, but he was doubtless the first of the bishops of Rome to adopt it as a distinctive title. It is found in all the letters of Gregory preserved by the Venerable Bede in his history. — Cham- bers's Bnct/clop. s. V.
Sescuplum (taken once and a half), that sort of usury which consisted in making loans at fifty per cent, interest. Being a grievous extortion and great oppres- sion, it was condemned in the clergy by the councils of Nice and Laodicea, under the name of >}/;aoXiat; and also in laymen by the law of Justinian, which allows nothing above centesimal interest in any case. — Bing- ham, Christ. Antiq. vi, 2, 6. See Usuuv.
Sesha is, in Hindi! mythology, the great king of the serpent race, on whom Vishnu reclines on the prime- val waters. He has a thousand heads, which serve as a canopy to Vishnu; and he upholds the world, which rests on one of his heads. His crest is ornamented with jewels. Coiled -up, Sesha is the emblem of cternitv. He is often also called Vdsuki or Ananta, '' the eternal."
Se'sis (Seffi'c v.r. Sfcrffet'e), a Gracized form (1 Esdr. ix, 34) of the name Siiksiiai (q. v.), in the Hebrew list (Ezra X, 40).
Session ov CinusT, the perpetual presence of our Lord's liumau nature iu the higliest glory of heaven. The statement of the fact appears in all the Latin forms of the Creed, its earlier words being "Sedet ad dexteram Patris," which developed into "Sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris Omnipotentis" at some time not later than the 6th century. The article does not appear in the Creed of Nica?a, but in the Constantiuopolitan ex])ansion of that formulary it is given in words which are .similar to those of the ancient Latin Church, »i.-«5fs(i/(tj'oj' tK ^e^twi' '"oii WarpoQ, Naturally two (juestions suggest themselves for consideration :
1. What does this exaltation of Christ's human nature imply? We answer. An actual translation of his body and soul to heaven and their actual continued abode
there, and that in uninterrupted identit}' with the body and soul which had been born of Mary. This identity was historically established by the chosen witnesses of the resun-ection, who saw his ascension and heard the words of the angels, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from j-ou into heaven," etc. (Acts i, 11); and not long after by the declaration of Stephen (vii, 56). Al- though the body of Christ has doubtless undergone a change so that it is a spiritual body, yet locality may be predicated of it now as well as previous to his death. It is an error, therefore, to suppose that the bodily presence of Christ is that of the omnipresent Deitj', as is main- tained by the Ubiquitarians (q. v.). Because of this local bodily presence Christ sends his Holy Spirit to men.
2. What is the result of this exaltation? It was ac- complished partly with reference to the glory of his own person, and partly with reference to his work as the Saviour of mankind. The human nature which, united with the divine nature, accomplished the purpose of God was fittingly raised up to the highest glory — " Wherefore God higldy exalted him," etc. The ulti- mate object of the Incarnation was to bring us to God, into the divine presence. By this exaltation of our nature in the person of Christ a capacity was originated for its exaltation in ourselves. And, being the first- born among many brethren, he carried our humanity into heaven as the "Forerunner" of those who are united to hira, as he said, "that where I am, there ye may be also" (John xiv, 2, 3). — Herzog, Real-Enctjklop. s. v. " Stand Christi." See Blunt, Bict. ofBoct. Thuohyy, s, v. See Intercession ; Resui!rectiox.
Ses'thel (Sfo.^jyX), a corrupt form (1 Esdr. ix,31) of the Hebrev.- name Bezaleel (q. v.), of the "sons" of Pahath-moab (Ezra x, 30).
Sesuto (or Sisuta) Version or the Holy ScKii'TLitES. The Sesuto belongs to the African lan- guages, and is spoken by the Basntos, who form a part of the Bechuana nation, dwelling between the Winter- berg mountains and the higher branches of the Yellow River. For this people of South Africa the Gospel of Matthew was translated and printed in 1837. In 1839 the gospels of Mark and Luke, as translated b\' the French missionaries Pelissier, Arbousset, and Casalis, were printed in Cape Town, to which in 1849 the Gos- pel of John was added. Since that time not only the rest of the New Test., but also parts of the Old Test., have been added, and it is hoped that very soon this people will have the whole Bible in their own vernacu- lar. Up to March 30, 1878, about 25,532 copies of por- tions of the Scriptures had been circulated among them. See The Bible of Every Land, but more especially the annual reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society since 1860. (B. P.)