It remains to be observed that while, in his opposi- tion to the literalism of the Church, Weigel was at one with the sects of the time of the Reformation, he was utterly at variance with them in his advocacy of a fully developed quietism, and in his denunciation of war, lawsuits, etc., as he was also with the gross materialism which characterized the early Anabaptists in the un- qualified intellectualism of his views. His mysticism afforded no aid whatever towards the thorough regen- eration of theology. His significance probablj' extends no further than his influence contributed to the renew- al of philosophical methods in theological inquiry, and as he antagonized the supranaturalism then current with his principle that nothing can be true which does not impress itself immediately upon the consciousness as being true.
See Arnold, Kirchen- v, Ketzerhistorie, ii, 17, 17, where a complete list of Weigel's works is given ; Un- schuldige Nachrichten, 1715; Hilliger, a dissertation en- titled Fata et Scripta M. V. Weigel, etc. (Wittenberg,
WEIGHING OF SOULS
900
WEIGHT
1721) ; ■comp. also Roth, Notkigei- Unterricht von d. pro- phet. WeUsuffuiir/eii (1694), § 24. Arnold has stated Wei- gel's peculiar tenets in an apologetical way, while Ililli- ger has furnished a somewhat extended list of his here- sies. His Importance to philosophy is set forth in Hit- ter, Gesch. d. Philosophic, x, 77-100; Standenmayer, Philos.d. Christenthuiiu, i, 723 sq.; Cnuwre, Philosoph. Weltanschauung d. Refoniiationszeit, p. 203-209 ; further, Walch, Eiid. in d. liel-Streitif/keiten, iv, 1024-10(56; Planck, Gesch. d. prot. Theologie, p. 72 sq. ; Hagenbach, Voties. iib. d. Ref. -Gesch. iii, 337 sq. ; Dorner, Christologie, ii, 853; BauT,'Trinitdtslehre, iii, 255-260; id. Versoh- uungslehre, p. 463.— Herzog, Real-Encyklop. s. v.
Weighing of Soi'ls is a practice accredited to the Ei^yptian gods to determine their place in the future world. The heart of the deceased was placed on one side of the scales held by Horus and Anubis, and the god Thoth registered the result of the weighing. Upon this judgment (which was rendered by Osiris and his forty-two deputies) the irrevocable fate of the soul de- pended. If the deceased was convicted of unpardon- able faults, he became the prey of an infernal monster, with the head of a hippopotamus, and was beheaded by Horus and by Smu, one of the forms of Set, upon the nemmu, or infernal scaffold. The most wicked were pun- ished with final annihilation. See Lenormant, Chaklcean Magic, p. 86. See Weight.
WeightC)aX,e6e«, Deut.xxii, 24; xxv, 15; 2 Sam. xiv, 26; Prov. xi, I; xvi, 11; xx, 10; Mic. vi, 11; a stone, as elsewhere rendered; usually bj^d'^j mishkdl [once b'pa^, mishkvl, Ezek. iv, 10], from ^p'^, to weigh; D3E. /je/es, Prov. xvi, 11 ; " scales," Isa. xl, 12, a balance; oy/coc, Heb. xii, 1, a mass; j3apoQ, 2 Cor. iv, 17, elsewhere " burden"). It is evident from one of these names (eben) that stones were used in the most ancient times among the Hebrews for weights, as thej^ were also among many other nations ; and from another {jnishkdl), that of their money weights and terms, the shekel was that in most common use, and the standard by which others were regulated. In later times weights were made of lead (Zech. v. 6). These weights were carried in a bag (Deut. xxv, 13; Prov. xvi, 11) suspend- ed from the girdle (Chardin, Vog. iii, 422), and were very early made the vehicles of fraud. The habit of carrying two sets of weights is denounced in Deut. xxv, 13 and Prov. xx, 10, and the necessity of observing strict honesty in the matter is insisted upon in several precepts of the law (Lev. xix, 36; Deut. xxv, 13). But the custom lived on, and remained in full force to the days of Micah (vi, 11), and even to those of Zechariah, who appears (ch. v) to pronounce a judgment against fraud of a similar kind. See Bag.
Between ancient weights and money there was a very intimate connection. All Greek money was orig- inally a certain weight of silver, and a similar rule prob- ably held with the money of other nations. Hence, perhaps, the best mode of ascertaining an ancient weight is by weighing a good coin of the same denomination. When this is ascertained, we can form a just opinion of the other weights in the scale from their relative pro- portions. Gold, even as late as the time of David, was not used as a standard of value, but was considered merel}' as a verv precious article of commerce, and was weighed like other articles. In Oriental countries, as far back as the time of Abraham, the value of goods was estimated at a certain quantity of silver, the purity of which was taken into account by the merchant (Gen. xxiii, 16). But there is no trace of stamped silver or coin previous to the Captivity. Nor, indeed, was it at that early period divided into pieces of a certain size. It was commonly weighed out in balances, though its weight was sometimes ascertained by means of an instrument of weighing answering to our steelyards. See Scale. By means of the balance the Hebrews ap- pear to have been able to weigh with considerable del-
icacy, and for this purpose
they had weights of extreme
minuteness, which are called
metapliorically "the small
dust of the balance" (Isa.