of his body; of which they speak flatteringly, however they think it to be." It appears, however, from a con- sideration of the other metaphorical expressions in the same passage of Daniel that the weighing in balances is simply a figure, and may or may not have reference to such a custom as that above described. Many ex- amples of the use of the same figure of speech among Orientals are given in Roberts's Oriental Illusii-atiovs, p. 502. The allusion, however, may be of a far more solemn character. The Egyptians entertained the be- lief that the actions of the dead were solemnly weighed in balances before Osiris, and that the condition of the departed was determined according to the preponder- ance of good or evil. Such judgment scenes are very fre- quently represented in the paintings and papyri of ancient Egypt, and one of them (given on the following page) we have copied as a suitable illustration of the present sub- ject. One of these scenes, as represented on the wails of a small temple at Deir-el-JNIedineh, has been so well ex- plained by Mr. Wilkinson that we shall avail ourselves of his description; foralthougli that to which it refers is somewhat different from the one which we have engraved, his account affords an adequate elucidation of all that ours contains: " Osiris, seated on his throne, awaits the arrival of those souls that are ushered into Amenti. The four genii stand before him on a lotus-blossom [ours has the lotus without the genii], the female Cerberus sits behind them, and Harpocrates on the crook of Osiris. Thoth, the god of letters, arrives in the presence of Osi- ris, bearing in his hand a tablet, on ^hich the actions of the deceased are noted down, while Horns and Aroeris are employed in weighing the good deeds of the judged against the ostrich feather, the sym- bol of truth and justice. A cj'nocephalus, the em- blem of truth, is seated on the top of the balance. At length arrives the de- ceased, who appears be- tween two figures of the goddess, and bears in his hand the symbol of truth, indicating his meritorious actions, and his fitness for admission to the presence of Osiris" (Kitto, Pict. Bi- ble, note ad loc).
A u-eiffht of glory, of which Paul speaks(2 Cor. iv, 17), is opposed to the lightness of the evils of this life. The troubles we endure are really of no more weight than a feath- er, or of no weight at all, if compared to the weight or intenseness of that glory which shall be hereafter a compensation for them. In addition to tliis, it is prob- able the apostle had in view the double meaning of the Hebrew word "!13S, kahod, which signifies not only u-eigkt, but glory ; that is, splendor is in this world the lightest thing in nature ; but in the other world it may be real, at once substantial and radiant.
"Weihenmayer, Johann Heixrich, a Lutheran theologian of Germany, was born at Ulm, Aug. 4, 1637. He studied at Jena, was appointed deacon in 1662 at Leipheim, and pastor at Altheim in 1681. In 1687 he was called to Ulm, where he died, May 29, 1706. He left a great many writings, mostly of an ascetical nat- ure, which are given in Pipping, J/e»io?7'fB Theologorum ; Serpilius, Epilapkia Thenlogorum ; J ocher, A llgemeines Gelehrien-Lex. s. v. (B. P.)
"Weikel, John H., a German Reformed minister,
WEIL
902
WELCH
was pastor of Boehm's and some other churches in Montgomery County, Pa., from 1776 to 1781, but his loyalty to the American cause during the Revolution finally led to his resignation on account of dissatisfac- tion among his parishioners. Nothing seems to be known of him after the war. See Harbaugh, Fathers of the Germ. Rcf. Church, ii, 400.
"Weil, Jakob, a Jewish teacher of Germany, was born in 1792 at Frankfort, where he died, Nov. 19, 1804. He wrote and spoke for tlie emancipation of his corelig- ionists. He published, Fru(/menie cms dem Talmud imd den Rahbinen (Frankf. ISll-l'i): — Das junge Deiitsch- land und die Judeu (ibid. 1836) : — Die erste sachsische Kammer und die Juden (llanau, 1837) : — Wagener, Stahl, die Juden und die protestantischen Dissidenten (Frankf. 1857) : — Die often I'ropheten und das Lehen .lesu (ibid. 1864). See "Winer, Handb. der theid. Lit. i, 526 ; Fiirst, Bihl. Jud. iii, 499 ; Kayserling, Bibliothekjiidischer Kan- zelredner, i, 400 sq. (B. P.)
Weiller, Kajetan von, a Roman Catholic theolo- gian of Germany, was born at INIunich, Aug. 2, 1762. He studied theology and philosophy in his native place. In 1785 he received holy orders, and in 1799 he was placed in the chair of philosophy and pedagogics. The Uni- versity of Landshut conferred on him the degree of doctor of philoso|)hy in 1802, while learned societies admitted him to membership. In 1812 he was enno-
bled by his king, and died June 24, 1826. His writ- ings arc, Ueber die religiose Aufyabe unserer Zeit (Mu- nich, 1819): — Das Christenthum in seinem Verhdltnisse zur Wissenschaft (ibid. 1821) : — JJer Geist des dltesten K'ltholicisnms, als Grundlage J'iir jedeti spdiern (ibid. 1824) : — Gi-undriss der Philosophie (ibid. 1818) : — Grund- leyung der Psychologie (ibid. 1818). His orations and minor treatises are collected in his Kleine Schriften, Schulreden, etc. (3 vols. 1822-26). See During, Die ge- lekrten Theologen Beutschlaud-s, iv, 679 sq. ; Winer, llandbuch der tkeologischen Literatur, i, 406, 509, 865 ; ii, 145. (B. P.)