treatise Dt Fllommt of Helvetius. Abbe Picl also
published the Principes dt la Religion it dt la Morale of Saurin (Amsterdam, 1768, 2 vol-. l2mo), the same w..rk as i lu- Esprit de Saurin of J. F. Duranel: La Franct agricolt it marchand* of Goyen (Paris. 1768, 8vo): ami/.' Sacrt et It Couronnement di Louis XVI of Gobel (Paris, 1775, 8vo and tto), to which was added a Journal historiqui of this ceremony. See Desportes,
PICK
185
PICKERING
Bibliogr. du Maine ; Querard, France Litter, s. v.— Hoe- fer, Now. Biog. Generate, xl, 79.
Pick, a name common to several Hebrew literati, of whom we mention the following :
1. Aaron.— When and where he was born, and when he became a Christian, we do not know. From his publications we see, what he states himself, that he was formerly professor of Hebrew and Chaldee at the Uni- versity of Prague. He afterwards resided at London, where he published A Literal Translation from t/ie He- brew of the Twelve Minor Prophets, with Xotes and Crit- ical Remarks (Lond. 1833; 2d ed., without notes, ibid. 1835: 3d ed. 1838) :— .4 Treatise on the Hebrew Accents (ibid. 1837) -.—The Bible Student's Concordance, by which the English Reader may be enabled readily to ascertain the Literal Meaning of any Word in the Sacred Orig- inal (ibid. 1840, 1850, 4to) ; a work of little account to scholars -.— The Gathering of Israel (ibid. 1845). When Pick died we do not know. See Steinschneider, Biblio- graphisches Handbuch (Bed. 1859), p. Ill; Allibonc, Diet, of Brit, and Arner. Authors, s. v.
2. Israel, the founder of the Amenian Congrega- tion, was born at Seuftenberg, Bohemia, about the year 1825. After attaining maturity, he obtained his liveli- hood by writing for periodicals at Vienna till the year 1852, when he received an appointment to act as rabbi for the Jewish synagogue in Bucharest, the chief city of the present Roumania. In the latter part of 1853, having been impressed in favor of the Christian relig- ion, he boldly confessed his faith in Christ crucified; was baptized at Breslau, Silesia, Jan. 1, 1854, on which occasion Pick delivered an address to the Jews assem- bled at the Hofkirche. Viewing the promises given to the Jewish people in the Old Testament from a He- braic standpoint, Pick intended to constitute in the Holy Land a congregation of the people of God, consist- ing of Jewish Christians. The whole Mosaic law, in- cluding the Jewish Sabbath and circumcision, alongside of baptism and the Lord's Supper, he intended to make the basis of ecclesiastical and civil organization. Here and there he was successful in winning some believers, whom he called the Amenian Congregation, because in Christ (the "(OVt ifi^X, Isa. lxv, 16) all promises of the Old Covenant are yea and amen. The nucleus of this congregation was in Miinchen-Stadbach. In the year 1857 Pick went to Palestine, in order to reconnoitre the field for a settlement of his adherents, where, however, he disappeared without leaving any traces. He wrote, Israel hat eineldee zu tragen: em Wort an mein Volh (Breslau, 1854 ; Engl, translation, " A Word to my People," Edin- burgh, 1854) : — Der Gott der Synagoge und der Gott der Judenckristt n (ibid.) : — Bricfe an meine Stammesgenossen (Hamburg, 1 854 ) :—Der Stern aus Jacob ( ibid. 1855-56) : — Wider Staid und Hansen (Barmen, 1856). See Kurtz, Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschirhte (7th ed. Mitau, 1874), ii, 445; Niedner, Lehrbuch der christlichen Kirchengeschichte (Berlin, 1866), p. 950; Jewish Intelligencer (Lond. 1854), p. 302 sq.; Pick, In Saat auf Hoffnung (Leips.), 1857; Zuchhold, Bibliotheca Theologica, ii, 995. (B. 1'.)
Pickard, Edward, an English dissenting minis- ter, inclined to Arianism, was born at Alcester, War- wickshire, in 1714. After studying theology, he be- came minister at Bermondsey in 1740, and at Carter Lane, London, in 1746. He died in 1778. He is the author of National Praise to God for the glorious Revo- lution, the Protestant Succession, and ike signal Suc- cesses and Blessings with which Providence has crow?ied us, a sermon on Psa. cxlvii, 1 (Lond. 1761, 8vo) : — The Religious Government of a Family, particularly the Ob- ligation and Importance of Family Worship, in three dis- courses (ibid. 1762, 8vo). — Darling, Cyclop. Bibliogr. s. v.
Pickard, John H., a Presbyterian minister, was born in Orange County, N. C, in March, 1783. He re- ceived a limited education, and was not a graduate of any college. In 1816 he was licensed, and installed over
Stony Creek and Bethesda churches, in N. C, where he continued to labor devotedly for upwards of thirty years. During the later years of his life he preached occasion- ally in the destitute portions of his neighborhood. He died Sept. 11, 1858. See Wilson, Prcsb. Hist. Almanac, 1860, p. 77.
Pickering, George, one of the great pioneers of * New England Methodism, was born in Talbot County, Md„ in 1769, converted in St. George's Church, Phil- adelphia, when eighteen years old, and almost immedi- ately began his public labors. In 1790 he was received on probation by the Conference, and for rifty-six years continued to receive its appointments, and lived to be the oldest active preacher in the itinerancy. He died in 1846, retaining his mental faculties to the last hour; and as he laid aside his armor to give up the ghost, could use such language as "All my affairs for time and eternity are settled, glory be to God.'' George Picker- ing was a rare man in all respects. Any just delinea- tion of him must comprehend the whole man, for it was not his distinction to be marked by a few extraordinary traits, but by general excellence. In person he was tall, slight, and perfectly erect. His countenance was expressive of energy, shrewdness, self-command, and benignity; and in advanced life his silvered locks, combed carefully behind his ears, gave him a striking appearance. The exactitude of his mind extended to all his physical habits. In pastoral labors, exercise, diet, sleep, and dress, he followed a fixed course, which scarcely admitted of deviation. Almost unerring pru- dence marked his life. If not sagacious at seizing new opportunities, he was almost infallibly perfect in that negative prudence which secures safety and confidence. No man who knew him would have apprehended sur- prise or defeat in any measure undertaken by him after his usual deliberation. His character was full of energy, but it was the energy of the highest order of minds, never varying, never impulsive. He continued to the last to wear the plain, Quakerlike dress of the first Meth- odist ministry. His voice was clear and powerful, and his step firm to the end. His intellectual traits were not of the highest, but of the most useful order. Method was perhaps his strongest mental habit, and it compre- hended nearly every detail of his daily life. His ser- mons were thoroughly "skeletonized." He pretended to no subtlety, and was seldom if ever known to preach a metaphysical discourse. The literal import of the Scriptures, and its obvious applications to experimental and practical religion, formed the substance of his ser- mons. Perspicuity of style resulted from this perspi- cacity of thought. The most unlettered listener could have no difficult}' in comprehending his meaning, and the children of his audience generally shared the inter- est of his adult hearers. See Stevens, Hist, of tin M> th. Episc. Church ; N. Y. Methodist, vol. vii, No. 6 ; Sher- man, New England Sh tches, p. 399 ; Sprague, A muds of the Amer. Pulpit, vii, 196-200. (J. H.W.)