THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
7, xcv. 8, cvi. 32 (in the last two cases the English R.V margin explains '' strife ")• Ezekiel's mention implicitly connects the occurrence with Kadesh, and does not oppose the rendering of the word by " striving "; his mention does not even necessitate that such a place as Meriboth-kadesh or Meribathkadesh (note the two forms I) existed in his day, since his scheme of the land and its partition is ideal. Attempts to locate the places serve only by the variance between scholars to emphasize the conclusion that the word is probably an appellative, not a proper name. Geo. W. Gilmohe.
MERICI, ANGELA, SAINT: Founder of the Ursuline nuns (see Ursulines); b. at Desenzano (20 m. w. of Verona) Mar. 21, 1474; d. at Brescia Jan. 27, 1540. In early youth she became a Franciscan tertiary, and devoted herself to works of piety and charity while still living in the world. She was already fifty-six, however, before she was convinced by a vision that the time had come to carry out a long-cherished plan by founding an order of women devoted to works of mercy. She took a house in Brescia with twelve companions, and the order was formally established on Nov. 25, 1535. According to Angela's plan the members were not to leave the world but to live with their parents or other relatives, assembling for conference at stated times and observing various rules of conduct, though without the requirement of vows. At a chapter held in March, 1537, attended by fifty-nine out of the seventy-six sisters, Angela was unanimously elected mother superior, and by the influence of her holy life did much to strengthen the order in her few remaining years. She was buried in the church of St. Afra at Brescia; beatified in 1768; and canonized in 1807.
Bibliography: Das Leben der heiligen Angela Merici, Augsburg, 1811; M. Sintzel, Leben der heiligen Angela, Regensburg, 1842; W. E. Hubert, Die heilige Angela Merici, Mainz, 1891; Geschichte der heiligen Angela Merici und des . . Ordens der Ursulinen, Innsbruck, 1892; Lebensgeschichte der heiligen Angela Merici, Paderborn, 1892.
MERIT.
Definition; Origin of the Conception (§ 1).
Views of Apostolic Fathers (§ 2).
Augustine and Others (§ 3).
Thomas Aquinas (§4).
Later Roman Catholic Views (§ 5).
Protestant Views (§ 6).
The conception " merit," in a religious-ethical sense, points to a fundamental opposition between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. While the former recognizes merit as establishing a relation between man and God, the latter denies this absolutely. In the Roman Catholic view, religion is concerned with man's i. Defini- securing after his death eternal salvation; tion from God as a reward for his Origin merits; and under " merit " is underof the stood works done voluntarily in the Conception, service of God constituting a claim on a reward from God. Connected with this is the narrower conception of merit as something done beyond the normal measure of ordinary duty. The origin of the religious conception of merit is to be found in Jewish practical piety, in the thought of a legal relation between God and
mankind. But in post-exilic Judaism the idea became more usual that there was to be a retribution for service of God after death, limited, however, to the good and the pious. The classical example of this view is found in the book of Tobit: " If thou servest God it will be requited thee" (iv. 14). God's service consists chiefly in prayer and almsgiving. The main principle of the religious relation of man to God was that he wins from the divine judge a reward, first of all by keeping the commandments, second by good works not involved in the performance of the Law. It was implied that enough could be done to satisfy God's demands and that therefore a claim of reward was legitimate. An atomistic weighing and counting of separate performances, good as well as evil, from the human as well as the divine side was in order and was a characteristic feature of Pharisaic piety. A similar view is found in the works of Philo of. Alexandria, intermingled there with strains of Platonism, for Plato in many places speaks of rewards given to the good and punishment of evil deeds. In the early Christian view these Judaistic conceptions were not received, for man's salvation goes back to God's grace in Christ; despite the paradoxical character of Jesus' teaching in several places his clearest statements tend to reject the thought of any human claim of merit from God (Matt. xx. 1 sqq.; Luke xv. 17 sqq.). The kingdom of heaven is not built on the right of men but on the grace of God. Paul's position was naturally entirely in line with this, for he was occupied in many places in showing that God did not reward man according to his merit but according to free grace.
Although Pharisaical Jewish Christianity was so directly opposed by Paul as a perversion of a fundamental idea of the Gospel, yet the earliest works of the Apostolic Fathers and of the apologists show the introduction of the merit idea into the church
system. The sins of past life are
2. Views of forgiven in baptism (Hermas, Mandates,
Apostolic IV., hi.; Justin, / Apol., lxi.; Tertul-
Fathers. lian, De baptismo, i.). In this and in
the promise of future blessings the grace of God is exhausted (cf. Clement, I., vii. 4). The baptized has now the duty of avoiding sins and fulfilling God's commandments, observing the new law of Christ in order that in the retribution at the resurrection of the dead he may inherit eternal life (Hermas, Vision, I., iii. 4a; Clement II., viii. 4). Of course the condition of this is man's freedom of will by which he can choose the good and fulfil God's law (Hermas, Mandates XII., iii.— v.; Justin, II Apol., vii. 14; Tertullian, De Anima, xxi.). In Hermas (Similitude, V., iii. 3) the conception of merit also appears as an act going beyond what is commanded: " If thou doest anything good outside of the commandments of God thou wilt gain for thyself more abundant glory and thou wilt be of more repute with God than thou wert about to be." It was Tertullian who introduced the strict juristic conception of merit: " From the beginning he [God] sent into the world messengers endowed with the Holy Spirit . to preach that there is only one God to declare the rules appointed by him for