QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. RAMBAM. (Vol. V. p. 163.) Moses Maimonides (i. e. son of Maimon,) also called by the Jews Rambam, from the initial letters, R. MOSES b.-MAIMUM and by the Arabians Abu Amran Musa b.-Maimun Obeid Allah, son of the greatest of the Jews since the exilethe great luminary, the glory of Israel, the second Moses, the reformer of Judaism, as he is called, was born at Cordova, March 30, 1135. As a youth, he received his instruction in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Talmud, and Jewish literature, from his father, R. Maimon, who held the dignity of judge of the Jews, as also his forefathers had held it for some centuries previous, and was himself renowned as a scholar and author of a commentary on Esther, a work on the laws of the Jewish prayers and festivals, a commentary on the Talmud. THE CRESCENT SYMBOL OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. (Vol. V. 163.) The crescent is the symbol of the Mohammedans, but it has nothing to do with their peculiar religious opinions. It was the ancient symbol of Byzantium, now Constantinople, and is found on ancient coins of that city, with the legend, "Saviour of Byzantium.” When Philip of Macedon besieged Byzantium, and was going to storm it in a cloudy night, the moon shone out, and discovered his approach, so that the inhabitants observed and repulsed him. This story is told by three ancient writers,-Stephanus of Byzantium, Eustathius, and Hesychius Milesius. In consequence of this deliverance, the Byzantines erected a statue to Hecate, before which a lamp was continually kept burning. The Turks, on entering Constantinople when it was overthrown by Mohammed II., found this ancient badge of the crescent in many places, and suspecting some magical power in it, assumed the symbol to themselves, so that the crescent is now their bearing. PATER NOSTER. (Vol. V, p. 163.) The name Pater Noster was given to one of the great thoroughfares of London on account of the many prayer-books sold in that street. POEM ON INDIA. (Vol. V, p. 163.) Rev. Mr. Grey's poem on India was published in The Zodiac, a periodical issued in Albany, N. Y., in 1835-36. It is divided into two parts. Book I. consists of 88 verses, and Book II, 127 verses, of nine lines each. It is descriptive and full of life, portraying the religion, traditions, customs, manners, &c., of that ancient country. TRADITION ON SNEEZING. (Vol. V, p. 163.) S. Baring-Gould's work"Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets," p. 227, says: Cus tom of saying "God bless you!" when a person sneezes, dates from Jacob. The Rabbis say that, before the time that Jacob lived, men sneezed once, and that was the end of them-the shock slew them; but the patriarch, by his intercession, obtained a relaxation of this law, subject to the condition that, in all nations, a sneeze should be consecrated by a sacred aspiration. WAR OF 1812-14. (Vol. V. p. 145.) The author's name of the pamphlet, asked for by M! O. Waggoner, is Joseph Penley. He resided in Paris, Oxford county, Maine. I was personally acquainted with him and bought one of his pamphlets of him personally. Several of his sons are now living near me. He has been dead several years. CALCHAS, Bryant's Pond, Me. GREAT EATER. (Vol. V. p. 163.) This is Albinus, one of those who contended with Severus for the Roman empire. He is described as being like a leopard; this indicates a variegated character; and such was that of Albinus, of whom it is said that, notwithstanding his many vices, he was a man of great courage and skill in military affairs, and commonly called a second Cataline. The feet of a bear indicate a rude and brutal character; and it is said of Albinus, that he was stern, reserved, morose, and rigid to cruelty. The mouth of a lion may indicate a voracious appetite; and it is said of Albinus, that he would eat a breakfast 500 figs, 100 peaches, 10 melons, 20 bunches of grapes, 100 small birds, and 400 oysters. POTTER CHRIST. (Vol. V, p. 163.) Potter Christ was a man who preached near Council Bluffs, Ia., in 1870, and claimed to be the "Messenger of the New Covenant," as prophesied in Malachi III, 1 He published a work entitled, " Revelations, given by inspiration of God for the Salvation of the Whole World." The titles he claimed for himself are: The Deliverer, Rom. xI, 26; Everlasting Father, Isaiah 1x, 6; The Lord's Anointed, Psalm, 11, 2; Ancient of Days, Dan. VII, 7, 13, 22; Second Adam, The Lord from Heaven, 1 Cor. xv. 45; Shiloh, Genesis XLIX, 10; Michael Your Prince, Daniel XII, 1 ; verse; Root and Offspring of David-Morning Star, Rev. xXXII, 16; The Rod out of the Stem of Jesse, Isaiah x1, 1. SIC VOS NON VOBIS. (Vol. V, p. 163.) The origin of the phrase is this: Virgil wrote a distich in praise of Cæsar, which was claimed by a poet named Bathyllus; Virgil, angry, wrote beneath the distich the lines: "Hos ego versiculos feci, tulit alter honores; Sic vos non vobis· Sic vos non vobis Sic vos non vobis Sie vos non vobis Cæsar asked Bathyllus if he could finish the lines, but he couldn't. Virgil then stepped up, and said he could. So he finished them thus: --fertis aratra boves; "These lines made I, another The translation of the five lines is: steals my honors; so you for others, oxen, bear the yoke; so you for others, bees, store up your honey; so you for others, sheep, put on your fleece; so you for others, birds, construct your nests." HANSEATIC LEAGUE. (Vol. V, p. 96.) The Hanseatic League was a commercial association formed in 1239, by the people of Western Europe, to protect themselves against the banditti of the east. Some of their chief posts, formerly called Hanses, still remain as free cities; namely, Hamburg, Bremen and Lubec. H. RITTERHOFF, New York City. DID JESUS EVER LAUGH? (Vol. V, p. 78.) McClintock & Strong's Cyclopædia, Vol. IV. p. 884, says: According to the text of Gabler (in Latin) it reads as follows: "A man of tall statue, good appearance, and a venerable countenance, such as to inspire beholders both with love and awe. His hair, worn in a circular form and curled, rather dark and shining, flowing over the shoulders, and parted in the middle of the head, after the style of the Nazarenes. His forehead, smooth and perfectly serene, with a face free from wrinkle or spot, and beautiful with a moderate ruddiness, and a faultless nose and mouth. His beard full, of an auburn color like his hair, not long, but parted. His eyes quick and clear. His aspect terrible in rebuke, placid and amiable in admonition, cheerful without losing gravity; a person never seen to laugh, but often to weep." QUESTIONS. I. What was the "Quinquarticular Controversy" in England regarding some points of religious doctrines, some 300 yeare ago? 2. HERBERT. Did the origin of the "Zodiacal Man" have any connection with the historical Judas Iscariot of whom it is related by Luke that "all his bowels gushed out."-Acts 1, 18. JACOB. 3. "Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good manners."-I Corinthians xv, 33. Burritt's "Geography of the Heavens," p. 98, says Paul quotes this from the Thais of Menander. In D. Appleton & Co.'s edition of the " Poetical Works of John Milton," 1868, p. 359, it is stated that Paul quotes this from Euripides. Whis is correct? Give the referenceLOIS PHILLIPS. 4. Who is the author of, and where found, the following, quoted from memory: "Some write their deeds in marble; He the Just, stooped down and wrote theirs in the dust." 5. What was the so-called "Battle of the Chains?" 6. What was the so-called day of the Camel? ANDREW. D. M. DRURY. D. M. DRURY. 7. Is it possible that a decimal can ever be a repetend, even if the decimal should be extended to n places, provided the decimal is derived from a series? For example, could the value of, or e, ever become a repeating decimal? A TYRO. 8. What were the five keys of secret knowledge among the Mohammedans? J. P. SHIELDS. 9. Who were the genii employed by Solomon in the construction of his Temple? M. M. D. B. Townserd. 10. What and where is Banbury Cross? II. Who wrote the ballad of "Wild Darrell," and where can it be found? D. B. T. 12. What is the drama on which "Erminie " is founded, and what is the history of that drama? D. B. T. 13. Whence the phrase "carrying coal to Newcastle?" D. B. T. 14. Will some one give the names of the Twelve Apostles as they are represented in the painting of the Last Supper by Leonardo deVinci; commencing at the left. ADMIRER. 15. Who was "King Lemuel " mentioned in Proverbs xxxi, 1 ? JONATHAN. 16. A theological writer quotes from the Bible this: "The apocalypse of the apocrypha." Where is it found? SEARCHER. |