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the emperor and thus to secure imperial clemency for their crime, which consisted in simple adherence to Christianity. This demand was steadfastly refused, and a respite of thirty days twice offered by the proconsul was as firmly declined. Saturninus thereupon condemned the six Christians and an equal number of absentees-the four men, Veturius, Felix, Aquilinus and Ceelestinus, and the two women, Januaria and Generosa-to be beheaded. Until 1881 the martyrdom was known only from the Latin Acts martorum Scillitauorum proamsularia (ed. C. Baronius, Annales eccleaiastici ad annum Christi 202, 12 vols., Mainz, 1609); Fragmentum de martyribua Seillitanis (ed. J. Mabillon, Vetera analeda, Vol. iv., part 3, Paris, 1723); a document edited by T. Ruinart (Acts martyrum, pp.131-132, Regensburg, 1859); eight Latin manuscripts mentioned, though not published, by the Bollandist Cuperus (ASB, July, iv., 207-208); and a text edited by Aubd (Les Chritiens tuna l'empire romain, pp. 503-509, Paris, 1881). On the basis of these texts, the martyrdom was assigned to the year 200. In 1881, however, H. Usener edited in the list of lectures at Bonn a ninth-century Greek text of the passion discovered by him in the Biblioth6que Nationale, Paris. This text is not only far more correct than the Latin Acts, but apparently comes from an eye-witness or ear-witness who drew up the record shortly after the execution of the martyrs. Since this discovery the Latin versions themselves have been reedited by the Bollandists in the Anar loch Bollandiana (viii. 5-8, Paris, 1889), and by J. A. Robinson in Texts and Studies (I., ii. 106 sqq., Cambridge, 1893), both unduly exalting the Latin versions at the expense of the Greek. There is, however, no maxtyrology which gives so purely and unfeignedly a true picture of early Christian life and death as the text published by Usener.

It is clear from the Acta that considerable hatred of the Christians was still possible in the early years of the reign of the third Antonine emperor, although the rigor of Marcus Aurelius had been much mitigated, as shown by the fact that Saturninus did not resort to torture, but repeatedly offered the Christians time to reconsider. It is also noteworthy that it would appear that the martyr Speratus made a distinction between the Pauline writings and the other books of the New Testament.

(FRANZ GOnREB.)

SCOT, MICHAEL: Scottish scholar; b. [in the county of Durham] England, c. 1190; [d. c. 1235, probably in Italy]. After studying natural science at Oxford, he went to Paris, the court of Emperor Frederick II. of Germany [in Sicily], Toledo, back to Frederick's court, and at a later period returned to England, where he is supposed to have held some office at the court of King Edward I. [He is said to have taken holy orders and to have enjoyed the

BIHLJOGHAPHT: Earlier works are in large part superseded by J. Wood Brown, Life and Legend of Michael Scot (11761232), Edinburgh, 1897. Consult further: P. F. Tytler, Lives of Scottish Worthies, 3 vols., London, 1831-33; Hietoire litthaire de la France, xx. 43 eqq.; A. Jourdain, Reeherches critiques our rdpe et roripine des tradudiona latinea d'Artatote, Paris, 1843; B. Haur_su, De la philosophic wolaatique, i. 487 sqq., ib. 1850; L. Leclere, Hid. de la m6dexine Arabs, 1451 sqq., Paris, 1878; DNB, li. 59-62; Bayle, Dictionary, v. 100.

SCOTCH CONFESSION OF FAITH: A confession drawn up by John Knox and five associates appointed by the Scotch Parliament which assembled at Edinburgh in August, 1560, after the death of the queen-regent, Mary of Guise, in June and at the close of the civil war. It consists of a preface and twenty-five articles on the chief doctrines of religion which are briefly, tersely, and vigorously stated. It agrees with the other Reformed confessions of the sixteenth century, but in some articles is more pronounced in its opposition to the Roman Catholic Church than most of them. These parts Mitchell (ut inf., p. 123) called the "unrestrained" portions. It was composed in four days, twice read, article by article, in Parliament, and adopted by the same as being "based upon the infallible Word of God." Only three temporal lords voted against it, for the reason that they believed as their forefathers believed. The Roman Catholic bishops were called upon to object and refute, but kept silence. Seven years later (1568), after the abdication of Queen Mary, the confession was readopted, and the Reformed Kirk of Scotland was formally acknowledged and established. In 1580 the confession was signed by King James II., and a supplementary confession (sometimes called the Second Scotch Confession) added to it. It was practically superseded by the Westminster Confession, which was adopted by the Scotch Assembly in 1648. The confession is printed in the Acts of the Scotch Parliament for 1560; in John Knox, History of the Scotch Reformation (ed. D. Laing, vol. ii., Edinburgh, 1895); in D. Calderwood, History of the Kirk of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1842); in W. Dunlop, Collection of Scotch Confessions (vol. ii., London, 1857); in H. A. Niemeyer, Collectio confessianum Reformatarum (Leipsie, 1840; Latin only); and in Schaff, Creeds, iii. 437-485 (English and Latin), cf. i. 680-696.

(PHILIP ScHAFFt.) D. S. SCHAFF.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Knox, Hint. of the Reformation . . . in Scotland, ed. C. Lennox, pp. 213-215, London, 1905 the literature under KNOX, JOHN, especially T. MoCrie, and H. Cowin (pp. 222-234); W. M. Hetherington, Hint. of the Church of Scotland. pp. 50-54, New York, 1881; P. H. Brown, John Knox, i. 88-90, London, 1895; idem, Hint. of Scotland, ii. 70-72. Cambridge, 1902: A. F. Mitchell.