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sorbonne THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG 8 Sorcery and Soothsaying UNIVERSITIES) which supervised the moral condi tions of the Sorbonne, as well as a finance commit tee and a committee to supervise the clergy. The socii met in general assembly four times annually. Robert de Sorbon sought not only to furnish shelter for poor clerks, but also to provide thorough theological instruction for them, the mornings being devoted to Old-Testament exegesis and the after noons to the interpretation of the New Testament. For two centuries the teachers were chosen from the former socti or hospites, nor was it Courses of until 1532 that a legacy rendered pos Study. Bible the foundation of a paid lecture ship. Between 1577 and 1625 six other chairs were established, and later still teachers were drawn from other colleges of the university, while as early as 1270 Robert de Sorbon, recognizing that students of divinity should first have a good liter ary and philosophical training, established, as an annex to the Sorbonne, the College de Calvi for this purpose. In the Sorbonne itself the course was threefold: reading and interpretation of the Bible and of the maxims of the Church Fathers, disputa tions, and preaching. The exegetical exercises were held twice daily, each student being required to write a summary of the main points presented; the dis putations, upon some theme previously announced, took place between two students each Sunday, a socius being the presiding officer; but preaching seems to have received little attention. A most im portant part of the Sorbonne was its library, founded by Robert and enriched with manuscripts by Guiard d'Abbeville, while in 1469 the prior of the Sorbonne, acting in harmony with the rector of the university, established the first printing-press in France, whence the Bible of 1478 was issued. The Sorbonne furnished the leaders of the Uni versity of Paris who, in the fifteenth century, de manded the reform of the Church by a general coun cil; but in the following century the institution became hostile to the new spirit, cen History. surfing the writings of Erasmus and Faber Stapulensis, and condemning the works of Luther and Melanchthon. In the seven teenth century it was the leader of Roman Cathol icism in France, and such prelates as Richelieu, Mazarin, De Retz, and De Noailles considered it a distinction to be elected provisor of the.Sorbonne. Richelieu in particular manifested affection for the institution, taking one of its hospites for his confes sor, completely rebuilding it, and desiring to be buried in its chapel. A century later the Sorbonne defended the new spirit of the times, but in 1791 the Convention decreed the suppression of the " priests of the Sorbonne," although the 160 socii were unmolested, and even Revolutionary vandal ism spared the chapel with its tomb of Richelieu. When, after the concordat, Napoleon organized the University of France (1808), he established at the Sorbonne a faculty of Roman Catholic theology, to which the Bourbons added the faculties of letters and sciences, the whole organization bearing the name of Sorbonne. Since, however, Leo XIII. re fused the institution canonical recognition, it be came useless for the education of the higher clergy, and it was accordingly suppressed by the Chamber
of Deputies in 1885. Since that year the Sorbonne has been entirely rebuilt (1889), and by reorganization it now forms part of the University of Paris.
By sorcery as viewed by Christians is meant an
employment of demonic power in the service of men,
and it is therefore regarded as a gross sin against
God because the Christian should trust in God alone.
Christian conceptions thug square with
x. Descrip- those of the Old and the New Testa
tion and ment. Among polytheistic religions the
Extent. phases of sorcery are many and varied,
and a definition sufficiently comprehen
sive is difficult to give. Its operations neither depend
upon competent physical experiences nor do they
rest upon ethical mediation; it is arbitrary meddling
of men with supernatural or at least secret powers.
As a rule sorcery deals with spirits-personal powers
of the unseen world, whence is the connection with
religion. The sorcerer works through word, look,
gesture, and varied operations such as the tying of
knots, the giving of drinks and concoctions, behind
which a profounder meaning.and connection lie
hidden. One precondition for the rise of belief in
sorcery is the existence of a realm of unexplained
and inexplicable phenomena; the larger this is, the
more room there is for sorcery, so that the latter
reigns in the lowest culture. Moreover, there must
be a trust in man's ability to accomplish such works
in unison with higher powers. Animism and poly
demonism are the native homes of sorcery, mono
theism and ethics make against it. The relation to
religion depends upon the conception of religion;
some regard sorcery as an evidence of religion and
a tendency of religious life, others as a conscious
alienation from deity. Some members of the an
thropological school regard it as the first stage in
religious development, deriving prayer from sorcery
or avertive exercises. The lowest races show, how
ever, a sense of dependence upon the unseen; their
attitude is not one of command entirely. Sorcery
