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former removed or fell, other arrangements were necessary. The one pre-Deuteronomic sanctuary,

it is noticeable, was the royal one at a. Attempts Bethel (Gen. xxviii. 22; Amos vii. 13). to Reconcile Smith stresses the fact that the tithe of the Two D is different from the tribute gifts to Codes. the northern sanctuaries; the feasts

of Amos are not the joyous feasts of the Deuteronomic agriculturists, they are the luxurious banquets provided from the tribute wrung from the people, in which Smith sees the original character of the tithe. But there is no hint that in Judah the tithes were handed to the headmen, and that abuse arose from this which D attempts to correct. Smith seems to think the tithe for the poor is the only officially required tenth, while that for the other two years was a free-will offering, and this does not correspond with the presentation of D. The ordinary Semitic tenth for the cultus seems to have existed among the Hebrews with adaptations to their own religious genius. Some have thought that D had in view a second tenth, which came to light first after the tenth of the tithe had been deducted (ut sup.), though mention of such a thing seems to fail entirely. Even though in P earlier legislation than in D may be found, the law for the tithe is clearly a step in advance and later. The later practise (Tob. i. 6-8) seems to show the tithes of P and of D both claimed by the Levites. Theoretically there were three tithes, according to P for the Levites, according to D for the public meal, and that each third year for the poor. The first accrued wholly to the Levites and covered all that came from the earth (cf. Matt. xxiii. 23); the second was for the offerers' meal, though Philo gives it to the Levites, and so raises the question whether the twofold or threefold tithing was merely theoretical.

How the system worked out is not known. From II Chron. xxxi. 4 it has been inferred that till the time of Hezekiah the tithes were too small for the support of the personnel of the cultus, and from Dent. xii. 17 a misuse of the tithes is deduced. Evidently the people did not like the tithes (cf. Neh. xiii. 5 sqq.; Mal. iii. 8). But there is no report of the actual exaction of both the tithes of P and D, and Josephus mentions only the Levitical tenth which was converted into money on the spot (Life, xii. 15) ; so at the second temple a second tenth does not appear. But the Jews who were true to the law seem to have recognized loyally their duty in the matter of tithes (Ecclus. xxxv. 11; I Mace. iii. 49; cf. Matt, xxlll. 23). See PRIEST, PRIESTHOOD, L,

II. Ecclesiastical: Tithes (" tenths ") are in general contributions of the tenth part or of some other defined portion of the yield of a piece of land or active property paid to the lawful claimant as

ground rental. These are customary r. Doctrine in connection with both spiritual and and Practise temporal domains, and are subject to

however, the term tithes is confined to contributions payable to the Church, with which alone this article is concerned. The tithe customary with the Hebrews (see L, above) passed from the

synagogue to the Church at a time when the letter's officiant came to be viewed as priest and the priesthood of the Church as the continuation and fulfilment of that in the Old Testament. Hence it was now required of all Christians to pay tithes as a religious obligation (cf. Apostolic Constitutions, IL, xxv., xxxv., VIL, xxix., VIII., xxx., ANF, vii. 408, 413, 471, 494; Apostolic Canons, IV., v., etc.; for the history of the introduction and extension of thh tithes consult L. Thomassin, Vetus ac nova ecclesite discipline, part III., book L, chaps. i.-x., cf. xii.xiv., Paris, 1728). However, some time elapsed before this requirement was generally recognized. The tithes actually paid bore the appearance of a voluntary contribution, and so continued till the sixth century. On the other hand, the second Synod of Macon (585) commanded payment under threat of excommunication, and from that time forth payment was enjoined in various ways, especially through the confessional, where the omission to pay tithes was treated as a sin. Moreover, the liberality of princes had its effect, and when this fell short, recourse was had to legislation. The provision was made that of the goods of the Church which the State leased as benefices subject to reversion to the Church, the tithe, and, furthermore, a ninth of the remaining ninety per cent, or two tithes in all, were to be contributed. On this point, chap. xzii. of the Capitulare Haristallense (779 A.D.) reads as follows: " Of church property now under assessment, let the tithe and the ninth be paid conjointly with the rating itself." This ruling was afterward often repeated, and the obligation to pay tithes, as the Church affirmed it, was recognized on principle, even apart from these benefice arrangements, e.g., King Pepin's letter to Bishop Lul of Mainz: " You may provide and ordain by our mandate, that every man, willing or not, shall pay his tithe." And Charlemagne repeated this in chap. vii. of the Capitulare cited above. The bishops were thereby empowered to receive and to distribute tithes. The obligation was transferred to the newly converted Saxons, in the so-called Capitulatio de partibus Saxonice, chap. xvii. This position was thenceforward stoutly maintained, and the mandate was enforced under threat of severe penalties. From that time onward, the tithes were in continual use in Germany and France, also in other countries, coming in with the introduction of Christianity, though often fiercely opposed. Thus they were established in Portugal not until the close of the eleventh century, about the same time in Denmark and Iceland, and in Sweden not till the beginning of the thirteenth century. Moreover, the Church confirmed the tithe right by means of special provisos, many of which occur in the canonical collections. Some of these last aim to insure to the Church such tithes as had been withdrawn through alienation or otherwise. Possession of tithes by the laity was pronounced a sin. All attempts to contest the claims of the Church to tithes were opposed by the Council of Trent (session XXV., chap. xii., De reformatioue).

In consequence of the Reformation, the Church of Rome suffered momentous losses in the tithes which she had hitherto drawn, which now were ap-