523 Fabulous Foundation of the Popedom. way, but also because the Holy Spirit would not permit Paul, then travelling with the decrees through Phrygia and Galatia, to go into Asia and Bithynia, where he would have been labouring on the ground occupied by St. Peter; for the Lord never used the ministry of two apostles together in any place out of Judea and its immediate neighbourhood, as he did the ministry of Peter and John in Samaria. And that Peter was in these countries which he mentions in his first epistle, at the time when he wrote it, appears from the best authority; and even from the apostle himself, in his second epistle; who says, "We made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," which certainly implies his labouring among them. While Paul abode at Corinth, which was a year and half, and when he went from thence to Ephesus the first time, afterwards to Cæsarea, then to Jerusalem, and after that to Antioch again, and so over all the countries of Galatia and Phrygia, until his second return to Ephesus, where he abode three years, it is probable that Peter was still in the east, because in his very last days we find him at Babylon; not having, in all this period, approached nearer to Rome than the city of Corinth, which he visited, according to Dionysius, as quoted by Eusebius. St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans was written when the Jews had obtained liberty to return to Rome, Rom. xvi. 3. compared with Acts xviii. 2. which is supposed to have been about the seventh of Nero, when Paul had so preached in the parts where he was, as to have no more place there, Rom. xv. 23. when he had finally parted from the Ephesians, Acts xx. and was going to Jerusalem with the contributions, Rom. xv. 25. and 1 Cor. xvi. 1. and when he had determined, after visiting Jerusalem, to see Rome, Acts xix. 21. and, as we may conclude from these circumstances, but a few years before his death. And that Peter had not to that period been at Rome, appears from these circumstances: Paul desired to come to the Romans, that he might establish them; but they would not have needed his labours for this purpose, if Peter had been their bishop, or resided in the city. He salutes many of note, both Jews and Gentiles, but 524 | makes no mention of Peter; a circumstance so extraordinary, if Peter had been at Rome, that Papists must account for it, or give up their cause: accordingly, they attempt to do it in a strange manner, by affirming that, together with the public epistle, private letters were sent from the one apostle to the other, which rendered the public mention of St. Peter's name unnecessary! The differences at that time existing between the Christians at Rome, respecting meats, the observance of days, and other things mentioned in the canonical epistle, are abundant proofs that no apostle was then at Rome; for surely the Prince of the Apostles could have set these matters right as well as Paul; or if Peter held them good, why did Paul interfere! Bellarmine, to get rid of this difficulty, differs from the Rhemists and most other Papists, saying, that Peter at this time was not yet returned to Rome after the repeal of the decree of Claudius; but therein he makes him more negligent of his charge than Aquila and Priscilla were, who were at this time returned to the city. When Paul became a prisoner at Jerusalem, and was conveyed to Cæsarea, the Lord stood by him by night, and told him that he should also bear witness to him at Rome; an expression very strongly implying that no other apostle was at that time doing the same: accordingly we find, that when St. Paul was arrived at that city the very chief of the Jews there were very ignorant both of Christ and his gospel, Acts xxviii. 22. calling it a sect, asserting that they had heard it spoken evil of, but that they knew not what it was, and desired to hear; circumstances these which fully prove that Peter could not have been labouring in the gospel at Rome. When Paul approached the city as a prisoner, the brethren came out to meet him; and doubtless Peter was not too proud to do the same, if he had been there; but his name is not alluded to. Paul resided two full years in his hired house, and wrote from thence to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and Timothy. In his Epistle to the Galatians, he mentions his intercourse with Peter both at Jerusalem and Antioch, but does not, in the most 525 Fabulous Foundation of the Popedom. distant manner allude to his having seen him at the imperial city; and yet the occasion and the matter of the epistle seem to require it, at least in the salutation or valediction. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, he speaks of Christ the head of the church, the corner stone, the foundation laid by prophets and apostles-of one baptism, one Lord, one church subject unto Christ-but not one word of the vicar-general; which, as Paul professes he kept back nothing from them, Acts xx. 27. had been inexcusable, if Peter at that time presided in that see with the pretensions Papists speak of. In the Epistle to the Philippians, Paul says he had none with him like-minded towards them as Timothy was; which would have been very inapplicable, if the universal bishop had been at his elbow; and in the general salution which follows, he still keeps Peter out of sight. In the Epistle to the Colossians, Paul mentions three Jews as being his only fellow-helpers; but Peter's name does When Paul was brought the second time before Nero, and his time to be offered up was fast approaching, he tells Timothy, 2 Tim. iv. no man stood with him, all forsook him; which proves that Peter was not in the city. Again, he mentions Crescens, Titus, Tychicus, and Demas, as having departed from Rome; and Eubulus, Pudens, Claudia, and Linus, who is said to have been Peter's successor, as being at Rome; but Peter is not named-a good proof that he was not in the city. We may go further, and assert, that it is not difficult to prove-not only that he was not at Rome, but also that he was at a very considerable distance from it. not occur. St. Peter's first Epistle is dated from Babylon; and that he was in the same neighbourhood at the time of Paul's and his own death, appears by this: Paul in his last Epistle says that his departure was at hand; and St. Peter, in his last Epistle, that he was shortly to put off this earthly tabernacle-expressions which, being written at so considerable a distance from each other, prove that it was scarcely possible for them afterwards to come together; and that it was not at all possible that Peter could afterward settle a bishopric at Rome with the pretensions which Papists con tend for. 526 Papists affect to shew Peter's tomb in the city of Rome, and argue from this, and from the fact that pilgrimages have been made to it from a very early period-that of course he must have died there. But it is certain that pilgrimages have been made to the tombs of saints which never existed; as in the case of one named Longinus, whose tomb was visited both at Mantua and Lyons. The wise men also, who came from the east to visit the Lord in his infancy, were made to be three kings; and their bodies were supposed to have been brought from the east as far as Milan and Cologne, where their tombs were much visited by pilgrims. And the same contradictions which we have seen to exist among those who have spoken of Peter's journey to Rome, will also be found in the accounts of the place of his burial. Some have said that one half was buried in the church of St. Peter at Rome, and the other half in the church of St. Paul, being equally divided by Pope Sylvester:-others, that only the two heads of Peter and Paul are at Rome. Peter's underjaw and beard are at Poictiers in France; many of his bones at Triers; and his brain at Geneva. A few words must suffice respecting the authors, on whose authority this has been believed as an historical fact. Those of the later and middle ages are merely copyists; and, in fact, the whole will be found to resolve itself into the authority of Papias, a man who lived in an early age of Christianity; but whose claim to credit in this instance will be understood, when we remember that the opinion of Eusebius regarding him is, that he was a man of small judgment; as indeed his writings shew, being full of incredible things, strange parables and doctrines of our Lord, which resemble fables more than truth. An idea of his skill as a commentator on Scripture, may be obtained, when we remark, that he considered the word Babylon at the end of Peter's Epistle as allegorical, Rome being intended under that name; an interpretation which, however forbidding an aspect it might have on their cause, as it makes that city the mother of harlots by their own confession, Papists have been fond of upholding; as thus rendered, it is the only scriptural autho 527 Eagle of New South Wales.-Chemical Essays. rity they have, to prove that Peter was ever in the imperial city:-and for the credit which Papias has obtained, from having been considered as an immediate disciple of the apostle John, it must be borne in mind, that Papias himself asserts the contrary. But what little confidence can be placed in the fathers of the church, in regard to facts which did not happen within their personal knowledge, appears from the story of the Epistles of Seneca to St. Paul, and of Paul to Seneca;-of Abgarus writing to our Lord, and our Lord to him;-of the Virgin Mary's being at Rome with Pope Anacletus, as we are informed by Ignatius. And how prone people of the early ages were, not only to run into errors, but to forge writings and to ascribe them to the apostles and other holy men, besides the instances just alluded to, may be seen in the innumerable spurious writings, which are rejected as such both by Protestants and Papists. The story of Peter's journey to Rome was written by Metaphrastes; but herein, says Baronius, he is not worthy of credit; and Linus, the supposed successor of St. Peter, is said to have written of Peter's death at Rome; of which work Bellarmine's opinion is, that it should be rejected as fabulous. Thus-If the story of St. Peter's Bishopric at Rome be improbable in itself, and contrary to authentic history-if the authority on which it has been credited be that of weak men who have related many other fables-if the different circumstances of the case cannot be made to agree together-and if, on the contrary, the importance attached to it as an article of faith requires, according to God's constant dealing in all other things necessary to salvation, the plainest demonstration, we may reasonably conclude that the story of St. Peter's having resided at Rome is nothing more than a fable. J. COUCH. EAGLE OF NEW SOUTH WALES. About the commencement of the year 1800, a large eagle was taken near Broken Bay. This bird stood about three feet in height, and gave proof of its strength by driving its 528 talons through a man's foot, while lying in the bottom of the boat, with its legs tied together. How it was taken, we are not informed; but it remained in custody ten days, during which time, it refused to be fed by any but one particular person.Among the natives it was an object of wonder and curiosity, but at the same time, such was the terror it excited, that they could never be prevailed upon to approach it. They asserted that it would carry off a kangaroo. This astonishing bird, the captors intended sending to England; but one morning it was found to have divided the yarns of a rope with which it had been fastened, and to have make its escape. ESSAY II.-EFFECTS OF CALORIC. (Continued from col. 442.) The Effects of Caloric are, Expansion, 1. EXPANSION.-When Caloric is applied to any body, whether it be solid, fluid, or gaseous, it produces an augmentation of volume. For example, if a piece of iron be heated to ignition, it will be found, that it has increased very much in size; this experiment may be easily performed, by measuring the metal before and after it is heated: the iron should be of a cylindrical shape. This expansion is sufficiently evident, too, in thermometers. It is well known, also, that alcohol, water, atmospheric air, and other fluids and gases, experience an enlargement of volume when submitted to the action of heat. When caloric is withdrawn, bodies assume their wonted form, and invariably contract to their former size. The thermometer was invented by Sanctorius, an Italian physician, who lived in the 17th century. Having witnessed the expansion of air by heat, it occurred to him, that this expansion might be used as a measure of the variations of temperature. His thermometer consisted of a hollow glass ball, from which proceeded a hollow cylindrical tube, open at the extremity. A small quantity of the air of the tube was expelled, by ap plying heat to the ball; the open of the tube was then immersed in some coloured liquor, which entered end 1 4 529 Chemical Essays. 530 when the air of the ball became cool. | to one temperature: by marking this, therefore, we have one point fixed; of course this will be the same in all thermometers. Hooke observed also, that water boils at one uniform temperature; by noticing this, therefore, we have another invariable point: and these two points are connected by means of a graduated scale. A scale of equal degrees was attached to the tube, and the expansion of air in the bulb by heat, was discovered by the descent of the coloured fluid, its condensation being marked by its ascent. This instrument has, however, since the time of Sanctorius, been much improved; the thermometer which we have just now described, The thermometer which was made was liable to variations from changes by Fahrenheit, a German, is most in atmospheric pressure, and was un-commonly used in this country. The fit for measuring high degrees of tem- lowest temperature which this therperature. mometer indicates, was produced by The members of the Academy del a mixture of snow and sea salt. It is Limento, substituted a liquid as the the zero of Fahrenheit; the range of measure of expansion, instead of air; temperature between zero and the the tube which arises from the ball of freezing point is 32 degrees. Between the thermometer was hermetically the freezing point, and that point sealed, as soon as the fluid was ad- which indicates the boiling of water, mitted, by which means the effects of there is a range of 180 degrees; so atmospheric pressure were guarded that the highest degree of Fahrenheit against; and the instrument was ren- is 212 degrees. It has been proposed dered more accurate and manageable. to make a thermometer, the fixed Alcohol coloured, was the first liquor points of which shall indicate the that was made use of. Dr. Halley and freezing and boiling of quicksilver: Sir Isaac Newton, afterwards employ- certainly this would be very coned mercury. The principle on which venient, especially in chemical operaa thermometer indicates temperature tions, as there is a very extensive is, that caloric always has a tendency range of temperature between these to preserve an equilibrium: this we two points. Quicksilver freezes at have taken notice of in a former essay. -39 degrees of Fahrenheit, and boils When caloric is applied to the ther-at+655 degrees. If therefore, accordmometer, the fluid rises in the tube; when it is abstracted, the fluid sinks; a graduated scale is attached to the tube, and measures exactly the changes which occur. It is evident, however, that the expansion and contraction of the glass must affect in some degree the changes which take place; its expansion must prevent the fluid from ascending, and its contraction must prevent its descending, so much as it would otherwise do, were the glass not at all affected by changes of temperature. It is only therefore the excess of the expansion or contraction of the fluid over the glass, that is observed. The scale of the instrument is, however, constructed in such a way, as to prevent any material error. After the thermometer was invented, it was some time before fixed points were discovered, by means of which different thermometers might be compared. Various attempts were made to remedy this inconvenience. For the discovery of two invariable points, we are indebted to Newton. It had been previously observed by Hooke, that water freezes or ice melts always To ing to Dr. Murray's proposition, a scale of 1000 degrees were made between these two extremes, a thermometer might be made, which would be much more complete than any other, and there would be no necessity for employing the negative and positive signs, to denote those degrees which are above the boiling and below the freezing points of Fahrenheit. measure high degrees of temperature, quicksilver thermometers are preferable to those made with alcohol; because the latter fluid is converted into vapour at 182 degrees of Fahrenheit, whilst the former is not evaporated until it reaches 650 degrees. When, however, we wish to measure low temperatures, alcohol is to be preferred, because it has not yet been frozen, whereas mercury becomes solid at -39 degrees. The expansion of different bodies, by the application of caloric, is not uniformly the same, being in general less as the density of the body is greater. A knowledge of the expansibilities of different solid bodies is highly useful in the arts; to a want of this knowledge, imperfection in the construction of machinery of different kinds is mainly attributable. We have every reason to believe, that if sufficient attention were paid to this circumstance, much trouble and inconvenience might be prevented, and that machines would be much more certain in their operations. The expansion of solids from heat,is a source of error in the construction of timepieces; the pendulum varying in length according to the temperature of the atmosphere. This error is removed by making use of two metals, and adjusting them in such a manner that the expansion of one counteracts the expansion of the other. In fluids, also, there is a diversity as it regards their powers of expansion, upon the application of a given quantity of caloric. Thus, the expansion of water is greater than that of quicksilver, and the expansion of alcohol is greater than that of water. 532 observed, the lines shooting out from each other at an angle either of 60 degrees or 120 degrees. The freezing of water therefore is supposed to be a species of crystallization, and in consequence of the arrangement it produces, varieties are formed in the solid mass, and its volume compared with the fluid is enlarged. There is reason to believe that other fluids expand in the act of congealing, and that this expansion takes place through a certain range of temperature, as in water. One other exception to the law of expansion from caloric, remains to be considered. It is observed in the different clays, and the pure earth called argil, which they contain. From a knowledge of this circumstance, Mr. Wedgewood constructed his pyrometer. This instrument is calculated to measure high degrees of temperature. It consists of a gauge, composed of two straight pieces of brass, twenty-four inches long, divided into inches and tenths, and fixed on a brass plate so as to converge; the space between them at one extremity being five-tenths of an inch, and up the other, three-tenths. The pyrome It has been found by Dalton and Gay Lussac, that all aerial substances suffer the same degree of expansion, when they are brought to any given temperature. Caloric is considered by chemists a repulsive power, inas-trical pieces of clay are small cylinmuch as it produces a separation of the particles of bodies: the expansion of different substances, therefore, will be according to their cohesive powers. There are a few exceptions to the general rule, that bodies expand by the application of heat; for instance, water, by the reduction of its temperature, suffers an enlargement of volume, it expands from 41 degrees of Fahrenheit to 32 degrees, until it arrives at a state of congelation. The expansive force which is exerted in the act of freezing, is supposed by some to be owing to a disengagement of air which the water held in solution; this, however, is not the chief cause, for the same expansion occurred when water had been deprived as much as possible of air by the air-pump. Mairan explained it on the supposition of a polarity in the particles of the water, or a tendency to unite by certain sides in preference to others; to arrange themselves in a certain manner, and run into right lines at determinate angles. This explanation is thought by some to be proper, inasmuch, as when the freezing of water is examined by a microscope, this polarity of arrangement can be ders, flattened on one side, made in a mould, so as to be adapted exactly to the wider end. It is evident, that in exposing one of these pieces to a high temperature, we can measure its contraction, by sliding it into the groove. Each degree of this pyrometer is equal to 130 degrees of Fahrenheit. The zero corresponds with 1077°, and the scale of Wedgewood includes a range of temperature equal to about 32.000 degrees of Fahrenheit. The highest heat that has been measured with it is 16 or 21.877 degrees of Fahrenheit, being the temperature of a small air furnace; and 30 degrees of the scale above the point at which cast-iron melts. It is difficult to ascertain the cause of these contractions in these substances. By some it is supposed to arise from an escape of some volatile matter, particularly of water, which clays imbibe and retain with force. This, however, seems to be contradicted by Mr. Wedgewood, who found that his pyrometrical pieces, at very high temperature, suffered no diminution of weight; although they continued to contract. At a low red heat, it is stated, a disengagement of aerial |
