ISIDORUS HISPALENSIS; bishop of Seville (Hispalis), was born about A.D. 570 at Cartha gena, of which city his lather Severianus was the Prfect. In the year 600 or 6ox he succeeded his brother Leander in the episcopate of Seville. He presided at the second council of Seville (A.D. 619) and at the council of Toledo, held in the year 633. He died April 4, 636. For variety and extent of knowledge Isidore is entitled to rank amongst the most learned men of his time, and his numerous writings, which exhibit a marvellous degree of familiarity with almost every 13ranch of learning then known, rendered important service to his country and age. Of his extant works, those which relate to Biblical exegesis are—x. Procenzia in Lib;vs Veteris ac Novi Testamenti, which, as its title inti mates, consists of brief summaries of the contents of the books of the O. and N. T. ;. 2. .Liber nume rorunt qui in Sanctir Scripturis occurrunt, which may be described as a brief treatise on the mystic signification of numbers ; 3. Allegoria quadam Sancta' Scriptura, brief allegorical explanations of various terms and passages in the O. and N. T. ; 4. Quastiones de Veteri et Novo Testament°, a short Scripture catechism ; and 5. Mysticorum expositiones sacramentorztm seu Quastiones in Fetus Testamentum. This, which is the largest and most important of his Biblical works, consists of expositions of various passages in the Penta teuch, Joshua, Judges, and 1st and 2d Samuel, ist and 2d Kings, Esdras, and Maccabees, selected for the most part from the writings of Origen, Victorinus, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Cassian, and Gregory the Great. As its title leads us to
expect, it is constructed on the principle of finding a mystical meaning in the minutest details of the Scripture narrative. Thus, for instance, in the explanations of the work of creation, the gathering together of the salt waters is said to clonote the punishment of unbelievers by leaving them to the consequences of their unbelief ; whilst the dry land represents the men who are thirsting after faith ; the formation of man from the dust of the earth prefigures the birth of Christ from the seed of David ; and the creation of Eve from the rib taken out of Adam's side represents the origination of the Church from the blood which flowed from the side of the Saviour. In addition to the above mentioned works the follovving are also attributed to Isidore, but the evidence in favour of their au thenticity is not conclusive. 6. Expositio in Can ticum Canticorum Solomonis. 7. Testinzonia Divina Scripturo et Patrum—A classified arrangement of Scriptural texts and aphorisms from the Fathers. S. G'ltaste in Sacram Seripturant.—S. N.