Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/166

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sum by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1843 at the present site of Victoria and close to the village of the principal Songish chief. The secular priest, Father John B Bolduc (d. 1889), already known ior his mis- sionary work among the tribes of Puget Sound, had been requested to accompany the expedition, and through his good offices a friendly meeting was ar- ranged with the Indians. On Sunday, 19 March, the whole tribe thronged to attend Mass and a sermon, which was held in a temporary chapel, after which over one hundred children were baptized. No con- tinuous work was undertaken until the arrival of the Oblate vicar, Father L. J. d'Herbomez, who estab- lished a residence at Esquimalt in 1S57 and was joined two years later by several Sisters of Saint Ann. In 1859 the distinguished Oblate missionary- Father Casimir Chirouse, beloved by all the tribes of Puget Sound, arrived from the Columbia Country, and was soon joined by two younger workers of the same order, almost equally noted later, p'athers Pierre P. Durieu and Leon Fouquet. Protestant work was begun by the Episcopalian Rev. John B. Good in 1861. In the meantime the discoverj' of gold on the mainland had resulted in an influx of miners and dissolute adven- turers, which made Victoria a centre of dissipation and for a long time virtually nullified missionary effort. In 1862 a small-pox epidemic swept over the whole region and terribly w;isted all the tribes. Of the whole number two-thirds are now Catholic, most of the others being Methodists. They are reported as industrious and prosperous farmers, fishermen, and labourers, moral and fairly temperate.

In their primitive condition the Songish had the clan system, with twelveclans, each of which had itsown fish- ing and hunting territory. Chiefship was hereditary in the male line and they had the three castes of no- bles, commons, and slaves. Salmon-fishing and berry- picking were the chief dependence for subsistence. They lived in large rectangular communal houses of cedar planks, adorned with carved and jointed totem posts. They had large dug-out canoes of cedar, and wove blankets from dogs' hair, duck down, and the wool of the mountain goat. They had the potlatch or ceremonial gift distribution, common to all the tribes of the north-west coast. Head flattening was also practised. There were many curious customs, beliefs, and taboos concerning births, puberty, mar- riage, and death. The dead were buried in canoes or boxes upon the surface of the ground, or laid away in trees. Slaves were frequently sacrificed at the grave. The names of the dead were never mentioned. As with other tribes of the region t heir cult ure hero was t he Great Transformer. The religion was animism, each man having his protecting dream spirit, and the tribal life and ceremonial were dominated by two secret societies.

Bancroft, Hi&t. of British Columbia (San Francisco, 1887) ; Mayne, Four Years in British Coluinbia and Vancouver Island (London, 1862); Boas, Siith Report on North-western Tribes of Canada, Brit. Assn. for Advancement of Science (London, 1890); Canada, Deft, of Indian Affairs, Annual Reports (Ottawa); MoniCE, Catholic Church in Western Canada (Toronto, 1910).

James Mogney. Song of Solomon. See Canticle of Canticles.

Sonnius, Franciscus, theologian, b. at Zon in Bra- bant, 12 August, 1.106; d. at Antwerp, 30 June, 1576, His real name was Van de Velde, but in later years he called himself after his native place. He went to school at Bois-le-Duc and Louvain, and afterwards studied medicine for a time, then theology; in 1536 he received the licentiate and in 1539 the doctorate in the- ology. After labouring for a short time as a parish priest at Meerbcek anil Louvain he became profes.sor of theology at Louvain in 151-t, and attended the Council of Trent in 154(), 1547, and 1551. He was sent to the council first l>y Bi.shop Karl de Croy van Doornik, then by M;u-ia(>l' Hungary, the regentof the Netherlands. In 1557 he also took an active part in


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the religious disputation of Worms. Not long after this Philip II sent him to Rome to negotiate with Paul IV in regard to ecclesiastical matters in the Nether- lands, especially as to increasing the number of dio- ceses and separating the Belgian monasteries from the German, as in the latter heresy was rapidly spreading. In acknowledgment of his successful labours he was appointed Bishop of Bois-le-Duc in 1566, but he was not consecrated until two years later, by Cardinal Granvella. In 1569 he was appointed the first Bishop of Antwerp and in the following year came into pos- session of his diocese. He did much to strengthen the Church, founding an ecclesiastical court and person- ally visiting all the parishes of his diocese. Heprn- claimed at once the decisions of the Council of Trent and estab- lished regular meetings of the deaneries. As Bishop of Ant- werp, he held two diocesan synods, setting an ex- ample that ex- erted influence far beyond the boun- daries of the. \rcli- bishopricofMecli- hn. He showed particular zeal in combatting the errors of Calvin- ism and wrote for this purpose a clear summary

of its teachings for the use of the clergy, under the title "Succincta demonstratio errorum confessionis Cal- vinistffi recenter per has regiones sparsae" (Louvain, 1567). He also wrote a textbook of dogmatics: "De- monstrationum religionis christianae libri tres" (Ant- werp, 1564), to which in 1577, after his death, a fourth book was added, "De sacramcntis". In 1616 the cathedral chapter and the city erected a monument to him.

Gils and Coppens, Nieuwe beschrijving van het bisdom pan's Bosch, I (Bois-le-Duc, 1840), 218; Atltie. deulsche Biog.. XXXIV.

Patricius Schlager.

Son of God. In the Old Testament. — The title "son of God" is frequent in the Old Testament. The word "son" was employed among the Semites to signify not only filiation, but other close connexion or intimate relationship. Thus, "a son of strength" was a hero, a warrior, "son of wickedness" a nicked man, "sons of pride" wild beasts, "son of possession" a possessor, "son of pledging" a hostage, "son of lightning" a swift bird, "son of death" one doomed to death, "son of a bow" an arrow, "son of Belial" a wicked man, "sons of prophets" disciples of prophets, etc. The title "son of God" was applied in the Old Testament to persons having any special relationship with God. .\ngels, just and pious men, the descendants of Seth, were called "sons of God" (Job, i, 6; ii, 1; Ps. lxxx\-iii, 7; Wisd., ii, 13; etc.). In a similar manner it was given to Israelites (Deut., xiv, 1); and of Israel, as a nation, we read: ".\nd thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn. I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may scrx-e me " (Ex., iv, 22 sq.) .

The leaders of the people, kings, princes, judges, as holding ;uith(irity from God. were called sons of God. The theocr:iti(' king as lieutenant of (iod, and especially when he was providentially selected to be