SIN. 190 SINCERE BRETHREN. measures are applied to the correction of the habitual criniiual. It is also seen in the impor- tance now attached to the moral education of the young as a means of combating the liability to wrong-doing in the luuiuin race. Consult (besides the ethical works referred to luider Ethics, and the oUlcr discussions of Plato, Aristotle. Epictetus, Cicero, Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibnitz) : MiiUor, Die christliche Lehrc der SUnde (-2d ed.. Brenieu, 1888) ; Martineau, Types of Ethical Theory (London. 1885) ; Maxming, Sin and Us Conseqiieiices (ib.. 1892) ; Adler, Moral Education of Children (New York, 1898) ; Ten- nant. Oriijin and Propagation of Sin (London, 1902). See also Evil; Devil. SINAI, si'na or si'nl (Heb. Sinai). The mount on which God is said to have revealed Himself to Moses. It is situated in the southern half of the so-called Siuaitic Peninsula, project- ing into the northern extremity of the Red Sea, between the Gulf of Suez on the west and the Gulf of Akabah on the east. This part of the peninsula consists of a ma.ss of granite and porphyry mountains which may be divided into three groups: a northwestern, reaching in Jebel Serbal a height of 6712 feet: a central, including .Jebel Musa (7363 feet) and .Jebel Ivaterin (8537 feet) ; and an eastern and south- ern, whose highest peak is Jebel Umm Shomer (8449 feet). Whether the biblical Sinai is Jebel Umm Shomer or Jebel JInsa is disputed. The former has been advocated by Eusebius, .Jerome, Cosmas Indicopleustes, and in modern times by Lepsius and Ebers. Jebel JIusa, however, is pre- ferred by most authorities, and is favored by tra- dition (which, however, dates only from Chris- tian times) indicated by the name 'Mountain of Moses' and the erection of a monastery upon it which goes back to the days of .Justinian. The northern peak of .Jebel Musa, known as Ras Safsafeh (6540 feet), meets the conditions re- quired, since there is an open space at its foot sufficient to accommodate a large encampment. It should be noted that in the Old Testament Horeb and Sinai are identical, the former being the term used for the holy mountain in the Elohistic source and in Deuteronomy, the latter in the Yahwistic source (see Elohist and Y'ah- wiST) and in the Priestly Code. (See Hexa- TEUCH.) The Monastery of Saint Catharine is situated on the northeastern slope of Jebel Musa at an elevation of about 5000 feet. It is occu- pied by monks of the Greek Church, whose num- ber at present does not exceed thirty. It wa3 here that Tischendorf discovered the Codex Sinaiticus (see Bible) in 1859. The entire re- gion was a favorite abode of Christian anchorites in the early centuries and their cells and caves are very numerous. The .so-called Sinaitic in- scriptions are graffiti left on the rocks for the most part by lieathen Nabateans ; a few, however, are the work of Christian travelers. They date from the period extending from the first to the sixth century. See Inscriptions. Consult: Palmer, The Desert of the Exodus (London, 1871) ; Ebers, Diirch Gosen zum Sinai (Leipzig, 1872) ; Hull, Mount Seir, Sinai, etc. (London, 1875) ; also, for a vivid popular description, Stanley. Sinai and Palestine (ib., 1856) : and the commentaries on Exodus (ch. xix. ) of Dill- mann (Leipzig, 1880) and Ryssel (ib.. 1807), where a full discussion of the controversy as to the site of ikiunt Sinai may Ijc found. SINAITIC MANUSCRIPT. See Bible. SINALOA, se'na-lo'a. A maritime State of ilcxicu, bounded by the States of Sonora and Chihuahua on the north. Durango on the east, the Territory of Tepic on the soutli, and the Gulf of California on the west (Map: Mexico, E 5). Area, 33,671 square miles. The coast is low, and lined with numerous lagoons. The interior rises gradually from the coast and the eastern part is occupied by the Sierra iladre ^Mountains. The State is well watered and some of the rivers are partly navigable. The climate is hot and unhealthful on the coast, but more moderate in the highlands. Rains are abundant in the moun- tains, and the mountain slopes are well wooded. Agriculture is in a backward state and very few agricultural products are exported. The mineral deposits are extensive, including gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead, some of which are worked to some extent. The chief manufactured product is cotton cloth. Population, in 1900, 296.109. including many Indians. Capital, Culia- ciin (q.v.). SINCERE BRETHREN (Ar. IkhifHiii al-Safa ira-Kliiilhln al-Wafu. the Sincere Brethren and True Friends). A transcendental and scientific order of esoteric nature in Islam, existing at Basra, on the Lower Euphrates, about 1000. ( See SuiiTEs.) Little is known of the personality of the members, the leader of whom may have been one Zayd ibn Rifaa. It was a con>tituent part of their philosopliy that perfection could only be reached through the coiiperation of souls, each contributing its share to the common treasury of goodness and knowledge; hence logically their association took the form of an esoteric society with a simple organization into which any sin- cere and helpful-spirited man could enter. The order was divided into four ideal grades: the first for the younger members, and for those of practical ability; the second for those over thirty years, who could fulfill the office of teacliers: the tliird for those over forty, who could rule in the society, their authority being one of mildness and admonition : the fourth for those who were fit to attain the vision of God. The Epistles of the Sincere Brethren {Kasail Ikhipan al-SafO) consists of fifty-one treatises and is an encyclo- picdia of the Arabic philosophy of the age, metliodically arranged, and bound together by the philosophy of the order. This is based upon Xeo-Platonic and other late Greek philosophies, with evident contributions from Oriental mysti- cism, the authors being Shiite. The doctrine is that of an All-Soul, which first projects mat- ter from itself, and continuously spiritualizes it by emanations: on the other hand, these soul- parts naturally yearn for return to their origin. But this redemption is hampered by the opposi- tion of spirit and matter. The ethics of the encyclopaedia, therefore, inculcates the gradual self-purification of those who recognize their spiritual birthright away from sense to God. But while ethically dualistic. the encyclopaedia has a pantheistic metaphysics, and is interested in all created things as being immediately de- rived from God. Hence the work becomes an encyclopjedia of all knowledge. The werk has been made known to modern Europe through the labors of Dieterici in a series of translations of
