HOLD. A servant holds a thing in his hand for it to be seen, but he does not keep it; he gives it to his master, who puts it in his pocket, and consequently keeps, but does not hold it. A thing may be held in the hand, or kept in the hand; in the former case, the pressure of the hand is an essential part of the action, but in the latter case it is simply a contingent part of the action: the hand holds, but the person keeps it. What is held is fixed in position, but what is kept is left loose, or otherwise, at the will of the individual. Things are held by men in their hands, by beasts in their claws or mouths, by birds in their beaks; things are kept by people either about their persons, or in their houses, according to convenience. Detain and retain are modes of keeping; the former signifies keeping back what belongs to another; the latter signifies keeping a long time for one's own purpose. A person may be either held, kept, detained, or retained when he is held he is held contrary to his will, by the hand of another; as suspected persons are held by the officers of justice, that they may not make their escape: he is kept if he stops in any place, by the desire of another; as a man is kept in prison until his innocence is proved; or a child is kept at school until he has finished his education: he is detained if he be kept away from any place to which he is going, or from any person to whom he belongs; as the servant of another is detained to take back a letter; or one is detained by business, so as to be prevented attending to an appointment: a person is retained, who is kept for a continuance in the service of another; as some servants are said to be retained, while others are dismissed. Things are held in the improper sense; they are kept, detained,and retained, in the proper sense. A money-lender holds the property of others in pledge; the idea of a temporary and partial action is here expressed by hold, in distinction from keep, which is used to express something definite and permanent: the money-lender keeps the property as his own, if the borrower forfeits it by breach of contract. When a person purchases any thing, he is expected to keep it, or pay the value of the thing ordered, if the tradesman fulfil bis part of the engagement. What is detained is kept either contrary to the will, or without the consent, of the possessor: when things are suspected to be stolen, the officers have the right of detaining them until inquiry be instituted. What is retained is continued to be kept; it supposes, however, some alteration in the terms or circumstances under which it is kept: a person retains his seat in a coach, notwith. standing he finds it disagreeable: or a lady retains some of the articles of millinery HOLD. which are sent for her choice, but she returns the rest. All are used in a moral application except detain; in this case they are marked A person is said by a similar distinction. to hold an office, by which simple possession is implied; he may hold it for a long or a short time, at the will of others, or by his own will, which are not marked: he keeps a situation, or he keeps his post, by which his continuance in the situation, or at the post, are denoted: but to say he retains his office, signifies that he might have given it up, or lost it, had he not been led to continue in it. In like manner, with regard to one's sentiments or feelings, a man is said to hold certain opinions, which are ascribed to him as a part of his creed; he keeps the opinions which no one can induce him to give up; he retains his old attachments, notwithstanding the lapse of years, and change of circumstances which have intervened, and were naturally calculated to wean him from them. It is a certain sign of a wise government, when it Bacon. can hold men's hearts by hopes. The proof is best when men keep their authority Bacon. towards their children, but not their purse. Haste goddess, haste! the flying host detain, Pope. Nor let one sail be hoisted on the main. TO HOLD, OCCUPY, POSSESS. POSSESS, in Latin possideo, or potis and sedeo, signifies to sit as master of. We hold a thing for a long or a short time; we occupy it for a permanence: we hold it for ourselves or others; we occupy Thus The it only for ourselves: we hold it for various Thomson. 445 HOLD. In the Frogs of Aristophanes, three entire acts are occupied by a contest between Eschylus and Euripides. Cumberland. But now the feather'd youth their former bounds Hold and support are employed in the proper sense, maintain in the improper sense. To hold is a term unqualified by any circumstance; we may hold a thing in any direction, hold it up or down, in a straight or oblique direction: support is a species of holding up; to hold up, however, is a personal act, or a direct effort of the individual; to support may be an indirect and a passive act; he who holds any thing up keeps it in an upright posture, by the exertions of his strength; he who supports a thing only bears its weight, or suffers it to rest upon himself: persons or voluntary agents can hold up; inanimate objects may support: a servant holds up a child that it may see; a pillar supports a building. Hold, maintain, and support are likewise employed still farther in a moral application, as it respects different circumstances; opinions are held and maintained as one's own; they are supported when they are another's. We hold and maintain when we believe; we support the belief or doctrine of another, or what we ourselves have asserted and maintained at a former time. What is held is held by the act of the mind within one's self; what is maintained and supported is openly declared to be held. To hold marks simply the state of one's own mind; to maintain indicates the effort which one makes to inform others of this state; to support indicates the efforts which one makes to justify that state. We hold an opinion only as it regards ourselves; we maintain and support it as it regards others; that is, we maintain it either with others, for others, or against others: we support it in an especial manner against others: we maintain it by assertion; we support it by argument. Bad principles at first harm only the individual by whom they are held; but they will do harm to all over whom our influence extends when we maintain them; they may do harm to all the world, when we undertake to support them. Good principles need only be held, or at most maintained, unless where adversaries set themselves up against them, and render it necessary to support them. Infidel principles have been held occasionally by individuals HOLINESS. in all ages, but they were never maintained with so much openness and effrontery at any time, as at the close of the eighteenth century, when supporters of such principles were to be found in every tap-room. Hold is applied not only to principles and opinions, but also to sentiments: maintain and support are confined either to abstract and speculative opinions, or to the whole mind: we hold a thing dear or cheap, we hold it in abhorrence, or we hold it sacred; but we maintain or support truth or error; we maintain an influence over ourselves; we support our resolution. It was a notable observation of a wise father, that those which held and persuaded pressure of consciences were commonly interested therein them selves for their own ends. Bacon. Nothing can support the minds of the guilty from drooping. South. Who then is free? The wise, who well maintains An empire o'er himself. Francis. HOLIDAY, v. Feast. HOLINESS, SANCTITY. northern languages, has altogether acquirHOLINESS, which comes from the ed a Christian signification; it respects the life and temper of a Christian. Latin sanctus and sanctio to sanction, has SANCTITY, which is derived from the rives from the sanction of human authomerely a moral signification, which it derity. sanctity is to his exterior; with this differHoliness is to the mind of a man what ence, that holiness to a certain degree ought to belong to every man professing Christianity; but sanctity, as it lies in the manners, the outward garb, and deportment, is becoming only to certain persons, and at certain times. is that genuine characteristic of Christianity Holiness is a thing not to be affected; it counterfeited: sanctity, on the other hand, which is altogether spiritual, and cannot be is from its very nature exposed to falsehood, and the least to be trusted; when it dis"plays itself in individuals, either by the sorrowfulness of their looks, or the singular cut of their garments, or other sinmost questionable nature; but in one who gularities of action and gesture, it is of the performs the sacerdotal office it is a useful appendage to the solemnity of his character, exciting a reverential regard to the individual in the mind of the beholder, and the most exalted sentiments of that religion which he thus adorns by his outward profession. Habitual preparation for the Sacrament consists in a permanent habit or principle of holiness. South. About an age ago, it was the fashion in England throw as much sanctity as possible into his face. for every one that would be thought religious, to Addison. HOLY. HOLLOW, EMPTY. HOLY. fixes them on things that are above; it is HOLLOW, from hole, signifies being like therefore a Christian quality, which is not a hole. EMPTY, v. Empty. to be attained in its full perfection by human beings, in their present imperfect state, and is attainable by some to a much greater degree than by others. Hollow respects the body itself; the abOur Saviour was sence of its own materials produces hollow ness empty respects foreign bodies; their a perfect pattern of holiness; his apostles absence in another body constitutes empti- after him, and innumerable saints and good ness. Hollowness is therefore a preparative men, both in and out of the ministry, have to emptiness, and may exist independently striven to imitate his example, by the hoof it; but emptiness presupposes the exist-liness of their life and conversation: in ence of hollowness: what is empty must be hollow; but what is hollow need not be empty. Hollowness is often the natural property of a body; emptiness is a contingent property that which is hollow is destined by nature to contain; but that which is empty is deprived of its contents by a casualty: a nut is hollow for the purpose of receiving the fruit; it is empty if it contain no fruit. They are both employed in a moral acceptation, and in a bad sense; the hollow, in this case, is applied to what ought to be solid or sound; and empty to what ought to be filled: a person is hollow whose goodness lies only at the surface, whose fair words are without meaning; a truce is hollow which is only an external cessation from hostilities: a person is empty who is without a requisite portion of understanding and knowledge: an excuse is empty which is unsupported by fact and reason. a pleasure is empty which cannot afford satisfaction. The shocks of an earthquake are much more dreadful than the highest and foudest blusters of a storm; for there may be some shelter against the violence of the one, but no security against the hollowness of the other. The creature man HOLY, PIOUS, DEVOUT, RELIGIOUS. South. Prior. PIOUS, in Latin pius, which is most probably changed from dius or deus, signifies having a regard for the gods. DEVOUT, in Latin devotus, from deroveo to engage by a vow, signifies devoted or consecrated. RELIGIOUS, in Latin religiosus, comes from religio and religo to bind, because religion binds the mind, and produces in it a fixed principle. A strong regard to the Supreme Being is expressed by all these epithets; but holy conveys the most comprehensive idea; pious and devout designate most fervour of mind; religious is the most general and abstract in its signification. A holy man is in all respects heavenly-minded; he is more fit for heaven than earth: holiness to whatever degree it is possessed, abstracts the thoughts from sublunary objects, and such, however, as have exclusively devoted themselves to his service, this holiness may shine brighter than in those who are entangled with the affairs of the world. Pious is a term more restricted in its signification, and consequently more extended in application than holy: piety is not a virtue peculiar to Christians, it is common to all believers in a Supreme Being; it is the homage of the heart and the affections to a superior Being: from a similarity in the relationship between a heavenly and an earthly parent, devotedness of the mind has in both cases been denominated piety. Piety towards God naturally produces piety towards parents; for the obedience of the heart, which gives rise to the virtue in the one case, seems instantly to dictate the exercise of it in the other. The difference between holiness and piety is obvious from this, that our Saviour and his apostles are characterized as holy, but not pious, because piety is swallowed up in holiness. On the other hand, Jew and Geutile, Christian and Heathen, are alike termed pious when they cannot be called holy, because piety is not only a more practicable virtue, but because it is more universally applicable to the dependent condition of man. Devotion is a species of piety peculiar to the worshipper; it bespeaks that devotedness of mind which displays itself in the temple, when the individual seems by his outward services solemnly to devote himself, soul and body, to the service of his Maker. Piety, therefore, lies in the beart, and may appear externally; but devotion does not properly exist except in an external observance: a man piously resigns himself to the will of God, in the midst of his afflictions; he prays devoutly in the bosom of his family. Religious is a term of less import than either of the other terms; it denotes little more than the simple existence of religion, or a sense of religion in the mind: the religious man is so, more in his principles than in his affections; he is religious in his sentiments, inasmuch as he directs all his views according to the will of his Maker; and he is religious in his conduct, inasmuch as he observes the outward formalities of homage that are due to his Maker. A holy HOLY. man fits himself for a higher state of existence, after which he is always aspiring; a pious man has God in all his thoughts, and seeks to do his will; a devout man bends himself in humble adoration, and pays his vows of prayer and thanksgiving; a religious man conforms in all things to what the dictates of his conscience require from him, as a responsible being, and a member of society. When applied to things, these terms preserve a similar distinction: we speak of the holy sacrament; of a pious discourse, a pious ejaculation; of a devout exercise, a devout air; a religious sentiment, a religious life, a religious education, and the like. Holy is here, as in the former article, a term of higher import than either sacred or divine: whatever is most intimately connected with religion and religious worship, in its purest state, is holy, is unhallowed by a mixture of inferior objects, is elevated in the greatest possible degree, so as to suit the nature of an infinitely perfect and exalted Being. Among the Jews, the holy of holies was that place which was intended to approach the nearest to the heavenly abode, consequently was preserved as much as possible from all contamination with that which is earthly: among the Christians, that religion or form of religion is termed holy, which is esteemned purest in its doctrine, discipline, and ceremonies; by the Roman Catholics this title is applied to their own form, by the Church of England it has been adopted to designate its religious system. Upon this ground we speak of the church as a holy place, of the sacrament as the holy sacrament, and the ordinances of the church as holy. Sacred is less than holy; the sacred derives its sanction from human institutions, and is connected rather with our moral than our religious duties: what is holy is altogether spiritual, and abstracted from the earthly; what is sacred may be simply the human purified from what is gross and cor HOLY. rupt: what is holy must be regarded with awe, and treated with every possible mark of reverence; what is sacred must not be violated nor infringed upon. The laws are sacred, but not holy; a man's word should be sacred, though not holy: for neither of these things is to be reverenced, but both are to be kept free from injury or external violence. The holy is not so much opposed to, as it is set above, every thing else; the sacred is opposed to the profane: the Scriptures are properly denominated holy, because they are the word of God, and the fruit of his Holy Spirit; but other writings may be termed sacred which appertain to religion, in distinction from the profane, which appertain ouly to worldly matters. Divine is a term of even less import than sacred; it signifies either belonging to a deity, or being like a deity; but from the looseness of its application it has lost in some respects the dignity of its meaning. The divine is often contrasted with the human: but there are many human things which are denominated divine: Milton's poem is entitled a divine poem, not merely on account of the subject, but from the exalted manner in which the poet has treated his subject: what is divine, therefore, may be so superlatively excellent as to be conceived of as having the stamp of inspiration from the Deity, which of course, as it respects human performances, is but an hyperbolical mode of speech. From the above explanation of these terms, it is clear that there is a manifest difference between them, and yet that their resemblance is sufficiently great for them to be applied to the same objects. We speak of the Holy Spirit, and of Divine inspiration; by the first of which epithets is understood not only what is superhuman, but what is a constituent part of the Deity; by the second is represented merely in a general manner the source of the inspiration as coming from the Deity, and not from man. Subjects are denominated either sacred or divine, as when we speak of sacred poems, or divine hymns; sacred here characterizes the subjects of the poems, as those which are to be held sacred; and divine designates the subject of the hymns as not being ordinary or merely buman: it is clear, therefore, that what is holy is in its very nature sacred, but not vice versa; and that what is holy and sacred is in its very nature divine; but the divine is not always either holy or sacred. To fit us for a due access to the holy Sacrament, we must add actual preparation to habitual. South. Religion properly consists in a reverential esteem of things sacred. South When a man resteth and assureth himself upon Divine protection, he gathereth a force and faith which human nature in itself could not obtain. Bacon HONESTY. HOLY-DAY, v. Feast. HOMAGE, FEALTY, COURT. HOMAGE, in French hommage, comes from homme a man, signifying a man's, that is, an inferior's, act of acknowledging superiority. Homage, in the technical sense, was an oath taken, or a service performed, by the tenant to his lord, on being admitted to his land; or by inferior princes to a sovereign, whereby they acknowledged his Sovereignty, and promised fidelity: in its extended and figurative sense, it compre hends any solemn mark of deference, by which the superiority of another is acknowledged. FEALTY, from the French feal loyal, trusty, is a lower species of homage, consisting only of an oath; it was made for merly by tenants, who were bound thereby to personal service under the feudal system; it is never taken otherwise than in the pro HONESTY. but always with reference to the moving Honest, in its extended sense, as it is ap- |