nt of nature, yet moulding, regulating, and sustaining
nature. The idea of _Personality_ is essential to Theism.
_A-theism_, literally, is the denial of _Theism_.

THEOLOGY. The science which treats of the Deity. It is too often
forgotten that theology is a science as much as medicine or
mathematics, or we should not find the laity so confident of
their knowledge, and so ready to give the law on questions of
systematic Divinity.

THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES. Colleges specially established for the
training of candidates for Holy Orders, in theology. They seem
to answer to the assemblies of "sons of the prophets," spoken of
in 2 Kings ii. 3, 5, 7, &c. These colleges have not the power of
conferring degrees.

THOMAS'S (St.) DAY. Dec. 21st. The name Thomas (Hebrew), and
Didymus (Greek), means a "twin brother." Some think St. Matthew
to have been his brother. The only incidents of his life with
which we are acquainted, are told us by St. John, (xi. 16; xiv. 5;
xx. 28.) Tradition says that he laboured in Persia, and finally
suffered martyrdom in India.

THRONE. The Bishop's seat in his Cathedral. Anciently it stood
behind the altar in churches which terminated in an apse.

TIPPET, _see_ Hood.

TITHES. A certain portion, or allotment, for the maintenance of
the priesthood, being the tenth part of the produce of land, cattle,
or other branches of wealth. It is an income, or revenue, common
both to the Jewish and Christian priesthood. (Gen. xiv. 20; Lev.
xxvii. 30-33; &c.) The origin of _tithes_, in the Christian Church,
was something of this kind: When a benefactor was not able or not
willing to part with an estate out and out, he settled on the Church
which he was endowing a certain portion of the income arising out
of the estate. The ratio which this portion bore to the whole amount
varied enormously, and so one man gave a tithe of corn only, another
a tithe of wood, another a tithe of meadow land, another a tithe
of stock, another tithes of all these together. There is a very
common mistake made that tithes are a kind of tax, levied on the
whole country by Act of Parliament. They are nothing of the kind,
being simply a certain portion of the income arising out of lands
settled by the former owners of those lands for the maintenance of
the parson of the parish. They date back to the 4th century.

Although the Church is disestablished in Ireland, tithes are still
paid, not to the clergy, but to the Government. Disestablishm