Spirit. In any case, it is apparent from the whole of the Apostle's homily on the subject, that the gift of tongues was especially valued in the Church of Corinth.(1) It is difficult to conceive, on the supposition that amongst the Charismata there were comprised miraculous gifts of healings, and further power of working miracles, that these could have been held so cheap in comparison with the gift of Tongues; but in any case, a better comprehension of what this "gift" really was cannot fail to assist us in understanding the true nature of the whole of the Charismata. It is evident that the Apostle Paul himself does not rank the gift of tongues very highly, and indeed, that he seems to value prophecy more than all the other Charismata (xiv. 1 ff.); but the simple yet truly noble eloquence with which (xiii. 1 ff.) he elevates above all these gifts the possession of spiritual love is a subtle indication of their real character. Probably Paul would have termed christian Charity a gift of the Spirit as much as
he does "gifts of healings" or "workings of powers;" but, however rare may be the virtue, it is not now recognized as miraculous, although it is here shown to be more desirable and precious than all the miraculous gifts. Even Apostolic conceptions of the Supernatural cannot soar above the range of natural morality.
The real nature of the "gift of Tongues" has given rise to an almost interminable controversy, and innumerable treatises have been written upon the subject. It would have been impossible for us to have exhaustively entered upon such a discussion in this work, for which it only possesses an incidental and passing interest; but fortunately such a course is rendered unnecessary by the fact that, so far as we are concerned, the miraculous nature of the "gift" alone comes into question, and may be disposed of without any elaborate analysis of past controversy or minute reference to disputed points. Those who desire to follow the course of the voluminous discussion will find ample materials in the treatises which we shall at least indicate in the course of our remarks, and we shall adhere as closely as possible to our own point of view.
In 1 Cor. xii. 10, the Apostle mentions, amongst the other Charismata, "kinds of tongues" [———] and "interpretation of tongues" [———], as two distinct gifts. In v. 28 he again uses the expression [———], and in a following verse he inquires: "do all speak with tongues" [———](1) "do all interpret" [———]? He says shortly after, xiii. 1: "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels [———] and have not love," &c. In the following chapter the expressions used in discussing the gift vary.
In xiv. 2 he says: "he that speaketh with a tongue"(1) [———](2) using the singular; and again (v. 22), of "the tongues" [———], being a sign; and in v. 26, each "hath a tongue" [———]. The word [———] or [———] has several significations in Greek. The first and primary meaning "the tongue": as a mere member of the body, the organ of speech; next, a tongue, or language; and further, an obsolete or foreign word not in ordinary use. If we inquire into the use of [———] in the New Testament, we find that, setting aside the passages in Acts, Mark, and 1 Cor. xii.-xiv., in which the phenomenon we are discussing is referred to, the word is invariably used in the first sense, "the tongue,"(3) except in the Apocalypse, where the word as "language" typifies different nations.(4) Any one who attentively considers all the passages in which the Charisma is discussed will observe that no uniform application of any one signification throughout is possible. We may briefly say that all the attempts which have been made philologically to determine the true nature of the phenomenon which the Apostle discusses have failed to produce any really satisfactory result, or to secure the general adhesion of critics. It is we think obvious that Paul does not apply the word, either in the plural or in the singular, in its ordinary senses, but makes use of [———] to describe phenomena connected with speech, without intending strictly to apply it either to the tongue or to a definite language. We
merely refer to this in passing, for it is certain that no philological discussion of the word can materially affect the case; and the argument is of no interest for our inquiry. Each meaning has been adopted by critics and been made the basis for a different explanation of the phenomenon. Philology is incapable of finally solving such a problem.
From the time of Irenæus,(1) or at least of Origen, the favourite theory of the Fathers, based chiefly upon the narrative in Acts of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, was that the disciples suddenly became super-naturally endowed with power to speak other languages which they had not previously learned, and that this gift was more especially conferred to facilitate the promulgation of the Gospel throughout the world. Augustine went so far as to believe that each of the Apostles was thus enabled to speak all languages.(2) The opinion that the "gift of tongues" consisted of the power, miraculously conferred by the Holy Ghost, to speak in a language or languages previously unknown to the speaker long continued to prevail, and it is still the popular, as well as the orthodox, view of the subject.(3) As soon as