icAnu
604
and afterwards became a student at the military
academy of Barcelona. He soon abandoned, how-
ever, the idea of a military career, and went to Bel-
ffium, where he entered the Chartreuse monastery at
Nieuport, the sole English house of the order. After
his profession his leisure was devoted to scientific
study, and his memoir "Thdorie des causes physiques
des mouvements des corps celestes d'apr^ les prin-
cipes de Newton, won for him membership in the
Imperial Academy of Brussels. He became prior of
his monastery in 1764, but left the order thirteen years
later, after having obtained a Bull of secularization
and also the privilege of possessing a benefice. He
took up his residence at Brussels, and received a pre-
bend in the Chapter of Notre-Dame de Courtrai. In
1787 he was chosen perpetual secretary of the Brussels
Academy, and carriea on numerous meteorological
observations under its auspices. The invasion of the
French in 1794 forced him to leave Belgium, and,
after travelling in Germany and England, he finally
settled at Pra^e, where ne continued his literary
labours imtil his death. Mann was a laborious stu-
dent and a versatile writer. He is said to have re-
fused the Bishopric of Antwerp, oflFered him by Em-
peror Joseph II, rather than abandon his favourite
studies.
His principal literary works, conspicuous for their erudition, were: "M^oire et lettres sur T^tude de la langue grecque" (Brussels, 1781); "M^moire sur la conservation et le commerce des grains (Mechlin, 1764); "Abr^6 de I'histoire ecci^siastique, civile, et naturelle de la ville de Bruxelles et de ses environs" (Brussels, 1785), in collaboration with Foppens; **His- toire du r^gne de Marie Th^rdse" (Brussels, 1781; 2nd ed., 1786); Recueil de m^moires sur les grandes gel^es et leurs eflfets " (Ghent, 1792); " Pnncipesm^ta-
?hysiques des dtres et des connaissances " (Vienna, 807), and numerous papers in the ** M^moires" of the Brussels Academy. He was also the translator of an English work, which was published under the title " Dictionnaire des Jardiniers et des Cultivateurs" (Brussels, 1786-9).
RsiFrcNBERO, Eloqe de I'Abhi Mann in Annnaire de la Biblioth. rmtoLe de Bdgujue (Brussels, 1850), 77; Sbccombb in JHdt. Nat. Biog., a. v.; Kbqnard in Nouvelle Biogr. O^n,, s. v.
Henry M. Brock.
Manna (Heb. }d, Gr. /ouiv, /idvva; Lat. man, man- na)^ the food miraculously sent to the Israelites during their forty years' sojourn in the desert (Ex., xvi; Num ., xi, 6-^9) . It fell during the night in small white flakes or grains which covered the ground and pre- sented the appearance of hoar frost. These grains are described as resembling coriander seed and bdellium, with a taste like "flour with honey", or ** bread tem- pered with oil" (Ex., xvi, 31; Num., xi, 7-8).
The manna fell for the first time w^hile the Israelites were in the desert of Sin, six weeks after their departure from Egypt, in answer to their mur- murs over the privations of desert life (Ex., xvi, 1 8(^.) and thenceforth fell daily, except on the Sabbath, till they arrived at Galgal in the plain of Jericho (Jos., v, 12). During these years the manna was their chief but not their only article of diet. Their herds furnished them some milk and meat; they had oil and flour, at least in small quantities, and at times purchased pro- visions from neighbouring peoples (Lev., ii, sq.; xvii, 1 sq.; Deut., ii, 6, 28). The manna had to be gath- ered in the morning, as the heat of the sun melted it. The quantity to be collected was limited to a gomor Corner, between six and seven pints) j^er person; but on the eve of the Sabbath a double portion was gathered. When kept over night it putrefied and bred worms, ex- cept the portion which was reserved for the Sabbath. Though it was probably eatable in the natural state, it was usually ground in a mill or beaten in a mortar and then boiled and made into cakes. As a reminder to future generations, a vessel filled with manna was
placed near the Ark of the Covenant. The name b
connected with the exclamation " M&n htt", which the
Israelites uttered on first seeing it. This expresnoo
since the time of the Septuagint is generally tiana-
lated '^What is this?", tnou^ it should more prob-
ably be translated " Is tnis manna? ", or " It is manna ".
A substance named mannu was known in Egypt at
that time, and the resemblance of the newly fallen
food to this substance would naturally call forth the
exclamation and suggest the name.
Many scholars have identified the Biblical mfttma with the juice exuded by a variety of Tamarix gaUica (Tamarix mannifera) when it is pricked by an insect (Coccus manniparua) f and known to the Arabs as mannessama, '* gift of heaven " or " heavenly manna ". But although manna in several respects answers the description of the manna of the Bible, it lacks some of its distinctive qualities. It cannot be ground or beaten in a mortar, nor can it be boiled and made into cakes. It does not decay and breed worms, but keeps indefinitely after it is collected. Be- sides, being almost pure sugar, it could hardly form the chief nourishment of a people for forty years. But even if the identity were certain, the phenomenon of its fall, as recorded in Exodus, could not be ex- plained except by a miracle. For, although the tamarisk was probably more plentiful in the days c^ the Exodus than it is now, it could not have furnished the large quantity of manna daily required by the Israelites. Moreover, the tamarisk manna exudes only at a certain season, whereas the Biblical mftnna^ fell throughout the year; it exudes every day during its season, while the Biblical manna did not fall cm the Sabbath. Most of these objections apply also to the juice exuded by the Camel's Thorn (^Alncl^ Came- lorum), which is sometimes considered identuad with Biblical manna.
Others think they have found the true mannu in a lichen, Lenora esculenia (also known as Sphtrro- thaUia eacitlenta), met with in Western Ada and North Africa. It easily scales off. and being carried away by the wind sometimes falls in the form of a rain. In times of famine it is ground and mixed with other substances to make a kmd of bread. But this lichen is dry and insipid, and possesses little nutri- tive value. The regular fall in this case, too, wouJd be miraculous. The manna may, indeed, have been a natural substance, but we must admit a miracle at least in the manner in which it was supplied. For not only does the phenomenon resist all natural ex- planation, but the account of Exodus, as well as the designation " bread from heaven", "bread of angels", i. e. sent by the ministry of angels (Ps. Ixxvii, 24, 25; Wisd., xvi, 20), plainly represents it as miraculous.
Chnst uses the manna as the type and symbol of the
Eucharistic food^ which is true " bread from heaven",
and "bread of hfe*', i. e. life-giving bread, in a far
higher sense than the manna of old (John. vi). St.
Paul in calling the manna "spiritual food J* (I Cor..
X, 3), alludes to its symbolical significance with regard
to the Eucharist as much as to its miraculous charao-
ter. Hence the manna has always been a common
Eucharistic symbol in Christian art and hturgy. In
Apoc., ii, 17, the manna stands as the s3^mbol of the
happiness of heaven.
HuMMELAUER, Com. in Exod. (Paris. 1897), 168 sq.; Bbsrs, Durch Oosen turn Sinai (Leipzig, 1872), 236; Rittxr, Die Erd- kunde (Berlin. 1848), xiv. 665 sq.; Burcxhardt, Traveie in Svria (London, 1822), 600 sq,; LEsfexRE in Vio., Did. de la Bible, s. V. : Zenker, Afan hu in Zeiteehr. der Kath. TheoL, xxm (1899), 164; Peters. Zu Man hu, ibid.. 371.
F. Bechtel.
Manning, Henry Edward, Cardinal Priest of Sts. Andrew and Gregory on the Ccelian Hill and second Archbishop of Westminster, b. 15 July, 1808; d. 14 January, 1892.
Henry Edward Manning, who was bom at his grand-
