Exercise (Hastings' Dictionary)

Asauerft : 1. The primary meanin" is to occupy oneself with, engage in, Ps 131' ' Neither do I exercise myself in great matters ' (•B3^,Ti'7i, lit. 'neither do I walk,' as KVm) ; Sir 50=« ' Bleasea is he that shall be exercised in these things' {ayaaTpcKp-fifferai) ; 2 Es 15 ' those things in which they wickedly exercised themselves' (quie inique exercent, RV 'which they wickedly practise'). Cf. Pref. to AV 1611, 'in Latine we haue been exercised almost from our verie cradle.' 2.

To put into practice, bring into use, as Knox ( Works, ed. Lamg, iv. 135), ' Even sucli, deare brethren, is the blessed Evangelie of our Lord Jesus ; for the more that it be entreted, the more comfort- able and puissant is it to such as do heare, reade, or exercise the same ' ; or as Dunbar {The Thri^sill and the Rois, 16) uses excrce, the obsolete form of the verb, direct from exercere — * Exeroe justice with mercy and conscience.'

So Rev 13" ' he exerciseth aJl the power of the first beast ' (toici) ; Jer 9" 'I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness ' (n^v 'doing'); To 12' ' Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life' (TowCvres) ; Ezk 22^ 'The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery' (Si; 'Sni) ; Wis 16* 'It was requisite that upon them exercising tyranny should come penury ' (iKdvoa Tvpawovai, RV ' in their tyrannous dealing ') ; and the passages in the Synop- tics, Mt 20»», Mk lO-'^, Lk 22^, where KaraKiipuut^ (Lk Kvpuvw) and Kan^ovaLa^w (Lk i^ovoid^ij) are translated in AV 'exercise dominion' and 'exer- cise authority' in Mt, 'e.

lordsliip' and 'e. authority ' in INIk and Lk ; RV gives ' lord it ' for KaroLK., and ' e. authority ' for (torej. in Mt and Mk, ' have lordship ' and ' have authority ' in Lk. 3.

To practise for training or discipline, Ac 24" ' And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a con- science void of offence toward God and toward man ' (iaKw) ; 1 Ti 4' ' exercise thyself unto godli- ness ' {yviivi^u ; so He 5" 12", 2 P 2") ; 1 Mac 6*> ' elephants exercised in battle ' (c/Sires iriXf/ioc, RV 'trained for war'); 2 Mac 15"^ 'exercised from a cliild in all points of virtue' ({KixitieKer- Tj/crfra). 4. All those meanings belon" to the Lat.

exercere, and the influence of the Vulg. is con- spicuous throughout. There are even two examples of 'exercise' in the sense of 'afllict,' 'torment,' which also belongs to exercere; Ec 1" 'this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith,' and 3'°. The Heb. is rr:;;, 'to be bowed down.' Cf. Fuller, Holy Warre (ed. 1640, p. 155), ' they had to do with Meladine King of Egypt, who lay besides them, . . exercising the CnriBtians with continual skirmishes.'

Milton has the same sense in Par. Lost, ii. 89 — • Where pain of unextingfuishable fire Must exercise us wittiout hope of end ' ; and Par, Reg. L 156 — * But first I mean To exercise him in the wilderness.' Ab a tubst. : 1. Wis 8" ' in the exercise of conference with her, prudence ' (iv avyyviivaaif 6/iiX(o5, RV ' a.ssiduons communing,' RVm ' practice of communion ') ; 1 Ti 4' ' bodily exercise profiteth little' [aupuiTiKi) yv/j.fairta). 2.

In 1 Mac 1" and 2 Mac 4» the complaint is made that a Greek "jdace of exercise ' had been erected in Jerusalem. The Gr. is yviiyi<rioy. See Games. In 2 Mac 4" iv ra\al<rrp<f is similarly translated ' in the place of exercise,' RV 'in the pahestra.' See Palaestra. J. Hastings.