IRLF

B 3 TOfl

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

The Stork.

The Lioness and her whelps.

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY;

CONTAINING A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE

QUADRUPEDS, BIRDS, FISHES, INSECTS, REPTILES,

SERPENTS, PLANTS, TREES, MINERALS, GEMS, AND PRECIOUS STONES,

MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE.

BY W M. CARPENTER.

¥ IRST AMERICAN, FROM THE LATEST LONDON EDITION, WITH IMPROVJM*KTS,

'

BY REV. GORHAM D. ABBOTT.

ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE, OR THE HOLY LAND.

BOSTON:

LINCOLN, EDMANDS & CO.
1833.

«NT«RED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE TEAR EIGH-
THS* HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE, BY LINCOLN, EDMANDS & CO., Ill

TH» CLERK'S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS.

BOSTON:

JAMES B. DOW, PRINTER,
122 WA8HINGTON-ST.

C

PREFACE

TO THE THIRD ENGLISH EDITION.

IN preparing this edition of the SCRIPTURE NATURAL HIS-
TORY for the press, the author has carefully revised it through-
out, and made such alterations in style and matter as will,
he hopes, render it more worthy of public acceptance than the
former edition. In doing this, he has borne in mind a sug-
gestion put forth in a favorable critique upon the first impres-
sion in the ' Eclectic Review,' and by divesting the work of some
of the dryness and tedium of criticism, and making it less
diffuse, he has sought to give it a more ' popular,' though not
a less useful character. These alterations have enabled him,
without omitting any thing of real value and utility, to bring
the volume into a smaller compass, and publish it in a more
attractive form.

Since the publication of the former edition of this work,
the author has been driven, by the force of circumstances, and
a deep sense of moral responsibility, to devote much of his
time and attention to objects of an apparently different aspect
to those pursued in biblical literature, and which are regarded
with considerable jealousy and suspicion by a large proportion
of the religious public. This is not the place to justify the
course he has taken, or to defend the motives by which he has
been actuated, It is enough to say, that his attachment to
biblical pursuits is as strong as ever, and that his conviction
of the paramount importance and infinite value of pure and
undented religion grows with his growth, and strengthens with
his strength. To assist in removing out of the way some of
those impediments to the spread of religion, which the sullen
discontent and reckless profligacy produced by the inordinate
and inadequately remunerated labor, combined with the super-
induced ignorance, of the manufacturing population almost
every where present, he has encountered the perils and priva-

6 PREFACE.

tions of imprisonment. A consciousness of the purity of his
motives, however, amply compensates him for all these — and
much more.

The indulgent reader will pardon the intrusion of these re-
marks. They have been deemed to be necessary, in conse-
quence of certain misrepresentations which some persons have
either wilfully or ignorantly put forth, as to the author's con-
tinued attachment to the truths of Revelation.

April 5, 1832.

PREFACE

TO THE FIRST EDITION.

HAVING stated the nature and object of his work in the In-
troduction to the following pages, it is only necessary that the
author should here subjoin a few words, by way of explana-
tion.

There being two editions of Dr. Harris's ' Natural History
of the Bible ' extant in this country, (England) it is natural
that the public should inquire upon what grounds a second
work of this description is presented to their notice. The an-
swer to this inquiry may be very brief. — Dr. Harris's work is
by far too critical for general purposes, and contains but little
' Natural History.' It furnishes valuable materials to aid the
student in his investigations ; but to the unlearned reader it
presents few attractions ; while its frequent conjectural criti-
cisms, and utter destitution of evangelical sentiment and feel-
ing, render it by no means desirable as a medium of religious
instruction.

In every part of the following work, the author has given
the authorities upon which his statements are founded ; and
conceiving that literary property is as sacred and inviolable as
that of every other species, he has conscientiously pointed out
the immediate sources of his information. This may be some-
times found operating to the prejudice of others ; but he can-
not be answerable for such a result.

In availing himself of the labors of his predecessors, the
author has frequently found the highest authorities supporting
conflicting opinions : in such cases, he has decided to the best
of his judgment, and where the limits assigned to his work
would permit of it, he has laid before the reader the grounds
of his decision.

The author cannot close these prefatory observations with-
out acknowledging his particular obligations to Mr. Charles

8 PREFACE.

Taylor, the late erudite and indefatigable editor of Calmet ;
and also to Professor Paxton. To the former, for the result
of much laborious investigation, to identify the subjects of
Scripture Natural History ; and to the latter, for many felici-
tous illustrations of particular passages of the Sacred Writ-
ings. The chief inducement with the author to avail himself
so freely of the writings of the last-mentioned author, was
their evangelical tone, and their strong tendency to elevate
the religious feelings of the reader. Written under the influ-
ence of a deep but enlightened piety, Professor Paxton's ' Il-
lustrations of the Holy Scriptures ' present a striking contrast
to the cold and lifeless 'Illustrations' generally furnished in
biblical works.

With reference to the embellishments, it is only necessary
to say, that those objects have been selected which are the
least known in this country : and the best authorities have
been chosen for their representation. The author's thanks
are due to the respective artists, for the fidelity and taste with
which they have executed their work.

Relying upon the same indulgence that has been extended
to his former efforts in the cause of biblical literature, the au-
thor presents the following work to the acceptance of the re-
ligious public. May HE whose cause it aims to promote, ren-
der it subservient to his gracious purposes !

PREFACE.

THIS book was originally intended to be but a re-print of
the English work, by Carpenter. His volume, however, was
found to contain so much of Biblical criticism, and Classical
learning, as to be adapted almost exclusively to the use of the
Greek and Hebrew scholar.

It was therefore thought best to revise Carpenter ; to omit
'hose classical discussions, and verbal criticisms, which al-
though interesting and valuable to the orientalist, must, from
their very nature, be of little service to common readers ; and
to bring the substance of the Scripture illustrations, found in
his volume, within the reach of the readers of the English
Bible.

Such a revision of Carpenter's volume, with alterations and
additions, was but just accomplished and ready for the press,
when the third London edition of his work camfe to hand,
published under countenance of the * Book Society for promo-
ting Religious -Knowledge/ in which the design above stated
was fully pursued, and that too, with evidence of much judg-
ment and good taste.

The very favorable and commendatory notices which his
first editions had received from the ' Eclectic and Monthly Re-
views,' ' The Athenaeum,' ' The Christian Remembrancer,'
'The Home Missionary,' 'The Baptist,' < The Methodist/
' The Congregational/ ' The Evangelical/ and ' Imperial
Magazines/ and other publications, induced him to prepare an
edition better calculated for popular use and general circula*
tion.

1 In doing this/ the author remarks in his preface, * he has
borne in mind a suggestion, put forth in a favorable critique
upon the first impression, in the " Eclectic Review/' and by
divesting the work of some of the dryness and tedium of crit-
icism, and making it less diffuse, he has sought to give it a
more " popular," though not a less useful character. These al-
terations have enabled him, without omitting any thing of re-
al value and utility, to bring the volume into a smaller com-
pass, and a more attractive form.'

10 PREFACE.

It was therefore only justice to Mr. Carpenter, to re-publish
his own revision of this Book. This has been done, with a few
alterations and additions, which it is hoped will render it not
less acceptable and useful to readers among us. The work is
intended to be a plain and simple account of the subject of
which it treats, to be illustrated with numerous engravings, in
a manner suited to the comprehension of those, who have little
or no acquaintance with Classical or Scientific Learning.

The English Editors arid Reviewers speak in the highest
terms ofthe indefatigable industry displayed in Mr. Carpenter's
volume. But we cannot withhold our regret that they, who
have noticed with so much approbation the result of his labors,
should have unconsciously awarded credit, that takes from an-
other his due.

We cannot but regard the course pursued by Mr. Carpen-
ter as very extraordinary and very unjust. And we respect-
fully invite his English friends and ours, to compare his vol-
ume, with the work of our distinguished countryman, the Rev.
Dr. Harris.

In 1793, Dr. H. published his first 'Natural History ofthe
Bible,' which met in this country and in Europe the honorable
and flattering reception it deserved.

Twenty-seven years afterwards, in 1820, he published a
second volume under the same title. He says in the preface
of this, ' I kept on my table, an interleaved copy, (of his
first work) and in the course of my reading, transferred to it,
the additional information, which I collected. Desirous of
pursuing the investigation still farther, I procured, with con-
siderable expense, many valuable books, which I had not, be-
fore, the opportunity of consulting. In fine, I have re-exam-
ined every article, with better knowledge and greater care ;
have transcribed and new-modelled the whole, and made such
amendments and additions throughout, as rerider this rather
a new work, than a new edition ; and to its completion and
perfection, the studies and acquisitions of more than twenty-
five years have contributed.

' I have endeavored to substantiate every article, which I
have introduced, by proofs stated with all possible clearness,
and to illustrate it by criticisms and explanations; yet I lay
claim to no praise, but that of having brought into a regular
form, such information as I could collect, from the best and
most unexceptionable sources. In the most unrestrained terms
I acknowledge that I have borrowed from all authors of es"
tabjished reputation, with freedom,

PREFACE. 11

' I have subjoined a list of the principal books which I have
consulted, (a catalogue of fifty three different works) with
a reference to the edition, which I used, and would st.ill men-
tion, that in the notes, (scattered through the volume) will
be found references to more than twice the number, in the
following catalogue.

' In short, I have spared neither labor nor expense, in the
collection of materials ; and have aimed to make my work a
useful and valuable treasure of information, and worthy of the
approbation of the public.

' Of my authorities and the use, which I have made of them,
it becomes me to speak with grateful acknowledgments. The
first and principal of these is Bochart, who in his Hierozoicon
has, in the most learned researches, traced the names of the
animals mentioned in Scripture through the different lan-
guages and dialects of the East,' &,c. &c. * He had the oppor-
tunity of consulting the Nat. Hist, of Damir, and other Ara-
bian authors.

' The Plysique Sacr^e of Scheuchzer, in eight volumes folio,
is a magnificent work, with which a noble friend in Paris
supplied me. It has contributed greatly to enrich my arti-
cles '

He thus goes on to enumerate some of the most distinguish-
ed authors, who hnd been of assistance, in treating of the
PLANTS, the FISHES, INSECTS, and Precious Stones.

Among these principal authorities, are the names of Hiller,
in the f tier opfiijti con t Celsius in his Hierobotanicon, Diosconi-
des, the Elder Pliny, Alpinus, Rauwolf, Hasselquist, Shaw,
Russell, Forskal, Bruce, Rudbeck, Lemnius, Braunius, and
Calrnet.

The Lexicons of Castel, Buxtorf, Meninski, and Parkhurst
were the companions of his labors. The commentaries of
Micliaelis and the illustrations of Paxton, we may add to swell
the list.

Under these circumstances it is, that Mr. Carpenter takes
up the work of Dr. Harris, and, changing the arrangement
from an Alphabetical to a Scientific one, making some omis-
sions and some alterations, and inserting some valuable ad-
ditions, claims the work as his own. A comparison of any
of the important articles in the two books, such as that on
Flax, the Behemoth, the Eagle, the Fox, but much more a
comparison of the two entire works will show how much of Mr.
Carpenter's matciials were made ready to his hand.

12 PREFACE.

But this, is not all ; with an unkind and ungenerous insin-
uation in his preface, calculated to injure Dr. Harris, if not
designed to prevent the circulation of Ids work, and of course,
a comparison of the two, which might prove unpleasant to
Mr. Carpenter, he announces to the world, that the ' utter des-
titution of evangelical sentiment in the volume,' from which
he had gathered and gleaned, more than from all other works
together, ' renders it unfit for general use.'

To despoil an author of the results of his literary labors, who
with indefatigable zeal, and distinguished ability and success
has been serving the cause of Science and Biblical Literature
with his time, his talents, his labors and his money, for more
than a quarter of a century, and then to brand him as a here-
tic, in order to conceal the robbery, does not appear to us as
evincing much of the spirit or practice of piety.

Would that Mr. Carpenter, with all that he has borrowed
from the work of Dr. Harris, had taken, also, a note append-
ed to its ingenuous and unassuming preface :

' Est benignum, et plenum ingenui pudoris, fateri per quos
profiteris.' Plin. Nat. Hist. Pref.

Justice at least should have been given to one who so early
and ably led the way, in the study of the * Natural History of
the Bible.'

It argues little in favor of the purity or liberality of our
principles, if we have no eye to discover nor heart to acknow-
ledge the high Literary, Critical and Scientific merit of anoth-
er, because, forsooth, his Theological opinions may be different
from our own.

The circulation of Dr. Harris's work in Europe for many
years (it having passe J three editions in London) is a testi-
mony to its value, not easily set aside. And we cannot but
hope, that he will favor the literary world, with another edi-
tion of his invaluable volume, with such additions and improve-
ments as the lapse of a dozen years will have enabled him to
make. And we are sure that Literary and Scientific men of
every country, who alone are able to appreciate these labors,
will award to him, the full measure of thanks, which he de-
Serves. There is perhaps no living writer who has devoted
so much attention to this particular subject, or has such a
mass of materials at command.

Perhaps some may think, that the writer of this preface is
a friend, or acquaintance of Dr. H., writing under his eye
and perhaps at his suggestion, and therefore affects to feel so

PREFACE. 13

sensibly the injuries of the respected Author. The writer
deems it as due to himself, to say, that he is neither kinsman,
nor acquaintance, arid has never, to his knowledge, had the
pleasure of seeing the Rev. Dr. Harris. And the latter, as
deeply as he must feel his own wrongs, does not dream that
such a preface as this is in hand, or probably never heard of
its writer. He, if he knows his own heart, would have been
equally ready to do the same justice, that he has attempted
here, to Mr. Carpenter, had he been the aggrieved and any
other individual the aggressor.

But to return to the volume now presented to the Christian
csmmutiity, it is sincerely hoped, that it may contribute, in
some good degree, to increase and gratify the interest which
the subject of it has at this day so genera ly awakened.

The American Editor can truly say, that the delightful il-
lustrations of scripture, which have been continually coming
before his mind, in the progress of his examinations, have
made him more sensible than ever, how much of real, intel-
lectual and moral pleasure and improvement is lost by a want
of acquaintance with the Natural History of the Bible.

And therefore does he most cordially commend this study
and this volume to the notice of all, and especially of the
young, who desire a fuller acquaintance with the beauties
and treasures of the Sacred Oracles.

, GORHAM D. ABBOTT.

Boston, Oct. 24M, 1832.

CONTENTS.

Introductory Remarks by the American Editor 25

CHAPTER I.— ANIMALS.

SECTION I. — Domestic Animals:

The Elephant — the Camel — the Horse — the Asa —
the Mule — the Ox — the Sheep — the Goat — the
Dog— the Hog .35

SECTION II. — Ferocious Wild Beasts :

The Lion— the Leopard— the Wolf— the Hyena— the
Fox, or Jackal— the Wild Boar— the Bear. 83

SECTION III. — Wild Inoffensive Animals:

The Wild Ass — the Rock Goat or Ibex — the Antelope —
the Hart and the Hind — the Hare and the Coney — •
the Mouse — the Mole — the Bat 101

SECTION IV. — Dubious Animals :

The Behemoth — the Leviathan — the Unicorn 108

CHAPTER III.— BIRDS.

INTRODUCTORY SECTION — Reviewing the Structure and
Instincts of the Feathery Tribes, and also their Biblical
Appellations 129

SECTION I. — Air Birds :

The Eagle — the Hawk and the Kite — the Raven — the
Dove and the Turtle— the Swallow— the Sparrow 132

SECTION II. — Land Birds :

The Ostrich— the Peacock— the Owl— the Partridge—
the Cock and Hen — the Quail 147

16 CONTENTS.

SECTION III. — Water Birds:

The Crane — the Stork — the Pelican— the Cormorant 159

SECTION IV. — Dubious Birds :

The Cuckoo— the Heron — the Swan 165

CHAPTER TV.— FISHES.

Biblical Appellations— Principal Divisions— Fish of Galilee
— Preserver of Jonah 171

CHAPTER V —REPTILES.

SECTION I. — Lizards :

The Tortoise, or Lizard— the Ferret, or Gecko— the

Chameleon — the Frog 173

SECTION II. — Serpents :

The Viper— the Adder and Asp — the Cockatrice — the Ser-
aph, or Fiery Serpent— the Dragon — the Horseleach —
the Snail 180

SECTION III. — Worms :

Singular Construction — Biblical Appellations — Tenacity
of Life — Various kinds mentioned in Scripture 195

CHAPTER VI.— INSECTS.

INTRODUCTORY SECTION. — -Number and Variety — Won-
derful Construction 197

SECTION I. — Wingless Insects :

The Scorpion — the Spider — the Flea — the Louse 201

SECTION II. — Winged Insects :

The Fly— the Hornet— the Gnat— the Moth— the Bee— the
Ant— the Locust 205

SECTION III. — Dubious Insects :

The Beetle— the Canker Worm— the Caterpillar— the
Palmer Worm , 2SU

CONTENTS. 17

BOTANY.

INTRODUCTORY SECTION. — Import of the Term — Dis-
tinctions between the Animal and Vegetable World —
Structure of Vegetables — Differences among the Three
Classes of Vegetables — Vegetable Life — Biblical
Arrangement 227

CHAPTER I.— GRASS AND HERBS.
Herbaceous Productions 232

SECTION I. — Grain :

Methods of Preparing Grain for Food — Corn used as an

Emblem of a Future State 234

Wheat— Barley— Rye— Millet 237

SECTION II. — Reeds:

The Bulrush of Papyrus— the Cane— the Flag 239

SECTION III. — Pulse:

Lentils— Beans 242

SECTION IV. — Weeds :

Suphim— Cockle— Fitches 243

CHAPTER II.— PLANTS AND SHRUBS.

SECTION I. — Aromatic Plants :

Camphor — Aloes— the Myrtle — the Lily— Cummin-
Anise — Hyssop — the Juniper 246

SECTION II. — Cucumber Plants :

The Cucumber— the Melon— the Mandrake 252

SECTION III. — Thorny Shrubs and Plants :

The Thorn— the Bramble— Nettles 254

SECTION IV. — Onions and similar Plants :

Onions— Garlick— Leeks 257

SECTION V.—Flax. . . .258

18 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.— TREES.

INTRODUCTORY SECTION. — Scripture Names — Sacred
Groves 260

SECTION I. — Fruit Trees :

The Apple or Citron Tree— the Almond Tree— the Chest-
nut Tree — the Fig Tree — the Sycamore Tree— the Palm
Tree — the Olive Tree — the Pomegranate — the Vine. . . .262

SECTION II. — Aromatic Trees:

The Cedar Tree — the Balsam Tree — the Cypress Tree —
the Lign Aloe— the Rose Tree 282

SECTION III. — Woody Trees :

The Oak, or the Terebinth— the Fir Tree— the Poplar—
the Willow— the Mustard Tree 288

CHAPTER IV.— DOUBTFUL PLANTS AND TREES.

The Bay Tree— the Pine Tree— the Shittah Tree— the
Almug Tree— the Box Tree— the Gourd— the Heath-
Hemlock — Wormwood — Tares— Mallows— Manna 294

CHAPTER V.— VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES.

SECTION I. — Woods :

Thyine— Cassia— Cinnamon 302

. a
SECTION II. — Fruits :

Nuts— Husks 305

SECTION III. — Gums :

Frankincense — Galbaniun — Myrrh — Stacte 307

GEOLOGY:

INTRODUCTORY SECTION. — Import of the Term — Object
of the Science — Non-eternity of Matter — Origin of the
Earth — Review of the Plutonic and the Neptunian
Theories — Scripture Account of the Formation of the
Earth — Objections to the Mosaic Account — Alluvial
Marbles — Traditions of the Deluge — Its Moral and
Physical Causes — Changes and Formations in the
Earths and Stratas — Geological Researches confirma-
tive of the History of Moses 311

CONTENTS. 19

CHAPTER I.— STONES.

Adamant — Agate— Alabaster — Amethyst — Amianthus —
Beryl — Carbuncle — Chalcedony — Chrysophrasus —
Crystal— Diamond— Emerald— Jacinth— Jasper— Mar-
ble— Onyx and Sardonyx — Pearls — Ruby — Sapphire —
Sardius or Sardine— Topaz 323

CHAPTER II.— EARTHS.

Brimstone— Pitch— Salt— Soap— Nitre— Vermilion— Clay . .333

CHAPTER III.— METALS.
Gold-Silver— Amber— Copper— Iron-Lead— Tin 345

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

History of Geography — Climate and Natural History —
Jerusalem — Manners and Customs of the Jews — Bead
and Relic Trade — Mount Zion — Mount of Olives —
Bethlehem— The Dead Sea — Lake of Tiberias— The
Vale of Nazareth — Mount Tabor — Route to Nablous
and Tiberias - 355

LIST OF CUTS.

FACE.

1. Frontispiece 2

2. Group of Animals 34

3. The Elephant 35

4. Elephants drinking 40

5. Loaded Elephant 43

6. TheCamel 45

7. Caravan in the Desert 48

8. Bactrian Camel 49

9. The Horse 55

10. The Ass 58

11. The Ox 65

12. Treading out Corn 69

13. Oxen Ploughing 70

14. The Goat 76

15. The Dog 78

16. The Hog 81

17. The Lion 83

18. The Leopard 90

19. The Hyajna 93

20. The Fox, or Jackal 95

21. • The Bear 99

22. The Rock Goat, or Ibex 104

23. The Antelope 106

24. The Hart 108

25. The Hare 112

2(>. The Mouse 114

27. The Mole 115

28. The Bat 117

29. The Hippopotamus 118

30. Group of Birds 128

31., The Eagle 132

32. The Hawk 135

22 LIST OF CUTS.

33. The Raven 137

34. The Dove 140

35. The Swallow 144

36. The Sparrow 145

37. Ostriches \ 147

38. The Peacock 152

39. The Owl 153

40. The Partridge 155

41. The Quail 158

42. The Crane 159

43. The Stork 160

44. The Pelican 162

45. The Heron 165

46. The Swan 167

47. Group of Fishes 170

48. The Tortoise 173

49. The Chameleon 175

50. The Cockatrice 185

51. The Dragon 189

52. The Snail 193

53. The Scorpion 200

54. The Spider 201

55. TheHornet ...208

56. The Bee ,,.211

57. The Ant . . . , , . . 213

58. The Locust .........216

59. The Beetle ,, 221

00. Fruits and Flowers 226

61. Grinding Grain ....235

62. Wheat 237

63. Flax 258

64. The Fig... 264

65. Palm Trees 268

66. The Olive.. 293

SCRIPTURE
NATURAL HISTORY

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS,

BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR.

THERE is no subject, that can be named, in so few words,
that embraces such an extent and variety of interesting and
useful information as the Natural History of the Bible. It-
includes within the range of its various objects, everything
that can invite the attention, or reward the inquiries of the
Natural Philosopher. It furnishes subjects for investigation,
which have engaged the interest of the most gifted minds>
and those too, under the guidance of inspiration, during a
period of more than Four Thousand Years. It leads the mind
back to the hour, when the world was in its infancy, and when,
at its birth, the ' morning stars sang together, and all the
sons of God shouted for joy.' And it extends down beyond
the time when the Saviour of the world ascended, in the
clouds of heaven, to his Father's throne.

The whole kingdom of nature, in all the multiplicity and
variety of its objects, is brought to view in the ' Perfect
Book,' with a clearness of light, which is not elsewhere to be
found.

The simple yet truly philosophical arrangement, presented
in the * sublimely beautiful narrative of the Creation,' clear-
ly shows that the pen of the sacred historian was guided by
the hand of a master.

But there are various other considerations which render
this a subject of the deepest interest. In the early ages of the
world, so far as we know, Literature, Science, and Poetry,
were cultivated solely by the prophets, or servants of the Most
High. We have no evidence that other minds were devoted
to such pursuits. And the writers of the Bible had no oppor-
tunity to resort to the writings of idolatrous heathen around
them, to illustrate or enforce their own eloquence and song.
There was no Classical Literature then, to furnish learned
3

26 INTRODUCTION.

allusions. And the spirit of sacred elqquence and poesy was
free to expatiate in the wide field of nature, that was open
and unoccupied before her. And almost every natural object,
in the firmament above, in the earth beneath, or in the mighty
waters, was made to contribute to her ends. With inimitable
skill, have the sacred penmen drawn the richest of imagery
and the happiest and most forcible illustrations, for their ' high
themes,' from these endless resources. The splendor of the
sun, the beauty of the stars, the genial influence of the clouds
and the dew, the fragrance of the violet, and the flavor of
fruit: — the animal and vegetable kingdoms, in all their rich
variety ; everything animate and inanimate, that adorns and
enriches earth ; whatever gives interest and sublimity to the
mighty deep, either in the majesty of its angry mountain
wave, or in the mirror of its peaceful repose, — are all brought
<o bear upon the object of the Poet and Prophet, in their
efforts to enlighten and to save the world.

Hence it is, that an intimate and accurate acquaintance
with the natural history of the East, is so interesting and es-
sential to the intelligent reader of the Bible.

It is not to be supposed that the sacred writers possessed,
in all respects, the same degree or kind of knowledge, that
we do, in the various departments of Science and Philosophy.
According to all the ordinary laws of the human mind, in ad-
vancing in knowledge and in skill in acquiring it, there must
have been very different degrees of information entertained,
at different periods, during the long course of 4000 years. In
all truth, except what is exclusively revealed from heaven,
the human mind makes progress. So that it is by no means
to be expected that, on all subjects of Natural Science, and in
.every instance, the sacred writers will accord, in their views,
with our modern philosophy.

I cannot perhaps better illustrate this sentiment, than by
reference to the opinions of some of the sacred writers, at
least, respecting the form and structure of the earth. I am
indebted for the illustration to an eminent divine and biblical
student, to whom, I believe, it was suggested, in the course of
his own private reading and study of the Scriptures. Some
passages in the writings of Moses and David, and other inter-
mediate writers, favor the opinion, that they viewed the struc-
ture of the earth as follows : — According to Acts vii. 22, c Mo-
ses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.' Of
fccurse, it is not unirkety, that he embraced those views of

INTRODUCTION. 27

Astronomy and Geology which their Philosophers and Astrol-
ogers inculcated. But whether this be, or be not true, the
following view would seem to elucidate some passages of scrip-
ture, which otherwise appear with far less of beauty and sub->
limity.

Conceive the earth to have been in their view a flat, circu-
lar surface, floating upon the waters of the deep. There would
then have been in their minds these three distinct ideas : —
First, A vast expanse of firmament, or sky, above the earth
and water. This in general they called 'the heavens.'
Moses, however, often speaks of the first, second, and third
heavens. This division is thus explained : — The first heav-
en, also called the ' open firmament,' and what we call famil-
iarly, ' up in the air,' was the space above us in which the
birds of the air wing their way, and the clouds are seen to
move. The second was the star-studded sky. And the
third heaven, beyond the starry-sky, was the place of God's
abode. Thus Paul in 2 Cor. xii. speaks of one ' caught
up into the third heaven,' ' caught up into paradise.'

The second idea, in their conceptions, would have been the
circular solid earth, floating upon a sea of, to them, unknown
and inconceivable extent.

The third prominent point, in accordance with their views,
would have been the situation of the world beneath. They
probably supposed the abode of departed spirits in the world
of woe, to be far below the bottom of the deep. With such
conceptions, in the minds of the ancients, respecting Heaven
and Earth and Hell, how sublime and beautiful appears Da-
vid's description of God's Omniscience and Omnipresence, in
the 139th Psalm.

' O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou
knowestmy down-sitting, and mine up-rising ; thou understand-
est my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. ******

' Whither shall I go from thy Spirit 1 or whither shall I flee
from thy presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, (the highest
place which they conceived of, in the universe,) thou art
there.

' If I make my bed in Hell, (that is, the lowest place in
God's dominions) behold, thou art there.

* If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the utter-
most parts of the sea; (still stretching his thought in another
direction, through the boundless limits of Jehovah's empire,)

28 INTRODUCTION.

even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall
hold me.'

How much interest, too, would this opinion, if entertained
by the Jews, add to the sentiment in the 46th Psalm,

The writer, in the fulness of his confidence in God, as a
strong and sure refuge in the time of trouble, declares that he
will trust securely in him, though the earth be shaken, and
the mountains overthrown by the mighty heavings of the deep.

c God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble ; therefore will not we fear, though the earth be re-
moved, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of
the sea ; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.'

Such an exposition, whether it be strictly correct or not,,
does most surely discover new beauties in these passages ; and
in all these and in all other cases, we have this reflection ob-
viously presenting itself, that the difference of view, between
them and us, which such investigations disclose, always re-
lates to points merely of human knowledge. We never find
them countenancing the least erroneous opinion, on any of the
principles or truths of divine revelation.

But, notwithstanding the benefits to be derived from an
acquaintance with the state of general knowledge, among the
Jews, and of their ordinary habits of thinking, the value of
such kind of information, to the reader of the Bible at the
present day, is still more clearly and strikingly seen, in cases
where our ideas of the most common and familiar objects are
different from theirs. We all of us are apt to think, and
young persons especially are, that the places and occurrences
of which we read in the Bible, are too remote in distance and
time, to make any clear and vivid impressions upon the mind.
But the great difficulty is, in regarding the scene, and the
natural objects of Scripture History, as not susceptible of the
same distinct and tangible apprehension, as we may have of
objects and scenes immediately around us, here.

Take, for example, the Scripture allusions to the shep-
herd and his flock. Perhaps there are no objects, in the
whole Animal Kingdom, which furnish so many beautiful
and affecting illustrations, as the sheep and the fold. The
shepherd, the sheep, and the lambs are the sources of illustra-
tion, from the beginning to the end of the Bible. And yet
how much of the force and beauty of many of them is lost, by
a want of acquaintance with the custom of the time, in rela
tion to them.

INTRODUCTION. 29

There is an anecdote, quite in point here, which was relat-
ed to me, by the same clergyman alluded to above, while
preparing this volume for the press.

We were reading together, in our social devotions, the 23d
Psalm. After the 2d verse, ' He leadeth me beside the still
waters,' he remarked, ' how much the beauty of the passage
is lost to readers in this country, from not knowing the cus-
toms of the East. Here, you know, we always drive sheep.
But it was not so there.

* A year or two since, I heard in Boston, that some person
had imported a large flock of Saxony sheep, and that they
had just arrived in the city. One morning I happened to
look out of my window at the moment they were passing by.
And I was delighted at the illustration of Scripture, which
the scene afforded.

' There were probably an hundred or an hundred and fifty
in the flock. The shepherd, who had come over to this
country to take care of them, went before the flock. He
held his right hand behind him, with the palm, turned
towards the slieep. A large buck followed close behind,,
almost touching with his forehead the palm of the shepherd's
hand. The rest of the flock were arranged in very regular
order, behind tfee leader, somewhat in the form of a wedge.

' The -shepherd's dog followed behind the whole, urging o»
the few straggling sheep, who were disposed to linger.

' Whenever the shepherd turned a corner, the leader of the
flock obeyed the turn of his hand, and thus the whole num-
ber were led, without the least difficulty, through any part of
the city.'

* Now how many passages in the Bible, which speak of the
Cfood Shepherd's leading the lost and wandering of the flock,
back again to the fold, and keeping them in green pastures,
&c. are scarcely enjoyed, at all, from not understanding this.

' It is also customary in Eastern countries for the shep-
herd to give a name to every sheep of the flock. They comes
at the call of their name, and are easily distinguished and
known by those who are accustomed to the shepherd's
crook.

' In this light, how tender and beautiful does the passage
appear, in the 10th chapter of John.

' He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadtth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before
them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.'
3*

30 INTRODUCTION.

There is one other remarkable passage illustrative of the
general principle of which we have been speaking, that is of
so entirely different a character from either of the preceding,
that I cannot forbear to mention it. It relates wholly to the
Vegetable Kingdom.

The 14th chapter of Hosea begins with an expostu-
lation with the backsliding Israelites, and with an ear-
nest invitation to return to God. The most affecting as-
surances are given of his forgiving mercy towards their
past transgressions, and of his blessing for the future. And
the consequences of his blessing upon them as returning
penitents, are represented in the following manner.

' I will be as the dew, unto Israel.' In some parts of
Judea, there is no rain for many months, during the summer
season, and the influence of the dew is essential to vegetation.
Where this is not felt, there is an arid, sterile desert. / Where
it is enjoyed, it causes the richest and most luxuriant growth.
Though they had become withered and dying like grass, by
their wanderings and sins, His grace and spirit, like the dew
should revive and invigorate them.

' He shall grow as the lily.' This flower is remarkable for
the rapidity of its growth. But it is also remarkable for its
frailty. So it is added, * and cast forth his roots as Lebanon,'
The cedar of Lebanon was a well-known emblem of sta-
bility.

' His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the
olive treet and his smell as Lebanon.'

lie shall extend, be increased, he shall be beautiful as the
olive tree, remarkable for the symmetry of its form, and for
the richness and fragrance of its verdure. As it is elsewhere
said, * the fatness of the olive tree ;' * And his smell as Leb-
anon/ This mountain was distinguished not only for its
wonderful growth of firm and majestic cedars, but for the
abundance of its beautiful and fragrant flowers. Another
object of comparison, in some other place, is the ' scent of the
wine of Lebanon,' which was made odorous and sweet with
aromatic drugs.

The whole of this delightful passage is filled with the
richest imagery, all of which is borrowed from the common
objects of vegetable life. And yet how few readers of the
Bible perceive or enjoy the precious meaning which these
comparisons convey. It seems to me that it would be utterly
impossible to express, by any direct language, the fulness of
blessing, which is couched under these figures of speech.

INTRODUCTION. 31

Now it is the object of this book to open these treasures to
every reader. To unfold some at least of the hidden beau*
ties of the word of God.

It is by the discovery of such stores of excellence and beauty,
that the taste for the study of the Bible will be cherished and
increased. And the reader will be able to say, in one sense,
if not in the true one, * Thy word is sweeter than honey to
my taste ; yea, sweeter than honey in the honey-comb^

I

CHAPTER I.
ANIMALS.

SEC. I.— DOMESTIC ANIMALS
THE ELEPHANT.

THIS extraordinary animal is no where spoken of in sacred scrip*
ture, unless, as some think, it is the behemoth of the book of Job.
Of this, however, we have strong doubts, as may be seen in the ar-
ticle Behemoth. In the book of Maccabees, we have an account of
the manner in which the elephants Were employed in the field of
battle, and also of the methods adopted to excite them to a furious
contest with the enemy. Ivory, too, the well-known production of
the elephant, is twice distinctly mentioned in the canonical books,
1 Kings x. 22 2 Chron. ix. 21 On these accounts, it must find a
place in this work.

The elephant is in every respect the noblest quadruped in nature,

36 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

not less remarkable for its size than its docility and understanding.
All historians concur in giving it the character of the most sagacious
animal next to man ; and yet, were we to take our idea of its capa-
city from its outward appearance, we should be led to conceive very
meanly of its abilities. At first view it presents the spectator with
an enormous mass of flesh, that seems scarcely animated. Its huge
body, covered with a callous hide, without hair; its large missha-
pen legs, that seem scarcely formed for motion ; its little eyes, large
ears, and long trunk, all give it an air of extreme stupidity. But
our prejudices will soon subside when we come to examine its his-
tory ; they will even serve to increase our surprise, when we con-
sider the various advantages it derives from so clumsy a conforma-
tion.

The elephant is seen from seven to fifteen feet high. Whatever
care we take to imagine a large animal beforehand, yet the first
sight of this huge creature never fails to strike us with astonishment,
and in some measure to exceed our idea. Having been used to
smaller animals, we have scarcely any conception of its magnitude;
for a moving column of flesh, fourteen feet high, is an object so
utterly different from those we are constantly presented with, that
to be conceived it must be actually seen. It would, therefore, be
impossible to give an idea of this animal's figure by a description ;
which, even assisted by the art of the engraver, will but confusedly
represent the original. In general it may be observed, that the fore-
thead is high and rising, the ears very large and dependent, the eyes
•extremely small, the proboscis, or trunk, long, the body round and
dull, the back rising in an arch, and the whole animal short in pro-
portion to its height. The feet are round at the bottom ; on each
foot there are five flat horny risings, which seem to be the extremi-
ties of the toes, but do not appear outwardly. The hide is without
hair, full of scratches and seal's, which it receives in its passage
through thick woods and thorny places. At the end of the tail there
is a tuft of hair, a foot and a half long.

Of all quadrupeds, the elephant is the strongest, as well as the
largest ; and yet, in a state of nature, it is neither fierce nor formida-
ble. Mild, peaceful, and brave, it never abuses its power or its
strength, and only uses its force for its own protection, or that of its
community. In its native deserts the elephant is seldom seen alone,
but appears to be a social friendly creature. The oldest of the com-
pany conducts the band: that which is next in seniority brings up
the rear. The young, the weak, and the sickly, fall into the centre ;
while the females carry their young, and keep them from falling by
means of their trunks. They maintain this orderonly in dangerous
marches, or when they desire to feed in cultivated grounds : they
move with less precaution in the forest and solitudes, but without
•ever separating or removing so far asunder as to be incapable of
lendiag each other any requisite assistance. It now and then hap-
pens, that one or two is found lingering behind the rest, and it is
Against these that the art and force of the hunters are united ; but an
attempt to molest the whole body would certainly be fatal. They

THE ELEPHANT. 37

go forward directly against him who offers the insult, strike him
with their tusks, seize him with their trunks, fling him into the air,
and then trample him to pieces under their feet. But they are thus
dreadful only when offended, and do no manner of personal injury
when suffered to feed without interruption. It is even known that
they are mindful of injuries received; and, when once molested by
man, seek all occasions for the future to be revenged. They srnell
him with their long trunks at a distance ; follow him with all their
speed upon the scent ; and, though slow to appearance, they are
soon able to come up with and destroy him.

In their natural state, they delight to live along the sides of rivers,
to keep in the deepest vales, to refresh themselves in the most shady
forests and watery places. They cannot live far from the water ; and
they always disturb it before they drink. They often fill their trunk
with it, either to cool that organ, or to divert themselves by spirting
it out like a fountain.

Their chief food is of the vegetable kind, for they loathe all kind
of animal diet. When one among their number happens to light
upon a spot of good pasture, he calls the rest, and invites them to
share in the entertainment ; but it must be a very copious pasture
indeed that can supply the necessities of the whole band. As with
their broad and heavy feet they sink deep wherever they go, they
destroy much more than they devour; so that they are frequently
obliged to change their quarters, and to migrate from one country
to another. The Indians and Negroes, who are often incommoded
by such visitants, do all they can to keep them away ; making loud
noises, and large fires round their cultivated grounds. But these
precautions do not always succeed ; the elephants often break
through their fences, destroy their whole harvest, and overturn
their little habitations. When they have satisfied themselves and
trodden down or devoured whatever lay in their way, they then re-
treat into the woods, in the same orderly manner in which they
made their irruption.

Such are the habits of this animal, considered in a social light :
if we regard it as an individual, we shall find its powers still more
extraordinary. With a very awkward appearance, it possesses all
the senses in great perfection, and is capable of applying them to
more useful purposes than any other quadruped. The elephant,
as we observed, has very small eyes, when compared to the enor-
mous bulk of its body. But though their minuteness may at first
sight appear deformed, yet, when we come to examine them, they
are seen to exhibit a variety of expression, and to discover the va-
rious sensations with which it is moved. It turns them with
attention and friendship to its master: it seems to reflect and
deliberate ; and as its passions slowly succeed each other, their
various workings are distinctly seen. Nor is it less remarkable for
the excellence of its hearing. Its ears are extremely large, and
greater in proportion than even those of an ass. They are usually
dependent; but it can readily raise, and move them. They serv'e

38 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

also to wipe its eyes, and to protect them against the dust and
flies, that might otherwise incommode them. It appears delighted
with music, and very readily learns to beat time, to move in meas-
ure, and even to join its voice to the sound of the drum and the
trumpet.

Its sense of smelling is not only exquisite, but in a great
measure pleased with the same odors that delight mankind. The
elephant gathers flowers with great pleasure and attention ; it picks
them up one by one, unites them into a nosegay, and seems charm-
ed with the perfume. The orange-flower seems to be particularly
grateful both to its sense of taste and smelling ; it strips the tree of
all its verdure, and eats every part of it, even to the branches them-
selves. It seeks in the meadows the most odoriferous plants to
feed upon ; and in the woods it prefers the cocoa, the banana, the
palm, and the sago-tree, to all others. As the shoots of these are ten-
der and filled with pith, it eats not only the leaves and the fruits, but
even the branches, the trunk, and the whole plant, to the very roots.

But it is in the sense of touching that this animal excels all
others of the brute creation, and, perhaps, even man himself. The
organ of this sense lies wholly in the trunk, which is an instrument
peculiar to this animal, and which serves for it all the purposes of
a hand. The trunk is, properly speaking, only the snout lengthen-
ed out to a great extent, hollow like a pipe, and ending in two
openings, or nostrils, like those of a hog* An elephant of fourteen
feet high has the trunk about eight feet long, and five feet and a
half in circumference at the mouth, where it is thickest. It is
hollow all along, but with a partition running from one end of it to
the other; so that though outwardly it appears like a single pipe, it
is inwardly divided into two. This fleshly tube is composed of
nerves and muscles, covered with a proper skin of a blackish color,
like that of the rest of the body. It is capable of being moved in
every direction, of being lengthened and shortened) of being bent
or straightened, so pliant as to embrace any body it is applied to,
and yet so strong that nothing can be torn from its gripe.

To aid the force of this grasp, there are several little eminences like
a caterpillar's feet, on the underside of this instrument, which, with-
out doubt, contribute to the sensibility of the touch, as well as to
the firmness of the hold. Through this trunk the animal breathes,
drinks, and smells, as through a tube ; and at the very point of it,
just above the nostrils, there is an extension of the skin, about five
inches long, in the form of a finger, and which in fact answers all
the purposes of one : for, with the rest of the extremity of the trunk,
it is capable of assuming different forms at will, and, consequently,
of being adapted to the minutest objects. ]By means of this, the
elephant can take a pin from the ground, untie the knots of a rope,
unlock a door, and even write with a pen. 'I have myself seen,'
says uElian, « an elephant writing Latin characters on a board, in a
very orderly manner, his keeper only showing him the figure of
each letter. While thus employed, the eyes might be observed
Studiously cast down upon the writing, and exhibiting an appear-

THE ELEPHANT. 39

ance of great skill and erudition.' It sometimes happens that the
object is too large for the trunk to grasp: in such a case the
elephant makes use of another expedient as admirable as any of
the former. It applies the extremity of the trunk to the surface of
the object, and, sucking up its breath, lifts, and sustains such a
weight as the air in that case is capable of keeping suspended. In
such manner this instrument is useful in most of the purposes of
life ; it is an organ of smelling, of touching, and of suction ; it not
only provides for the animal's necessities and comforts, but it also
serves for ornament and defence.

But, though the elephant is thus admirably supplied by its trunk,
yet, with respect to the rest of its conformation, it is unwieldy and
helpless. The neck is so short that it can scarcely turn the head,
and must wheel round in order to discover an enemy from behind.
The hunters that attack it upon that quarter, generally thus escape
the effects of its indignation, and find time to renew their assaults
while the elephant is turning to face them, The legs are, indeed,
not so inflexible as the neck, yet they are very stiff, and bend not
without difficulty. Those before seem to be longer than the
hinder, but, upon being measured, are found to be something
shorter. The joints, by which they bend, are nearly in the middle,
like the knee of a man ; and the great bulk which they are to sup-
port makes their flexure ungainly. While the elephant is young,
it bends the legs to lie down or to rise ; but when it grows old, or
sickly, this is not performed without human assistance ; and it
becomes, consequently, so inconvenient, that the animal chooses
to sleep standing. The feet, upon which these massy columns are
supported, form a base scarcely broader than the legs they sustain.
They are divided into five toes, which are covered beneath the
skin, and none of which appear to the eye ; protuberances like
claws are only observed, which vary in number from three to
five. The apparent claws vary ; the internal toes are constantly
the same. The sole of the foot is furnished with a skin as thick
and hard as horn, which completely covers the whole of its under
part.

To the rest of the elephant's incumbrances may be added its
enormous tusks, which are unserviceable for chewing, and are only
weapons of defence. These, as the animal grows old, become so
heavy that it is sometimes obliged to make holes in the walls of its
stall, to rest them in, and ease itself of the fatigue of their support.
It is well known to what an amazing size these tus.ks grow ; they
are two in number, proceeding from the upper jaw, and are some-
times found above six feet long. Some have supposed them to be
rather the horns than the teeth of the animal ; but, besides their
greater similitude to bone than to horn, they have been indisputa-
bly found to grow from the upper jaw.*

* In 1 Kings x. 18, Ivory is designated great tooth, which clearly shows, says Mr.
Taylor, that the Hebrews imported it in the whole tusk. Ezekiel has used a phrase
Which more correctly describes the nature of these weapons of defence ; horns oftectk.

40

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Some have asserted, that these tusks are shed in the same man-
ner as the stag sheds its horns ; but it is very probable, from their
solid consistence, arid from their accidental defects, which often
appear to be the effect of a slow decay, that they are as fixed as
the teeth of other animals are generally found to be. Certain it is,
that the elephant, in a domestic state, never sheds them, but keeps
them till they become inconvenient and cumbrous to the last
degree.

This animal is equally singular in other parts of its conformation ;
the lips and the tongue in other creatures serve to suck up and
direct their drink or their food ; but in the elephant they are totally
inconvenient for such purposes. It not only gathers its food with
its trunk, but supplies itself with water by the same means. When
it eats hay, it takes up a small wisp of it with the trunk, turns and
shapes it with that instrument for some time, and then directs it
into the mouth, where it is chewed by the great grinding teeth,
that are large in proportion to the bulk of the animal. This pac-
quet, when chewed, is swallowed, and never ruminated again, as
in cows or sheep, the stomach and intestines of this creature more
resembling those of a horse. Its manner of drinking is equally
extraordinary.

For this purpose, the elephant dips the end of his trunk into the
water, and sucks up just as much as fills that great fleshy tube
completely. It then lifts up its head with the trunk full, and turn-

THE ELEPHANT, 41

ing the point into its mouth, as if it intended to swallow trunk and
all, it drives the point below the opening of the windpipe. The
trunk being in this position, and still full of water, the elephant
then blows strongly into it at the other end, which forces the water
it contains into the throat ; down which it is heard to pour with a
loud gurgling noise, which continues till it is aU blown down.
From this manner of drinking some have been led into an opinion,
that the young elephant sucks with its trunk, and not with its
mouth ; this, however, is erroneous.

The hide of the elephant is as remarkable as any other part. It
is not covered over with hair, as in the generality of quadrupeds,
but is nearly bare. Here and there indeed, a few bristles are seen
growing in the scars and wrinkles of the body, and very thinly
scattered over the rest of the skin ; but in general the hide is dry,
rough, and wrinkled, and resembles more the bark of an old tree
than the skin of an animal. This grows thicker every year ; and,
by a constant addition of substance, it contracts that disorder well
known by the name of elephantiasis, or Arabian leprosy ; a dis-
ease to which man, as well as the elephant, is often subject. In
order to prevent this, the Indians rub the skin with oil, and fre-
quently bathe it, to preserve its pliancy. To the inconveniences
of this disorder is added another, arising from the great sensibility
of those parts that are not callous. Upon these the flies settle in
great abundance, and torment the animal unceasingly ; to remedy
which the elephant tries all its arts ; using not only its tail and
trunk, in the natural manner, to keep them off, but even taking the
branch of a tree, or a bundle of hay, to strike them off with.
When this fails, it often gathers up the dust with its trunk, and
covers all the sensible places. In this manner it has been seen to
dust itself several times in a day, and particularly upon leaving the
bath.

Water is as necessary to this animal as food itself. When in a
state of nature the elephant rarely quits the banks of the river, and
often stands in water up to the belly. In a state of servitude, the
Indians take equal care to provide a proper supply of water; they
wash it with great address, and give it all the conveniences for
lending assistance to itself.

It is not to be wondered at, that an animal furnished with so
many and various advantages, of strength, sagacity, and obedience,
should be taken into the service of man. We accordingly find
that the elephant, from time immemorial, has been employed
either for the purposes of labor, of war, or of ostentation ; to increase
the grandeur of eastern princes, or to extend their dominions.
We have hitherto been describing this animal in its natural state ;
we now come to consider it in a different point of view, as taken
from the forest, and reduced to human obedience. We are now to
behold this brave, harmless creature learning a lesson from man-
kind, and instructed by them in all the arts of war, massacre, and
devastation. We are now to behold this half-reasoning animal led

42 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

into the field of battle, and wondering at those tumults and that
madness which he is compelled to increase.

The elephant is a native of Africa and Asia, being found neither
in Europe nor America. The savage inhabitants of Africa, instead
of attempting to subdue this powerful creature to their necessities,
are happy in being able to protect themselves from his fury. For-
merly, indeed, during the splendor of the Carthaginian empire, ele-
phants were used in their wars, but this was only a transitory gleam
of human power in that part of the globe ; the natives of Africa;
have long since degenerated, and the elephant is only known among
them from his devastations. However, there are no elephants in
the northern parts of Africa at present, there being none found ou
this side of Mount Atlas* It is beyond the river Senegal that they
are to be met with in great numbers, and so down to the Cape of
Good Hope, as well as in the heart of the country. Pn this exten-
sive region they appear to be more numerous than in any other
part of the world. They are there less fearful of men : less retired
into the heart of the forests, they seem to be sensible of his impo-
tence and ignorance ; and often come down to ravage his little la-
bors. They treat him with the same haughty disdain which they
show to other animals, and consider him as a mischievous little be-
ing, that fears to oppose them openly.

But, although these animals are most plentiful in Africa, it is on-
ly in Asia that the greatest elephants are found, and rendered sub-
servient to human command. In Africa, the largest do not exceed
ten feet high ; in Asia, they are found from tei> to fifteen. Their
price increases in proportion to their size ; and when they exceed
a certain bulk, like jewels, their value then rises as the fancy is
pleased to estimate.

As the art of war is but very little improved in Asia, there are few
princes of the East who do not procure and maintain as many ele-
phants as they are able, and place great confidence on their assist-
ance in an engagement. For this purpose, they are obliged to take
them wild in their native forests and tame them.

The elephant, when once tamed, becomes the most gentle and
obedient of all animal's. It soon conceives an attachment for the
person that attends it, caresses him, oheys him, and seems to anti-
cipate his desires. In a short time it begins to comprehend several
of the signs made to it, and even the different sounds of the voice ;
it perfectly distinguishes the tone of command from that of anger
or approbation, and it acts accordingly. It is seldom deceived in-
its master's voice ; it receives his orders with attention, and executes
them with prudence ; eagerly, yet without precipitation. All its
motions are regulated ; and its actions seem to partake of its magni-
tude, being grave, majestic, and secure. It is quickly taught to
kneel down, to receive its rider; it caresses those it knows with its
trunk ; with this salutes such as it is ordered to distinguish, and
with this, as with a hand, helps to take up a part of its load. It
suffers itself to be arrayed in harness, and seems to take a pleasure
in the finery of its trappings. It draws either chariots, cannon, or

THE ELEPHANT.

43

shipping, with surprising strength and perseverance ; and this with
a seeming satisfaction, provided that it be not beaten without a cause,
and that its master appear pleased with its exertions.

The elephant's conductor is usually mounted on its neck, and
makes use of a rod of iron to guide it, which is sometimes pointed,
and at others bent into a hook. With this the animal is spurred
forward, when dull or disobedient ; but, in general, a word is suffir

cient to put the gentle creature into motion, especially when it is
acquainted with its conductor. This acquaintance is often perfect-
ly necessary, for the elephant frequently takes such an affection to
its keeper, that it will obey no other ; and it has been known to die
with grief, when, in some sudden fit of madness, it has killed )ts
driver.

44 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

But it is not for drawing burdens alone that the elephants are
serviceable in war ; they are, in the East, often brought into the
ranks, and compelled to fight in the most dangerous parts of the
field of battle : they are led, armed before with coats of mail, and
loaded on the back each with a square tower, containing from five
combatants to seven. Upon its neck sits the conductor, who goads
the animal into the thickest ranks, and encourages it to increase the
devastation ; * wherever it goes, nothing can withstand its fury ; it
levels the ranks with its immense bulk, flings such as oppose it in-
to the air, or crushes them to death under its feet. In the mean
time, those who are placed upon its back combat as from" an emi-
nence, and fling down their weapons with double force, their weight
being added to their velocity.f Nothing, therefore, can be more
dreadful, or more irresistible, than such a moving machine, to men
unacquainted with the modern arts of war; the elephant, thus arm-
ed and conducted, raging in the midst of a field of battle, inspires
more terror than even those machines that destroy at a distance, and
are often most fatal when most unseen.

The strength of an elephant is equal to its bulk, for it can, with
great ease, draw a load that six horses could not move : it can read-
iiy carry upon its back three or four thousand weight; upon its tusks
alone it can support nearly a thousand. Its force may also be esti-
mated from the velocity o'f its motion, compared to the mass of its
body, It can go, in its ordinary pace, as fast as a horse at an easy
trot ; and, when pushed, it can move as swiftly as a horse at full
gallop. It can travel with ease fifty or sixty miles a day ; and when
hard pressed, almost double that distance. It may be heard trotting
on at a great distance ; it is easy also to follow it by its track, which
is deeply impressed on the ground, and from fifteen to eighteen
inches in diameter.

In India they are also put to other very disagreeable offices, for
in some courts of the more barbarous princes, they are used as
executioners; and this horrid task they perform with great dexteri-
ty. With their trunks they are seen to break every limb of the
criminal at the word of command ; they sometimes trample him to
death, and sbmetimes impale him on their tusks, as directed. In
this, the elephant is rather the servant of a cruel master, than a vol-
untary tyrant, since no other animal of the forest is so naturally
benevolent and gentle ; equally mindful of benefits as sensible o'f
neglect, he contracts a friendship for his keeper, and obeys him to
the utmost of his capacity.

* * And that they might provoke the elephants to fight, they showed them the blood of
grapes and mulberries.' 1 Mac. vi. 34.

f * And upon the beasts there were strong towers of wood, which covered each of
them, and were girt fast to them by mechanical devices : there were also upon each of
them, two and thirty strongmen, who fought upon them, beside the Indian that ruled
them.' 1 Mac. vi. 37.

THE CAMEL. 45

THE CAMEL.

THE original name of this animal has passed into most languages?,
ancient and modern. In Hebrew it is called Gemel, from the verb
to repay, requite ; probably on account of its revengeful disposition,
' A camel's anger,' is an Arabian proverb for an irreconcileable en-
mity. There is no animal which remembers an injury longer, nor
seizes with greater keenness the proper opportunity of revenge ;
which is the more remarkable on account of its gentle and docib
disposition, when unprovoked by harsh treatment.

From the Scriptures we learn that the camel constituted an im-
portant branch of patriarchal wealth. Job had at first three thou-
sand, and after the days of his adversity had passed away six thou-
sand camels. The Arabians estimate their riches and possessions
by the number of their camels ; and speaking of the splendor and
wealth of a noble, or prince, they observe, he has so many camels j
not so many pieces of gold. The Midianites and Amalekites had
camels without number, as the sand upon the seashore ; many of
which were adorned with chains of gold, and other rich and splen-
did ornaments, Judges vii. 12. So great was the importance attached
to the management and propagation of camels, that a particular
officer was appointed in the reign of David, to superintend their
keepers. Nor is it without a special design, that the inspired writer
mentions the descent of the person appointed ; he was an Jshmaek
jte, and therefore supposed to be thoroughly skilled in the treatment
of that useful quadruped,

40 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

There are as many as seven species of camel discriminated by
Zoologists ; but it is only the Arabian camel or dromedary, and the
Bactrian camel, that are known in Scripture.

The former species is distinguished by having only one bunch
or protuberance on the back. Its general height, measured from
the top of the dorsal bunch to the ground, is about six feet and a
half, but from the top of the head when the animal elevates it, it is
not much less than nine feet: the head, however, is usually so car-
ried as to be nearly on a level with the bunch, or rather below it,
the animal bending the neck extremely in its general posture. The
Lead is small ; the neck very long ; and the body of a long and
meagre shape ; the legs rather slender, and the tail, which is slight-
ly tufted at the extremity, reaches to the joints of the hind legs.
The feet are very large, and are hoofed in a peculiar manner, being
divided above into two lobes, the extremity of each lobe being guar-
ded by a small hoof. The under part of the foot is guarded by an
extremely long, tough, and pliable skin, which, by yielding in all
directions, enables the animal to travel with peculiar ease and secu-
rity over dry, hot, stony, and sandy regions, which would soon parch
and destroy the hoof. On the legs are six callosities, — one on each
knee, one on the inside of each fore leg on the upper joint, and one
on the inside of each hind leg at the bottom of the thigh. On the
lower part of the breast is also a large callous or tough tubercle,
which is gradually increased by the constant habit which the animal
has of resting upon it in lying down.

The native country of the camel is Arabia, from whose burning
deserts it has been gradually diffused over the rest of Asia and
Africa. The Arab venerates his camel as the gift of heaven, as a
sacred animal, without whose aid he could neither subsist, trade,
nor travel.

The hair of these animals, which is fine and soft, and isrene\ved
every year, is used by the Arabians to make stuffs for their clothing
and furniture. It was of this material that Elijah the Tishbite wore
a dress, (2 Kings, i. 8) ; and also John the Baptist, Matt. in. 1. It
must not be supposed, however, that the description of haircloth
used by these and other prophets, mentioned in scripture, bore any
resemblance to the beautiful cash mire shawl, imported into this
country: it was a much coarser manufacture of this material, and
is still used by the modern dervises. We may probably obtain some
idea of its texture, from what Braithwaite says of the Arabian huts:
1 They are made of camels' hair, something like our coarse hair-
cloths to lay over goods.'

Blest with their camels, the Arabs not only want for nothing, but
they fear nothing. In a single day they can traverse a tract of fifty
Jeagues into the desert, and thus escape the reach of their enemies.
All the armies in the world, says Buffon, would perish in pursuit of
a troop of Arabs. Figure to yourself, for instance, observes this
writer, a country without verdure, and without water ; a burning
sand, an air always clear, plains of sands, and mountains still more

THE CAMEL. 47

parched, over which the eye extends without perceiving a single
animated being ; a dead earth, perpetually tossed by the winds, pre-
senting nothing but bones, scattered flints, rocks perpendicular, or
overthrown : a naked desert where the traveller never breathes un-
der a friendly shade, where nothing accompanies him, and where
nothing recals to mind the idea of animated nature; an absolute
solitude, infinitely more frightful than that of the deepest forest ; for
to man trees are, at least, visible objects : more solitary and naked,
more lost in an unbounded void, he every where beholds the extend-
ed space surrounding him as a tomb: the light of the day, more
dismal than the darkness of night, serves only to give him a clearer
idea of his own wretchedness and impotence, and to present before
his eyes the horror of his situation, by extending around him the
immense abyss which separates him from the habitable parts of the
earth : an abyss which he would in vain attempt to traverse, for
hunger, thirst, and burning heat haunt him every moment that re-
mains between despair and death. The Arab, nevertheless, by the
assistance of his camel, has learned to surmount, and even to appro-
priate these frightful intervals of nature to himself. They serve him
for an asylum, they secure his repose, and maintain his independ*
ence. The Arab is early accustomed to the fatigues of travelling,
to want of sleep ; and to endure hunger, thirst, and heat. With
this view he instructs, rears, and exercises his camels. A few days
after their birth, he folds their limbs to remain on the ground, and
in this situation he loads them with a pretty heavy weight, which
is never removed but for the purpose of replacing a greater. Instead
of allowing them to feed at pleasure, and to drink when they are
thirsty, he regulates their repasts, and makes them gradually travel
long journies, diminishing at the same time their quantity of food.
When they acquire some strength, he exercises them to the course ;
he excites their emulation by the example of horses, and in time
renders them equally swift and more robust. At length, when he
is assured of the strength, fleetness, and sobriety of his camels, he
loads them with whatever is necessary for his and their subsistence,
departs with them, arrives unexpectedly at the confines of the des-
ert, robs the first passenger he meets, pillages the straggling habita-
tions, loads his camels with the booty, and if pursued is obliged to
accelerate his retreat. It is on these occasions that he unfolds his
own talents and those of his camels ; he mounts one of the fleetest,
and conducting the troop, makes them travel night and day, almost
without stopping to eat or drink ; and in this manner he easily
passes over the space of three hundred leagues in eight days. Dur-
ing all that time of fatigue and travel he never unloads his camels,
and only allows them an hour of repose, and a ball of paste each
day. They often rim in this manner for eight or nine days, with-
out meeting with any water, and when by chance there is a pool at
some distance, they scent the water, even when half a league from
it. Thirst makes them redouble their pace, and they drink as much
at once as serves them for the time that is past, and for as much to

48 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

come ; for their journey often lasts them .several weeks, and their
abstinence continues till their journey is accomplished.

The driest thistle and the barest thorn, are all the food this useful
quadruped requires ; and even these, to save time, he eats while
advancing on his journey, without stopping or occasioning a mo-
inent of delay. As it is his lot to cross immense deserts where no
water is found, and countries not even moistened with the dew of
heaven, he is endued with the power, at one watering place, to lay
in a store, with which he supplies himself for thirty days to come.
To contain this enormous quantity of fluid, nature has formed large
cisterns within him, from which, once filled, he draws at pleasure
the quantity he wants, and pours it into his stomach, with the same
efiect as if he then drew it from the spring.

Notwithstanding that the ciirnel is so extremely revengeful as to
bear in mind, and resent in the most terrible manner any injury it
may have sustained, its patience is the most extraordinary. Its suf-
ferings seem to be great ; for when it is overloaded, it sends forth the
most lamentable cries, but never offers to resist the tyrant who op-
presses it. At the slightest signs it bends its knees, and lies upon
its belly, suffering itself to be loaded in this position ; at another
sign it rises with its load, and the driver getting upon ils back, en-
courages the animal to proceed with his voice and with a song.

Throughout Turkey, Persia, Egypt, Arabia, Barbary, and vari-
ous other contiguous countries, all kinds of merchandise are car-

ried by camels, whidh, of all convej^ances, is the most expeditious,
and attended With the least expence. Merchants and other travel-
lers assemble, and unite in caravans to avoid the insults and rob-
beries of the Arabs. These caravans are often numerous, and are

THE CAMEL. 4§

always composed of more camels than men. Each camel is load-
ed according to his strength ; the larger ones carrying from a thou-
sand to twelve hundred pounds weight, and the smaller, from six
to seven hundred. Burckhardt states that a camel can never be
stopped while its companions are moving on. The Arabs are
therefore highly pleased with a traveller who jumps off his beast,
and remounts without stopping it, as the act of kneeling down is
troublesome and fatiguing to the loaded camel, and before it can
rise again, the caravan is considerably ahead. He also affirms it
to be an erroneous opinion, that the camel delights in sandy ground.
It is true, he remarks, that he crosses it with less difficulty than
any other animal, but wherever the sands are deep, the weight of
himself and his load makes his feet sink into the sand at every step,
and he groans and often sinks under his burden. Hence, this trav-
eller states it to be, that camels' skeletons are found in great num-
bers where the sands are deepest. It is the hard gravelly ground
of the desert which is most agreeable to this animal.

The Bactrian camel is distinguished from the Arabian camel or
dromedary, by having two bunches on his back. It is not so mi-

merous as the other, and is chiefly confined to some parts of Asia.
Unlike the dromedary, whose movement, as we have seen, is re-
markably swift, the Bactrian carnel proceeds at a slow and solemn
pace.

From the account now furnished of this animal, we may see the
propriety and beauty of several passages of scripture, in which it is
mentioned or alluded to.
5

50 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTO&Y.

Reviewing his own passing days, and properly estimating the
shortness of human life, Job exclaims —

O ! swifter than a courier are my days i
They flee away— they see no good.
As SWELLING SHIPS they sweep on ;
As an eagle swooping on its prey.

This passage has sadly perplexed commentators. The original
of the third line, literally rendered, is 'ships of Abeh ;' or, if jQbeh
be taken for swiftness, 'ships of swiftness.'

For the purpose of ascertaining what might probably be the
intention of the sacred writer, Mr. Taylor thus analyses the import
of the words ; My days pass faster than a running messenger, who
exerts his speed when sent on important business ; they even fly,
like a fugitive who escapes for his life from an enemy ; they do not
look around them to see for anything good ; they are passed as ships of
swiftness ; as a vulture flying hastily to the newly fallen prey. By
marking the climax, we find the messenger swift, the fugitive more
swift, the ships swifter than the fugitive, and the vulture swiftest
of all.

In support of this ingenious conjecture, Mr. Taylor cites the fol-
lowing passage from ' honest Sandys.'

* The whole caravan being now assembled, consisted of a thou-
sand horses, mules, and asses ; and of five hundred CAMELS.
THESE ARE THE SHIPS OF ARABIA ; THEIR SEAS ARE THE DES-
ERTS, a creature created for burthen,' &c. It does not clearly
appear in this extract, however, though it might be gathered from
it, that the^ camel has the name of the ' Ship of Arabia ;' But Mr.
Bruce comes in to our assistance, by saying, ' What enables the shep-
herd to perform the long and toilsome journies across Africa, is
the CAMEL, EMPHATICALLY CALLED, BY THE ARABS, THE SHIP
OF THE DESERT ! he seems to have been created for this very
trade,' &c. The idea thus thrown out, and in a great measure
confirmed by Sandys and Bruce, is further supported by an account
of the swiftness of these metaphorical 'ships,' furnished in Mor-
gan's ' History of Algiers.' This writer states, that the dromedary,
in Barbary called Aashare, will, in one night, and through a level
country, traverse as much ground as any single horse can perform
in ten. The Arabs affirm, that it makes nothing of holding its
rapid pace, which is a most violent hard trot, for four-and-twcnty
Iwurs on a stretch, without showing the least sijins of weariness, or
inclination to bait ; and that, having swallowed a ball or two of a sort
of paste, made up of barley-meal and a little powder of dry dates,
with a bowl of water, or camel's milk, the indefatigable animal will
seern as fresh as atjirst setting out, and ready to continue running at the
same scarcely credible rate, for as many hours longer, and so on from
one extremity of the African desert to the other, provided its rider
could hold out without sleep, and other refreshments. During his
stay in Algiers, Mr. Morgan was once'a party in a diversion in which

THE CAMEL. 51

one of these Jldshari ran against some of the swiftest Barbs in the
whole JVe/a, which is famed for having good ones, of the true
Libyan breed, shaped like greyhounds, and which will sometimes
run down an ostrich. The reader will not, we apprehend, be dis-
pleased at our transferring his account to these pages.

1 We all started like racers, and for the first spurt, most of the
best mounted among us, kept pace pretty well ; but our grass-fed
horses soon flagged: several of the Libyan and Numidian runners
held pace, till we, who still followed upon a good round hand gal-
lop, could no longer discern them, and then gave out; as we were
told after their return. When the dromedary had been out of
sight about half an hour, we again espied it, flying towards us with
an amazing velocity^ and in a very few moments was amongst us, and
seemingly nothing concerned; while the horses and mares were all
on a foam, and scarcely able to breathe, as was likewise a tall fleet
greyhound dog, of the young princess, who had followed and kept
pace the whole time, and was no sooner got back to us, but lay
down panting as if ready to expire.'

This account shows, also, with what propriety the prophet calls
this animal the ' swift dromedary,' (Jer. iii. 23,) as well as the wis-
dom of Esther's messengers, in choosing it to carry their despatch-
es to the distant provinces of the Persian empire, Esth. viii. 10.

The writer just quoted, informs us, that the Arabs guide their
dromedaries by means of a thong of leather, which is passed
through a hole purposely made in the creature's nose. Will not
this illustrate the expression in 2 Kings, xix. 28 : ' I will put my
hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee
back by the way by which thou earnest ?' This denotes, no doubt,
the depth of the Assyrian's humiliation, and the swiftness of his re-
treat.

Another passage which Mr. Taylor thinks may be illustrated by
the application of the term Jl&share to a swift dromedary, is Prov.
vllO, 11:

A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the arms to sleep ;

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth,

And thy want as an armed man.

It is evident that the writer means to denote the speed and rapid-
ity of the approaches of penury ; therefore, instead of, ' one that
travelleth,' we may read ' a post, or quick messenger,' an express.
But our present business is with the 'armed man.' Now, the words
thus translated, are no where used to denote an armed man, or <a
man of a shield,' as some would render them literally ; but the Chal-
dee paraph rast translates them thus, ' swift like an AashareJ or,
mounted on an Jldshare, i. e. an */2ds/iare-rider, to answer to the post
or express, in the former line. Thus we shall have an increase of
swiftness suggested here, as the passage evidently demands. The
sentiment, on the principles above suggested, would stand thus: —

52 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

So shall thy poverty advance as rapidly as an express,

And thy penury as a siroag and swift antagonist or [jiashare-riAet.]

In that sublime prediction, where the prophet foretels the great
increase and flourishing state of Messiah's kingdoms, by the con-
version and accession of the Gentile nations, he compares the hap-
py and glorious concourse to avast assemblage of camels: 'The
multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and
Ephah.' That people, rather than irrational animals are intended,
is evident from these words ; 'All they from Sheba shall come;
they shall show forth the praises of the Lord.' Isa. Ix. 6. In adopt-
ing this figure, the prophet might, perhaps, have his eye on the hie-
roglyphical writing of the Egyptians, in which the figure of a camel
represented a man ; and if so, besides its strict conformity to the
genius of Hebrew poetry, we can discern a propriety in its introduc-
tion into this illustrious prediction. Some interpreters piously refer
the prophecy to Christ himself; and imagine it began to receive its
accomplishment when the magi, proceeding from the very places
mentioned by the prophet, worshipped the new-born Saviour, 'and
presented unto him gifts ; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.' But
Midian, and the other places mentioned by the prophet, lay to the
south of Judea ; while the evangelist expressly says the magi carne
from the east ; which, as well as their name, magi, or wise men,
clearly proves that Persia was their native country, and the place of
their abode.

To pass a camel through the eye of a needle, was a proverbial
expression among the nations of high antiquity, denoting a difficul-
ty which neither the art nor the power of man could surmount.
Our Lord condescends to employ it in his discourse to the disci-
pies, to show how extremely difficult it is for a rich man to forsake
all, for the cause of God and truth, and obtain the blessings of sal-
vation : ' I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
heaven,' Matthew, xix. 24. Many expositors are of opinion, that the
allusion is not to the camel, but to the cable by which an anchor is
made fast to the ship ; and for camel they read camil, from which
our word cable is supposed to be derived. It is not, perhaps, easy
to determine, which of these ought to be preferred; and some inter-
preters of considerable note, have accordingly adopted both views.
Others have asserted, that there was near Jurusalem a low gate,
called the Needle's Eye, under which a camel could not pass with-
out being unloaded.

However though the exact proverbial expression, which was
doubtless well understood, by those to whom it was addressed, may
be to us unintelligible, the instruction conveyed is obvious. Riches
are a snare and often a hindrance in the way to heaven ; and the
heart that is supremely set upon them, can never be brought to a
cordial surrender of itself to the meek, lowly, and self-denying Jesus,
without which, it is impossible to enter into bis kingdom. But the

THE CAMEL. 53

things that are impossible with men, are possible with God. Divine
Grace can do away the impossibility by bringing the heart, to a wil-
ling compliance with the requirements of the Gospel.

In Matthew, xxiii. 24, is another proverbial expression : * Ye strain
at a gnat, and swallow a camel.' Dr. Adam Clarke has proved,
that there is an error of the press, in the English translation, by
which at has been substituted for out. The passage as it now
stands, conveys no sense : it should be, * Ye strain out the gnat, and
swallow down the camel.' The allusion is to the custom which
prevailed among both Gentiles and Jews, of straining the liquor
which they drank, for the purpose of ejecting those insects which
so swarm in some southern countries, and hence, easily fall into
wine- vessels. Some of the commentators have wished to get rid of
the camel in this passage, from an idea that our Lord could not have
united so huge an animal with so small an insect. They, therefore,
propose to understand a larger species of fly. This conjectural
emendation, however, cannot be admitted, as it is unsupported by
all the ancient versions. The expression must be taken hyperboli-
catty. To make the antithesis as strong as may be, two things are
selected as opposite as possible ; the smallest insect, and the largest
animal. And this very antithesis was used by the Jewish and
Greek writers, as appears from Wetstein.

The expression has generally been understood by English read-
ers as implying an effort to swallow, but rejecting something very
small and inconsiderable, yet receiving without hesitation some-
thing much larger and more important : but the fact is, it alludes to
a custom the Jews had of straining or filtering their wine, for fear of
swallowing any forbidden insect. Now, as it would be ridiculous
to strain liquor for the sake of clearing it from insects, and then eat-
ing the largest of those insects ; so the conduct of those is not only
ridiculous, but highly criminal, who are superstitiously anxious in
avoiding small fault?, yet scruple not to commit the greatest sins.

Camels are spoken of in scripture,

1. As an article of wealth and state, Gen. xii. 16. xxx.43, 2 Kings
vii. 9. 1 Chron. xxvii. 30. Ezra, ii. 67. Neh. vii. 69. Job i. 2.

2. As used for travelling, Gen. xxiv. 64. xxxi. 34. 1 Kings x. 2.

3. As an important means of traffic, Gen. xxxvii. 25. 1 Chron.
xii. 40. Isa. xxx. 6.

4. As used in war, Judges vi. 5. vii. 12. 1 Sam. xxx. 17. Jer. xlix.
29.

5. As a spoil in war, Judges viii. 21. 1 Sam. xxvii. 9. 1 Chron. v.
21. Job i. 17. Jer. xlix. 32.

6. As sufferers in the plagues brought upon the brute creation
for the sin of man, Exod. ix. 3. 1 Sam. xv. 3.

7. As furnishing an article of clothing, Matt. iii. 4. Zech. xiv. 15.

8. Connected with these animals, we have a pleasing instance of
industry, humility, and courtesy in a young woman of rank and
fortune. Rebekah was seen at the well, condescending by person-
al labor to supply the wants of the camels of Abraham's servant;

54 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

nor did her good disposition and good conduct go unrewarded ;
those camels shortly after bore her into the Land of Promise, to be-
come the wife of Abraham's son, and one in the line of mothers
from whom He should descend, in whom all the families of the
earth are blessed. Gen. xxiv. 19 — 64.

9. The camel is prohibited for food as unclean, Lev. xi. 14. Deut.
xiv. 7.

10. Camels are prophetically and figuratively mentioned in the
Old Testament. Isaiah (xxi. 7,) predicts the march of Cyrus's
army to the conquest and destruction of Babylon in the time of Bel-
shazzar. Isaiah (xxx. 6,) alludes to the folly and presumption of
the Israelites, or Jews, or both, who in the time of their trouble car-
ried treasures on camels into Egypt, to purchase the assistance of
that people, and acknowledged not the Lord their God, who alone
could save and deliver them. Isa. Ix. 6, is part of a most sublime
prediction, figurative of the purity and enlargement of the church
in the reign of the Messiah, when different nations shall with alacri-
ty and zeal dedicate themselves and their substance to the service
of God.

Jer. xlix. 29, 39, predicts the confusion and ruin that should be-
fal Kedar and Hazor, enemies of Israel, upon God whom God
would bring his judgments by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon. The fulfilment of this prediction took place during the
captivity of the Jews, and would tend greatly to encourage their
hopes that the promises of their deliverance and return should also
in due time be accomplished. Very similar is the prediction, Ezek.
xxv. 5, that Kabbah, the chief city of Ammon, should be taken as
a stable for camels by the Chaldeans.

THE HORSE.

THE HORSE

THE spirited picture of the war-horse in the book of Job is worthy of
the pen of inspiration ; but to appreciate its correctness, we must not
look at him in the pasture or the stable, merely, to which he is con-
signed by man, but in those wild and extensive plains, where he has
been originally produced, where he ranges without control, and
riots in all the variety of luxurious nature — and also in the field of
battle, where his native fire and energy are called forth, and excited
into action, by the clang of arms, and the blasts of trumpets.

The horse is universally allowed to be the most beautiful of all
die quadruped animals ; the noble largeness of his form, the glossy
smoothness of his skin, the graceful ease of his motions and the ex-
act symmetry of his shape, have taught us to regard him as the
first, and as the most perfectly formed ; and yet what is extraordi-
nary enough, if we examine him internally, his structure will be
found the most different from that of man of all other quadrupeds
whatsoever. As the ape approaches us nearest in internal con-
formation, so the horse is the most remote ; — a striking proof that
there may be oppositions of beauty, and that all grace is not to be
referred to one standard.

It is not possible to determine the country from which the horse
originally came: that it was from the East, however, seems highly
probable, since the colder climates do not so well agree with his
constitution, and also because the most beautiful, generous, swift,
and persevering of all horses in the world, are found in Arabia and
Persia.

5ti SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

The swiftness of these animals is incredible, and has given occa-
sion to some very spirited figures in the sacred writings. Thus,
Isaiah, describing the terrible devastation which the land of Judea
was doomed to suffer by the Assyrian armies, whose horses were
probably of the Persian breed, expresses the amazingly rapid move-
ments of their chariots with much beauty and force : ' Their wheels
shall belike a whirlwind,' (ch. v. 28.); as does Jeremiah, also:
'Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a
whirlwind ; his horses are swifter than eagles,' ch. iv. 14. The
prophet Habakkuk, in describing the same quality of the horse,
uses a different figure, but one equally striking : ' Their horses are
swifter than the leopards, and more fierce than the evening wolves ;
and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen
shall come from far ; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat,'
ch. i. 8.

At a very early period of its history, Egpyt was famous for its
breed of horses, as we learn from Exod. xiv. 9 ; and such appears
to have been the excellency of the Egyptian horses in subsequent
times, that the prophet Isaiah declares to the Israelites, who were
disposed to put their confidence in the time of danger on the re-
sources of Egypt, that 'the Egyptians were men, and not God, and
their horses flesh, and not spirit,' chap. xxxi. 3.

In early ages, horses were rare among the Hebrews. The pat-
riachs had none ; and after the departure from Egypt, it was express-
ly forbidden to their ruler to procure them, Deut. xvii. 16. As
horses appear to have been generally furnished by Egypt, God pro-
hibited them, 1. Lest there should be such commerce with Egypt
as might lead to idolatry. 2. Lest the people might depend on a
well appointed cavalry, as a means of security, and so cease from
trusting in the promised aid and protection of Jehovah. And, 3.
That they might not be tempted to extend their dominion by means
of cavalry, and so get scattered among the surrounding idolatrous
nations, and thus cease, in process of time, to be that distinct and
separate people which God intended they should be, and without
which the prophecies relative to the Messiah could not be known
to have their due and full accomplishment.

In the time of the Judges, there were horses and war chariots
among the Canaanites, but the Israelites were without them ; and
hence they were generally too timid to venture down into the plains,
confining their conquests to the mountainous parts of the country.
In the reign of Saul, horse breeding does not appear to have been
introduced into Arabia, for, in a war with some of the Arabian na-
tions, the Israelites sold plunder, in camels, sheep, and asses, but
still no horses. Solomon was the first among the Hebrews who
established a cavalry force, and compared to what is now usual, it
was one of very considerable extent, 1 Kings, x. 23. He also car-
ried on a trade in Egyptian horses for the benefit of the crown, 2
Chr.ix.28.

It is evident from Judges, v. 2; Isa. v. 28 ; and Amos, vi. 12, that

THE HORSE. 57

it was not the practice among the ancients to shoe the horse, as is
now done. For this reason, the strength and firmness, and solidi-
ty of its hoof were of much greater importance with them than with
us, and were esteemed one of the first praises of a fine horse. The
latter of the above cited passages may receive illustration from the
following remark : ' The Arabs signify the soundess of the feet of
grey horses, by an Arabian adage, which indicates that if a caval-
cade be passing through a stony country, the grey horses will break
the stones with their feet ; this opinion appears founded on expe-
rience, for in the Atlas mountain, in some parts of Suse, and in all
harsh stony districts, we find a much greater proportion of grey
horses than of any other color ; their feet are so hardy, that I have
known them to travel two days' journey through the stony defiles
of Atlas, ivithout shoes, over roads full of loose broken stones, and
basaltic rocks.'

We read, in Zech. vi. 1 — 3, of four chariots coming out from be-
tween two mountains of brass. ' In the first chariot were red
horses ; and in the second chariot black horses ; and in the third
chariot white horses ; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay
horses.' These four chariots have been interpreted to be the
four great monarchies, Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman,
which successively executed God's purposes of mercy and justice ;
and the various colors of the horses of the different complexions
of those monarchies. But Mr. Greenfield, with more probability,
understands them of angels ; i. e. messengers or agents, called the
chariots of the LORD, (Ps. Ixviii, 37), by whom he executes his
providential will on earth. The red horses denote war ; the black
horses famine and pestilence; the white horses the removal of
judgments ; and the grisled horses, a mingled dispensation of wrath
and mercy. Comp. Rev. vi. 2 — 8.

It is well known that many heathen nations have consecrated
horses to the sun or solar light, which deity was represented as rid-
ing in a chariot, drawn by the most beautiful and swiftest horses
in the world, and performing every day his journey from east to
west, to enlighten the earth.

This idolatrous practice had infected Judea, for we read (2 Kings,
axiii. 11,) of the horses which the kings of Judah had given to th§
gun or solar light.

58 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE ASS.

OF this animal there are two varieties described by naturalists —
the wild and the domestic. The former we pass by for the pres-
ent, and direct our attention to the latter. The usual appellation
by which this beast is distinguished in scripture, is CHEMOR, from
a word which signifies to disturb or disorder, and it is so called,
probably, from its extraordinary turbulence when excited. The
domestic ass being an animal so well known, renders it unnecessa-
ry that we should describe its form and appearance. But it must
be noticed, that in eastern countries it is larger and much finer in
every respect, and so highly is it valued, as to be preferred to the
horse for many domestic purposes. Asses are enumerated as con-
stituting part of the riches of Abraham, Jacob, and Job, (Gen. xii.
16; xxx. 43; Job xlii. 12.); and Anah, a Horite prince, did not
consider it beneath the dignity of his character to feed the asses be-
longing to his father Zibeon, Gen. xxxvi. 24. In the reign of Da-
vid, they were of so much importance that Jedheiah the Merono-
thite, a prince of Israel, was appointed to superintend the breed, 1
Chron. xxvii. 30. To ride upon an ass was, in the days of the
Judges, a mark of distinction, to which it is probable, the vulgar
might not presume to aspire. This is evident from the brief no-
tices which the inspired historian gives of the greatness and riches
of Jair, the Gileadite, one of the Judges; 'He had thirty sons who
rode on thirty ass colts ; and they had thirty cities, which are called
Havoth-Jair unto this day,' Judges x. 3, 4. Abdon, the Pirathonite,
another of the Judges, 'had forty sons and thirty nephews, who
rode on threescore and ten ass colts,' ch. xii. 13, 14. In several of
these passages, it should be observed, a particular kind of the do-
mestic ass is spoken of— the ATON — whose value, if we may judge
from the circumstances in which we generally find it placed, by far
exceeded that of the ordinary description.

THE ASS. 59

It is reasonable to suppose, that the manners and customs of the
chosen tribes underwent a change when the government became
monarchical, and the fascinating pleasures of a court began to exert
their usual influence ; still, however, the ass kept his place in the
service of the great. Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul, rode on
an ass; as did Ahithopel, the prime minister of David, and the
greatest statesman of that age. Even so late as the reign of Jeho-
ram the son of Ahab, the services of this animal were required by
the wealthy Israelite : for the Shunamite, a person of high rank,
saddled her ass, and rode to Carmel, the residence of Elisha, to an-
nounce the death of her son to the prophet, and to solicit his assist-
ance, 2 Kings, iv. 8, 24.

But as the number of horses increased in Judea, and people of
rank and fashion became fonder of pomp and show, the movements
of the nobler and statelier animal were preferred to the rapid but
less dignified motions of the ass. This change, it is reasonable to
suppose, began to take place from the accession of Solomon to the
throne of Israel; for that rich and splendid prince collected a very
numerous stud of the finest horses that Egypt and Arabia could
furnish. One thing is certain, viz. that after the Jews returned
from their long captivity in Babylon, the great and fashionable, for
the most part, rode the horse or the mule. The ass was resigned
to the use of the lower orders, and it quickly became a mark of
poverty and meanness to appear in public on that animal. It has
been for want of attending to this change in the customs of the
Jewish people, that some commentators of repute have ventured to
oppose the obvious meaning of Matt. xxi. 4, 5, which describes our
Saviour as riding into Jerusalem upon an ass ; a circumstance
which, both here and in the prophecy (Zech. ix. 9), is represented
as a proof of his meek and lowly spirit. They, however, by refer-
ring to the usage in the early periods of the common v/ealth, have
considered the circumstance as reflecting, in the estimation of the
people, high honor upon his character.

The ass being an unclean animal, whose flesh was prohibited by
the Mosaic law, renders 2 Kings, vi. 25, somewhat perplexing: —
' And there was a great famine in Samaria, until an ass's head was
sold for eighty pieces of silver.' The difficulty in understanding
this passage, according to our translation, would not be so great,
did we not know, that however lax the Jews were in points of
morality, no kind or extent of suffering could induce them to vio-
late the ceremonial precepts of the law, and more especially those
which referred to meats. The late editor of Calrnet has succeeded,
we believe, in correctly interpreting the passage. In 1 Sam. xvi,
20, we read in our Bibles, 'And Jesse took an ass laden with
bread ;' where the words * laden with,' are an addition to our trans-
lators, the original being ass bread, or, an ass of bread, meaning, as
Mr. Taylor conjectures, not an animal, but a vessel, containing
bread ; a stated measure, or a pile ; the LXX. render * a chomer of
bread.'— So we find in the Greek poet Sosibus, « He ate three times

60 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

in the space of a single day, three great asses of bread,'— which
Cassaubon understands of the lading of ihres asses ; whereas it
means the contents of three vases of the kind called an ass.* We
may also doubt, whether Abigail (1 Sam. xxv. 18.) really loaded
asses — quadrupeds — with her presents to David ; for the original
literally is, « she took two hundred of bread, &c. and placed them
on THE asses ; which suggests something distinct from asses, ani-
imals ; for then it would be, as it is in our version, ' she placed them
on asses.' Besides, there is a passage (Ex. viii. 14,) where our
translators themselves have rendered heaps, what in the original is
asses asses ; * They gathered the frogs together, asses asses ;' t. e.
many of that quantity called an ass, ; and so Samson says of his
defeated enemies, ca heap, heaps ; ass asses.' Now, if we take our
English word pile, to signify this quantity, without attempting to
determine accurately, it will lead us to the idea, that Jesse sent to
Saul a pile of bread ; that a person ate three piles of bread in one
day; that Abigail placed her bread, wine, corn, raisins, and figs in
piles ; that the Egyptians gathered the frogs in piles ; that Samson's
enemies laid in piles. In these renderings there is nothing strained
or unnatural. Let this vindicate those Jews, then, who translate
the passage which has given occasion to these observations, not
' the head of an ass,' but 'the head of a measure ;' for the letters are
precisely the same in the original. ' But what must we do with
the head ?' inquires Mr. Taylor, to which he ingeniously adds, that
the word rash, here rendered head, signifies the total, entirety ; the
whole, as Psalms, cxxxix. 17 ; ' How precious also are thy thoughts
to me, O God! How great is the head [sum] of them' — the total- —
the entirety. Exod. xxx. 12 ; • VV hen thou takest the head [sum to-
tal— whole enumeration] of the children of Israel,' &c. These
ideas combined will render the passage to this effect : — 'The famine
was so severe, that the whole of a pile? \. e. of bread, or a complete
pile of bread, ' sold for eighty pieces of silver.' It must not be con-
cealed, however, that there is no mention of bread in the original*
and therefore the quantity which the word pile is here used to sig-
nify, is so far indeterminate

In one part of the ritual, the Hebrews were forbidden to plough
with an ox and an ass together. — See Dent. xxii. 10. It is genei-
ally thought, that mixtures of different sorts in seeds, breed, &c.
were made for superstitious purposes by the heathen, and therefore
prohibited by Moses. It is more likely, however, that there was a
physical reason for this law. Two beasts of a different species can-
not associate comfortably together ; and on this ground, never pull
pleasantly either in cart or plough : and every farmer knows, that
it is of considerable consequence to the comfort of the cattle, to put
those together that have an affection for each other. This may be

* M. Reland lias shown, by a great number of authorities, that the heathen called a
sort of bottle with two handles, asses ; probably because they had two long handles, hav-
ing some conformity to the ears of an ass. He judges this to be the reason why it was
»aid by the ancients, that Silenus, tho servant of Bacchus, was carried upon an ass.

THE ASS. 61

frequently remarked in certain cattle, which on this account are
termed true yoke-fellows. After all, says Dr. A. Clarke, following
Le Clerc, it is very probable that the general design was, to prevent
improper alliances in civil and religious life. And to this, Paul
seems evidently to refer, 2 Cor. vi. 14 ; 'Be ye not unequally yoked
with unbelievers ; ' which is to be understood as prohibiting all in-
tercourse between Christians and idolaters, in social, matrimonial,
and religious life. To teach the Jews the propriety of this, a varie-
ty of precepts relative to improper and heterogeneous mixtures were
interspersed through their law ; so that in civil and domestic life,
they might have them ever before their eyes.

There are several other references to this laborious and patient
animal in the sacred scriptures ; but it is not necessary that we
should advert to them. We select the following from the excellent
work of Professor Paxton.

The ass is not more remarkable for his power to sustain, than for
his patience and tranquillity when oppressed by an unequal load.
Like the camel, he quietly submits to the heaviest burden ; he bears
it peaceably till he can proceed no further; and when his strength
fails him, instead of resisting, or endeavoring to throw off the oppres-
sive weight, he contentedly lies down, and rests himself under it,
recruits his vigor with the provender that may be offered to him,
and then, at the call of his master, proceeds on* his journey. To this
trait in the character of that useful animal, the dying patriarch evi-
dently refers, when, under the afflatus of inspiration, he predicts the
future lot of Issachar and his descendants ;

* Issachar is a strong as?,
Crouching between two burdens "r
And ho saw that the rest was good,
And the land, that it was pleasant j
And he bowed his shoulder to bear,
And became a servant to tribute.'

Gen. xlix. 14.

The meaning of the prophecy evidently is, that this tribe, natural-
ly dull and stupid, should, like the creature by which they are char-
acterized, readily submit to the vilest master and the meanest ser-
vice. Although, like the ass, possessed of ability, if properly direct-
ed, to shake off the inglorious yoke of servitude, they would basely
submit to the insults of the Phoenicians on the one hand, and of the
Samaritans on the other. Issar.har was a strong ass, ' able,' says a
sprightly writer, 'to refuse a load as well as to bear it ; but, like the
passive drudge which symbolized him, he preferred inglorious ease
to the gains of a just and well regulated freedom; and a yoke of
bondage to the doubtful issues of war.'

The Oriental husbandman was not less indebted to this creature,
for his services, than the statesman and the merchant. The ox and
the ass labored together in the cultivation of the same field. To this
Isaiah evidently refers, in the following prediction ; 'The oxen like-
wise, and the young asses, that ear (or till) the ground, shall eat clean
,6

62 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with
the fan.' Isaiah xxx. 24. la these words he foretels a season of
great plenty, when the cattle shall he fed with corn better in quality,
separated from the chaff, and (as the term rendered clean in our ver-
sion properly signifies) acidulated, to render it more grateful to their
taste. The evangelist clearly refers to the practice which was com-
mon in Palestine, of ploughing with the ass, when he calls him a
creature subject to the yoke, Matt. xxi. 5.

In rice grounds, which require to be flooded, the ass was em-
ployed to prepare them for tho seed, by treading them with his feet.
It is to this method of preparing the ground that Chardin supposes
the prophet to allude, when he says, ' Blessed are ye that sow be-
side all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass,'
Isaiah xxxii. 20. They shall be blessed under the future reign of
the promised Messiah. In times anterior to his appearing, their
country was to be made a desolation ; briers and thorns were to en-
cumber their fields ; their sumptuous dwellings were to be cast
down ; their cities and strong-holds were to be levelled with the
dust. But when Messiah commences his reign, times of unequalled
prosperity shall begin their career. The goodness of Jehovah shall
descend in fertilizing showers, to invigorate their fields, and to swell
the streams which the skill and industry of the husbandman con-
duct among his plantations, or with which he covers his rice-
grounds. Secure from the ruinous incursions of aliens, and in the
sure hope of an abundant harvest, he shall scatter his rice on the
face of the superincumbent water, and tread it into the miry soil,
with 'the feet of the ox and the ass.' Prosperous and happy him-
self, he will consider it his duty, and feel it his delight, * to do good
and communicate,' — to succor the widow and the fatherless, to
open his doors to the stranger, to diffuse around him the light of
truth, and to swell, by the diligent and prudent use of all the means
that providence has brought within his reach, the sum of human
enjoyment.

But the services of this useful animal were not sufficient, even in
times of primitive simplicity, to save him from every kind of abuse.
At one time he suffers from neglect, at another, from oppressive
labor ; and seldom experiences from ungrateful man the kindness
and indulgence to which he is fairly entitled. From the watchful
care of the Creator, however, he has not been excluded : even to his
subsistence, comfort, and ease, the gracious attention of heaven has
been directed. See Exod. xxiii. 12 ; Zee. xiii. 5 ; xiv. 5. The man
of benevolence, who treats even his uss with kindness, shall not lose
his reward : besides the approbation of God and his own conscience,
he shall be attended with the affectionate attachment of the animal
itself. Dull and stupid as he is, the ass, according to Buffon, smells
his master at a distance, searches the places and roads which he
used to frequent, and easily distinguishes him from the rest of man-
kind. An equal degree of gratitude is not always to be found among
rational beings towards their greatest and best Benefactor. The

THE MULE. 63

ass, although destitute of reason, and even duller than many other
animals ; although commonly hard wrought and unkindly treated,
— discovers an attachment to his master, which the people of Israel
did'not feel for the living God, who daily loaded them with his
benefits. This trait in his character gives uncommon poignancy to
the prophet's reproof: * The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his
master's crib,'— he is not insensible to the kindness of his benefac-
tors ; * but Israel doth not know' the God of his salvation ; ' my
people doth not consider ' from whose hand they receive all their
blessings, nor what return they owe to him for his unmerited kind-

THE MULE .

THIS is an animal out of the ordinary course of nature, being
Tared from an union of the horse and the ass. In the preceding ar-
ticle, we have stated it to have been strictly forbidden in the Mosaic
code, to unite either seeds or animals of divers natures, and thus de-
stroy the marked distinction which God has formed between the
several parts of his creation. Hence it does not appear that these
animals were ever bred by the Hebrews, although they were cer-
tainly much used among them during the latter part of the common-
wealth. The earliest mention which we find of the mule, in scrip-
ture, is in the reign of David,1 (2 Sam. xiii. 29) , unless, as some
commentators have thought, they are spoken of in Gen. xxxvi. 24,
— a passage which has given rise to much critical conjecture. Enu-
merating the children of Zibeon, the Horite, the sacred writer says
of one of them : 'This was that Anah that found the mules in the
wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.'

The mule has been much employed for domestic purposes, both
in ancient and modern times. In the reign of David they formed
part of the state equipage, (1 Kings i. 33; 2 Sam. xiii. 29, &c.);
they were presented among other costly gifts to Solomon, (1 Kings
x. 25) ; and when the utmost expedition was required, they were
employed by Mordecai and Esther to convey their despatches
throughout the Persian empire, Esth. viii. 10. The Roman ladies
had equipages drawn by mules, as appears from the medals of Julia
and Agrippina ; and at the present day, the coaches of the nobility
in Spain are usually drawn by them.

For travelling over wild and mountainous tracts of country, the
mule is said to be preferable to the horse, being much more sure-
footed. Their manner of going down the Alps, Andes, &c. is very
extraordinary. In these passages, on one side are steep eminences,
and on the other, frightful abysess ; and as they generally follow
the direction of the mountain, the road, instead of lying in a level,

64 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

forms, at every little distance, steep declivities of several hundred

yards downward. These can only be descended by mules, and

the animals themselves seern sensible of the danger, and the caution

to be used in such descents. When they come to the edge of one

of these precipices, they stop without being checked by the rider,

and if he inadvertently attempts to spur them on, they continue im-

inoveable. They seem all this time ruminating on the peril that

lies before them, and preparing themselves for the encounter. They

not only attentively view the road, but tremble and snort at the

danger. Having prepared for the descent, they place their fore feet

in a posture as if they were stopping themselves ; they then also put

their hind feet together, but a little forward, as if they* were going to

lie down. In this attitude, having, as it were, taken a survey of the

road, they slide down with the swiftness of a meteor. At this time,

all the rider has to do is to keep himself fast on the saddle, without

checking the reins, for the least motion is sufficient to check the

equilibrium of the mule, in which case both he and his rider would

perish. The address of these animals in this rapid descent is truly

wonderful, for in their swiftest motion, when they seem to have

lost all government of themselves, they follow exactly the different

windings of the road, as if they had previously settled in their minds

the route they were to follow, and had taken every precaution for

their safety. Some mules, after having been long used in such

journies, acquire a sort of reputation for their safety and skill, and

their value rises in proportion to their celebrity.

THE OX.

THE ox, by which the natural historian means black cattle in
general, without regard to sex, is one of the most precious and use-
lul to man, among the herbivorous animals. Easily tamed, and of
a gentle and placid temper, he is maintained at small expense ; and
while he consumes but little, he enriches and improves the ground
from which he draws his substance. He patientty lends his neck
to {he yoke, and exerts his great muscular strength in bearing our
burdens, in preparing our fields for the seed, and, to this day in
eastern regions, in separating the chaff from the grain, after he has
assisted in gathering in the harvest. The milk of the herd supplies
us with a rich and pleasant beverage ; the flesh with a nutritious
food ; the skin forms a part of our covering, and in many parts of the
world still contributes to the defence of warriors in the day of bat-
tle. Scarcely a part of this animal indeed can be named, which is
not daily rendered subservient to the purposes of utility and ele-
gance. In the patriarchal ages, the ox constituted no inconsiderable

THE OX. 65

portion of their wealth ; aud he is still the basis of the riches of na-
tions, which in general flourish only in proportion to the cultivation

of their territories, and the number of their cattle. In these, all
real wealth consists ; for silver and gold are only representations of
riches, possessing in themselves little intrinsic value.

These remarks are verified, by the notice which the sacred wri-
ters take of the ox, when they describe the wealth of primordial
generations : * Abraham,' say they, ' was very rich in cattle, in sil-
ver, and in gold.' ' The Lord has blessed my master greatly,' said
the steward of Abraham's house, ' and he has become great ; and
he has given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-
servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses,' Gen. xxiv. 35.
Similar language is used in relation to the riches of Jacob : ' The
man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maid-servants,
and men-servants, and camels, and asses,' Gen. xxx, 43. Another
instance only shall be given from the book of Job : ' His substance
also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and
five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very
great household ; so that the man was the greatest of all the men
of the east,' Job i. 3. So highly valued was this animal, that it was,
not thought too mean a present for a king to make in ancient times
to his ally ; for Moses informs us, that * Abimelech took sheep, and
oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants, and gave them to
Abraham,' Gen. xx. 14. Soon afleVwards these eminent person-
ages entered into a treaty with each other, and, on that occasion,
Abraham * took sheep, and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech,'

The ox, especially when fattened, is of a rounder form than any
other domestic animal; a circumstance which has given him a
name in the Hebrew text. The beauty of his shape Itas been cele-
brated in the lines of the heathen poetSj and acknowledged in the
6*

66 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

dictates of inspiration. In the prophecies of Jeremiah, the king-
dom of Egypt is compared to 'a very fair heifer/ (Jer. xlvi. 20);
and the same allusion is involved in these words of Hosea: ' And
Ephraim is as a heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the
corn ; but I passed over upon her fair neck,' Hos. x. 11.

An air of grandeur and majesty has been remarked in the mo-
tion and attitudes of this animal, which justify the figure Moses em-
ploys in the blessing which he pronounces on the tribe of Joseph:
* His glory is like the firstling of his bullock ;' the generosity of his
heart, and the majesty of his presence, Avere conspieuou* in the
amiable and dignified father of that tribe,* the preserver of his fami-
ly, and an eminent type of our gracious Redeemer.

The playful disposition of a young ox, the son of the herd, as
the Hebrews beautifully call him, has been remarked by writers of
every age. It is therefore with strict propriety that the Hebrew
bard compares the shaking of the earth, and the reeling of the
mountains with all their forests, when Jehovah descended in terri-
ble majesty, to deliver the law from the top of Sinai, to the frisk-
ings of a young calf: 'He maketh them also to skip like a calf:
Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn,' Psalms xxix. 6. The
prophet Jeremiah is supposed, by ancient interpreters, to refer to
the same circumstance, where he foretels the ruin of Babylon:
'Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of
mine heritage : because ye are grown fat,' or sport, 'as the heifer at
grass, and bellow as bulls.' A similar allusion is made by Malachi,
when he describes the glorious appearance of the promised Messi-
ah, and the joy of his people : 'But unto you that fear my name,
shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings ;
and ye shall go forth and grow up, (or gambol,) as calves of the
stall,' Mai. iv. 2.

The strength of this animal is too remarkable to require descrip-
tion ; and his courage and fierceness are so great, that he ventures
at times to combat the lion himself. Nor is he more celebrated for
these qualities, than for his disposition to unite with those of his
kind against their common enemy, For these reasons he has been
chosen by the spirit of inspiration, to symboli/ethe powerful, fierce
and implacable enemies of our blessed Redeemer ; who, forgetting
their personal animosities, combined against his precious life, and
succeeded in procuring his crucifixion: 'Many bulls have com-
passed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me around,' Ps.
xxii. 12. Nor can we conceive a more striking and appropriate
symbol of a fierce and ruthless warrior; an instance of which oc-
elli's in that supplication of David ; 'Rebuke the company of the
spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people,
till every one submit himself with pieces of silver,' Ps. Ixviii. 30.
In the sublime description of Isaiah, which seems to refer to some
great revolutions, to be effected in times long posterior to the age
in'which he flourished ; probably in these last days, antecedent to
the millennial state of the church •, the complete destruction of her

THE OX. 67

strong and cruel enemies is thus foretold : ' And the unicorns shall
come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls, and their
land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fat-
ness,' Isaiah xxxiv. 7.

The ox is a heavy and sluggish animal, blunt in his feelings, and
almost destitute of sagacity ; yet he may be subdued to the yoke,
taught to recognise his master, and to persevere with patient indus-
try in his service. It is therefore, with peculiar force and beauty,
the prophet contrasts his character and actions with the dispositions
and behavior of Israel, who, although taught by God' more than
the beast of the field, had, by yielding to their vicious propensities,
become more brutish than the dullest and most stupid of the; lower
animals: 'The oxknoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib;
but Israel doth not know, my people do not consider,' Isa. i. 3.

The ox, like all the lower animals, is neither tormented by reflect-
ing on the past, nor guessing at the future ; he grazes without fear
or doubt, amidst the green pastures, and fattens for the knife, uncon-
scious of the doom that awaits him ; and when his owner comes and
leads him away to the slaughter, his brute imagination only figures
a richer meadow, or a^ more agreeable companion. Equally uncon-
scious and cheerful is the miserable youth, who is entangled in the
toils of sin, and led away to forbidden pleasures. He is not aware
of his danger and his misery : he goes with blind infatuation, and
pitiable mirth to his. destruction : ' He goeth after her straightway,
as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of
the stocks,' Prov. vii. 22.

Under the law, Jehovah commanded a red heifer (the prevailing
color in the east,) to be offered as a kind of sin offering, to purify
from certain legal defilements. The animal was killed and then
burnt without the camp (as the sin offering was upon the great day
of atonement,} and the blood sprinkled seven times directly before
the tabernacle, although it was not shed at the altar. The law of
Moses only required, that the heifer should be red, and young, with-
out spot and blemish ; and which had never been subjected to the
yoke. To these plain instructions, the Jews added an infinite num-
ber of niceties and exceptions, in choosing a heifer, for this offer-
ing. If she was not perfectly red, without the mixture of any oth-
•er color; if she had but two haii-s black or white, — she was reckon-
ed unfit for the purpose.

Why the law demands a young cow rather than a bullock, (which
was commonly preferred by the divine legislator,} and why one
perfectly red, it is not easy to determine. Some pious expositors
consider the heifer as a type of our blessed Redeemer: its unblem-
ished perfection represented his immaculate purity and sinless excel-
lence; its red color indicated the relation of Christ to our family,
descended from Adam, that is, a man formed of red earth ; the
shedding of his own blood for the sins of his people, and the com-
plete victory which he has gained over all their enemies, whose
blood he has sprinkled upon his vesture ; its freedom from the yoke,

68 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

liis voluntary, his unrestrained devoting of himself to the work of
redemption. No doubt can be reasonably entertained, that the burn-
ing of the red heifer did prefigure the sufferings and death of
Christ ; and the purifying efficacy of her collected ashes, mixed in
water, the cleansing energy of his blood ; for it is the blood of
Christ alone that cleanseth from all sin. But it is very doubtful
whether all these analogies existed.

The grass of the field, and the young shoots, and leaves of the
forest, supply the ox with food, which he collects by a peculiar ac-
tion of his tongue, and devours in large quantities, with great rapid-
ity. The first circumstance is mentioned by the psalmist as an ad-
ditional aggravation in the grovelling idolatry of Israel : ' They
changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass*,'
Psalm cvi. 20. Disregarding the dictates of reason, which had
been planted in their bosoms by the inspiration of God. they ex-
changed the glorious manifestations or symbols of the Divine pre-
sence, with which they were still favored, into the form of an ox,
which their Egyptian oppressors had exalted to the rank of a god,
and absurdly worshipped ; a stupid and irrational animal, doomed
by his Maker to fix his brute countenance on the ground, to which
both his soul and body return, and to subsist on the coarsest fare.

* To eat grass like an ox' (Dan. iv. 25), was a part of that signal
punishment which the Most High inflicted upon the proud and ty-
rannical king of Babylon, Deprived of reason, which he had so
greatly abused, and resigned to the full influence of bestial appetites,
he was hurled from his throne and dignity, and expelled from the
society of mankind, to roam naked in the open fields, exposed, like
the herd with which he associated, to all the inclemencies of the
heavens, and forced, like them, to feed on grass; a dreadful lesson
to the oppressors of every succeeding age. To the second circum-
stance, on the manner in which the ox collects his food, the quan-
tity which he devours, and the rapidity with which he eats down
the pasture, the king of Moab alludes in his address to the elders of
Midian, on the dangers to which their country was exposed from
the dreaded invasion of the Israelitish armies: 'And Moab said
unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that
are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field,*
Numbers xxii. 4.

Under the special care of Oriental husbandmen, the ox, in seasons
of plenty, was regaled with a mixture of chaffj chopped straw, and
various kinds of grain, carefully winnowed and moistened with
subacid water. Such is the meaning of that prediction : ' The oxen
likewise, and the young asses, that ear (till) the ground, shall eat clean
(or subacid) provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel
and with the fan,' Isaiah xxx. 24. When the Lord returns to bless
his repenting people, so rich and abundant shall be the produce of
their fields that the lower animals which toil in the service of man,
and have assigned for their subsistence the very refuse of the harvest
shall share in the general plenty, and feed on provender carefully sep-

THE OX. 69

aratecTfrom all offensive matters, and adapted to their tastes. But,
among the Jews, this animal fed most luxuriously when employed
in treading out the corn ; for the divine law, in many of whose pre-
cepts the benevolence of Deity conspicuously shines, forbade to
muzzle him, and by consequence, to prevent him from eating, even

to satiety, of the grain which he was employed to separate from the
husk. This allusion is involved in the prophet's address to the
tribes, in which he warns them, that the abundance and tranquillity
which they had so long enjoyed, should not exempt them from the
punishments due to their multiplied ; crimes. Despising the frugal
and laborious life of their ancestors, they had become slothful and
voluptuous, like an ox that declines to bend his neck any longer to
the yoke, and loves the easier employment of treading out the com,,
where he riots without restraint in the accumulated bounties of
Heaven: 'Ephraim is a heifer that is taught (or has become nice
and delicate,) and loveth to tread out the corn : but I passed over
upon her fair neck,' Hos. x. 11.

Men of every age arid country have been much indebted to the
labors of this animal ; he was the first that resigned his neck to the
plough, that extended the prospects, and multiplied or enlarged the
comforts of the rising nations. So early as the days of Job, who
was probably the contemporary of Isaac, ' the oxen were ploughing,
and the asses feeding beside them, when the Sabeans fell upon them
and took them away,' Job i. 14, In times long posterior, when
Elijah was commissioned to anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat pro-
phet in his stead, he found him ploughing with twelve yoke of o-x~
en, 1 Kings xix. 19. For many ages the hopes of Oriental husband-
men depended entirely on their labors ; this was so much the case

70

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

in the time of Solomon, that he observes in one of his proverbs
4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, (or rather empty ;) but much
increase is by the strength of the ox,' Prov. xiv. 4. The ass, in the
course of ages, was compelled to bend his stubborn neck to the yoke,
and share in his labors ; but still the preparation of the ground in the
time of spring, chiefly depended on the more powerful exertions of
the latter. This might be fairly inferred from the text, in which a
preference, as might be expected, is given to the ox : ; The oxen
likewise, and the young asses, that ear (or till) the ground, shall eat
clean provender.' The same inference rnay be drawn from the
proverb of Solomon, already quoted, in which he takes no notice
of the ass, although it is more than probable he had been yoked in
the plough long before his reign. The superior importance of the
ox, even in the light and sandy fields of Syria, is clearly signified
in these words of Arnos, 'Shall horses run upon the rock? Will
one plough there with oxen ? ' Amos vi. 1*3.

The laws of Moses, which prohibited his people to join in the
same yoke the ox and the ass ; and the notice which the afflicted
patriarch Job, who flourished long before his time, gives us of the
* oxen ploughing,' clearly prove, that the person who invented the

plough, and instructed the ox, existed very early in the history of
the world. We rnay, with the page of inspiration for our guide,
trace the invention to the first descendants of our common father,
one of whom was a shepherd, and the other a cultivator of the soil.
Nor is the believer in revelation permitted to assign the honor chief-
ly to them ; he is directed to ascribe it to the Spirit of the only wise
God : ' Give ye ear, and hear my voice ; hearken, and hear my
speech. Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow? Doth he
open and break the clods of his ground ? When he hath mads

THE OX. . 71

plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scat-
ter the cummin and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed
barley, and the rye, in their place? For his God doth instruct him
to discretion,' Isaiah xxviii. 23 — 25. By direct revelation from
Heaven, or the secret suggestion of his Spirit to the mind of Adam,
or his son Cain, they were taught to construct the plough, and bend
the pliant neck of the ox to the yoke. The importance of the les-
son, confirmed by their own daily experience, they failed not to im-
press upon the minds of their offspring ; and thus, one generation
transmitted to another the valuable favor. The ox was also com-
pel ed to submit, when the seed-time was over, to the more severe
labor of dragging the cart or the waggon. In the book of Numbers,
the princes of Israel brought their offering before the Lord, six cov-
ered waggons and twelve oxen ; that is, six waggons, each drawn
by two oxen : and in the same chapter, Moses ' gave two waggons
and four oxen unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service ;
and four waggons and eight oxen unto the sons of Merari, accord-
ing to their service ;' that is, every waggon drawn by two oxen,
Numbers vii. 3, 7, 8. The number of oxen commonly yoked in
one cart seems to have been two ; for the priests and diviners, whom
the lords of the Philistines consulted about the captive ark of Jeho-
vah, advised them to make a new cart, and yoke in it two milch
kine, for the purpose of carrying back the dread symbol of Divine
Majesty, to the place appointed for its reception, 1 Sam. vi. 7. The
new cart, in which the king of Israel and his people brought it up
from the house of Abinadab, seems also to have been drawn by two
oxen, although the number is not so clearly stated, 2 Sam. vi. 3, G.

The flesh of the herd was not only used by the chosen people,
but also reckoned, when young, one of their greatest delicacies.
The patriarch Abraham, accordingly, with ardent hospitality, en-
tertained the angels under the oak at Marnre, with * a calf, tender
and good,' (Gen. xviii. 7.) ; and the pythoness at Endor could
think of nothing so delicious and acceptable to set before Saul, as a
calf fattened in treading out the corn, 1 Sam. xxviii. 24. Nor had
the father in the parable a greater delicacy to set upon the festive
board, when he received his returning prodigal, than the fatted calf,
Luke xv. 23. The young of the herd were numbered among the
blessings which Jehovah promised to bestow upon his ransomed
people, and classed with the choicest viands : ' Therefore, they
shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together
to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat and for wine, and for oil,
and for the young of the flock, and of the herd ; and their soul
shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more
at all,' Jer. xxxi. 12. The voluptuous nobles of Israel, in the day»
of Amos, lay upon beds of ivory, and stretched themselves upon
their couches, and ate the lambs out of the flock, * and the calves
out of the midst of the stall,' Amos vi. 4. It is obviously the de-
sign of the indignant prophet to inform us, that the nobles and
princess of his degenerate country indulged without restraint in

72 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

sensual gratification which luxury could suggest, and riches
procure.

In times of primeval simplicity, when mankind in general,
almost constantly engaged in hazardous pursuits, or toilsome occu-
pations, required for their sustenance a very large quantity of solid
and nutritious food, the full grown ox himself was forced to con-
tribute a principal part of every public entertainment. When
Adonijah seized the sceptre of Israel, he slew sheep and oxen, and
fat cattle; and called ali his brethren the king's sons, and all the
men of Israel the king's servants, 1 Kings i. 9. The son of Sha-
phat made a feast equally substantial, when he was invested with
the prophetic office (1 Kings xix. 2J .); and abundance of « oxen
and sheep' were provided for the great and splendid entertainment
at the coronation of David, 1 Chron. xii. 40. When Jehoshaphat,
the king of Judah, went down to visit Ahab, the king of Israel, at
Samaria, the latter killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance
and for the people that were with him, 2 Chron. xviii. 2. This
was the kind offcast in which they chiefly delighted ; from which
they could be deterred, neither by the denunciations of Divine
judgment, nor the terrors of immediate invasion : ' And in that day
did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping and mourning, and to
baldness, and to girding with sackcloth ; and behold, joy and glad-
ness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking
wine,' Isa. xxii. 12, 13. The same custom seems to have continu-
ed to the very close of their national state ; for, in the parable of
the marriage feast, the invitation runs : ' Behold, I have prepared
my dinner; my oxen and my fallings are killed, and all things are
ready ; come unto the marriage,' Matt. xxii. 4.

It has generally been thought that the Israelites, in making the
golden calf which they worshipped in the wilderness (Exodus,
xxxii.), were imitating the Egyptians in the worship of Apis, whom
they intended to represent by the image which they constructed ;
as did Jeroboam, also, in setting up the calves at Bethel, 1 Kings
xii. 27 — 30. It must be confessed, however, that this opinion is
involved in considerable difficulty, and several expressions in the
course of the narrative leave much room to question whether such
•were really the case, in either instance. It is hardly credible, that
not only should thejoeop/e, but JJaron, also, at so short an interval
after those astonishing displays of the divine majesty and power
which they had witnessed, so utterly divest their minds of the occur-
rence as this opinion would seem to imply. Besides, it should not be
Jost sight of, that it attributes to them the adoption of an Egyptian
deity, whom, from past circumstances, if they could really believs
in his existence, they must have regarded as a most implacable
enemy. But what seems still more decisive against this notion, is
the fact, that after the calf was formed, and recognised by the peo-
ple, as 'the gods' who had 'brought them up out of the land of
Egypt,' (ver. 4), Aaron ' built an altor before it, and made proclama-
tion, and said, To-morrow is a feast to JEHOVAH' — not to APIS.

THE SHEEP. 73

And to this the people assented, as is evident from the succeeding
verses. The sin, therefore, as it seems, consisted, not in adopting
the idolatrous worship of the heathen deity, but in so far conform-
ing to it as to set up this symbolical and forbidden representation
of the true God, and introducing into his worship, upon this occa-
sion, some of the abominations practised by the heathen, chap,
xxxii. 6. In the case of Jeroboam, it should be borne in mind,
that neither he nor the people forsook the worship of Jehovah. He
only made a schism, by separating his people from their brethren.
The one worshipped the same deity seated on the cherubim at
Jerusalem, that the others worshipped on the cherubim, or golden
calves, at Dan and Bethel, though these ultimately became the
objects of idolatrous veneration. See 2 Kings xvii. 21. 1 KingB
xiv. 9. Hosea x. 5 ; xhi. 2, &c.

THE SHEEP.

IN its domestic state, the sheep is of all animals the most de-
fenceless and inoffensive. With its liberty it seems to have been
deprived of its swiftness and cunning ; and what in the ass might
rather be called patience^ in the sheep appears to be stupidity.
With no one quality to fit it for self-preservation, it makes vain ef-
forts at all. Without swiftness it endeavors to fly; and without
strength sometimes offers to oppose. In its wild state, however, it
is a noble and active animal, and is every way fitted to defend itself
against the numerous dangers by which it is surrounded.

Of the Syrian sheep, there are two varieties: the one called the
Bedouin sheep, which differ in no respect from the larger kinds of
sheep in Britain, except that their tails are something longer and
thicker ; the others are those often mentioned by travellers on ac-
count of their extraordinary tails. The latter species is by far the
most numerous. The tail of one of these animals is veiy broad
and large, terminating in a small appendage, that turns back upon
it. It is of a substance between fat and marrow, and is not eaten
separately, but mixed with the lean meat of many of the Arab dish-
es; and is often used instead of butter. A common sheep of this
sort, without the head, feet, skin, and entrails, weighs from sixty to
eighty pounds, of which the tail itself is usually fifteen pounds or
upwards ; but such as are of the largest breed, and have been fat-
tened, will sometimes weigh above one hundred and fifty pounds;
and the tail, alone, fifty ; a thing to some scarcely credible. To
preserve these tails from being torn, the Arabs fix a piece of thin
board to the under part, where they are not covered with thick
wool : some have small wheels to facilitate the dragging of this

74 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY;

board after them ; whence, with a little exaggeration, the story of
having carts to carry their tails.

The sheep or lamb was the common sacrifice under the Mosaic
law ; and it is to be remarked, that when the divine Legislator speaks
of this victim, he never omits to appoint, that the rump or tail be
laid whole on the fire of the altar. The reason for this has just
been stated. It was the most delicate part of the animal, and there-
fore the most proper to be presented in sacrifice to Jehovah. Mr.
Street considers that the precept had additional respect to the
health of the Israelites, observing, that 'bilious disorders are very
frequent in hot countries ; the eating of fat meat is a great encour-
agement and excitement to them ; and though the fat of the tail is
now considered as a delicacy, it is really unwholesome.'

In a domesticated state, the sheep, as already suggested, is a weak
and defenceless animal, and is, therefore, altogether dependent up-
on its keeper for protection as well as support. To this trait in its
character, there are several beautiful allusions in the sacred writings.
Thus, Micah describes the destitute condition of the Jews, as a flock
' scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd,' (1
Kings xxii. 17. See also Matt. ix. 36) ; and Zechariah prophesied
that when the good shepherd should be smitten and removed from
his flock, the sheep should be scattered, Zech. xiii. 7. To the dis-
position of these animals to wander from the fold, and thus abandon
themselves to danger and destruction, there are also several allusions
made by the inspired writers. David confesses that he had imita-
ted their foolish conduct : ' I have gone astray like a lost sheep ;'
and conscious that, like them, he was only disposed to wander still
further from the fold, he adds, ' seek thy servant,' Psalm cxix. 176.
Nor was this disposition to abandon the paternal care of God peculiar
to David; for the prophet adopts similar language to depict the dan-
gerous and awful condition of the entire species : * All we like
sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way,'
Isaiah liii. 6. It was to seek these ' lost sheep,' scattered abroad,
and having no shepherd, that the blessed Redeemer came into the
world. He is * the good shepherd, who gave his life for the sheep,'
(John x. II,) and his people, though formerly 'as sheep going
astray,' have now 'returned to the shepherd and bishop of their
souls,' 1 Peter ii. 25. His care over them, and their security under
his protection, is most beautifully and affectingly described in the
chapter which we just now cited. ' He calleth his own sheep by
name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own
sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him ; for they
know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow^ but will flee
from him ; for they know not the voice of strangers. I am the
door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and
robbers ; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door : by me
if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out,
and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and
to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life,

THE SHEEP. 75

and that they might have it more abundantly, I am the good
shepherd : the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But
he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep
are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep and fleeth ;
and the wolf catcheth them, and scattered! the sheep. The hire-
ling fleeth because he is an hireling, and c.ireth not for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of
mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father ;
and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have,
which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd,'
John x. 3—16.

The sprightly and playful inclination of the lamb has passed
into a proverb. To their gambols in the pasture, there is an allu-
sion in a bold but appropriate figure, in the 114th Psalm: 'The
mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. What
ailed ye, ye mountains, that ye skipped like rarns; and ye little
hills, like lambs?' The meek and harmless disposition of this
animal has occasioned it to be selected by the Holy Spirit, as a fit
type of the Son of God and Saviour of the world. The lamb in
the paschal feast, which was roasted whole, and feasted upon by
each family of redeemed Israelites, and whose blood, sprinkled
upon the door-posts of their houses, preserved them from the
sword of the destroying angel, was a lively representation of him
* who gave himself for our sins, according to the will of God and
our father ; ' whose blood has been shed for the expiation of hu-
man guilt ; and upon whom every redeemed Israelite feeds and
lives by faith, John vi. 51—55. He is the lamb of God, who
taketh away the sin of the world, (John i. 29), the necessity and
efficacy of whose atonement were strikingly prefigured by the daily-
sacrifices of the Mosaic ritual.

76 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE GOAT.

THE usual scripture name for this animal, in a domestic state, is
a word which signifies strength or vigor, and it seems the goat^is
so called on account of its agility and vigor.

Dr. Russell and other travellers inform us, that in Syria they
have two kinds of goats ; one that differs little from the common
sort in Britain ; the other remarkahle for the length of its ears,
which are sometimes upwards of a foot long, and broad in pro-
portion. To this description of the goat it is, as Mr. Harrner rea-
sonably supposes, that the prophet Amos refers, in expressing the
smallness of that part of Israel that escaped from destruction, and
were seated in foreign countries: 'As the shepherd taketh out of
the mouth of the lion, two legs, or apiece of an ear, so shall the
children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria, and in
Damascus,' ch. iii. 12.

The goat was one of the clean animals which the Israelites were
permitted to eat, and to offer on the altar, (Exodus xii. 5, &c.);
and the flesh of the kid is frequently mentioned in terms
which show that it was esteemed as a great delicacy, Gen. xxxviii.
16, 17 ; Jud. xvi. Solomon promises, as a reward to the diligent
husbandman, that he shall have goafs milk enough for his food,
for the food of his household, arid for the maintenance of his
maidens, (Prov. xxvii. 27); which to us may appear somewhat
strange ; but Russell assures us, that in Aleppo, these animals are
chiefly kept for their milk, of which they yield no inconsiderable
quantity; that it is sweet and well-tasted, and frequently used for
the making of cheese. This furnishes one amongst many install*

THE GOAT. 77

ces of the importance of historical and local information to a right
understanding of the sacred writings.

In Lev. xvii. 7, we read, ' And they shall no more offer their
sacrifices unto devils, [or hairy ones]. The word here means the
idolatrous images of goats worshipped by the Egyptians. It is
the same word that is translated « Satyrs,' in Isa. xiii. 21 ; where
the LXX render it damons. Maimonides gives light to this
obscure passage, by informing us, that the Zabian idolaters wor-
shipped demons under the figure of goats, imagining them to
appear in that form; whence they called them by the name of
Seirim—liairy or shaggy ones—and that the custom being spread
among other nations, gave occasion to this precept.

There is a precept in Ex. xxiii. 19, repeated in xxxiv. 26, and
Deut. xiv. 21, which alludes, no doubt, to some superstitious rite,
used by the idolatrous nations in honor of their gods. A Caraite
Jew, quoted by Cudworth, affirms, that it was customary among
them to boil a kid in the milk of its mother, and with the decoction
besprinkle, in a magical manner, the fields and gardens, thinking,
by this means, they should make them fructify.

There was one ceremonial offering of the goat, under the Mosaic
economy, of too extraordinary a character to be passed by unno-
ticed : we mean tha scape-goat of the great day of atonement.
The ceremony is described in Lev. xyi. Having received the two
goats at the hands of the representatives of the congregation, the
high priest proceeded to cast lots, for determining that which
should be ' for the Lord,' i. e. sacrificed ; and that which should be ' for
Azazel,' i, e, for the scape-goat. This being settled, and the one mark-
ed out for the sacrifice having been slain, and the mercy -seat sprink-
led with its blood, the scape-goat was to be sent away into the wilder-
ness ; which was done in the following manner: The high priest,
and the stationary-men, who represented the whole congregation
of the people, laid their hands upon its head, and confessed over it
all the iniquities of the people, and all their transgressions in all
their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, verses 20, 21. By
this ceremony, says Witsius, the sinner deprecated the wrath of
God, and prayed that it might fall on the head of that victim which
he put in his own stead. This being done, it was delivered to the
person appointed to lead it away, that he might bear away all their
iniquities to a land of separation, where they should be remember-
ed no more, verse 22. It is observable, that the two goats seem to
make but one sacrifice ; yet only one of them was slain. Hence,
they have been thought to point out both the divine and human
natures of the Saviour, and to typify both his death and resurrec-
tion. The goat which was slain prefigured his human nature and
his death; and the scape-goat pointed out his resurrection : the
one represented the atonement made for the sins of the world, as
the ground of justification ; the other, Christ's victory, and the
removal of sin, in the sanctification of the soul.
The hair of the goat is of two kinds ; the one, long and coarse,
7*

78 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

is used in the manufacture of tent curtains, sails, and other fabrics
of the same kind ; the other is much finer, growing under the for-
mer, and is fabricated into stuffs, which almost equal silk in fine-
ness. Of the coarse kind of hair, were manufactured the curtains
for the tabernacle, (Expd. xxvi. 7; xxx.26.) and it is still used in
the East as a covering for tents.

The tresses of the bride, in the Canticles, are compared to a flock
of goats from Mount Gilead, (ch. iv.) that is, to their hair, which
is generally long and of a black color, or very brown, such
as that of a lovply brunette may be supposed to be. The celebrat-
ed author of Theron and Aspasio, however, gives the allusion a
different turn. The atniableness of the church, in the exemplary
conversation of true believers, is displayed by a copious growth of
hair, which flows down from the parted forehead in decent curls.
Thy hair is as a flock of goats that are seen afar off, and appear in
a pendant attitude, from the summit of Mount Gilead, most agree-
ably adorning the place, and detaining the spectator's eye. This
exposition takes in a circumstance which corresponds with the
pensile position of the hair ; renders the comparison more full and1
exact ; and is, according to the observation of a most accurate
judge, one of the most remarkable objects in such a prospect.

THE DOG.

OF all known quadrupeds, the dog is the most intelligent and
faithful. Independent of the beauty of his form, his vivacity, force,
and swiftness, he is possessed of all those internal qualifications
that can conciliate the affections of man, and make the tyrant a
protector. A natural share of courage, and an angry and ferocious

THE DOG. 79

disposition, render the dog, in its savage state, a formidable enemy
to all other animals ; but these readily give way to very different
qualities in the domestic dog, whose only ambition seems the de-
sire to please. He is seen to come crouching along, to lay his
force, his courage, and all his useful talents, at the feet of his mas-
ter; he waits his orders, to which he pays implicit obedience; he
consults his looks, and a single glance is sufficient to put him in
motion ; he is more faithful even than the most boasted among
men ; he is constant in his affections, friendly without interest, and
grateful for the slightest favors ; much more mindful of benefits re-
ceived than injuries offered ; he is not driven off by unkindness,
but still continues humble, submissive, and imploring; his only
hope, to be serviceable — his only terror, to displease ; he licks
the hand that has been just lifted to strike him, and at last disarms
resentment by submissive perseverance. More docile than man,
more obedient than any other animal, he is not only instructed in a
short time, but he also conforms to the dispositions and the manners
of those who command him. He takes his tone from the house he
inhabits ; like the rest of the domestics, he is disdainful among the
great, and churlish among clowns. Always assiduous in serving
his master, and only a friend to his friends, he is indifferent to all the
rest, and declares himself openly against such as seem to be depen-
dent like himself. When at night, the guard of the house is com-
mitted to his care, he seems proud of the charge ; he continues a
watchful sentinel, he goes his rounds, scents strangers at a dis-
tance, and gives them warning of his being upon duty. If they at-
tempt to break in upon his territories, he becomes more fierce, flies
at them, threatens, fights, and either conquers alone, or alarms
those who have most interest in coming to his assistance ; however,
when he has conquered, he quietly reposes upon the spoil, and ab-,
stains from what he has deterred others from abusing ; giving thus
at once a lesson of courage, temperance, and fidelity.

It may seem strange, at first sight, that an animal possessing so
many excellent qualities should almost uniformly be spoken of in
scripture in such terms as indicate it to have been held in great con-
tempt among the Jewish people. But for this there may have been
more than one reason. In the first place, its vicious dispositions
and habits are almost as numerous and important as the valuable
qualities which we have noticed. Its insatiable voracity has be-
come proverbial ; and its wrathful and truculent disposition is such,
that it not unfrequently attacks and maims a stranger without the
slightest provocation. No animal, says Scaliger, is more unsocial ;
for in the largest buildings two of them can scarcely live peaceably
together ; Mid so great is its selfishness, that it desires to possess
everything itself, and never submits to share its booty with others
but by force. Its shameless impudence is well known ; it is strong-
ly alluded to in 2 Sam. iii. 7, 8, as well as in several other places,
But it is probable that the circumstance which caused the dog to be
branded with a mark of infamy under the Mosaic law, and to be

80 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

held in such contempt by the Jews, was, that it formed a conspicu-
ous figure among the divinities of ancient Egypt.

It is well known, that the Turks also reckon the dog an unclean
and filthy creature, and drive him from their houses. In Turkey,
therefore, dogs are in common, not belonging to any particular own-
ers, and guard rather the streets and districts than particular houses.
This, indeed, seems to be the common treatment they meet with in
the East ; for even in Egypt they are now as much abhorred as
they were formerly venerated. An idea may be formed in what
detestation it is held in that country, when it is seen, that the most
scurrilous epithet which they bestow on a European or a Christian
is a dog. Compare 1 Sam. xvii. 43 ; xxiv. 14 ; 2 Sam. xvi. 9 ; 2
Kings viii. 13, &c.

To the prowling of these deserted and houseless animals the
Psalmist evidently alludes , in speaking of his enemies, who way-
laid his steps and watched for his life : l They return at the even-
ing ; they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city,'
(Psalm lix. 6) ; and viewing, in the spirit of prophecy, their future
punishment and destitution, he adds, ' And at evening let them re-
turn ; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go-round about
the city. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if
they be not satisfied,' ver. 14, 15.

In the sacred writings, the reproachful epithet of dog is applied
to the Gentiles, who were without the covenant of promise, (Matt,
xiv. 26) ; to the despisers of religion, (ch. vii. 6) ; to the worldly
and carnal professors who had thrust themselves into the minis-
terial office, (Phil. iii. 2) ; and to relentless persecutors, Ps. xxii.
16, 20.

THE HOG. 81

THE HOG.

THE hog, in its domestic state, is the most sordid and brutal ani-
mal in nature. The awkwardness of its form seems to influence
its appetites, and all its sensations are as gross as ils shape is un-
sightly. It seems possessed only of an insatiable desire of eating ;
and seems to make choice only of whatever other animals find the
most offensive. By nature, it is the most stupid, inactive, and drow-
sy ; if undisturbed, it would sleep half its time ; but it is frequently
awakened by the calls of appetite, which, when it has satisfied, it
goes to rest again. Its whole life is thus a round of sleep and glut«
tony ; and if supplied with sufficient food, it soon grows unfit «ven
for its own existence ; its flesh becomes a greater load than its legs
are able to support, and it continues to feed lying down or kneel-
ing, a helpless instance of indulged sensuality. Most of the dis-
eases of this animal arise from intemperance : measles, impost-
humes, and scrofulous swellings, are reckoned among the number.

The flesh of swine was expressly forbidden to the Jews/ by the
Levitical law (Lev. xi. 7,) on account of its filthy character, as some
think, as well as because the flesh, being strong and difficult to di-
gest, afforded a very gross kind of aliment, and was apt to produce
cutaneous, scorbutic, and scrofulous disorders, especially in hot cli-
mates. Maimonides says, 'The principal reason wherefore the law
prohibited the swine was, because of their extreme filthiness, and
their eating so many impurities ; for it is well known with what
care and precision the law forbids all filthiness and dirt, even in the
fields and in the camp, not to mention the cities. Now, had swine
been permitted, the public places, and streets, and houses, would
have been made nuisances.'

In the time of Isaiah, however, (chap, Ixv. 4), the eating of swine's
flesh is enumerated among the abominations that had been adopted
by the degenerate Hebrews ; and their punishment is denounced

82 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

in the next chapter : « They that sanctify and purify themselves in
the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and
the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith
the Lord,' ch. Ixyi. 17.

In Matthew vii. 6, we have an injunction, which, as it stands in
the English version, requires exposition : ' Give not that which is
holy unto the dogs, neither 'cast ye your pearls before swine, lest
they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.'
As this passage is now read, both the malignant acts are most im-
properly referred to the swine. Dr. A. Clarke has restored the
proper sense by transposing the lines, and bishop Jebb, availing
himself of the hint, has shown the passage to be one of those intro-
verted parallelisms which abound in the sacred writings. In the
corrected form it reads thus :

Give not that which is holy to the dogs ;

Neither cast your pearls before the swine ;

Lest they trample them under their feet,
And turn about and rend you.

Here the first line is related to the fourth, and the second to the
third ; and the sense becomes perfectly clear, on thus adjusting the
parallelism :

Give not that which is holy to the dogs,
Lest they turn about and rend you ;
Neither cast your pearls before the swine,
Lest they trample them under their feet.

The more dangerous act of imprudence, with its fatal result, is
placed first and last, so as to make and to leave the deepest practi-
cal impression. To cast pearls before swine, is to place the pure
and elevated morality of the gospel before sensual and besotted
wretches.

To give that which is holy to the dogs, is to produce the deep
truths of Christianity before the malignant and profane, who will
not fail to add injury to neglect : who will not only hate the doc-
trine, but persecute the teacher. In either case, an indiscreet and
over-profluent zeal may do serious mischief to the cause of good-
ness ; but in the latter case, the injury will fall with heightened se-
verity, both on religion, and on religion's injudicious friends. The
warning, therefore, against the dogs, is emphatically placed at the
commencenient and the close.

SECTION It
FEROCIOUS WILD BEASTS.

HAVING noticed the several animals brought under the subjections
of man, that are mentioned in scripture, we proceed to notice those
which have hitherto eluded his efforts for their subjugation, and
still maintain their wild and savage independence. Among these?
beasts of prey naturally claim the first place.

THE LION.

THE outward form of this noble animal seems to bespeak his in*
ternal generosity. His figure is striking, his look confident and
bold, his gait proud, and his voice terrible. His stature is not over-
grown, like that of the elephant, or rhinoceros ; nor is his shape
clumsy, like that of the hippopotamus, or the ox. It is compact,
well proportioned, and sizeable ; a perfect model of4 strength, joined
with agility. It is muscular and bold, neither charged with fat nor
unnecessary flesh. It is sufficient but to see him in order to be as-
sured of his superior force. His large head, surrounded with a

84 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

dreadful mane, all those muscles that appear under the skin swell-
ing with the slightest exertions, and the great breadth of his paws,
with the thickness of his limbs, plainly evince that no other animal
in the forest is capable of opposing him. His face is very broad,
and is surrounded with very long hair, which gives it a most ma-
jestic aspect. His huge eyebrows ; his round and fiery eye-balls,
which, upon the least irritation, seem to glow with peculiar lustre ;
together with the formidable appearance of his teeth, exhibit a pic-
ture of terrific grandeur which it is impossible to describe. The
length of a large lion is between eight and nine feet ; and its height
about four feet and a half. The top of the head, the temples, the
cheeks, the under jaw, the neck, the breast, the shoulder, the hind-
er part of the legs, and the belly are furnished with long hair, whilst
all the rest of the body is covered with very short hair, of a tawny
color. The inane grows every year longer as the animal grows old-
re ; but the lioness is without this appendage at eveiy age. It is
usually supposed that the lion is not possessed of the sense of smell-
ing in such perfection as most other animals ; and it is also observed,
that too strong a light greatly incommodes him : his eyes, like those
of the cat, being fitted for seeing best in the dark. For this reason,
he seldom appears in open day, but ravages chiefly by night. See
Psalm civ. 20, 22.

Accustomed to measure his strength with every animal he meets,
the act of conquering renders the lion intrepid and terrible. In
those regions where he has not experienced the dangerous arts and
combinations of man, he has no apprehensions from his power.
He boldly faces him, and seems to brave the force of bis arms.
Wounds rather serve to provoke his rage than to repress his ardor,
nor is he daunted by the opposition of numbers ; a single lion of
the desert often attacks an entire caravan, and, after an obstinate
combat, when he finds himself overpowered, instead of flying he
continues to combat, retreating, and still facing the enemy till he
dies. To this trait in his character Job alludes, when he hastily
said to the Almighty, ' Thou huntest me as a fierce lion,' ch. x. 16.
We hence see, also, the propriety with which Hushai describes the
valiant among the troops of Absalom, as possessing the * heart of a
lion,' 2 Sam. xvii. 10.

When incited by hunger, the lion boldly attacks all animals that
come in his way ; but as he is so formidable an enemy, and as they
all seek to avoid him, he is often obliged to hide, in order to take
them by surprise. For this purpose he crouches on his belly, in some
thicket, or among the long grass, which is found in many parts of the
forest ; and in this retreat be continues, with patient expectation, until
his prey comes within a proper distance, when he springs after it,
fifteen or twenty feet from him, and often seizes it at the first bound.
To this feature in his character, there are many beautiful allusions
in the scriptures. — ' Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion, or fill th«
appetite of the young lions, when they couch in their dens, and
abide in the covert to lie in wait?' Job xxxviii. 39,40. David

THE LION. &>

|>ourtraying the character of the oppressor and extortioner, says,
*He littth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to
catch the poor — he croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the
poor nmy fall by his strong ones,' Psalm x. 9, 10. How forcibly
does this language depict the breathless anxiety, with which the
wicked wait the accomplishment of their iniquitous purposes !

The roaring of the lion is said to be so loud, that when it is heard
in the night, and re-echoed by the mountains, it resembles distant
thunder: the whole race of animals within its sound stand appall-
ed, regarding it as the sure prelude to destruction. Hence the pro-
phet says, * The lion has roared, who will not fear? The LORD
GOD has spoken, who can but prophesy ?' Arnos iii. 8. So also
Hosea: 'He shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the
children shall tremble from the west,' ch. xi. 10. But it is when
the lion summons up all his terrors for the combat that his voice is
most terrible. Lashing iiis sides with his long tail, throwing his
ma:ie in every direction, which seems to stand like bristles round
his head, the skin and muscles of his face all in agitation, his huge
eye- brows half covering his glaring eye-balls, his monstrous teeth,
his prickly tongue, and his destructive claws, all exhibited to view,
he roars forth his formidable and terror-inspiring cry. This fur-
nishes the sacred writers with several beautiful images. Jeremiah
foretels the terrible visitations of the divine anger, in language de-
rived from this appalling circumstance : 'The Lord shall roar from
on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation ; he shall might-
ily roar upon his habitation,' ch. xxv. 30.

Aft r depriving his victim of liiip, which he generally effects by
a stroke of his paw, the lion tears it in pieces, breaks all its bones,
and shallows them with ihe rest of the body. To these circum-
stances there are frequent allusions in the scripture. 'Save me
from all them that persecute me, and deliver me, lest he tear rny
soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, where there is none to deliver/
Ps. vii. 1, 2. ' And the rennant of Jacob shall be among the Gen-
tiles in the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the
forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he go
through, lunh treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can
deliver,' Mic. v. 8. Nor is his voracity left unnoticed. Biifioti as-
sures us that the lion not only devours his prey with the utmost
freediuess, but that he devours a great deal at a time, and generally
Us himself for two or three days to corne. Hence, David com-
pares his enemies to 'a lion that is greedy of his prey,' (Ps. x vii.
l^J,) and JEHOVAH, threatening Israel for its transgressions, declares
that lie will ' devour them like a lion/ Hos. xiii. 8. The prophet
Nahuiu describes, with equal energy and elegance, the care with
which the lion provides for its mate and young ones: 'Where is
the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions,
where the lion, even the old lion walked, and the lion's whelp, and
none made them afraid ? The lion did tear in pieces enough for
his whelps, and strangled fur his lionesses, and filled his holes with

8

86 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

prey, and his dens with ravin,' ch. ii. 11, 12. Buffon, following
Pliny, Eustathius, and other ancient naturalists, informs us, that
while young and active, the lion subsists by hunting, and seldom
quits the deserts or the forests, where he finds plenty of wild ani-
mals ; but when he grows old, heavy, and less fit for the exercise
of hunting, he approaches frequented places, and becomes more
dangerous to man and the domestic animals. It has, indeed, been
remarked, that when he sees men and animals together, he attacks
the latter, and never the former, unless any man strike him ; for in
this case he is wonderfully alert in distinguishing the person who
hurts him, and he instantly quits his prey to take vengeance on the
offender.

These traits in his character explain the reason that God so often
threatens to be as a lion to his ancient people. He discerns at
once who it is that transgresses his law, and is prompt in taking
vengeance on the sinner. They also throw light on the passage in
Hosea: 'For I will be unto Ephraim as a great lion,' that leaves
the forest and approaches the habitations of men, and is therefore
more to be dreaded ; 'and to the house of Jtidah as a young lion,'
that hunts his prey in the desert or the forest, and is therefore less
to be feared, ch. v. 14. How exactly this corresponds with histori-
cal fact, is well known to every careful reader of the scriptures;
for Ephraim, or the ten tribes, were driven away from their own
land into a distant region, where they were doomed to suffer a pro-
tracted exile; while Judah continued to hold his possessions a hun-
dred arid thirty-three years longer, and when carried into captivity
at the end of that period, by the king of Babylon, it was only for
the short term of seventy years, till the land had enjoyed her sab-
baths.

The lion, like most other animals of the cat kind, is kept off by
large fires, which the inhabitants of Africa and Asia, where he is
chiefly found, light during the night to preserve their flocks and
herds. But these, even added to the barking of the dogs, and the
continued shoutings of the shepherds, are sometimes found insuffi-
cient to deter his approach. He has been known to outbrave all
the dangers which could be presented 10 him under such circum-
stances, and boldly leaping into the midst of the fold, to carry off
a sheep or a goat. How beautifully does the prophet allude to this,
when he promises the Divine interposition on behalf of God's an-
cient people : ' For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, like as the
lion and the young roaring lion on his prey, when a multitude of
shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their
voice, nor abase himself lor the noi.se of them : so shall the Lord of
hosts come down to fight for moutit Zion, and for the hill thereof,'
Isaiah xxxi. 4.

The lion is made the symbol of our exalted Redeemer. He was
a lamb in his sufferings and death, but he became ' the lion of the
tribe of Judah,' when .lie burst asunder the hands of death, forced
open the gpjve's devouring mouth, and returned to his father a

THE LION. 87

triumphant conqueror over all the powers of darkness. He is cloth-
ed with glorious majesty, and girt about with invincible might. No
enemy can disturb the tranquillity of his fearless heart, nor interrupt
the progress of his operations; no movement of providence, but he
is qualified to guide; no work of judgment or mercy, but he is able
to perform. * He speaks, and it is done ; he commands, and it stands
fast — none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou ?' In
the rapid diffusion of the gospel and the conversion of many nations
to the Christian faith, which commenced in a few days after his as-
cension, were fulfilled the words of Joel : 'The Lord also shall roar
out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens
and the earth shall shake, and the Lord will be the hope of his peo-
ple, and the strength of the children of Israel,' Joel iii. 16. Nor is
the preaching of the gospel improperly compared to the roaring of
a lion, for it has been heard in every part of the world, and has not
only struck the ear, but by its energy has opened a way for itself
into the heart, and produced a concern about salvation which nei-
ther length of time nor change of circumstances could subdue.

The lion symbolizes also the strength, generosity, and terrible
presence of an angel; for, in the prophecies of Ezekiel, the living
creatures, or cherubim, the ministers of divine providence, had each
of them four faces; the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on.
the right side ; and the face of an ox and the face of an eagle, on
the left side, Ezekiel i. 10. The apostle John was favored with a
vision of the same kind in Patrnos : * In the midst of the throne, and
round about the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes be-
fore and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion, and
the second like a calf, and the third had a face as a man, and the
fourth was like a flying eagle.' In both visions, the terrible majesty
of God, in the ministration of angels toward the enemies of his glory,
is symbolized by the lion ; their constancy, patience, firmness, and
assiduity in performing the commands of their Maker, by the ox'
their humanity, gentleness, and philanthropy, by the face of a man;
and by the face of an eagle, the vigor, the agility, and the sublime
tendencies of their celestial nature. Every one of them exhibits a
high degree of excellence ; the lion holds the first place among
wild beasts, the eagle among the birds, an ox among the cattle, and
all submit to the supreme authority of man. Of these, observes
Bochart, two are wild, the lion and the eagle ; two are tame, man
and the ox: those to strike terror into rebels; these to impart con-
solation to the pious. The lion pursues his prey upon the earth, the
eagle among the clouds of heaven ; to show that these angelic min-
isters of providence equally control the proceedings of men that
crawl upon the ground, and the more powerful and rapid move-
ments of apostate spirits in the regions of the air.

The strength and power of the Jewish nation are often described
in the sacred volume by the same symbol. * Behold,' cried Balaam,
when from the top of Pisgah he looked down on the innumerable
tents of Israel, * the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up

88 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat of the
prey, and drink the blood of the slain.* This prediction received
its accomplishment in the signal victories which the armies of Israel,
under the conduct of Joshua, obtained over the live nations of
Canaan. They did not rest, till, completely victorious, they had
reduced the whole country to their obedience. The forces of Joshua
did not, like some uncivilized hordes in modern times, literally 'eat
of the prey and drink the blood of the slain,' for such inhuman
conduct was equally opposed to the character of their God, and the
whole tenor of their law. The clause is merely a continuation of
the metaphor, and a hyperbolical description of the complete con-
quest, which, by the favor of God, awaited their arms. Such hyper-
bolical expressions are frequent in the sacred volume ; and when
viewed in the light of other scriptures, admit of a sense equally
consistent and profitable. Thus, In the reproof which the Psalmist
addresses to the wicked judges, he declares, ' the righteous shall
wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,' (Psalm Iviii. 11) : and in
his prayer at the removing of the ark : * The Lord said, I will bring
again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths
of the sea: that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine ene-
mies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same,' Psalm Ixviii. 4.
These phrases only denote that the victory which was to crown
their exertions, should be completely decisive. Balaam adds, in the
same prophecy, ' Ho crouched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great
lion ; who shall stir him up ? ' He was, in future times, to subdue
the land of Canaan so completely, that no enemy should presume
to disturb his repose ; which was accomplished in the reign of Da-
vid and of Solomon his son, when, by the heroic valor of the for-
mer, and the unparalelled wisdom of the latter, the whole East was
awed and charmed into peace and amity.

The symbols that represented the Jewish people were often ap-
plied to particular tribes, of which a striking instance occurs in the
farewell benediction of Jacob: ' Judah is a lion's whelp: from the
prey, my son, thou art gone up ; he stooped down, he crouched as
a lion, and as an old lion ; who shall rouse him up? ' Genesis Ixix.
9. And of Gad, Moses said, 'Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he
dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head,'
Dent, xxxiii. 20, 22.

But the sacred writers often allude to the savage disposition of
the lion 5 and in nil these instances the name is used in a bad sense.
Thus, the great adversary of mankind is compared to a roaring lion,
that walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter v. 8.
Furious and cruel as the lion when, within a single leap of his prey,
he thirsts for the destruction of poor mortals, as intensely as that
famished destroyer for the blood of the slain, and exerts still great-
er and more unwearied activity to accomplish his purpose. The
name which is imposed upon the arch-fiend, is, with much propri-
ety, assigned to the wicked, the victims and instruments of his cru-
«lty and injustice. * The roaring of the lion, and the voice of tho

THE LION. 89

fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.' That the
wicked are intended in this passage, is evident from the context:
' Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow wicked-
ness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the
breath of his nostrils are they consumed,' Job iv. 8, 9, 10. These
are only a few of the numerous instances in which the sacred wri-
ters use the name to express the temper and conduct of wicked
men. Not only the vicious and profane, the cruel and the unjust,
in the private walks of life, but also the sceptred oppressor, the
blood-stained conqueror, the warlike nation, are stigmatized in the
holy scriptures, and held up to the execration of all mankind, under
this odious name : * Their roaring shall be like a lion ; they shall
roar like young lions : yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey,
and shall carry it away safe, arid none shall deliver it,' Isaiah v. 29.
But the name is not confined to the human character; it is extended
also to everything hurtful or destructive to mankind. The sword,
for example, is, by the prophet, compared to the lion on account of
the desolations which it is the means of accomplishing : ' Your
own sword hath devoured your prophets like a destroying lion,*
Jer. ii. 30. If these statements have not removed any of the diffi-
culties which the biblical reader meets with in his progress, they
prove beyond a doubt the closeness and accuracy with which the
sacred writers copy nature, and the admirable fitness and propriety
of their allusions ; and this is no insignificant service to the interest*
of religion.

8*

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE LEOPARD.

THE Hebrew name (Nimrali) of this animal is taken from its
spotted color. By the English it is almost indiscriminately called
the Panther, or Leopard of Senegal, where it is chiefly found. Its
length is about four feet from the nose to the origin of the tail,
which is about two feet long. The predominant color is yellow-
ish, and the spots with which it is covered are black. The head is
of a moderate length, the ears are pointed, the eyes are of u pale
yellow, and its whole aspect is fierce and cruel. Its disposition is
said nearly to resemble that of the tiger, yet it is generally con-
eidered^o be the less fierce of the two. The manner in which the
leopard' seizes its prey is, however, similar to that of the lion ;
rushing from its concealment, it at once bounces on its victim, with
a horrid roar. Its voice, at this time, is said to be hideous beyond
conception.

The scripture references to this animal are not numerous, but
like all its other references they are founded on the strictest pro-
priety. Jeremiah refers in one place to its spotted skin, (ch. xii. 23),
and in another (ch. v. 6,) to its artful ambuscades ; a feature in its
character to which Hosea also alludes, (ch. xiii. 7) ; « as a leopard
by the way will I observe them' — doubtless, to punish them for
their flagrant and unrcpented crimes. Habakkuk, describing the
rapid march of the Chaldeans upon Jerusalem, compares the
movement of their horses to the extraordinary swiftness of this
animal: * Their horses also are swifter than leopards,' ch. i. 8.
But the most beautiful allusion to this creature is in Isaiah's
prophecy of the happy times of the Messiah's reign: —

THE WOLF. 91

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,

And the leopard slmll lio down with the kid ;

And the calf, and the young linn, and the falling together ;

And a little child shall load them.

How great and extraordinary must such a change appear, when
it is recollected that the leopard never can be satiated with prey,
and that man has never4yet subdued the ferocity of his natural
disposition !

It seems that these animals were numerous in Palestine, as there
are places whtah bear names indicative of having been their haunts*
In the tribe of Gad there was a town named Beth-Nimrah — leo-
pard's house, (Numb, xxxii, 30 ; compare verse 3) ; Isaiah and Jer-
emiah speak of the ' waters of Nimrim,' i. e. of the leopards — not
far distant, (Isa. xv. 6; Jer. xlviii. ,'J4); and Solomon strongly in-
timates that they were numerous on the mountains of Lebanon,
Cant. iv. 8.

THE WOLF.

THIS animal is something larger than the English breed of mastiffs,
being in length, from the tip of his nose to the insertion of his tail,
about three feet seven inches long, and about two feet five inches high.
He appears, in every respect, stronger than the dog ; and the length of
his hair contributes still more to his robust appearance. The color
of his eye-balls is of a fiery green, which gives his visage a fierce and
formidable air. Externally and internally the wolf so much resem-
bles the dog, that naturalists formerly considered them to be the
same animal. But, singular as it may appear, there exists between
them the most perfect and uncompromising antipathy.

The wolf is one of those animals whose appetite for animal food
is the most vehement, and whose means of satisfy ing this appetite are
the most various. Nature has furnished him with strength, cunning,
agility, and all those requisites which fit an animal for pursuing,
overtaking, and conquering its prey ; and yet, with all these, it
most frequently dies of hunger, for it is the declared enemy of man.
He is naturally dull and cowardly ; but being frequently disappoint-
ed, and as often reduced to the verge of famine, he becomes inge-
nious from want, and courageous from necessity. When pursued
with hunger, he braves danger, and comes to attack those animals
which are under the protection of man ; particularly such as he
can readily carry away. When this excursion has succeeded, he
often returns to the charge, until, having been wounded, or hard
pressed by the dogs or the shepherds, he hides himself by day in
the thickest coverts, and only ventures out at night. He then
sallies forth over the country, keeps peering round the villages,
carries off such animals as are not under protection, attacks the

92 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

sheep-folds, scratches up and undermines the thresholds of doors
where they are housed, enters furiously, and destroys all hefore he
begins to fix upon and carry off his prey. When these sallies do
not succeed, he returns to the thickest part of the forest, content co
pursue those smaller animals which, even when taken, afford him
but a scanty supply. He there goes regularly to work, follows by
the scent, opens to the view, still keeps following, hopeless him-
self of overtaking the prey, but expecting that some other wolf will
come in to his assistance, and is content to share the spoil. At last,
when his necessities are very urgent, he boldly faces certain de-
struction ; he attacks women and children, and sometimes ventures
even to fall upon men, becomes furious by his continual agitations,
and ends his life in madness.

The scripture account of this animal corresponds precisely with
the description furnished by naturalists. His ignoble and rapacious
disposition is alluded to in the patriarch's character of the tribe of
Benjamin : 'Benjamin is a ravening wolf: in the morning he shall
devour the prey, and in the evening he shall divide the spoil,*
Genesis xlix. 27. The whole history of the tribe shows the pro-
priety of this application. Possessing some courage, and much
ferocity, they were often embroiled in quarrels and petty warfare
with the neighboring tribes; and feelings of desperation, under cir-
cumstances which their own conduct had created, sometimes im-
Selled them to attempt and effect feats of extraordinary valor. See
udges xix. 20.

The iniquitous and rapacious conduct of the rulers of Israel, in
the times of Ezekiel and Zephaniah, is most expressively described
by a reference to this animal. * Her princes in the midst thereof,'
says the former prophet, 'are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed
blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain,' ch. xxii. 27.
The latter prophet adds another circumstance, which materially
illustrates the character of the wolf: « Her princes within her are
roaring lions, her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the
bones till the morrow,' ch. iii. 3. That is, * Instead of protecting
the innocent, and restraining the evil doer, or punishing him ac-
cording to the demerit of his crimes, they delight in violence and
oppression, in blood and rapine ; and so insatiable is their cupidity,
that, like the evening wolf, they destroy more than they are able
to possess: l they gnaw not the bones till the morrow ;' or, so much
do they delight in carnage, that they reserve the bones till next day,
for a sweet repast.'

To its nocturnal wanderings and attacks, when it is more than
ordinarily fierce and sanguinary, Jeremiah alludes, in his threaten-
ings against the ungodly members of the Jewish Church: l Where-
fore a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them,' (ch. v. 6}j as does
also Habakkuk, in his terrible description of the Chaldean invasion :
* Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce
than the evening wolves,' ch. i. 8.
The morose and unsociable traits in the character of the wolf,

THE HYAENA.

93

will help us to form some conception of the mighty change which
the doctrines of the gospel must effect in the character and disposi-
tions of men, to justify the figurative and heautiftd language of the
evangelical prophet: 'The wolf also shall dwell with the larnb,'
(Isa. xi. G) ; and an attachment will be formed betwoen them, for
'they shall eat together,' ch. Ixv. 25. See also Mait. x. 10 ; Luke
x. 3; John x. 12.

From what has been said, the reader may form an opinion of the
character of those false teachers, whose object was to 'make a gain
of godliness,' in the primitive church, and whom the blessed Re-
deemer, as well as his inspired apostles, designates wolves. 'Be-
ware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly are ravening wolves,' Matt. vii. 15. 'I know,' says Paul
to the elders of the Ephesian church, 'I know that after my de-
parture shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the
flock,' Acts xx. 29.

THE HY^NA

IN the English Bible, we rrad in 1 Sam. xiii. 13, of the valley of
Zeboim — and in Jer. xii. 9, of 'a speckled bird.' In both these pla-
ces the same word is used, and that word, there is little doubt, refers
to the hyiena.

The size of the hyrena is that of a very large dog, weighing about
a hundred weight, Imving a strong bristly mane, with hairs seven
inches long. The fore legs are two feet in length, the foot flat,

94 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

nnd about two inches broad. The animal stands seemingly uneasy
on the hind legs ; and it is observable, that, when it is at first dis-
lodged from cover, it limps so very awkwardly, that it appears as if
the hinder legs were broken or dislocated. By running some time,
however, this stiffness leaves it, and it sweeps along with great
swiftness. Its color is of a yellowish brown, marked with bands
of different colors, over its neck and legs. His manner of holding
the head is remarkable; somewhat like a dog, pursuing the scent
with his nose near to the ground. But no words can give an ade-
quate idea of the animal's figure, deformity, and fierceness. More
savage and untameable than any other quadruped, it seems to be
forever in a state of rage and 'rapacity, forever growling, except
when receiving its food. Its eyes then glisten, the bristles of its
back all stand upright, its head hangs low, and yet its teeth appear;
all which give it a most frightful aspect, which a dreadful howl
tends to heighten. As this is loud and frequent, it might, perhaps,
have been sometimes mistaken for that of a human voice, in dis-
tress, and have given rise to the accounts of the ancients, who tell
us, that the hyaena makes its moan, to attract unwary travellers,
and then to destroy them ; however this be, it seems the most un-
tractable, and, for its size, the most terrible of all other quadrupeds;
nor does its courage fall short of its ferocity; it defends itself against
the lion, is a match for the panther, attacks the ounce, and seldom
fails to conquer. It is an obscure and solitary animal, to be found
chiefly in the most desolate and uncultivated parts of the torrid
zone, of which it is a native.

The lion regards the face of man with respect, and, when not
oppressed by the force of hunger, venerates that majesty impressed
by the Creator on the human form ; but this villain of the desert
pays no kind of respect to venerable age, or to the captivating
charim of beauty. All fall indiscriminately before his voracious
rapacity ; and what is still more extraordinary, the dead of his own
species are not exempt from the cravings of his ferocious appetite.
Abyssinia, and chiefly about the sources of the Nile, are the prin-
ciple scenes of his murders and devastations. In Atbara, the
Arabs plough, sow, dig wells, have plenty of water, and the land
yields large crops. But when discord arises among the tribes, they
commence hostilities by mutually burning down the crops, when
nigh ripe, and rendering a country, naturally fertile, one uniform
scene of desolation and misery. Famine ensues, for they have no
stores left ; the houses are burnt down, their wells filled up, the
men slain by the victorious party are left upon the fields, and the
remainder, destitute, forlorn, without strength or hope, are assailed
by troops of hysenas, who find little or no difference of resistance
between slaying the living and devouring the dead. Thus the mis-
erable multitude are destroyed, till they leave not a single survivor
to announce to some neighboring nation the fatal catastrophe that
has befallen their country. The inhuman natives burying neither
friend nor foe, the innumerable carcasses of the slain afford ample

THE FOX, OR JACKAL.

95

supply of human carrion to the ravenous hysenas. ' In my return,
through the desert,' says Mr. Bruce, * the whole country was strew-
ed with the hones of the dead. Horrid monuments of the victories
of this savage animal, and of mnn more cruel than he !'

One circumstance is very remarkable in the nature of this animal,
and that is, his mortal aversion to dogs. No dog, however fierce,
can be prevailed upon to engage the hyasna. This aversion and
mutual antipathy was proverbial in very ancient times, for the au-
thor of Ecclesiasticus asks, ' What agreement is there between the
hyaena and the dog ? ' Chap. xiii. 18.

THE FOX, OR JACKAL.

IT is somewhat doubtful, whether the fox of scripture be the
common fox, or the jackal — the little eastern fox, as Hasselquist
calls him.

The jackal, or Thaleb, as it is called in Arabia and Egypt, is
said to be of the size of a middling dog, resembling the fox in the
hinder parts, particularly the tail ; and the wolf in the fore parts,
especially the nose. Its legs are shorter than those of the fox, and
its color is of a bright yellow ; or in the warmest climates rather of
a reddish brown.

Although this species of the wolf approaches very near to that of
the dog, yet the jackal seems to be placed between them ; to the
savage fierceness of the wolf, it adds the impudent familiarity of
the dog. Its cry is a howl, mixed with barking, and a lamentation
resembling that of human distress. It is more noisy in its pursuits

96 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

even than the dog, and more voracious than the wolf; though it
never goes alone, but always in a pack of forty or fifty together.
They are very little afraid of mankind, but pursue their game to the
very doors, without testifying either attachment or apprehension.
They enter insolently into the sheep-folds, the yards, and the
stables, and, when they can find nothing else, devour the leather
harness, boots, and shoes, and run off with what they have not
time to swallow. They not only attack the living, but the dead ;
scratching up with their feet the new-made graves, and devouring
the corpse. They always assist each other as well in this employ-
ment of exhumation, as in that of the chase ; and while at their
dreary work, exhort each other by a most mournful cry, resembling
that of children under chastisement. Like all other savage animals,
when they have once tasted human flesh, they can never after re-
frain from pursuing mankind. They watch the burying grounds,
follow armies, and keep in the rear of caravans.

Jackals seldom appear abroad till night-fall. Having scented
the prey, they sally iorth in troops of thirty or forty in number, and
pursue it the whole night with unceasing assiduity, keeping up a
horrid howl, and, with great perseverance, at last drive down their
victim. The lion, the tiger, and the panther, whose appetites are
superior to their swiftness, attend to the jackal's cry, and just at the
moment it supposes itself going to share the fruits of its labor, one
of these animals comes in, satiates himself upon the spoil, and
his poor provider must be content with the bare carcass he leaves
behind* From eastern travellers we l.;arn, that the jackal feeds upon
roots and fruit, as well as upon animal flesh, and that it frequently
roots up plants to satisfy its appetite.

Such is the character which naturalists have furnished of the
jackal, or Egyptian fox : let MS see what references are made to it
in scripture. To its carnivorous habits there is an allusion in
Psalm Ixiii. 9, 10 : * Those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go
into the lower parts of the earth : they shall fall by the sword ; they
shall be a portion for foxes;' arid to its ravages in the vineyard,
Solomon alludes in Cant. ii. 15: 'Take us the foxes, the little foxes,
that spoil the vines: tor our vines have tender grapes.' The mean-
ing is, that false teachers corrupt the purity of doctrine, obscure the
simplicity of worship, overturn the beauty of appointed order,
break the unity of believers, and extinguish the liie and vigor of
Christian practice. These words of Ezekiel may he understood in
the same sense : * O Jerusalem ! thy prophets, (or. as the context
gires the sense,) thy flattering teachers, are as foxes in the deserts,*
chap. xiii. 4. This name they receive, because, with vulpine sub-
tilty. they speak ties in hypocrisy. Such teachers the apostle calls
1 wolves in sheep's clothing ;' deceitful workers, who, by their cun-
ning, subvert whole houses ; and whose word, like the touth of a
fox upon the vine, eats as a canker.

On a particular occasion, our Lord speaking of Herod, who had
threatened to kill him, applied to him, metaphorically, the name

THE FOX, OR JACKAL. 97

of the fox or jackal ; * Go, tell that fox — that crafty, cruel, insidious,
devouring creature — that jackal of a prince — who has indeed ex-
pressed his enmity by his threats, as jackals indicate their mischiev-
ous dispositions by their barkings; and who yelps in concert with
other of my enemies, jackal-like — go, tell him that I am safe from
his fury to-day and to-morrow ; and on the third day I shall be
completed, — completely beyond his power;' — alluding, perhaps,
to his resurrection on the third day. There have beeii some doubts
as to the propriety of our Redeemer's speaking in such terms of a
civil ruler, whose subject he was, and whose character he was
therefore bound to respect and to honor. For these scruples, how-
ever, there is no ground ; the character of Herod as a cruel, insidi-
ous, and crafty prince, was too notorious to be disguised from any
part of his subjects ; and he who knew his heart as well as witness-
ed his conduct, could speak with certainty as to his dispositions and
motives. Besides this, such metaphorical applications as these are
much more common in the East than here, and would, therefore,
not appear so strong to our Lord's attendants as to us.

The expedient of Samson (Judges xv. 4, 5,) has frequently been
made the butt of ridicule, by the unbeliever in divine revelation ;
but without reason. Volney says, ' That, in Syria the wolf and the
real fox are very rare, though there is a prodigious quantity of the
middle species, named shacal, which go in droves.' And again ;
'Jackals are concealed by hundreds in the gardens, and among ruins
and tombs.' Where, then, was the difficulty for Samson to procure
three hundred of these animals, especially as the time during which
he had to provide them for his purpose was not limited to a week
or a month ? Besides, it should be recollected, that Samson sus-
tained the highest office in the commonwealth, and could be at no
loss for persons to assist him in his enterprise.

From the book of Exodus we learn, that before the passover,
that is, before the fourteenth day of the mouth Abib, or March, bar-
ley in Egypt was in the ear, chap. xii. 18 ; xiii. 4. And in chap. ix.
31, 32, it is said that the wheat at that time was not grown up. Bar-
ley harvest, then, in Egypt, and so in the country of the Philistines
which bordered upon it, must have fallen about the middle of
March. Wheat harvest, according to Pliny, was a month later,
Therefore, wheat harvest happened about the middle of April,

98 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE WILD BOAR.

THIS animal, which is the original of all the varieties of the hog
kind, is by no means so stupid nor so filthy a beast as that we have
reduced to lameness. He is something smaller than the domestic
hog, and does not so vary in his color, being always found of an
iron grey, inclining to black : his snout is much larger than that of
the tatne animal, and the ears are shorter, rounder, and black ; of
which color are also the feet and the tail. But the tusks are larger
than in the tame breed ; they bend upwards circularly, and are ex-
ceedingly sharp at the points.

The wild boar roots up the ground in a different manner from the
common hog ; the one turns up the earth in little spots here and
there ; the other ploughs it up like a furrow, and does irreparable
damage in the cultivated lands of the farmer, destroying the roots
of the vine and other plants. From this we may see the propriety
with which the Psalmist represents the subversion of the Jewish
commonwealth, under the allegory of a vine, destroyed by a boar :
' Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast cast out the
heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst
cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. She sent out her
boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why hast
thou broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the
way do pluck her ? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and
the wild beast of the field doth devour it,' Psalm Ixxx. 8— -T3. If
this Psalm was written, as is supposed, during the Babylonian cap-
tivity, the propriety of the allegory becomes more apparent. Not
satisfied with devouring the plants and fruit which have been care-
fully raised by the skill and attention of the husbandman, the fero-
cious boar lacerates and breaks with his powerful tusks the roots
and branches of the surrounding vines, and tramples them beneath
his feet. The reader will easily apply this to the conduct pursued
by the Chaldeans towards the Jewish state, whose desolation is thus
pathetically bewailed by the prophet : ' The Lord hath trodden un-
der foot all my mighty men in the midst of me : he hath called an
assembly against me to crush my young men : the Lord hath trod-
den the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress,' Lam. i. 15,

The boar is extremely fond of marshes, fens, and reedy places ;
a disposition which is probably referred to in Psalm Ixviii. 30 : « Re-
buke the company of the spearmen.' — or, as it is literally, ' the
beast of the reeds,' or canes.

THE BEAR.
THE BEAR.

IN the Hebrew, this animal is very expressively called the grumfi-
7er, or growler.

Ther are three kinds of the bear known : the white, the black,
and the brown. Of the two former the scripture does not speak ;
the latter kind being the only one known in the Eastern regions.
The brown bear, says Buffon, is not only savage but solitary ; he
takes refuge in the most unfrequented parts, and the most danger-
ons precipices and uninhabited mountains. It chooses its den in
the most gloomy parts of the forest, in some cavern that has been
hollowed by time, or in the hollow of some old enormous tree.
The disposition of this animal is most surly and rapacious, and his
mischievousness has passed into a proverb. His appearance cor-
responds with his temper : his coat is rugged, his limbs strong and
thick, and his countenance, covered with a dark and sullen scowl,
indicates the settled moroseness of his disposition. The sacred
writers frequently associate this formidable enemy with the king of
the forest, as being equally dangerous and destructive. Thus,
Amos, setting before his incorrigible countrymen the succession of
calamities which, under the just judgment of God, was about to
befal them, declares that the removal of one would but leave anoth-
er equally grievous : ' Wo unto you that desire the day of the

100 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Lord ! To what end is it for you ? The day of the Lord is dark-
ness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear
met him,' Amos v. 18, 19. And Solomon, who had closely studied
the character of the several individuals of the animal kingdom,
compares an unprincipled and wicked ruler to these creatures:
' As a roaring lion and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the
poor people,' Proverbs xxviii. 15.

The she-bear is said to be even more fierce and terrible than
the male, especially after she has cubbed. So strong is her attach-
ment to her young, and so extreme the jealousy with which she
protects them, that no stranger, whether man or beast, is suffered
to intrude on her solitude with impunity. This circumstance
finely illustrates the beautiful imagery of the prophet, employed to
delineate the amazing change which the gospel of Christ will be
the instrument of effecting in the human heart, and the delightful
harmony which will follow in its train : * And the cow and the
bear shall feed, Their young ones shall lie down together,'
Isaiah xi. 7.

To the fury of the femnle bear when she happens to be robbed
of her young, there are several striking allusions in scripture.
Those persons who have witnessed her under such circumstances,
describe her rage to be most violent and frantic, and as only to be
diverted from the object of her vengeance with the loss of her life.
How terrible, then, was the threatening of the incensed JEHOVAH,
in consequence of the numerous and aggravated iniquities of the
kingdom of Israel, as uttered by the prophet Hosea — ' I will meet
them as a bear bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of
their heart ! ' Chap. xiii. 8.

The execution of this terrible denunciation, in the invasion of
the land by the Assyrian armies, and the utter subversion of the
kingdom, is well known to eveiy reader of scripture.

In the vision of Daniel, where the four great monarchies of
antiquity are symbolised by different beasts of prey, whose quali-
ties resembled the character of these several states, the Medo-
Persian empire is represented by a bear, which raised itself up on
one side, and had between its teeth three ribs ; and they said thus
unto it : ' Arise, devour much flesh,' Daniel vii. 5. All the four
monarchies agreed in their fierceness and rapacity; but there were
several striking differences in the subordinate features of their char-
acter, and their mode of operation, which is clearly intimated by the
different characters of their symbolical representatives. The Per-
sian monarchy is represented by a bear, to denote its cruelty and
greediness after blood ; and in this imputation the prophet Jeremi-
ah unites, by designating the Persians 'the spoilers,' chap. li. 48,
56. The learned Bochart has enumerated several points of resem-
blance between that character of the Medo-Persians and the dispo*
aitions of this animal.

SECTION III.
WILD INOFFENSIVE ANIMALS.

THE WILD ASS.

THIS is a much handsomer and more dignified animal than the
common or domestic ass. Oppian describes it as ' handsome, large,
vigorous, of stately gait, his coat of a silvery color, having a black
band along the spine of his back, and on his flanks, patches as
white as snow.' It is an animal adapted for running, and of such
swiftness that the best horses cannot equal it. From this quality it
is that it derives its Hebrew name ; and, as it prefers the most crng-
gy mountains, it runs with ease on the most difficult ground. All
the ancient writers, who mention it, notice its fleetness, especially
Xenophon, who says that it has long legs ; is very rapid in run-
ning ; swift as a whirlwind, having strong and stout hoofs.

Sir R. K. Porter's account of a wild ass, to which he gave chase,
will help the reader to appreciate the fidelity with which the writer
of the book of Job delineates its character.

'The sun was just rising over the summits of the Eastern moun-
tains, when my greyhound, Cooley, suddenly darted off in pursuit
of an animal which my Persians said, from the glimpse they had
of it, was an antelope. I instantly put spurs to my horse, and, with
my attendants, gave chase. After an unrelaxed gallop of full three
miles, we came up with the dog, who was then within a short
stretch of the creature he pursued ; and to my surprise, and at first,
vexation, I saw it to be an ass. But, on a moment's reflection,
judging from its fleetness it must be a wild one, a species little
known in Europe, but which the Persians prize above all other
animals, as an object of chase, I determined to approach as near lo
it as the very swift Arab 1 was on would carry me. But the sin-
gle instant of checking my horse to consider, had given our game
such a head of us, that notwithstanding all our speed we could not
recover our ground on him, I, however, happened to be consider-
ably before my companions, when, at a certain distance, the animal
in its turn made a pause, and allowed me to approach within a pis-
tol-shot of him He then darted off again with the quickness of
thought; capering, kicking, and sporting in his flight, as if he were
not blown in the least, and the chase were his pastime.
9*

102 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

'He appeared to me to be about ten or twelve hands high ; the
skin smooth, like a deer's, and of a reddish color ; the belly and
hinder parts partaking of a silvery grey; his neck was finer than
that of a common ass, being longer, and bending like a stag's, and
his legs beautifully slender; the head and ears seemed large in
proportion to the gracefulness of these forms, and by them I first
recognised that the object of my chase was of the ass tribe. The
mane was short and black, as was also a tuft which terminated his
tail. No Ijne whatever ran along his back, or crossed his shoulders,
as are seen on the tame species with us. When my followers of
the country came up, they regretted I had not shot the creature
when he was so within my aim, telling me his flesh is one of the
greatest delicacies in Persia: but it would riot have been to eat
him that I should have been glad to have had him in my posses-
sion. The prodigious swiftness and peculiar manner with which
he fled across the plain, coincided exactly with the description that
Xenophon gives of the same animal in Arabia. But, above all, it
reminded me of the striking portrait drawn by the author of the
book of Job.1

Let this account be compared with the description in Job : —
chap, xxxix.

The fact, that the wild ass delights in the most barren and arid
regions, shows the propriety of a passage in Isaiah, where the ex-
treme desolation of the land of Israel to be occasioned by the troops
of Nebuchadnezzar, is foretold : ch. xxxii. 13, 14.

Professor Gmelin states, that a female onager he possessed some-
times went two days without drinking, and that brackish water wfcs
better liked by her than fresh. A few blades of corn, a little with-
ered grass, or the tops of a few scorched shrubs or plants, were
sufficient to satisfy the cravings of its appetite, aud render it con-
tented and happy. Hence we may conceive the extreme state of
wretchedness to which Judah was exposed, by the dearth which
Jeremiah describes in the fourteenth chapter of his prophecies : —

The wild asses stood in the high places,
They snuffed up the wind Hke dragons ;
Their eyes failed, because there was no grass. — Ver. 6.

The extreme propensity of the Jews to associate themselves in
acts of idolatrous and obscene worship, with the heathen nations by
which they were surrounded, has induced the prophet to refer to
the violence of lust, and unrestrainable eagerness to satisfy the
prompting of desire, in this animal : 'How canst thou say I am not
polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the val-
ley, know what thou hast done ; thou art a swift dromedary, trav-
ersing her ways ; a wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up
the wind at her pleasure : in her occasion who can turn her away ?
All they that seek her will not weary themselves; after her season
they will find her,' ch. ii. 23, 24. Every means used to restrain
them from their idolatrous purposes proved unavailing: they

THE WILD ASS. 103

'snuffed up the wind at their pleasure,' and wearied the prophets
of the Most High, till the armies of the Chaldeans subdued their
spirit, and scattered them abroad for a season.

The ignorance and self-conceit of man is strongly asserted in
Job xi. 12, by a reference to this animal : ' Vain man would be
wise, though he be born a wild ass's colt ; ' or ass-colt ; a prover-
bial expression, denoting extreme perversity and ferocity, and one
repeatedly alluded to in the Old Testament. Thus, in Gen. xvi.
12, it is prophesied of Ishmael, that he should be a wild-ass man ;
rough, untaught, and libertine as a wild ass. So Hosea xiii. ]5:
'He (Ephraim) hath run wild amidst the braying monsters.' So
again, in ch. viii. 9, the very same character is given of Ephraim,
who is called * a solitary wild ass by himself,' or perhaps a solitary
wild ass of the desert; for the original will bear to be so rendered.
This proverbial expression has descended among the Arabians to
the present day, who still employ, the expressions * the ass of the
desert,' or, < the wild ass,' to describe an obstinate, indocile, and
contumacious person. In Job xxiv. 5, robbers and plunderers are
distinguished by the odious term of wild asses. The passage refers,
evidently, says Mr. Good, 'not to the proud and haughty tyrants
themselves, but to the oppressed and needy wretches, the Bed-
ouins and other plundering tribes, whom their extortion and vio-
lence had driven from society, and compelled in a body to seek for
subsistence by public robbery and pillage. In this sense the de-
scription is admirably forcible and characteristic.' So the son of
Sirach says (Ecclus. xiii. 19) : 'As the wild ass is the lion's prey in
the wilderness, so the rich eat up the poor.'

104 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE ROCK GOAT, OR IBEX.

THE best account which we have of this creature, is furnished by
the late Mr. Charles Taylor, from whom we have selected the mar
terials for the following article.

There are three places in scripture where an animal of the goat
kind is mentioned, either directly, or by allusion, 1 Sam. xxiv. 2,
'Saul went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats :'
literally, on the superfices, or on the face of the rocks of the IOLIM.
Psalm civ. 18: 'The high mountains to the Ibices, (louai) are a
refuge ; rocks are the refuge to the Saphanim.1 But there is a third
passage where it is more distinctly referred to, and its manners de-
scribed at greater length : — in our translation, * Knowest thou the
time when the wild goats of the rocks bring forth? Canst thou
mark when the hinds do calve ? Canst thou number the months
they fulfil ? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth ? They
bow themselves : they bring forth their young ones ; they cast out
their sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking ; they grow up
with corn; they go forth, and return not to them,' Job xxxix. 1—4.
A fourth passage presents this creature, the IOLEH, in a feminine
form : ' Let thy wife be as the loving hind, and the pleasant roe,'
Proverbs v. 19.

The specific character of the Bouquetin, or rock goat, is taken
from the beard and horns, which are knobbed along the upper or
anterior surface, and recline towards the back. The wild goat is
larger than the tame goat, but resembles it much in the outer form.
The head is small in proportion to the body, with the muzzle thick

THE ROCK GOAT, OR IBEX. 105

and compressed, and a little arched. The eyes are large and round,
and have much fire and brilliancy. The horns are large, when of
a full size, weighing sometimes sixteen or eighteen pounds, flatted
before and rounded behind, with one or two longitudinal ridges,
and many transverse ridges, which degenerate towards the tip into
knobs. The colour is dusky brown ; the beard long, tawny, or
dusky ; the legs slender, with hoofs short, hollow on the inside, and
on the outside terminated by a salient border, like those of the cha-
mois. The body is short, thick and strong ; the tail short, naked
underneath, the rest covered with long hairs, white at the base and
sides, black above and at the end. The coat is long, but not pen-
dent, ash coloured, mixed with some hoary hairs. A black list
runs along the back, and there is a black spot above and below the
knees. Its color, however, like that of other animals, must neces-
sarily vary according to its age, and to local circumstance?.

The female is one-third less than the male, and not so corpulent :
her color is less tawny ; and her horns are not above eight inches
long.

In a state of tranquillity, the rock goat commonly carries the head
low ; but in running it holds it high, and even bends it a little for-
ward. It mounts a perpendicular rock of fifteen feet at three leaps,
or rather three successive leaps, or three successive bounds of five
feet each. It does not seem as if he found any footing on the rock,
appearing to touch it merely to be repelled, like an elastic sub-
stance striking against a hard body. If he is between two rocks
which are near each other, and wants to reach the top, he leaps
from the side of one rock to the other alternately,' till he has obtain-
ed the summit. He also traverses the glaciers with rapidity when
he is pursued.

The Bouquetins feed, during the night, in the highest woods ;
but the sun no sooner begins to gild the summits, than they quit
the woody region, and mount, feeding in their progress, till they
have reached the most considerable heights. They betake them-
selves to the sides of the mountains which face the east or south,
and lie down in the highest places and hottest exposures ; but when
the sun has finished more than three quarters of its course, they
again begin to feed, and to descend towards the woods ; whither
they retire when it is likely to snow, and where they always pass
the winter. The Bouquetins assemble in flocks, consisting at most
of ten, twelve, or fifteen; but more usually in smaller numbers.
The males which are six years old and upwards, haunt more ele-
vated places than the females and the younger Bouquetins ; and as
they advance in age, they are less fond of society, and frequently
live entirely alone. Having their fore legs somewhat shorter than
the hind legs, they naturally ascend with greater facility than they
descend ; for this reason, nothing but the severest weather can en-
gage them to come down into the lower regions ; and even in win-
ter, if there are a few fine days, they leave the woods and mount
higher. These facts were not unobserved by the Psalmist, as we
§ee from one of the passages above cited.

106

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

None but the inhabitants of the mountains engage in the chase
of this animal ; for it requires, not only a head that can bear to look
down from the greatest heights without terror ; address and sure
footedness in the most difficult and dangerous passes ; and to be
an excellent marksman ; but also much strength and vigor, to sup-
port hunger, cold, and prodigious fatigue. This shows the propri-
ety with which the inspired writer calls the dreary and frightful
precipices which frown over the Dead Sea, towards the wilderness
of Engedi. * The rocks of the wild goats ;' as if accessible only to
those animals.

THE ANTELOPE.

THIS animal is not mentioned in our translation of the Bible ;
but it is generally agreed, that the Zebi, which our translators take
for the roe, is the gazelle, or antelope. The former animal is ex-
tremely rare in Palestine and the adjoining countries ; while the latter
is common in every part of the Levant. Add to this, that the Zebi
was allowed to the Hebrews, as an article of food, (Deut. xii. 5,
&c.), and scarcely a doubt can remain on the subject.

The name of this animal, which is from a verb signifying to as-
semble, or collect together, is very characteristic of the gregarious
character of the antelope, which live together in large troops, to the
number sometimes of two or three thousand. The Septuagint, or
Greek version of the Bible, uniformly translates the Hebrew word
beauty ; and it is so translated, 2 Sain. i. 19 ; Isaiah iv. 2 j Ezek. vii.
20, &c.

THE ANTELOPE. 107

The gazelle forms a connecting species between the goat and the
deer kinds ; somewhat resembling the former internally, and the
latter externally, excepting its horns, which are annulated or ring-
ed round, with longitudinal depressions running from the bottom to
the point. Of all animals in the world the gazelle is said to have
the most beautiful eye.

From Dr. Russell we learn, that the inhabitants of Syria distin-
guish between the antelope of the mountain, and that of the plain.
The former is the most beautifully formed, and it bounds with sur-
prising agility ; the latter is of a much lighter color, and is neither
so strong nor so active. Both, however, are so fleet, that the grey-
hounds, though reckoned excellent cannot, come up with them,
without the aid of the falcon, except in soft deep ground. It is to
the former species of this animal, apparently, that the saci-ed writers
allude, since they distinctly notice their fleetness upon the moun-
tains, 1 Chron. xii. 8 ; Cant. ii. 8, 9, 17 ; viii. 14.

The usual method of taking the antelope is by hunting it with
the falcon, or the ounce ; but it is sometimes taken by the following
expedient. A tame antelope, bred up for the purpose, is taught to
'join those of its kind wherever it perceives them. When the hun-
ter, therefore, discovers a herd of these together, he fixes a noose
round the horns of the tame animal, in such a manner, lhat if the
rest but touch it they are entangled ; and thus prepared, he sends
his antelope among the rest. The tame animal no sooner ap-
proaches, but the males of the herd instantly sally forth to oppose
him; and in butting with their horns are caught in the noose.
Finding itself taken in the snare, terror lends it additional strength
and activity, and it makes the most vigorous exertions to disentan-
gle itself, and escape before the hunter can come up with it. Its
effort under these circumstances is proposed for imitation to the
person who had rashly become surety for his neighbor : * Deliver
thyself as an antelope from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird
from the hand of the fowler,' (Prov. vi. 5.) ; that is, * Thou hast im-
prudently placed thyself in perilous circumstances, suffer no delay
in making an effort for thy release.'

There seems to be something so highly figurative in the exclama-
tion of the bride, (Cant. i. 7), 'Tell me, O thou, whom my soul
loveth, where thou feedest,' &c. that it has never occurred to critics,
that the speaker, assuming the metaphorical character of a gazette
or antelope, inquires for the resting place of the flock, wherein she
also might rest. They have usually supposed that she makes this
inquiry in the character of a shepherdess, meaning to accompany
her shepherd, and to associate with him at the noon time of day,
when he would be reposing.

108

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE HART AND THE HIND

THE hind and the roe, and the hart and the antelope, have al-
ways been held in the highest estimation hy the orientals, for the
voluptuous beauty of their eyes, the delicate elegance of their form,
and their graceful agility of action. In the sacred writings, there-
fore, as well as in other literary compositions of the East, we fre-
quently meet with direct references, or incidental allusions to their
qualities and habits. The hart, which is the stag or male deer, is
one of those innocent and peaceable animals that seem to embellish
the forest, and animate the solitudes of nature. The easy elegance
of his form, the lightness of his motions; those large branches that
seem made rather for the ornament of his head than its defence ;
the size, the strength, and the swiftness Of this beautiful creature;
all sufficiently rank him among the first of quadrupeds, and among
the most noted objects of human curiosity. But, as this animal is
so well known, it is not necessary that we should occupy much of
our space in minute verbal description. The horns of the deer,

THE HART AND THE HIND. 109

however, arc objects of too curious a description to be passed over
in silence, especially as we shall have occasion to notice them
somewhat particularly, in order to ascertain the import of an ob^
scure passage of scripture. The size of the deer's antlers is in pro-
portion to its age, and are shed every year: in full grown animals
they are very large, and give an expansion and beauty to the head
which is remarkably striking. Their growth and extension are
affected by several external circumstances ; and Buffon thinks it
possible to retard their growth entirely, by greatly retrenching the
animal's food. A stag bred in fertile pastures, and undisturbed
by the hunter, has his head expanded, his antlers numerous, and
his branches thick ; while one often pursued and ill nourished, has
but few antlers, and the expansion but little. The beauty and size
of their horns, therefore, mark their strength and vigor.

The deer is a ruminating animal, and divides the hoof; it was
therefore permitted to be eaten by the Mosaic law, Deut. xii. 15 ;
xiv. 5. This was a great advantage to the Israelites, as the moun-
tainous tracts of Lebanon, Gilead, and Carmel, abounded with deer,
and supplied them with a rich provision of agreeable food.

Naturally of a hot and arid constitution, the deer suffers much
from thirst in the oriental regions. He therefore seeks the fountain
or the stream with intense desire, particularly when his natural
thirst has been aggravated by the pursuit of the hunter. Panting
and braying, with eagerness lie precipitates himself into the river,
that he may quench at once the burning fever which consumes his
vitals, in its cooling waters. No circumstance can display more
forcibly the ardent breathings of divine love in the soul of a true
believer ; and the holy Psalmist has availed himself of it, with ad-
mirable propriety and effect, in the description of his religious feel-
ings, when exiled from the house of God, and a dejected wanderer
near the sources of the Jordan : ' As the hart panteth after the wa-
ter brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirst-
eth for God, for the living God : when shall I come and appear
before God?' Thus importunate are the desires of the genuine
saint; thus earnestly he longs after communion with his God; he
feels impatient at a distance from the sanctuary, and finds it impos-
sible to be satisfied with any enjoyment less than the sensible en-
joyment of his Redeemer's favor.

The deer seems to resemble the goat, in being remarkably sure
footed, and delighting in elevated situations. It possesses extraor-
dinary swiftness, and will bound, with surprising agility, more than
fifty feet. It is, therefor, with admirable propriety and force, that
the spouse compares the sudden manifestations of her Saviour's
love and power, to the bounding of the hart on the summits of the
mountains: 'The voice of my beloved ! behold, he cometh leaping
upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills,' Cant. ii. 8. To give
us some idea of the joy and triumph which the Messiah's appear*
ance in human nature, his resurrection from the dead, and the
establishment of his kingdom in all its glory, should produce in the

110 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

hearts of perishing sinners, the prophet Isaiah borrows the same
figure : — * Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue
of the dumb shall sing,' chap. xxxv. 6.

The hind, or female stag, is a lovely creature, and of an elegant
shape ; though she is more feeble than the hart, and destitute of
horns. It is not known, we believe, that the hind is more sure foot-
ed than the hart, although the figure employed by both David and
Habakkuk, seems to indicate as much. The royal Psalmist, allud-
ing to the security of his position, under the protection of his God,
says, ' He rnaketh my feet like hind's feet, and setteth me upon my
high places,' (Psalm xviii. 33) ; and the prophet, reposing in the
same power, anticipates a full deliverance from his existing trou-
bles, and a complete escape from surrounding dangers: 'He will
make my feet like hind's feet, and he will make me to walk upon
mine high places,' Hal), iii. 19. This passage has given rise to con-
siderable discussion among the learned.

In Prov. v. 18, 19, Solomon admonishes the young man to let
the wife of his bosom be to him 'as the loving hind and pleasant
roe ;' a beautiful allusion to the mutual fondness of the stag and
hind. The only remaining passage of scripture in which this ani-
mal is mentioned, requiring illustration, is the prophetic blessing
pronounced on Naphtali by the dying patriarch — a passage which
is involved in considerable difficulty and obscurity. In our trans-
lation it stands thus : ' Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth good-
ly words,' (Gen. xlix. 21) ; — a rendering which exhibits a singular
confusion of ideas. The subject of the prophecy is represented as
being both masculine and feminine : a hind is said to speak words
— •goodly words — a phraseology in which there is no unity of allu-
sion, to say nothing of its want of correspondence with the subse-
quent history of the tribe, but which correspondence is found in a
nice degree, in every other paragraph of this beautiful composition.

The late editor of Calmet undertook a very careful analysis of
this passage, and gives, as its result, the following version : ' Naph-
tali is a deer roaming at liberty, he shooteth forth noble branches
(majestic antlers.? The English word branches, is applied to the
stag, with exactly the same allusion as the Hebrew word : the French
say bois (wood), for a stag's horns. The horns of a stag are annu-
ally shed, and re-produced ; and as we have already said, they are
ample if his pasturage has been plentiful and nutritious ; or stinted
in their growth, if his food has been sparing, or deficient in nourish-
ment. liufFon reasons at length on this subject. — ' There is so inti-
mate a relation,' he says, 'be- ween nutrition and the production of
the antlers, &c. that we have formerly established its entire depen-
dence on a superabundance of nourishment. After the first year, in
the month of May, the horns begin to shoot, and form two projec-
tions, which lengthen and harden, in proportion as the animal takes
nourishment. This effect (of nourishment) appears, especially on
the summit of the head, where it manifests itself more than every
where else, by the production of the horns . . . Another proof that

THE HART AND THE HIND. Ill

the production of the horns arises wholly from the superabundance
of nourishment, is the difference which is found between the horns
of stags of the same age, of which some are very thick and spread-
ing, while others are thin and slender, which depends absolutely on
the quantity of nourishment : for, a stag which inhabits a plentiful
country, where he feeds at his will ; where he is not molested by
dogs or by men ; where, having eaten quietly, he may afterwards
ruminate at his ease, will always show a head beautiful, high, and
spreading : palms large and well-furnished : the stem of his horns
thick, well-pearled, with numerous antlers, long and strong : where-
as, he who inhabits a country where he has neither quiet nor nour-
ishment sufficient, will show but an impoverished head, few antlers,
and feeble stems; INSOMUCH, THAT IT 19 ALWAYS EASY TO DETER-
MINE, BY EXAMINING THE HEAD OF A STAG, WHETHER HE INHABITS
A PLENTIFUL AND QUIET COUNTRY, AND WHETHER HE HAS BEEN
WELL OR ILL FED.'

The prediction of Jacob, then, may be thus understood : ' Naph-
tali shall inhabit a country so rich, so fertile, so quiet, so unmolest-
ed, that, after having fed to the full, on the most nutritious pastur-
age, he shall shoot out branches, i. e. antlers, &c., of the most majes-
tic magnitude.' Thus the patriarch denotes the happy lot of Naph-
tali ; not directly, but indirectly ; not by the energy of immediate
description, but by inevitable inference, arising from the observation
of its effects. In fact, the lot of this tribe was rich in pasture, and
4 his soil,' as Calrnet observes, ' was very fruitful in corn and oil,'
So that we have correct verbal propriety, and the subsequent fulfil,
ment of the prophecy, in favor of this interpretation.

The residence of Naphtali was a beautiful woodland country, ex-
tending to Mount Lebanon, and producing fruits of every sort. —
Moses says (Deut. xxxiii, 23) Naphtali shall enjoy abundance of fa-
vor and be filled with the blessings of the Lord. Joseph us speaks
highly of the fertility of Galilee, which comprised the lot of the
tribe, arid reckons two hundred and fourteen towns in the province.
It needs little proof that such a country was likely to yield abun-
dance of nourishment for deer, which might display its prolific ef-
fects in the growth and magnitude of the horns, and'their branches :
so that this country might literally fulfil the patriarch's blessing,
which is not always to be expected in figurative language,

112 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE HARE AND THE CONEY.

IN Lev. xi. the Jewish legislator places the hare among unclean
animals, because, * although he chews the cud, he divides not the
hoof.'

Like all other animals that feed entirely upon vegetables, the
hare is inoffensive and timorous. As natur'e furnishes it with an
abundant supply, it has not that rapacity after food remarkable in
such as are often stinted in their provisions. It is extremely active,
and amazingly swift, to which it chiefly owes its protection ; for,
being the prey of every voracious animal, it is incessantly pursued.
The eyes of the hare are large and prominent, and placed so far
backward in its head, that it can almost see behind it as it runs.
They are never wholly closed ; but, as the animal is continually
upon the watch, it sleeps with them open. The ears are still more
remarkable for their size ; they are moveable, and can be directed
to every quarter; so that the smallest sounds are readily received,
and the animal's motions directed accordingly. The muscles of
the body are very strong, and without fat, so that it may be said to
carry no superfluous burthen of flesh about it. The hinder feet are
larger than the fore, which still adds to the rapidity of its motions ;
and almost all animals that are remarkable for their speed, except
the horse, are formed in the same manner. The hare multiplies
exceedingly ; and, were it not for the depredations made upon the
race by most other animals, it would quickly overrun the earth.

The flesh of this animal has been esteemed a delicacy by some
nations, but is held in detestation by others. The Jews, the ancient
Britons, and the Mahometans, all considered it as unclean, and re-

THE HARE AND THE CONEY. 113

ligiously abstained from it. On the contrary, there are scarcely any
other people, however barbarous, who do not consider it as the most
agreeable food.

The English translators, in common with several others, have
taken an animal mentioned in Leviticus xi. 6, and other parts of
the Bible, to be the coney or rabbit. But, to say nothing against
the improbability of this animal being common to Arabia or Judea,
there is another formidable objection to this interpretation ; namely,
the want of conformity between the habits of the rabbit and those
attributed to the saphan (Eng. Tr. Coney) by the sacred writers.
* The high hills,' says David, 'are a refuge for the wild goats, and
the rocks for the saphans' (Eng. Tr. Conies), Psa. civ. 18. Solomon
notices the same fact, in Prov. xxx. 26 : « The saphans (Eng. Tr.
Conies) are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the
rocks.' Now, it is well known, that the rabbit, instead of fixing its
residence in the flinty rock, uniformly takes up its dwelling in the
sandy ground, and invariably frequents the plain.

Bochart, admitting these difficulties, takes the saphan to be the
jerboa, or leaping mouse ; but Bruce has shown that the only ani-
mal which answers to its description, is the ashkoko; or as it is
called iii Arabia and Syria, Ganam-lsrael, or ' Israel's sheep.' The
following is Dr. Shaw's description of this curious animal

'It is a harmless creature, of the. same size and quality with the
rabbit, and with the like incurvating posture and disposition of the
fore teeth. But it is of a browner color, with smaller eyes, and a
head more pointed, like the marmot's. The fore-feet are short, and
the hinder are nearly as long in proportion as those of the jerboa.
Though this animal is known to burrow sometimes in the ground,
yet as its usual residence and refuge is in the holes and clefts of the
rocks, we have so far a more presumptive proof, that this creature
may be the saphan of the scriptures than the jerboa.' The Dr.
could riot learn why this animal was called * Israel's lamb.'

Mr. Bruce's description is very full : we select the following par-
ticulars. 'The ashkoko are gregarious, and frequently several
dozens of them sit upon the great stones at the mouths of caves,
and warm themselves in the sun, or even come out and enjoy the
freshness of the summer evening. They have something very mild,
feeble-like, and timid in their deportment ; are gentle, and easily
tamed ; though, when roughly handled at the first, they bite very
severely. All over his body he has scattered hairs, strong and pol-
ished like his mustachoes ; for the most part two inches and a quar-
ter in length. His ears are round, nqt pointed ; he makes no noise,
but certainly chews the cud.' After combating the notion that the
saphan is the coney or rabbit, Mr. Bruce proceeds to apply the
character which the sacred writers give of this animal to the ash-
koko. He is above all other animals so much attached to the rock,
that this celebrated traveller never once saw him on the ground, oy
from among large stones in the mouths of caves, where is his cou-
' 10*

114 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

slant residence. He is in Judea, Palestine, and Arabia, and conse-
quently must have been familiar to Solomon. David describes him
very pertinently, and joins him with other animals perfectly known
to all men: 'The hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks
for the saphan,' or ashkoko, Ps. civ. 18. And Solomon says,
' There be four things which are little upon earth, but they are ex-
ceeding wise. The saphanim are a feeble folk, yet they make their
houses in rocks,' Prov. xxx. 24 — 26. This, Bruce argues, very ob-
viously fixes the ashkoko to be the saphan ; for this weakness seems
to allude to his feet, and how inadequate these are to dig holes in
the rock, where yet, however, he lodges. They are, as already ob-
served, perfectly round, very pulpy or fleshy, liable to be excoriated
or hurt, and of a soft fleshy substance. Notwithstanding this, how-
ever, they build houses in the very hardest rocks, more inaccessible
than those of the rabbit, and in which they abide in greater safety ;
not by exertion of strength, for they have 'it not, being truly as Sol-
omon says, a feeble folk, but by their own sagacity and judgment,
and are, therefore, justly described as wise. Lastly, what leaves
the thing without doubt is, that some of the Arabs, particularly Da-
rnir, say, that the saphan has no tail ; that it is less than a cat, and
lives in houses ; that is, not houses with men, as there are few of
these in the country where the saphan is ; but that he builds houses,
or nests of straw, as Solomon has said of him, in contradistinction
to the rabbit, and rat, and those other animals that burrow in the
ground, who cannot be said to build houses, as is expressly said of
the saphan.

THE MOUSE.

THIS animal was declared by the Jewish legislator to be unclean
(Lev. xi. 29), which indicates that it was occasionally adopted as an
article of food. It was, indeed, one of the abominations charged
upon the people in the time of Isaiah, for which they were threaten-
ed with signal punishment, Isaiah Ixvi. 17.

But the Hebrew acbar, which our version renders mewse, is
thought to describe the jerboa, an animal which is classed by the

THE MOLE. 115

Arabs under the El Jlkbar, or largest of the mus montanus. It is found
all over Africa, Syria, and other Eastern countries. It is only about
five inches long, stands upon its hind legs, and rests itself by some-
times sitting backwards, but seldom supports itself upon all its four
legs at once. When it thus stands upright, it has the appearance of
a compound animal — a rat with the legs of a bird, in the flyingpos-
Uire. Its fore feet are so extremely short, that they are only used
like the ape's and the squirrel's, as hands to convey its food to its
mouth, and like the rabbit, to dig a subterraneous habitation ; but
the hind legs are long, and so very nimble, that it hops like a bird,
and with so much activity, that it can scarcely be run down by a
greyhound.

The head and mouth of the jerboa resemble those of the hare,
but are different from that animal, by having- only two incisors.
The body is short, and having a tail nearly about the same length,
has caused it to receive the appellation of a rat. Its back and sides
being of an ashy color, with blueish stripes, may be called a sorrel
color. It is eaten in Egypt, and is esteemed very palatable ; its
skin is used as a common, though a beautiful kind of fur.

The reader is doubtless familiar with the account of the great de-
vastation occasioned in the land of Philistia by this little animal,
(1 Sam. vi.), after its inhabitants had taken the ark of the Divine
presence, and placed it in the vicinity of the idolatrous symbols of
worship. Nor is this the only instance on record in which it has
made considerable ravages in that neighborhood.

THE MOLE

THIS curious little quadruped seems formed to live wholly under
the earth, as if the supreme Being meant that no place should be
left wholly untenanted. Were we, from our own sensations to
pronounce upon the life of an animal that was never to appear
above ground, but be always condemned to hunt for its prey under-
death, and obliged, whenever it removed from one place to another,
to bore its way through a resisting body, we should be apt to assert
that such an existence must be the most frightful and solitary in

116 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

nature. In the mole, however, though condemned to all these
seeming inconveniences, we discover no signs of wretchedness or
distress. No quadruped is latter, none has a more sleek or glossy
skin ; and, though denied many advantages that most animals en-
joy, it is more liberally possessed of others, which they have in a
more scanty proportion.

The size of the mole is between that of the rat and the mouse ;
but it in no way resembles either, being an animal entirely of a sin-
gular kind, and perfectly unlike any other quadruped whatever.
Its nose is long and pointed, resembling that of a hog, but much
longer. Its eyes are so small that it is scarcely possible to discern
them ; and instead of ears it has only holes in the place. Its neck
is so short that the head seems stuck upon the shoulders. The
body is thick and round, terminating by a very small short tail, and
its legs also are so short, that the animal seems to lie flat on its belly.
Thus it appears to us, at first view, as a mass of flesh covered with
a fine shining black skin, with a little head, and scarce any eyes,
legs, or tail. The ancients and some of the moderns were of opin-
ion, jhat the mole was utterly blind ; but Derham, by the help of a
microscope, plainly discovered all parts of the eye that are known,
in other animals. The smallness of its eyes, which induced the
ancients to think it blind, is to the animal a peculiar advantage. A
small degree of vision is sufficient for a creature that is destined to
live in darkness : a more extensive sight would only have served to
show the horrors of its prison, while nature had denied it the means
of escape. Had this organ been larger, it would have been perpet-
ually liable to injuries, by the falling of the earth into it; but na-
ture, to prevent that inconvenience, has not only made them very
small, but has also covered them with hair. Besides these advan-
tages, anatomists mention another, that contributes to its security ;
namely, a certain muscle, by which the animal can draw back the
eye whenever it is necessary, or in danger. Indeed, the whole fig-
ure and formation of the mole is most admirably adapted to its.
manner of living, and strikingly illustrates the wisdom and skill of
the Almighty Creator.

THE BAT. 117

THE BAT.

THIS singular creature, which possesses properties that connect
it with both beasts and birds, has been variously placed in systems
of natural history. The editor of Calmet, says, * it is too much a
bird to be properly a beast, and too much a beast to be properly a
bird.' Doubts as to its nature, however, no longer exist. The bat
is now universally made to take its place among the animal tribes,
to which the bringing forth its young alive, its hair, its teeth, as
well as the rest of its habitudes and conformation, evidently entitles
it. In no particular, scarcely, does it resemble a bird, except in its
power of sustaining itself in the air, which circumstance is scarcely
enough to balance the weight of those particulars which we have
noticed, as placing it among quadrupeds.

The Hebrew name of the bat denotes * the flier in duskiness,' i. e.
the evening. It was similarly named by the Greeks and the Latins.
In Deut, xiv. 18, 19, it is well described : < Moreover the bat, and
every creeping thing thatjlieth, is unclean to you : they shall not be
eaten.'

The legs of the bat are formed in a very particular manner, and
entirely different from any other animal. It creeps with the instru-
ments of its flight. During the entire winter, it conceals itself in its
hole, as it does, also, during the day time even in summer, never
venturing out, except for an hour or two in the evening, in order to
supply itself with food. The usual place in which it takes up its
abode is the hollow of a tree, a dark cavern, or the chink of some
ruined building, of which it seems particularly fond. This illus-
trates Isaiah, ii. 20: 'In that day, a man shall cast his idols of sil-
ver and his idols of gold to the moles and to the bats : ' that is, he
shall carry his idols into the dark caverns, old ruins, or desolate
places, to which he himself shall flee for refuge; and so shall give
them up, and relinquish them to the filthy animals that frequent
such places, and have taken possession of them as their proper hab-
itation.

SECTION IV.
DUBIOUS ANIMALS

THE BEHEMOTH

THE animal denoted by this appellation in the book of Job, has
been variously determined by learned men ; some of whom, espe-
cially the early Christian writers and the Jewish rabbins, have in-
dulged in sufficiently extravagant notions. To detail these would
3be useless, and we shall therefore pass them over in silence.

The late editor of Cal met, whose extensive learning and indefati-
gable industry will always entitle him to respectful attention, not-
withstanding his love of fanciful conjecture, has well remarked, that
'the author of the book of Job has" evidently taken great pains in
delineating highly finished and poetical pictures of two remarkable
animals, BEHEMOTH and LEVIATHAN: these he reserves to close his
descriptions of animated nature, and with these he terminates the
climax of that discourse, which he puts into the mouth of the AL-
MIGHTY. He even interrupts that discourse, and separates, as it
were, by that interruption, these surprising creatures from those
which he had described before; and he descants on them in a man-
ner which demonstrates the poetic animation with which he wrote.
The leviathan is described at a still greater length than the behe-

THE BEHEMOTH. 119

moth ; and the two evidently appear to he presented as compan-
ions ; to be reserved as fellows and associates.' Mr. Taylor then
proceeds to enquire what were the creatures most likely to be
cornpanionized and associated in early ages, and in countries bor-
dering on Egypt, where the scene of this poem is placed ; and from
the ' Antiquities of Herculaneum,' the ' Prrenestine Pavement,' and
the famous 'Statue of the Nile,' he shows these to have been the
CROCODILE — now generally admitted to be the leviathan, and ^the
HIPPOPOTAMUS, or river-horse.

'After these authorities,' he remarks, ' I think we may without
hesitation, conclude, that this association was not rare or uncom-
mon, but that it really was the customary manner of thinking, and
consequently, of speaking, in ancient times, and in the countries
where these creatures were native ; we may add, that being well
known in Egypt, and being, in some degree, popular objects of
Egy plain pride, distinguishing natives of that country, for their
magnitude and character, they could not escape the notice of any
curious naturalist, or writer on natural history; so, that to suppose
they were omitted in this part of the book of Job, would be to sup-
pose a blemish in the book, implying a deficiency in the author :
and if they are inserted, no other description can be that of the hip-
popotamus.'

Aristotle represents the hippopotamus to be of the size of an ass;
Herodotus affirms that in stature he is equal to the largest ox ; Di-
odorus makes his height not less than five cubits, or above seven
feet and a half; and Tatius calls him, on account of his prodigious
strength, the Egyptain elephant. Captain Beaver thus describes
one which he met with in Western Africa : * The animal was not
swimming, but standing in the channel, in, I suppose, about five
feet water : the body immerged, and the head just above it. It looked
steadfastly at the boat till we were within ahout twenty yards of it,
when I lodged a ball half way between its eyes and nostrils : it im-
mediately tumbled down, but instantly rose again, snorted, and walk-
ed into shallower water, where I had an opportunity of seeing its
whole body, and than discovered that it was an hippopotamus. It
afterwards advanced a little towards the boat, then towards the
shore, and turned entirely round, once or twice, as if at a loss what
to do, plunging violently the whole time. At last it walked into
deeper water, and then dived : we watched its rising, and then pur-
sued it ; and this we did for near three hours, when, at length it
landed on a narrow neck of sand, and walked over it into fifteen or
sixteen fathoms of water. We then gave up the pursuit, having
never been able to get a second shot at it. The longest time it was
under water during the pursuit, was twenty minutes, but immedi-
ately after being wounded it rose every three or four minutes. Its
body appeared to be somewhut larger than that of the largest buf-
faloe, with shorter but much thicker legs ; a head much resembling
a horse's, but longer ; large projecting eyes ; open and wide distend-
ed nostrils ; short erect ears, like a cropt horse when it pricks them

120 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

up, or those of a well-cropped terrier. I perceived nothing like a
mane, and the skin appeared to be without hair ; but of this I am
not certain, for being totally ignorant whether the animal was fe-
rocious or not, immediately after I fired, we rowed from it, expect-
ing it would attack us.'

In Job xl. 17, 38, the sacred writer conveys a striking idea of the
bulk, vigor, and strength of the behemoth.

lie moveth his tail like a cedar :

The sinews of his thighs are interwoven together.

His ribs are as strong pieces of copper ;

His backbone like bars of iron.

The idea of his prodigious might is increased by the account
given of his bones, which are compared to strong pieces of brass,
and bars of iron. Such figures are commonly employed by the
sacred writers, to express great hardness and strength, of which a
striking example occurs in the prophecy of Micah : * Arise and
thresh, O daughter of Zion ; for I will make thy horn iron, and I
will make thy hoofs brass : and thou shalt beat in pieces many peo-
ple, Micah iv. 33 — so hard and strong are the bones of the behe-
moth.

He is chief of the works of God.

He that made him has fixed his weapon.

Here he is described as one of the noblest animals which the Al-
mighty Creator has produced. The male hippopotamus which
Zernighi brought from the Nile to Italy, was sixteen feet nine inches
long, from the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of the tail ; fif-
teen feet in circumference ; and six feet and a half high ; and the
legs were about two feet ten inches long. The head was three
feet and a half in length, and eight feet and a half in circumference.
The opening of the mouth was two feet four inches, and the largest
teeth were more than a foot long.

Thus, his prodigious strength ; his impenetrable skin ; and vast
opening of his mouth, and his portentous voracity ; the whiteness
and hardness of his teeth ; his manner of life, spent with equal ease
in the sea, on the land, or at the bottom of the Nile, — equally claim
our admiration, and entitle him, says Paxton, to be considered as
the chief of the ways of God. Nor is he less remarkable for his
sagacity ; of which two instances are recorded by Pliny and Solinus.
After he has gorged himself with corn, and begins to return with a
distended belly to the deep, with averted steps he traces a great
many paths, lest his pursuers, following the lines of one plain track,
should overtake and destroy him while he is unable to resist. The
second instance is not less remarkable : when he has become fat
with too much indulgence, he reduces his obesity by copious bleed-
ings. For this purpose, he searches for newly cut reeds, or sharp
pointed rocks, and rubs himself against them till he makes a suf-
ficient aperture for the blood to flow. To promote the discharge,
it is said, he agitates his body ; and when he thinks he has lost a

THE LEVIATHAN. 121

sufficient quantity, he closes the wound by rolling himself in the
mud.

In compliance with the prevailing opinion, which refers this de-
scription to the hippopotamus, we have thought it right to exhibit
some of the points of resemblance which have been discovered be-
tween that creature and the behemoth of the book of Job. We
much doubt, however, the identity of the animals, and are more in-
clined to think, with Drs. Good and Clarke, that the sacred writer
refers to an animal of an extinct genus. Dr. Clarke believes it to
have been the mastodanton or mammoth, some part of a skeleton of
which he has carefully examined, and thus described in his com-
mentary on Gen. i. 24. « The mammoth for size will answer the
description in verse 19 : * He is the chief of the ways of God.'
That to which the part of a skeleton belonged, which I examined,
must have been, by computation, not less than twenty-Jive feet high,
and sixty feet in length ! The bones of one toe I measured, and
found them three feet in length ! One of the very smallest grinders
of an animal of this extinct species, full of processes on the surface,
more than an inch in depth, which showed that the animal had liv-
ed on flesh, I have just now weighed, and found it, in its very dry
state, four pounds eight ounces, avoirdupoise : the same grinder of
an elephant I have weighed also, and find it just two pounds. The
mammoth, therefore, from this proportion must have been as large
as two elephants and a quarter. We may judge by this of its size ;
elephants are frequently ten and eleven feet high: this will make the
mammoth at least twenty-Jive or twenty-six feet high ; and as it ap-
pears to have been a many-toed animal, the springs which such a
creature could make, must have been almost incredible : nothing
by siciftness could have escaped its pursuit. God seems to have
made it as the proof of his power; and had it been prolific, and not
become extinct, it would have depopulated the earth. Creatures
of this kind must have been living in the days of Job : the behemoth
is referred to here, as if perfectly commonly known.'

THE LEVIATHAN,

THE word Leviathan occurs only in four passages of scripture, in
addition to that very sublime description which is furnished of the
creature to which the appellation is given, in the forty-first chapter
of the book of Job — a description in the highest degree poetical,
and, in the minutest particular, just. There can be little doubt that
the same creature is elsewhere called Tan and Tannin, which
words are variously rendered whale, dragon, serpent, and sea-mon-
ster; a diversity of translation sanctioned by the original penmen,

123 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

who use the words to describe these, and perhaps several other
large animals in addition to them, among which is the crocodile,
who is more particularly marked out, by the term LEVIATHAN.

'The main proof that the leviathan is the crocodile of the Nile,'
says Mr. Vansittart, 'arises chiefly from some particular circumstan-
ces and contingencies attending the crocodiles of JEgypt, and of no
other country ; and if these circumstances are such, that we can
suppose the Hebrew writer drew his ideas from them in his de-
scription of leviathan, they will afford an almost certainty that levi-
nthan represents the crocodile of the Nile.' The writer then quotes
a passage from Herodotus, where the historian describes this ani-
mal, and relates the peculiarities attendant upon him in parts of
Egypt ; remarking, that ' some of the Egyptians hold the crocodile
sacred, particularly the inhabitants of Thebes, and others bordering
upon the lake Mceris, who breed up a single crocodile, adorn him
with rings and bracelets, feed him with the sacred food appointed
for him, and treat him with the most honorable distinction.' With
much ingenuity, he then proceeds to illustrate the description in the
book of Job, and to consider it as strongly indicating the peculiari-
ties of the Thebaid crocodile.

The description of leviathan commences at the twelfth verse, and
is divided into three parts, classed under the different heads of, (1.)
his parts; (2.) his great might ; (3.) his well-armed make. Of these,
the first and the third describe him as truly as a naturalist would
do. The second part magnifies him as a god.

It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to find a description so admi-
rably sustained in any language of any age or country. The whole
appears to be of a piece, and equally excellent.

To stir up or awake leviathan is represented, in chap. xli. 8 — 10
of the same book, to be inevitable destruction. It was natural to
mention such a terrible casualty in the strongest terms of abhor-
rence, and to lament those who so miserably perished with the most
bitter imprecations on the disastrous day. Job calls for the assist-
ance of such language, to execrate the fatal night of his nativity.

By the term leviathan, in Psalm Ixxiv. 14, we may suppose Pha-
raoh to be represented, as a king of Egypt is called by Ezekiel
(chap. xxix. 3) ' the great dragon [or crocodile] that lieth in the
miust of his rivers.'

THE UNICORN.

IT would be o'f little advantage to the reader, were we td detail
the various opinions entertained relative to the identity of the ani-
mal designated the UNICOKN, in our translation of the Bible. The
oryx, a species of the wild goat ; the urus, a species of the wild bull ;

THE UNICORN. 123

a species of the antelope, or deer; and the single, and double horn-
ed rhinoceros, have each had their able advocates, as being the
RE EM of sacred writ.

From the circumstance of our having associated this creature
with i dubious animals,' it will of course be inferred, that some diffi-
culty exists in identifying it with any known animal. Such is the
fact ; for while there are points of resemblance between the REEM,
as described in scripture, and each of the animals above mentioned,
there are considerations that seem to render it doubtful whether
any one of them is precisely the same animal as that described by
the sacred penmen.

It is hardly necessary to remark, that the unicorn, as represented
by poets and painters, has never been found in nature, and never,
perhaps, had an existence but in the imagination of the one, and oil
the canvass of the other. But before we proceed to inquire what
creature is denoted by the Hebrew mm, it will be well to ascertain
its precise character, by a careful examination of those passages in
which it is mentioned. The first allusion to it, is in the reply of

xxiv. 8. From this it is evident, that the REEM was conceived to
possess very considerable power. With this idea corresponds the
passage in Isaiah, where the prophet associates him with other pow-
erful animals, to symbolize the leaders and princes of the hostile
nation that were destined to desolate his country: 'And the uni-
corns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls;
and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat
with fatness,' ch. xxxiv. 7. From the book of Job we learn, that it
was not only an animal of considerable strength, but also an animal
of a very fierce and intractable disposition : 'Will the unicorn be
willing to eerve thee, or abide by thy crib ? Canst thou bind the
unicorn with his band in the furrow ? or will he harrow the valleys
after thee ? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great ? or
wilt thou leave thy labor to him ? Wilt thou believe him, that he
will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn ? ' ch. xxxix.
9 — 12. Another particular we collect from Psalm xcii. 10 ; name-
ly, that the animal possesses a single horn, and that in an erect pos-
ture, unlike other horned animals : ' My horn shalt thou exalt like
the horn of an unicorn ;' while it is evident from the following pas-
sage, that it was sometimes found with more horns than one. ' His
[Joseph's] horns are like the horns of an unicorn,' Deut. xxxiii. 17.
These are all the passages, except two, in which the Reem is men-
tioned in scripture : these are Psalms xxii. 21, and xxix. 6. From
the former of these passages, we are unable to gather any addition^
al information, and the latter will add but little to our former stock :
' He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Siriori like
a young unicorn.'
We are now better prepared to examine into the validity of the

124 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

claims that have been advanced in favor of those animals which are
supposed to be the reem of the Hebrew Scriptures. Let us first
hear Mr. Bruce.

'It is very remarkable,' says this distinguished traveller, 'that two
such animals as the elephant and the rhinoceros should have whol-
ly escaped the description of the sacred writers. Moses and the
children of Israel were long in the neighborhood of the countries
which produced them both, while in Egypt and in Arabia. The
classing of the animals into clean and unclean seems to have led
the legislator into a kind of necessity of describing, in one of the
classes, an animal which made the food of the principal pagan na-
tions in the neighborhood. Considering the long and intimate con-
nexion Solomon had with the south coast of the Red Sea, it is next
to impossible that he was not acquainted with them, as both David
his father, and he himself, made plentiful use of ivory, as they fre-
quently mention in their writings, which, along with gold, came
from the same parts. Solomon, besides, wrote expressly on Zool-
ogy, and we can scarce suppose he was ignorant of two of the prin-
cipal articles of that part of the creation, inhabitants of the great
continent of Asia east from him, and that of Africa on the south,
with both which territories he was in constant correspondence.

' There are two animals named frequently in scripture without
naturalists being agreed what they are. The one is the behemoth,
the other the reem ; both mentioned as types of strength, courage,
and independence on man ; and, as such, exempted from the ordi-
nary lot of beasts, to be subdued by him, or reduced under his do-
minion. Though this is not to be taken in a literal sense, — for there
is no animal without the fear or beyond the reach of the power of
man, — we are to understand it of animals possessed of strength and
size so superlative, as that in these qualities other beasts bear no
proportion to them.'

The behemoth Mr. Bruce takes to be the elephant, in which we
differ from him; and the reem he argues to be the rhinoceros, from
the following considerations.

The derivation of the word, both in Hebrew and Ethiopic, seems
to be from erectness or standing straight. This is certainly no paix
ticular quality in the animal itself, who is not more, or even so
much erect as many other quadrupeds, for its knees are rather
crooked ; but it is from the circumstance and manner in which his
horn is placed. The horns of all other animals are inclined to some
Degree of parallelism with the nose, or os frontis. The horn of the
rhinoceros alone is erect or perpendicular to this bone, on which it
stands at right angles ; thereby possessing a greater purchase or
power, as a lever, than any horn could possibly have in any other
position.

This situation of the horn is veiy happily alluded to in the sacred
writings : * My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a reem,' Psalm
xcii. 10. And the horn here alluded to is not wholly figurative, but
was really an ornament worn by great men in the days of victory.

THE UNICORN. 125

preferment, or rejoicing, when they were anointed with new, sweet,
or fresh oil : a circumstance which David joins with that of erect-
ing the horn.

It is difficult to imagine why some writers have been induced to
consider the unicorn as being of the deer or antelope kind, since this
is of a genus, whose very character is fear and weakness, quite oppo-
site, as Mr. Bruce remarks, to the qualities by which the REEM is de-
scribed in scripture. Besides it is plain that the reem is not of the class
of clean quadrupeds ; and a late modern traveller very whimsically
takes him for the leviathan, which certainly was a fish. Balaam, a
priest of Midian, and so in the neighborhood of the haunts of the
rhinoceros, and intimately connected with Ethiopia (for they them-
selves were shepherds of that country), in a transport, from contem-
plating the strength of Israel whom he was brought to curse, says,
they had as it were ' the strength of the reem,' Numbers xxiii. 22.
Job makes frequent allusions to his great strength, ferocity, and in-
docility, ch. xxxix. 9, 10. He asks, * Will the reem be willing to
serve thee, or to abide at thy crib ? ' That is, will he willingly come
into thy stable, and eat at thy manger? and again: 'Canst thou
bind the reem with a band in the furrow, and will he harrow the
valleys after thee ?' In other words, canst thou make him to go in
the plough or harrow?

Isaiah (ch. xxxiv. 7), who of all the prophets, seems to have
known Egypt and Ethiopia the best, when prophesying about the
destruction of Idamea, says, that 'the reem shall come down witii
the fat cattle :' a proof that he knew his habitation was in the neigh-
borhood. In the same manner as when foretelling the desolation
of Egypt, he mentions as one manner of effecting it, the bringing
down the fly from Ethiopia, to meet the cattle in the desert and
among the bushes, and destroy them there, where that insect did
not ordinarily come but on commands (comp. Isaiah vii. 18, 19 ;
and Exodus viii. 22), and where the cattle feed every year, to save
themselves from that insect.

The principal reason for translating the word reem, unicorn, and
not rhinoceros, is from a prejudice that he must have but one horn.
But this is by no means so well founded, as to be admitted an
argument for establishing the existence of an animal which never
has appeared after the search of so many ages. Scripture, as we
have seen, speaks of the horns of the unicorn; so that, even from
this circumstance, the reem may be the rhinoceros, as the Asiatic
and part of the African rhinoceros may be the unicorn.

In addition to these particulars, Mr. Bruce informs us, that the
rhinoceros does not eat hay or grass, but lives entirely upon trees ;
he does not spare the most thorny ones, but rather seems to be fond
of them ; and it is not a small branch that can escape his hunger,
for he has the strongest jaws of any creature known, and best adapt-
ed to grinding or bruising any thing that makes resistance. But,
besides, the trees capable of most resistance, there are in the vast
forests which he inhabits, trees of a softer consistence, and of a
11*

126 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

very succulent quality, which seem to be destined for his principal
food. For the purpose of gaining the highest branches of these,
his upper lip is capable of being lengthened out. so as to increase
his power of laying hold with this, in the same manner as the ele-
phant does with his trunk. With this lip, and the assistance of his
tongue, he pulls down the upper branches, which have most leaves,,
and these he devours first; having stript the tree of its branches, he
does not therefore abandon it, but placing his snout as low in the
trunk as he finds his horn will enter, he rips up the body of the
tree, and reduces it to thin pieces, like so many laths ; and when he
has thus prepared it, he embraces as much of it as he can in his
monstrous jaws, and twists it with as much ease as an ox would do
a root of celery.

Such is the description which this intelligent writer gives of the
animal he supposes to be thereem of the sacred writers ; and the ob-
jections urged against his opinion possess very little weight. Those
who desire to see them examined and refuted, may find it done in
the Natural Histoiy of the Fragments to Calmet.

Next to the elephant, the rhinoceros is said to be the most pow-
erful of animals. It is usually found twelve feet long, from the tip
of the nose to the insertion of the tail ; from six to seven feet high ;
and the circumference of its body is nearly equal to its length. It
is, therefore, equal to the elephant in bulk ; and the reason of its ap-
pearing so much smaller to the eye than that animal, is, that its legs
are much shorter. Words, says Goldsmith, can convey but a very
confused idea of this animal's shape ; and yet there are few so re-
markably formed. But for its horn, which we have already de-
scribed, its head would have the appearance of that part of a hog.
The skin of the rhinoceros is naked, rough, knotty, and lying upon
the body in folds, in a very peculiar manner ; the skin, which is of
a dirty brown color, is so thick as to turn the edge of a scimitar, and
to resist a musket-ball.

Such is the general description of an animal that appears chiefly
formidable from the horn growing from its snout ; and formed,
rather for war, than with a propensity to engage. The elephant,
the boar, and the buffalo, are obliged to strike transversely with their
weapon; but the rhinoceros, from tho situation of his horn, employs
all his force with every blow ; so that the tiger will more willingly
attack any other animal of the forest than one whose strength is so
justly employed. Indeed, there is no force which this terrible ani-
mal has to apprehend : defended on every side by a thick horny
hide, which the claws of the lion or the tiger are unable to pierce,
and armed before with a weapon that the elephant does not choose
to oppose. Travellers have assured us, that the elephant is often
found dead in the forests, pierced with the horn of a rhinoceros.

CHAPTER III,

BIRDS,

WE now advance to one of the most beautiful and numerous
parts of animated nature. A few introductory observations may be
permitted, before we proceed to describe the several individuals that
are presented to our notice, in reviewing the ornithology of the
Bible.

The first thing which claims our attention, is the structure of the
feathered tribes. In a comparative view with man, their formation
seems much ruder and more imperfect ; and they are in general
found incapable of the docility even of quadrupeds. To these, how-
ever, they hold the next rank ; and far surpass fishes and insects,
both in the structure of their bodies, and in their sagacity.

In reference to the structure of birds of the most perfect order, a
few things demand our attention.

The whole body is shaped in the most convenient manner for
making its way through the air ; being, as Mr. Ray observes, con-
structed very near Sir Isaac Newton's form of least resistance.
According to Barr, in his continuation of Buffbn, 'it is neither ex-
tremely massive, nor equally substantial in all its parts ; but being
designed to rjse in the air, is'capable of expanding a large surface
without solidity. The body is sharp before, to pierce and make its
way through that element : it gradually increases in bulk, till it has
acquired its just dimensions, and falls off in an expansive tail.'
The motion of birds being two-fold, walking and flying, they are
provided with legs, at once wonderfully contrived to walk with, and
raise them like a spring for their flight ; wings to buoy them up,
and waft them along ; and a tail to keep them steady in the air, as-
sist them in their evolutions, and direct them in their course.

Although the feathery covering of birds is admirably constructed
for lightness and buoyancy, their wings are furnished with a strength
that is amazing ; and by these they are enabled to impel themselves
forward with an inconceivable rapidity. To fit them the better for
their flight, the feathers are disposed in the most perfect order, ly-
ing one way ; and, that they may glide more smoothly along, they
are furnished with a gland situated on the rump, from which they
occasionally press out oil with the bill, and anoint the feathers.

Their beak or bill is a curious piece of art, formed of a hard
horny substance, constructed in the most commodious manner for

130 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

piercing the air. Their ears stand not out from their head to re-
tard their flight ; and their eyes are placed in such situations as to
take in nearly a hemisphere on either side.

Birds have no teeth to chew their food ; but those of the graniv-
orous kind are provided with two stomachs, in one of which the'
victuals is softened and macerated before it enters the other to be
completely digested. Being often employed in traversing the upper
regions, where they would be much incommoded did they bring
forth their young in the manner of quadrupeds, their mode of gen-
erating is wisely made to differ, and their oifspring are produced
by means of eggs. In the speedy growth of young birds, by which
they acquire a degree of strength and size, so as to be able so soon
to provide for themselves, we have also an instance of the tender
care of Providence.

What unseen power inspires these little creatures with * the pas-
sion of the groves,' at the most fit season for forming their alliances!
that is, when the genial temper of the weather covers the trees with
leaves, the fields with grass, and produces such swarms of insects
for the support of their future progeny. And how comes it to pass,
that no sooner is the connubial league formed, than the little warb-
lers immediately set about building their nests, and making prepara-
tion for their tender oifspring ? In the building of their nests, what
art and ingenuity are displayed ! Whether they are constructed
from the collected portions of clay and mortar, or from the more
light materials of moss and straw, they contrive to mould them into
the most convenient forms, and to give them a durability propor-
tionate to their wants. Nor is the wonder less, that birds of the
same kind, however widely separated, should all follow the same
order of architecture, in the construction of their habitations ; that
each should make choice of the situation most suitable to its kind ;
and that all should agree in laying as many eggs as to be sufficient
to keep up their species, yet no more than they can conveniently
hatch and bring up.

In the incubation, with what patience do these little creatures sit
on their eggs when necessary, till the young are ready to be hatch-
ed, and then how officious in assisting the little prisoners to escape !
With what inimitable care do they afterwards watch over and pro-
vide for their brood, until it is capable of doing so for itself; and
with what scrupulous exactness, durin gthis period, do they distri-
bute to each its allotted portion of food !

The observations wre have made are applicable to the feathery
tribe in general ; but when we turn to the peculiarities of a few of
the different species, we shall observe that the wisdom and the
goodness of God are no less conspicuous. How wonderful is the
migration of some birds; or that surprising instinct by which 'the
stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times,' and * the crane
and the swallow observe the time of their coming!' Jeremiah
viii. 7.

These are a few of the proofs of the wisdom and goodness of

BIRDS. 131

God which this part of creation exhibit ; but, few as they are, they
are sufficient to excite our admiration, and inspire us with senti-
ments of adoring gratitude to the Author of all being.

The common name for a bird in the Hebrew Scriptures, is tzephur,
the rapid mover, or harrier; a name very expressive of these vola-
tile creatures. A more general and indefinite name, is ouph, ajlier ;
but this appellation denotes every thing that flies, whether bird or
insect. It is frequently translated ' fowl ' in the English Bible. A
bird of prey is called oith, a rusher, from the impetuosity with
which it rushes upon its prey. In several of the passages where it
occurs, our translators have rendered its plural form, by * fowls.'

The number of birds already known, amounts, we believe, to be-
tween three and four thousand. To distinguish the different kinds
from each other, and the varieties of the same kind, when they hap-
pen to differ, is a work of great difficulty ; and perhaps the attain-
ment, when made, would not repay the labor. Linnaeus divides all
birds into six classes, namely ; birds of the rapacious kind — birds of
the pie kind — birds of the poultry kind — birds of the sparrow kind —
birds of the duck kind — and birds of the crane kind. The first four
comprehend the various kinds of land birds ; the two last, those that
belong to water.

From the Hebrew legislator, who had issued the strictest injunc-
tions on the subject of animals, clean and unclean, we might nat-
turally expect directions equally strict respecting birds ; a class no
less distinguished among themselves, by their qualities and modes
of life. But here his animal characteristics, derived from the feet,
failed ; nor was it easy to fix on marks which should, in every in-
stance, guide the learned and the unlearned, to a right conclusion.
Hence, there is not in the Mosaic institutes, any reference to con-
formation, as the means of distinguishing birds into clean and un-
clean, lawful and unlawful ; a list of exceptions forms the sacred di-
rectory, and certain kinds are forbidden, without a word concerning
those that are allowed.

In describing the various birds mentioned in Scripture, we shall
adopt the three-fold arrangement to which reference was made in
our introduction to Zoology.

SECTION I.
AIR BIRDS.

THE Eagle, among birds, sustains the same rank as does the lion
among beastsi. Its great strength, rapidity, and elevation of flight,
added to its natural ferocity and and voracious disposition, have ob-
tained for it the character of* king of birds,' and confer upon it the
power of inspiring terror into all its fellows of the air.

By the Hebrews, the eagle was called nesher, the lacerator ; and
as it is eminent for rapacity, and tearing its prey into pieces, the pro-
priety of the designation is sufficiently obvious.

There are several kinds of the eagle, described by naturalists, and
it is probable that the Hebrew nesher comprehends more than one
of them. The largest and noblest species known, is that called by
Bruce * the golden eagle,' and by the Ethiopians, * father long-beard?

THE EAGLE. 133

from a tuft of hair which grows below its beak. From wing to
wing, this bird measures eight feet, four inches: and from the tip
of his tail to the point of his beak, when dead, four feet, seven
inches. • The weight of the one described by Mr. Bruce was twen-
ty-two pounds ; his middle elaw was about two inches and a half
in length.

Of all known birds, the eagle not only flies the highest, but also
with the greatest rapidity. To this circumstance there are several
striking allusions in the sacred volume. Among the evils threat-
ened to the Israelites in case of their disobedience, the prophet
names one in the following terms : * The Lord shall bring a nation
against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the ea-
gle flieth,' Deut. xxviii. 49. The march of Nebuchadnezzar against
Jerusalem, is predicted in the same terms : * Behold, he shall come
up as clouds, and his chariots as a whirlwind: his horses are swift-
er than eagles,' (Jer. iv. 13); as is, also, his invasion of Moab : 'For
thus saith the Lord, Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall
spread his wings over Moab,' (chap, xlviii. 40) ; i. e. he shall settle
down on the devoted country, as an eagle over its prey. See also,
Lam. iv. 19 ; Hos. viii. 1 ; Hab. i. 8*

Of all birds, the eagle has the quickest eye ; but his sense of
smelling is not so acute. He never pursues his prey, therefore, ex-
cept when in sight; but, having once obtained a view of it, such is
the rapidity of his movement, that certain destruction ensues. To
this Job alludes, in expressing the rapid flight of time: 'My days
are swifter than a post : they flee away, they see no good. They
are passed away as the swift ships ; as the eagle that hasteth to the
prey,' Job ix. 25, 26.

In general, these birds are found in mountainous and ill-peopled
countries, and breed among the loftiest cliffs. Hence the sublime
language of the prophet, in allusion to the pride and degradation of
Moab : ' Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou
set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down saith
the Lord,' (Obad. ver. 4) ; and also of Jeremiah, with reference to
the neighboring country of Edom : ' Thy terribleness hath deceiv-
ed thee, and the pride of thine heart. O ! thou that dwellest in the
clefts of the rock, that boldest the height of the hill: though thou
shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down
from thence, saith the Lord,' ch. xlix. 16." Instead of the cleft of the
rock, the eagle sometimes chooses the lofty cedar as the place of
his residence ; a circumstance not overlooked in the sacred volume :
'A great eagle with great wings, long- winged, full of feathers,
which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest
branch of the cedar,' Ezekiel xvii. 3.

The eagle, it is said, lives to a great age : and, like other birds of
prey, sheds his feathers in the beginning of spring. After this sea-
son, he appears with fresh strength and vigor, and his old age as^
sumes the appearance of youth. To this David alludes, when grate-,
fiilly reviewing the mercies of Jehovah ; 'Who satisfieth thy mouth
12

134 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."1
(Psalm c\i\. 5) ; as does the prophet, also, when describing the ren-
ovating" and quickening influences of the Spirit of God : ' They
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary ;
.and they shall walk, and not faint,' Isaiah xl. 31. It has been sup-
posed that there is an allusion to the moulting of the eagle in Micah's
charge to the people to mourn deeply, because of the judgments of
God: 'Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children;
enlarge thy baldness as the eagle,' (Minah i. 16); but we rather
think that the allusion is to the natural baldness of some particular
species of this bird, as that would be far more appropriate. The
direction of the prophet is to a token of mourning, which was usu-
ally assumed by making bald the crown of the head ; here, however,
it was to be enlarged, extended, as the baldness of the eagle. Ex-
actly answering to this idea is Mr. Bruce's description of the head
of the ' golden eagle :' the crown of his head was bare or bald ; so
was the front, where the bill and skull joined. The meaning of the
prophet, therefore, seems to be, that the people were not to con-
tent themselves with shaving the crown of the head merely, as on
ordinary occasions ; but, under this special visitation of retributive
justice, they were to extend the baldness over the entire head.

We have had frequent occasion to admire the intimate acquaint-
ance which the writer of the book of Job displays with many parts
of animated nature; his account of the eagle is characterised by
great accuracy and beauty : chap, xxxix. 27 — 30.

To the last line in this passage, our Saviour seems to allude in
Matt. xxiv. 28 : ' Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagle
be gathered together;' that is, wherever the Jewish people, who
were morally and judicially dead, might be, there would the Koman
armies, whose standard was an eagle, and whose strength and
fierceness resembled that of the king of birds, in comparison with
his fellows, pursue and devour them.

In Deut. xxxii. 11, there is a beautiful comparison of the"'care
and paternal affection of the Deity for his people, with the natural
tenderness of the eagle for its young.

The remarkable circumstance of bearing the young upon her
wings, is alluded to in another part of scripture, (Exod. xix. 4) ; and
many passages in the writings of ancient authors countenance the
idea, that the eagle actually takes up her timid young ones, and
bears them on her wings till they venture to fly. It is not to be
supposed that she wafts her unfledged young through the voids of
heaven, or to distant places ; the meaning probably is, that she aids
with her wings their feeble and imperfect attempts to fly, till, em-
boldened by her example, and their own success, they fearlessly
oornmit themselves to the air. So did Jehovah, says Paxton, for
bis c.hosen people. When they were slumbering in Goshen, or

foaning in despajr of recovering their freedom, he sent his servant
oses to rouse them from their inglorious sloth, to assert their lib-

THE HAWK AND THE KITE. 135

erty,*and to break their chains upon the heads of their oppressors.
He carried them out of Egypt, and led them through the wilderness
into their promised inheritance. He taught them to know their
strength-; he instructed them in the art of war; he led them to bat-
tle 5 and, by his almighty arm, routed their enemies.

It is remarkable that Cyrus, compared in Isaiah xlvi. 11, o an
eagle (so the word translated ' ravenous bird' should be rendered),
is]by Xenophon said to have had an eagle for his ensign ; using,
without knowing it, the identical word of the prophet, with only a
Greek termination to it. So exact is the correspondence betwixt
the prophet and the historian, the prediction and the event.

In Lev. xi. 18, we read of the * gier eagle' (Hebrew, HACHAM),
though, being associated with water birds, it is doubtful whether
any kind of eagle is intended.

There are two other species of the eagle or vulture, placed by
Moses in his list of prohibited birds ; — the Ossifrage and the Osprey,
but they do not call for particular remark.

THE HAWK AND THE KITE,

THIS bird, which is distinguished by the swiftness of its flight, is
appropriately termed the flier, in the Hebrew scriptures. But the
term is not confined to the individual species of bird properly called
the^hawk ; it includes the various species of the falcon family, which
is very numerous.

The hawk was highly venerated by the heathen, but it was pro-
nounced unclean by the Jewish lawgiver ; and was an abomination
to the people of Israel. Its flesh was not to be eaten, nor its car-
cass touched with impunity. The reason of this law may probably
be found in the dispositions and qualities of the bird ; she is a bird
of prey, and, by consequence, cruel in her temper, and gross in her
manners. Her mode of living, too, may, perhaps, impart a disagree-
able taste and flavor to the flesh, and render it, particularly in a
warm climate, improper for the table.

Most of the species of hawks are birds of passage, to which cir-
cumstance'there is a reference in Job xxxix. 26 :

136 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom,

And stretch her wings towards the south 2

That is, ' doth she know, through thy skill and wisdom, the precise
period for taking flight, or migrating and stretching her wings to-
wards a southern or warmer climate ? ' Her migration is not con-
ducted by the wisdom and prudence of man ; but by the superin-
tending and upholding providence of God.

The KITE may with propriety be noticed here, as it belongs to
the same family of birds ; and the scriptural references to it not be-
ing of sufficient importance to require a lengthened account of its
nature and habits. It is remarkable for the quickness of its sight,
to which there is evidently an allusion in Job xxviii. 7, though the

* vulture' is inserted in our authorized version :

There is a path which no fowl knoweth,
And which the eye of the kite hath not seen.

The same word occurs in a plural form in Isaiah xiii. 22 ; chap,
xxxiv. 14 ; and Jer. 1. 39 ; in all which places our translation reads

* wild beasts of the islands,' which Bochart understands of 'jackals;'
but by the several contexts, as Parkhurst remarks, and particularly
the last, it may a$ well denote a kind of unclean birds.

THE RAVEN. 137

THE RAVEN,

THE sable color of this bird is fully recognised in its Hebrew ap-
pellation, which is taken from oreb, the evening. Bochart has well
remarked, that the color of a crow or raven is not a dead, but a
glossy shining black, like silk, and so is properly a mixture of dark-
ness and splendor. Black appears to have been a color held in high
estimation by the ancients ; and black eyes and raven locks entered
into their ideas of female loveliness. In conformity with this opin-
ion is the declaration of the spouse, with reference to her beloved:
* His pendulous locks are as black as a raven,' Cant. v. 11.

The raven is found in every region of the world. Strong and
hardy, it is uninfluenced by the changes of the weather; and when
other birds seem numbed with the cold, or pining with famine, the
raven is active and healthy, busily employed in prowling for prey,
or sporting in the coldest atmosphere. An active and greedy plun-
derer, nothing comes amiss to him ; whether his prey be living, or
long dead, it is all the same, — he falls to with a voracious appetite,
and when he has gorged himself, flies to acquaint his fellows, that
they may participate in the spoil.

Solomon appears to give a distinct character to some of the ravens

in Palestine, when he says, * The eye that mooketh at his father,

and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick

it out, and the young eagles shall eat it,' Prov. xxx. 17. In this

12*

138 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

passage, says Paxton, the wise man may allude to a species of raven
which prefers the valley for her habitation to the clefts of the rock ;
or he may, perhaps, refer to some sequestered valley in the land of
promise, much frequented by these birds, which derived its name
from that circumstance ; or, as the rocky precipice where the raven
loves to build her nest often overhangs the torrent (which the orig-
inal word also signifies), and the lofty tree, which is equally accept-
able, rises on its banks, the royal preacher might, by that phrase,
merely intend the ravens which prefer such situations. Bochart
conjectures, that the valley alluded to was Tophet, in the neighbor-
hood of Jerusalem, which the prophet Jeremiah calls the valley o
the dead bodies, because the dead bodies of criminals were cast in-
to it, where they remained without burial, till they were devoured
by flocks of ravens, which collected for that purpose from the cir-
cumjacent country. If this conjecture be right, the meaning of Sol-
omon will be this : He who is guilty of so great a crime, shall be
subjected to an infamous punishment; he shall be cast into the val-
Jey of dead bodies, and shall find no grave, but the devouring maw
of the impure arid voracious raven. The wise man insinuates, that
tfae raven makes his first and keenest attack on the eye ; which
perfectly corresponds with his habits, for he always begins his ban-
quet with that part of the body.

The earliest notice which we have of the raven in scripture, is in
the account of the deluge, (Gen. viii. 7;) whence we learn, that on
the decrease of the waters, Noah sent out this bold and adventur-
ous bird, to ascertain the state of the surrounding country.

The remarkable occurrence in the history of Elijah (1 Kings
xvii. 4 — 6,) has given rise to considerable discussion.

Let us suppose, for a moment, that Elijah was concealed in some
rocky or mountainous spot, where passengers never strayed ; and
that here a number of voracious birds had built their nests on the
trees which grew around it, or on projections of rocks, &c.: these
flying every day to procure food for their young, the prophet avails
himself of a part of what they brought, and while they, obeying
the dictates of natnre, designed only to provide for their offspring,
Divine Providence directed them to provide, at the same time, for
the wants of Elijah; so that what he gathered, whether from their
nests, from wliat they dropped or brought to him, or occasionally
from both means, was enough for his daily support. ' And the
orebim furnished him bread, or flesh, in the morning, and bread, or
flesh, in the evening,' But there being a good many of them, Mr.
Taylor inclines to think that some of them might furnish bread, and
others flesh, at different times ; so that a little from each made up
his solitary but satisfactory meal. To such straits was the exiled
prophet driven, and such was the dependence of this zealous man
of God!

The objection which has been urged against the raven being em-
ployed on this errand of mercy, from its very gross and impure dis-
position, may be in some measure removed by considering that the

THE RAVEN. 139

Hebrew name, as already observed, includes the whole of this genus
of birds, among which we find some less impure than the raven ;
as the rook, which species Mr. Taylor inclines to believe was the
one employed. As to God's 'commanding' the ravens, it will be
found a mode of speech adopted where vocal commands could not
be employed. See Job xxxviii, 11 ; Psalm Ixxviii. 23 ; Isniah xlv.
12. To command the ravens, then, may only denote that God made
use of them in providing for the necessities of his servant.

It is said by naturalists, that the ravens drive out their young one&
early from the nest, and oblige them to seek food for their own sus-
tenance. It is to this fact, probably, that the Psalmist alludes, when
he says, * The Lord giveth to the beast his food, and to the young
ravens which cry,' (Psalm cxlvii. 9) ; and Job : ' Who provideth for
the raven his food ? when his young ones cry unto God, wandering
for want of meat,' ch. xxxviii. 41. But the care of Providence, says
professor Paxton, is not confined to the young ; it extends alsa to
the parents, that, like their brood, ' neither sow nor reap, have nei-
ther storehouse nor barn,' (Luke xii. 24) ; and supplies them with
food from his inexhaustible stores. Whatever may be their charac-
ter and habits, they are the work of infinite wisdom and p©wer ;
and if it be not unbecoming the Almighty Creator to make such
creatures, it cannot be unbecoming to provide", for [their support.
They, too, have their sphere of action ; and their qualities and in-
stincts are usefully employed, both for themselves and the other
parts of the terrestrial creation ; even the meanness of their charac-
ter is of no small advantage to the considerate mind, in allaying his
fears, and in exciting and establishing his confidence in the wise
and bountiful arrangement of Providence. The argument of our
Lord is exceedingly strong and pointed. If the Almighty hear not
in vain the croaking of a young raven, he surely will not turn a
deaf ear to the supplications of his own people.

140 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE DOVE.

THIS beautiful and gentle creature was called, by the Hebrews,
tone/i, which signifies mildness, gentleness, &c. Parkhurst derives
the Hebrew name from a root which admits the sense of defenceless,
and exposed to rapine and violence ; remarkable characteristics of this
lovely bird, and which are accordingly noticed by some of the an-
cient poets.

The dove, which is used in scripture as the symbol of simplicity,
innocence, and fidelity, furnishes the sacred writers with many
beautiful allusions. From the earliest times, it appears to have been
offered in sacrifice, (Gen. xv. 9) ; and in the Mosaic ritual it is re-
peatedly prescribed for this use.

The dove is universally admitted to be one of the most beautiful
objects in nature. The brilliancy of her plumage, the splendor of
her eye, the innocence of her look, the excellence of her disposi-
tions, and the purity of her manners, have been the theme of ad-
miration and praise in every age. To the snowy whiteness of her
wings, and the rich golden hues which adorn her neck, the inspir-
ed Psalmist has been thought to allude in these elegant strains :
* Though ye have lien among the pots, yet ye shall be as the wings
of a dove, covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold,*
Psalm Ixviii. 13. Mr. Harmer is of opinion, however, that the
Psalmist alludes, not to an animal adorned merely by the hand of
nature, but to the doves consecrated to the Syrian deities, and or-
namented with trinkets of gold. Agreeably to this view, he inter-
prets the passage thus : ' Israel is to me as a consecrated dove ; and
though your circumstances have made you rather appear, like a
dove, blackened by taking up its abode in a smoky hole of the rock ;
yet shall ye become beautiful and glorious as a Syrian silver-color-
ed pigeon, on whom some ornament of gold is put. But this view
of the passage, as Professor Paxton observes, makes the Holy Spir-
it speak with some approbation, or at least without censure, of a
heathenish rite, and even to borrow from it a figure to illustrate the
effects of Divine favor among his chosen people ; and as no other
instance of the kind occurs in scripture, he thinks it cannot be ad-

THE DOVE. 141

mitted here, without much stronger evidence than that respectable
writer has produced.

Mr. William Baxter gives another translation of the passage, re-
marking, ' It was the custom for the Hebrew armies, as well as the
Syrians and Assyrians, to have a dove for their standard ; to which
the Psalmist alluding, says, « If you shall abide by your standard,
the silver-colored dove, whose wings are gilt with gold, when the
Almighty by its means has scattered the kings, the marks of victory
shall be displayed in your ensign, and your dove appear as white
as snow.' All interpreters have blindly followed the Septuagint in
this place, who, either ignorantly, or perhaps wilfully, rendered it
obscure ; for, being unwilling to gratify the Syrians, who worship-
ped a dove, with so honorable a mention of their deity, instead of
translating the Hebrew word, a standard, as they ought to have
done, they made a proper name of it, and rendered it Mount Sd-
mon.'

The author of Scripture Illustrated ' enlarges upon this construc-
tion, and gives a new version, accompanied by remarks, which
elucidate other passages. These, Dr. Harris has transferred into
his Natural History, with a few emendations ; arid in this corrected
state we shall copy them here.

After having remarked that the whole of the psalm appears to be
a triumphal ode for success in battle, the doctor inquires how is it
possible that the same persons who had put to flight these kings,
and had taken the spoil home to their families, should lie among
the pots ! How should these soldiers suffer such disgrace, and that
at the very time when they enjoy the victory ! — This is inconceiv-
able ; but if we recollect that the standard of the dove was used as
a military ensign, and suppose it to be alluded to here, then we
have an entirely distinct view of the article, and may understand it
accordingly :

That the dove was a miiitary ensign, may be gathered from the
history in the Chronicon Samaritanum, where we read that 'the
Romans placed a pigeon [or dove] on Mount Gerizirn, to hinder
them from going thither to worship with troops. Some Samari-
tans attempted to go up ; but the bird discovered them, and cried
out, The Hebrews! The guards awoke, and slew those who were
coming up.' Understand here a military sentry and ensign, and
'the dove' becomes intelligible at once.

The paleness of the kings, who accompanied this banner, is ex-
tremely characteristic of their appearance when they saw their sa-
cred emblem cast down, and trampled on by the Israelites ; or, if
they themselves, in their haste cast it down, that they might flee
the more swiftly, the shame is equal.

These and other considerations lead to the conclusion, 1st. that
the dove was certainly used as a military ensign, and 2dly, that
as the Assyrians were eminent and ancient worshippers of the
dove, it might be supposed to be appropriately their banner or
standard. This will authorise a translation of several passages of
scripture different from our present public version.

142 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Jeremiah, speaking of the ravages which would be committed in
Judea by Nebuchadnezzar, says, 'The land is desolate because of
the fierceness of the dove.' And again, * Let us go to our own peo-
ple, to avoid the sword of the dove :' and in another place, 'They
shall flee every one, for fear of the sword of the dove.' Each of
these places is intelligible, by supposing that the king of the Chal-
deans is referred to, who bore a dove in his ensigns, in memory of
Semiramis.

The surprising brightness of the dove's eye, and the simplicity of
her look, which is directed only to her mate, are selected by the
Spirit of God, to express the purity and fidelity of a genuine be-
liever. * Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou
hast doves' eyes,' Cant. i. 15. A faithful index of the holiness
which reigns within ; they neither court the notice, nor meet the
glance of a strange lord. The same beautiful image is employed
to represent the peerless excellences of the Redeemer, and particu-
larly his infinite wisdom and knowledge, which are ever exercised
for the good of his people; which are pure and holy, and in the
estimation of every saint, as in their own nature, ineffably precious
and lovely : •* His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of
waters, washed with milk, and filly set,' Cant. v. 12. The eyes of
a dove, always brilliant and lovely, kindle with peculiar delight by
the side of a crystal brook, for this is her favorite haunt ; here she
loves to wash, and to quench her thirst. But the inspired writer
seems to intimate that, not satisfied with a single rivulet, she de-
lights especially in those places which are watered with numerous
streams, whose full flowing tide approaches the height of the
banks, and offers her an easy and abundant supply. They seem as
if they were washed with milk, from their shining whiteness; and
fitly, or rather fully set, like a gem set in gold, neither too promi-
nent nor too depressed ; but so formed, as with nice adaptation, to
fill up the socket. So precious and admirably fitted to the work of
mediating between God and man, are the excellences of Jesus
Christ. God and man in one person, he is at once invested with
all the attributes of Deity, and all the perfections of which our na-
ture is capable. As the eternal Son of God, he is wisdom and pru-
dence itself; and as the Son of man, he is ' holy, harmless, unde-
filed, and separate from sinners : ' ' He is white and ruddy, the
chief among ten thousands : yea, he is altogether lovely.'

The manners of the dove are as engaging as her form is elegant,
and her plumage rich and beautiful. She is the chosen emblem of
simplicity, gentleness, purity, and feminine timidity. Our blessed
Lord alludes with striking effect to her amiable temper, in that well-
known direction to his disciples, • Be ye wise as serpents, and harm-
less as doves,' Matt. x. 16. Wisdom, without simplicity, degener-
ates into cunning — simplicity, without wisdom, into silliness : uni-
ted, the one corrects the excess or supplies the defects of the other,
and both become the objects of praise 5 but separated, neither the
wisdom of the serpent, nor the simplicity of the dove, obtains in

THE DOVE. 143

this passage the Saviour's commendation. The character which
is compounded of both makes the nearest approach to the true
standard of Christian excellence. The wisdom of the serpent ena-
bles the believer to discern between good and evil, truth and error,
that, having proved all things, he may hold fast that which is good;
the simplicity of the dove renders him inoffensive and sincere, that
he may not deceive nor injure his neighbor. Such were the quali-
ties which the Saviour recommended to his followers, and his apos-
tle wished the Romans to obtain: 'I would have you wise unto
that which is good, and simple concerning evil,' chap. xvi. 19.

The mourning of the dove (Isaiah xxxviii. 14: lix. 11) alludes to
the plaintive murmuring of this bird, particularly of the turtle-dove,
•which is said to be disconsolate and to die with grief at the loss of
its mate. To this circumstance Nahum also refers, when predict-
ing the desolation of Nineveh :— ' Huzzab shall be led away captive ;
she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the
voice of doves tabering upon their breasts,' chap. ii. /.

It is supposed, that in Eccles. x. 20, there is an allusion to the
custom, so long and extensively adopted, of employing these birds
as couriers to carry tidings from one place to another: 'Curse not
the king, no, not in thy thought ; and curse not the rich in thy bed-
chamber ; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and they which
have wings shall tell the matter.'

The conjugal fidelity of the dove has been noticed by every wri-
ter who has treated of her character. She admits but of one mate,
to whom she seems most affectionately attached, and from whom
she is never known to separate while life continues. The black
pigeon, it is said, after the death of her mate, continues in a widow-
ed state for life: the intense grief of the turtle-dove on this occur-
ence we have already noticed. This may help to illustrate those
passages of scripture in which the undivided affection and indisolu-
ble union which subsist between the Saviour and his church are
represented. 'Oh, my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in
the secret places of the stars, let me see thy countenance, let me
hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and' thy countenance come-
ly,'Cant. ii. 14. 'My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the
*>nly one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her,'
ch. vi. 9.

In the New Testament, the dove is the chosen emblem of the
Holy Spirit, who, in the economy of grace, is not only the messen-
.ger of peace and joy to sinful men, but also the author of those gen-
tle and peaceable dispositions of mind, which characterise, in every
part of the world, the true believer in Christ: The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith
[or fidelity,], meekness, temperance,' Gal. v. 22.

During ihe siege of Samaria, by Ben-hadad, king of Syria, we
are informed (2 Kings vi. 25) that so pressing was the famine, an
ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth
j>art of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. This, howev-

144 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

er, was not what its name would seem to import, but a kind of pulse
or pea, which is common in Judea, and to which the Arabians give
this name. See 2 Sam. xvii. 28.

The TURTLE is only a variety of the dove, as is also the common
pigeon. The former is something the smaller of the two ; but the
principal difference between this and the other birds, is in its migra-
tory disposition. To this circumstance there is evidently an allu-
sion in Jer. viii. 7: 'The stork in the heaven knowcth her appoint-
ed times; and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow, observe
the time of their coming.' It is also referred to in Cant. ii. 31, ]2,
where it is recognised as the welcome harbinger of the returning
spring : * Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away ; for, lo !
the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on
the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of
the turtle is heard in our land.'

THE SWALLOW7.

THE only mention of this bird is in Jsaiah xxxviii. 14., and Jer-
emiah viii. 7. In the former passage, Hezekiah, referring to the
severity of his recent affliction, says, 'Like a swallow, or a crane,
so did I chatter.' The note of the swallow, being quiek and mourn-
ful, the allusion of the king has been supposed to be to his prayers,
which were so interrupted by groanings, as to be but like the quick
twitterings of the swallow. This seems to have occasioned the pi-
ous monarch to regard with suspicion the sincerity and fervor of
his supplications, thus delivered but in broken accents ; and in bit-
terness of spirit he casts himself upon the unbounded mercy of his
God, exclaiming, * O Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me.'
The passage in Jeremiah, refers to the well-known migration of this
bird ; a circumstance from which the faithful prophet takes occa-
sion to reprove the ingratitude and infidelity of the favored tribes :
* The turtle, and the crane, and the swallow, observe the time of
their coming ; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord

THE SPARROW. 145

THE SPARROW.

IN the sacred writings, the Word tzeppur, which is a general ternl
applied to the feathered race> is in a more restricted sense appropri-
ated to the sparrow. This remark is the more necessary to be borne
in mind, because some translators, and among them ihe English,
have introduced the sparrow into the text, where this bird was evi-
dently not intended by the inspired writers. Our own translation,
however, requires correction but in one passage, namely, Psalm cii*
7 : ' I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top.' To
justify this translation, interpreters have represented the sparrow as
a solitary, moping bird, which loves to dwell on the house-top alone ;
and so timid, that she endeavors to conceal herself in the darkest
corners^ and passes the night in sleepless anxiety. But her charac-
ter and manners by no means agree with this description. On the
contrary, she is a pert, loquacious, bustling creature ; which, instead
of courting the dark and solitary corner, is commonly found chirp-
ing arid fluttering about in the crowd. The term in this text, there-
fore, must be understood in its general sense, and probably refers to
some variety of the owl. Jerom renders it, ' I was as a solitary bird
on the roof.' The Hebrew text contains nothing which can with
propriety suggest the sparrow, or any similar bird : and, indeed,
nothing seems to be more remote from the mind of David : all the
circumstances indicate some bird of the night ; for the Psalmist,
bending under a load of severe affliction, shuns the society of men,
and mingles his unceasing groans and lamentations with the mourn-
ful hootings of those solitary birds, which disturb the lonely desert.
'By reason of the voice of my groanings, my bones cleave to my
skin ; I am like a pelican of the wilderness ; I am like an owl of
the desert.' He then proceeds with his comparison : * I watch, and
am as a bird upon the house-top alone.' I watch ; that is, I have
13

146 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

spent a sleepless night ; or, as it is paraphrased in the Chaldee, ' I
have watched the whole night long, without once closing my eyes.'
Every part of this description directs our attention to some noctur-
nal bird, which hates the light, and comes forth from its hiding-
place when the shadows of evening fall, to hunt the prey, and, from
the top of some ruined tower, to tell its joys or its sorrows to a
slumbering world.

A passage in the eighty-fourth psalm, which was probably pen-
ned by the royal minstrel when driven from his throne and the sa-
cred temple, by the rebellion of his unnatural son, refers to this bird.
Ardently desirous of associating with the people of God in the pre-
scribed ordinances of public worship, the pious Psalmist seems to
envy these birds their proximity to the sacred altar: 'The sparrow
hath found out a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where-
she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, my
King and my God,' ver. 3. Parkhurst's translation removes some
of the difficulties of the usual reading: 'Even [as] the sparrow
lindeth her house, and the dove her nest where she hath laid
her young, [so shall I find] thine altars, O Jehovah of Hosts, my
King, and my God.'

Among the appropriate and felicitous illustrations interwoven
with our Lord's arguments for a special or particular providence, is
one taken from the care of our heavenly Father exercised towards
this mean and generally despised bird : ' Are not two sparrows sold
for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground with-
out your Father,' (Matthew x. 29) ; or, according to Luke, 'not one
of them is forgotten before God,' cli. xii. 6. Not that we are to
conclude from these texts, as Pope has falsely done, that

' He views with equal eye, as Lord of all,
A hero perish, or a sparrow fall ;'

a sentiment not less opposed to the dictates of enlightened reason,
than it is to the whole scope of our Saviour's discourse, (Matt, ch,
vi.) from which we learn, that the love of God to his creatures is in
proportion to their excellence in the scale of being, and that by
these considerations the care of his providence is regulated. 'Be-
hold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap
nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them,
Jirt ye not much better than they ? ' ver. 26.

SECTION II.
LAND BIRDS.

THE OSTRICH

THE ostrich is considered to be the largest of birds, and the con-
necting link between quadrupeds and fowls. Its head and bill some-

148 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

what resemble those of a duck ; and the neck may be compared to
that of a swan, but that it is much longer. The legs and thighs re-
semble those of a hen, but are very fleshy and large. The end of
the foot is cloven, and has two very large toes, which, like the leg,
are covered with scales. These toes are of unequal sizes ; the lar-
gest, which is on the inside, being seven inches long including the
claw, which is near three-fourths of an inch in length, and almost
as broad ; the other toe is but four inches long, and is without a
claw. The height of the ostrich is usually seven feet, from the head
to the ground ; but from the back it is only four : 'so that the head
and the neck are above three feet long. From the head to the end
of the tail, when the neck is stretched in a right line, it is seven feet
long. One of the wings, with the feathers stretched out, is three
feet in length. The plumage is generally white and black, though
some of thejii are said to be grey. There are no feathers on the sides
of the thighs, nor under the wings. The lower half of the neck is
covered with smaller feathers than those on the belly and back, and
the head and upper part of the neck are covered with hair. At the
end of each wing, there is a kind of spur, resembling the quill of a
porcupine, about an inch long, and about a foot lower down the
wing is another of the same description, but something smaller.

The ostrich has not, like most other birds, feathers of various
kinds ; they are all bearded with detached hairs or filaments, with-
out consistence and reciprocal adherence. The consequence is, that
they cannot oppose to the air a suitable resistance, and therefore
are of no utility in flying, or in directing the flight. Besides the
peculiar structure of her wings, the ostrich is rendered incapabls
of flight by her enormous size, weighing seventy-five or eighty
pounds ; a weight which would require an immense power of wing
tp elevate into the air.

The ostrich is a native only of the torrid regions of Africa and
Arabia, and has furnished the sacred writers with some of their
most beautiful imagery. The following descriptions and illustra-
tions are chiefly selected from Professor Paxton and Dr. Harris.

The ostrich was aptly called by the ancients a lover of the des-
erts. Shy and timorous in no common degree, she retires from the
cultivated field, where she is disturbed by the Arabian shepherds
and husbandmen, into the deepest recesses of the Sahara. In
those dreary wastes, she is reduced to subsist on a few tufts of
coarse grass, which here and there languish on their surface, or a
few other solitary plants equally destitute of nourishment, and in
the Psalmist's phrase, even * withered before they are grown up.'
To this dry and parched food may perhaps he added, the great va-
riety of land-snails which occasionally cover the leaves and stalks
of these herbs, and which may afford her some refreshment. Nor
is it improbable, that she sometimes regales herself on lizards and
serpents, together with insects and reptiles of various kinds. Still,
Jiowever, considering the voracity and size of this camel-bird, (as
Jt is called in the East,) it is won,deiful how the little one? shpuld

THE OSTRICH. 149

be nourished and brought up, and especially how those of fuller
growth, and much better qualified to look out for themselves are
able to subsist.

The attachment of this bird to the barren solitudes of the Sahara,
is frequently alluded to in the Holy Scriptures ; particularly in the
prophecies of Isaiah, where the word IONEH, unfortunately transla-
ted owl in the English Bible, ought to be rendered ostrich. In the
splendid palaces of Babylon, so long the scenes of joy and revelry,
the prophet foretold, that the shy and timorous ostrich should fix
her abode ; than which a greater and more affecting contrast can
scarcely be presented to the mind.

When the ostrich is provoked, she sometimes makes a fierce,
angry, and hissing noise, with her throat inflated, and her mouth
open : when she meets with a timorous adversary that opposes but
a faint resistance to her assault, she chuckles or cackles like a hen,
seeming to rejoice in the prospect of an easy conquest. But in the
silent hours of night, she assumes a quite different tone, and makes
a very doleful and hideous noise, which sometimes resembles the
roaring of a lion ; and at other times, that of the bull and the ox.
She frequently groans, as if she were in the greatest agonies ; an
action to which the prophet beautifully alludes : * I will make a
mourning like the ostrich' Micah, i. 8. The Hebrew name of the
bird is derived from a verb which signifies to exclaim with a loud
voice, and may therefore be attributed with sufficient propriety to
the ostrich, whose voice is loud and sonorous ; especially, as the
word does not seem to denote any certain determined mode of
voice or sound peculiar to any one particular species of animals, but
one that may be applicable to them all. Dr. Brown says, the cry of
the ostrich resembles the voice of a hoarse child, and is even more
dismal. It cannot, then, but appear mournful, and even terrible, to
those travellers who plunge with no little anxiety into those im-
mense deserts, and to whom every living creature, man not except-
ed, is an object of fear, and a cause of danger.

Not more disagreeable, and even alarming, is the hoarse moaning
voice of the ostrich, however, to the lonely traveller in the desert,
than were the speeches of Job's friends to that afflicted man. Of
their harsh and groundless censures, which were continually grat-
ing his ears, he feelingly complains : * I am a brother to dragons,
and a companion to owls [ostriches].' Like these melancholy crea-
tures that love the solitary place, and the dark retirement, the be-
reaved and mourning patriarch loved to dwell alone, that he might
be free from the teasing impertinence of his associates, and pour
out his sorrows without restraint. But he made a wailing also like
the dragons, and a mourning like the ostriches: his condition was
as destitute, and his lamentations as loud and incessant as theirs.
Or, he compares to those birds his unfeeling friends, who, instead
of pouring the balm of consolation into his smarting wounds, added
to the poignancy of his grief by their inhuman conduct. The os-
trich, even in a domestic state, is a rude and fierce animal ; and is
13*

150 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

said to point her hostility, with particular virulence, against the poor
and destitute stranger that happens to come in her way. Not sat-
isfied with endeavoring to push him down by running furiously
upon him, she will not cease to peck at him violently with her bill,
and to strike at him with her feet, and will sometime's inflict a very
serious wound. The dispositions and behavior of Job's friends
and domestics were equally vexatious and afflicting; and how
much reason he had to complain, will appear from the following
statement : 'They that dwell in mine house, and my maidens, count
me for a stranger ; I am an alien in their sight. I called my ser-
vant, and he gave me no answer ; my breath is strange to my wife,
though I entreated for the children's sake of mine own body ; yea,
young children despised me, all my inward friends abhorred "me.
Upon my right hand rise the youth ; they push away my feet, and
they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. They mar
rny path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper, "They
come upon me as a wide breaking in of waters, in the desolation
they roli themselves upon me,' ch. xxx. 12 — J4.

There is a very correct and poetical description of the ostrich, in
the thirty-ninth chapter of the book of Job.

Our translators appear to have been influenced by the vulgar er-
ror, that the ostrich did not herself hatch her eggs by sitting on
them, but left them to the heat of the sun. This, however, is not
the fact. She usually sits upon her eggs as other birds do ; but
then she so often wanders, and so far in search of food, that fre-
quently the eggs are addle, by means of her long absence from
them. To this we may add, that when she has left her nest, wheth-
er through fear or to seek food, if she light upon the eggs of some
other ostrich, she sits upon them, and is unmindful of her own.

* On the least noise or trivial occasion,' says doctor Shaw, ' she
forsakes her eggs, or her young ones, to which, perhaps, she never
returns ; or if she does, it may be too Jate either to restore life to the
one, or to preserve the lives of the others. Agreeable to this ac-
count, the Arabs meet sometimes with whole nests of these eggs
undisturbed ; some of them are sweet and good, others are addle
and corrupted; others, again, have their young ones of different
growth, according to the time, it may be presumed, they may have
been forsaken of the dam. They often meet with a few of the little
ones no bigger than well-grown pullets, half starved, straggling and
inoaning about, like so many distressed orphans for their mother.
In this manner the ostrich may he said to be hardened against her
young ones, as though they were not her's ; her labor, in hatching and
Attending them so lar, fcemg vain, without fear, or the least concern
of what becomes of them afterwards. This want of affection is al-
so recorded in Lam. iv. 3. " The daughter of my people is become
cruel, Jijie ostriches of the wilderness ; " that is by apparently de-
asrting their own, and receiving others in return. Hence, one of
the great -causes of lamentation was, the coming in of strangers and
enemies iuto Zion, and possessing it. Thus, in the twelfth verse

THE OSTRICH. 151

of this chapter, it is said, " The kings of the earth, and all the inhabit-
ants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and
the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem ;" and
in ch. v. 2, " Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to-
aliens." '

The ostrich, in her private capacity, is not loss inconsiderate and
foolish, particularly in the choice of food, which is often highly det-
rimental and pernicious to her ; for she swallows everything greedi-
ly and indiscriminately, whether it be pieces of rags, feather, woody
stone, or iron. They are particularly fond of their own ordure,
which they greedily eat up as soon as it is voided : no less fond are
they of the dung of hens and other poultry. It seems as if their
optic, as well as their olfactory nerves, were less adequate and con-
ducive to their safety and preservation, than in other creatures.
The Divine Providence in this, no less than in other respects, ' hav-
ing deprived them of wisdom, neither hath it imparted to them un-
derstanding.' This part of her character is fully admitted by Buf-
fon, who describes it in nearly the same terms.

Notwithstanding the stupidity of the ostrich, says Dr. Shaw, its
Creator hath amply provided for its safety, by endowing it with ex-
traordinary swiftness, and a surprising .apparatus for escaping from
its enemy. They, * when they raise themselves up for flight, laugh
at the horse and his rider.' They afford him an opportunity only
of admiring at a distance the extraordinary agility, and the state-
liness likewise, of their motions, the richness of their plumage,
and the great propriety there was in ascribing to them an expanded
quivering wing. Nothing, certainly, can be more entertaining than
such a sight ; the wings, by their rapid but unwearied vibrations,
equally serving Jhfim for sails and oars ; while their feet, no less as-
sisting in conveying them out of sight, are no less insensible of fa-
tigue.'

The surprising swiftness of this bird is expressly mentioned by
Xenophon, in his Anabasis; for, speaking of the desert of Arabia,
he states that Uie ostrich is frequently seen there ; that ' none could
take them, the horsemin who pursue them soon giving it over ; for
they escaped far away, making use both of their feet to rup, and of
their wings, when expanded, as a sail to waft them along.' This
representation is confirmed by the writer of a voyage to Senegal,
who says, * She sets oft* at a hard gallop ; but, after being exciied a
little, sjie expands her wings as if to catch the wind, and abandons
herself to a speed so great, that she seems not to touch the ground.'
* I am persuaded,' continues the writer, ' she would leave far behind
the swiftest English courser.' Bufibn, also, admits that the ostrich
runs faster than the horse,

152 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE PEACOCK.

OUR translators have very improperly introduced the peacock in-
to Job xxxix. 13, as the bird was unknown in Syria till the days of
Solomon. In the first 'book of Kings (ch. x. 22), and the parallel
passage of the second of Chronicles (eh. ix. 21), it is enumerated
among the costly articles imported by the ships of Tarshish, em-
ployed by the Hebrew monarch to enrich his country with the pro-
duce of foreign nations. Let any one attentively survey the pea-
cock in all the glorious display of the prismatic colors in his train,
cays Parkhurst, and he will not be surprised that Solomon's mari-
ners, who cannot be supposed ignorant of their master's taste for
natural history, should bring some of these wonderful birds with
them, from their southern expedition.

The peacock is a bird originally of India, aud thence brought in-

THE OWL.

153

to Persia and Media. The fleet of Solomon might easily procure
it, either from India itself, or from Persia.

The peacock is admitted to be one of the most beautiful birds of
the feathered tribes. The feathers of its tail are frequently four feet
in length, and when expanded, present a mixture of the most de-
lightful colors. Its head, neck, and breast, are of a beautiful blue
color; the back and upper part of the wings are light ash, mixed
with black stripes; and on its head it carries a plume of greenish
feathers. The dispositions of the peacock, however, are of a very
different character from its plumage ; and the common people of
Italy are said to characterize it truly, who say it has the plumage
of an angel, and the voice of a devil. The loud scream of its voice
grates unpleasantly on the ear; and its insatiable gluttony, and
spirit of depredation, more than counterbalance the beauty of its
external form.

THE OWL.

IF the reader will turn to the account of the ostrich, he will see
that we have referred several passages of scripture to that bir<J,
which, in our translations of the Bible, are interpreted of the owl,

154 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

In addition to these passages, there are others in which our version
introduces the owl without reason, as the original writers no doubt
intended birds of another description.

The race of owls presents several varieties, all equally cruel and
rapacious ; and who add to their savage disposition the further re-
proach of treachery, by carrying on all their depredations by night.
Thus, as Goldsmith remarks, there seems no link in Nature's chain
broken, no where a dead, inactive repose ; but every place, every
season, every hour of the day and night, is bustling with life, and
furnishing instances of industry, self-defence, and invasion.

The owl tribe, however they may differ in their size and plum-
age, agree in their general characteristics of preying by night, and
having their eyes formed for nocturnal vision. In the eyes of all
animals, the Author of their being has made a complete provision
either to shut out too much light, or to admit a sufficiency, by the
dilation and contraction of the pupil. As in the eyes of tigers and
cats, that are formed for a life of nocturnal depredation, there is a
quality in the retina that takes in the rays of light so copiously as to
permit their seeing in places almost totally dark ; so, in owls, there
is the same conformation of that organ ; and though, like us, they
cannot see in a total exclusion of light, yet they are sufficiently
quick-sighted at times when we remain in total obscurity. Besides
this, there is an irradiation on the back of the eye, and the very
iris itself has a faculty of reflecting the rays of light, so as to assist
vision in the gloomy places these birds are found to frequent.

Predicting the desolation of Idumea, the prophet Isaiah says, her
palaces shall be a resting place for ' the screech-owl ' (Isaiah xxxiv.
14), whose horrid and terrifying cry would form a sad contrast to
the melody of the harp and the tabret, which then resounded with-
in their walls. But to show, probably^ the extent and permanency
of that desolation which was threatened, the prophet in the next
verse represents the devoted country as becoming the constant
abode of birds of prey, among which the one we are describing was
to be found : ' There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay
and hatch, and gather under her shadow,'

THE PARTRIDGE.

155

THE PARTRIDGE,

THE Hebrew name of this bird, KER, was evidently taken froni

: nnto

its note —

' I love to hear the cur

Of the night-loving partridge.'

Forskal mentions a partridge whose name in Arabic is kurr ; and
Latham says, that in the province of Andalusia, in Spain, its name
is churr : both taken, no doubt, like the Hebrew, from its note. As
this bird is so well known in every part of the world, a particular
description is unnecessary.

There are only two passages of scripture in which the partridge
is mentioned ; but these will repay an attentive examination. The
first occurs in the history of David, where he expostulates with
Saul concerning his unjust and foolish pursuit of him : ' The king
of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a part-
ridge on the mountains,' 1 Sam. xxvi. 20.

The learned Bochart objects to the partridge in this place, and
contends that the ker is more likely to be the woodcock, since the
partridge is not a mountain bird. This, however, is a mistake : there
is a species of the partridge which exactly answers to the description
of David ; and those of Barakonda, in particular, are said to choose
the highest rocks and precipices for their residence. The method
iby which Dr. Shaw states the Arabs to hunt the partridge, affords a
lively comment on the words of the Psalmist : ' The Arabs have
another, though a more laborious, method of catching these birds ;
for, observing that they become languid and fatigued after they have
been hastily put up twice or thrice, they immediately run in upon

15C

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

them, and knock them down with their ztnoattys, or bludgeons.'
It was precisely in this manner that Saul hunted David, coming
hastily upon him, and putting hirn up from time to time, in hopes
he should at length, by frequent repetitions of it, be able to destroy
him.

In addition to this method of taking the partridge, Dr. Shaw states,
that the Arabs are well acquainted with that mode of catching them,
which is called tunnelling ; and to make the capture the greater,
they will sometimes place behind the net a cage, with some tame
ones within it, which, by their perpetual chirping and calling, quick-
3y bring down the coveys that are within hearing, and thereby de-
coy great numbers of them. This, he remarks, may lead us into the
right interpretation of Eccles. xi. 30, which we render Mike as a
partridge taken [and kept] in a cage, so is the heart of the proud ;
•but it should be, 'Like a decoy partridge in a cage, so is,' &c.

The other passage in which this bird is mentioned, is Jer. xvii.
11, ' As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not ; so he
that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst
of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.' It seems to be clear,
says Mr, Taylor, that this bird sitteth on eggs not its own, to answer
to the getting of riches not by right ; from these eggs it is driven
away, leaves them in the midst of his days, before the time for hatch-
ing is expired, But why should it be'said of the partridge, rather
than of any other bird, that it sitteth and hatcheth not? The reason
is plain, when it is known, that this bird's nest being made on the
ground, the eggs are frequently broken by the foot of man, or other
•animals, and she is often obliged to quit them by the presence of
intruders, which chills the eggs, and renders them unfruitful. Rain
and moisture also may spoil them. Observing that Buffon makes
a separate species of the Barlavella, or Greek partridge, Mr. Taylor
offers that as the proper bird meant in these passages. Belon in-
forms us, 'that the bartavella keeps ordinarily among rocfo ; but has
the instinct to descend into the plain to make its nest, in order that
the young may find, at their birth, a ready subsistence.' 'It has
another analogy with the common hen, which is, to sit upon (or
hatch) the eggs of strangers, for want of its own. This remark is of
long standing, since it occurs in the sacred books.' Now, if, in the
absence of the proper owner, this Bartavella partridge sits on the
eggs of a stranger, when that stranger returns to her nest, and drives
away the intruder before she can hatch them, the partridge so ex-
pelled resembles a man in low circumstances, who has possessed
himself for a time of the property of another, but is forced to relin-
quish his acquisition before he can render it profitable ; which is
the simile of the prophet, and agrees, too, with this place.

THE COCK AND HEN. 157

THE COCK AND HEN.

THESE well-known domestic birds do not appear to have been
much known to the Israelites, at any period of their history ; since
the Hebrew Bible does not so much as furnish a name for them,
and they are only once mentioned in the writings of the New Tes-
tament.

The strong affection and tender care which the hen displays for
her young, are so well known as to have become proverbial.

It is to these qualities in the character of the domestic hen, that
our Lord alludes, in his pathetic address to the once * holy city :'
— * O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and ston-
est them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gath-
ered thy children together, even as a hen gatheretji her chickens
under her wings, and ye would not ! Behold, your house is left
unto you desolate,' a very beautiful image, denoting affection and
protection. When the hen sees a bird of prey coming, she makes
a noise to assemble her chickens, that she may cover them with
her wings from the danger. The Roman eagle is about to fall upon
the Jewish state ; nothing can prevent this but their conversion to
God through Christ ; Jesus cries throughout the land, publishing
the gospel of reconciliation ; they would not assemble, and the Ro-
man eagle came and destroyed them. How long had these thank-
less and unholy people been the objects of his tenderest cares ! For
more than two thousand years, they engrossed the most peculiar
regards of the most beneficent Providence; and during the three
years of our Lord's public ministry, his preaching and miracles had
but one object and aim, the instruction and salvation of this thought-
less people. For their sakes, he who was rich became poor, that
they through his poverty, might be rich ; for their sakes he made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross ! He
died that THEY might not perish, but have everlasting life. Thus, to
save their life, he, freely abandoned his own.

14

158 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE QUAIL.

THERE has been a difference of opinion among learned men, with
respect to what creature is intended by the Hebrew word which
we render quails, Exodus xvi. 13, &c.

It would appear, however, that the quail is a bird of passage, and
about the size of the turtle-dove. Hasselquist states that that it'is
plentiful near the shores of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, and also
in the deserts of Arabia.

On two occasions the demands of the murmuring Hebrews were
supplied with quails; and, in each case, the event is distantly refer-
red to the miraculous interposition of God, Exod. xvi. 12, 13;
Numb. xi. 31. On the former occasion, the birds were scattered
about the camp only for a single day ; but, on the latter, they came
up from the sea for an entire month. The great numbers of them
which are said to have been provided for the people, has beer, re-
garded as almost incredible, but without sufficient reason, as may
be shown, without resorting to the supposition that they were cre-
ated for this express occasion. Varro asserts, that turtle* and quails
return from their migrations into Italy in immense numbers ; and
Solinus adds, that when they come within sight of land, they rush
forward in large bodies, and with so great impetuosity as often to
endanger the safety of navigators, by alighting upon the sails in the
night, and by their weight oversetting the vessels. Hence it ap-
pears, that this part of the narrative is perfectly credible ; and that
the miracle consisted in the immense flocks being directed to a par-
ticular spot, in the extreme emergency of the people, by means of
« a wind from the Lord,' Numb. xi. 31.

SECTION III.
WATER BIRDS

THE CRANE.

THIS bird is now unknown in England, and the accounts of its
size which are furnished by naturalists and travellers vary exceed*-
ingly. Willoughby and Pennant make it from five to six feet long,
from the beak to the tail ; and others state that it is above five feet
high. On the contrary, Bresson describes it as something less than
the brown stork, about three feet high, and about four from the beak
to the tail. The latter writer is generally admitted to be the most
correct ; although the one he describes may possibly have been a
small bird. The figure of the crane is tall and slender, with a long
neck, and long legs. It is very social in its habits, and usually lives
in flocks amounting to fifty or sixty in number.

Cranes are birds of passage, and they are seen to depart and re-

160

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

turn regularly, at those seasons when their provision invites or re-
pels them. They generally leave Europe at the latter end of Au-
tumn, and return in the beginning of the summer. In the inland
parts of the continent, they are seen crossing the country in flocks
of fifty or a hundred, making from the northern regions towards
the south. In these journeys they sometimes soar so high, howev-
er, as to be entirely out of sight; but then their tract is to be dis-
tinctly ascertained by their loud and peculiar clangor. To the in-
stinctive precaution of these birds in securing themselves against
the miseries of famine, by migrating from one part of the earth to
another, there is a reference in Jer. viii. 7, wher,e the blindness of
the Jewish nation to the indications of approaching judgments is
forcibly reproved : ' The crane and the swallow observe the time of
their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the
Lord.'

THE STORK.

...

THE external appearance of the stork differs little from that of the
crane. It is of the same size ; and has the same formation as to the
bill, neck, legs, and body, except that it is something more corpulent.
Its differences are but very slight ; such as the color, which m the
crane is ash and black, but in the stork is white and brown. The
nails of the toes of the stork, also, are very peculiar, not being

THE STORK. 161

clawed like those of other birds, but flat, like the nails of a man.
Its true distinctions, however, are to be taken rather from its man-
ner than its form. The crane has a loud piercing voice ; the stork
is silent, and produces no other noise than the clucking of its under
chap against the upper : the crane has a strange convolution of the
windpipe through the breast bone ; the stork's is formed hi the usual
manner : the crane feeds mostly upon vegetables and grain ; the
stork preys entirely upon frogs, fishes, birds, and serpents : the crane
avoids towns and populous places; the stork lives always in or
nearthenj: the crane lays but two eggs, and the stork generally
four. These are distinctions fully sufficient to mark the species,
notwithstanding the shnilitude of their form.

It was probably on account of the description of food upon which
this bird preys, that it was prohibited as an article of food to the
Jewish people, Lev. xi. 19, &-c.

The Hebrew name of the stork, is strikingly characteristic of its
disposition, signifying benignity or affection, for which it is remarka-
ble, as is attested by the most unexceptionable witnesses.

Parkhurst has given an interesting description of the stork from
the Inspector, a periodical paper ascribed to that eminent naturalist,
Sir John Hill, which sets this feature in its character in a strong
and beautiful light.

' The two parents feed and guard each brood ; one always re-
maining on it, while the other goes for food. They keep the young
ones much longer in the nest than any other bird ; and after they
have led them out of it by day, they bring them back at night ;
preserving it as their natural and proper home.

' When they first take out the young, they practise them to fly ;
and they lead them to the marshes, and to the hedge-sides, point-
ing them out the frogs, and serpents, and lizards, which are their
proper food ; and they will seek out toads, which they never eat,
and take great pains to make the young distinguish them.' At the
time of their return, after having visited some warmer climate
during the winter months, this writer states, that ' it is not un-
common to see several of the old birds, which are tired and feeble
with t-he long flight, supported at times on the back of the young ;
and the peasants speak of it as a certainty, that many of these are
when they return to their home, laid carefully in the old nests, and
fed and cherished by the young ones, which they reared with so
much care during the spring before.'

To the protection which the stork affords her young, there is
evidently an allusion in Job xxxix, 13: 'The wing of the ostrich
is quivering or expanded : [but] is it the wing of the stork and its
plumage?' That is, is it, like that, employed in protecting and
providing for the creature's offspring? No : for ' she (the ostrich)
depositeth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them on the sand,
and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, and that the wild
beast of the field may break them.' This leads us to notice the as-

14*
c

.

162

SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

sertion of the Psalmist, that 'the fir trees are the house of the stork,'
Ps. civ. 17.

Like the crane, the stork is a bird of passage ; and to its periodi-
cal migration the prophet Jeremiah refers, ch. viii. 7. Shaw fur-
nishes us with a proof of their surprising instinct in preparing for
their journey, which is worthy of notice. * It is observed of the
storks, when they * know their appointed time,' that, for about the
sjface of a fortnight before they pass from one country to another,
they constantly resort together, from all the circumjacent parts, in
a certain plain ; and there, forming themselves once every day into
a douwanne, or council (according to the phrase of these Eastern
nations,) are said to determine the exact time of their departure,
and the place of their future abodes.'

THE PELICAN.

THE Hebrew name of this curious bird is evidently tafcren from
its manner of discharging the contents of its bag or pouch, fo^r the
purpose of satisfying its own hunger, or that of its young.

THE PELICAN. 163

The Pelican is much larger than the swan, and something re-
sembles it in shape and color. The principal difference, and that
which distinguishes this bird from all others, is its enormous bill
and extraordinary pouch. From the point of the bill to the open-
ing of the mouth, there is a length of fifteen inches; and under
the chap is a bag, reaching the entire length of the bill to the neck,
and capable, it is said, of holding fifteen quarts of water. When
empty, this pouch is not seen ; but when filled, its great bulk and
singular appearance may easily be conceived. The Pelican, says
Labat, has strong wings, furnished with thick plumage of an ash
color, as are the rest of the feathers over the whole body. Its eyes
are very small when compared to the size of its head ; there is a
sadness in its countenance, and its whole air is melancholy ; it is
as dull and reluctant in its motions as the flamingo is sprightly and
active. It is slow of flight; and when it rises to fly, performs it
with difficulty and labor; nothing, as it would seem, but the spur
of necessity, could make these birds change their situation, or in-
duce them to ascend into the air : but they must either starve or
fly. When they have raised themselves about thirty or forty feet
above the surface of the sea, they turn their head with one eye
downwards, and continue to fly in that posture. As soon as they
perceive a fish sufficiently near the surface, they dart down Upon
it with the swiftness of an arrow eize it with, unerring certainty,
and store it up in their pouch. They then rise again, though not
without great labor, and continue hovering and fishing, with their
head on one side as before.

In feeding its young, the pelican squeezes the food deposited in
its bag into their mouths, by strongly compressing it upon its breast
with the bill ; an action, says Shaw, which might well give occa-
sion to the received tradition and report, that the pelican, in feeding
her young, pierced her own breast, and nourished them with her
blood.

The writer of the hundred-and-second psalm alludes to the
lonely situation of the pelican in the wildernesss, as illustrative
of the poignancy of his own grief, at witnessing the desolation of
his country, and the prostration of her sacred altars.

164 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE CORMORANT.

THIS bird, which was unclean to the Hebrews (Lev. xi. 17;
Deut. xiv, 17) is about the size of a large Muscovy duck, and may
be distinguished from all other birds of this kind, by its four toes
being united together by membranes, and by the middle toe being
toothed or notched, like a saw, to assist it in holding its fishy prey.
Its head and neck are of a sooty blackness, and the body thick and
heavy, more inclining in figure to that of the goose than the gull.
The bill is straight, till near the end, where the upper chap bends
into a book.

But notwithstanding the seeming heaviness of its make, there are
few birds more powerfully predacious than the cormorant. Form-
ed with the grossest appetites, this unclean bird has the most rank
and disagreeable smell, and is more foetid, even when in its most
healthful state, than carrion. Its form, says an ingenious writer, is
disagreeable ; its voice is hoarse and croaking ; and all its qualities
obscene. No wonder, then, that Milton should make Satan per-
sonate this bird, when he sent him upon the basest purposes, to
survey with pain the beauties of Paradise, and to sit devising death
on the tree of life. It has been remarked, indeed, of our poet, that
the making a water fowl perch on a tree, implied no great ac-
quaintance with the history of nature. But, in vindication of Mil-
ton, it must be observed, that Aristotle expressly says, the cormo-
rant is the only water fowl that sits on trees ; so that our epic bard
seems to have been as deeply versed in natural history as in criti-
cism.

The cormorant is trained up in China, and other parts of the
world, for the purpose of taking fish, after which it dives with great
dexterity and perseverance.

SECTION IV.
DUBIOUS BIRDS.

THE CUCKOO.

WE believe that the bird called in Hebrew shacheph, and in our
version ' cuckoo,' has never yet been properly identified. Bochart,
and the versions generally, decide in favor of the sea-mew ; but this
can hardly be admitted, since the shacheph is placed by the Hebrew
legislator, not among water birds, but among those of the air, and
also among birds of prey, Levit. xi. 16. The latter circumstance
seems also decisive against, the bird which has been made to take
its place in the English Bible. Dr. Shaw thinks that the bird in-
tended is a granivorous and gregarious bird, of which he gives a
particular account, and also an engraving.

THE HERON.

A WIDE latitude has been taken in the rendering of the Hebrew
anaph ; some critics interpreting it of the crane, others of the cur-

166 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

lew, some of the kite, others of the woodcock, some of the peacock,
some of the parrot, and some of the falcon. But let not the reader
be alarmed at this diversity of rendering, since it is the necessary
consequence of the scantiness of references to the bird in the sacred
text, and the absence of all description of its character and quali-
ties, in those passages in which it is spokei) of. The truth is, that
it is only referred to in the catalogue of birds prohibited by the Mo-
saic code, (Lev. xi. 19 ; Deut. xiv. 18 ;) and it is only from the im-
port of its name, or the known character of the birds with which it
is grouped, that we can form any conjecture of its specific charac-
ter. That the creature intended is some species of water bird, there
can be little doubt, if we give the sacred writer any credit for pro-
priety in his grouping, or system in his arrangement ; but what that
species may be, we are unable to decide. The Hebrew name is
from a root which signifies to breathe short, or snort through the nos-
trils, as in anger ; and as the heron is said to be of a very irritable
disposition, it may, perhaps, be the bird intended.

THE SWAN.

167

THE SWAN

IT is extremely uncertain what bird is intended by the Hebrew,
in (Lev. xi. 18), rendered by our translators, the swan. The same
word is used in a subsequent verse to denote the mole, according to
our version, but more probably, as Bochart has shown, the chame-
leon. The root from which the word is derived, signifies to breathe,
respire, &c.; and Geddes remarks, that if etymology were to be our
guide, it would seem to point to a well-known quality in the swan,
that of being able to respire a long time, with its bill and neck en-
tirely under water, and even plunged n the mud.

CHAPTER IV.

FISHES.

THERE are but few references to the subject of Ichthyology in
the inspired writings. The reasons are obvious : the Jews being an
agricultural people, fish formed no considerable part of their food ;
nor could they furnish any striking objects of comparison or illustra-
tion to the sacred writers, as in the case of quadrupeds and birds.

The well-known biblical appellations are two words expressive
of their amazing fecundity:* and the latter of their rapid motion.
In Gen. i. 21, the word taninin, rendered in our English Bibles,
* great whales,' seems used to describe fish of the largest description,
without being restricted to any particular species.

There seems to be four divisions of the aquatic tribes, strongly
marked in nature, which are usually called the spinous or bony kind ;
— the cartilaginous, or those which have gristles instead of bones ;
—the cetaceous tribe, or those of the whale kind; — and the crustace-
ous, or shell fish.

Fish was the common food of the Egyptians. Hence we may
see how distressing was the infliction which turned the waters of
the river into blood, and occasioned the death of the fish, Exod. vii.
18 — 21. Their sacred stream became so polluted as to be unfit for
drink, for bathing, and for other uses of water to which they were
superstitiously devoted, (ch. ii. 5 ; vii. 15 ; viii. 20 ;) and themselves
obliged to nauseate what was the usual food of the common peo-
ple, and held sacred by the priests.

From Neh. xiii. 16, we learn, that in the time of Nehemiab, the
Tyrians brought fish in considerable quantities to Jerusalem, for
purchasing which on the Sabbath-day, that zealous patriot reprov-
ed the elders of the Jews. As the people of Tyre were remarka-
ble for their skill in maritime affairs, it is impossible to say how far
their fisheries might extend ; but from Le Bruyn we ascertain, that
fish in large numbers, and of excellent quality, were to be procured
in the neighborhood of their own city. Nor should we omit to no-
tice, in justification of John xxi. 11, that the sea of Tiberias was
well stocked with fish of a very large size.

The narrative of Jonah's extraordinary preservation from death,
when thrown overboard by the terrified mariners, has furnished

* The Abbe Pluche shows, from Leuwenboek, that a single cod, though not of the larg-
est size, contained 9,334,000 eggs ; and observes, that though a common carp is far from
having such a number of eggs, yet the quantity of them' is so amazing, even at the first
fiance, that'jt contributes very much to justify the above calculation. — Nature Displayed,
vol. i. p. 230, 231,

372 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

ample materials for the cavils of the infidel, and for the specula-
tions of the philosopher and the critic. In the sacred text, the par-
ticular fish which was rendered the preserver of the disobedient
prophet, is not specified ; although the Septuagint translators have
inserted the whale, and the evangelists, in recording our Saviour's
words relative to the event and its typical character, have used the
same word. It by no means follows from this, however, that the
writers of the gospels designed to give their sanction to this inter-
pretation : the LXX being the version in common use among their
countrymen, they quoted it without alteration, where its deviation
from the original involved no serious consequences.

Although the whale is the largest of all known fish, its gullet is
too small to permit the passage of a human body through it, and
therefore we cannot, without the supposition of an additional mira-
cle, admit this to be the fish intended.

Our Lord observes (Luke xi. 30) that ' Jonas was a sign to the
Ninevites ; ' and it is remarkable that the event should have been
so widely spread and attracted so much notice, that among the few
fragments of antiquity remaining to us, this little history should re-
ceive from them larger confirmation than some others, of greater
extent and magnitude. The heathen have preserved the fact, but
applied it to Hercules.

CHAPTER V.

REPTILES.

THIS numerous and diversified class of being is distinguished by
two appellations in the sacred writings, (Gen. i. 24, 25 ; vii. 21 ;)
the one being expressive of its motion , that is, crawling ; and the
other of its abundant production or increase. Reptiles of all sorts,
except those furnished with wings, were unclean, Lev, xi. 41. We
shall notice them under three divisions: LIZARDS — SERPENTS —
WORMS.

SECTION I.
LIZARDS.

THE TORTOISE.

DR. SHAW has shown, that the tzab or tjab of Lev. xi. 29, which
we call the tortoise, is a lizard, called in Arabic, with a near ap-
proach to the Hebrew name, dhab or dab, agreeing nearly in shape,
and in the hard pointed annule or scales of the tail, with the candi-
verbera or shake-tail, as it is represented in Gesner, and Johnson.
' The dab, or Saharawan lizard, is about eighteen inches long, and
'three or four inches broad across the back. I i.- not poisonous. It
lays eggs like the tortoise. It is very swift, and, if hunted, will hide
itself in the earth, which it penetrates with its nose, and nothing
will extricate it but digging up the ground.'
15*

174 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE FERRET.

DR. GEDDES understands the Hebrew name, rendered ferret in
Lev. xi. 30, to denote the newt, and Dr. James takes it for the/rog- ;
but, as its name seems to be taken from the cry it makes, the prob-
ability is, that the species of lizard called in Egypt, the GecJfco, is
the animal intended. It is thus described by Cepede : —

* Of all the oviparous quadrupeds whose history we are publish-
ing, this is the first that contains a deadly poison. This deadly liz-
ard, which deserves all our attention by his dangerous properties,
has some resemblance to the 'chameleon ; his head, almost trian-
gular, is large in comparison to his body ; the eyes are very large ;
the tongue flat, covered with small scales, and the end rounded ;
the teeth are sharp, and so strong that, according to Bontius, they
are able to make impressions on the hardest substances, even on
steel. It is almost entirely covered with little warts, more or less
rising; the under part of the thighs is furnished with a row of tu-
bercles, raised and grooved. The feet are remarkable for oval
scales, more or less hollowed in the middle, as large as the under
surface of the toes themselves, and regularly disposed one over
another, like the slates on a roof. The tail of the gecko, is com-
monly rather longer than the body, though sometimes shorter ; it
is round, thin, and covered with circular rings or bands, formed of
several rows of very small scales. Its color is a clear green, spot-

mlf

rotten trees, as well as humid places; it is sometimes met with in
houses, where it occasions great alarm, and where every exertion is
used to destroy it speedily. Bontius states, that its bite is so venom-
ous, that if the part bitten be not cut away or burned, death ensues
in a few hours.'

Mr. Charles Taylor thinks there is an allusion to this reptile in
Deut. xxxii. 33 : 'Their wine is the poison of dragons; and the
cruel venom of asps.' The allusion here is to the venom (Eng.
transl. wine,} of the taninim ; and this venom is associated, by com-
parison, with the cruel venom of asps— pdhenim — serpents.

The following extract is from Bontius.

* The Javanese use to dip their arrows in the blood of this crea-
ture ; and those who deal in poison among them (an art much es-
teemed in the island of Java, by both sexes) hang it up with a
string tied to the tail on tho ceiling, by which means it being exas-
perated to the highest pitch, sends forth a yellow liquor out of its
mouth, which they gather in small pots underneath, and afterwards
coagulate into a body in the sun. This they continue several
months together, by giving daily food to the creature. It is unques-
tionably the strongest poison in the world.'

THE CHAMELEON. 175

THE CHAMELEON.

IN the English Bible, the CHAMELEON is transformed into the
rnole, (Lev. xi. 30,) an animal that has little pretension to be associ-
ated with reptiles of the lizard species. The Hebrew word, from a
root which signifies to breathe, is peculiarly appropriate to this curi-
ous animal, which, according to vulgar opinion, is the 'creature
nourished by the wind and air.'

The chameleon nearly resembles the crocodile in form, but dif-
fers widely in its size and appetites. Its head is about two inches
long, and from thence to the beginning of the tail four and a half;
the tail is five inches long, and the feet two and a half; the thick-
ness of the body varies at different times, for the animal possesses
the power of blowing itself up and contracting itself, at pleasure.

During his visit to the East, Le Bruyn purchased several chame-
leons, for the purpose of preserving them alive, and making obser-
vations on their nature and manners ; but the most interesting ac-
count of this curious animal is that furnished by the enterprising
and lamented Belzoni, which we transcribe.

'There are three species of chameleons, whose colors are pecu-
liar to themselves ; for instance, the commonest sort are those which
are generally green, that is to say, the body all green, and when
content, beautifully marked on each side regularly on the green
with black and yellow, not in a confused manner, but as if drawn.
This kind is in great plenty, and never have any other color except
a light green when they sleep, and when ill a very pale yellow.
Out of near forty I had the first year when I was in Nubia, I had
but one, and that a very small one, of the second sort, which had
red marks. One chameleon lived with me eight months, and most
of that time I had it fixed to the button of my coat: it used to rest
on my shoulder, or on my head. I have observed, when I have
kept it shut up in a room for some time, that, on bringing it out in
the air, it would begin drawing the air in ; and on putting it on
some marjorum, it has had a wonderful effect on it immediately :
its color became most brilliant. I believe it will puzzle a good many

176 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

to say what cause it proceeds from. If they did not change when
shut up in a house, but only on taking them into a garden, it might
be supposed the change of the colors was in consequence of the
smell of the plants; but when in a house, if it is watched, it will
[be seen to] change every ten minutes : some moments a plain
green, at others all its beautiful colors will come out, and when in
a passion it becomes of a deep black, and will swell itself up like a
balloon ; and, from being one of the most beautiful animals, it be-
comes one of the most ugly. It is true they are extremely fond of
the fresh air ; and on taking them to a window where there is noth-
ing to be seen, it is easy to observe the pleasure they certainly take
in it: they begin to gulp down the air, and their color becomes
brighter. I think it proceeds, in a great degree, from the temper
they are in : a little thing will put them in a bad humor. If, in
crossing a takle, for instance, you stop them, and attempt to turn
them another road, they will not stir, and are extremely obstinate :
on opening the mouth at them, it will set them in a passion : they
begin to arm themselves, by swelling and turning black, and will
sometimes hiss a little, but not much. The third 1 brought from
Jerusalem, was the most singular of all the chameleons I ever had :
its temper, if it can be so called, was extremely sagacious and cun-
ning. This one wa.s not of the order of the green kind, but a dis-
agreeable drab, and it never once varied in its color in two months.
On :ny arrival at Cairo, I used to let it crawl about the room, on
the furniture. Sometimes it would get down, if it could, and hide
itself away from me, but in a place where it could see me ; and
sometimes, on my leaving the room arid on entering it, would draw
itself so thin as to make itself nearly on a level with \\hatever it
might be on, so that I might not see it. It had often deceived me
so. One da)', having misst-d it for some time, 1 concluded it was
hid about the room ; after looking for it in vain, I thought it had
got out of the room and made its escape. In the course of the
evening, after the candle was lighted, I went to a basket that had
got a handle across it : I saw rny chameleon, but its color entirely
changed, and different to any I ever had seen before : the whole
body, head and tail, a brown, with black spots, and beautiful deep
orange colored spots round the black. I certainly was much grat-
ified. On being disturbed, its colors vanished, unlike the others; but
after this I used to observe it the first thing in the morning, when
it would have the same colors." Their chief food was flies: the fly
does not die immediately on being swallowed, for, on taking the
chameleon up in my hands, it was easy to feel the fly buzzing,
chiefly on account of the air they draw in their inside : they swell
much, and particularly when they want to fling themselves off a
great height, by filling themselves up like a balloon. On falling,
they get no hurt, except on the mouth, which they bruise a little,
as that comes first to the ground. Sometimes they will not drink
for three or four days, and when they begin, they are about half an
hour drinking. I have held a glass in one hand, while the chame-

THE FROG. 177

Icon rested its two fore paws on the edge of it, the two hind ones
resting on my other hand. It stood upright while drinking, hold-
ing its head up like a fowl. By flinging its tongue out of its mouth,
the length of its body, and instantaneously catching the fly, it would
go back like a spring. They will drink mutton broth.

* When in Italy, a gentleman, a professor of natural history, had
two sent him from the coast of Barbary, but they did not live long.
He dissected them, and his idea on the change of color is, that he
found they had four skins extremely fine, which occasioned the
different colors. It may be so, but of this I am positively certain,
whatever it may proceed from, they have their different colors pe-
culiar, distinct, and independent of each other, and of themselves.'
He adds, in another place, that the chameleons are very inveterate
towards their own kind, biting off each others tails and legs, if shut
up in the same cage.

THE FROG.

THE frog is in itself a very harmless animal, but to most people,
who use it not as an article of food, exceedingly loathsome. Its
employment by the Almighty in one of the plagues of Egypt, was
characterized by the most striking wisdom. God, with equal ease,
says Dr. Adam Clarke, could have brought crocodiles, bears, lions,
or tigers, to have punished these people. But, had he used any of
these formidable animals, the effect would have appeared so com-
mensurate to the cause, that the hand of God might have been for-
gotten in the punishment ; and the people would have been exas-
perated, without being humbled. In the present instance, he show-
ed the greatness of his power, by making an animal, devoid of eve-
ry evil quality, the means of a terrible affliction to his enemies.
How easy is it, both to the justice and mercy of God, to destroy or
save by means of the most despicable and insignificant of instru-
ments ! Though he is the Lord of Hosts, he has no need of power-
ful armies, the ministry of angels, or the thunderbolts of justice, to
punish a sinner, or a sinful nation ; the/rog or the/y, in his hands,
is a sufficient instrument of vengeance.

To the reason here assigned for the choice of so insignificant an
animal, we may add another; namely, that as the frog waa in
Egypt an emblem of Osiris, or the Sun, the first object of idolatrous
worship to the nations of the East, its employ ment on such an oc-
casion was eminently adapted to convince them of the absurdity of
their superstitious system.

These vengeful reptiles, says Paxton, were produced in the
streams of the Nile, and in the lakes which were supplied from its

178 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

waters, because the river was supposed, by that deluded people, to
possess an uncommon degree of sanctity, and to deserve their re-
ligious veneration ; it was the object of their confidence, it was ac-
counted the grand source of their enjoyments, and was the constant
therne of their praise ; it was, therefore, just to pollute those waters
with an innumerable multitude of impure animals, to which the
respect and confidence which was due only to the true God, the
Father of the rain, had been impiously transferred. Turned at first
into blood, as a just punishment of their unfeeling barbarity to-
wards the male children of Israel, they were now 'a second 'time
polluted and disgraced, to the utter confusion both of their gods
and priests.'

The writer from whom we have cited these observations, has
treated the entire subject in so admirable a manner, that we shall
enrich our pages with some selections.

This loathsome plague extended to every place, and to every
class of men. The frogs came up, arid covered the land of Egypt;
they entered into their houses, and into their bed chambers ; they
crawled upon their persons, upon their beds, and into their kitchen
utensils. The whole country — their palaces, their temples, their
persons — all was polluted and hateful. Nor was it in their power
to wash away the nauseous filth with which they were tainted, for
every stream and every lake was full of pollution. To a people
who affected a most scrupulous purity in their persons, habitations,
and manner of living, nothing, almost, can be conceived more in-
sufferable than this plague. The frog is, compared with many oth-
er reptiles, a harmless animal ; it neither injures by its bite, nor by
its poison, but it must have excited on this occasion, a disgust,
which rendered life an insupportable burden. The eye was tor-
tured with beholding the march of their impure legions, and the
ear with hearing the harsh tones of their voices. The Egyptians
could recline upon no bed where they were not compelled to ad-
mit their cold and filthy embrace: they tasted no food which was
not infected by their touch ; and they smelled no perfume but the
fetid smell of their slime, or the exhalations emitted from their
dead carcasses.

How much the Egyptians endured from this visitation, is evident
from the haste with which Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and
begged the assistance of their prayers: * Entreat, the Lord that he
may take away the frogs from me and from my people ; and I will
let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.' Re-
duced to great extremity, and receiving no deliverance from the
pretended miracles of his magicians, he had recourse to that God,
concerning whom he had so proudly demanded, ' Who is Jehovah,
that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? ' Subdued and in-
structed by adversity, he implores his compassion, and acknowl-
edges the glory of his name ; but, as the event proved, not with a
sincere heart.
In answer to his entreaties, the frogs were removed. They were

THE FROG. 179

not, however, swept away like the locusts which succeeded them,
but destroyed, and left on the face of the ground. They were not
annihilated, nor resolved into mud, nor marched back into the riv-
er from whence they had come ; but left dead upon the ground, to
prove the truth of the miracle, — that they had not died by the hands
of men, but by the power of God ; that the great deliverence was
not like the works of the magicians, a lying wonder, but a real in-
terposition of Almighty power, and an effect of Divine goodness.
The Egyptians were, therefore, reduced to the necessity of collect-
ing them into heaps, which had the effect of more rapidly disenga-
ging the offensive effluvia, and thus, for a time, increasing the
wretchedness of the country. Their destruction was probably fol-
lowed by a pestilence, which cut off many of the people, in addi-
tion to those that died in consequence of the grievous vexations
they endured from their loathsome adversaries ; for, in one of the
songs of Zion, it is said, ' He sent frogs, which destroyed them'
(Ps. Ixxviii. 45) ; laid waste their lands, and infected themselves with
pestilent disorders.

The frog was chosen by the Spirit of inspiration, to represent in
vision, the false teachers, and other agents of antichrist: * I saw,'
said John, 'three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth
of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the
mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirit of devils, work-
ing miracles,' Rev. xvi. 13, 14. These impure and mischievous
emissaries are generated and reared in the puddle of moral deprav-
ity ; like the frog, they disturb the peace, and impair the happiness
of all around them. Their unceasing loquacity is not less annoying
than the perpetual croaking of the impure animal to which they
are compared. Their complaints and reproaches ; their accusations
and curses ; their pride and vanity ; and their constant and eager
exertions to stir up the subjects, kings, and princes of the earth to
mutual slaughter, under the pretence of maintaining the cause of
religion, — are still more painful and mischievous than the obstrep-
erous clamors, the mournful complaints and mutual reproaches,
the shameless impudence and the vain-glorious inflations, which
the frogs are accused of indulging, in their native marshes.

SECTION II.
SERPENTS.

THE primitive meaning of the verb from which the Hebrew name
of the serpent class of reptiles is derived, signifies to view, observe
attentively, &c., and so remarkable are they for this quality, that « a
serpent's eye' became a proverb among the Greeks and Romans,
who applied it to those who view things sharply or acutely. An in-
genious writer, speaking of the supposed fascination in the rattle-
snake's eye, says, * It is perhaps, more universal among the poison-
ous serpents than is supposed ; for our common viper has it.'

The craft and subtilty of the serpent are noticed in scripture, as
qualities by which it is distinguisned above every other beast of the
field, Genesis iii. 1. ; Matthew x. 16. Of its prudence and cunning,
many instances might be adduced, as recorded by naturalists ; al-
though it is reasonable to suppose, that in common with other parts
of the creation, it has materially suffered in these respects from the
effects of the curse.

Notwithstanding that the generality of mankind regard this for-
midable race with horror, there have been some nations who held
them in veneration and regard. The adoration of the serpent in
ancient Egypt is well known; as is that of the dragon in Babylon.
The same species of idolatry still prevails throughout India, and in
many parts of Africa it is carried to the most degrading excess.

Calmet has enumerated eleven kinds of serpents, which were
known to the Hebrews; — 1. APHEH, the viper. 2. CHEFHIR, a
sort of aspick, or a lion. 3. ACSHUB, the aspick. 4. PETHEN, the
aspick. 5. TZEBOA, a speckled serpent, called Hy<Rna± by the
Greeks and Egyptians. 6. TZIMMAON, according to Jerom. 7.
TZEPHO, or TZEPHONI, a basilisk ; not the fabulous cockatrice, but
a serpent like others. 8. KIPPOS, the ancontias or dart. 9. SHEP-
HIPHON, the cerastes. 10. SH AC HAL, the black serpent. 11. SERAPH,
zjlying serpent.

We shall notice such of these varieties as have been sufficiently
identified.

THE VIPER.

THE viper is remarkable for its quick and penetrating poison, and
on this account has been made, from the remotest antiquity, an em-
blem of what is hurtful and destructive. Nay, so terrible was their
nature, that they were commonly thought to be sent as execution-

THE VIPER. 181

ers of Divine vengeance upon mankind j for enormous crimes which
had escaped the course of justice* An instance of such an opinion
as this, we have in the history of Paul (Acts xxviii.), whom the
people of Melita, when they saw the viper leap upon his hand,
concluded to be a murderer, and as readily made a god of him ; when,
instead of having his hand inflamed, or fallen down dead, he, with*
out any harm, shook the reptile into the fire; it being obvious
enough to imagine, that he must stand in a near relation, at least,
to the gods themselves, who could thus command the messengers
of their vengeance, and counterwork the effects of such powerful
agents.

The prophet Isaiah mentions the viper among the venomous rep-
tiles which, in extraordinary numbers, infested the land of Egypt,
ch. xxx. 6. In illustrating the mischievous character of wicked
men, and the ruinous nature of sin, he thus alludes to this danger-
ous creature again : ' They hatch cockatrice eggs, and weave the
spider's web : he that eateth of their eggs dieth ; and that which
is crushed breaketh out into a viper.' The cockatrice here, says
Paxton, undoubtedly means the viper 5 for the egg of one creature
never produces, by any management, one of a different species.
When the egg is crushed, the young viper is disengaged, and leaps
out prepared for mischief. It may be objected, that the viper is not
an oviparous, but a viviparous animal ; and that, consequently, the
prophet must refer to some other creature. But it is to be remem-
bered, that although the viper brings forth its young alive, they are
hatched from eggs perfectly formed in the belly of the mother.
Hence, Pliny says of it, * The viper alone of all terrestrial animals, pro-
duces within itself an egg of an uniform color, and soft like the eggs
or roe of fishes.' This curious natural fact reconciles the statement
of the sacred writer with the truth of natural history. If by any
means the egg of the viper be separated from the body, the phe-
nomenon which the prophet mentions, may certainly take place.
Father Labat took a serpent of the viper kind, and ordered it to be
opened in his presence. In its womb were found six eggs, each
of the size of a goose's egg, and containing from thirteen to fifteen
young ones, about six inches long, and as thick as a goose quill.
They were no sooner liberated from their prison-house, than they
crept about, and put themselves into a threatening posture, coiling
themselves up, and biting the stick with which he was destroying
them. Those contained in one of the eggs escaped at the place
where the female was killed, by the bursting of the egg, and their
getting among the bushes.

In Genesis xlix. 17, the dying patriarch compares the Danites to
the shephiphon, probably the CERASTES; a serpent of the viper kind,
of a light brown color, which lurks in the sand, and in the tracks
of wheels in the road, and unexpectedly bites the legs of animals
as they pass along.

To the depraved hearts and malignant dispositions of the Scribes
and Pharisees, both our Saviour and John the Baptist allude, in
16

182 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

these words : « O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to
flee from the wrath to come?' (Matthew iii. 7); 'Ye serpents, ye
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?'
ch. xxiii. 33. — Terribly expressive speeches ! A serpentine brood,
from a serpentine stock. As their fathers were, so were they, chil-
dren of the wicked one. This is God's estimate of a SINNER, wheth-
er he wade in wealth, or soar in fame. The Jews were the seed
of the serpent, who should bruise the heel of the woman's seed,
and whose head should be bruised by him.

THE ADDER AND THE ASP.

THE adder was known to the ancient Hebrews under various
names. — It is the opinion of some interpreters, that the word Sha-
chal) which in some parts of scripture denotes a lion, in others
means an adder, or some kind of serpent. Thus, in the ninety-first
Psalm, they render it the basilisk, * Thou shall tread upon the ad-
der and the basilisk, the young lion and the dragon thou shalt tram-
ple under foot,' verse 13. Indeed, all the ancient expositors agree,
that some species of serpent is meant ; and as the term Shachal.
when applied to beasts, denotes a black lion ; so, in the present ap-
plication, it is thought to mean the black adder.

The Hebrew Pethcn is variously translated in our version ; but
interpreters generally consider it as referring to the asp. Zophar
alludes to it more than once in his description of a wicked man :
* Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within
him. — He shall suck the poison of asps : the vipers' tongue shall
slay him,' Job xx. 14. The venom of asps is the most subtile of
all; it is incurable, and, if the wounded part be not instantly ampu-
tated, it speedily terminates the existence of the sufferer. To these
circumstances Moses evidently alludes, in his character of the hea-
then : ' Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom
of asps,' Deut. xxxiii. 33. See also Rom. iii. 13. To tread upon
the asp is attended with extreme danger; and to express in the
strongest manner the safety which the godly man enjoys under the
protection of his heavenly Father, it is promised, that he shall trend
with impunity upon the adder and the dragon, Psalm xci. 13. No
person of his own accord approaches the hole of these deadly rep-
tiles ; for he who gives them the smallest disturbance, is in extreme
danger of paying the forfeit of his rashness with his life. Hence,
the prophet Isaiah, predicting the conversion of the Gentiles to the
faith of Christ, and the glorious reign of peace and truth in these
regions, which, prior to that period, were full of horrid cruelty, de-
clares, ' The sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and

THE ADDER AND THE ASP. 183

the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain ; for the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea,' Isaiah xi. 6—9. In the glowing descriptions of the Golden
Age, with which the Oriental writers, and the rapturous bards of
Greece and Rome, entertained their contemporaries, the wild beasts
grow tame, serpents resign their poison, and noxious herbs their
deleterious qualities •' all is peace and harmony, plenty and happi-

The soaring genius of these elegant writers, however, could reach
no higher than a negative felicity : but the inspired bard, far sur-
passing them in the beauty and elegance, as well as in the variety
of imagery, with which he clothes the same ideas, exhibits a glow-
ing picture of positive and lasting happiness. The wolf and the
leopard not only forbear to destroy the lamb and kid, but even take
their abode with them, and lie down together. The calf, and the
young lion, and the falling, not only come together, but also repose
under the same covert, and are led quietly in the same band, and
that by a little child. The cow and the she-bear, not only feed to-
gether, but even lodge their young ones, for whom they used to be
most jealously fearful, in the same place. All the serpent kind is
so perfectly harmless, that the sucking infant, or the newly- weaned
child, puts his hand on the basilisk's den, and plays upon the hole
of the aspic. The lion, not only abstains from preying on the weak-
er animals, but also becomes tame and domestic, and feeds on straw
like the ox. These are all beautiful circumstances, not one of which
has been touched by the ancient poets.

The wonderful effect which music produces on the serpent tribes,
is confirmed by the testimony of several respectable moderns. Ad-
ders swell at the sound of a flute, raising themselves up on the one
half of their body, turning themselves round, beating proper time,
and following the instrument. Their head, naturally round and
long like an eel, becomes broad and flat like a fan. The tame ser-
pents, many of which the Orientals keep in their houses, are known
to leave their holes in hot weather, at the sound of a musical instru-
ment, and to run upon the performer. Dr. Shaw had an opportur
nity of seeing a number of serpents keep exact time with the Der-
vishes in their circulatory dances, running over their heads and
arms, turning when they turned, and stopping when they stopped.
The rattle-snake acknowledges the power of music as much as any
of his family ; of which the following instance is a decisive proof.
When Chateaubriand was in Canada, a snake of this species enter-
ed their encampment; a young Canadian, one of the party, who
could play on the flute, to divert his associates, advanced against
the serpent with his new species of weapon. « On the approach of
his enemy, the haughty reptile curled himself into a spiral line,flat^
toned his head, inflated his cheeks, contracted his lips, displayed his
envenomed fangs, and his bloody throat ; his double tongue glowed
like two flames of fire ; his eyes were burning coals ; his body, swolu

184 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

with rage, rose and fell like the bellows of a forge ; his dilated skin
assumed a dull and scaly appearance ; and his tail, which sounded
the denunciation of death, vibrated with so great rapidity! as to re-
semble a light vapor. The Canadian now began to play upon his
flute ; the serpent started with surprise, and drew back his head.
In proportion as he was struck with the magic effect, his eyes lost
their fierceness, the oscillations of his tail became slower, and the
sound which it emitted became weaker, and gradually died away.
Less perpendicular upon their spiral line, the rings of the fascinated
serpent were by degrees expanded, and sunk one after another up-
on the ground, in concentric circles. The shades of azure green,
white, and gold, recovered their brilliancy on his quivering skin,
and slightly turning his head, he remained motionless, in the atti-
tude of attention and pleasure. At this moment, the Canadian ad-
vanced a few steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes.
The reptile, inclining his variegated neck, opened a passage with
his head through the high grass, and began to creep after the mu-
sician, stopping when he stopped, and beginning to follow him again,
as soon as he moved forward.' In this manner he was led out of
the camp, attended by a great number of spectators, both savages
and Europeans, who could scarcely believe their eyes, when they
beheld this wonderful effect of harmony. The assembly unani-
mously decreed, that the serpent which had so highly entertained
them, should be permitted to escape.

But on some serpent-?, these charms seem to have no power ;
and it appears from scripture, that the adder sometimes takes pre-
cautions to prevent the fascination which he sees preparing for him;
for the deaf adder shutteth her ear, and will not hear the voice of
the most skilful charmer, Psalm Iviii. 5, 6. The same allusion is
involved in the words of Solomon : ' Surely the serpent will bite
without enchantment, and a babbler is no better,' Eccl. x. 11. The
threatening of the prophet Jeremiah proceeds upon the same fact ;
' I will send serpents (cockatrices) among you, which will not be
charmed, and they shall bite you,' Jer. viii. 17. In all these quota-
tions, the sacred writers, while they take it for granted that many
serpents are disarmed by charming, plainly admit that the powers
of the charmer are in vain exerted upon others. To account for
this exception it has been alleged, that in some serpents the sense
of hearing is very imperfect, while the power of vision is exceed-
ingly acute ; but the most intelligent natural historians maintain,
that the reverse is true. The sense of hearing is much more acute
than the sense of vision. Unable to resist the force of truth, others
maintain, that the adder is deaf not by nature, but by design ; for
the Psalmist says, she shutteth her ear, and will not hear the voice
of the charmer. But the plirase, perhaps, means no more than this
that some adders are of a temper so stubborn, that the various arts
of the charmer make no impression • they are like creatures desti-
tute of hearing, or whose ears are so completely obstructed, that no
pounds can enter. The same phrase is used in other parts of Scrip-.

THE COCKATRICE. 185

ture, to signify a hard and obdurate heart : ' Whoso stoppeth his
ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not
be heard,' Prov. xxi. ]& It is used in the same sense of the righ-
teous, by the prophet : * That stoppeth his ears from the hearing
.cf blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil,' Isaiah xxxiii. 15.
He remains as unmoved by the cruel and sanguinary counsels of
the wicked, as if he had stopped his ears.

THE COCKATRICE.

THE translators of the English Bible have variously rendered the
Hebrew words tzepho and tzephoni, by adder and cockatrice ; and
we are by no means certain of the particular kind of serpent to
which the original term is applied. In Isaiah xi. 8, * the tzephoni,'
says Dr. Harris, * is evidently an advance in malignity beyond the
petcn which precedes it ; and in ch. xiv. 29, it must mean a worse
kind of serpent than the nachash ; but this stiH leaves us ignorant
of its specific character. Mr. Taylor, who has taken extraordinary
pains to identify it, is of opinion that it is the naja or Cobra di
capdlo of the Portuguese, which we find thus described by Gold-
smith : —

1 Of all others, the Cobra di capello, or hooded serpent, inflicts
the most deadly and incurable wounds. Of this formidable creature
there are five or six different kinds ; but they are all equally dan-
gerous, and their bite followed by speedy and certain death. It is
from three to eight feet long, with two long fangs hanging out of
the upper jaw. It has a broad neck, and a mark of dark brown on
the forehead, which, when viewed frontwise, looks like a pair of
16*

186 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY,

spectacles, but behind, like the head of a cat. The eyes are fierce
and full of fire ; the head is small, and the nose flat, though cov-
ered with very large scales, of a yellowish ash color; the skin is
white, and the large tumor on the neck is flat, and covered with
oblong smooth scales. The bite of this animal is said to be incura-
ble, the patient dying in about an hour after the wound ; the whole
frame being dissolved into one putrid mass of corruption. The
effects here attributed to the bite of this creature answer very well
to what is intimated of the tzephoni in scripture. Thus, in Isaiah
xi. 9 : * They [the tzephoni immediately preceding] shall not hurt
inor destroy [corrupt] in all my holy mountain.' And Proverbs
xxiii. 32: 'At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth [spreads,
diffuses its poison ; So the LXX. and Vulgate,] like a cockatrice.'

We must not omit to notice the very powerful argument adduced
jn the last cited passage against the sin of immoderate drinking.
Like the poison of the deadly cockatrice, it paralyses the energies
both of mind and body, and speedily diffuses corruption through-
out the entire frame. ' Who hath woe ? who hath sorrow ? who
hath contentions ? who hath babblings ? who hath wounds without
cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the
wine : they that go to seek mixed wine.' ' Wine is a mocker, strong
drink is raging ; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise,'
ch. xxiii. 29, 30 ; xx. 1,

The unyielding cruelty of the Chaldean armies, under Nebuchad-
nezzar, and the appointed ministers of Jehovah's vengeance on the
Jewish nation, whose iniquities had made him their enemy, is ex-
pressively alluded to in the following passage : ' For, behold, I will
send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which shall not be charmed,
and they shall bite you, saith the Lord,' Jeremiah viii. 17.

In Egypt, and other Oriental countries, a serpent was the com-
mon symbol of a powerful monarch ; it was embroidered on their
robes, and blazoned on their diadem, to signify their absolute pow-
er .and invincible might; and also, that, as the woun.d inflicted by
the basilisk is incurable, so the fatal effects of their displeasure were
neither to be avoided nor endured. These, says JPax.ton, are the
allusions involved in the address of the prophet, to the irreconcilable
enemies of his nation : 'Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because
the rod of Him that smote xJiee is broken ; for out of the serpent's
roots shall .come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery
flying .serpent,' Isaiah xiv. 29. U.zziah, the king of Judah, had sub-
dued the Philistines ; but, taking advantage of the weak reign of
Ahab, tuey again invaded the kingdom of Jqdea, and reduced some
cities in the southern part of the country under their dominion.
On the death of Ahab, Isaiah delivers this prophecy, threatening
them with a more severe chastisement from the hand of liezekiah,
the grandson of Josiah, by whose victorious arms they had been
reduced to sue for peace, which he accomplished, when 'he smote
the Philistines, even unto Gaza; and the borders thereof,' 2 Kings
xviii. 8. Uzziah, therefore, must be meant by the rod that smote

THE SERAPH, OR FIERY SERPENT. 187

them, and by the serpent from whom should spring the fiery flying
serpent, that is, Hezekiah, a much more terrible enemy than even
Uzziah had been, #ut the symbol of regal power which the Ori-
ental kings preferred to all others, was the basilisk.

All the other species of serpents are said to acknowledge the
superiority of the basilisk, by flying from its presence, and hiding
themselves irj the dust. It is also supposed to live longer than any
other serpent : the ancient heathens, therefore, pronounced it to be
immortal, and placed it in the number of their deties ; and because
it had the dangerous power, in general belief, of killing with its pes-
tiferous breath the strongest animals, it seemed to them invested
with the power of life and death. It became, therefore, the favor-
ite symbol of kings, and was employed by the prophet to symbolize
the great and good Hezekiah, with strict propriety.

THE SERAPH, OR FIERY SERPENT.

THIS species of serpent receives its name, seraph, from a root
which signifies to burn, either from its vivid fiery color, or from the
heat and burning pain occasioned by its bite. In Numb. xxi. 6,
&c. we read that these venomous creatures were employed by God
to chastise the unbelieving and rebellious Israelites, in consequence
of which many of them died, the rest being saved from the effects
of the calamitous visitation, through the appointed medium of the
brazen seraph, which Moses was enjoined to raise upon a pole in
the midst of the camp, and which was a striking type of the prom-
ised Saviour, John iii. 14, 35.

In Isa. xiv. 29, and ch. xxx. 6, the same word, with an addition-
al epithet is used, and is translated in our Bible, 'fiery flying ser-
pents ;' and if we may rely upon the testimony of the ancients, a
cloud of witnesses may be produced, who speak of these flying or
winged serpents ; although, as Parkhurst remarks, we do not find
that any of them affirm they actually saw such alive and flying.
Michaelis, however, was so lar influenced by these testimonies, that
in his 83d question he recommends it to the travellers to inquire
after the existence and nature of flying serpents. In conformity
with these instructions, Niebuhr communicated the following in-
formation : * There is at Basna, a sort of serpents which they call
Htie sursurie Heie thidre. They commonly keep upon the date-
trees ; and, as it would be laborious for them to come down from a
very high tree in order to ascend another, they twist themselves by
the tail to a branch of the former, which making a spring by the
motion they give it, throw themselves to the branches of the second.
Hence it is that the modern Arabs call them flying serpents, Heie

188 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

thidre. I know not whether the ancient Arabs, of whom Mr. Micha-
e'lis speaks in his 83d question, saw any other flying serpents.'
Niebuhr refers also to Lord Anson's report of flying serpentsMn th»
island of Quibo. The passage is as follows : * The Spaniards, too,
informed us, that there was often found in the woods, a most mis-
chievous serpent, called the flying snake, which, they said, darted
itself from the boughs of trees on either man or beast that came
within its reach, and whose sting they believed to be inevitable
death. But professor Paxton has proposed an interpretation of the
original phrase, which the text will equally bear. The verb ouph,
he remarks, sometimes means to sparkle, to emit coruscations of
light. In? this sense the noun thopah, frequently occurs in the sa-
cred volume. Thus, Zophar (Job xi. 17) says : * The coruscation
(thopah) shall be as the morning.' The word in the texts undjer
'consideration, may therefore refer to "[the ruddy color of that ser-
pent, and express the sparkling of the blazing sunbeam upon its
scales, which are extremely brilliant. It seems therefore probable,
that the seravh was not the hydrus or chersydrus, as Bochart sup-
poses, but o£the prsester or dipsas kind.

THE DRAGON. 189

THE DRAGON.

THIS word, which frequently occurs in the English Bible, gen-
erally answers to the Hebrew Tan, and Tannin, though these words
are sometimes rendered serpents, sea-monsters, and whales. The
Rev. James Hurdis, in ' A Dissertation upon the true meaning of
the word tanninimj contends, that in its various it invariably signi-
fies the crocodile ; an opinion which cannot be supported by authen-
tic facts, or a legitimate mode of reasoning. The learned editor of
Calmet, who argues at great length for restraining the word to am-
phibious animals, is of opinion that it includes the class of lizards,
from the water-newt to the crocodile, and also the seal, the manati,
the morse, &c. His arguments are certainly ingenious and deserv-
ing of attention ; but they have failed to convince us of the legiti-
macy of his deduction?. The subject is involved in much obscuri-
ty, from the apparent latitude with which the word is employed by
the sacred writers. In Exod. vii. 9, et seq., Deut. xxxii. 33, and Jer.
li. 34, it seems to denote a large serpent, or the dragon, properly so
called; in Gen. i. 2J, Job vii. 12, and Ezek. xxix. 3, a crocodile, or
any large sea animal ; and in Lam. iv, 3, and Job xxx. 29, some
kind of wild beast, probably the jackal or wolfj as the Arabic teenan
denotes. It is to the dragon, properly so called, that we shall now
direct our attention.

Three kinds of dragons were formerly distinguished in India.
1. Those of the hills and mountains. 2. Those of the valleys and
caves. 3. Those of the fens and marshes. The first is the largest,
and covered with scales as resplendent as burnished gold. They

190 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

have a kind of beard hanging from their lower jaw ; their aspect is
frightful, their cry loud and shrill, their crest bright yellow, and
they have a protuberance on their heads, of the color of a burning
coal. 2. Those of the flat country are of a silver color, and fre-
quent rivers, to which the former never come. 3. Those of the
marshes are black, glow, and have no crest. Their bite is not ven-
omous, though the creatures are dreadful.

The following description of the Boa is chiefly abstracted and
translated from DE LA CEPEDE, by Mr. Taylor, who considers it to
be the proper dragon.

The BOA is among serpents, what the lion or the elephant is
among quadrupeds. He usually reaches twenty feet in length ; and
to this species we must refer those described by travellers, as
lengthened to forty or fifty feet, as related by Owen. Kircher men-
tions a serpent forty palms in length ; and such a serpent is referred^
to by Job Ludolph, as extant in Ethiopia. Jerom, in his life of
Hilarion, denominates such a serpent, draco, a dragon ; saying, that
they were called boas, because they could swallow (bovis) beeves,
and waste whole provinces. Bosnian says, ( entire men have fre-
quently been found in the gullets of serpents, on the gold coast ;
but, the longest serpent I have read of, is that mentioned by Livy,
and by Pliny, which opposed the Roman army under Regulus, at
the river Bagrada, in Africa. It devoured several of the soldiers ;
an4 so hard were its scales, that they resisted darts and spears : at
length it was, as it were, besieged, and the military engines were
employed against it, as against a fortified city. It was a hundred
and twenty feet in length.'

At Batavia a serpent was taken which had swallowed an entire
stag of a large size ; and one taken at Bunda had, in like manner,
swallowed a negro woman. Leguat, in his travels, says, there are
serpents fifty feet long in the island of Java. At Batavia they still
keep the skin of one, which, though but twenty feet in length, is
said to have swallowed a young maid whole. From this account
of the Boa, Mr. Taylor thinks it probable that John had it in his
mind, when he describes a persecuting power under the symbol of
a great red dragon. The dragon of antiquity was a serpent of pro-
digious size, and its most conspicuous color was red ; and the apo-
calyptic dragon strikes vehemently with his tail; in all which par-
ticulars it perfectly agrees with the boa.

' And there appeared another wonder in heaven ; and behold a
great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven
crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the
stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth,' Rev. xii. 3, 4 ; 15
— 17. The, number of heads here given to this creature, are cer-
tainly allegorical ; as are also the ten horns, and the ten crowns
•which are attached to them. But in all these instances, says Pax-
ton, it is presumed that the inspired writer alludes either to histori-
cal facts ;or natural appearances. It is well known, that there is a
species of snake, called amphisbena3, or double-headed, although

THE DRAGON. 191

one of them is at the tail of the animal, and is only apparent. A
kind of serpent, indeed, is so often found with two heads growing
from one nedr, that some have fancied it might form a species ; but
we have, as yet, no sufficient evidence to warrant such a conclu-
sion. Admitting, however, that a serpent with two heads is an un-
natural production, for this very reason it might be chosen by the
Spirit of God, to be a prototype of the apocalyptical monster. The
horns seem to refer to the cerastes or horned snake, the boa or
proper dragon having no horn. But this enormous creature has a
crest of bright yellow, and a protuberance on his head, in color like
a burning coal, which naturally enough suggests the idea of a
crown. The remaining particulars refer to facts in* the history of
the boa or other serpents. The great red dragon stood before the
woman, ready to devour her child. When the boa meets his ad-
versary, he stands upright on his tail, and attacks with dreadful
rage, both man and beast. The tail of the great red dragon, ' drew
the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.'
The boa frequently kills his victim with a stroke of his tail.

Stedman mentions an adventure in his * Expedition to Surinam,'
which furnishes a very clear and striking illustration of this part of
our subject. It relates to one of these large serpents, which, though
it certainly differs from the red dragon of Asia and Africa, com-
bines several particulars connected with our purpose. He had not
gone from his boat above twenty yards, through mud arid water,
when he discovered a snake rolled up under the fallen leaves and
rubbish of the trees, and so well covered, thaj it was some time be-
fore he distinctly perceived the head of the monster, distant from
him not above sixteen feet, moving its forked tongue, while its eyes,
from their uncommon brightness, appeared to emit sparks of fire.
He now fired; but missing the head, the ball went through the
body, when the animal struck round, with such astonishing force,
as to cut away all the underwood around him, with the facility of
a scythe mowing grass, and by flouncing his tail, caused the mud
and dirt to fly over his head to a considerable distance. He return-
ed in a short time to the attack, and found the snake a little remov-
ed from his former station, but very quiet, with his head as before,
lying out among the fallen leaves, rotten boughs, and old moss. He
fired at him immediately ; and now, being but slightly wounded,
he sent out such a cloud of dust and dirt, as our author declares
he never saw but in a whirlwind. At {he third firo the snake was
shot through the head. All the negroes present declared it to be
bat a young one, about half grown, although, on measuring, he
found it twenty-two feet and some inches, and its thickness, about
that of his black boy, who might be about twelve years old.

These circumstances account for the sweeping destruction which
the tail of the apocalyptic dragon effected among the stars of heav-
en. The allegorical incident has its foundation in the nature and
structure of the literal dragon. The only circumstance which still
requires explanation, is the flood of water ejected by the dragon, after

192 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

he had failed in accomplishing the destruction of the woman and
her seed. The venom of poisonous serpents is commonly ejected
by a perforation in the fangs, or cheek teeth, in the act of biting.
We learn, however, from several facts mentioned by Mr. Taylor,
that serpents have the power of throwing out of their mouth a
quantity of fluid of an injurious nature. The quantity cast out by
the great red dragons is in proportion to his immense size, and is
called a flood or stream, which the earth, helping the woman, open-
ed her mouth to receive. Gregory, the friend of Ludoiph, says, in
his History of Ethiopia, ' We have in our province, a sort of ser-
pent as long as the arm. He is of a glowing red color, but some-
what brownish. This animal has an offensive breath, and ejects a
poison so venomous and stinking, that a man or beast within the
reach of it, is sure to perish quickly by it, unless immediate assist-
ance be given. At Mouree, a great snake, being half under a heap
of stones and half out, a man cut it in two, at the part which was
out from among the stones ; and as soon as the heap was removed,
the reptile, turning, made up to the man, and spit such venom into
his face, as quite blinded him, and so he continued some days, but
at last recovered his sight.

The prophet Jeremiah alludes to the hideous voracity of the boa,
where he predicts the destruction of Babylon, the cruel oppressor
of his people. 'Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, hath swal-
lowed me up ; he has filled his belly with my delicacies,' ch. li. 34.
The same writer, in his description of a severe famine, represents
the wild ass, upon the summit of a rock, 'snuffing up the wind
like dragons,' ch. xiv. 6. Nor do these terrible reptiles content
themselves with catching the passing breeze ; they are said to suck
from the air the birds that fly above them, by the strength of their
breathing. When the ancient Hebrews observed the dragons erect,
and with expanded jaws fetching a deep inspiration, they interpret-
ed the circumstance as if with their eyes lifted up to heaven they
complained to their Maker of their miserable condition ; that, hated
by all creatures, and confined to the burning and sterile deserts, they
dragged out a tedious and miserable existence.

'ihe silent and barren wilderness is the chosen haunt of the
dragon. It is on this account the prophets of Jehovah, in predict-
ing the fall of populous cities, so frequently declare, ' They shall
become the habitation of dragons ; ' by which they mean to threat-
en thein with complete and perpetual desolation. The same allu-
sion is involved in the complaint of the Psalmist: ' Thou hast bro-
ken us in the place of dragons : ' or, as Aquila not improperly ren-
ders it, in the place which cannot be inhabited.

The word dragon is sometimes used in scripture to designate the
devil (Rev. xii.freq.), probably on account of his great power, and
vind ictive cruelty ; though not without reference to the circum-
stances attending the original defection of mankind.

THE HORSELEACH. 193

THE HORSELEACH.

THE import of the Hebrew word rendered horseleach in the
LXX. the Vulgate, and the Targums, as well as in the English
and other modern versions of scripture, is by no means well ascer-
tained. 'The horseleach,' says Solomon, 'hath two daughters, cry-
ing, give, give,' Prov. xxx. 16. Bochart thinks the translators have
mistaken the import of one word for that of another very similar,
and that it should be translated Destiny, or the necessity of dying ;
to which the Rabbins gave two daughters, Eden or Paradise, and
Hades or Hell ; the first of which invites the good, the second calls
for the wicked. And this interpretation is thought to be strength-
ened by ch. xxvii. 20; 'Hell and Destruction [Hades and the
Grave] are never satisfied.' Paxton, on the other hand, contends
that the common interpretation is in every respect entitled to the
preference. Solomon, having in the preceding verses mentioned
those that devoured the property of the poor, as the worst of all the
generations he had specified, proceeds in the fifteenth verse, to state
and illustrate the insatiable cupidity with which they prosecuted
their schemes of rapine and plunder. As the horseleach hath two
daughters, cruelty and thirst of blood, which cannot be satisfied ;
so, the oppressor of the poor has two dispositions, cruelty and ava-
rice, which never say they have enough, but continually demand
additional gratifications.

THE SNAIL.

THIS creature appears in two passages of the English Bible, but
improperly in Lev. xi. 30, where the Hebrew doubtless means a
kind of lizard. The wise Author of nature having denied feet and
claws to enable snails to creep and climb, has made them amends,
in a way more commodious for their state of life, by the broad skin
along each side of their belly, and the undulating motion observa-
ble there. By the latter they creep ; by the former, assisted by the
glutinous slime emitted from the body," they adhere firmly and se-
curely to all kinds of superfices, partly by the tenacity of their

194 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

slime, and partly by the pressure of the atmosphere. Thus^says
Paxton, the snail wastes herself by her own morion, every undula-
tion leaving some of her moisture behind ; and in the same manner
the actions of wicked men prove their destruction. They may,
like the snail, carry their defence along with them, and retire into
it on every appearance of danger : they may confidently trust in
their own resources, and banish far away the fear of evil ; but the
principles of ruin are at work within them, and although the pro-
gress may be slow, the result is certain. The holy Psalmist, guid-
ed by the Spirit of inspiration, prayed: * As a snail which melteth,
let every one of them pass away,' (Ps. Iviii. 8) ; and Jehovah an-
swered, 'The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations
that forget God.'

SECTION III.
WORMS.

ANIMALS of the worm kind are placed, by scientific writers, as
the first in the class of Zoophytes ; but as, like serpents, they have
a creeping motion, so both, in general, go under the common ap-
pellation of reptiles. But though worms, as well as serpents, are
mostly without feet, and have been doomed to creep along the
earth on their bellies, yet their motions are very different. The
serpent having a back-bone, which it is incapable of contracting,
bends its body into the form of a bow, and then shoots forward
from the tail ; but the worm has a power of lengthening or con-
tracting itself at will. There is a spiral muscle, that runs round its
whole body, from the head to the tail, somewhat resembling a wire
wound round a walking-cane, which, when slipped off, and one
end extended and held fast, will bring the other nearer to it. In
this manner, the earth-worm, having shot out, or extended its body,
takes hold by the slime of its fore-part, and so contracts and brings
forward the hinder part, and in this manner moves onward. It
is from the manner of its motion, as here described^ that a worm is
called in Hebrew, the projector.

There is no phenomenon in all natural history more astonishing
than what is sometimes seen in creatures of the worm kind. Some
of them will live without their limbs, and often are seen to repro-
duce them ; some continue to exist though cut in two, their nobler
parts preserving life, while the others perish that were cut away.
But the earth-worm, and all the Zoophyte tribe, continue to live in
separate parts ; and one animal, by means of cutting, is divided into
two distinct existences, sometimes into a thousand ! Spalanzani
tried several experiments upon the earth-worm, many of which
succeeded according to his expectation, although all did not retain
the vivacious principle with the same degree of obstinacy. Some,
when cut in two, were entirely destroyed ; others survived only in
the*nobler part ; and while the head was living, the tail entirely
perished, and a new one was seen to burgeon from the extremity.
But what was most surprising of all — in some, both extremities sur-
vived the operation : the head produced a tail with the anus, the
intestines, the annular muscle, and the prickly beards ; the tail part,
on the other hand, was seen to shoot forth the nobler organs, and,
in less than the space of three months, a head, a heart, and all the
apparatus and instruments of generation. This part, as may easily
be supposed., was produced much more slowly than the former; a

J96 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

new head taking above three or four months for its completion, a
new tail being shot forth in less than as many weeks. Thus, two
animals, by dissection, were made out of one ; each with their sep-
arate appetites : each endued with life and motion ; and seemingly
as perfect as that single animal from whence they derived their ori-
gin ! This singular fact exhibits a striking proof of the compara-
tive imperfection of their organs, and seems to justify the classify-
ing them in the order of Zoophytes, a name which, as above re-
marked, implies vegetable nature endued with animal life.

For the purpose of exhibiting, in a striking light, the weakness
and abjection of man, the sacred writers sometimes compare him
to this mean reptile, Job xxv. 1 ; Psalm xxii. 6.

In Mark ix. 44, we read of the worm that dieth not, and the fire
that is unquenchable ; a passage which is evidently taken from
Isaiah Ixvi. 24, where the subject is the punishment to be inflicted
on the incorrigible in this life, in order to describe, as is usual with
the Jewish writers, the judgment of another world. Losing sight
of this circumstance, some writers who have argued against the
eternity of future punishments, have improperly and unwarranta-
bly restricted the sense of the passage. The place of the damned
is compared to a Afield where carcasses are thrown out, and are
gnawed by worms, or burnt with fire. Such was their Gehenna,
or the Valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem ; odious by the former
sacrifices to Moloch, and afterwards desecrated by Josiah, by being
made a common burying place. Le Clerc and some others think
there is an allusion to the two sorts of funeral rites, burning and
burying. Hence, says bishop Lowth, the worms which preyed on
the carcasses, and the fire which consumed the victims.

CHAPTER VI.

INSECTS.

OP all the productions of nature, insects are by far the most nu-
merous ; and as they are endowed with the various powers of creep-
ing, flying, and swimming, there is scarcely any place, however re-
mote and secure, in which they are not to be found. They are
placed by naturalists in the lowest rank of animated nature ; and
their conformation, their instincts, and their amazing numbers, are
said to show the propriety of such a classification.

But in this numerous class of animated beings, where shall we
find a single instance in which imperfection is made to appear ? In
all the prodigious variety that exists between the scorpion and the
mite, we certainly behold in the structure of insects abundant evi-
dence of the most exquisite skill ; and if by means of the microscope
we extend our researches downwards through that minute order
of beings, till we arrive at those invisible animalcules which are
computed to be twenty-seven millions of times smaller than a mite
the same evidences of wisdom and design present themselves in
every gradation, and all ideas of imperfection cease.*

It is not at all surprising, then, that such an accurate searcher in-
to nature's works as the excellent Mr. Boyle, should observe * that
his wonder dwelt not so much on nature's clocks as on her watch-
es.' In several kinds of insects, invisible before to mortal eye, it is
not only easy to discover, by means of a good magnifier, the exter-
nal appearance of their mouths, their horns, their trunks, and other
members, but the very motion of their heart and lungs ! Now, as
these little animals are discovered to be organized bodies, how fine
and subtle must be the several parts that compose them ! How
difficult to conceive the extreme minuteness of the muscles neces-
sary to the motion of the heart, the glands for the secretion of the
fluids, the stomach and bowels for the digestion of the food, the
fineness of the tubes, nerves, arteries, veins; and above all, of the
blood, the lymph, and animal spirits, which must be infinitely more
so than any of these ! Here the utmost stretch of imagination is
brought to the test, without being able to form any adequate con-
ception. But these inconceivable wonders, instead of conveying

* The defects of art are easily discovered by the microscope; but the more narrowly
we pry into or scrutinize the works of nature by this instrument, the more the perfection
of the inimitable Artist ia made to appear. Viewed by this glass, the finest needle ever
polished, presents to the eye a blunt and rugged point ; but the sting of a bee, however
magnified, still retains all its acuteness of termination.

17*

198 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY

any idea of imperfection as to the skill of the Artist, must, from
what they make to appear, inspire the attentive observer with very
different emotions, and force him to exclaim,

' Thyself, how wond'rous then! '

The beauty and symmetry of some of these minute objects, so
viewed, arq surprising indeed. What a metamorphosis do they
seem to undergo under the magic-working glass ! Creatures that
before seemed small and despicable, now ' appear the pride of na-
ture, wherein she has bestowed more nice and delicate art, and dis-
played more profusely the rich embroidery and elegant beauties
and garniture of colors, than in any of the larger species of animals.'
Even the dust that adheres to the butterfly's wing, and to which it
owes the beautiful tints and variegated hues that adorn it, is said to
be an innumerable collection of extremely small feathers, as perfect
in the structure and symmetry of the arrangement, as they are beau-
tiful in the coloring.

But this is not all. The veiy circumstances adduced as marks
of imperfection in the insect tribes ; viz. their being enabled to Jive
for some time after being deprived of those organs necessary to life
in the higher ranks, and their amazing numbers, ought rather to be
considered as arguments to the contrary. The former is no doubt
essentially necessary to the preservation of a species exposed to so
many casualties as those in particular who live on blood, and can-
not, therefore, partake of a meal, without giving their enemies no-
tice of their presence; and the latter, to prevent the extinction of a
short-lived race, which come into existence at a time when there
are so many open mouths ready to devour them.

Without these two characteristic distinctions of the insect tribes,
although they may be deemed imperfections by the more imperfect
powers of short-sighted mortals, it is probable that, long ere now,
some of those exquisite pieces of nature's workmanship must have
disappeared from the creation, and, for want of those connecting
links, the whole beautiful fabric of the universe must have fallen to
decay. For, trifling as some of these minute or imperceptible ob-
jects may appear, the language of philosophy is —

' Each crawling insect holds a rank
Important in the plan of HIM who framed
This scale of beings ; holds a rank, which, lost,
Would break the chain, and leave a gap
That Nature's self would rue.'

Instead, therefore, of having the presumption to stigmatize, in
the most remote degree, this particular order of the creatures of
the Almighty, as affording evidences of imperfection, let us rather,
from similar considerations, adopt the words of the more judicious
Swammerdam : « After an attentive examination,' says he, * of the
nature and anatomy of the smallest as well as the largest animals,
I cannot help allowing the least, an equal or perhaps a superior
degree of dignity. If, while we dissect with care the larger ani-

INSECTS. 199

raals, we are filled with wonder at the elegant disposition of their
parts, to what a height is our astonishment raised, when we discov-
er all these parts arranged in the least, in the same regular manner ! '
And, to sum up the matter in the words of another naturalist : ' Of
this dispute it is only necessary to observe, that the wisdom of the
Creator is so conspicuous in all his works, and such surprising art
is discovered in the mechanism of the body of every creature, that
it is very difficult if not impossible, to say where it is most and
where it is least to be observed.

We have already pointed out the Mosaic distinction between
clean arid unclean insects, to which the reader is referred.

SECTION I.
WINGLESS INSECTS,

THE SCORPION,

THE Scorpion is the largest and most malignant of all the insect
tribes. From the above engraving, it will be seen that it somewhat
resembles the lobster in its general appearance, but is much more
hideous. Those found in Europe seldom exceed four inches in
length, but in the tropical climates it is not an unusual thing to meet
with them twelve inches long.

There are few animals more formidable, and none more irascible,
than the scorpion ; but, happily for mankind, it is equally destruc-
tive to its own species as to other animals. Goldsmith states, that
Maupertius put about a hundred of them together in the same glass,
and they scarcely came into contact, when they began to exert all
their rage in mutual destruction ; so that, in a few days, there re-
mained but fourteen, which had killed and devoured all the rest.
But their malignity is still more apparent in their cruelty to their
offspring. He enclosed a female scorpion, big with young, in a
glass vessel, and she was seen to devour them as fast as they were
excluded. There was only one of the number that escaped the
general destruction, by taking refuge on the back of its parent; and
this soon after revenged the cause of its brethren, by killing the old
one in its turn. Such is the terrible nature of this insect ; and it is
even asserted, that when placed in circumstances of danger, from
which it perceives no way of escape, it will sting itself to death.
Surely, says Mr. Taylor, Moses very properly mentions scorpions
among the dangers of the wilderness, Deut. viii. 15. And what
phall we think of the hazardous situation of Ezekiel, who is said to
dwell among scorpions (ch. ii. 6) — people as irascible as this terri-

THE SPIDER. 201

ble insect ? Nor could our Lord select a fitter contrast : * If a son
shall ask of his father an egg, will he give him a scorpion ?' Luke
xi. 11, 12.

But the passage most descriptive of the scorpion, is Rev. ix. 3—
10, in which it is to be observed, that the sting of this creature was
not to produce death, but pain so intense that the wretched suffer-
ers should seek death — desire to die — (ver. 6) rather than submit to
its endurance. Dr. Shaw states, that the sting of scorpions is not
always fatal ; the malignity of their venom being in proportion to
their size and complexion. The torment of a scorpion when he
strikes a man, is thus described by Dioscorides : * When the scor-
pion has stung, the place becomes inflamed and hardened ; it red-
dens by tension, and is painful by intervals, being now chilly, now
burning. The pain soon rises high, and rages, sometimes more,
sometimes less. A sweating succeeds, attended by a shivering and
trembling ; the extremities of the body become cold ; the groin
swells ; the bowels expel their wind ; the hair stands on end ; the
members become pale, and the skin feels throughout it the sensa-
tion of a perpetual pricking, as if by needles.'

Our Saviour gave his disciples power to tread upon these terri-
ble creatures, and to disarm them of their means of hurting, Luke
x. 19.

It may be necessary to remark, on the contrast which our Lord
draws between a scorpion and an egg, that the body of this insect
is much like an egg : and Bochart has shown that the scorpions of
Judea were about the size of an egg.

The Jews used whips on some occasions, which were called,
from the suffering they occasioned, scorpions. To these it is prob-
able the haughty Rehoboam alluded, when he menaced the house
of Israel with increasing their oppressions, 1 Kings xii. 11.

THE SPIDER.

THOMPSON describes with great accuracy, the loathsome char-
acter of this well-known insect. Formed for a life of rapacity,
and incapable of living upon any other than insect food, all its hab-
its are calculated to deceive and surprise. It spreads toils to entan-
gle its prey ; it is endued with patience to expect its coming ; and

202 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

is possessed of arms and strength to destroy it, when fallen into the
snare.

In this country, where all the insect tribes are kept under by hu-
man industry, the spiders are but small and harmless ; but in other
parts of the globe they are formidable and dangerous. Burckhardt
describes one which he saw killed near Mount Sinai, as being about
four inches and a half in length, of which the body was three inches.
It had five long legs on botlPfcsides, covered, like the body, with a
seta? of a light yellow color. The head was long and pointed, with
large black eyes, and the mouth armed with two pairs of fangs, one
above the other, recurved and extremely sharp. The Bedouins en-
tertain the greatest dread of them ; they say that their bite, if not
always mortal, produces a great swelling, almost instant vomiting,
and the most excruciating pains.

The spider is only twice mentioned in scripture ; and in both in-
stances the inspired writers allude to the conduct and lot of wicked
men. The first passage in which it occurs, is Job viii. 14, 15,
where the punishment of the hypocrite is denounced : * Whose
hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He
shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand : he shall hold it
fast, but it shall not endure :' — a proverbial allusion, says Mr. Good,
and so exquisite, that it is impossible to conceive any figure that can
more strongly describe the utter vanity of the hopes and prosperity
of the wicked. This writer believes that the passage has never
been understood ; and therefore, though rendered in a thousand
different manners, has never been translated satisfactorily. We
subjoin his translation; and part of his note :

Can the paper-reed grow up without ooze 7

Can the bull-rush grow up without water >

Yet, in the midst of its own greenness,

Uncut, and before every other herb, doth it wither!

Such are the ways of all that forget God I

So perisheth the confidence of the hypocrite !

Thus shall his support rot away,

And the building of the spider be his reliance :

And upon its building shall he lean, but it shall not stand ;

He shall grasp at it, but it shall not hold.

Ver. 11-15.

' The speaker is still continuing his comparisons, and the entire
beauty of the passage depends upon our accompanying him inahis
extension of it. 'As the moisture of these succulent plants evapo-
rates before that of all others, so perisheth the confidence of the
hypocrite ; and as the ooze and stagnant water, from which they
derive their support, instead of continuing its salubrious nourish-
ment, grow putrid, and yield an intolerable stench, so shall the sup-
port of the hypocrite putrify likewise : it shall dissolve into empti-
ness, and nauseate him as it flies away.'

The other passage is Isaiah lix. 5, 6 : ' They hatch cockatrice
eggs, and* weave the spider's web — their webs shall not become gar-
ments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works : their
works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their

THE LOUSE. 203

hands.'— The deceitful veil which he throws over the deformity of
his character, can remain only for a short time ; like the spider's
web it shall soon be swept away, and his loathsome form exposed
to every eye. He shall perish in the ruins of that habitation which
he constructed with so much care, and where he reposed in fatal
security.

Our translators have found the spider in Prov. xxx. 28 ; but the
opinion of Bochart, that the newt, a species of small lizard, is meant4
is more likely correct.

THE FLEA.

THIS contemptible and blood-thirsty little animal was well known
in every part of the world, and was chosen by the persecuted son
of Jesse, as an object of comparison for the purpose of reproving
the folly of the incensed king of Israel, 1 Sam. xxiv. 14 ; ch. xxvi.
20. The idea seems to be, that while it would cost Saul much to
catch the object of his pursuit, his success would afford him but
little advantage.

THE LOUSE.

ONE of the plagues brought upon the land of Egypt, by Pharaoh's
obstinate and iniquitous oppression of the children of Israel, was
produced by a swarm of cerwn, rendered ' lice ' by Josephus, the
Rabbins, and most modern commentators, in whose defence Bochart
and Bryant have adduced many arguments, supported by consider-
able learning and ability. On the other hand, the LXX, who dwelt
in Egypt, arid who, it must be supposed, knew better than we can
pretend to, what was intended by the Hebrew name, render it gnats ;
and their interpretation is confirmed Philo, himself also an Alexan-
drian Jew, and by Origen, a Christian father, who likewise lived at
Alexandria. The latter describes them as winged insects, but so
small as to escape any but the acutest sight, and he adds, that when
settled on the body, they wound it with a most sharp or painful
piercer. Dr. Geddes, who maintains this opinion, remarks that Bo-
chart and Bryant ought not to have so confidently appealed to the
Syriac and Chaldee versions, as being in their favor ; for the word
they use, is without sufficient authority translated pediculus, in the
Polyglott and by Buxtorf. From Bar Bahlul, the prince of Syriac
lexicographers, we learn that the corresponding Syriac word de-
notes an animalcule hurtful to the eyebrows, animalcula palpebirs

204 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

inimica. Nor is it to be doubted, that the Chaldee has the same
meaning.

It will be remarked, says Mr. Taylor, that the miracles perform-
ed in Egypt, refer mostly, if not entirely, to the water and to the
air. Gnats would be a mixture of both, as they originate in the
water ; and after citing several writers who speak of the torment
occasioned by the sting of this insect, and of the great quantities in
which they are found in Egypt, and some parts of the East, he con-
cludes, by observing, ' The reader will judge from these representa-
tions whether the gnat does not bid fair to be the Hebrew cenim :
being winged, it would spread over a district or country with equal
ease as over a village or a city, and would be equally terrible to cat-
tle as to men. It seems, also, to precede the dog-fly or zimb, with
great propriety.

Isaiah li. 6 is rendered, in our version, 'they shall die in like man-
ner; ' a sense which destroys the force and beauty of the prophet's
meaning. It may be better rendered, ' The earth shall wax old
like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die as a gnat.*
Certainly the ephemeral life of any species of gnats would, as
Geddes remarks, be a fitter image of the transitoriness of human
life, than the very uncertain duration of the life of a louse : besides
that, the figure would be less ignoble, and more congruous to tho
dignity of the subject.

SECTION II,
WINGED INSECTS.

THE FLY.

of the plagues sent upon the incorrigible Egyptians, consist-
ed of a swarm of flies, Exodus viii. 21, 24. The original term em-
ployed, is ore&, which the LXX translate by the dog-fly ; and they
have been followed by the learned Bochart, and most modern in-
terpreters. For a description of this insect, as found in Ethiopia,
we are indebted exclusively to Mr. Bruce.

'This insect is call Zimb; it has not been described by any nat-
uralist. It is, iu size, very little larger than a bee, of a thicker pro-
portion, and his wings, which are broader than those of a bee, placed
separate like those of a fly ; they are of pure gauze, without col-
or or spot upon them. The head is large, the upper jaw or lip is
sharp, and has at the end of it a strong pointed hair, of about a
quarter of an inch long ; the lower jaw has two of these pointed
hairs; and this pencil of hairs, when joined together, makes a resist-
ance to the finger, nearly equal to that of strong hog's bristles. Its
legs are serrated in the inside, and the whole covered with brown
hair or down. As soon as this plague appears, and their buzzing
is heard, all the cattle forsake their food, and run wildly about the
plain, till they die, worn out with fatigue, fright, and hunger. No
remedy remains, but to leave the black earth, and hasten down to
the sands of Atbara; and there they remain, while the rains last,
this cruel enemy never daring to pursue them farther.

'Though his size be immense as his strength, and his body cov-
ered with a thick skin, defended with strong hair, yet even the cam-
el is not capable to sustain the violent punctures the fly makes with
his pointed proboscis. He must lose no time in removing to the
sands of Atbara ; for when once attacked by this fly, his body, head,
and legs break out into large bosses, which swell, break, and putri-
fy, to the certain destruction of the creature. Even the elephant
and rhinoceros, who, by reason of their enormous bulk, and the
vast quantity of food and water they daily need, cannot shift to
desert and dry places, as the season may require, are obliged to roll
themselves in rnud and mire, which, when dry, coats them over
like armor, and enables them to stand their ground against this
winged assassin ; yet I have found some of these tubercles upon al-
most every elephant and rhinoceros that I have seen, and attribute
18

206 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

them to this cause. All the inhabitants of the'sea-coast of Melinda,
down to Cape Gardefan, to Saba, and the south coast to the Red
Sea, are obliged to put tfiemselves in motion, and remove to the
next sand, in the beginning of the rainy season, to prevent all their
stock of cattle from being destroyed. This is not a partial emigra-
tion ; the inhabitants of all the countries, from the mountains of
Abyssinia northward, to the confluence of the Nile, and Astaboras,
are once a year obliged to change their abode, and seek protection
on the sands of Beja; nor is there any alternative, or means of avoid-
ing this, though a hostile band were in their way, capable of spoil-
ing them of half their substance.

* Of all those that have written upon these countries, the prophet
Isaiah alone has given an account of this animal, and the manner
of its operation, Jsaiah vii. 18, 19 : ' And it shall come to pass, in
that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost
part of* the rivers of Egypt ; and they shall come, and shall rest all
of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and
upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.' — That is, they shall cut off
from the cattle their usual retreat to the desert, by taking posses-
sion of those places, and meeting them there, where ordinarily they
never come, and which, therefore, were the refuge of the cattle.

' We cannot read the history of the plagues which God brought
upon Pharaoh by the hands of Moses, without stopping a moment
to consider a singularity, a very principal one, which attended this
plague of the fly, Exodus viii. 20, &c. It was not till this time,
by means of this insect, that God said, he would separate his peo-
ple from the Egyptians. And it would seem, that a law was given
to them, that fixed the limits of their habitation. It is well known,
as I have repeatedly said, that the land of Goshen or Geshen, the
possession of the Israelites, was a land of pasture, which was not
tilled or sown, because it was not overflowed by the Nile. But
the land overflowed by the Nile, was the black earth of the valley
of Egypt, and it was here that God confined the flies ; for, he says,
it shall be a sign of this separation of the people, which he had
, then made, that not one fly should be seen in the sand, or pasture-
ground, the land of Goshen ; and this kind of soil has ever since
been the refuge of all cattle, emigrating from the black earth, to
the lower part of Atbara, Isaiah, indeed, says, that the fly diall be
in all the desert places, and, consequently, the sands ; yet this was
a particular dispensation of Providence, to a special end, the desola-
tion of Egypt, and was not a repeal of the general law, but a con-
firmation of it ; it was an exception for a particular purpose, and a
limited time.

' I have already said so much on this subject, that it would be
tiring my reader's patience, to repeat any t.hkig concerning him ; I
shall, therefore, content myself by giving .a very accurate design of
him, only observing that, ibr distinctness sake, I have magnified
him sometbuig above twice the natural size. He has no sting,
though he seems to me to be rather of the bee kind ; but his mo-

THE FLY. 207

tion is more rapid and sudden than that of the bee, and resembles
that of the gad-fly in England. There is something particular in
the sound or buzzing of this insect. It is a jarring noise, together
with a humming ; which induces me to believe it proceeds, at
least, in part, from a vibration made with the three hairs at his
snout.

It is a well known fact, that the Egyptians paid a superstitious
worship to several sorts of flies and insects ; and this, as the learned
Bryant has shown, gave a peculiar character to the judgment
brought upon them by the plague of flies, since their punishment
was inflicted by means of the very things they revered, and which
none of the spells or charms of the magicians and priests could in
any way propitiate.

Among the ridiculous idols worshipped by the ancient Canaan-
ites, Beel-zebub, the god of flies, appears to have been one, as he
had, during the times xof the Old Testament history, a famous tem-
ple and oracle at Ekron, 2 Kings i. This name was afterwards
used by the Jews to signify * the prince of devils,' Matthew x. 24,
&c.

In Hosea iv. 16, we read of Israel sliding back ' as a blacksliding
heifer,' where the original signifies, properly, a cow which has been
etung by a gad-fly, or other insect, and refers to those retreats of
safety to which the animal betakes itself under such circum-
stanpes.

208 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE HORNET.

THIS voracious and destructive insect was employed by Jehovah
for the purpose of driving the enemies of Israel from the land of
promise, Exod. xxiii. 38 ; Deut. vii. 20 ; Josh. xxiv. 12. Several
commentators understand these passages metaphorically, as denot-
ing the terror of the Lord, or some remarkable disease which he
commissioned to lay waste the country before the armies of Israel ;
from a conception that an insect of this description was altogether
inadequate to accomplish such a purpose. But we see no necessi-
ty to depart from the literal interpretation of the texts. The hor-
net, which belongs to the species Cra&ro, and is of the genus vespa
or wasp, is a most voracious insect, and is exceedingly strong for
its size, which is generally an inch long, though Dr. Clarke states
he has seen some an inch and a half long, and so strong, that hav-
ing caught one in a small pair of forpeps, it repeatedly escaped by
using violent contortions, so that at last he was obliged to abandon
all hope of securing it alive, which he wished to have done. How
distressing and destructive a multitude of these might be, says this
.eminent writer, any person may conjecture : even the bees of one
hive would be sufficient to sting a thousand men to madness ; but
how much worse must wasps and hornets be ! No armor, no wea-
pons, could avail against these. A few thousands of them would
be quite sufficient to throw the best disciplined army into confusion
and rout.

But instances of whole nations being driven from their countries
by insects of different kinds, is attested by many ancient authors ;
and what is particularly applicable here is, that according to JElian,
the Phaselians, a people descended from the Canaanites, and who
dwelt about the mountains of Solyma, were driven out of their
AQuntry by wasps.

THE MOTH.

THE GNAT.

THIS insect is mentioned only in Matt, xxiii. 24, and Bochart has
labored to prove that the Greek word means a kind of insect which
is bred in the lees of wine, and that ever after lives on acids, avoid-
ing sweets. It may be so, but several writers have stated, that in
the East the gnats are extremely numerous, and are very apt to fall
into wine, if it be not carefully covered. This may help us to un-
derstand the passage to which we have referred, where there is an
evident opposition between the gnat which the hypocritical pro-
fessors of purity are said to strain out, and the camel which they
are said to swallow. See page 53.

THE MOTH,

Tflts insect is mentioned in several passages of Scripture, either
as destroying by its ravages, or as affording a striking emblem of
the fleetness and frailty of human life. The comparison of man, on
account of his littleness and the shortness of his life, to a worm, or
an insect, is common in the sacred writings ; but in no other part of
them, nor in any other writings whatsoever, is the metaphor so ex-
tensively applied, or so admirably supported, as in the Book of Job.
Thus, in the address of Eliphaz to the venerable patriarch : — ' What,
then, are the dwellers in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the
dust ? They are crushed before the moth.' chap. iv. 19. To the
same purpose the Psalmist expresses himself, when deprecating the
judgments of God :— ' Remove thy stroke away from me : I am
consumed by the blow of thine hand. When thou with rebukes
•dest correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume
;away like a moth : surely every man is vanity, Selah,' Ps. xxxix.
110, 11.

The idea in both these passages seems to be, that as the moth
crumbles into dust under the slightest pressure, or the gentlest touch ;
so man dissolves with equal ease, and vanishes into darkness, un-
der the finger of the Almighty,

How sublime is the sentiment, and how expressive the language,
in the following passages : they need no comment : —

Behold, the Lord God will help me ;
Who i» he that shall condemn me J
I,o, they shall all wax old as a garment ;
The moth shall eat th«tn up.— Isa. 1. 9.

18*

aiO SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Fear ye not the reproach of men,

Neither be ye afraid of their re'vilings ;

For the moth shall oat them u|> like a garment,

And the worm shall wu thorn like wool.

But my righteousness shall be forever,

And my salvation from generation to generation.— cA. li. 7, 8,

In Job xxvii. 18, there is another reference to this insect, deserv-
ing of notice. Speakinjr of the oppressors of the poor, the afflicted
patriarch says: — 'He buildeth his house like a moth, or like a shed
which the watchman contriveth.' That is, feeble in it? structure
and materials, short in its duration, and equally incapable of resist-
ing a thunder-storm or a shower of rain. So, in chap. viii. 14:—
'Thus, shall his support rot away, and the BUILDING OF THE SPIDER
be his reliance.' The genus phalaena, or moth, is divided into plant-
moths and cloth -moths ; the latter have generally been supposed to
be those immediately alluded to in this passage. This is doubtful,
but the question is not of consequence ; the house or building re-
ferred to is that provided by the insect in its larve or caterpillar
state, as a temporary residence during its wonderful change, from
a chrysalis to a winged or perfect insect. The slightriess of this
habitation is well known to every one who has attended to the cu-
rious operations of the silk-worm, or the tribes indigenous to the
plants of our own country. Of these, some construct a solitary
dwelling, while others are gregarious, vast numbers residing togeth-
er under one common web, marshalled with the most exact regu-
larity. The web of the cloth-moth is formed of the very substance
of the cloth on which it reposes, devoured for this purpose, and af-
terwards worked into a tubular case, with open extremities, and
generally approaching to the color of the cloth by which the worm
is nourished.

Among the injunctions which our Saviour impressed on the
minds of his disciples, in his inimitable sermon, in Matthew, chap,
yi., we find one in which there is a reference to the insatiable vo-
racity of the moth : ' Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
•where moth and rust doth corrupt,' &c. ver. 19, 20. The destruc-
tion which they very frequently occasion among woollen clothes,
in our own country, is well known to almost every person, but in the
East there are different species of this insect, and some of a kindred
description, of whose ravages we can form but a very imperfect
conception.

THE BEE, 211

T II E BEE.

SHAKSPEARE, our great poet, has admirably described the laws
and order of a community of these industrious, useful, and well
known insects. To attempt even an outline of the natural history
of the bee would occupy more space than can be devoted to this
entire article ; we must, therefore, refer the reader who is desirous
of the information, to other works, and proceed to notice those
passages of Scripture in which it is spoken of, and which require
elucidation.

In Judges xiv. 8, we are informed that Samson on inspecting the
carcass of a lion which he had some time previously killed, found
that a swarm of bees had taken up their residence in it. We notice
the circumstance, because it has been supposed to contradict the
statement of Aristotle and other eminent naturalists, who affirm that
bees will not alight upon a dead carcass, nor taste the flesh ; that
they will never sit down in an unclean place, nor upon any thing
which emits an unpleasant smell. The variance between this state-
ment arid that of the sacred writer, is, however, only apparent. The
frequently occurring phrase introduced into this text — ' after a time,*
shows that the circumstance referred to was long posterior to the
death of the animal, whose body, from an exposure to beasts and
birds of prey, and the violent heat of the sun, was reduced to a
mere skeleton, and divested of all effluvia. That bees have swarm-
ed in dry bones we have the testimony of Herodotus, of Seranus,
and of Aldrovandus. Indeed, as bones in their nature, when dry,
nre exceedingly dry, there is no more to be said against such a
place of residence than against the same among rocks and stones.

Some writers have contended that bees are destitute of the sense
of hearing ; but their opinion is entirely without foundation. This
will appear, if any proof were necessary, from the following pre-
diction : ' And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall
hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost parts of the rivers of Egypt;
and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria,' Isaiah vii. 18. The
allusion which this text involves, is to the practice of calling out
the bees from their hives by a hissing or whistling sound, to their
labor in the fields, and summoning them again to return when the
heavens begin to lower, or the shadows of evening to fall. In this
manner, Jehovah threatens to arouse the enemies of Judah, and lead

212 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

them to the prey. However widely scattered, or far remote from
the scene of action, they should hear his voice, and with as much
promptitude as the bee, that has been taught to recognize the signal
of its owner, and obey his call, they should assemble their forces;
and although weak and insignificant as a swarm of bees in the esti-
mation of a proud and infatuated people, they should come with
irresistible might, and take possession of the rich and beautiful re-
gion that had been abandoned by its terrified inhabitants.

The allusion of Moses to the attack of the Amorites, which in-
volves a reference to the irritable and revengeful disposition of the
bee is both just and beautiful : « And the Amorites which dwelt in
that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do,
and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah,' Deut. i. 44. Every
person who has seen a swarm of disturbed bees, will easily conceive
the fierce hostility and implacable fury of the enemies of Israel,
which this expression is intended to denote. The same remarks
will apply to Psalm xviii. 12, in which there is a similar allusion.

The surprising industry of the bee has, from the earliest times,
furnished man with a delicious and useful article, in the honey
which it produces.

This was very common in Palestine. In Exod. iii. 8, &c. the
circumstance of its flowing with milk and honey is selected as a
striking proof of its being the glory of all lands ; and in Deut.xxxii.
13, and Ps. Ixxxi. 36, the inhabitants are said to have sucked
honey out of the rocks. With this agree 2 Sam. xiv. 25 ; Matt. iii.
4, &c. and the testimony of intelligent travellers. Hasselquist says,
that between Acra and Nazareth, great numbers of wild bees breed,
to the advantage of the inhabitants ; and Maundrel observes, that
when in the great plain near Jericho, he perceived in many places
a smell of honey and wax, as strong as if he had been in an apiary.

It is reasonably supposed, however, that the honey mentioned in
some of these passages was not the produce of bees, but a sweet
syrup produced by the date-tree, which was common in Palestine,
and which is known to have furnished an article of this description.
There is also in some parts of the East, a kind of honey which
collects upon the leaves of the trees, something like dew, and which
is gathered by the inhabitants in considerable quantities. Jt is very
sweet when fresh, but turns sour after being kept two days. The
Arabs eat it with butter ; they also put it into their gruel, and use
it in rubbing their water skins, for the purpose of excluding the air.
It is collected in the months of May and June; and some persons
assured our traveller that the same substance was likewise prodnced
by the thorny tree Tereshresh at the same time of the year.

Honey was prohibited as an offering on the altar, under the Le-
vitical dispensation, (Lev. ii. 11,) but its first-fruits were to be pre-
sented for the support of the priests, ver. 12. Some writers have
supposed that these first-fruits were of the honey of the date, but
such an interpretation is forced and unnatural : the articles intend-
ed in verse 12, are obviously the same as those which are specified
in the preceding verse.

THE ANT. 213

Honey newly taken out of the comb has a peculiar delicacy of
flavor, which will in vain be sought for, after it has been for any
length of time expressed or clarified. This will heip to explain the
energy of expression adopted by the Psalmist, when speaking of
the divine laws : 'More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than
much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey, and the droppings of hon-
ey-combs,' Ps. xix. 10.

A fine lesson on the necessity of moderation is taught by Solomon,
Prov. xxv. 16: 'Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is suffi-
cient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomit it.' Upon this
passage, Harris has cited the following observations of Dr. Knox:
'Man, indeed, may be called a bee in a figurative style. In search
of sweets, he roams in various regions, and ransacks every inviting
flower. Whatever displays a beautiful appearance solicits his no-
tice, and conciliates his favor, if not his affection. He is often de-
ceived by the vivid color and attractive form, which instead of sup-
plying honey, produce the rankest poison ; but he perseveres in his
researches, and if he is often disappointed, he is also often success-
ful. The misfortune is, that when he has found honey, he enters
upon the feast with an appetite so voracious that he usually destroys
his own delight by excess and satiety,

THE ANT.

THE ant has been famous, from all antiquity, for its social and in-
dustrious habits, and for its spirit of subordination. It is as a pat-
tern of parsimony to the profuse; and of unremitting diligence to
the sluggard, Prov. vi. 6.

In Prov. xxx. 25, the ant is spoken of as one of the four diminu-
tive tilings upon earth, which are exceeding wise : 'The ants are a
people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;' an
expression usually understood of their laying up stores of provision
in summer against approaching winter; an opinion generally en-
tertained by the ancients, though modern naturalists question the
fact. Till the manners of exotic ants are more accurately explored,
however, it would be rash to affirm that no ants have magazines of

214 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

provisions ; for, although, during the cold of our winters in this
country, they remain, for the most part, in a state of torpidity, and
have no need of food, yet in warmer regions, during the rainy sea-
sons, when they are probably confined to their nests, a store of pro-
vision may be necessary for them. Even in northern climates,
against wet seasons, they may provide in this way for their suste-
nance and that of their young brood, which, as Mr. Smeatham ob-
serves, are very voracious, and cannot bear to be long deprived of
their food ; else why do ants carry worms, living insects, and ma-
ny other such things into their nests ?

Solomon's lesson to the sluggard has generally been adduced as
a strong confirmation of the ancient opinion ; it can, however, only
relate to the species of a warm climate, the habits of which are
probably different from those of a cold one ; so that his words, as
commonly interpreted, may be perfectly correct and consistent
with nature, and yet be not at all applicable to the species of ant
indigenous to Europe. But if Solomon's remarks are properly
considered, it will be found that this interpretation has been father-
ed upon them, rather than fairly deduced from them. He does
not affirm that the ant, which he proposes to his sluggard as an ex-
ample, laid up in her magazine stores of grain ; but that with con-
siderable prudence and foresight, she makes use of the proper sea-
son to collect a supply of provision sufficient for her purposes.
There is not a word in them implying that she stores up grain or
other provision. She prepares her bread, and gathers her food,
namely, such food as is suited to her, in summer and harvest — that
is, when it is most plentiful ; and thus shows her wisdom and pru-
dence by using the advantages offered to her. The words^ thus
interpreted, which they may be without any violence, will apply to
the species among us as well as to those that are not indigenous.

In several parts of the east there is a species of this insect which
is ex.remely destructive to almost every kind of property, and which
may perhaps help to illustrate Matt. vi. 18, 19, although the insect
there spoken of, is belonging to another genus. We quote the fol-
lowing from Forbes' * Oriental Memoirs.'

'The termites, or white ants of Bombay, are so numerous and
destructive at Anjengo, that it is difficult to guard against their de-
predations : in a few hours they will demolish a large chest of books,
papers, silk, or clothes, perforating them with a thousand holes.
We dare not leave a box on the floor without placing it on glass
bottles, which, if kept free from dust, they cannot ascend. But this
is trifling when compared with the serious mischief they sometimes
occasion, by penetrating the beams of a house, or destroying the
timbers in a ship. These destructive animals advance by myriads
to their work, under an arched incrustation of fine sand, tempered
with a moisture from their body, which renders the covert way as
hard as burnt clay, and effectually conceals them while at their in-
sidious employment.

' I could mention many curious instances of depredation by the

THE ANT. 215

termites : one happened to myself I left Anjengo in the rainy sea-
son, to pass a few weeks with the chief, at his country house at Ed-
dova, in a rural and sheltered situation : on my departure I locked
up a room, containing books, drawings, and a few valuables: as I
took the key with me the servant could not enter to clean the fur-
niture : the walls of the room were white-washed, adorned with
prints and drawings, in English frames and glasses ; returning home
in the evening, and taking a cursory view of my cottage by candle-
light, I found every thing apparently in the same order as I left it ;
but on a nearer inspection the next morning, I observed a number
of advanced works, in various directions, towards my pictures ; the
glasses appeared to be uncommonly dull, and the frames covered
with dust: on attempting to wipe it offj I was astonished to find
the glasses fixed to the wall, not suspended in frames as I left them,
but completely surrounded by an incrustation cemented by the
white-ants, who had actually eaten up the deal frames and back
boards, and the greater part of the paper, and left the glasses upheld
by the incrustations, or covered way, which they had formed dur-
ng their depredation. From the flat Dutch bottles, on which the
drawers and boxes were placed, not having been wiped during my
absence, the ants had ascended the bottles by means of the dust,
eaten through the bottom of a chest, and made some progress in
perforating the books arid linen. The chief's lady, with whom I
had been staying at Eddova, on returning to her apartments in the
fort/found, from the same cause, a large chest, in which she had
deposited shawls, muslins, and other articles, collected preparatory
to bejr leaving India, entirely destroyed by these voracious insects*'

216 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE LOCUST.

THIS is Certainly the most terrible and destructive insect with
"which we are acquainted, and the immense numbers in which they
collect when undertaking a predatory expedition, often renders it
impossible to put a stop to their ravages, which in such cases ter-
minate in the most complete desolation.

The locust, of which there are many species, has several names
in the Hebrew Scriptures, each of which is characteristic of some
feature in its nature or manners.

The great brown locust, which is the one with which we are
best acquainted, is about three inches in length, has two horns or
feelers about an inch long, and two pair of wings: the back is pro-
tected by a shield of a greenish color; and its general form much
resembles that of a common grasshopper.

On several occasions these formidable creatures have been used
as a scourge in the hand of the incensed Majesty of heaven for
chastising a guilty world. Among the plagues which the perverse
and impious conduct of the haughty Pharaoh brought upon his
country, was a swarm of locusts, which * covered the face of the
whole land, so that the earth was darkened ; and they devoured
every green herb of the earth, and the fruit of every tree which the
liail had left. Nothing green remained either on the trees or on
the herbs of the earth, throughout the whole land of Egypt.' Exod.
X. 15. A similar calamity happened to the Africans in the time of
the Romans, and about one hundred and twenty-three years be-
fore Christ. An immense number of locusts covered the whole
country, consumed every plant and blade of grass in the fields,
without sparing the roots and the leaves of the trees, with the ten-
drils upon which they grew. These being exhausted, they pen-
etrated with their teeth the bark, however bitter, and even caroded
the dry and solid timber. After they had accomplished this terri-
ble destruction, a sudden blast of wind dispersed them into differ-
ent portions, and after tossing them awhile in the air, plunged their
innumerable hosts into the sea. But the deadly scourge was not
then at an end ; the raging billows threw up enormous heaps of

THE LOCUST. 217

their dead and corrupted bodies, upon that long extended coast,
which produced a most insupportable and poisonous stench. This
soon brought on a pestilence, which affected every species of ani-
mals ; so that birdsj and sheep, and cattle, and even the wild beasts
of the field, perished in great numbers; and their carcasses, being
soon rendered putrid by the foulness of the air, added greatly to
the general corruption. The destruction of the human species
was horrible ; in Numidia, where at that time Micipsa was king,
eighty thousand persons died; and in that part of the sea coast
which bordered upon the region of Carthage and Utica, two hun-
dred thousand are said to have been carried off by this pestilence.

The immense number in which locusts migrate, is spoken of by
several travellers of respectability. Mr. Brown, in his travels in
Africa, says, 'An area of nearly two thousand square miles might
be said to be literally covered by them.' Mr. Forbes states, that
when at Barodha, in India, where the locust is not near so perni-
cious as in Africa and Arabia, he saw a flight of them extending
above a mile in length, and half as much in breadth ; they appear-
ed, as the sun was in the meridian, like a black cloud at a distance.
As they approached from the east, the density of tjie host obscured
the solar rays, cast an awful gloom, like that of an eclipse, over
the garden where he was, and caused a noise like a rushing of a
torrent. They were near an hour in passing over the spot. In
Kirby and Spence's Entomology it is said, that one of the swarms
which entered Transylvania, in August, 1748, was several hundred
fathoms in width (at Vienna the breadth of one of them was three
miles), and extended to so great a length as to be four hours in
passing over the Red Tower ; and such was its density that it to-
tally intercepted the solar light, so that when they flew low, one
person could not see another at the distance of twenty paces.

These extracts, which might be greatly multiplied, will show the
propriety of the Scripture references to the numerical strength of
the locust armies. See Judg. vi. 5; vii. 12; Psalm cv. 34; Jer.
xlvi. 23; Nah. iii. 15, &c. ; for although our translation has 'grass-
hopper' in some of these passages, the locust is no doubt the crea-
ture intended by the original.

But the most particular description of the locust in the sacred
writings, is that in Joel ii. 3 — 10. * A fire devoureth before them ;
and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of
Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness ; yea,
nothing shall escape them, &c.

This is, perhaps, one of the most striking and animated pictures
to be found in the whole compass of prophecy. The contexture
of the passage is extremely curious; and the double destruction to
be produced by locusts, and the enemies of which they were the
harbingers, is painted with the most expressive force, and describ-
ed with the most terrible accuracy. We may fancy the destroying
army moving before us while we read, and the desolation spread-
ing while we turn over the pages.
19

218 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Many writers mention the resemblance which the head of the
locust bears to that of the horse ; whence the Italians call them
cavalette. But the prophet does not appear to be describing the
shape of the insect, when he compares it to a horse, but rather its
properties, its fierceness, and its swift motion. Thus, in Rev. ix.
7, the locusts are compared to horses prepared for the battle ; furi-
ous and impatient for the war.

The noise of their coming shall be heard at a distance, like the
sound of chariots passing over the mountains. When they fall on
the ground and leap from place to place, and devour the fruits, the
sound of them will resemble the crackling of the stubble when con-
suming by the flames ; or the din and clamor of an army ready
prepared to engage in battle.

How this description agrees to the locusts, is shown abundantly
by Bochart, who tells us, from several authors, that they fly with a
great noise ; as John has also described them, ' The sound of their
wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses running to bat-
tle,' (Rev. ix. 9.) ; that they may be heard at six miles distance ; and
that when they are eating the fruits of the earth, the sound is like
that of a flame driven by the wind.

The prophet adds —

Before them the earth quaketh, the heavens tremble j
The sun and the moon are darkened,
And the stars withdraw their shining.

Dr. Shaw, by whose excellent zoological remarks so many pas-
sages in the sacred writings have been elucidated, has shown, from
the testimony of his own observation, that these poetical expressions
are scarcely hyperbolical with respect to this formidable insect. And
Pliny, the Roman naturalist, gives a description of its migratory
swarms almost equally sublime with that of the eastern poet. 'This
plague,' says he, ' is considered as a manifestation of the wrath of
the'gods. 'For they appear of an unusual size ; and fly with such
a noise, from the motion of their wings, that they might be taken
for birds. They darken the sun. And the nations view them in
anxious suspense ; each apprehensive lest their own lands should
be overspread by them. For their strength is unfailing ; and, as if
it were a small thing to have crossed oceans, they pervade immense
tracts of land, and cover the harvests with a dreadful cloud ; their
very touch destroying many of the fruits of the earth, but their bite
utterly consuming all its products, and even the houses.'

The account which Volney gives of these insects, and of their
devastations, is a wonderful illustration of this passage of the proph-
et. .* Syria, , as well as Egypt, Persia, and almost all the South of
Asia, is subject to a calamity no less dreadful than that of the vol-
canoes and earthquakes I have mentioned : I mean those clouds of
locusts so often mentioned by travellers. The quantity of these in-
sects is incredible to all who have not themselves witnessed their
Astonishing numbers: the whole earth is covered with them, for the

THE LOCUST. 219

space of several leagues. The noise they make in browsing on the
trees and herbage, may be heard at a great distance, and resembles
that of an army in secret. The Tartars themselves are a less de-
structive enemy than these little animals. One would imagine
that fire had followed their progress. Wherever their myriads
spread, the verdure of the country disappears ; trees and plants
stripped of their leaves, and reduced to their naked boughs and
stems, cause the dreary image of winter to succeed in an instant to
the rich scenery of the spring. When these clouds of locusts take
their flight, to surmount any obstacles, or to traverse more rapidly
a desert soil, the heavens may literally be said to be obscured with
them. Happily this calamity is not frequently repeated, for it is
the inevitable forerunner of famine, and the maladies it occasions.
The locust is employed in the Book of Revelation, to symbolize
the countless and savage hordes that fought under the banners of the
Saracen princes : 'And there came out of the smoke locusts upon
the earth, and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the
earth have power, — and their torment was as the torment of a scor-
pion, when he striketh a man ;— and the shapes of the locusts were
like unto horses prepared unto battle ; and on their heads were, as
it were, crowns of gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And they had hair as the hair of women : and their teeth were as
the teeth of lions. And they had breast-plates, as it were breast-
plates of iron, and the sound of their wings was as the sound of
chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like
scorpions, and there were stings in their tails, — and they had a king
over them,' Rev. ix. 1 — 12. This remarkable comparison, says
Paxton, is almost, in every particular, quite familiar to the Arabs.
Niebuhr, in his description of Arabia, informs us, that an Arab of
the desert near Bassorah, mentioned to him a singular comparison
of the locust with other animals. The terrible locust of this pas-
sage not then occurring to him, he regarded the comparison as a
jest of the Arab, and paid no attention to it, till it was repeated by
another from Bagdad. He compared the head of the locust to that
of the horse ; its breast to that of the lion ; its feet to those of the
camel ; its body to that of the serpent ; its tail to that of the scorpi-
on ; its horns to the locks of hair of a virgin ; and so of the other
parts.

We have already remarked, that almost all writers on natural
history notice that the head of a locust bears a striking resemblance
to that of a horse. The Greeks called it the horse of the earth.
Accoutred for war, and mounted by a stern and bearded warrior,
the Arabian charger has a majestic and terrible appearance : not less
dreadful to the inhabitants of the east is the locust, in all the vigor
of youth, ready to commence his destructive march. The Saracen
furnished his horse with a silver bridle, and gilt trappings, and cov-
ered his neck and breast with plates of iron : it is, therefore, not
improbable, that he adorned his head with some ornament resem-
bling a crown, to which the horns or antennae of the locust may net

220 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

improperly be compared. The neck of this formidable insect is
also defended by a hard scaly substance, in the same manner as the
neck of the Arabian war-horse was defended by plates of iron. The
Arabian horse is carefully taught to recognise his enemy in the
field of battle, which he no sooner does, than he rushes upon him
with the utmost violence, and attempts to tear him in pieces with
his teeth. The teeth of the locust are very sharp and strong. With
what astonishing rapidity this insect devours every green thing, and
scatters desolation over the fairest regions of the earth, has already
been described ; from whence it appears, that the comparison of
the Saracen horse to the locust, is by no means inapplicable. Nor
is the sound of their wings less remarkable : the inspired writer
says, * The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of
many horses running to battle ;' and travellers have stated, that
'the passage of the locust over their heads was like the noise of a
great cataract.'

A great deal has been written on the nature of the food adopted
by John the Baptist, one article of which is stated to have been
* locusts,' Matt. iii. 4. The dispute has been as to whether these
were the insects so called, or the fruit of a certain tree designated
by the same name. That locusts properly so called were allowed
to the Jews as an article of food, is certain from Lev. xi. 22 ; and
that they are actually used for this purpose in many parts of the
East, we have the testimony of several unexceptionable writers.
But notwithstanding this, we are of opinion that the insect, which
required curing and cooking, and which is deemed by the Arabs a
great delicacy, formed no part of the plain and simple, and as it
would appear both from the testimony of scripture, and from the
customs of the pseudo disciples of John, still existing in Syria, the
exclusively vegetable diet of the holy Baptist.

SECTION III.
DUBIOUS INSECTS

THE BEETLE.

THE beetle is mentioned only in Lev. xi. 22. It is thought by
some critics to be a species of the locust, but by others, the very
kind of scarabseus which the ancient Egyptians held in such vener-
ation as to pay it divine honors.

THE CANKER-WORM.

IN the Philosophical Transactions there is a paper on the bruchus,
a great number of which were found in Ireland, in the year 1688.
We shall present our readers with a few extracts from this work,
leaving them to form their own judgment, as to the identity of the
insect described with the canker-worm of scripture.

'These insects appeared first on the south-west coast of the coun-
ty of Galway, whence they made their way into the more inland
parts, where multitudes of them showed themselves among the trees
and hedges in the day-time, hanging by the boughs, thousands to-
gether, in clusters, sticking to the back of one another, as is the
manner of bees when they swarm. In this posture, or lying still,
and covert under the leaves of the trees, or clinging to the branches,
19*

222 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

they continued quiet, with little or no motion, during the heat of the
sun, but towards evening or sun-set they would all rise, disperse ,
and fly ahout, with a strange humming noise, much like the beat-
ing of drums at some distance, and in such vast incredible numbers,
that they darkened the air for the space of two or three miles
square.

' A short while after their coming, they had so entirely eat up
and destroyed all the leaves of the trees for some miles round about,
that the whole country, though it was in the middle of summer, was
left as bare and naked as if it had been in the depth of winter, mak-
ing a most unseemly, and, indeed, frightful appearance : and the
noise they made whilst they were seizing and devouring this, their
prey, was as surprising ; for the grinding of the leaves in the mouths
of this vast multitude all together, made a sound very much resem-
bling the sawing of timber. Nor were the trees abroad, and the
hedges in the field the only sufferers by this vermin ; they came al-
so into the gardens, and destroyed the buds, blossoms, and leaves of
all the fruit trees, that they were left perfectly naked ; nay, many of
them that were more delicate than the rest, lost their sap as well as
leaves, and quite withered away, so that they never recovered it
again. Nay, their multitude spread so exceedingly, that they dis-
turbed men in even their dwellings ; for out of the gardens they got
into the houses, where numbers of them crawling about were very
irksome, and they would often drop on the meat as it was dressing
in the kitchen, and frequently fall from the ceiling of the rooms in-
to the dishes as they stood on the table while they ate ; so extreme-
ly offensive and loathsome were they, as well as prejudicial and
destructive.

' Nor did the mischievous effects of this pernicious vermin stop
here ; their numerous creeping spawn, which they had lodged un-
der ground next to the upper sod of the earth, did more harm in
that close retirement, than all the flying swarms of their parents
had done abroad ; for this young destructive brood did not withhold
from what was much more necessary to have been spared, and what
their sires had left untouched : these lying under ground, fell to de-
vouring the roots of the corn and grass, and eating them up, ruin-
ed both the support of man and beast ; for these, losing thoir roots,
goon withered and came to nought, to the vast damage of the
country,

* But notwithstanding this plague of vermin did thus mightily pre-
vail and infest the country, yet it would have been still more vio-
lent, had not its rage been fortunately checked several ways. High
winds, wet and misling weather, were extremely disagreeable to
the nature of this insect ; arid so prejudicial as to destroy many
millions of them in one day's time : whence I gather, that though
we have them in these northern moist climates, they are more nat-
ural, and more peculiarly belonging to warm and dry countries.
Whenever these ill constitutions of the air prevailed, their bodies
were so enfeebled, they would let go their holds, and drop to the

THE PALMER- WORM. 223

ground from the branches where they stuck, and so little a fall as
this, at that time, was of sufficient force quite to disable, and some-
times perfectly kill them. Nay, it was observable, that even when
they were most agile and vigorous, a slight blow or offence would
for some time hinder their motion, if not deprive them of life, which
was very extraordinary in a creature of that strength and vivacity
in its flight. During these unfavorable seasons of weather, the swine
and poultry of the country at length grew so cunning, as to watch
under the trees for their falling ; and when they came to the ground
eat them up in abundance, being much pleased with the food, and
thriving well upon the diet ; nay, I have been assured, that the
poorer sort of the native Irish (the country then laboring under a
scarcity of provision) had a way of dressing them, and lived upon
them as food ; nor is it strange, that what fattened our domestic
poultry and hogs, should afford agreeable and sufficient nourish-
ment for the relief of man.

'But towards the latter end of the summer, the exact time I have
not learnt, they constantly eased the country, and retired of them-,
selves ; and so wholly disappeared, that in a few days you should
not see one left in all those parts that were so lately pestered with
them.

' This pernicious insect of ours, I am fully convinced from good
reasons, is that self-same so often mentioned in holy Scripture, and
commonly joined in company with the locust, as being both great
destroy ers of the fruits of the earth.'

THE CATERPILLAR.

IN Hebrew this insect is called the consumer, and in 1 Kings viii,
37 ; 2 Chron. vi. 28 ; Joel i. 4 ; chap. ii. 25 ; it is distinguished
from the locust properly so called. In Joel i. 4, it is mentioned as
eating up what the other species had left, and therefore might well
be called the consumer, by way of eminence. But the ancient in-
terpreters are far from being agreed what particular species it sig^
nifies.

THE PALMER- WORM.

BOCHART is of opinion that this insect is a kind of locust, fur-
nished with very sharp teeth, with which it gnaws off grass, corn,
leaves of trees, and even their bark. The Jews support this idea

224 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

by deriving the word from guz, or gazaz, to cut, to shear, to minoe.
This sharp instrument of theirs has given occasion to Pisidas to
compare a swarm of locusts to a sword with ten thousand edges.
Caterpillars begin their ravages before the locust, which, as Mr.
Taylor observes, seems to coincide with the nature of the creature
here intended : * That which the palmer-worm hath left hath theZo-
cust eaten ; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-
worm eaten ; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the
caterpittar eaten.' Joel i. 4.

BOTANY.

THAT branch of natural history which relates to vegetables has
been called BOTANY, from botane, a plant or herb ; and PHYTOLO-
GY. from phylon, a plant, and logos, a discourse. It treats of their
structure and functions, the systematical arrangement and denomi-
nation of their several kinds, and their peculiar properties and uses.

Were all the known objects diffused over the surface of this earth
submitted to the examination of a certain number of individuals ac-
customed to nice and patient investigation, but altogether ignorant
of any arrangement hitherto proposed, there can be but little doubt
that the same classification would be adopted by all ; and that the
objects would be divided into three grand assemblages, namely,
minerals, plants, and animals; such being, in fact,' for the purposes of
description, at least, the most convenient distribution that could be
adopted. Thus there is no difficulty in distinguishing this mineral
body from that plant, or this plant from a horse, an elephant, or
any other quadruped. Yet, when we come to examine the con-
lines of these several kingdoms of nature, we find that so nice are
the shades and gradations, and so gradual the transitions from one
class of bodies to the other, that objects frequently present them-
selves, to which it would be difficult to assign their proper compart-
ment.

However striking, therefore, the distinctions between animal and
vegetable life, in their more perfect and elaborate forms, as we ap-
proach the contiguous extremities of the two kingdoms, we find
these distinctions fading away so gradually,

Shade unperceived, so softening into shade,

and the mutual advances so close and intimate, that it becomes a
task of no common difficulty to draw a line of distinction between
them, and determine to which of them an individual may belong.

The structure of vegetables is truly wonderful, and demands our
admiring attention. How excellently adapted are the roots for
taking hold of their parent earth, as well as for drawing nourish-
ment for the support of the plant, and imbibing moisture from the
neighboring soil! How commodiously are the various tubes and
fibres composing the trunk or stalk arranged for the motion of the
sap upwards, to all the extremities of the leaves and branches!
How nicely are the leaves formed for the important services they
are made to yield in the economy of vegetation ! What an excel-
lent clothing does the bark afford, not only for protecting the stem
and branches from external injury, but from the hurtful extremes of

228 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

heat and cold ! What evident marks of wisdom and design do the
flowers evince in their beautiul and delicate construction ; how
nicely are they formed for the protection and nourishment of the
first and tender rudiments of the fruit, and when it has attained
more firmness and solidity, how readily do they relinquish their
charge, and drop off in decay, when no longer necessary ! How
wonderfully does the fruit, in some classes, envelope and protect
the seed till it has arrived at maturity ; and lastly, what a passing
strange piece of organized mechanism is the seed itself, and, being
necessary for the reproduction of its species, what a remarkable
provision is made for its preservation and succession ! What but
the wisdom of a Deity could have devised, that those seeds which
are most exposed to the ravages of the inhabitants of the forest
should be not only doubly, but some of them trebly enclosed ; that
those most in request as articles of food, should be so hardy and so
abundantly prolific; and that seeds in general, which are the spoit
of so many casualties, and exposed to injury from such a variety of
accidents, should be possessed of a principle of lasting vitality,
which makes it indeed no easy matter to deprive them of th^ir
fructifying power ! Plants are also multiplied and propagated by
a variety of ways, which strengthen the provision made for their
succession.

Nor is the finger of Providence less visible in the means for dif-
fusing or spreading abroad vegetables, than in the provision made
for keeping up their succession. The earth may be said to be full
of the goodness of the Lord; but how comes it to pass, that in
parts untrod by man, and on the tops of ruinous buildings, so many
varied specimens of the vegetable creation are to be found ? Is it
not from the manner in which nature's great Husbandman scatters
his seeds about ? While the seeds of some plants are made suffi-
ciently heavy to fail down and take up their abode near the place
of their nativity ; and others, after having been swallowed up by
quadrupeds, are deposited in the neighboring soil; some are carried
by the fowls of the air to places more remote, or, being furnished
with a soft plumage, are borne on the winds of heaven to the situa-
tions allotted for them. To prevent some from pitching too near,
they are wrapped up in elastic cases, which, bursting when fully
ripe, the prisoners fly abroad in all directions. To prevent others
from straying too far, they are furnished with a kind of grappling
hooks, that arrest them in their flight, and attach them to the spot
most congenial to their growth. These are some of the doings of the
Lord, and are wondrous in our eyes !

In the construction of plants we observe a considerable differ-
ence in the consistence of the three classes. Compared with the
shrubby race, how hard, firm, and tenacious is the trunk of the
majestic oak ; and, compared with the herbaceous tribe, how woody,
tough, and elastic is the hawthorn twig! But ,for this, how
could the mighty monarch of the wood have been able to with-
stand the fury of the tempest ? While the more humble and lowly

BOTANY. 229

shrubs stand not in need of such firmness of texture, their pliability
and elastic toughness, together with the prickly coat of mail by
which they are enveloped, render them less susceptible of injury in
their exposed situation.

Softness, united with a still greater degree of flexibility, are
the distinguishing characteristics of the herbaceous order ; and how
wisely has this been ordered for the various purposes ibr which
they were created ! With the firmness of trees, to what a prickly
stubble must nature's soft and downy carpet have given way !
With the tenacity of shrubs, how would it have answered as food
for our cattle ?

There are, besides, a number of other properties and peculiari-
ties in the vegetable kingdom, in which the wonderful working of
the Divinity shines pre-eminent. How strange, for instance, that
if a seed is sown in a reversed position, the young root turns of it-
seif downwards, while the stem refuses to sink deeper in the soil,
and bends itself round to shoot up through the surface of the earth !
How surprising, that when the roots of a tree or a plant meet with
a stone or other interruption in their progress under ground, they
change their direction, and avoid it! How amazing, that the nu-
merous shoots which branch out from the root in quest of mois-
ture, pursue, as it were by instinct, the track that leads to it — turn
from a barren to a more fertile soil ; and that plants shut up in a
darksome room, bend or creep to any aperture through which the
rays of light may be admitted !

in these respects, the vegetable tribes may be said to possess
something analogous to animal life; but here the resemblance does
not stop. How surprising the phenomenon of what is called the
sleep of plants, and the sexual system of Linna3tis, founded on the
discovery that there exists in the vegetable, as well as in the ani-
mal kingdom, a distinction of sexes.

What amazing variety of size, of shape, and of hue, do we dis-
cover among this multitudinous order of things ! What different
properties do some possess from others ; and what a near approach
do a few make to that superior order immediately above them, in
the scale of existence J The sensitive plant, when slightly touched,
evinces something like the timidity of our harmless animals; the
hedysarum gyrans, or moving plant of the East, exhibits an inces-
sant and spontaneous movement of its leaves during the day, in
warm and clear weather ; but in the night season, and in the ab-
sence of light and heat, its motions cease, and it remains, as it were,
in a state of quiescence ! The American Venus' flytrap, like an
animal of prey, seems to lie in wait to catch the unwary insect.

Plants, nevertheless, do not appear to have the smallest basis for
sensation, admitting that sensation is the result of a nervous sys-
tem ; and we are not acquainted with any other source from which
it can proceed. Yet,. although the vessels of plants do not appear
to possess any muscular fibres, we have evident proofs of the exist-
ence of a contractile and irritable power from some other princi-
20

230 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

pie ; and the facts above referred to, among many others that might
be adduced, concur in making it highly probable, that it is by the
exercise of such a principle that the different fluids are propelled
through their respective vessels. There is no other method by
which such propulsion can be reasonably accounted for.

In what part of a plant the vital principle chiefly exists, or to
\vhatquarterit retires during the winter, we know not; but we
are just as ignorant in respect to animal life. In both it operates
towards every point ; it consists in the whole, and resides in the
whole; and its proof of existence is drawn from ha exercising al-
most every one of its functions, and effecting its combinations in
direct opposition to the laws of chemical affinity, which would oth-
erwise as much control it as they control the mineral world, and
which constantly assume an authority as soon as ever the vegeta-
ble is dead. Hence, the plant thrives and increases in its bulk,
puts forth annually a new progeny of buds, and becomes clothed
with a beautiful foliage of lungs (every leaf being a distinct lung
in itself), for the respiration of the rising brood ; and with an har-
monious circle of action, that can never be too much admired, fur-
nishes a perpetual supply of nutriment, in every diversified fornir
for the growth and perfection of animal life ; while it receives in
rich abundance, from the waste and diminution, and even decom-
position of the same, the means of new births, new buds, and new
harvests.

Frosts and suns, water and air, equally promote fructification in
their respective ways ; and the termes or white ant, the mote, the
hampster, and the earth-worm, break up the ground, or delve into
it, that they may enjoy their salubrious influences. In like manner,
they are equally the ministers of putrefaction and decomposition j
and liver-worts and fungusses, the ant and the beetle, the dew-
worm, the ship-worm, and the wood-pecker, contribute to the gen-
eral effect, and soon reduce the trunks of the stoutest oaks, if lying
waste and unemployed, to their elementary principles, so as to
form a productive mould for successive progenies of animal or
vegetable existence. Such is the simple but beautiful circle of na-
ture. Every thing lives, flourishes, and decays: every thing dies,
but nothing is lost; for the great principle of life only changes its
form, and the destruction of one generation is the vivification of
the next. Hence, the Hindu mythologists, with a force and ele-
gance peculiarly striking, and which are no where to be paralleled
in the theogonies of Greece and Rome, describe the Supreme Be-
ing, whom they denominate Brahm, as forming and regulating the
universe through the agency of a triad of inferior gods, each of
whom contributes equally to the general result, under the names of
Brahma, Visnu, and Iswara; or the generating power, the preserv-
ing or consummating power, and the decomposing power. And
hence the Christian philosopher, with a simplicity as much more
sublime than the Hindu's as it is more veracious, exclaims, on con-

BOTANY. 231

templating the regular confusion, the intricate harmony of the
scenes that rise before him :

These, ai they change, Almighty Father ! these
Are but the varied God; The rolling year
Iifullofthee.

To the systematic arrangements of Moses and Solomon we have
already adverted, in the introductory section to this volume ; we
shall here merely add, in the words of Mr. Charles Taylor, that no
clearer proofs of system can be produced from any writer whatev-
er, than are exhibted in Gen. i. 11, 12, and 1 Kings iv. 33. There
is a uniform progress from a lesser to a larger ; from * grass/ in-
cluding the minutest species of whatever is green, to ' shrubs,7 which
are apparently taken for trees of the smaller kinds ; and from these
to ' trees,' which not only differ by their enlarged dimensions, but
by their permanency also»

CHAPTER I

GRASS AND HERBS.

THE general term for herbaceous productions, in the Hebrew
writings, is desha, although it is also specifically applied to grass in
particular. The corresponding Greek term in the New Testament
is chortos. Wetstein remarks, that the Hebrews divide all kinds of
vegetables into trees and herbs ; the former of which the Hellenists
call xylon, the latter chortos, under \vhich they comprehend grass,
corn, and flowers. In Matt. vi. 30, and Luke xii. 28, this term is
certainly designed to include the lilies of the field, of which our Sa-
viour had just been speaking.

There is great impropriety in our version of Proverbs xxvii. 25:
' The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs
of the mountains are gathered.' Certainly, if the tender grass is but
just beginning to show itself, the hay, which is grass cut and dried,
after it has arrived at maturity, ought by no means to be associated
with it ; still less to precede it. Upon this passage, Mr. Taylor re-
marks, that none of the Dictionaries or Lexicons give what seems
to be the accurate import of the word translated hay, which betakes
to mean the first shoots, the rising— just budding — spires of grass.
So the wise man says, * the tender risings of the grass are in motion ;
and the buddings of grass (grass in its early state) appear; and the
tufts of grass, proceeding from the same root, collect themselves to-
gether, and, by their union, begin to clothe the mountain tops with
a pleasing verdure.' Surely, the beautiful progress of vegetation,
as described in this passage, must appear to every man of taste as
too poetical to be lost ; but what must it be to an eastern beholder
— to one whose imagination is exalted by a poetic spirit — one
who has lately witnessed an all-surrounding sterility — a grassless
waste !

The same impropriety, but in a contrary order, and where per-
haps the English reader would be less likely to detect it, occurs in
our version of Isaiah xv. 6, * For the waters of Nimrim [water is a
principal source of vegetation] shall be desolate — departed — DEAD;
so that [the 'hay' in our translation, but as it should be] the tender
— just sprouting — risings of the grass are withered — dried up; the
buddings of the grass are entirely ruined,' [* there is no green thing,*
in our version.] The following verse may be thus translated : ' In-
somuch, that the reserve he had made, and the deposit he had placed
with great care in supposed security, shall all be driven to the brook
of the willows.'

GRASS AND HERBS. 233

A similar gradation of poetical imagery is used in 2 Kings xix.
26, ' Their inhabitants were of shortened hand ; dismayed, ashamed,
they were as grass of the field, vegetables in general, as the green
buddings of grass; as the tender risings on the house tops; and
those, too, struck by the wind, before it is advanced in growth to a
rising up.' What a climax of imbecility !

Is it not unhappy, that in the only two places of the Old Testa-
ment where our translators have used the word hay, it should be
necessary to substitute a word of a directly contrary meaning, in
order to accommodate the true rendering of the passages to the na-
tive (eastern) ideas of their authors?

20*

SECTION I.

GRAIN.

THE generic name for grain, in the Old Testament writings, is
dagen, corn ; so named from its abundant increase. In Gen. xxvi.
12, and Matt. xiii. 8, grain is spoken of as yielding a hundred fold ;
and to the ancient fertility of Palestine all authorities bear testimony.
Burckhardt states, that in some parts of the Haouran, a tract of
country on the east of the river Jordan, he found the barley to yield
eighty fold, even in the present neglected state of the country.

It is evident from Ruth ii. 14, 2 Sam. xvii. 28, 29, and other pas-
sages, that parched corn constituted part of the ordinary food of the
Israelites, as it still does of the Arabs. Their methods of preparing
corn for the manufacture of bread were the following. The thrash-
ing was done either by the staff' or the flail, (Isa. xxviii. 27, 28) — by
the feet of cattle (Dent. xxv. 4) — or by 'a sharp thrashing instru-
ment having teeth' (Isa. xli. 15), which was something resembling
a cart, and drawn over the corn by means of horses or oxen.
When the corn was thrashed, it was separated from the chaff and
dust, by throwing it forward across the wind, by means of a win-
nowing fan, or shovel (Matt. iii. 12) ; after which the grain was sift-
ed to separate all impurities from it, Amos ix. 9; Luke xxii. 31.
Hence the thrashing floors were in the open air, Judg. vi. 11; 2
Sam. xxiv. IS. The grain thus obtained was commonly reduced
to meal by the hand-mill, which consisted of a lower mill-stone, the
upper side of which was concave, and an upper mill-stone, the low-
er surface of which was convex. The hole for receiving the corn
was in the centre of the upper mill-stone, and in the operation of
grinding, the lower was fixed, and the upper made to move round
upon h, with considerable velocity, by means of a handle. These
mills are still in use in the East, and in some parts of Scotland,
where they are called querns. The employment of grinding with
these mills is confined solely to females ; and the practice illustrates
the prophetic observation of our Saviour, concerning the day of
Jerusalem's destruction ; « Two women shall be grinding at the
mill : one shall be taken, and the other shall be left,' Matt. xxiv. 41.
Mr. Pennant, who has given a particular account of these hand-
mills, as used in Scotland, observes, that the women always accom-
pany the grating noise of the stones with their voices ; and that
when ten or a dozen are thus employed, the fury of the song rises
to such a pitch, that you would, without breach of charity, imagine
a troop of female demoniacs to be assembled. As the operation of

GRAIN. 235

grinding was usually performed in the morning at day-break, the
sound of the females at the hand-mill was heard all over the city,
which often awoke their more indolent masters. The Scriptures

mention the want of this noise as a mark of desolation in Jer. XXY,
10, and Rev. xviii. 22. There was a humane law, that 'no man
shall take the nether or upper mill-stone in pledge, ibr he taketh a
man's life in pledge,' Deut. xxiv. 6. — He could not grind his daily
bread without it.

The late editor of Calmet has some valuable remarks upon the
adoption of grain as a symbol of a future state : we need no apology
for offering the result of his inquiries to our readers.

The close of life at mature age is compared to a shock of corn
fully ripe: 'Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full nge, like as a
shock of corn cometh in (to the garner) in its season,' Job v. 26.
See also Gen. xxv. 8, and Job xlii. 17.

Our Lord compares himsulf to a corn of wheat falling into the
ground, but afterwards producing much fruit (John xii. 24); and
the prophet Hosea (xiv. 7,) speaks of 'growing as the vine, and re-
viving as the corn.' In fact, the return of vegetation, in the spring
of the year, has been adopted very generally, as an expressive sym-
bol of a resurrection. The apostle Paul uses this very simile, in
reference to a renewed life ; ' The sower sows a bare — naked —
grain of corn, of whatever kind it be, as wheat, or some other
grain, but after a proper time it rises to light, clothed with verdure ;
clothed also with a husk and other appurtenances, according to the
nature which God has appointed to that species of seed ; analo-
gous to this is the resurrection of the body,' &c. 1 Cor. xv. 37. Now
if this comparison were in use among the ancients, (and a gem of
Mountfagon delares its antiquity) it could hardly be unknown to
the Corinthians, in their learned and polite city, the 'Eye of

236 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Greece;' neither could it well be confined to the philosophers
there, but must have been known by those to whom the apostle
wrote generally. If so, then not only was the sacred writer justified
in selecting it by way of illustration, but he had more reason than
modern inconsiderates have supposed for calling them 'fools' who
did not properly reflect on what was acknowledged and admitted
among themselves.

There is a very sudden turn of metaphor used by the apostle
Paul, in Romans vi. 3—5; 'Know ye not that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death ?
therefore v\e are buried with him by baptism into death— that we
should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted to-
gether [with him] in the likeness of his death, we shall be also
planted in the likeness of his resurection.' But what has baptism
to do with planting? Wherein consists their similarity, so as to
justify the resemblance here implied ? In 1 Peter iii. 21, we find
the apostle speaking of baptism, figuratively, as 'saving us ;' and
alluding to Noah, who long lay buried in the Ark,, as corn long
lies buried in the earth. Now, as after having died to his former
course, of life, in being baptized, a convert was considered as rising
to a renewed life, so after having been separated from his former
connexions, his seed-bed as it were, after having died in being
planted, he was considered as rising to a renewed life, also. The
ideas therefore conveyed by the apostle in these verses are pre-
cisely the same ; though the metaphors are different. Moreover,
if it were anciently common to speak of a person, after baptism,
as rising to a renewed life, and to consider corn also as sprouting to
a renewed life, then we see how easily Hymeneus and Philetus (2
Tim. ii. 17, 18,) 'concerning the truth might err, saying, that the
resurrection was past already,' in baptism, [quasi in planting — that
is, in being transferred to Christianity] in which error they did lit-
tle more than annex their old heathen'notions to the Christian insti-
tution. The transition was extremely easy ; but unless checked in
time, the error might have become very dangerous.

WHEAT. 337

WHEAT.

THIS is the principal and most valuable of all kinds of grain. It
is called in Hebrew chetah, a word the etymology of which it is not
easy to ascertain. In 2 Samuel xvii. 28, the word occurs in a plu-
ral form, whence Scheuchzer infers, that it comprehended, ancient-
ly, all sorts of wheaten corn cleansed from impurities. This, how-
ever, seems doubtful, because barley is expressly mentioned in con-
nexion with it: it refers perhaps to several kinds of wheat ; or what
is more probable, is a specimen of tb«t lax mode of expression
which is so common, and indeed necessary, in all languages.

The meat-offerings, as they are called in the English Bible, of the
Levitical dispensation, were not what their designation would seem
to imply ; animal flesh, but wheat, either in its simple state, or re-
duced to flour, or made up into cakes. See Lev. ch. ii.

The wheat (her) of Jer. xxiii. 28, Joel ii. 24, and Amos v. 11, is
no doubt the burr or wild corn of the Arabs, mentioned by ForsfcaJ,
Jn Gen. xJi, 35, the same word is rendered corn,

238 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

BARLEY.

THIS well known grain derives its Hebrew name shoreh, from
the long hairy beard which grows upon its ear.

In Palestine, the barley was sown in the month of October, and
reaped in the end of March, just after the passover. In Egypt, at
the time of the seventh plague (Exod. ix. 13), which happened a
few days before the passover, the barley was in the green ear, from
which it seems that the harvest was later there than in the land of
Canaan.

In 1 Kings iv, 28, barley is spoken of as the usual food for horses,,
and so it still continue^ to be in Syria.

Pliny states barley to have been the most ancient aliment of
mankind, and it is evident from several passages of scripture, that
it was used for the making of bread among the Jewish people. See
2 Sam. xvii. 28 ; 2 Kings iv. 22 ; 2 Chron. ii. 15 ; John vi. 8—10,,
&c.

RYE.

THIS species of corn is called cesmeth, probably from its longhair
or beard. Dr. Shaw supposes that rice is the grain intended by
the original. On the other hand, Hasselquist states that the Egyp-
tians learned the cultivation ' of rice under the Caliphs ; and Park-
hurst has shown that the traveller has misunderstood the statement
of the Roman naturalist. In Ezek. iv. 9, the Hebrew word is r.en.-
dered^/c/ies, a kind of tare.

MILLET.

THE Hebrew name of this grain is dechen, from a root which sig-
nifies to thrust forth, impel, &c. ; and it is so called, perhaps, from
its thrusting forth such a quantity of grains, above every other
known plant. Thus, in Latin it is called milium, as if one stalk
bore a thousand grains. It is no doubt the same kind of grain as is
now called in the East durra, which is a kind of millet, and when
made into bad bread, with camel's milk, oil, butter, or grease, is al-
most the only food which is eaten by the common people in Ara-
bia Felix. Niebuhr found it so disagreeable, he states, that he
would willingly have preferred to it plain barley-bread. This re~
mark tends to illustrate Ezekiel iv. 9,

SECTION II.

REEDS.

ON the banks and in the streams of the Nile reeds grow in im-
mense quantities, and hence it is, probably, that in 2 Kings xviii.-
21, the country of Egypt is called a reed: 'Now, behold, thoa
trusted) upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on
which if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it: so is-
Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.' The prophet
Ezekiel attests the fidelity of the Assyrian general's representation :
* And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,
because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When
they all took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break and rend
their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou breakest
and madest all their loins to be at a stand,' ch. ix. 6, 7. Hence we
see what is meant by a bruised reed, in Isa. xlii. 3, and from its-
reference to the church, we must understand it of a weak believer,,
or perhaps, more particularly, of one whose heart is broken and
contrite, for past offences.

In 1 Kings xiv. 15, the transgressions of Israel call forth the fol-
lowing denunciation of punishment : ' The Lord shall smite Israel
as a reed shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of the
good land which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them be-
yond the river, because they have made their idol groves, provok-
ing him to anger.' There is the same allusion in Matt. xi. 7, where
our Saviour says of John the Baptist, that he was not a reed shaken
with the wind. There was nothing vacillating or unstable in his
character : his mind was constant, and fixed on the truth ; and his
testimony to the character of the Saviour was always the same.

From Ezek. xl. 3, and Rev. xi. 1, we learn that the long stalk of
the reed was used as a measuring-rod ; and from Isaiah xlvi. 6, it
seems to have been employed as a balance, perhaps after the same,
manner as the Roman steel-yard.

In the neighborhood of Suez some of these reeds grow to the?
height of twelve yards ; hence we see how easily, by means of one-
of them, the soldier who stood at the foot of our Saviour's cross,,
«ould raise to his mouth a sponge filled with vinegar, Matt, xxvii. 48..

We must not omit to notice the appropriation of reeds to the
purposes of writing, before the invention of our common pens> as
there are several allusions to them in the sacred writings, although
not discernible in the English Bible.

240 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE BULRUSH, OR PAPYRUS.

THE bulrush grows in the marshes of Egypt, or in the stagnant
places of the Nile, made by the flowing of the river, where they
are not above the depth of two cubits. Its roots are tortuous, and
in thickness about four or five inches ; its stem is triangular, rising
to the height often cubits, and terminating in a crown of small fil-
aments resembling hair, which the ancients used to compare to a
thyrsus.

The papyri were produced in such great quantities on the banks
of the Nile, that Cassiodorus compares them to a forest. * There
rises to the view this forest without branches, this thicket with-
out leaves, this harvest of the waters, this ornament of the marshes.'
This reed was of the greatest use to the inhabitants of the coun-
try where it grew ; the pith contained in the stalk served them for
food, and the woody part for the construction of vessels. For this
purpose they made it up, like rushes, into bundles, and by tying
these together, they gave to their vessels the necessary shape and
solidity. The vessels of bulrushes (Isa. xviii. 2,) or papyri, men-
tioned in sacred and profane history, says Dr. Shaw, were no other
than large fabrics of the same kind with that of Moses (Exodus ii.
3,) which from a late introduction of plank and stronger materials,
are now laid aside. Thus, Pliny notices 'ships made of papyrus
and the equipments of the Nile ;' and in another place he says, * Of
the papyrus itself they construct sailing vessels.'

The most useful and valuable part of the papyrus, however, was
its delicate rind or bark, which was used for the purpose of writ-
ing upon. To prepare it for this, the several coatings of which the
stem is composed were carefully separated and spread out upon a
table, artfully matched and pressed together, and moistened with
the water of the Nile, which, dissolving the glutinous juices of the
plant, caused them to adhere closely together. They were after-
wards pressed, and then dried in the sun ; and thus were rendered
fit for writing upon, in characters marked by a colored liquid pass-
ing through a hollow reed.

These vegetables require much water for their growth j when,
therefore, the river on whose banks they grow, is reduced, they per-
ish sooner than other plants. This explains Job viii. 11, where the
circumstance is referred to as an image of transient prosperity :
* Can the paper reed grow up without ooze? Can the bulrush grow
up without water.'

The papyrus being an esculent plant, there was nothing extraor-
dinary in its being eaten, as intimated in Jeremiah xv. 16 ; Ezekiel
iii. 1 ; and Revelation x. 10.

THE CANE. 242

THE CANE.

THE Calamus Aromaticus, or sweet-scented cane, grows in Egypt,
in Judea, and in several parts of Syria, but the best kind is found
in Arabia and India. It was probably among the number of those
plants that the Queen of Sheba presented to Solomon. So power-
ful is its fragrance, that the air is said to be filled with a strong aro-
matic smell, even while it is growing (see Cant. iv. 13, 14) ; and
when dried and reduced to powder, it forms an ingredient in the
richest perfumes. It was used for this purpose by the Jews, Exo-
dus xxx. 23 ; Isaiah xliii. 24.

Jeremiah (ch. vi. 20), speaks of the * rich aromatic reed,' as com-
ing from a * far country,' whence it would hardly have been fetched,
could it have been procured near home. It is most probable, as
Dr. Harris suggests, that this reed, as well as the frankincense spok-
en of in connexion with it, came to them from Saba, where it
grew. Saba, we know, was situated towards the southern peninsu-
la of Arabia ; so that it was, indeed, witli respect to Judea, * a far
country,' as it also is said to be in Joel iii. 8. And our Saviour,
speaking of its queen, whom he calls ' the queen of the south,' says
that she came * from the extreme parts of the earth,' Matthew xii.
42. In the book of Exodus, also, the calamus is said to come from
* a far country.'

THE FLAG.

THERE are two words in the Hebrew, sometimes translated
* flag,' in our Bibles; though in Genesis xli. 2, 18, the one is ren-
dered meadow, and in Jonah ii. 5, the other, * weeds.' It probably
denotes the sedge or long grass, which grows in the meadows of
the Nile.

21

SECTION III.

PULSE.

THE term Pulse is applied to leguminous plants, or those grains
or seeds that grow in pods. In 2 Samuel xvii. 28, the word occurs
twice ; once being joined with barley and meal, it is rightly explain-
ed in our translation by * parched corn ;' in the other case, following
beans and lentils, it is properly understood of 'parched pulse.'
Both these still make part of the food of the eastern people.
'Roasted ears of wheat,' 'are an ancient dish in the east,' of which
mention is made in the Book of Ruth, i. 22. As to the parched
pulse of 2 Sam. xvii. 28, Dr. Shaw informs us, that the cicer or chick
peas, are in the greatest repute after they are parched in pans or
ovens, then assuming the name ofteblebby. This, he adds, seems
to be of the greatest antiquity ; for PJaiitus speaks of it as a thing
very common in his time. The leblebby of those times may proba-
bly be the ' parched pulse,' of the holy Scriptures.

LENTILS.

THESE are a sort of pulse which grow plentifully in Egypt, and
are much used as food. They were little esteemed by the Romans,
who ranked them below that species of grain from which they
made a kind of beer, the alica. But Dr. Shaw states, that in Bar-
bary, they form, nexf to beans, a part of the principal food of the
inhabitants. They are dressed in the same manner with beans,
that is, boiled mul shewed with oil and garlic, dissolving easily in-
to a mass, and making a pottage of a chocolate color. This, was
perhaps the 'red pott;ige,' which Esau, from thence called Edom,
exchanged for his birth-right, Gen. xxv. 30, 34.

BEANS.

BEANS are enumerated among the provisions brought to David
at Mahanaim (2 Samuel xvii. 28), and also among the ingredients
with which the prophet Ezekiel was to make his bread, ch. iv. 9.
These passages may be illustrated by what Dr. Shaw says about
the modern diet of the people of Barbary : 'Beans, after they are
boiled and stewed with garlick. are the principal food of persons of
all distinctions.'

SECTION IV.

WEEDS.

IN Jonah ii. 6, the Hebrew word suph is translated weeds, and it
is the only passage in the English Bible in which it is so rendered.
Parkhurst says, as a collective noun, it means plants or weeds which
grow on the border of a river or sea, and are continually swept or
brushed by the waves. Plants of this description certainly well
agree with the passage in Jonah.

COCKLE.

THE Hebrew word, which we render cockle, occurs only in
Job xxxi. 40, and is variously translated by the versions. In
Isaiah v. 2, 4, the prophet mentions a plant or a fruit under a very
similarname, but in the English version * wild grapes.' Michaelis
maintains, that both words denote the aconite, a poisonous plant,
growing spontaneously and luxuriantly on sunny hills, such as are
used for vineyards.

FITCHES.

THERE are two words in the Hebrew Bible which the English
translators have rendered fitches or vetches, a kind of tare com-
monly cultivated in England as food for animals : — much differ-
ence of opinion exists as to the plant intended where the word
'fitches ' occurs. If it be the same as we call vetches, it cer-
tainly has its place among leguminous or pod-bearing plants ; —
but, on the whole, there appears a greater probability that the
nigella, or some similar plant bearing seeds of an aromatic fla-
vor, is intended. Ausonius says, the gith is ' pungent as pepper ;'
and Pliny adds, that its seed is good for seasoning food. He also
states it to be of great use in the bake-house, and that it affords a

244 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

grateful seasoning to bread ; perhaps by sprinkling it upon it, as
we do caraway and other small seeds.

Mr. Parkhurst thinks the gith to have been the same as our fen-
nel ; and he quotes Ballester, who says, * gith is commonly met with
in gardens; it grows a cubit in height, sometimes more. The
leaves are small, like those of fennel, the flower blue, which, disap-
pearing, the ovary shows itself on the top, like those of a poppy,
furnished with little horns, oblong, divided by membranes into
several partitions and cells, in which are inclosed seeds of a very
black color, not unlike those of a leek, but very fragrant.' But, as
Mr. Taylor justly suggests, the circumstance of Ballester comparing
the gitU to the fennel is decisive against the notion of Parkhurst,
that it was this particular plant. That it classes with the fennel
may be readily admitted ; but not that it is the same.

CHAPTER II.

PLANTS AND SHRUBS.

IN this chapter the reader will find some things which he will
probably think ought to have been placed in the former one, in
accordance with the remarks which were offered on the Mosaie
distribution of the vegetable kingdom. But the difficulty of adopt-
ing such a classification as would have included them under that
division, must plead our apology for departing from the order
which it was natural to expect would be followed in this part of the
work.

SECTION I.
AROMATIC PLANTS.

CAMPHOR.

THIS shrub was formerly considered as a species of privet, to
which it has, indeed, many relations ; but difference in the parts of
fructification has determined botanists to make a distinct genus of
it, to which Linneus has given the name of lawsonia, and to that
species we are describing, lawsonia inermis. Its Arabic name is
henna; and with the article, al-henna.

The al-henna is mentioned in Cant. i. 14, and iv. 13, as a per-
fume ; in the former passage notice is taken of its clusters. Dr.
Shaw describes it as a beautiful odoriferous plant, which grows ten
or twelve feet high, putting out its little flowers in clusters, which
yield a most grateful smell, like camphor. But the fullest descrip-
tion of the al-henna is that furnished by Sonnini, from whom we
make the following extracts.

* The henna is a tall shrub, endlessly multiplied in Egypt ; the
leaves are of a lengthened oval form, opposed to each other, and of
a faint green color. The flowers grow at the extremity of the
branches, in long and tufted boquets; the smaller ramifications
which support them are red, and likewise opposite ; from the arm-
pit cavity springs a small leaf almost round, but terminating in a
point ; the corolla is formed of four petals, curling up, and of a light
yellow. Between each petal are two white stamina with a yellow
summit; there is only one white pistil. The pedicle, reddish at its
issuing from the bough, dies away into a faint green. The calix is
cut into four pieces, of a tender green up toward their extremity,
which is reddish. The fruit or berry is a green capsule, previous
to its maturity ; it assumes a red tint as it ripens, and becomes
brown when it is dried ; it is divided into four compartments, in
which are enclosed the seeds, triangular and brown-colored. The
bark of the stem and of the branches is of a deep grey, and the
wood has, internally, a light cast of yellow. Though its figure has
been already published in several books on natural history, it has
not been faithfully represented in any one, or with such exactness
of detail, as in the drawing which I had taken of it at Rosettn.

4 In truth, this is one of the plants the most grateful to both the
sight and the smell. The gently deepish color of its bark, the light
green of its foliage, the softened mixture of white and yellow with
which the flowers, collected into long clusters like the lilach, are

THE MYRTLE. 247

colored, the red tint of the ramifications which support them, form
a combination of the most agreeable effect. These flowersr whose
shades are so delicate, diffuse around the sweetest odors, and em-
balm the gardens and the apartments which they embellish ; they
accordingly form the nosegay of beauty ; the- women — ornaments of
the prisons of jealousy, whereas they might be that of a whole
country — take pleasure to deck themselves with these beautiful
clusters of fragrance, to adorn their apartments with them, to carry
them to the bath, to hold them in their hand : in a word, to perfume
their bosom with them. They attach to this possession, which the
mildness of the climate, and the facility of culture, seldom refuse
them, a value so high, that they would willingly appropriate it ex-
clusively to themselves ; and they suffer with impatience Christian
women and Jewesses to partake of it with them.'

ALOES.

THIS is an extensive tribe of plants, ihe principal species amount-
ing to nine in number: they differ much in size.

From this plant is extracted the drug called aloes, which is a ve-
ry bitter liquor, used in embalming, to prevent putrefaction. Nic-
odemus brought abont a hundred pounds weight of myrrh and aloes,
to embalm the body of our Saviour, John xix. 39.

THE MYRTLE.

IN our ungenial climate, the myrtle is a lowly shrub ; but in oth-
er and more favorable countries, it sometimes grows to a small tree.
It is a hard woody root, that sends forth a great number of small
flexible branches, furnished with leaves like those of box, but much
smaller, and more pointed: they are soft to the touch, shining,
smooth, of a beautiful green, and have a smell. The flowers grow
among the leaves, and consist of five white petals, disposed in the
form of a rose : they have an agreeable perfume, and an ornament-
al appearance. They are succeeded by an oval, oblong berry,
adorned with a sort of crown, made up of the segments of the calix:
these are divided into three cells, containing the seeds.

The myrtle is, in scripture, sometimes classed with large trees, as
the cedar and the olive, compared with which it is, in point of size,
very inconsiderable. But the seeming impropriety vanishes, when
it is considered that the prophet intends to describe a scene of va-

248 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

ried excellence and beauty : « I will plant in the wilderness, the ce-
dar and the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree ' (Isaiah xli.
29); that is, says Paxton, 'I will adorn the dreary and barren wil-
derness with trees famed for their stature, and the grandeur of their
appearance ; the beauty of their form, and the fragrance of their
odor.' Again : * Instead of the thorn shall come up the myrtle tree ;
and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign, that
shall not be cut off,' Isaiah Iv. 13.

These quotations, continues the writer just quoted, refer to the
effect of the gospel, or the reign of Christ, on the state of the world,
and the dispositions of mankind. They foretel the production of a
moral paradise, by the creative power of Jehovah, where nothing
but sin and misery reigned before. The prophet Zechuiiah chooses
the myrtle to express the beauty, and utility, and low condition of
the church : ( A man, seated on a red horse, was seen among the
myrtle trees which were in the bottom of some valley,' chap. i. 18.
This visionary scene, while it presents a just idea of the lowly and
depressed state of the church, and . suggests many pleasing reflec-
tions concerning her preservation and security under the protection
of her Saviour, agrees with the aspect of nature in the East, where
the groves of myrtle are so frequently to be seen rising to a consid-
erable height, although not so high as to conceal a man on horse-
back, especially from one advantageously placed on a rising ground,
as the prophet in vision seems to have been.

The aspect of nature, to which these scriptures refer, is beautifully
displayed by the glowing pen of Savary, in his Letters on Greece.
Describing a scene at the end of the forest of Flatanen, he says,
1 Myrtles, intermixed witli laurel roses, grow in the valleys, to the
height often feet. Their snow-white flowers, bordered within with
a purple edging, appear to peculiar advantage under the verdant
foliage. Each myrtle is loaded with them, and they emit perfumes
more exquisite than those of the rose itself: they enchant every
one, and the soul is filled with the softest sensations.'

The original Jewish name of Esther is hedeseh, the feminine of
hedes, a myrtle, Esther ii. 7. The note of the Chaldee Targum on
the passage seems remarkable : * They called her hedesch, because
she was just, and the just are those that are compared to myrtle.'

THE LILY.

THIS well-known and beautiful flower is called, in Hebrew, shu-
shan, and in Greek krinon; which words seem to denote the light
which it so strongly reflects, that even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of them, Matt. vi. 28, 29. Mr. '['ay lor suggests
that this flower was probably designed by the bride, who compares

THE LILY. 249

herself to 'a flower of the brook side' (Cant. ii. 1) ; not of a cultiva-
ted garden. The white lily is a flower of the field, in Persia ; and
some of its species may be field-flowers in Judea. Besides this,
there is the martagon, crown imperial, and other colored lilies. If
the comparison of our Saviour be to the whiteness of Solomon's
raiment, then, certainly, it never equalled the brilliant whiteness 01
a lily : — if it be to the resplendence of colors, then the mixture, the
relief, the glow of colors, in some kinds of lilies, exceeds whatever
the manufacturers of stuffs for Solomon's wardrobe could compose.
The lily of the field was perhaps present and pointed at, when our
Divine Master suggested this simile : if so, it was certainly a wild
lily that was intended.

Among the ornaments of the temple furniture, the lily occupied
a conspicuous place. The brim of the molten sea was wrought
with flowers of lilies (1 Kings vii. 26) ; the chapiters that were up-
on the tops of the pillars were of lily work, (ver. 19) and the tops
of the pillars were ornamented in the same manner, ver. 22.

Sir Robert Ker Porter, describing a piece of sculpture, which he
discovered among the ruins of the palace of forty pillars, at Perse-
polis, remarks, * Almost every one in this procession holds in his
hand a figure like the lotos. This flower was full of meaning
among the ancients, and occurs all over the East. Egypt, Persia,
Palestine, and India, present it every where over their architecture,
in the hands and on the heads of their sculptured figures, whether
in statue or in bas relief. We also find it in the sacred vestments
and architecture of the tabernacle and temple of the Israelites, and
see it mentioned by our Saviour, as an image of peculiar beauty
and glory, when comparing the works of nature with the decora-
tions of art. It is also represented in all pictures of the salutation
of Gabriel to the Virgin Mary ; and, in fact, has been held in mys^
terious veneration by people of all nations and times. ' It is the
symbol of divinity, of purity, and abundance, and of a love most
complete in perfection, charity, and benediction ; as in holy scrip-
ture, that mirror of purity, Susanna is defined Susa, which signifieth
the lily flower, the chief city of the Persians Bearing that name for
excellency. Hence the lily's three leaves in the arms of France,
meaneth Piety, Justice, and Charity.' So far the general impres-
sion of a peculiar regard to this beautiful and fragrant flower ; but
the early Persians attached to it a peculiar sanctity.'

CUMMIN.

THIS is an umbelliferous plant, resembling fennel in its appearance
and growing plentifully in Lesser Asia, Egypt, Syria, Spain, Italy,
and other hot countries. It produces a seed which has a bitterish

250 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

warm taste, accompanied with an aromatic flavor, not of he most
agreeable kind. The Jews sowed it in their fields, and when ripe,
thrashed put the seeds with a rod, Isaiah xxviii. 25, 27. The Mal-
tese sow it, and collect the seeds in the same manner. Our Lord
reproved the Scribes and Pharisees for so scrupulously paying the
tithe of mint, anise and cummin, while they neglected good works,
and more essential obedience to God's law, Matt, xxiii. 23.

ANISE.

PROFESSOR CAMPBELL has pointed out the mistake into which
our translators have fallen, by confounding two words which have
no connexion — andhon and anison; the former is that used in the
text, and signifies, not anise, but dill : the latter denotes anise, but it
does not occur in the sacred writings.

HYSSOP.

THIS vegetable receives its name from its detersive and cleansing
qualities, whence it was used in sprinkling the blood of the paschal
lamb (Exod. xii. 22;) in cleansing the leprosy (Lev. xiv. 4, 6, 51,
52;) in composing the water of purification (Numb. xix. 6,) and
also in sprinkling it, ver. 18. It was typical of the purifying virtue
of the bitter sufferings of Christ, and it is plain, from Ps. li. 9, that
the Psalmist understood its import.

The hyssop is an herb of a bitter taste, and grows on the moun-
tains near Jerusalem, as well as on the walls of the city. Hassel-
quist speaks of some which was a very diminutive moss — a strik-
ing contrast to the tall and majestic cedar. See 1 Kings iv. 33.

Bochart, Scheuchzer, Parkhurst, and other critics, to get rid of a
supposed discrepancy between the evangelists, have conceived that
the hyssop of John xix. 29 must be considered as synonymous
with the reed or cane of Matt, xxvii. 48, and Mark xv. 36 ; and
hence Wolfius has taken some pains to show that there was a
species of hyssop whose stalk was sometimes two feet long, and
therefore sufficient to reach a person on a cross, that was by no
means so lofty as some have erroneously conceived. But the diffi-
culty, as Dr. Harris has shown, is not in the text itself, which is
sufficiently imelligible, and clearly compatible with the statement
of the other evangelists. John does not mention the reed ; but
says, that when they had put the sponge upon hyssop ; that is,
when they Jiad added bitttr to the sour, or gall to the vinegar, they
advance jt to our Saviour's mouth, no doubt, with the reed.

THE JUNIPER. 251

THE JUNIPER.

IT is very questionable whether this shrub is mentioned in scrip-
ture, though it is found in our translation.

In 1 Kings xix. 4, we read of the prophet sheltering himself
under a return, [Eng. Tr. juniper-tree,] as Jonah was glad to avail
himself of the frail covert of a gourd from the oppressive heat of
the sun, Jonah iv. 8.

In Job xxx. 3, 4, the afflicted patriarch speaks of those having
him in derision,

Who were, yesterday, gnawers of the desert,
Of the waste nnd the wilderness ;
Plucking nettles from the bushes,
Or Juniper- [retcm] roots for their food.

But this passage will not help us to determine whether the retem
be the juniper or the broom ; for the roots of neither the one nor the
other, nor, indeed, of any other plants in those arid deserts, could
furnish a nutritive article of food. The circumstance is mentioned
as a proof of their utter destitution, and Parkhurst has shown, from
several writers, that the mostinnutritive substances have been eaten
among many people in times and places of scarcity and famine.
Dr. Good quotes the following passage in Lucan, as bearing a
striking resemblance to the description of Job : —

He marks the wretched throng,
Seize food for cattle, crop the prickly brier,
And fell the grove with gnawing.

The Psalmist (cxx. 4,) mentions the coals of the juniper as afford-
ing the fiercest fire of any combustible matter that he found in
the desert, and therefore the fittest punishment for a deceitful
tongue: 'What shall be given unto thee, or what shall be done
unto thee, thou false tongue ? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with
coals of juniper.' That is, The wrath of God, like a keen and
barbed arrow from the bow of the mighiy, shall pierce the strongest
armor, and strike deep into the hardest heart, and, like the fierce
and protracted flame of the juniper, shall torment the liar with un-
utterable anguish.

SECTION II.

THE CUCUMBER.

THIS is very common fruit amongst us, but is much more so in
Egypt, where it is also more agreeable to the taste, and more easy
of digestion. Hasselquist supposes the cucumber mentioned in
Numb. xi. 5, to be the 'queen of cucumbers,' which he thus
describes: 'It grows in the fertile earth round Cairo, after the
inundation of the Nile, and not in any other place in Egypt, nor in
any other soil. It ripens with water-melons ; its flesh is almost of
the same substance, but is not near so cool. The grandees eat it
as the most pleasant food they find, and that from which they have
least to apprehend. It is the most excellent of this tribe of any yet
known.'

Mr. Jowett has the following passage in his * Christian Research-
es.' ' Extensive fields of ripe melons and cucumbers adorned the
sides of the river [Nile] ; they grew in such abundance, that the
sailors freely helped themselves. Some guard, however, is placed
upon them. Occasionally, but at long and desolate intervals, we
may observe a little hut, made of reeds, just capable of containing
one man ; being, in fact, little more than a fence against a north
wind. In these I have observed, sometimes, a poor old man, per-
haps lame, feebly protecting the property. It exactly illustrates
Isaiah i. 8: 'And the daughter of Zion is left, as a lodge in a
garden of cucumbers.' The numbers of these most necessary
vegetables bring to mind the murmurs of the Israelites: ,'We
remember the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the
onions, and the garlic: but now our soul is dried away.'

THE MELON.

MELONS are in the Hebrew scriptures named from the verb
which signifies to hang close, cling, &c. ; and they are no doubt so
named from the manner in which their tendrils cling to whatever
they can lay hold on, in order to support themselves. Hasselquist
says, the melon is cultivated on the banks of the Nile, in the rich
clayey earth, which subsides during the inundation* and in the Isl-
and Delta, especially at Burlos, whence the largest and best are

THE MANDRAKE. 253

brought. This serves the Egyptians for meat, drink, and physic.
The flesh of it is eaten with bread; the juice of it is collected in a
hole made in the melon, and is a most refreshing, but sometimes
dangerous drink ; and the same juice, mixed with rose-water and
a little sugar, is the only medicine used by the common people in
-burning fevers. This is very comfortable to the patient, for it
cools and refreshes him. See Numb. xi. 5.

THE MANDRAKE.

THERE are two sorts of Mandrakes: — the/ewidfe, which is black,
having leaves not unlike lettuce, though smaller and narrower,
which spread on the ground, and have a disagreeable smell. It
bears berries something like services, pale, of a strong smell, having
kernels within, like those of pears. It has two or three very large
roots, twisted together, white within, black without, and covered
with a thick rind. The other kind, or male mandrake, is called
morion, or folly, because it suspends the use of the senses. It pro-
duces berries twice the size of those of the female, of a good scent,
and of a color approaching towards saffron. Its leaves are white,
large, broad, and smooth, like the leaves of the beech tree. Its
root resembles that of the female, but is thicker and bigger. This
plant stupifies those who use it; sometimes depriving them of un-
derstanding ; and often causes such vertigoes and lethargies, that,
if those who have taken it have not present assistance, they die in
convulsions.

From Cant. vii. 13, it appears that the mandrake yielded a re-
markable smell at the time when the vines and pomegranates
flowered, which in Judea is about the end of April, or beginning
of May. It is probable, therefore, that this circumstance of their
smell is to be referred to the fruit rather than to the flower, espe-
cially as Brookes, who has given a particular description and a
print of the plant, expressly observes that the fruit has a strong,
nauseous smell, though he says nothing about the scent of a flow-
er.

22

SECTION III.

THORNY SHRUBS AND PLANTS.

IN the curse pronounced on the ground (Genesis iii. 17, 18)
says Dr. A. Clarke, there is much more implied than generally ap-
pears. The amazing fertility of some of the most common thistles
and thorns renders them the most proper instruments for the fulfil-
ment of this sentence against man. Thistles multiply enormously :
a species called the Carolina silveslris bears ordinarily from twenty
to forty heads, each containing from one hundred to one hundred
and fifty seeds. Another species, called the Acanthum vulgare,
produces above 100 heads, each containing from 300 to 400 seeds.
Suppose we s:«.y that these thistles produce at a medium, only 80
heads, and that each contains only 300 seeds ; the first crop from
these would amount to 24,000. Let these be sown, and their crop
will amount to 576 millions. Sow these, and their produce will be
13,824,000,000,000, or thirteen billions, eight hundred and twenty-
four thousand millions : arid a single crop from these, which is only
the third year's growth, would amount to 331,776,000,000,000,000,
or three hundred and thirty-one thousand, seven hundred and
seventy-six billions; and the fourth year's growth will amount to
7962,624,000,000,000,000,000, or seven thousand nine hundred and
sixty-two trillions, six hundred and twenty-four thousand billions !
a progeny more than sufficient to stock not only the surface of the
whole world, but of all the planets in the solar system, so that no
other plant or vegetable could possibly grow, allowing but the
space of one square foot for each plant. The Carduus vulgatissi-
mus viarum, or common hedge-thistle, besides the almost infinite
swarms of winged seeds it sends forth, spreads its roots around
many yards, and throws up suckers every where, which not only
produce seeds in their turn, but extend their roots, and propagate
like the parent plant, and stifle and destroy all vegetation but their
own.

As to thorns, the bramble, which occurs so commonly, and is so
mischievous, is a sufficient proof how well the means are calcula-
ted to secure the end. The genista, or spinosa vulgaris, called by
some furze, by others whins, is allowed to be one of the most mis-
chievous shrubs on the face of the earth. Scarcely any thing can
grow near it ; and it is so thick set with prickles, that it is almost
impossible to touch it without being wounded. It is very prolific ;
almost half the year it is covered with flowers, which produce pods
filled with seeds. Besides, it shoots out roots far and wide, from

THE THORN. 255

which suckers and young plants are continually springing up, which
produce others in their turn. Where it is permitted to grow, it soon
overspreads whole tracts of ground, and it is extremely difficult to
clear the land of its roots where once it has got proper footing.
Such provision has the just God made to fulfil the curse which he
has pronounced on the earth, because of the crimes of its inhabi-
tants.

THE THORN.

OF the Thorn there are several sorts, and to designate them the
sacred writers employ different terms, which it is by no means easy
to discriminate with accuracy and confidence. The late editor of
Calmel has enumerated eight different words in the original, ren-
dered ' thorns' or ' briers' in our version, and Dr. Harris has extend-
ed the list.

The first time that this description of plants is mentioned, is in
the denunciation of punishment on the human race, in Gen. iii. 18,
'thorns and thistles;' Paul uses the same words, in Heb. vi. 8,
where the last is rendered * briers ; ' they are also found in Hos. x. 8.
The word occurs in other places (Exod. xxii. 6; Judges viii. 6;
xxviii. 24) ; but whether it denotes a specific kind of thorn, or is a
generic name for all kinds of thorny plants, is uncertain. There is
a beautiful apothegm in Prov. xv. J9: — 'The way of the slothful is
as a hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is plain.' The
beautiful opposition in the original is not discoverable in the Eng-
lish version : — ' The narrow way of the slothful is like perplexed
pathways among sharp thorns: whereas, the broad road of the right-
eous is a high bank' (a causeway); that is, straight-forward, free
from obstructions ; the direct, conspicuous, open path. Upon this
passage Mr. Taylor remarks, 1. The common course of life of these
two characters answers to this comparison. 2. Their manner of
going about business, or of transacting it, answers to this : an idle
man always prefers the most intricate, the most oblique, and event-
ually, the most thorny measures, to accomplish his purpose : the
honest man prefers the most liberal, and straight-forward.

We have already remarked that the word employed in the New
Testament for thorns, is akantha. There has been some variety of
opinion among critics, as to the nature of the thorn of which our
Lord's crown was composed, Matt, xxvii. 29. It was without doubt
of some kind of prickly shrub, though what it was cannot now be
ascertained.

256 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE BRAMBLE.

THE word occurs in Judges ix. 14, 15, and in Psa. Iviii. 1(X
In the latter passage it is rendered thorn; in the former, bramble.
It is armed with thorns ; its branches are supple and pliant ; and its
leaf is of a deep green, like that of the ivy. It is certain that such
a tree is required as may well denote a tyrant ; one who, instead of
affording shade and shelter to such as seek his protection, strips
them of their property, as a bramble bush does the sheep which
come near it, or lie down under its shadow. There is a passage in
Holland's translation of Plutarch admirably illustrative of this sub-
ject :— * Whereupon is thought that he [Demosthenes] forsook his
colors and fled; now as he made haste away, there chanced a bram-
ble to take hold of his cassock behinde, whereat he turned back
and said unto the bramble, ' Save my life, and take my ransome."*
Folio 567.

NETTLES.

THERE are two different words rendered ; nettles' in the English
Bible : They occur in (Prov. xxiv. 31, Isa. xxxiv. 13.
and in (Jobxxx. 7, Prov. xxiv. 31, ZepiJ. ii. 9.)

SECTION IV.
ONIONS, AND SIMILAR PLANTS.

ONIONS.

' WHOEVER has tasted onions in Egypt/ says Hasselquist, ' must
allow, that none can be had better, in any part of the world ; here
they are sweet, in other countries; they are nauseous and strong ;
here they are soft whereas in the North, and other parts, they are
hard, and the coats so compact, that they are hard of digestion.
Hence they cannot, in any place, be eaten with less prejudice, and
more satisfaction, than in Egypt. They eat them roasted, cut into
four pieces, with some bits of roasted meat, and with this dish they
are so delighted, that I have heard them wish they might enjoy it
in Paradise. They likewise make a soup of them, cutting the on-
ions in small pieces ; this is one of the best dishes I ever ate.'

As further illustrative of the passage above referred to, we may
observe, that among the vegetables used by the Egyptians for food,
melons, cucumbers, and onions, are the most common. Concern-
ing the last, he says, ' they are sweeter than in any other place in
the world ;' and in the streets of Cairo, they sell them ready prepar-
ed for eating.

GARLICK.

THIS word occurs only in one passage of scripture (Numb. xi. 5),
where it is joined with leeks and onions, and would, therefore, seem
to be some plant of a similar kind.

LEEKS.

THE Hebrew word which is translated, 'leek,' in Numb. xi. 5, is.
as we have already noticed, a general term for herbage or grass,
and has been so translated in several passages of our Bible. Re-
ferring to 1 Kings xviii. 5, Harmer says, It can hardly be allowed
to mean leeks, because it is there used to express the food of horses
and mules, but may very well stand for such vegetables as grew
promiscuously with grass, which the succory or endive does, and
this, being of a very cool nature, and much used in Egypt, he
takes to be the herbage intended by the original text.
22*

SECTION V.
FLAX.

THIS is a well known vegetable, upon which the industry of
mankind has been exercised with the greatest success and utility.
On passing a field of it, one is struck with astonishment, when he
considers that this apparently insignificant plant may, by the labor
and ingenuity of man, be made to assume an entirely new form
and appearance, and to contribute to pleasure and health, by fur-
nishing us with agreeable and ornamental apparel.

From time immemorial, Egypt was celebrated for the produc-
tion or manufacture of flax. Wrought into inner garments, it con-
stituted the principal dress of the inhabitants, and the priests never
put on any other kind of clothing. The fine linen of Egypt is
celebrated in all ancient authors, and its superior excellence is
mentioned in the sacred Scripture. The manufacure of flax is
still carried on in that country.

In Deut. xxvii. 11, is a prohibition of wearing a garment of flax
and wool. The original word translated 'linen and woollen,' (Lev.
xix. 19), is difficult of explanation. We are inclined to believe that
it must rather refer to a garment of divers sorts, than to what we
call ' linsey woolsey ; ' to one made up of patch- work, differently
colored and arranged, perhaps, for pride and show, like the coat
of many colors made by Jacob for his son Joseph, Gen. xxxvii. 3.

In predicting the gentleness, caution, and tenderness with which
the Messiah should manage his administration, Isaiah (ch. xlii. 3)
happily illustrates it by a proverb : * The bruised reed he shall not
break, and the smoking flax he shall not quench.' He shall not
break even a bruised reed, which snaps asunder immediately when
pressed with any considerable weight; nor shall he extinguish

THE FLAX. 259

even the smoking flax, or the wick of a lamp, which, when it first
begins to kindle, is put out hy every little motion. With such
kind and condescending regards to the weakest of his people, and
to the first openings and symptoms of a hopeful character, shall he
proceed till he send forth judgment unto victory, or till he make
his righteous cause victorious. This place is quoted in Matt,
xii. 20, where, by an easy metonomy, the material for the thing
made, flax, is used for the wick of a lamp or taper; and that, by a
synecdoche for the lamp or taper itself, which, when near going
out, yields more smoke than light. 'He will not extinguish, or put
out, the dying lamp.'

In Jer. xiii. 1, a linen girdle is mentioned ; and in Ezek. xl. 3,
a measuring line ofjlax.

Our version having more than once mentioned 'the fine linen of
Egypt,' n umbers of people have been ready to imagine, that their
linen manufactures were of the most delicate kind ; whereas, in
truth, they were but coarse. This is proved by examining that in
which their embalmed bodies are found wrapped up. So Hassel-
quist observes: 'The ancients have said much of the fine linen of
Egypt; and many of our learned men imagine that it was so fine
and precious, that we have even lost the art, and cannot make it so
good. They have been induced to think so by the commen-
dations which the Greeks have lavished on the Egyptian linen.
They had good reason for doing it, for they had no flax
themselves, and were unacquainted with the art of weav-
ing: but were we to compare a piece of Holland linen with the
linen in which the mummies were laid, and which is of the oldest
and best manufacture of Egypt, we shall find that the fine linen of
Egypt is very coarse in comparison with what is now made. The
Egyptian linen was fine, and sought after by kings and princes,
when Egypt was the only country that cultivated flax and knew
how to use it.'

Our translators have been unfortunate in this article, says Dr.
Harris, in supposing that one of the words might signify silk, and
forgetting cloth made of cotton. When Joseph was arrayed in
Egypt as viceroy of that country, they represent him as clothed in
vestures of ' fine linen' (Gen. xli. 42), but being dubious of the
meaning of the word there, they render it 'silk' in the margin. This
was very unhappy : for they not only translate the word ' linen' in
a multitude of other places ; but, certainly, whatever the word sig-
nifies, it cannot mean silk, which was not used, we have reason to
think, in those parts of the world, till long after the time of Joseph.
They have gone farther, for they have made the word 'silk,' the
textual translation of the Hebrew term, in Prov. xxxi. 22, which
verse describes the happy effects of female Jewish industry. ' She
maketh herself coverings of tapestry ; her clothing is pink and
purple.' They suppose, then, that the Jewish women, of not the
highest rank in the time of Solomon, were clothed with vestments
made of a material so precious in former times, we are told, as to
be sold for its weight in gold.

C HAPTER III.
TREES.

WE now advance a step higher in our botanical researches, and
proceed to a consideration of the dendrology of the sacred writings.

The consecration of groves to the gods of Pagan antiquity is a
circumstance with which every reader of ancient history must be
familiar. The custom is so ancient, that it is thought to have been
antecedent to the consecration of temples and altars. This, how-
ever, is very questionable, for the ashel of Abraham, rendered
* grove' in the English version of the Bible, being differently ex-
pressed from the consecrated groves spoken of in the Old Testa-
ment, is rather to be understood of a single tree ; perhaps the oak,
or the tamarisk. But be this as it may, it is certain that the use of
sacred groves, for the celebration of mysteries, is of very high an-
tiquity, and perhaps of all others the most universal. At .first there
were in these groves neither temple nor altar : they were simple re-
treats, to which there was no access for the profane, or such as were
not devoted to the service of the gods. Afterwards temples were
built in these retreats, and to preserve so ancient a custom, they
took care, whenever they had it in their power, to plant groves round
the temples and altars, which groves were not only consecrated to
the gods in honor of whom the temples had been built, but were
themselves a place of sanctuary or an asylum for criminals, who fled
thither for refuge.

This very prevalent custom seems to have originated in the con-
ception, that shade and solitude gave an air of mystery and devo-
tion to religious services ; and were adapted to inspire the worship-
pers with a solemn and superstitious dread of those divinities which
they were taught to believe were present in such sacred places.
'If you find,' says Seneca, 'a grove thick set with ancient oaks, that
have shot up to a vast height, the tallness of the wood, the retire-
ment of the place, and the pleasantness of the shade, immediately
make you think it to be the residence of some god.' The prophet
also intimates this to have been the reason : 'They sacrifice upon
the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under
oaks and poplars, and elms, because the shadow thereof is good? Hos.
iv. 13.

As these groves were the more immediate scenes of these im-
pure rites which formed the leading feature of the systems of idol-
latrous worship, the Jewish legislator prohibited his people from
planting trees around or near the altar of God : ' Thou shalt not

.r

TREES. 261

plant thee a grove of any trees, near unto the altar of the Lord thy
God,' Deut. xvi. 21. From their proneness to imitate the customs
of the surrounding nations, however, the Jewish people became
guilty of sacrificing in high places and in consecrated groves : and
one of their kings carried his impiety so far as to plant one of these
groves at Jerusalem, 2 Kings xxi. 7.

Landseer has attempted to show, that the word rendered 'groves'
in our translation of the Scriptures, means rather a kind of orrery
or armillary machine used for purposes of divination, which he sup-
poses to have been about the height of a man.

It is certain that the word translated ' groves' cannot always be
interpreted to mean a gi-ove of trees, since we read of setting up
groves ' under every green tree' (2 Kings, xvii. 8, &c.) ; nor can it
always be strictly taken as an image, for we also read that the peo-
ple * made them molten images, and made a grove, and worshipped
all the host of heaven,' and used divination, ver. 16, 17. (See also
Jufl^es vi. 25, 26, 28, '30). Hence Selden supposes, that the term
was used for the images worshipped in the groves, especially As-
tarte or Venus. Others have conjectured that as by Baal was
meant the sun, so by ashre or « groves' was meant the moon, wor-
shipped as the * queen of heaven^'

SECTION I.
FRUIT TREES.

THE APPLE, OR CITRON TREE

THE apple tree, is, in the several passages where it is spoken of,
represented as one of the most noble trees in the garden of nature,
emitting a delightful fragrance, and bearing fruit of a most delicious
kind. 'As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my
beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great
delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste,' Cant. ii. 3. * I will go
up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof; now
also thy breast shall be as the clusters of the vine, and the smell of
thy nose like apples,' chap. vii. 8. In the following passage it is
classed with those trees which are peculiarly beautiful and valua-
ble : 'The vine is dried up, and the -fig tree languisheth ; the pome-
granate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees
of the field are withered: because joy is withered away from the
sons of men,' Joel i. 12.

There are six places in which the word occurs ; and from them
we learn that it was thought the noblest of the trees of the wood,
and that its fruit was very sweet or pleasant (Cant. ii. 3,) of the col-
or of gold (Prov. xxv. Jl,) extremely fragrant (Cant. viii. 8,) and
proper for those to smell who were ready to faint, chap. ii. 5.
The fifth and sixth passages (Cant. vii. 5, Joel, i. 12,) contain noth-
ing particular, but the description the other four give, perfectly an-
swers to the citron-tree and its fruit.

To the manner of serving up apples in his court, Solomon seems
to refer, when he says, 'A word fitly spoken is like apples
[citrons] of gold in pictures of silver,' Prov. xxv. 11 : whether as
Maimonides supposes, wrought with open work like baskets, or cu-
riously chased, it is not material to determine.

THE ALMOND TREE.

THE almond tree is too well known to need a description here.
It flowers in the month of January, or February, and by March
brings its fruits to maturity. To this there is a reference in the vi-

THE ALMOND TREE. 263

sion of Jeremiah (ch. i. 11, 12); 'The word of the Lord came unto
me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou ? And I said, I see a rod
of an almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well
seen, for I am hastening or watching over my word to fulfil it.'
In this passage there is one of those paranomasias so frequent in
the Hebrew Scriptures, but whicli it is impossible to preserve in
any translation.

It is probable, as Parkhurst has suggested, that the chiefs of the
tribes bore each an almond rod, as emblematical of their vigilance
(Numb. xvii. 6—8) ; the dead almond rod of Aaron, which after-
wards blossomed and bore fruit, was a very proper emblem of Him
who first rose from the dead.

Solomon has beautifully described the approach and appearance
of old age, according to the generality of interpreters, in the ex-
pression, 4 The almond tree shall flourish' (Eccl. xii. 5)— its white
blossoms appearing so soon, and presenting themselves on the bare
branches ; but it must be admitted that there is considerable force
in what Mr. Harmer has urged against this interpretation. Gray
hairs, he remarks, are quite consistent with vigorous and unailing
old age ; besides which, it is very untoward to suppose that the ap-
pearance of these blossoms, which marks out the finishing of the
winter, the approach of the spring, the pleasantest time of the year,
and exhibits the tree in all its beauty, should be used to represent
the approach of the winter of human life, followed by death, and a
disappearing from the land of the living. Surely the one, he con-
tinues, can hardly be intended to be descriptive of the other: and,
if not, some other explanation must be sought for; though this one
seems very early to have obtained, if we may judge from the trans-
lation of the Septuagint.

We have already seen that the Hebrew word signifies, literally,
'a watcher,' and that it is used metaphorically of the almond tree.
Admitting this, Mr. Harmer suggests that the clause may naturally
be interpreted, by explaining it of the frequency of the attendance
of physicians, who appear oftenest at court, and flourish most there
when the prince is in a very declining state, drawing near to death.
See 2 Chronicles xvi. 21. The functions of a physician, with re-
gard to the body, and of a watchman with respect to a palace, are
not unlike: they appear from time to time at court; but much
more observable as well as frequently, in seasons of apprehension
and danger, than at other times.

264 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE CHESNUT TREE.

IT is difficult to conceive the reasons which induced the English
translators to render the Hebrew aumuz * chesnut tree.' It occurs
only in Gen. xxx. 37, and Ezek. xxxi. 8 : in both places the Vul-
gate understand the ' plane tree,' as do the LXX. in the former
passage, but in the latter they have the * fir.' The majority of in-
terpreters concur with the Latin version, which is certainly very
suitable to the sense of the passage in the prophet, which requires
a tree possessing extensive branches, and producing a considerable
shade ; qualities for which the plane tree has ever been celebrated.

THE FIG TREE;

fig tree is very Common In Palestine and the East, and it
flourishes with the greatest luxur'-ance in those barren and stony
situations where little else will {Trow.

Figs are of two sorts, the ' 'ooccore,' and the 'kermoirse.' The
boccore, or early fig, is produced in June, though the kermouse,
the fig properly so called, which is preserved, and made up into
cakes, is rarely ripe before August. There is also a long dark co-
lored kermouse^ that sometimes hangs upon the trees all the win-
ter. For these figs generally hang a long time upon the tree be-
fore they drop off; whereas the boccores drop as soon as they are
ripe, and, according to the beautiful allusion of the prophet Nahum,
« fall into the mouth of the eater, upon being shaken,' ch. iii. 12.
Dr. Shaw, to whom we are indebted for this information, remarks,
that these trees do not properly blossom, or send out flowers, as
we render Hab. iii. 17. They may rather be said to shoot out their

THE FIG TREE. 265

fruit, which they do, like so many little buttons, with their flowers,
small and imperfect as they are, inclosed within them.

When this intelligent traveller visited Palestine, in the latter end
of March, the boccore was far from being in a state of maturity ;
for, in the scripture expression, ' the time of figs was not yet'
(Mark xi. 13,) or not till the middle or latter end of June. The
'time' here mentioned, is supposed by some authors, to be the
third year, in which the fruit of a particular kind of fig tree is said
to come to perfection. But this species, if there be any such, needs
to be further known and described, before any argument can be
founded upon it. Dionysius Syrus, as he is translated by Dr. Lpf-
tus, is more to the purpose: 'it was not the time of figs,' he re-
marks, because it was the month Nisan, when trees yielded blos-
soms, and not fruit. It frequently happens in Barbary, however,
and it need not be doubted in the wanner climate of Palestine, that,
according to the quality of the preceding season, some of the more
forward and vigorous trees will now and then yield a few ripe figs,
six weeks or more before the full season. Something like this may
be alluded to by the prophet Hosea, when he says he ' saw their
fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at her first time' (ch. ix. 10 ;)
and by Isaiah, who, speaking of the beauty of Samaria, and her
rapid declension, says, she 'shall be a fading flower, and as the
hasty fruit before the summer ; which, when he that looketh upon
it seeth, while it is yet in his hand, he eateth it up,' ch. xxviii. 4.

When the boccore draws near to perfection, then the kennouse,
the summer fig, or caricse, begin to be formed, though they rarely
ripen before August ; at which time there appears a third crop, or
the winter fig, as it may be called. This is usually of a much lon-
ger shape and darker complexion than the kermouse, hanging and
ripening on the tree, even after the leaves are shed ; and, provided
the winter prove mild and temperate, is gathered as a delicious
morsel in the spring. We learn from Pliny, that the fig tree was
bifera, or bore two crops of figs; namely, the boccore, as we may
imagine, and the kermouse ; though what he relates afterwards,
should intimate that there was also a winter crop.

It is well known, that the fruit of these prolific trees always pre-
cedes the leaves ; and consequently, when our Saviour saw one of
them in full vigor having leaves (Mark xi. 13), he might, according
to the common course of nature, very justly 'look for frnit;' and
haply find some boccores, if not some winter figs, likewise, upon it.
But the difficulties connected with the narration of this transaction,
will not allow of its dismissal in this summary manner. We say, in
the narration, for we apprehend that the remark of Dr. Shaw is
quite satisfactory as to the reasonableness of our Lord's conduct on
the occasion, notwithstanding the multiplied objections \vliich igno-
rance and irreligion have urged against it

We now look at the construction of the passage, which has occa-
sioned so much embarrassment to commentators, and has given rise
to more discussion, perhaps, than any other narrative in the New
23

266 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Testament. In our translation, the passage stands thus, which is
strictly according to the order of the words in the original text :
4 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he (Je-
sus) was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off, having leaves, he
came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came
to it, he found nothing hut leaves ; for the time of figs was not yet.
And Jesus said unto it, " No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever/' '
Mark xi. 12 — 14. Here the whole difficulty results from the con-
nexion of the two last clauses of the 13th verse: 'And when he
came to it he found nothing but leaves — for the time of figs was not
yel' for the declaration, that it was not yet fig harvest, cannot be
(as the order of the words seem to import) the reason why there
was nothing but leaves on the tree ; because, as we have seen, the
fig is of that tribe of vegetables on which the fruit appears before
the leaf. Certainly, fruit, says Mr. Weston, might be expected of a
tree whose leaves were distinguished afar off, and whose fruit, if it.
bore any, preceded the leaves. If the words had been, ' He found
nothing but green figs, for it was not the time of ripe fruit,' says
Campbell, we should have justly concluded that the latter clause was
meant as the reason of what is affirmed in the former, but, as they
stand, they do not admit this interpretation.

All will be clear, however, if we consider the former of these clau-
ses as parenthetical, and admit such a sort oftrajedio as is not un-
frequentin the ancient languages, though in translating into modern
ones a transposition ought to be adopted, to adapt such passages to
the genius of those languages ; and such is here employed by Dr.
Campbell. The sense of the passage will then be asfollows: 'He
came to see if he might find anything thereon (for it was not yet the
time to gather figs) ; but he found leaves only ; and he said,' &c.
Similar inversions and trajections have been pointed out by com-
mentators in various other parts of the New and Old Testaments,
and Campbell particularly notices one in this very gospel (ch. xvi.
3, 4) : ' They said, Who shall roll us away the stone ? and when
they looked, the stone was rolled away, for it was very great' — that
is, * They said, who shall roll us away the stone, for it was very
great,' fee.

The spiritual application of this transaction to the case of the Jews,
is sufficiently obvious.

In the East, the fig tree grows to a considerable size; so large,
indeed, as to afford the wearied traveller a convenient shelter from
the rays of the sun. Hasselquist says, that when travelling from
Tiberias to Nazareth, they refreshed themselves under the shade
of one of these trees, under which was a well, where a shepherd and
his herd had their rendezvous, but without either tent or hut. So
Moryson, 'Coming to a little shade of fig trees, near Tripoli, in
Syria, we rested there the heat of the day, and fed upon such vict-
uals as we had.' These extracts will remind the scripture reader of
1 Kings iv. 25 ; Mic. iv. 4 ; Zech. iii. 10 5 and John i. 48, where
the friendly shade of this tree is evidently referred to.

THE SYCAMORE TREE, 267

THE SYCAMORE TREE.

THIS curious tree seems to partake of the nature of two distinct
species, the mulberry and the fig, the former in its leafj and the lat-
ter in its fruit. The Sycamore is thus described by Norden : ' I
shall remark, that they have in Egypt divers sorts of figs ; but if
there is any difference between them, a particular kind differs still
more. I mean that which the sycamore bears. It was upon a
tree of this sort that Zaccheus got up, to see our Saviour pass through
Jericho. This sycamore is of the height of a beech, and bears its
fruit in a manner quite different from other trees. It has them on
the trunk itself, which shoots out little sprigs, in form of a grape-
stalk, at the end of which grows the fruit, close to one another, most
like bunches of grapes. The tree is always green, and bears fruit
several times in the year, without observing any certain seasons, for
I have seen some sycamores which had fruit two months after oth-
ers. The fruit has the figure and smell of real figs ; but is inferior
to them in the taste, having a disgustful sweetness. Its color is a
yellow, inclining to an okre, shadowed by a flesh color ; in the in-
side it resembles the common fig, excepting that it has a blackish
coloring, with yellow spots. This sort of tree is pretty common in
Egypt. The people, for the greater part, live on its fruit.'

From 1 Kings x. 27 ; 1 Chron. xxvii. 28 ; and 2 Chron. i. 15, it
is evident, that this tree was pretty common in Palestine, as well as
in Egypt; and from its being joined with the vines in Psalm Ixxviii.
47, as well as from the circumstance of David appointing a particu-
lar officer to superintend plantations of them, it seems to have been
as much valued in ancient as it is in modern times. From Isa. ix.
10, we find that the timber of the sycamore was used in the con-
struction of buildings; and, notwithstanding its porous and spongy
appearance, it was, as we learn from Dr. Shaw, of extreme durabil-
ity. Describing the catacombs and mummies of Egypt, this intelli-
gent writer states that he found both the mummy chests, and the
little square boxes, containing various figures, which are placed at
the feet of each mummy, to be made of sycamore wood, and thus
preserved entire and incorrupted for at least three thousand years.

In Amos vii. 14, there is a reference, no doubt, to the manner in
which these trees are cultivated, by scraping or making incisions in
the fruit.

In the passage above cited from Nordeu, that traveller adverts to
the circumstance of Zaccheus climbing up into the sycamore for
the purpose of witnessing our Lord pass through Jericho (Luke
xix. 4) ; and Mr. Bloornfield remarks, that this mode of viewing an
object seems to have been not unfrequent, insomuch that it appears
to have given rise to a proverbial expression, which he cites from
Libanius.

The sycamore strikes its large diverging roots deep into the soil ;

^68 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

and on this account, says Paxton, our Lord alludes to it as the most
difficult to be rooted up and transferred to another situation. 'If
ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this
sycamore tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou plant-
ed in the sea, and it should obey you,' Luke xvii 5. The extreme
difficulty with which this tree is transferred from its native spot to
another situation, give the words of our Lord a peculiar force and
beauty. The stronger and more diverging the root of a tree, the
more difficult it must be to pluck it up, and insert it again so as to
make it strike root and grow; but far more difficult still to plant it
in the sea, where the soil is so far below the surface, and where the
restless billows are continually tossing it from one side to another ;
yet, says our Lord, a task no less difficult than this to be accom-
plished, can the man of genuine faith perform with a word ; for with
God nothing is impossible, nothing difficult or laborious. In the
parallel passage (Matt. xvii. 20,) the hyperbole is varied, a moun-
tain being substituted for the sycamore-tree. The passage is }hus
paraphrased by Rosenmuller: So long as you trust in God and me,
and are not sufficient in self-reliance, you may accomplish the most
arduous labors, undertaken for the purpose of furthering my reli-
gion.

THE PALM TREE.
THE PALM TREE.

269

THIS tree is named, from its straight, upright growth, for which it
seems more remarkable than any other tree. It sometimes rises to
the height of a hundred feet, and is one of the most beautiful trees
of the vegetable kingdom. The stalks are generally full of rugged
knots, which are the vestiges of the decayed leaves : for the trunk
is not solid like other trees, but its centre is filled with pith, round
which is a lough bark full of strong fibres when young, which, as
the tree grows old. hardens and becomes ligenous. To this bark
the leaves are closely joined, which in the centre rise erect, but after
they are advanced above the vagina that surrounds them, they ex-
pand very wide on every side of the stern, and as the older leaves
decay, the stalk advances in height. The leaves, when the tree has
grown to a size for bearing fruit, are six or eight feet long ; are ve-
ry broad when spread out, and are used for covering the tops of
houses, and simitar purposes.
23*

270 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

The fruit which is called * date,' grows below the leaves in clus-
ters ; and is of a sweet and agreeable taste. A considerable part of
the inhabitants of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Persia, subsist almost
entirely on its fruit. They boast also of its medicinal virtues. Their
camels feed upon the date stone. From the leaves they make
couches, baskets, bags, mats, and brushes ; from the branches, cages
for their poultry, and fences for their gardens ; from the fibres of the
boughs, thread, ropes, and rigging; from the sap is prepared a
spirituous liquor; and the body of the tree furnishes fuel : it is even
said, that from one variety of the palm tree, meal has been extract-
ed, which is found among the fibres of the trunk, and has been used
for food.

Several parts of the Holy Land, no Je-'s than of Idumfea, that lay
contiguous to it, are described by the ancients to have abounded
with date trees. Judea, particularly, is typified in several coins of
Vespasian, by a disconsolate woman sitting under a palrn tree. It
may be presumed, therefore, that the palm tree was formerly much
cultivated in the Holy Land.

In Deut. xxxiv. 3, Jericho is called ' the city of palm trees ; ' be-
cause, as Josephus, Strabo, and Pliny have remarked, it anciently
abounded with them : and Dr. Shaw states that there are several of
them yet at Jericho, where there is the convenience they require of
being often watered ; where likewise the climate is warm, and the
soil sandy, or such as they thrive and delight in. At Jerusalem,
Sichem, and other places to the northward, however, Dr. Shaw
states that he rarely saw above two or three of them together ; and
even these, as their fruit rarely or ever comes to maturity, are of no
further service, than (like the palm tree of Deborah) to shade the
retreats or sanctuaries of their Sheikhs, as they might formerly have
been sufficient to supply the solemn processions with branches.
See John xii. 13. From the present condition and quality of the
palm trees in this part of the Holy Land, Dr. Shaw concludes that
they never were either numerous or fruitful here, and that there-
fore the opinion of Reland and others, that Phrenice is the same
with ' a country of date trees' does not appear probable ; for if such
a useful and beneficial plant had ever been cultivated there to ad-
vantage, it would have still continued to be cultivated, as in Egypt
and Barbary.

It is a singular fact, that these trees are male and female, and that
the fruit which is produced by the latter, will be dry and insipid
without a previous communication with the former.

The palm-tree arrives at its greatest vigor about thirty years after
transplantation, and continues so seventy years afterwards, bearing
yearly fifteen or twenty clusters of dates, each of them weighing
fifteen or twenty pounds. After this period, it begins gradually to
decline, and usually falls about the latter end of its second century.
'To be exalted,' or 'to flourish like the palm tree,' are as just and
proper expressions, suitable to the nature of this pjant,as 'to spread
abroad like a cedar,' Psal. xcii. 12.

THE PALM TREE. 271

The root of the palm tree produces a great number of suckers,
which, spreading upward, form a kind of forest. It was tinder a
little wood of this kind, as Calmet thinks, that the prophetess Deb-
orah dwelt between Ramah and Bethel, Judg. iv. 5. And probably
to this multiplication of the palm tree, as he suggests, the prophet
alludes, when he says, ' The righteous shall flourish like a palm
tree,' (Psal. xcii. 12. com p. Psal. i. 3,) rather than to its towering
height, as Dr. Shaw supposes.

The palm is much fonder of water than many other trees of the
forest, and this will account for its flourishing so much better in some
places than in others. When Moses and his people, on their way,
to the promised land arrived at Elim, they found twelve wells of
water by the side of seventy palm trees, Exod. xv. 27.

The prophet Jeremiah, describing, in a fine strain of irony, the
idols of the heathen, says, 'they are upright as the palm tree,' (chap.
ix. 5,) which Calmet takes to be an allusion to their shape, remark-
ing, from Diodorus Siculus, that the ancients, before the art of carv-
ing was carried to perfection, made their images all of a thickness,
straight, having their hands hanging down, and close to their sides,
the legs joined together, the eyes shut, with a very perpendicular
attitude, and not unlike the body of a palm tree. Such are the fig-
ures of those ancient Egyptian statues that still remain.

The straight and lofty growth of the palm tree, its longevity and
great fecundity, the permanency and perpetual flourishing of its
leaves, and their form, resembling the solar rays, make it, says Mr.
Parkhurst, a very proper emblem of the natural, and thence of the
Divine, light. Hence in the holy place or sanctuary of the temple
(the emblem of Christ's body) palm trees were engraved on the
walla and doors between the coupled cherubs, 1 Kings vi. 29, 32,
35. Ezek. xli. 18, 19, 20, 25, 26. Hence, at the feast of Taberna-
cles branches of palm trees were to be used, among others, in mak-
ing their booths. Comp. Lev. xxiii. 30. Neh. viii. 15. Palm
branches were also used as emblems of victory, both by believers
and idolaters. Believers, by bearing palm branches after a victory,
or in triumph, meant to acknowledge the supreme Author of their
success and prosperity, and to carry on their thoughts to the Divine
Light, the great Conqueror over sin and death. Comp. 1 Mac. xiii.
51. 2 Mac. x. 7. John xii. 13. Rev. vii. 9.

In Cant. vii. 7, the stature of the bride is compared to a palm
tree, which conveys a pleasing idea of her gracefulness and beauty.

It is probable that Tamar, (Ezek. xlvii. 19, &c.) or Tadmor, (t
Kings ix. 18) built in the desert by Solomon, arid afterwards called
Palmyra by the Greeks, obtained its name from the number of palm
trees which grew about it. Mr. Parkhurst has a long and interest-
ing article on the subject, to which the reader is referred.

272 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE OLIVE TREE.

THE Apostle Paul distinguishes olive trees as of two kinds (Rom
xi. 24 ;) the wild or natural, and those under care and culture. The
cultivated olive tree is of a moderate height, its trunk knotty, its
bark smooth and ash-colored, and its wood solid and of a yellowish
color. The leaves are oblong, almost like those of the willow, of a
green color, dark on the upper side, and white beneath. In the
month of June it puts out white flowers that grow in bunches.
Each flower is of one piece, widening upwards, and dividing into
four parts. The fruit is oblong and plurnp ; first green, then pale,
and when quite ripe, black. The wild olive is smaller in all its
parts.

It does not appear that Egypt was ever remarkable for the culti-
vation of this tree. They abounded, however, in Syria, and are of
better quality there than in any part of the Levant.

The scripture references to the olive tree are frequent. The roy-
al Psalmist and some of the sacred writers speak with rapture of the
green olive tree.

So, in the fifty-second Psalm, David describes a wicked man, as
soon to wither away and disappear; while he himself should belike
a young vigorous olive tree, which had long to live and to flourish.
The beauty of the olive tree, is alluded to in other passages of scrip-
ture, and consisted in the spread of its branches, and not in its col-
or: 'His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive
tree,' Hos. xiv. 6. When the Psalmist says, ' I shall be anointed
with green (Eng. tr. fresh] oil' (Ps. xcii. 10), where there is the same
word in the original, we cannot suppose that he means oil of a green
color. The word rather means precious, fragrant oil, such as that
used by princes in times of prosperity : fragrant as a field, which the
Lord has blessed, a flowery field, in all its verdure, to the smell of
which Isaac compared the smell of the perfumed clothes Jacob had
on when his father blessed him, Gen. xxvii. 27. It is natural to sup-
pose that most, if not all, the oil that was used for the purpose of

THE OLIVE TREE. 273

anointing, was rendered more or less fragrant by the infusion of
odoriferous plants or substances: otherwise it would have hardly
answered the purpose of its adoption in those hot climates. On this
account it became highly necessary to the enjoyment of life: and
hence the prophet threatened Israel, that they should tread olives
but not anoint themselves with oil, Mic. vi. 15.

The olive tree, from the effect of its oil, in supplying, relaxing,
and preventing or mitigating pain, seems to have been adopted from
the earliest period, as an emblem of the benignity of the Divine
Nature ; and particularly after the fall, to have represented the
goodness and placability of God through Christ; and of the blessed
influences of the Holy Spirit, in mollifying and healing our disor-
dered nature, and in destroying or expelling from it the poison of
the old (spiritual) serpent, even as oil-olive does that of the natural
serpent or viper. Hence we see a peculiar propriety in the olive-
Jeaf or branch being chosen by Divine Providence as a sign to No-
ah, of the abatement of the deluge, (Gen. viii. 11); arid may also
account for olive branches being ordered as one of the materials of
the booths at the feast of Tabernacles (Neh. viii. 15), whence they
became the emblems of peace to various and distant nations. Cap-
tain Cook found that green branches carried in the hand, or stuck
in the ground, were thus universally understood by all the islanders,
even in the South Seas.

In the sacred writings, olives are sometimes represented as beat-
en off the trees (Deut. xxiv. 20,) and at other times as shaken oft*
(Isa. xvii. 6; ch. xxiv. 13); this, however, does not indicate an im-
provement made in aftertimes on the original mode of gathering
them, nor different methods of procedure by different people, in
the same age and country, who possessed olive ynrds ; but rather
expresses the difference between the gathering the main crops by
the owners, and the way in which the poor collected the few olive
berries that were left, and which, by the law, they were permitted
to take.

The usual method of extracting the oil from olives, appears to
have been by treading them with the feet, Deut. xxxiii. 24, comp.
with Mic. vi. 15. Whether any previous preparation were neces-
sary is uncertain : at present, mills are used for this purpose.

By what an apt and awful similitude does Paul represent God's
rejection of the Jews and admission of the Heathen, by the boughs
of an olive being lopped off, and the scion of a young olive ingraft-
ed into the old tree (Rorn. xi. 17, &c.) ; and continuing the same
imagery, how strictly does he caution the Gentiles against insolent-
ly exulting over the mutilated branches, and cherishing the vain
conceit that the boughs were lopped off merely that they might be
ingrafted ; for, if God spared not the native branches, they had
greater reason to fear lest he would not spare them: that they
should remember that the Jews through their wilful disbelief of
Christianity were cut off, and that they, the Gentiles, if they dis-
graced their religion, would in like manner forfeit the Divine favor,

274 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

and their present flourishing branches be also cut down. To in-
spire the Gentile Christians with humility, he concludes with as-
suring them that the Jewish nation, though they had experienced
this severity ot God, as he calls it, were not totally forsaken of the
Almighty : that the branches, though cut down, and robbed of
their ancient honors, were not abandoned to perish ; when the Jews
returned from their infidelity they would be ingrafted ; an Omnip-
otent hand was still able to reinsert them into their original stock.

From I Kings vi. 23, tt seq. we learn, that olive wood was used
in the building of* the temple, and that, too, in some of its most
tasteful and decorative parts. It seems still to be regarded as 'a
fancy wood' in the East, for Lady Mary Wortley Montague states,
that she found the winter apartments of the Rahya's palace, at
Adrianople, wainscotted with inlaid work of mother of pearl, ivory
of different colors, and olive wood, like the littie boxes brought
thence.

THE POMEGRANATE.

THE Pomegraaate, ripens in Barbary, in the month of August.
It was formerly one of the most delicate fruits of tho East (Numb.
xiii. 23; eh. xx. 5; Deut. viii. 8; Cant. iv. 13); the orange, the
apricot, the peach, and the nectarine, not havjng made their pro-
gress so early to the westward. The following is Dr. Woodville's
description of the tree.

* It rises several feet in height, is covered with a brownish bark,
and divided into many small branches, which are armed with
spines; the leaves are oblong, or lance-shaped, pointed, veined, of
a deep green color, and placed upon short foot-stalks ; the flowers
are large, of a rich scarlet color, and stand at the end of the young
branches. The fruit is about the size of an orange, and crowned
with the fine teeth of the calyx : the rind is thick and tough, exter-
nally reddish, internally yellowish, filled with a red succulent pulp,
contained in transparent cellular membranes, and included in nine
cells, within which numerous oblong angular seeds are also lodged,,
This shrubby tree is a native of Spain, Italy, Barbary, &c. Some
of them rise to the height of eighteen or twenty feet.'

The pomegranate is chiefly valued for its fruit, which has the
general qualities of other summer fruits, allaying heat and quench-
ing thirst. The high estimation in which it was held by the peo-
ple of Israel may be inferred from its being one of the three kinds
of fruit brought by the spies from Eshol to Moses and the congre-
gation in wilderness (Numb. xiii. 23, chap. xx. 5), and from its be-
ing specified by that rebellious people as one of the greatest luxu-
ries which they enjoyed in Egypt, and the want of which they felt
so severely in the sandy desert. The pomegranate, classed by

THE VINE. 275

Moses with wheat and barley, wines and figs, olive oil and honey,
was, in his account, one principal recommendation of the promised
land, Dent. viii. 8.

In Cant. viii. 2, the bride proposes to make for her beloved a
beverage of wine mixed with the juice of pomegranates; ' I would
cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegran-
ate.' Russel observes that there are three kinds of pomegranates
at Aleppo ; the sour, the sweet, and another between the two ; and
that the inhabitants give a grateful acidity to their sauces, by pome-
granate or lemon-juice. Mr. Harmer thinks it highly probable, that
in the time of the most remote antiquity, pomegranate-juice was
used in those countries where lemon-juice is now used, with their
meat, and in their drinks; and that it was not till afterwards that
lemons came among them. Otherwise he is at a loss to account
for the mention of pomegranates in describing the fruitfulness of
the Holy Land, Deut. viii. 7, 8 ; Numb. xx. 5. They would not now,
he thinks, occur in such descriptions ; the juice of lemons and
oranges having almost superseded the use of that, of pomegranates.

The Hebrew and Greek names of this tree being expressive of
the strong projection or reflection of light, either from the fruit, or
from the star-like flower, at its extremity, Parkhurst conceives that
those brazen pomegranates which Solomon placed in the net-work
over the crowns on the top of the two brazen pillars (1 Kings vii. 18,
20, 42 ; 2 Chron. iv. 13 ; Jer. lii.22,23), were intended to represent
the stars strongly reflecting light on the earth and planets. So the
artificial pomegranates ordered to be fixed on the skirt of Aaron's
robe (Exod. xxviii. 33, 34) were, he thinks, to represent those spir-
itual stars, even the children of God, who, by a light derived from
their great High Priest, shine as lights or luminaries in the world
(Phil. ii. 15. comp. Matt. v. 14, 16; Eph. v. 8 ; 1 Thess. v. 5 ; Rev.
i. 16 — 20), and who, like the bells which accompanied the pome-
granates, are continually to proclaim the perfection of Him who
called them out of darkness into his marvellous light, 1 Pet. ii. 2.

THE VINE.

OF this valuable and well known plant there are several species,
and there are many references to it in the sacred writings. It
grew plentifully in Palestine, and was particularly fine in some of
the districts. The grapes of Egypt being particularly small, we
may easily conceive of the surprise which was occasioned to the
Israelites by witnessing the bunch of grapes brought by the spies
to the camp, from the valley of Eschol, Numb. xiii. 24. The ac-
count of Mose?, however, is confirmed by the testimony cf several
travellers. Doubdan assures us, that in the valley of Eschol were

276 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

bunches of grapes often and twelve pounds. Forster tells us, that
he was informed by a Religious, who had lived many years in Pa-
lestine, that there were bunches of grapes in the valley of Hebron,
so large that two men could scarcely carry one. Comp. Numb,
xiii. 24. And Rosenmuller says, « Though the Mahoniedan religion
does not favor the cultivation of the vine, there is no want of vine-
yards in Palestine. Besides the large quantities of grapes and rai-
sins which are daily sent to the markets of Jerusalem and other
neighboring places, Hebron alone, in the first half of the eighteenth
century, annually sent three hundred camel loads, that is, nearly
three hundred thousand weight of grape juice, or honey of raisins,
to Egypt.'

To show the abundance of vines which should fall to the lot of
Judah in the partition of tlie promised land, Jacob says of his
tribe, that he shall be found —

Binding his colt to the vine,

And to the choice vine, the foal of his ass.

Washing his garments in wine,

His clothes in the blood of the grape.

Gen. xlix. 11.

It has been shown by Paxton, that in some parts of Persia, it was
formerly their custom to turn the cattle into the vineyards after the
vintage, to browse on the vines, some of which are so large that a
man can hardly compass their trunk in his arms. These facts clear-
ly show, that according to the prediction of Jacob, the ass might be
securely bound to the vine, and without damaging the tree by brow-
sing on its leaves and branches. The same custom appears, by the
narratives of several travellers, to have generally prevailed in Lesser
Asia. Chandler observed, that in the vineyards around Smyrna,
the leaves of the vines were decayed or stripped by the camels, or
herds of goats, which are permitted to browse upon them, after the
vintage. When he left Smyrna on the 30th September, the vineyards
were already bare ; but when he arrived at Phygella, on the 5th or
6th of October, he found its territory still green with vines; which
is a proof that the vineyards at Smyrna must have been stripped by
the cattle, which delight to feed upon the foliage.

This custom furnishes a satisfactory reason for a regulation in the
laws of Moses, the meaning of which has been very imperfectly un-
derstood. A man was prohibited from introducing his beast into
the vineyard of his neighbor. The reason was, it was destructive
to the vineyard before the fruit was gathered ; and after the vintage,
it was still a serious injury, because it deprived the owner of the
fodder which was most grateful to his flocks and herds, and per-
haps absolutely requisite for their subsistence during the winter.
These things considered, we discern in this enactment, the justice,
wisdom, and kindness of the great Legislator.

The law enjoined that he who planted a vine should not eat of
the produce of it before the fifth year, Lev. xix. 24, 25. Nor did
they gather their grapes on the seventh year : the fruit was then left

THE VINE. 277

for the poor, the orphan, and the stranger. A traveller was permit-
ted to gather and cat grapes in a vineyard, as he passed along, but
was not permitted to carry any away. Deut. xxiii. 24.

In John xv. our Lord declares himself to be the * true vine.'
Doddridge has supposed that the idea might be suggested by the
sight of a vine, either from a window, or in some court by the side
of the house; but this is controverted by Harmer, who remarks,
that there were no gardens in Jerusalem, and that it is not likely
there were vines about the sides of the houses. Harmer's assertion,
however, is set aside by Dr. Russell, who states that it is very com-
mon to cover the stairs leading to the upper apartments of the harem
with vines. This fully explains the beautiful metaphor in Psalm
cxxviii. — * Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine
house.' — with* which Mr. Harmer is so much embarrassed. But
whether such a vine gave rise to our Saviour's discourse, is a mat-
ter of great doubt.

In the TEMPLE at Jerusalem, above and around the gate seventy
cubits high, which led from the porch to the holy place, a richly
carved vine was extended, as a border and decoration. The
branches, tendrils, and leaves, were of the finest gold : the stalks of
the hunches were of the length of the human form, and the bunch-
es hanging upon them were of costly jewels. Herod first placed it
there; rich and patriotic Jews from time to time added to its em-
bellishment, one contributing a new grape, another a leaf, and a
third even a bunch of the same precious materials. If to compute
its value at more than 12,000,000 of dollars be an exaggeration, it is
nevertheless indisputable that this vine must have had an uncommon
importance and a sacred meaning in the eyes of the Jews. With
what majestic splendor must it have likewise appeared in the even-
ing, when it was illuminated by tapers!

If then Jesus in the evening, after having celebrated the Passover,
again betook himself to the temple with his disciples, what is more
natural, than, as they wandered in it to and fro, that above every-
thing this vine, blazing with gold and jewels, should have attracted
their attention ; — that, rivetted by the gorgeous magnificence of the
sight, they were absorbed in wonder and contemplation respecting
the real import of this work of art? Let us now conceive, that Je-
sus at this moment, referring to this vine, said to his disciples, ' I am
the true vine' — how correct and striking must his words then have
appeared! — How clearly and determinately must then the import of
them have been seen !

The Jews accounted the vine the most noble of plants, and a type
of all that was excellent, powerful, fruitful, and fortunate. The
prophets, therefore, compared the Jewish nation and the Jewish
church to a great vine, adorned with beautiful fruit, planted, tended,
and guarded by God, Jer. ii. 21. Ezek. xix. 10 Seq. Psal. Ixxx. 9,
15 Seq. God was the DRESSER OF THE VINEYARD, Israel was the
VINEYARD and VINE, Isa. v. 1 Seq. xxvii. 2 Seq. Hos. x. 1. — every
true Israelite, especially the heads and chiefs of the people, were th«

278 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

branches, Isa. xvi. 8. Jer. v. 10.— the might and power of the nation
were the full swelling bunches. The basis of the metaphor was ever
the idea, that ' Israel is the first, the most holy nation on the earth,
— that God himself is the founder and protector of it.'

The curiously- wrought and splendid vine, above described, which
Herod introduced into the temple, was a symbol of this peculiar,
proximate, and joyful relation in which God stood to Israel. The
patriotic Jews, as they looked at it, thought with joy and pride of
the high dignity and pre-eminence of the people. To go out and
to enttr under the vine, was a phrase, by which they denoted a peace-
ful, fortunate, and contented life. Hence this ornament, extended over
the entrance to the holy place, was as striking and full of meaning,
as it was edifying to the Jews : hence each contributed his own to
increase its magnificence, and thus authenticate himself as a worthy
member of this holy and glorious nation.

Jesus having thus depicted himself as the individual who was
prefigured by this vine, the ideas, which he would express by this
parable, could not have been misunderstood.

This parable, therefore, more immediately concerns THE APOS-
TLES. Jesus does not merely represent himself under the metaphor
of a vine, in the more confined sense of A TEACHER, but in the more
exalted and comprehensive one of THE MESSIAH sent from heaven
TO FOUND A NEW KINGDOM OF GOD. He considers his apostles as
THE BRANCHES in Him, — not merely as DISCIPLES and FRIENDS, but
as DEPUTIES and ASSISTANTS. chosen and called by Him, TO FOUND
AND EXTEND HIS KINGDOM. The CONNEXION which he would main-
tain between himself and them, consists not merely in LOVE and

FRIENDSHIP, but in THE TRUE EXECUTION OF HIS COMMANDS,

grounded on a faith in his exalted nature and dignity. The FRUITS
which he expects from them, are not merely FAITH and VIRTUE,
which are the concerns of all Christians, but important SERVICES IN
THE EXTENSION OF CHRISTIANITY. And he INCITES them to per-
form them by a promise of Divine grace and assistance.

The expression of ' sitting every man under his own vine,' (1
Kings iv. 25. Mic. iv. 4) probably alludes to the delightful Eastern
arbors, which were partly composed of vines. Norden speaks of
vine-arbors as being common in the Egyptian gardens ; and the
Prasnestine pavement in Shaw's Travels, gives us the figure of an
ancient one. The expression is intended to refer to a time of pub-
lic tranquillity and of profound peace.

In the passage of Isaiah to which we just now referred, there is
mention made of a wild grape, which requires notice; ' And he
looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild
grapes,' Isa. v. 2. Jeremiah uses the same image, and applies it to
the same purpose, in an elegant paraphrase of this part of Isaiah's
parable, in his flowing and plaintive manner — l But I planted thee
a sorek, a scion perfectly genuine ; how then art thou changed, and
become to me the degenerate shoots of the strange vine ! ' Chap,
ii. 21. By these wild grapes, or poisonous berries, we must under-

THE VINE. 279

stand not merely useless, unprofitable grapes, such as wild grapes ;
but grapes offensive to the smell, noxious, poisonous. By the force
and intent of the allegory, to good grapes ought to be opposed fruit
of a dangerous and pernicious quality ; as in the explication of it, to
judgment is opposed tyranny, and to righteousness oppression.
Gephen, the vine, is a common name or genus, including several
species under it ; and Moses, to distinguish the true vine, or that
from which wine is made, from the rest, c&\\8\\.ge,phenhayayin; the
wine-vine, Numbers vi. 4. Some of the other sorts were of a poi-
sonous quality as appears from the story related among the mirac-
ulous acts of Elisha: ' And he found a field-vine, and he gathered
from it wild fruit, his lap full ; and he went and shred them into
the pot of pottage, for they knew them not. And they poured it
out for the men to eat ; and it came to pass as they were eating of
the pottage, that they cried out and said, There is death in the pot,
O man of God ! and they could not eat of it. And he said, Bring
meal ; and he threw it into the pot. And he said, Pour out for the
people, that they may eat. And there was nothing hurtful in the
pot,' 2 Kings iv. 39-41.

From some such poisonous sorts of the grape kind, Moses has
taken those strong and highly poetical images with which he has
set forth the future corruption and extreme degeneracy of the Israel-
ites, in an allegory which has a near relation, both in its subject
and imagery, to this of Isaiah, Deut. xxxii. 32, 33 —

' Their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah ;
Their grapes are grapes of gall ;
Their clusters are bitter :
Their wine is the poison of dragons,
And the cruel venom of aspics.'

The Jews planted their vineyards most commonly on the south
side of a hill or mountain, the stones being gathered out, and the
space hedged round with thorns, or walled, Isa. v. 1 — 6. Psal. Ixxx.
and Matt. xxi. 33. A good vineyard consisted of a thousand vines,
and produced a rent of a thousand sttverlings, or shekels of silver,
Isa. vii. 23. It required two hundred more to pay the dressers, Cant,
viii. 11, 12. In these, the keepers and vine-dressers labored, dig-
ging, planting, pruning, and propping the yines, gathering the grapes
and making wine. This was a laborious task, and was often reck-
oned a base one, 2 Kings xxv. 12. Cant. i. 6. Isa. xli. 5. The vines
with the tender grapes gave a good smell early in the spring.

The vintage followed the wheat harvest and the thrashing, (Lev.
xxxvi. 5 ; Amos ix. 13) about June or July, when the clusters of the
grapes were gathered with a sickle, and put into baskets (Jer. vi.
9), carried and thrown into the wine-vat, or wine-press, where they
were probably first trodden by men, a ad then pressed, Rev. xiv. 18
— 20. It is mentioned as a mark of the great work and power of
the Messiah, that he had trodden the figurative wine-press alone ,
and of the people there was none with him, Isa. Ixiii. 3. Rev. xix.

280 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

35. The vintage was a season of great mirth. Of the juice of the
squeezed grapes were formed wine and vinegar.

The wines of Canaan, being very heady, were generally mixed
with water for common use, as among the Italians ; and they some-
times scented them with frankincense, myrrh, calamus and other
spices (Prov. ix. 2, 5; Cant. viii. 2); they also scented them with
pomegranates, or made wine of their juice, as we do of the juice of
currants, gooseberries, &c. fermented with sugar. Wine is best
when old, and on the lees, the dregs having sunk to the bottom, Isa.
xxv. 6. Sweet wine is that which is made from th« grapes fully
ripe, Isa. xlix. 26. The Israelites had two kinds of vinegar ; the one
was a weak wine, which was used for their common drink in the
harvest field (Ruthii. 14), as the Spaniards and Italians still do;
and it was probably of this that Solomon was to furnish twenty
thousand baths to Hiram, for his servants, the hewers that cut tim-
ber in Lebanon, 2 Chron. ii. 10. The other had a sharp acid taste,
li^e ours ; and thence Solomon hints, that a sluggard hurts and vexes
such as employ him in business ; as vinegar is disagreeable to the
teeth, and smoke to the eyes (Prov. x. 26) ; and as vinegar poured
upon nitre spoils its virtue, so he that singeth songs to a heavy heart,
does but add to his .grief, chap. xxv. 20. The poor were allowed
to glean grapes, as well as corn, and other articles (Lev. xix. 10.
Deut. xxiv. 21. Isa. iii. 14 ; chap. xvii. 6 ; xxvi. 13; Micah vii. 1 ) ; and
we learn that the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim was better than
the vintage of Abiezer; Judg. viii. 2.

The vessels in which the vine was kept, were probably, for the
most part, bottles, which were usually made of leather, or goat-
skins, firmly sewed and pitched together. The Arabs pull the skin
off goats in the same manner tha$ we do from rabbits, and sew up
the places where the legs and tail were cut off, leaving one for the
neck of the bottle, to pour from ; and in such bags they put up and
carry, not only their liquors, but dry things which are not apt to be
broken ; by which means they are well preserved from wet, dust, or
insects. These would in lime crack and wear out. Hence, when
the Gibeonites came to Joshua, pretending that they came from a
far country, amongst other things they brought wine bottles, old and
rent, and bound up where they had leaked, Josh. ix. 4, 13. Thus,
too, it was not expedient to put new wine into old bottles, because
the fermentation of it would break or crack the bottles. Matt. ix. 17.
And thus David complains, that he had become like a bottle in the
smoko ; that is, a bottle dried, and cracked, and worn out, and un-
fit for service, Psal. cxix. 83. These bottles were probably of va-
rious size's, and sometimes very large ; for when Abigail went to
meet David and his 400 men, and took a present to pacify and sup-
ply him, 200 loaves and five sheep ready dressed, &c., she took on-
ly two bottles of wine (I Sam. xxv. 18); a very disproportionate
quantity, unless the bottles were large. But the Israelites had bot-
tles likewise made by the potters. See Isa. xxx. 14, marg. Jer. xix.
1, 10 ; ch. xlviii. 12. We hear also of vessels called barrels. That

THE VINE. 281

of the widow, in which her meal was held, (1 Kings xrii. 12, 14)
was not, probably, very large ; but those four in which the water
was brought up from the sea, at the bottom of mount Carmel, to
pour upon Elijah's sacrifice and altar, must have been large, 1 Kings
xviii. 33. We read also of the water-jugs, or jars of stone, of con-
siderable size, into which our Lord caused the water to be con-
verted into wine, John ii. 6.

Grapes were also dried into raisins. A part of Abigail's present
to David, was 100 clusters of raisins (1 Sam. xxv. 18); and when
Ziba met David, his present contained the same quantity, 2 Sam.
xvi. 1 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 12 ; 1 Chron. xii. 40.

24*

SECTION II.
AROMATIC TREES.

THE CEDAR.

' The forest of cedars ' on the farnsd mountain of Lebanon, which
once furnished the sacred writers with so many beautiful images,
has now almost wholly disappeared. Some few trees remain, to re-
mind us of their former glory, (Isa. Ix. 13.) and to teach us the mu-
tability of all sublunary things.

Burckhardt, the celebrated traveller, describes these ancient
inhabitants of the forest, which are among the chief objects
of the traveller's curiosity, in the following terms: 'They stand
on uneven ground, and form a small wood. Of the oldest and
best looking trees, I counted eleven or twelve : twenty-five very
large ones ; about fifty of middling size ; and more than three
hundred smaller and younger ones. The older trees are distin-
guished, by having the foliage and small branches at the top only,
and by four, five, or even seven trunks springing from one base ;
the branches and foliage of the others were lower, but I saw none
whose leaves touched the ground, like those in Kevv Gardens.
The trunks of the old trees are covered with the names of travel-
lers and other persons who have visited them : I saw a date of the
seventeenth century. The trunks of the oldest trees seem to be
quite dead: the wood is of a grey tint.

The cedar is a large majestic tree, rising to the height of thirty
or forty yards ; and some of them are from thirty -five to forty feet
in girth. It is a beautiful evergreen, possessing leaves something
like those of the rosemary, and distils a kind of gum, to which va-
rious qualities are attributed. Le Bruyn says, the leaves of the
tree point upward, and the fruit hangs downward : it grows like
cones of the pine tree, but is longer, harder, and fuller, and not ea-
sily separated from the stalk. It contains a seed, like that of the
cypress tree.

The wood of the cedar is very valuable; it possesses a strong
aromatic smell, arid is reputed to be incorruptible. — The ark of the
covenant, and many parts of Solomon's temple, were constructed
of it.

The cedar of Lebanon, says Paxton, is one of the natural images
which frequently occur in the poetical style of the prophets ; and
is appropriated to denote kings, princes, and potentates of the high-
est rank. Thus, the prophet Isaiah, in denouncing the judgment

THE CEDAft. 283

of God upon the proud and arrogant, declares that * the day of the
Lord of Hosts shall be upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are
high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,' ch. ii. 13,
The king of Israel used the same figure in his reply to the chal-
lenge of the king of Judah : * The thistle that was in Lebanon,
sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter
to my son to wife; and there passed by a wild beast that was in,
Lebanon, and trod down the thistle,' 2 Kings, xiv. 9. The spirit-
ual prosperity of the righteous man is compared, by the Psalmist,
to the same noble plant : ' The righteous shall flourish as the palm
tree ; he shall grow as the cedar in Lebanon.' To break the ce-
dars, and to shake the enormous mass on which they grow, are the
figures that David selects to express the awful majesty and infinite
power of Jehovah : 'The voice of the Lord is powerful : the voice
of the Lord is full of majesty : the voice of the Lord breaketh the
cedars; yea,the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He makes
them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young
unicorn,' Ps. xxix. 4. This description of the Divine majesty and
power, possesses a character of awful sublimity, which is almost
unequalled, even in the page of inspiration. Jehovah has only to
speak, and the cedar, which braves the fierce winds of heaven, is
broken, — even the cedar of Lebanon, every arm of which rivals the
size of a tree: he has only to speak, and the enormous mass of
matter on which it grows shakes to its foundation, till, extensive,
and lofty, and ponderous as it is, it leaps like the young of the herd
in their joyous frolics, and skips like the young unicorn, the swiftest
of the four-footed race. The countless number of these trees in the
days of Solomon, and their prodigious bulk, must be recollected,
in order to feel the force of that sublime declaration of the prophet :
' Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient
for a burnt-offering,' Isa. xl. 16. Though the trembling sinner
were to make choice of Lebanon for the altar, and were to cut down
all its forests to form the fuel ; though the fragance ofthis fuel, with
all its odoriferous gums, were the incense; the wine of Lebanon
pressed from all its vineyards, the libation ; and all its beasts, the pro-
pitiatory sacrifice ; all would prove insufficient to make atonement for
the sins of men ; would be regarded as nothing in the eyes of the
Supreme Judge, for the expiation, of even one transgression. The
just and holy law of God requires a nobler altar, a costlier sacrifice,
and a sweeter perfume, — the obedience and death of a Divine Per-
son to atone for our sins, and the incense of his continual interces-
sion, to secure our acceptance with the Father of mercies, and ad-
mission into the mansions of eternal rest.

284 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE BALSAM TREE.

THE Balsam tree, though not a native of Judaea, was cultivated
in great perfection in the gardens near Jericho, on the banks of
the Jordan. Josephus, speaking of the Vale of Jericho, says,
'Now here is the most fruitful country of Judsea, which bears a
vast number of palm trees, besides the balsam tree, whose sprouts
they cut with sharp stones, and at the incisions they gather the
juice which drops down like tears.' The Balsam produced by
these trees was of such consequence as to be noticed by all the
writers who treated of Judaea. When Alexander the Great was in
Juria, a spoonful of the balm was all that could be collected on a
summer's day ; and in the most plentiful year, the great royal park
of these trees yielded only six gallons, and the smaller one only
one gallon. It was consequently so dear, that it sold for double its
weight in silver. But from the great demand for it, adulteration
soon followed, and a spurious sort grew into common use, at a less
price. Justin, indeed, makes the balsam tree the source of all the
national wealth ; for, in speaking of this part of the country he
says, 'The wealth of the Jewish nation arose from the opobalsam-
um, which grows only in those countries; for it is a valley like a
garden, which is environed with continual hills, and as it were en-
closed with a wall. The space of the valley contains two hundred
thousand acres, and it is called Jericho. In that valley there is a
wood, as admirable for its fruitful ness as for its delight ; for its
is intermingled with palm trees, and opobalsamurn. The trees of
the opobalsamum have a resemblance to the fir trees, but they are
lower, and are planted and husbanded after the manner of vines ;
and on a set season of the year they sweat balsam. The darkness
of the place, is, besides, as wonderful as the fruitfulness of it.
For, although the sun shines no where hotter in the world, there
is naturally a moderate and perpetual gloominess of the air.'
In the estimate of the revenues which Cleopatra derived from
the region round about Jericho, which had been given to her by
Antony, and which Herod afterwards farmed of her, it is said,
' This country bears that balsam which is the most precious drug
that is there, and grows there only.' And in the account of She-
ba's visit to Solomon, from a desire to see a person so celebrated
for his wisdom, it is said that she gave him twenty talents of gold,
and an immense quantity of spices and precious stones ; ' and they
say,1 adds the Jewish historian, ' that we are indebted for the root
of that balsam, which our country still bears, to this woman's gift.'
This balsam is mentioned in the Scriptures, under the name of * the
balm of Gilead,' Jer. viii. 22 ; ch. xlvi. 11 ; ch. li. 8.

The following account of the tree is extracted by Dr. Harris from
Mr. Bruce.

The balessan, balsam, or balm, is an evergreen shrub, or tree,
which grows to about fourteen feet high, spontaneously, and with-

THE BALSAM TREE. 285

out culture, in its native country &za.b, and all along the coast to
Babelmandel. The trunk is about eight or ten inches in diameter ;
the wood light and open, gummy, and outwardly of a reddish col-
or, incapable of receiving a polish, and covered with a smooth
bark, like that of a young cherry tree. It flattens at top, like trees
that are exposed to snow blasts, or sea air, which gives it. a stunted
appearance. It is remarkable for a penury of leaves. The flowers
are like those of the acacia, small and white, only that three hang
upon three filaments, or stalks, where the acacia has but one. Two
of these flowers fall off, and leave a single fruit; the branches that
bear these, are the shoots of the present year ; they are of reddish
color, and tougher than the old wood. After the blossoms, follow
yellow, fine scented seed, enclosed in a reddish black pulpy nut,
very sweet, and containing a yellowish liquor, like honey. They
are bitter, and a little tart upon the tongue ; of the same shape and
size of the turpentine tree, thick in the middle, and pointed at the
ends.

There were three kinds of balsam extracted from this tree. The
first was called opobalsatnum, and was most highly esteemed. It
was that which flowed spontaneously, or by means of incision,
from the trunk or branches of the tree in summer time. The sec-
ond was carpobalsamum, made by expressing the fruit when in ma-
turity. The third, and least esteemed of all, was hylobalsamum,
made by a decoction of the buds and small young twigs.

The great value set upon this drug in the east is traced to the
earliest ages. The Ishmaelites, or Arabian carriers and merchants,
trafficking with the Arabian commodities into Egypt, brought with
them balm, as a part of their cargo, Gen. xxxviii. 25 ; ch. xliii. II.

Strabo alone, of all the ancienis, has given us the true account of
the place of its origin. ' In that most happj land of the Sabaeans,'
says he, 'grow the frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon ; and in the
coast that is about Saba, the balsam also.' Among the myrrh trees
behind Azab, all along the coast, is its native country. We need
not doubt that it was transplanted early into Arabia, that is, into the
south part of Arabia Felix, immediately fronting Azab, where it is
indigenous. The high country of Arabia was too cold to receive
it ; being all mountainous : water freezes there.

Notwithstanding the positive authority of Josephus, that Judea
was indebted to Sheba for this tree, Mr. Bruce remarks, that we
cannot put it in competition with what we have been told in scrip-
ture, as we have just now seen that the place where it grew, and
was sold to merchants, was Gilead, in Judea, more than 1730 years
before Christ, or 1000 before the queen of Saba ; so that, in read-
ing the verse, nothing can be plainer than that it had been trans-
planted into Judea, flourished, and had become an article of com-
merce in Gilead, long before the period be mentions. 'A compa-
ny of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels, bearing
spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt,'
Gen. xxxvii. 25. Now the spicery, or pepper, he adds, was cer-

286 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

tainly purchased by the Israelites at the mouth of the Red Sea,
where was the market for Indian goods ; and at the same place
they must have bought the myrrh, for that neither grew, nor grows
any where else than in Saba or Azabo, East of Cape Gardefan,
where were the ports for India, and whence it was dispersed over
all the world.

THE CYPRESS TREE,

THIS tree is only mentioned in Isaiah xlv. 14, and critics are not
agreed whether the Hehrew word does really denote the cypress.

The cypress is a Tall straight tree, which, is cultivated with great
difficulty. Its fruit is not edible ; its leaves are bitter ; and, accord-
ing to Piiny, its very smell and shade are highly dangerous*
Hence, the Romans considered it aft a fatal tree, and used it at fu-
nerals and mournful ceremonies. The wood is always green, very
heavy, of an aromatic smell, and is not subject to rot, or liable to
be eaten by worms. The tree is distinguished into male and fe-
male : the branches of the male incline horizontally, those of the
female are upright. Its fruit is round, olive-colored, and of the
size of nuts, growing in separate places, and containing small anr
gular seeds.

Bochart, Fuller, and other writers, have maintained, that the go-
pher-wood of which the ark was made (Genesis vi. 11) was cy-
press. Says Park hurst, perhaps gopher may be a general name
for such trees as abound with resinous, inflammable juices, as the
cedar, cypress, fir-tree, pine, &c»

THE LIGN ALOE.

THE aloe tree is a native of India, and grows to the height of
about eight or ten feet ; having at its head large bunches of leaves,
thick and indented, broad at the bottom, but narrowing towards
the point, and about four feet in length. The blossom is red, inter-
mixed with yellow, and double, similar to a pink : from this blos-
som proceeds the fruit, round, like a large pr>a, white and red. But
there is another description" of tree, called the Syrian aZoe, other-
wise aspalatha, which is a little shrub covered with prickles; of the
wood of which, perfumers (having taken off' the bark) make use,
to give a consistency to their perfumes, which otherwise would be
too thin and liquid. Cassiodorus observes, that this is of a very
sweet smell, and that in his time they burned it before the altars,
instead of frankincense. It is probable that this is the shrub de-

THE ROSE TREE. 287

noted by the Hebrew word ahalim, which is applied to a sweet
smelling wood [Prov. vii. 17; Psal. xlv. 9 ; Cant. iv. 14], which the
agalloch or wood of aloes is not.

THE ROSE TREE,

FROM a passage in the Book of Eccleslasticus, we learn that the
rose was a favorite among the Jewish people, as it also is in more
eastern countries ; and further, that it was a noble tree : 'I was ex-
alted like a palm tree in Engeddi, and as a rose-plant in Jericho,'
ch. xxiv. 14. From this it is evident that the plant now called ' the
rose of Jericho,' is a vegetable of a very different description.

The following passage from a celebrated traveller, describing the
rose of Persia, will perhaps convey something like an accurate
idea of the celebrated roses of Sharon and Jericho, piior to the des-
olating of those fruitful regions.

* On first entering this bovver of fairy land, I was struck with the
appearance of two rose trees; full fourteen feet high, laden with
thousands of flowers, in every decree of expansion, and of a bloom
and delicacy of scent that imbued the whole atmosphere with the
most exquisite perfume; indeed, I believe that in no country of the
world does the rose grow in such perfection as in Persia — in no
country is it so cultivated and prized by the natives. Their gardens
and courts are crowded with its plants, their rooms ornamented
with vases filled with its gathered bunches, and every bath strewed
with the fullb-lown flowers, plucked from the ever-replenished
stems. Even the humblest individual, who pays a piece of copper
money for a few whifs of a Kalioun, feels a double enjoyment when
he finds it stuck with a bud from his dear native tree ; but in this
delicious garden of Negauvistan, the eye and the smell were not the
only senses regaled by the presence of the rose : the ear was en-
chanted by the wild and beautiful notes of the multitude of night-
ingales, whose warblings seem to increase in melody and softness
•with the unfolding of their favorite flowers : verifying the song of
thek poet, who says, "When the charms of the bower are passed
away, .the fond tale of the nightingale no longer animates the
scene."'

It was right, says Paxton, to consecrate a plant so lovely to the
service of religion. Solomon has accordingly chosen it to repre-
sent the matchless excellences of his divine Redeemer : ' I am the
rose -of Sharon ' [Cant, ii.] ; and the prophet Isaiah, to give us
some faint conception of the wonderful change which the gospel
produced in the state of the world, after the ascension of Christ,
says, * The wilderness shall rejoice and flourish : like the rose shall
it beautifully flourish.'— Chap, xxxv.

SECTION III,
WOODY TREES.

THE OAK.

THE oak being so universally known, renders a particular descrip-
tion of it unnecessary ; but as it is thought that our translators have
sometimes confounded it with the terebinth, which is not so com-
mon, we shall notice the leading features in the character of this
tree. Mariti says, the terebinth is an evergreen of moderate size,
but having the top and branches large in proportion to the body, the
leaves resemble those of the olive, but are of a green color, inter-
mixed with red and purple; the twigs that bear them always termi-
nate in a single leaf* the flowers are like those of the vine, arid grow
in bunches like them ; they are purple, the fruit is of the size of
juniper-berries, hanging in clusters, and each containing a single
seed of the size of a grape-stone ; they are of a ruddy purple, and
remarkably juicy. Another fruit, or rather excrescence, is found on
this tree, scattered amongst the leaves, of the size of a chesnut, of a
purple color, variegated with green and white. The people of Cy-
prus say that it is produced by the puncture of a fly: in opening
them they appear full of worms ; the wood is hard and fibrous ; and
a resin or gum distils from the trunk. The tree abounds near Je-
rusalem, and in Cyprus.

Tfye terebinth under which Abraham entertained the angels (Gen.
xviii. 1, &c.) is famous in antiquity. Josephus says, that six furlongs
from Hebron they showed a very large terebinth, which the inhab-
itants of the country believed to be as old as the world itself. Eu-
sebius assures us that in his time the terebinth of Abraham was still
to be seen (!), and was held in great veneration both by Christians
and Gentiles, as well from respect to Abraham, as to the heavenly
guests he entertained under it. Jerom says, this terebinth was two
miles from Hebron. Sozomen places it fifteen stadia from this
city. These variations induce a doubt whether the writers speak
of the same tree. The terebinth of Jacob, where he buried the
gods, brought by his people from Mesopotamia (Gen. xxxv. 4), was
behind the city of Shechem, and far from that at which Abraham
dwelt, near Hebron ; yet they have been very absurdly confounded
together. It is thought to have been under the same terebinth that
Joshua renewed the covenant with the Lord ; and that Abimelech,
son of Gideon, was proclaimed king by the Shechemites.
The prophetic benediction pronounced upon Naphtali (Gen. xlix.

THE OAK. 289

*4J), is rendered by Dr. Geddes and some other critics, 'Naphtali is
a spreading terebinth producing beautiful branches.* The reasons
adduced against this interpretation may be seen in pages 110, 111,
ante.

We have already noticed the religious veneration in which some
kind of trees were held, by the heathen nations of antiquity : among
these th eoak stood in a pre-eminent rank. * Ye shall be ashamed
of the oaks which ye have planted,' says Isaiah, to the idolatrous
Israelites, chap. i. 29. In Gaul and Britain we find that the highest
religious regard was paid to the same tree and its mistletoe, under
the directions of the Druids ; that is, the oak-prophets or priests.
Few are ignorant that the mistletoe, or missaldine, is indeed a very
extraordinary plant, not to be cultivated in the earth, but always grow-
ing upon some other tree, as upon the oak, apple, &c. The Druids
says Pliny, hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe, and the
tree on which it is produced, provided it be the oak. They make
choice of groves of oak on their own account, nor do they perform
any of their sacred rites without the leaves of those trees, so that
one may suppose that they are for this reason called by a Greek
etymology, Druids. And whatever mistletoe grows on the oak,
they think it sent from Heaven, and as a sign of God himself hav-
ing chosen that tree. This, however, is very rarely found, but when
discovered is treated with great ceremony. They call it by a name
which in their language signifies the curerofall ills ; and having duly
prepared their feasts and sacrifices under the tree, they bring to it
two white bulls, whose horns are then for the first time tied. The
priest, dressed in a white robe, ascends the tree, and with a golden
pruning-hook cuts off the mistletoe, which is received in a white sagum
or sheet. Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God would
bless his own gift to those on whom he has bestowed it.

Is it possible for a Christian to read this account, says Parkhurst,
from whom we have transcribed the passages, without thinking of
Him who was the desire ofidl nations: of the man whose name was
the BRJ3NCH, who had indeed no father on eartli, but came down
from heaven ; was given to heal all our ills, and after being cut off
through the divine counsel, was wrapped in fine linen, and laid in the
sepulchre, for our sakes ! I cannot forbear adding, he continues,
that the mistletoe was a sacred emblem to other Celtic nations, as for
instance, to the ancient inhabitants of Italy.

290 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE FIR TREE.

THIS tree is a beautiful evergreen (Hos. xiv. 8), whose lofty height
and dense foliage afforded a habitation for the birds of heaven
(Psa. civ, 17), and a convenient shelter to the weary traveller, 2
Kings xix. 23; Isa. Iv. 13 ; Ezek. xxxi. 8. Its wood was anciently-
used in finishing the interior of sumptuous buildings (1 Kings vi.
15, 34 ; 2 Chron. iii. 5 ; Cant. i. 17), and also in the construction of
ships, Ezek. xxvii. 5. In 2 Sam. vi. 5, it is said, that ' David and all
the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instru-
ments made of fir wood,' &c. Mr. Taylor inclines to think that the
word beroshim, in this passage, may express some instrument of mu-
sic, rather than the wood of which such instrument was made ; but,
with his usual candor, he gives the following passage from Dr. Bur-
ney's history of music : 'This species of wood, so soft in its nature
and sonorous in its effects, seems to have been preferred by the an-
cients, as vrell as the moderns, to every other kind, for the construc-
tion of mr.:.-ical instruments, particularly the bellies of them, on
which their tone chiefly depends. Those of the harp, lute, guitar,
harpsichord, and violin, in present use are constantly made of fir
wood.'

THE POPLAR.

THIS tree, which is mentioned only in Gen. xxx. 37, and Hos.
iv. 13, is thought to obtain its name, lebneh, from the whiteness of
its leaves, bark, and wood. In both passages the Vulgate interprets
it l poplar ;' in the latter, the LXX. and Aquila render ti white ; i. e.
poplar.

THE WILLOW.

THE Willow is a common tree, growing in marshy places (Lev.
xxiii. 40 ; Ps. cxxxvii. 2 ; Isa. xliv. 4), and possessing a leaf like that
of the olive. It is out of doubt, says Mr. Taylor, that the word
ore&im, signifies willows ; all interpreters agree in it. The weeping
willow is a native of the Levant. It runs to a considerable height,
and no tree can be more graceful on the margin of a lake or stream.
Its twigs are extensively used in the making of baskets.

THE MUSTARD TREE. 291

THE MUSTARD TREE.

THE description which our Lord has given of the sinapi, or
inustard tree, in Matt. xiii. 31, 32, and the parallel passages, has in-
duced much speculation and conjecture among learned men. His
words are, ' A grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed
in his field : which indeed is the least of all seeds ; but when it is
grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.' In
order to account for the discrepancy which exists between this rep-
resentation and the character of the sinapis nigra, or common mus-
tard plant, it has been supposed that this may, in the more favora-
ble climates of the East, exceed by far in its dimensions and strength
that which is found in these colder counties. Lightfoot cites a
passage from the Talmud, in which a mustard tree is said to have
been possessed of branches sufficiently large to cover a tent ; and
Scheuchzer describes and represents a species of the plant several
feet high, and possessing a tree-like appearance.

In support of this conjecture, Dr. Clarke remarks, * some soils be-
ing more luxuriant than others, and the climate much warmer, raise
the same plant to a size and perfection far beyond what a poorer
soil, or a colder climate, can possibly do. Herodotus says, he has
seen wheat and barley, in the country of Babylon, which carried a
blade full four fingers in breadth, and that the millet and sesamum
grew to an incredible size.' The doctor states, that he has himself
seen a field of common cabbages in one of the Nortnan Isles, each
of which was from seven to nine feet in height ; and one, in the gar-
den of a friend, which grew beside an apple tree, though the lati-
tude of the place was only about 48° 18' north, was fifteen feet high.
These facts and several others, which might be adduced, Dr. Clarke
thinks fully confirm the possibility of what our Lord says of the
mustard tree, however incredible such things may appear to those
who are acquainted only with the productions of the northern re-
gions and cold climates.

These are striking specimens, certainly, of the great difference
existing among productions of the same species, in different climates
and countries ; but then, their distinctive character remains the same ;
whereas the reference in our Lord's parable implies so essential a
difference as, on these principles, to convert an herbaceous plant into
a tree, and thus destroy the identity of its character.

For the purpose of removing these difficulties, Mr. Frost, a gen-
tleman eminent for his attainments in botanical science, published
a work, in which he maintains that the sinapi of the New Testa-
ment does not signify any species of the genus we now designate
sinapis, but a species of the phytolacca. We shall transcribe some
passages from his work, and" leave the reader to form his own
judgment as to the conclusive nature of his arguments.

292 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

'The seed of an herbaceous plant, for such is the sinapis nigra or
common mustard, cannot possibly produce a tree: and however
great a degree of altitude and circumference the stem of common
mustard might attain, yet it could not afford support for 'fowls of
the air,' even allowing it grew to the height of eight feet, which it
never does.

' Mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds, as the translation im-
plies, because those of foxglove (digitalis purpurea),and tobacco (ni-
cotiana tabacum), are infinitely smaller: these are herbaceous, as well
as mustard (sinapis nigra) ; and even granting, for a moment, that the
common mustard seed was intended, the above evidence would
annul the validity of the translation. This discordancy has been
endeavored to be reconciled by a reference to sinapis erucoidesr
or shrubby mustard; but even this has not the smallest seed; and
allowing, for the sake of argument, that this shrub could, by lux-
uriance of soil arid climate, increase in height and circumference,
and throw off large branches, — the size of the seed would remain
the same, and the smallest of all seeds would not apply.

Among other statements made, as to the size to which the mus-
tard plant will sometimes grow, Mr. Frost notices one writer, who
observes that he saw one so large that it became a great bush, and
was higher than the tallest man he had ever seen, and that he had
raised it from seed* This our author readily conceives to be true
but does not consider it at all explanatory of the subject, because-
an annual plant, such as sinapis nigra is, cannot become even a
shrub, much less a tree.

Having thus endeavored to prove that the mustard seed of the
New Testament is not procured from sinapis nigra, or any species
of that genus, Mr. Frost next proceeds to show the identity that ex-
ists between kokkon sinapeos, and phytolaeca dodecandra which he
believes to be the dendron mega of the scripture.— ' Phytolacca do-
decandra grows abundantly in Palestine ; it has the smallest seed of
any tree, and obtains as great, or even greater, altitude than any oth-
er in that country, of which it is a native.

c Common mustard is both used for culinary and medicinal pur-
poses ; so are several species of phytolacca. It is rather remarka-
ble, that the acridity of the latter induced Linneus to place that
genus in the natural order Piperita3, whilst De Jussieu referred it to
the family Atriplices, which certainly bears out its edible and acrid
properties. The North Americans calls phytolacca dodecandra
(commonly known in our gardens by the name of American poke-
weed), wild mustard ; Murray, in his Apparatus Medicaminum, en-
ters into a long history of the excellent quality of the young shoots ;
but remarks, that when mature, they cannot be eaten with impuni-
ty. Linneus, in his Materia Medica, refers to the same circumstances.
Its being edible, may be inferred from the Greek term lackanony
which occurs Matt. xiii. 32, and Mark iv. 32.

' Mustard seed is applied externally, as a stimulant, in the form
of a sinapism ; and the foliage of phytolacca dodecandra was, used,
as an outward application to cancerous tumors.

THE MUSTARD TREE. 293

* Of the acrid qualities of phytolacca dodecandra there can be no
doubt; so that there appears a very strong analogy between the ef-
fects and properties of the general sinapis and phytolacca ; besides
which, I have ascertained the existence of a fourth ultimate chemical
element, Nitrogen, in the seed of a species of phytolacca. Nitrogen
was said only to exist in plants belonging to the natural orders cru-
ciatae and flingi, in the former of which the common mustard,
sinapis nigra, is placed.'

Mr. Frost then proceeds to sum up his argument, showing that
the phytolacca dodecandra is the tree mentioned in the gospels,
from the following circumstances : —

'Because it is one of the largest trees indigenous to the country
where the observation was made ; — because it has the smallest seed
of any tree in that country ; — because it is both used as a culinary,
vegetable, and medicinal stimulant, which common mustard is also ;
— because a species of the same genus is well known in the United
States, by the term wild mustard ; — because the ultimate chemical
elements of the seed sinapis nigra and phytolacca dodecandra are
the same.'

In conclusion, the author adds the generic characters of the two
vegetables, by which they are seen, botanically, to be very distinct
families.

Our thanks are due to this scientific gentleman, on account of the
attention he has bestowed on the investigation of this subject, for
the purpose of elucidating the sacred writings ; the study of which
he states to be the most interesting employment of the human mind.
We take the liberty, however, to suggest, that his ' Remarks ' would
be rendered much more satisfactory and contributive to the object
which he had in view by a proper authentication of the various state-
ments he has made relative to the phytolacca dodecandra, from the
writings of accredited Eastern travellers. The absence of this must
be strongly felt by every intelligent reader of his work.

25*

CHAPTER IV.
DOUBTFUL PLANTS AND TREES.

THE BAY TREE.

THIS tree is mentioned only in Ps. xxxvi. 35, 36 : — * I have seen
the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay
tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: yea, I sought him,
but he could not be found.' But the original word azrech, merely
signifies a native tree — a tree growing in its native soil, not having
suffered by transplantation, and therefore spreading itself luxuri-
antly.

THE PINE TREE.

THIS tree appears in three passages of our Bible ; but the manner
in which it is introduced affords us no means of ascertaining
whether this is a correct rendering of the original word. The first
passage is Neh. viii. 15, where it is stated that pine branches were
to be used in constructing the booths at the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Hebrew words literally signify trees of fatness, and so seem
to mean the resinous or gummy kind of trees, whose juices supera-
bound and exude.

In Isa. xli. 19, and ch. Ix. 13, the word is thedher, and the tree is
so called, says Parkhurst, from the sprightliness or elasticity of its
wood. Luther thought it was the elm : there is nothing, however,
t© operate against retaining the pine, which is found in Syria.

THE SHITTAH TREE.

THIS tree is only mentioned in Isaiah xli. 19 j but the wood
which it furnished is spoken of in several passages in the Old Tes-
tament. The difficulty of identifying the shittah tree, has been
felt by all interpreters, as is evident in the retention of the Hebrew
name by many of them, and the diversified renderings of others.

THE ALMUG TREE. 295

Dr. Shaw, Mr. Parkhurst, and Mr. Taylor, take the shittah to be
the same as the acanthus, or the acacia vera ; a tree about the size
of the mulberry tree, producing yellow flowers, and pods like lu-
pines. It also yields the gum Arabic. The bark of this tree is of
a greyish black ; its wood is of a pale yellow color; its leaves re-
semble those of a lentil, and many hang together on the same side
of a branch. The branches are full of thorns, which are often in
pairs, and its foliage is extremely scanty.

The ark of the covenant (Exod. xxv. 10), the table of the shew-
bread (ver. 23) the bars and pillars of the tabernacle (ch. xxvi. 26,
32, 37), the altar of burnt-offering (ch. xxvii. 1 ; ch. xxxviii. 1), and
the altar of incense (ch. xxx. 1), were all made of shittirn wood,
which the LXX., apparently unable to identify, have rendered, ' in-
corruptible wood.'

THE ALMUG TREE.

ALMUG trees are mentioned in 1 Kings x. 1 1, 12, as being among1
the costly things brought from Ophir by the navy of Hiram, to
king Solomon.

To detail the various opinions maintained by the learned, as to
the particular tree intended by the cdmug or algum, would answer
little purpose, though it would occupy considerable space. We
will, however, transcribe the entire passage relative to it, from Jo-
sephus, as his statement may be considered, in such a case, of some
importance. 'About the same time, there were brought to the
king, from the Aurea Chersonesus, a country so called, precious
stones, and pine trees ; and these trees he made use of for support-
ing the temple and the palace, as also for the materials of musical
instruments, the harps, and the psalteries that the Levites might
make use of in their hymns to God. The wood which was brought
to him at this time, was larger and finer than any that had ever
been brought before ; but let no one imagine that these pine trees
were like those which are now so named, and which take their
denomination from the merchants, who so call them, that they
may procure them to be admired by those that purchase them ;
for those we speak of, were, to the sight, like the wood of the fig
tree, but were whiter and more shining. Now, we have said thus
much, that nobody may be ignorant of the difference between
these sorts of wood, nor unacquainted with the nature of the genu-
ine pine tree ; and we thought it both a seasonable and humane
thing when we mentioned it, and the uses the king made of it, to
explain this difference so far as we have done.'

296 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

THE BOX TREE.

THE box tree, being an evergreen, answers well enough to the
Hebrew fashur, which probably implies perpetual viridity. The
objection to this tree, that it is not sufficiently stately, seems to
possess no weight, because there are associations of objects of an
equally disproportionate size, where they participate of a common
character, in other parts of the sacred writings. The import of the
passages where this tree is spoken of (Isa. xli. 39 ; ch. Ix. '13.), ap-
pears to be this \- a perpetual verdure shall succeed to an unbroken
barrenness — ' I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah
tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree ; I will set in the desert the fir
tree, and the pine, and the box tree together.' But as we have not
sufficient means to ascertain satisfactorily whether this was the
tree to which the prophet referred, we prefer to place it in this
section.

THE GOURD.

M. MICHAELIS in his remarks on Jonah iv. says, ' Celsius appears
to me to have proved that it is the ' kiki of the Egyptians.' Hero-
dotus says: 'The inhabitants of the marshy grounds in Egypt
make use of an oil which they term the kiki, expressed from the
Sillicyprian plant. In Greece this plant springs spontaneously
without any cultivation ; but the Egyptians sow it on the banks of
the river and the canals ; it there produces fruit in abundance, but
of a very strong odor. When gathered they obtain from it, either
by friction or pressure, unctuous liquid which diffuses an offensive
smell, but for burning, it is equal in quality to the oil of olives.'
This plant rises with a strong herbaceous stalk to the height often
or twelve feet ; and is furnished with very large leaves, not unlike
those of the plane tree. Rabbi Kimchi says, that the people of the
East plant them before their shops for the sake of the "shade, and
to refresh themselves under them. M. Niebhur says, ^1 saw for
the first time, at Basra, the plant el-keroa. It has the form of a
tree. The trunk appeared to me rather to resemble leaves than
wood ; nevertheless, it is harder than that which bears the Adam's
fig. Each branch of the keroa has but one large leaf, with six or
seven foldings in it. This plant was near a rivulet which watered
it amply. At the end of October, 1765, it had risen in five months
time, about eight feet, and bore at once flowers and fruit, ripe and
unripe. Another tree of this species which had not had so much
water, had not grown more in a whole year* The flowers and
leares of it which I gathered, withered in a few minutes ; as do all

THE HEATH. 297

plants of a rapid growth. This tree is called at Aleppo, 'Palma
Christi.' An oilis made from it called * oleum de keroa ; oleum
cicinum ; oleum ficus infernalis.' The Christians and Jews of
Mosul [Nineveh] say, it was not the keroa, whose shadow retresh-
ed Jonah, but a sort of gourd, el-kera, which has very large leaves,
very large fruit, and lasts about four months.'

The epithet which the prophet uses in speaking of the plant,
* son of the night it was, and son of the night it died,' does not com-
pel us to believe that it grew in a single night, but either by a
strong oriental figure, that it was of rapid growth, or akin to night
in the shade it spread for his repose. The figure is not uncommon
in the East, and one of our own poets has called the rose ' child of
summer.' Nor are we bound to take the expression 'on the mor-
row ' as strictly importing the very next day, since the word has
reference to much more distant time, Exod. xiii. 5 ; Deut. vi. 20 ;
Josh. iv. 6. It might be simply taken as afterwards. The circum-
stance of the speedy withering of the flowers and leaves of the ke-
roa should not be slightly passed over ; nor that of its present name
cicinum (pronouncing the c hard, like fc), which is sufficiently near
the kikiun of Jonah. The author of ' Scripture Illustrated ' re-
marks, « as the history of Jonah expressly says, the Lord prepared
this plant, no doubt we may conceive of it as an extraordinary one
of its kind, remarkably rapid in its growth, remarkably hard in its
stem, remarkably vigorous in its branches, and remarkable for the
extensive spread of its leaves and the deep gloom of their shadow ;
and, after a certain duration, remarkable for a sudden withering,
and a total uselessness to the impatient prophet.'

On the wild gourds of 2 Kings iv. 39, we have spoken in the ar-
ticle on the vine.

THE HEATH.

< HE shall be like the heath in the desert,' says the prophet ; < he
shall not see when good cometh ; but shall inhabit the parched
places in the wilderness, a salt land,' Jer. xvii. 6. And again, —
* Flee, save yourselves, and be like the heath in the wilderness,' ch.
xlviii. 6. But what plant is this heath ? The LXX. and the Vul-
gate say, 'a tamarisk:' others 'a leafless tree;' and Parkhurst
quotes from Taylor, « a blasted tree, stripped of its foliage.' If it be
a particular plant, he thinks the tamarisk as likely as any, because
these trees have not much beauty to recommend them, their branch-
es being produced in so straggling a manner, as not by any art to
be trained up regularly : and their leaves are commonly thin upon
their branches, and fall away in winter, so that there is nothing to
recommend them but their address. But the question presents it-

298 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

self, says Mr. Taylor, can the tamarisk live in a sah land ? in parch-
ed places ? He thinks not, and therefore proposes to seek the He-
brew orur among the lichens, a species of plants which are the last
productions of vegetation, under the severe cold of the frozen zone,
and under the glowing heats of the equatorial deserts; so that it
seems best qualified to endure parched places, and a salt land.

HEMLOCK,

THE word in Hebrew is used to denote a deadly poison in gen-
eral, whether animal or vegetable : Deut. xxix. 18, margin, &c. It
is frequently joined with wormwood; and from a comparison of
Ps. Ixix. 22, with John xix. 29, the learned Bochart thinks this
herb in the Psalms to be the same as the Evangelist calls hyssop, a
species of which growing in Judea, he proves to be bitter ; adding,
that * it is so bitter as not to be eatable.'

From Hos. x. 4, &c. it seems that this word is also used to de-
note some particular vegetable : * Judgment springeth up as hem-
lock, in the furrows of the field.' Here the comparison, as Mr.
Taylor suggests, is to a bitter herb, which, growing among corn,
overpowers the useful vegetable, and substitutes a pernicious weed.
If the comparison be to a plant growing in the furrows of the
field, strictly speaking, he continues, then we are much restricted
in our plants, likely to answer this character ; but if we may take
the ditches around, or the moist and sunken places within the field
also, then we may include other plants, and there is no reason why
hemlock may not be intended.

WORMWOOD.

THIS may very properly follow hemlock, or gall ; as it is so fre-
quently united with it in scripture. It must be observed, that the
disagreeable effects attributed to this plant (Deut. xxix. 18 ; Prov.
v. 4; Jer. ix. 15 ; ch. xxiii. 15 ; Amos v. 7 ; and Rev. viii. 11), by
no means accord with the wormwood of Europe, which is rather a
salutary herb than a deadly poison. The true wormwood, there-
fore, may not be intended, but some plant allied to it, either in
form or appearance ; or which if it be of the same class, differs by
its more formidable properties. The LXX. usually translate the
word by terms expressive of its figurative sense.

MALLOWS. 299

TARES.

IT is not easy to decide, says Mr. Taylor, whether by the term
zizania in Matt. xiii. the Saviour intends indifferently all plants which
grow among grain, or some particular species. All we are certain
of from the circumstances of the parable is? that it is a plant which
rises to the height of the corn. Parkhurst cites Mintert, who says,
it is a plant in appearance not unlike corn or wheat, having at first
the same kind of stalk, and the same viridity, but bringing forth no
fruit, at least none good.' He adds, from John Melchoir, zizanion
does not signify every weed, in general, which grows among corn,
but a particular species of weed known in Canaan, which was not
unlike wheat, but being put into ground, degenerated, and assumed
another nature and form. It bringeth forth leaves like those of
wheat or barley, yet rougher, with a long ear, made up of many lit-
tle ones, every particular whereof contatneth two or three grains
less than those of wheat ; scarcely any chaffy husk to cover them
with ; by reason whereof they are easily shaken about, and scattered
abroad. They grow in fields among wheat and barley. They spring
and flourish with the corn ; and in August the seed is ripe.

It grows among corn. If the seeds remain mixed with the meal,
they render a man drunk by eating the bread. The reapers do not
separate the plant; but, after the threshing, they reject the seeds by
means of a fan or sieve. Nothing, says Mr. Taylor, can more clear-
ly elucidate the plant intended by our Lord, than this extract. — It
grows among corn — so in the parable. The reapers do not separate
the plants — so in the parable : both grow together till harvest. Af-
ter the threshing they separate them — in the parable they are gath-
ered from among the wheat, and separated by the hand, then gath-
ered into bundles. Their seeds, if any remain by accident, are
finally separated by winnowing ; which is, of course, a process pre-
paratory to being gathered — the corn into the garner, or storehouse
—the injurious plant into heaps for consumption by fire, as weeds
are consumed.

MALLOWS.

THE mallows of our translation, occurs only in Job xxx. 4, where
speaking of the former miserable condition of some of those per-
sons who now held him in derision, the patriarch says, ' Who cut
up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.' Refer-
ring the reader to the account of the juniper for some general remarks
on the passage, we shall here only add, after Parkhurst, that the
name shows the vegetable spoken of to be a root of a brackish or
saltish taste.

300 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

MANNA.

REFERRING our readers to Exod. xv. 1, for an account of the mi-
raculous supply of this substance, as an article of food, and the cir-
cumstances connected therewith, we shall at once proceed to state
what we hav£ collected on the article itself.

To describe this substance, the sacred writer states, that it was
* a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground '
(Exod. xvi. 14) ; that it was * like coriander seed, white, and the
taste like wafers made with honey' (ver. 31); and the color like that
of bdellium, Numb. xi. 7.

Whatever this substance was, says Dr. A. Clarke, it was nothing
common to the wilderness. It is evident the Israelites never saw
it before ; for Moses says (Deut. viii. 3, 16), ' He fed thee with
manna which thou knewedst not, neither did thy fathers know ;'
and it is very likely that nothing of the kind had ever been seen
before ; and, by a pot of it being laid up in the ark, it is as likely
that nothing of the kind ever appeared more, after the miraculous
supply in the wilderness had ceased. It seems, he adds, to have
been created for the present occasion ; and like him, whom it typi-
fied, to have been the only thing of the kind, the only bread from
heaven, which God ever gave to preserve the life of man ; as Christ
is the bread which came down from heaven, and was given for the
life of the world.

The Psalmist, referring to this supply of mannn and quails, adopts
a phraseology which clearly implies its miraculous character: —

He commanded the clouds from above,

And opened tho doors of heaven ;

He rained down manna upon them to eat,

And gave them of the corn of heaven. —

Each one ate of food from above ;

He sent them meat to the full.

Ps. Ixxviii. 23—25.

We shall close this article with Mr. Bloomfield's very excellent
note on John vi. 31 — 33, which passage may appear, at first sight,
to contradict the text of the Psalmist: 'Our fathers did eat manna
in the desert : as it is written, * He gave them bread from heaven
to eat.' Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven ; but my Father giveth
you the true bread from heaven : For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.' Some
maintain that Jesus, by his reply, only intended to refute the Jew-
ish opinion respecting the origin of manna ; and thus said that the
bread which their ancestors had received from Moses, did not come
from heaven, but was only naturally formed. But this would re-
quire a different phraseology. It rather seems that Jesus, whose
aim it was to remove far more serious errors, even such as respect-

MANNA. 301

ed the morals of men, followed the popular manner of speaking ;
thus wisely accommodating himself to their harmless opinion, in
order to avoid giving them unnecessary offence. The passage may
be thus paraphrased : ' The bread from heaven, the true celestial
bread, Moses did not bestow on your forefathers ; he procured on-
ly bread fit to satiate the corporeal appetite, and appertaining only
to this fleeting, transitory life. (See verse 49). But my Father be-
stow eth on you, by me, bread which may, in the complete sense,
be termed bread from heaven ; such as is adapted to nourish the
soul, and will confer eternal salvation,' verse 33. Jesus calls him-
self the true celestial bread, inasmuch as, having descended from
heaven, he bestows on men the nourishment of the soul, namely,
the divine and saving truths of his gospel. (Kuinoel.) Since they
supposed that the manna was bread from heaven in the proper
sense, Jesus corrects their erroneous notion, by hinting that the
true heaven is there used par catachresin for the air, or sky ; as
when it is said, the fowls of heaven, i. e. the air : q. d. ' As that
descending from on high, nourished those who partook of it, so do
I also. But that was from the air ; 1 from the real heaven. Thai
nourished the bodies ; but 1 support and strengthen the souls of
men.' Our Lord's declaration imports, as Mr. Bloomfield imag-
ines, that it is in a subordinate sense only, that what dropped from
the clouds, and was sent for the nourishment of the body, still mor-
tal, could be called the bread of heaven, being but a type of that
which hath descended from the heaven of heavens, for nourishing
the immortal soul unto eternal life, and which is, therefore, in the
most sublime sense, the bread of heaven.

26

CHAPTER V.
VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES.

SEC. I.— WOODS.

T H Y I N E.

THIS wood is mentioned, in Rev. xviii. 12, among the various ar~
tides of luxury imported into the modern Babylon.

Thepphrastus says, that the thyon or thya-tree grows near the
temple of Jupiter Ammon (in Africa), in the Cyrenaica, that it is
like the cypress in its boughs, leaves, stalk, and fruit, and that its
wood never rots. It was in high esteem among the heathen, who
often made the doors of their temples and the images of their god*
of this wood.

CASSIA.

IN Exodus xxx. 24, Cassia is prescribed as one of the ingredient*
for composing the holy anointing oil. It is the bark of a tree of the
bay tribe, which now grows chiefly in the East Indies. This bark
was made known to the ancients, and highly esteemed by them ;
but, since the use of cinnamon has been generally adopted, the
cassia bark has fallen into disrepute, on account of its inferiority.
It is 'thicker and more coarse than cinnamon, of weaker quality,
and abounds more with a viscid mucilaginous matter. For many
purposes, however, Cassia, as being much less expensive, is substi-
tuted for cinnamon, but more particularly for the preparation of
what is called oil of cinnamon.

Cassia was one of the articles of merchandize in the markets of
Tyre, Ezek. xxvii. 19. The Cassia mentioned in Psalm xlv. 8, is
thought to have been an extract, or essential oil, from the bark.

CINNAMON. 303

CINNAMON.

THIS was also one of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil
(Exod. xxx.) ; but whether it was the bark of the same tree as that
now commonly used, is by no means certain ; it is only found in
the East Indies and in China, with which, it is unnecessary to say,
there was no communication in the time of Moses. Pliny speaks
of a species of cinnamon which grew in Syria: it was probably of
an inferior description to that of Ceylon.

The cinnamon tree is mentioned, among other aromatics, in Cant,
iv. 14, and as it is by no means unlikely that Solomon had import-
ed some of those from India, the following account of it will not
be out of place here.

This valuable laurel rises above twenty feet in height ; the trunk
extends about six feet in length, and one foot and a half in diame-
ter: it sends off numerous branches, which are covered with smooth
bark, of a brownish ash color ; the leaves stand in opposite pairs,
upon short foot-stalks ; they are of an ovalish oblong shape, obtuse-
ly pointed, entire, firm, from three to five inches long, of a bright
green color, and marked with three whitish longitudinal nerves.
The common peduncles grow from the younger branches, and af-
ter dividing, produce the flower in a kind of paniculated umbel.
The petals are six, oval, pointed, concave, spreading, of a greenish
white or yellowish color, and the three outermost are broader than
the other ; the filaments are nine, shorter than the corolla, flattish,
erect, standing in ternaries, and at the base of each of the three in-
nermost, two small round glands are placed ; the antheree are dou~
ble, and unite upon the top of the filament ; the germen is oblong,
the style simple, of the length of the stamina, and the stigma is de-
pressed and triangular : the fruit is a pulpy pericarpiurn, resembling
a small olive of a deep blue color, inserted in the corrollae, and con-
taining an oblong nut.

The use of the cinnamon tree is not confined to the bark ; for it is
remarkable that the leaves, the fruit, and the root, all yield oil of
very different qualities, and of considerable value : that produced
from the leaves is called oil of cloves, and oleum Malabathri : that
obtained from the fruit is extremely fragrant, of a thick consistence,
and at Ceylon is made into candles, for the sole use of the king.
The bark of the root not only affords an aromatic essential oil, or
what has been called oil of camphor, of great estimation for its
medical use, but also a species of camphor, which is much purer
and whiter than that kept in the shops.

The spice so well known to us by the name of cinnamon, is
the inner bark of the tree ; and those plants produce it in the most
perfect state, which are about six or seven years old, but this must
varyaccording to circumstances.

The bark, while on the trees, is first freed of its external green-

304 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

ish coat ; it is then cut longitudinally, stripped from the trees, and
dried in sand, till it becomes fit for the market, when it is of a red-
dish yellow, or a pale rusty iron color, very light, thin, and curling
up into quills or canes, which are somewhat tough, and of a fibrous
texture. It is frequently mixed with cassia, which is distinguish-
ed from the cinnamon by its taste being remarkably slimy. This
bark is one of the most grateful of the aromatics; of a very fragrant
smell, and a moderately pungent, glowing, but not fiery taste, ac-
companied with considerable sweetness, and some degree of as-
tringency.

SECTION II.
FRUITS.

NUTS.

THESE are mentioned among the articles whicli Israel desired
his sons to take as a present to the governor of Egypt, his unknown
child, Gen. xliii. 11. Bochart, Shaw, and some other critics are of
opinion that the pistachio nut is intended, the finest in the world
being found in Syria ; but according to others, it was the produce
of a species of the terebinth, which some prefer to the pistachio,
and some think superior to the almond. The name of this kind of
terebinth us is, in Arabic, beten, which is the word used in the pas-
sage under consideration.

HUSKS.

IT now seems to be admitted that the word ceration denotes not
peas and beans, but the fruit of the cerationa, or carob tree, com-
mon in Spain, Italy, Turkey, and the East, where the fruit still
continues to be used for the same purposes as that referred to in
Luke xv. 16. Galen speaks of it as a woody kind of food, creating
bile, and necessarily hard of digestion. Sir Thomas Brown is
thought to have been the first to have discovered the sort of vegeta-
ble here meant ; aud as his details are, upon the whole, the most
complete and interesting, and the work itself of not frequent oc-
currence, we make the following extract:

* That the prodigal son desired to eat of husks given unto swine,
will hardly pass in your apprehension for the husks of beans, peas,
or such edulious pulses; as well understanding that the textual
word, ccration, properly intendeth the fruit of the saligna tree, so
common in Syria, and fed upon by men and beasts; also, by some,
the fruit of the locust tree, and Panis Sancti Johannis, as conceiv-
ing it to have been part of the diet of the Baptist in the desert.
The tree and fruit is not only common in Asia, and the eastern
parts, but also well known in Apuglia, and the kingdom of Naples,
growing along the Via Appia, from Fundi unto Mola: the hard
cods or husks make a rattling noise in windy weather, by beating
26*

306 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

against one another ; called by the Italians carobbe, or carrobole,
and by the French carouges. With the sweet pulp hereof, some
conceive that the Indians preserve ginger, mirabolans, and nutmegs.
Of the same, as Pliny delivers, the ancients made one kind of wine,
strongly expressing the juice thereof: and so they might often give
the expressed and less useful parts of the cods and remaining pulp,
unto their swine ; which, being no gustless or unsatisfying offal,
might be well desired by the prodigal in his hunger.'

To this account we subjoin from Mr. Taylor the following de-
scription of the tree, and also some further particulars of the fruit.

This tree loves warm situations : it rises very high, on a thick
trunk, and spreads out strong, large, and solid branches. Its leaves
are wing-shaped, somewhat roundish, three inches broad or more,
and rather longer. Its flowers are milk white ; the fruit is in pods,
longer and thicker than a finger, somewhat smoothed and flat ;
sweet and edible. Pliny says the same. The Egyptians, accord-
ing to Alpinus, extract from these pods a very sweet honey, which
the Arabs use for a seasoning instead of sugar. This honey also is
employed, instead of bee honey for clysters; and some even give it
as food to relax the bowels. It is probable, therefore, that the pro-
digal ate this fruit in a time of scarcity, as we might do acorns in
England.

SECTION III.
G U M S .

FRANKINCENSE.

THIS was an aromatic and odoriferous gum, which issued from
a tree not certainly known, called by the ancients Thurifera. Theo-
phrastus says, its leaves resemble those of a pear-tree : Pliny varies
in his description, sometimes conforming to Theophrastus, but at
other times stating it to be a kind of laurel, and even a kind of tur-
pentine tree.

There are two kinds of incense — the male and the female ; the
former, which is the best, is round, white, fat, and very inflamma-
ble ; the latter is soft, more gummy, and less agreeable in smell
than the other. Frankincense formed one of the ingredients in the
sacred perfume (Exod. xxx. 34), and from Isa. Ix. 6, and Jer. vi.20,
we learn that it was imported into Judea from Sheba.

It formed one part of the priest's duty, under the Mosaic econo-
my, to burn incense in the holy apartment of the temple, on the
morning and evening of each day; and on the great day of atone-
ment, at the moment of entering into the lioly of holies, the high
priest was required to throw some incense on the fire in his censer,
that the cloud occasioned by its burning might cover the mercy
seat. (Lev. xvi. 13), lest, perhaps, his curiosity being excited, he
might be induced to inspect with too profane a curiosity that sym-
bol of the Divine Presence.

GALBANUM.

NEARLY the whole of those articles which are now passing under
our review, entered into the composition of the holy anointing oil,
or the sacred perfumes, as described in Exod. ch. xxx. The fgal-
banum is a gum issuing from an umbelliferous plant, growing in
Persia and many parts of Africa. It is soft like wax, and when
fresh drawn, white ; but it afterwards becomes yellowish or red-
dish. It is of a strong, smell, of an acrid and bitterish taste, inflam-
mable in the manner of a resin, and soluble in water like gum.

308 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

MYRRH.

THIS is also a vegetable production, of the gum or resin kind, is-
suing by incision, and sometimes spontaneously from the trunk and
larger branches of a tree growing in Egypt, Arabia, and Abyssinia.
Its taste is bitter and acrid, with a peculiar aromatic flavor, but
very nauseous ; its smell though strong, is not disagreeable. Its
Hebrew name mur, whence the modern name is derived, is evi-
dently from the verb mer, to be bitter, on account of its taste.

Myrrh is believed to possess the power of resisting putrefaction,
and hence it was used by the Jews and Egyptians as one of the
principal ingredients for embalming the dead, John xix. 39.

There has been conceived to be some discrepancy between Matt,
xxvii. 34 and Mark xv. 23. In ihe former passage it is stated that,
the Jews gave as drink to our Saviour, « Vinegar mixed with gall,'
but in the latter it is stated to have been * wine mingled with myrrh.'
In order to remove this apparent variance, it has been supposed
that the two evangelists speak of two different potions, or that Mat-
thew, writing in Syriac, made use of the word mer, which signifies
any bitter ingredient, which his translator mistook for mur, myrrh.
We see no necessity, however, for resorting to either of these con-
jectures in order to reconcile the passages. Grotius has shown
upon unexceptionable evidence, that by the word oxos, which is
that used by Matthew, is not meant vinegar, but a very inferior
wine, used only by the meanest persons. It was so called from its
acidity, on account of which it was used well spiced with myrrh,
frankincense, and sometimes wormwood. This potion, then, Mark
calls * wine mixed with myrrh,' or ' myrrhed wine ;' and so might
it be termed improprie. It appears from Galen that this drink pro-
duces mental turbation. Hence, wine mixed with myrrh, or with
infusions of intoxicating herbs, was, through motives of humanity,
usually administered to those about to end urea painful death. Je-
sus, however, magnanimously refuses such mitigation of his suffer-
ings ; and therefore, after tasting it, rejects the cup.

S T A C T E.

THIS is usually understood to be the prime kind of myrrh* The
word in the original (Exod. xxx. 34), is neteph, which properly sig-
nifies a drop ; and hence Mr. Parkhurst thinks it is myrrh distilling,
dropping from the tree spontaneously — without incision,- Scheu-
chzher is of opinion that balm or balsam is intended, 'which is pro-
perly a drop.'

PART III.

GEOLOGY.

GEOLOGY.

THE term Geology is derived from #e, the earth, and logos, word,
or discourse ; and is therefore equivalent to a treatise concerning
the earth. The direct ohject of this science is to unfold the solid
substance of the earth, to discover hy what causes its several parts
have been either arranged or disorganized, and from what opera-
tions have originated the general stratification of its materials, the
inequalities of its surface, and the vast variety of bodies that enter
into its composition.

It will be evident, that to go into the details of this science can
form no part of the object of this work ; but there area few branch-
es of the subject which ne cannot be allowed to pass over, in con-
sequence of their intimate connexion with some important particu-
lars of the sacred writings.

There is no necessity to revive here the controversy which once
disturbed the Grecian schools, concerning the eternity of matter,,
and the spontaneous formations of atoms. Pythagoras, Socratcsr
Plato, Aristotle, and others, continued to maintain the barrier
against the influx of principles so destructive of the moral happiness
of man. Dr. Cudwortli, in his 'True Intellectual System of the
Universe,' spent the better periods of his life in bringing forward
their ancient arguments, connected with the advantages of modern
literature, with a view to put the free-thinkers of his time entirely
out of countenance. Moralists, poets, and divines, acknowledge
their obligations for his labors. But truth must still be clad in ar-
mor. The warring passions of men against the laws of hejiven,
ever raise their weapons against the doctrines of revelation. Every
now and then, a new enemy approaches our flanks, wishful that we
should not perceive his manoeuvres till he has struck the blow. He
approaches in the garb of science, and gains our ear as the friend
of reason and of truth. Having obtained some ascendancy by his
wisdom, and pleased us by his eloquence, he slides imperceptibly
to the eternal war which the ocean lias waged against the cliffs and
promontories, and to the immeasurable periods which our conti-
nents have endured.

Now, if these doctrines be really founded, and by fair deductions,
from the characters of the earth, then Moses is in error, and the an-
cient patriarchs were ignorant of the origin of the world; then the
claims of revelation are nugatory, and impositions on the credulity
of the public. If the history of nature do not afford arguments,
and speak with a thousand voices of conviction to the mind, — if
the earth itself do not furnish chronometers of a comparative juve-

312 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

nile existence, we have but to retire in vanquished silence, leaving
the palm in the hand of infidelity. Because, if matter really be
eternal, the Being to whom we ascribe the glory of creation, is de-
pendent on matter, and no longer a free, but a necessary agent,
who ought not to be adored, because he cannot hear or save.

Just the reverse of this is the Christian faith. We believe that
the Supreme Being alone is eternal, independent of all creatures,
and infinitely happy in himself. We regard the creation as a vol-
untary overflowing of his goodness, that intelligent beings might be
happy in the contemplation of his works, and in the enjoyment of
his favor. We admire the creation in order to adore the Creator.
We see all nature full of his perfections. In the immensity of the
creatures, and in the variety of their forms, we trace the wisdom of
a God, who, in the formation of every creature, and the connexion
of cause and consequence, had every possible plan before him, and
has, in ail cases chosen that which was best. Foreseeing the solar
influence of the torrid zones, he has provided cooling fruits to al-
lay the heats of fevers, breezes almost constant to cool the air, and
provided the camel with an upper stomach, to hold a supply of
water while crossing the parched deserts. Equally aware of the
northern cold, he has there provided more solid food for man, the
wannest wools for sheep which prefer the hills, and soft and open
furs for beasts which pierce the thicket. Every creature in the
mineral, the vegetable and the animal kingdom, alike discovers his
wisdom, his goodness, and his care. Hence arises the impossibili-
ty of superadding the least improvement to the works of nature ;
for whatever has once received the finish of God, can never re-
ceive the smallest augmentation from the genius of man.

The contrast, therefore, between the believer and the unbeliever
is wide and striking. While the mere geologist contemplates the
mines and abysses of nature, — while he is awed by the falling of
precipitous cliffs, — and while he trembles at an imaginary sinking
of continents, and the consequent rise of others out of the sea, he
looks into the abysses of his tomb — the tomb into which he is about
to fall and rise no more: whereas, the Christian student looks
through all nature with cheerful eyes. When he sees the mineral
kingdom abounding in beauties, beauties which in their kind equal
those of the vegetable and animal kingdom, he is transported with
the thought, that the God who made all these beauties by his fiat,
is himself infinitely more glorious than his works.*

From the surveys which have been made of the solid crust of
the earth, so far as it has been penetrated into, it is evident that the
rudimental materials of the globe existed at its earliest period, in
one confused and liquid mass ; that they were afterwards separated
and arranged by a progressive series of operations, and an uniform
system of laws, the more obvious of which appear to be those of

*Sutcliffe's Introduction to the Study of Geology, pp. 4 — 6. It is much to be regretted
that this excellent little work is not more generally known.

GEOLOGY. 313

gravity and crystallization ; and that they have since been convuls-
ed arid dislocated by some dreadful commotion and inundation
that have extended to every region, and again thrown a great part
of the organic and inorganic creation into confusion.

Hence have originated the Plutonic and the Neptunian hypothe-
ses: the former ascribing the origin of the world, in its present state,
to igneous fusion ; the latter, to aqueous solution. Both of these
theories are of a very early date, and both of them have been agita-
ted in ancient as well as in modern times, with considerable warmth
and plausible argument. The principal champions of the Plutonic
system, in later times, are Dr. Hutton, Professor Play fair, and Sir
James Hall ; names of high literary rank, but most powerfully op-
posed by the distinguished authorities of Werner, Saussure, Kirwan,
Cuvier, and Jameson, who are supported by the general voice of
scientific rnen.

Of these theories, the Plutonic is perhaps best entitled to the praise
of boldness of conception and unlimited extent of view. It aspires,
in many of its modifications, not only to account for the present ap-
pearances of the earth, but for that of the universe ; and traces out
a scheme by which every planet, or system of planets, may be con-
tinued indefinitely, and perhaps forever, by a perpetual series of
restoration and balance.

With ihis system the Neptunian forms a perfect contrast. It is
limited to the earth, and to the present appearances of the earth.
It resolves the genuine origin of tilings into the operation of water ;
and while it admits the existence of subterranean fires to a certain
extent, and that several of the phenomena that strike us most forci-
bly may be the result of such an agency, it peremptorily denies that
such an agency is the sole or universal cause of the existing state of
things, or that it could possibly be rendered competent to such an
effect.

More especially should we feel disposed to adhere to this theory,
from its general coincidence with the geology of the Scriptures.
The Mosaic narrative, indeed, with bold and soaring pinions, takes
a comprehensive sweep through the vast range of the solar system,
if not through that of the universe; and in its history of the simul-
taneous origin of this system, touches chiefly upon geology, as the
part most interesting to ourselves; but so far as it enters upon this
doctrine, it is in sufficiently close accordance with the Neptunian
scheme, — with the great volume of nature as now cursorily dipped
into. The narrative opens with a statement of three distinct facts,
each following the other in a regular series, in the origin of the vis-
ible world. First, an absolute creation, as opposed to a mere re-
modification of the heaven and the earth, which constituted the
earliest step in the crealive process. Secondly, the condition of the
earth when it was thus primarily brought into bein<*, which was
that of an amorphous or shapeless waste. And thirdly, a com-
mencing effort to reduce the unfashioned mass to a condition of
order arid harmony. ' In the beginning,' says the sacred historian,

314 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

* God created the heavens and the earth. Ami the earth was with*'
out form and void : and darkness was upon the face of the deep, (or
abyss). — Arid the Spirit of God moved upon the/ace of the waters?

We are hence, therefore, necessarily led to infer that the first
change of the formless chaos, after its existence, was into a state of
universal aqueous solution ; for it was upon the surface of the waters
that the Divine Spirit commenced his operative power We are
next informed, that this chaotic mass acquired shape, not instantane-
ously, but by a series of six distinct days or generations, (that is
epochs), as Moses afterwards calls them (Gen. ii. 4) : and apparent-
ly through the agency of the established laws of gravity and crys-
tallization, which regulate it at the present moment. |
It tells us, that during the first of these days, or generations, was
evolved, what, indeed, agreeably to the laws of gravity, must have
been evolved first of all, the matter of light and heat ; of all materi-
al substances the most subtle and attenuate ; those by which alone
the sun operates, and has ever operated upon the earth and the
other planets, and which may be the identical substances that con-
stitute his essence. And it tells us, also, that the luminous matter
thus evolved produced light without the assistance of the sun or
moon, which were not set in the sky or firmament, and had no
rule till the fourth day, or generation : that the light thus produced
flowed by tides, and alternately intermitted, constituting a single
day and a single night of each of such .epochs or generations, what-
ever their length might be, of which we have no information com-
municated to us.

It tells us, that during the second day, or generation, up rose pro-
gressively the fine fluids, or waters, as they are poetically and
beautifully denominated, of the firmament, and filled the blue ethe-
rial void with a vital atmosphere. That during the third day, or
generation, the waters more properly so called, or the grosser and
compactor fluids of the general mass) were strained off and gather-
ed together into the vast bed of the ocean, and the dry land began
to make its appearance, by disclosing the peaks or highest points of
the primitive mountains ; in consequence of which a progress instant-
ly commenced from inorganic matter to vegetable organization, the
surface of the earth, as well above as under the waters, being covered
with plants and herbs bearing seeds after their respective kinds ; thus
laying a basis for those carbonaceous materials, the remains of veget-
able matter, which are occasionally to be traced in some of the layers
or formations of the class of primitive rocks, (the lowest of the whole),
without a single particle of animal relics intermixed with them.

It tells us, that during the fourth day, or epoch, the sun and
moon, now completed, were set in the firmament, the solar system
was finished, its laws were established, and the celestial orrery was
put into play ; in consequence of which the harmonious revolutions
of signs and of seasons, of days and of years, struck up for the first
time their mighty symphony. That the fifth period was allotted
exclusively to the formation of water-fowl, and the countless tribes

GEOLOGY. 315

of aquatic creatures ; and, consequently, to that of those lowest
ranks of animal life, testaceous worms, corals and other zoophytes,
whose relics are alone to be traced in the second class of rocks or
transition formations, and still more freely in the third or horizon-
tal formations ; these being the only animals as yet created, since
the air, and the water, and the utmost peaks of the loftiest moun-
tains, were the only part as yet inhabitable. It tells us, stiU continu-
ing the same grand and exquisite climax, that towards the close of
this period, the mass of waters having sufficiently retired into the
deep bed appointed for them, the sixth and concluding period was
devoted to the formation of terrestrial animals ; and, last of alj, as
the masterpiece of the whole, to that of man himself.

Such is the beautiful, but literal progression of the creation, ac-
cording to the Mosaic account, as must be perceived by every one
who will carefully peruse it for himself.

Thus, in progressive order, uprose the stupendous system of the
world : the bright host of morning stars shouted together on its
birth-day ; and the eternal Creator looked down with complacency
on the finished fabric, and ' saw that it was good.'

Before we notice the changes induced on the earth by the deluge,
it is proper to meet the objection made by some geologists against
the Mosaic history, derived from the marble tablets, which, in ma-
ny instances exhibit broken shells, and fossil-teeth, evidently worn
•with mastication. To this it is replied, First, that testaceous mar-
bles are never found at any great distance from the present level of
the sea. Secondly, that from the creation to the deluge, the sea, as
now, would make war on promontories, and deposit her erosions on
calmer shores. Thirdly, that the shells so covered in places where
the under strata were disposed to promote the formation of mar-
bles, by the ascension of the. marmorous fluid, would unite, with the
matter so laid on, and concrete into the beauteous masses in which
they are now found. Consequently, the noble author of The Beau-
ties of Christianity seems injudicious, in the ascription of a mutilat-
ed and imperfect work to the all-perfect Being. * The very day,'
Jie says, '• that the ocean poured forth his first waves, he doubtless
laved rocks already worn by billows, shores strewed with fragment!-
of shell-fish, roaring gtilphs and naked cliffs, which protected tl
sinking coasts against the ravages of the waters.'

In other places the turbid deposits of the sea, containing salts,
magnesia, and marine acid, holding a considerable quantity of min-
erals in a state of solution, would, attracted by the combining and
concreting essence of the under strata, repeat all the other forma-
tions of primitive nature, though in smaller masses. To these must
be added the lava, which in other places was rolled on the vallies
by volcanoes, and the bursting of mountains, where the sea had a
rapid access to their latent fires. These considerations, respecting
the state of the antediluvian earth, may assist the lovers of nature
to account for the formation of many alluvial rocks and strata, which
we cannot with confidence say were formed since the deluge, of

316 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

Noah. It is a fact, demonstrated by the study of nature, and con-
firmed by innumerable experiments of chemistry, that the same
aluminous warp of the sea would, on one soil, form marble, on an-
other gypsum, on another alum, rocks, &c. but generally would re-
main in schistusand clays, when reposed on the more neutral bases
of rocks and sands.

The striations, in alluvial marbles, which cut one another ob-
liquely, and form the mass into diamonds, appear to have been
Ibrmed by the action of the sun upon the shores during the neap
tides. The warp on mud has been observed to dry and break into
oblique fissures ; the upper surface to break into diamonds, as in
marble columns, and become considerably indurated by the solar
heat. These fissures, though filled up by the next spring tide,
would not be so closed as to exclude the pores and channels of the
water; and waters continuing to pass, would form the white, or
the mineral streaks of the marble, as is farther demonstrated by the
hollow stalactites pendant from the roof of caverns, and of ruins;
by the quartose veins in schistus or blue slate ; and by the rapid
manner in which vegetables are changed to stone, in petrifying
wells. Also where the mineral fluids and marine acids predomi-
nated in those clays, they would curdle and variegate the marble
tints as they now appear, in all the variety of dappled hues. The
waters of the ocean have, in many places, the power of producing
^ coral petrifactions to a very great extent. Sir Hans Sloane reports
of a ship sunk in the Gulf of Mexico, containing silver, that after
thirty years, on coming to dive for the treasure, they found the out-
side and inside of the ship, and all the spaces between the chests»
so encrusted with a coral matter, and so extremely hard, as to be
difficult to break.

Consequently, the waters thus descending from the summit of
mountains to depths which no miner can penetrate ; and repeating
in the fissures and cavities of the primitive earth to the time of the
deluge, all the formations of nature, and still continuing to do the
same, must make men cautious of objecting to the Mosaic history,
because the alluvial impressions of vegetable and animal fossils oft-
en exist in rocks and mountains accounted primitive.

We now proceed to notice the desolations, changes, and new
formations which the universal deluge effectuated on the surface
and upper strata of the earth.

Of the event itself, we are assured beyond the possibility of a
doubt. We have no difficulty in proving it, except from a super-
abundance of proof. It is asserted, both by sacred and profane his-
torians, how disguised and disfigured soever the latter accounts may
be. Plutarch, in his book on the industry of animals, mentions
both the ark and the dove. The account Ovid has given of the
flood, in the reign of Deucalion, which drowned all Thessalia, and
from which the king and his wife were saved on Mount Parnas-
sus, seems to be a confused tradition between the deluge of Noah,
and a partial inundation.

GEOLOGY. 317

The etymology of the name Deucalion, from deuteros, the second,
and kaleo, to call, imports the recalling of society a second time in-
to existence under the patriarch Noah. It was usual with ancient
nations to give new names to princes, expressive of auspicious
events ; a custom not yet wholly discontinued. The landing of
Deucalion with his wife on Mount Parnassus is but a confusion of
the tradition concerning the resting of the ark on Mount Ararat.
The deluge not only covered both these mountains, but has left
stratifications on all the higher mountains, as far as the snow will
allow us to ascend. In Switzerland, Count de Saussure asserts,
that marine petrifactions are not found higher than two thousand
eight hundred feet, (equivalent to about three thousand English
feet,) above the level of the sea, and in caverns sometimes to the
depth of twelve hundred feet; yet there the summits of the hills ex-
hibit the desolations of the waters in characters which command
universal assent.

The moral cause of this unexampled catastrophe is wholly attri-
buted by the Hebrew historian to the great and incorrigible wick-
edness of the antediluvians. And what could be more agreeable to
the Divine perfections, when the apostacy was total ; when all flesh
had corrupted its way ; when the sons of the great seized the daugh-
ters of the poor : when the earth was filled with violence ; when
the prophesying and translation of Enoch had no effect; when the
preaching of Noah, and the building of the ark excited scoffing
rather than reformation ; what could be more agreeable to the per-
fections of God, than to save the one righteous family, and wash
away the filthy inhabitants of the earth ?

The physical cause is attributed by Dr. Halley, and two or three
other astronomers, to the near approach of a comet towards the
earth, which, Mr. Whiston thinks, descended on the plane of the
ecliptic. To these suppositions real difficulties may be opposed,
which seem insuperable. — Why has not the same comet returned,
and often returned, in so great a lapse of time ? Why are the
strata of alluvial earth found too numerous to agree with the num-
ber of tides which could take place during the short time that the
earth could remain in the neighborhood of a comet ? Nor should
it escape remark, that a man, who calmly investigates the bounds
prescribed to the ocean, and the precision of gravity in the flux and
reflux of the sea, can never be brought to believe that the prodi-
gious tides which ravaged the old world could be attracted to over-
flow the hills, without a special command from the God of nature.

The elder Rabbins, mostly followed by the, Christian fathers,
commenting on those words of Moses, ' The fountains of the great
deep were broken up,' suppose an eruption of latent waters, which
covered the earth's surface to the elevation of the mountains. But
such an elevation, instead of stratifying the earth, as we now find
it, would only harden its surface by an immense pressure. When
a spring tide retires, we every where find the sands so closed by
the pressure of not more than forty feet of water, as scarcely to be

318 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

indented by the galloping of a horse. Consequently, the flux and
reflux of prodigious tides, seem the only theory on which the stu-
dents of nature can account for the stratification of the earth. And,
as the moon now governs the variation of the tides, were it lawful
to indulge in conjecture, it might be thought that God, who employs
means the most natural and easy, was pleased to drown the world
by an increase of elipticity in her orbit.

The Mosaic history of the deluge has been carefully examined by
Lightfoot, who equalled the Rabbins in Hebrew literature. The
whole period, according to him, comprised a solar year. Forty-six
days of this period were spent in conveying stores and provisions
for the ark ; arid seven in receiving the beasts and cattle. The
rain began to fall on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of March-
esvan, and continued forty days. During the fall of the rain, it is
thought that the atmosphere was much darkened, because it was
afterwards promised that day and night should no more cease,
Gen. viii. 22. The waters or lifles continued to increase for one
hundred and fifty days. The decrease commenced on the first
day of Sivan, an d continued one hundred and twenty days. Thus
we trace the counsel of heaven, and not the accidental approach of
a comet, in allowing Noah time to reap the harvest before the rain ;
and in bringing him out of the ark at a season proper for following
the waters with the seeds for the succeeding year.

The changes and ravages of nature, correspond with the impet-
uous force of the flood. Travellers and geologists are all agreed,
that in every continent and island, the mountains, the hills, the de-
clivities, are, in places without number, left desolatetl of earth,
craggy and bare ; and many of the rocks of bolder hills, and salient
promontories, appear to have been detached to a considerable dis-
tance from the elevated summits to which thry once belonged.
Against promontories and bolder shores, the flux and reflux of the
tides would be so impetuous, as, in many places, to undermine
their base, and the part so undermined would fall prostrate into the
sea, leaving the side from which it was disjoined by caverns and
fissures, a mural and terrific precipice, to brave through future age*
the incessant war of the ocean. M. de Saussure has described the
precipice of the calcareous rocks of Mont Brezon, in Switzerland,
as the most sublime and terrific he had ever seen ; and he traced
the action of water 200 toises higher than the lake of Geneva.
Bishop Pontoppedon tells us, in his history of Norway, that the
•water close to the rocks is generally three or four hundred fathoms
deep. In Floge Creek, he adds, no bottom can be found with a
line of a thousand fathoms. Nordall Creek is reported to be nine
hundred fathoms in depth ; and other Creeks of Norway, which
indent themselves ten leagues within the land, continue to have
three or four hundred fathoms of water. The bottoms also of those,
creeks rese*rnble the land in hills, dales, and rugged rocks. — Seve-
ral of our English navigators give us similar accounts of creeks in
the western coast of North America, and in the vicinity of Nootka

GEOLOGY. 3IO>

Sound. How tremendous must be the idea of the deluge descend-
ing from promontories so elevated ! How profound must be the
guymes and abysses they would work by the impetuosity of their
cataracts ! But it is also to be remarked, that all these contour
and daring cliffs have remained much the same since the deluge ;
the seas, as is evident from topographical history, have made few
advances, except against the promontories and shores composed of
softer earths.

It is therefore apparent, that whatever earths the impetuous tides1
of the deluge washed from one place, they must of necessity deposit
in another. This is an invariable law of the ocean. Hence one-
tide would bring gravel and marine exuviae, already worn by the
actions of the billows rolling on the shore ; another would bring
sand, and a third clay. But though all alluvial strata were formed
of the detritus of the old earths, they would repeat the first forma-
tion by combination. They would change into a variety of silica,,
rocks, marls, and minerals ; while others, falling on more neutral
earths, would remain in their primitive state. Thus also the deeper-
strata of the earth would be laid on while the waters were rising ;
and all the more loamy earths, by the gradual retreat and subsiding'
of the waters. These long continued actions and deposits of the
water are a sure guide in accounting for all the conformations and'
heterogeneous masses found in most parts of the alluvial earth:

This idea, that the deeper alluvial strata were laid on by the
increasing tides, assists us to account for the deposit of coal. This
is confessedly a vegetable fossil; and, from the purity or its beds,
we have the* justest grounds of conclusion, that it once floated"
upon the sea. When analyzed, charcoal constitutes the principal
part of its base. Acidulous waters, bitumen, and hydrogen, it con-
tains in various proportions. Its combustible qualities, and its
ashes, may also be retraced to vegetable origin. Both the bovey
coal, and the coal which swiftly burns to white ashes, exhibit the
fibres of wood. The argilla, and the animal substances, of necessi-
ty mixed in the mass, have been very much converted into its own
essence, as is usual in other combinations of nature. Its color is
derived from iron, which it powerfully attracts ; and no one could
doubt of this, if he would consider the quantity of iron contained'
in all vegetables, or how powerfully this mineral changes vegetable-
dyes to black. The various families of coal, whether of jet, com-
mon, or cannele, seem to derive their distinction from the different
kinds of timber, and from contiguous earth ; but the more bitumin-
ous obviously participate of a larger quantity of animal substances,
which would also float on the waters.

The floating masses of timber, eradicated by the deluge, and
locked by the roots and branches, and much increased by vegeta-
bles, as well from the sea as the land, were assuredly laid on by
retiring tides* in those calmer bosoms of the earth, where the sea
was disposed to make her deposits. This is demonstrated from
the stratification of the earth above and below the coalj and;

320 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

from works of art being occasionally found in the mass. Pennant
reports, that the ancient Welsh found a flint axe in the midst of a
bed of coal. It is not questioned but the axe had been lodged in a
tree, and floated there by the ocean. In all places where the under
stratum is horizontal, the coal is horizontal; and where it is
inclined, as is mostly the case, the coal is inclined ; but where it is
rugged with rocks, the coal participates of the inequalities, being
broken into gauls. In such places the miner suddenly loses his
bed ; which, however, he finds again on working round.

But coal, it will be said, often lies deep, and far below the level
of the sea ; and, that whatever weeds the tide may leave in bays,
they are raised again by the next tide, and mostly carried away.
Near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the Montague main colliery is more
than one hundred and twenty fathoms from the surface, and cover-
ed with seventy-four strata. The Staffordshire coal lies on a
greater declivity, and nearer the surface. How deep the coal
descends is unknown, for the pits are not worked deeper than
seventy fathoms.

All these considerations may be regarded as difficulties rather
than objections. In studying the situation of the Staffordshire coal,
the following solution presented itself to the mind of Mr. Sutcliffe,
which appears sufficiently satisfactory. First that the vast flotilla
of vegetables and timber, being completely locked, roots and
branches, by the undulations of the sea, would be deposited on the
soft surface'left by the preceding tide. Secondly, that the various
heath plants, which contain more iron than any other, with all
other kinds of vegetable, and often animal substances, would sink
downward among the bodies of the trees, so as to form one mass,
and greatly press the roots and branches into the soft earth. Con-
sequently the next tide, recoiling with indescribable impetuosity,
and being as turbid as the water could bear, could not possibly
raise the vegetable mass locked in itself, and now adhering to the
earth, until the waters were considerably advanced on a shore,
which dipped one yard every fourth, as is here the case : mean-
while, the turbid matter, among the calm produced by the roots
and branches, would make so rapid a deposit, that before the
waters were high enough to raise the flotilla, the mass under these
circumstances, would, almost instantly, become completely entomb-
ed by an incumbent stratum. The next tide would lay a second
stratum ; and every third, fourth, or fifth tide, seems to have brought
a new flotilla of timber, and eft it in the western bosom of the
mountain, which has become entombed and stratified as the for-
mer. In this manner, so far as the tremendous operations of the
deluge can be traced, in the short space of two leagues, fifty or
sixty beds of coal were laid on between Burslem and Mowcop, as
immense treasures for future times. The number of strata be-
tween each bed, apparently indicates the number of tides which
rolled against this primitive mountain, between the arrival of each
flotilla. On the eastern declivity of this mountain, where the

GEOLOGY. 321

Trent has its source, the coal dips the opposite way, varying in all
places, according to the flood- washed shores on which the timber
was deposed. How weak then must be the argument of Mr.
Kirwan, that bovey coal is coeval with the creation, because calca-
reous rocks also contain 27 parts of a 100 of carbon. No doubt,
all the families of coal, deficient of carbon, and veiy slaty, are
largely mixed with the turbid deposits of the deluge.

Our attention must next be directed to the formations of nature,
in the alluvial or newly stratified earth, in which all the laws of
affinity and attraction would act with full effect. It is, however, to
be remarked, that much of the matter laid on by the deluge, as rocks,
flint, and minerals, being already formed, are the detritus of former
strata, not liable to change. Yet the heterogeneous masses would
produce an immensity of formations, by the conflict of their compo-
nent parts. These, though weaker in the resources of energy than
at the first creation, would be the same in operation. The waters
oozing through every strata, from their subterraneous currents,
and the atmospheric air, every where attendant on those cur-
rents, would aid th.e crystallizations of the earth. Every essence
of nature would collect and concrete in the struggle. The whole
alluvial masses would therefore change in color, change in quali-
ty, change in character, and diversify in species. The silica would
granulate in all dimensions, and assume their tints, as in the first
creations ; the more calcareous masses would concrete into the ya-
jrious species of limestone ; white the more neutralized alumine
nyoHkl vary ite .colons and qualities, as it participated of surround-
ing substances. The whole would then, by the expansion of latent
heat, and the diminution of moisture, break by fissures into masses,
as they now are found to exist.*

But the researches of modern geologists have given abundant
confirmation to sacred history, not only with respect to the origin
of the earth, and the universal deluge, but also with regard to the
age of the earth. Early in the last century, and indeed, until with-
in a few years, several geological phenomena were considered, by
superficial inquirers, as indications that the creation of the globe we
inhabit was an event much more remote than the sacred history
represents it: the same theorists even went so far as to profess a
belief that it existed from eternity. These opinions were kept in
countenance only so long as geology was in its infancy. Every suc-
cessive step which has been taken in the improvement of this sci-
ence has served to show their fallacy. The investigations of the
latest and most accurate philosophers have afforded proof, little
short of demonstration, that the earth, at least in its present form, f

* Sutcliffe's Introduction to Geology, pp. 20—29.

Mr. Faber, in order to meet the objections of some of our geologists, which nre found-
ed on the fossil phenomena occurring in the st. rata of the earth, maintains, that the six
dimiurgic day* were periods of vast but uncert ain length, during which some mighty re-
volution occurred, to which the origin of there strata are to be attributed,, rather than to
the deluge of Noah. — Treatise onthe Three Dispensations^ £. i. cA. 3»

322 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

cannot have existed longer than appears from the Mosaic account.
The absolute falsehood of many positive assertions, and specious
inferences hostile to the scripture chronology, has been evinced :
and thence has arisen a new presumptive argument in support of
the authenticity of that volume, which contains the most ancient
and the most precious of all records.*

* Kirwan's Geological Essays, and Miller's Retrospect, cited by Shaw, Panorama of
Nature, p. 14. Mr. Townsend, in his ' Geological and Mineralogical Researches,' has pre-
sented us with some excellent GEOLOGICAL CHRONOMETERS, as Deltas, Lakes, Estuaries,
Drift Sands, and Mouldering Cliffs. From all these chronometers, consisting in effects
which result from known causes, operating since the existence of our continents, and
of which the progress within known times is indicated by monuments, he justly draws
this conclusion, that our continents are not of a more remote antiquity than has been as-
signed to them by the sacred historian in the beginning of his Pentateuch. — p. 403.

CHAPTER I.
STONES.

WE shall restrict our examination to those stones specifically
mentioned in the Bible ; and we have cause to regret the scantiness
of our information on nearly all of them. As they are of few kinds,
and extremely difficult to be. identified, we shall attempt no scien-
tific arrangement, but take them in alphabetical order.

ADAMANT.

THIS is one of the names, given to the diamond, but all we can
collect from those passages of Scripture in which the shemiris men-
tioned ( Jer. xvii. 13 ; Ezek. iii. 9 ; Zech. vii. 12), is, that it is some
very hard substance. Scheuchzer thinks it was the smiris, which
was used for engraving, polishing, and cutting other hard stones
and glasses.

AGATE.

THE word, shebo, occurs only in Exod. xxviii. 19, and xxix. 12 $
and interpreters are pretty generally agreed, that it denotes the agate,
which derives its name from the river Achates, in Sicily, in the
vicinity of which the ancients obtained it in considerable quanti-
ties.

The agate is a semi-transparent stone of the quartz family, * in
which Nature seems to divert herself,' says Lamy, ' with the differ-
ent things she imprints upon them.' It is well known that the
agates change or vary their appearance without end ; and Parkhurst
inclines to think, that, shebo may be a name of the species from this
circumstance, q. d. The varier ?

It must be remarked, that agate is not, as some writers imagine,
a simple mineral: it is composed of various species of the quartz,
family, intimately blended together. Of these minerals, sometimes
only two, and sometimes three or more, occur in the same agate ;

324 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

and hence its varieties are extremely numerous. The figures pro-
duced by these combinations are sometimes very curious ; but in
some instances the variations are suspected to be the work of art.
One is mentioned in the church of St. Mark, at Venice, which had
the representation of a king's head, surrounded by a diadem. On
another was represented a man in the attitude of running. But the
most remarkable of all, says Bingly, seems to have been one which
contained a representation of the nine Muses, with Apollo in the
midst of them !

In Isa. liv. 12, and E/ek. xxvii. 16, our translators have rendered
another, and a different word (bedecked) by agate : bishop Lowth
thinks it is the ruby, and Mr. Park hurst the pyropus ; the latter ver-
sion seems best to correspond with the Hebrew name, which is from
a root signifying to propel, dart forth.

ALABASTER,

THIS is a kind of sulphat of lime, or of lime in combination with
sulphuric acid, which has a shining and glittering texture ; and m
of white color, tinged with grey or red, and sometimes stripped,
veined, or spotted. Being considerably softer than marble, it is
more easily worked, and was used by the ancients, as by ourselves,
for the manufacture of vases and other ornamental vessels. Such
is sometimes the transparency of alabaster, that it has been employ-
ed for windows ; and at Florence, there is now a church which
receives its light through the medium of this substance.

Alabaster is mentioned only in Matt, xxvk 6, 7, and the parallel
passages : * Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Si-
mon the leper, there cmne unto him a woman having an alabaster
box of very precious ointment, arid poured it on his head as he sat.?
Mark adds, 'she brake the box,' which circumstance has given rise to
some discussion. Dr. A. Clarke translates the clause, * she brake
the seal;1 remarking, that this is the best translation he can give of
the place, and that he gives it for these reasons : First, it is not like-
ly that a box, exceedingly precious in itself, should be broken to
get out its contents ; Secondly, the broken pieces would be very in-
convenient, if not injurious, to the head of our Lord, and to th«
hands of the woman ; Thirdly, it would not be easy effectually to
separate the oil from the broken pieces ; and, Fourthly, it was a
custom in Eastern countries to seal the bottles with wax that held
the perfumes, so that, to come at their contents, no more was ne-
cessary than to break the seal, 'which this woman appears to have
done ; and when the seal was thus broken, she had no more to do
than to pour out the liquid ointment, which she could not hav«
done had she broken the bottle. The bottles which contain th«
attar of roses, which come from the East, lie adds, are sealed in
this manner.

AMIANTHUS. 325

AMETHYST.

THERE seems to be no reason for doubting the propriety of ren-
dering the Hebrew achlemeh, and the Greek amethystos by amethyst.
Pliny says the reason assigned for its name is, that though it ap-
proaches to the color of wine, it falls short of it, and stops at a vio-
let color. Others think it is called amethyst, because its color re-
sembles wine mixed with water; and in this view, also, it derives
its name from a negative, and methy, wine.

The oriental amethyst is an extremely rare gem. If heated it
loses its color, and becomes transparent, in which state it is hardly
distinguishable from the diamond. See Jacinth.

AMIANTHUS.

THIS is a greenish or silvery- white mineral, of fibrous texture,
which is generally known under the name of Asbestos; a term
derived from the Greek, and signifying 'unquenchable,' 'indestruc-
tible by fire.'

This mineral, and particularly a silky variety of it, in long slen-
der filaments, was well known to the ancients, who made it into a
combustible kind of cloth, in which they burned the bodies of their
dead, and by which means they were enabled to collect and pre-
serve the ashes without mixture. This cloth was purchased by
the Romans at an enormous expense. Pliny states, that he had
seen table-cloths, towels, and napkins of amianthus taken from the
table at a great feast, thrown into the fire, and burned before the
company ; and by this operation rendered cleaner than if they had
been washed.

From its peculiar property of not being destroyed by fire, the
term amianthus is figuratively used for imperishable, indestructible.
In 1 Peter i. 3, 4, we read, ' Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his great mercy, hath begot-
ten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead; to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and
that fadeth not away.' This blessed inheritance is called aphtharton,
incorruptible, because it will not, like the earthly Canaan, be cor-
rupted with the sins of its inhabitants (Lev. xviii. 28), for into the
heavenly country entereth nothing that defileth, Rev. xxi. 7. It is
declared to be amianthon, indestructible, because it shall neither be
destroyed by the waters of a flood, as this earth has been, nor by
fire, as in the end the earth will be ; and it is to be amaranton, un-
fading, because its joys wili not wither, but. remain fresh through
all eternity.

28

326 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

BERYL.

THE Beryl is now universally called * topaz' by modern jewellers,
and, when perfect and free from blemishes, is a very valuable gem.
It is very rare, however, in this state. It is of the number of those
gems found only in the round or pebble form. They are ever of a
fine yellow color, but they have this, like the other gerns, in several
different degrees. The finest of all are of a true and perfect gold
color ; but there are some deeper, and others extremely pale, so as
to appear scarcely tinged.

Lamy suggests that the word chrysolite may have been a general
name for all precious stones which inclined to a gold color; but
this does not imply that it was not given to such particular ones as,
having no other color mixed with it, shine like pure gold. That
this was the true color of the tarshish or chrysolite, is evident from
Dan. x. 5, 6, and Cant. v. 14.

CARBUNCLE.

THE Hebrew word, which in our Bible is translated carbuncle, is
in the LXX., Josephus, and the Vulgate, rendered emerald. By
the ancients the emerald was a gem much in request ; they denom-
inated it smaragdus, and are said to have procured it from Ethiopia
and Egypt. It is one of the softest of the precious stones, and is
almost exclusively indebted for its value to its charming color.
The brilliant purple of the ruby, the golden yellow of the topaz, the
celestial blue of the sapphire, are all pleasing tints ; but the green
of the emerald is so lovely, that the eye, after glancing over all the
others, finds delight in resting upon this. In the Apocalypse, the
rainbow is compared to an emerald (ch. iv. 3), no doubt from its
color. See Emerald.

CHALCEDONY.

THIS stone is only mentioned in Rev. xxi. 19. Parkhurst states
that Arethas, who has written an account of Bithynia says, this gem
had its name from Chalcedon, a eity of the country opposite to
Byzantium, and that it was in color like a carbuncle. It is still
found in considerable quantities in this part of upper Asia.

DIAMOND. 327

CHRYSOPRASUS.

PLINY classes this gem among the beryls, the best of "which, he
says, are those of a sea-green color ; after these he mentions the
* chrysoberyls,' which are a little paler, inclining to a golden color ;
and next, a sort still paler, and by some reckoned a distinct species,
and called crysoprasus, the color of which, he elsewhere observes,
resembles the juice of a leek, but somewhat inclining to that of
gold. Hence, its name compounded ofchrysos,gold, and^rosos, a
leek. It is mentioned in Rev. xxi. 20.

CRYSTAL,

THIS gem is called in Hebrew kcrech, from its smoothness, and
resemblance to ice. It may be observed, says Parkhurst, that the
Greek name for crystal primarily signifies ice, and perhaps the
LXX. meant it in the sense of ice or frost, in Ezek. i. 22, where the
Hebrew may be rendered after Bate, ' as the glittering of frost, daz-
zling.' So the Hebrew word is rendered 'frost,' and * ice 'in sev-
eral passages.

DIAMOND.

TJBE diamond, or adamant of the ancients, is the most valuable
of gems, and the hardest of known bodies. When pure, it is per-
fectly transparent ; but though for the most part colorless, it is
sometimes found otherwise.

The word in Exod. xxviii. ]8, and chap. xxix. 11, which our
translators have rendered * diamond,' isjahlem, which the LXX. and
the Vulgate understand to be the jasper, and Josephus the sap-
phire. Braunius argues it to be the diamond, on the following
grounds : — First, it is by no means probable that the diamond,
which is the most beautiful gem, should be omitted in the high
priest's pectoral ; as it is, if this word do not denote it. And, sec-
ondly, that the etymology of the word shows it to be the diamond.
The word jahlem comes from a word which signifies to break in
pieces ; and it is well known that the diamond easily breaks all oth-
er precious stones, though it is itself easily broken to pieces with a
hammer. In reply to the objection that the diamond was not
known so early as the days of Moses, this writer argues, that the

328 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

engraving on the precious stones in the high priest's breast-plate,
must have been effected by it, since no other substance could be
found sufficiently hard for the purpose. This, however, is a mis-
take, for it is now known that such engraving was commonly, done
by a hard stone, called * Smir^ or * Smiris.' John, in Rev. xxi. 19,
20, where he is thought by several writers to have an eye to the
stones in the high priest's pectoral, does not mention the diamond ;
which, perhaps, should have some weight. The word translated
* diamond,' in Jer. xvii. 1, is not the same as this, but shemir.

EMERALD.

WE have already given the reasons that have been adduced for
supposing the carbuncle of the English bible to be the emerald.

This gem was known among the ancients by the name of an-
thrax ; it is of the same degree of hardness with the sapphire ; its
color is a deep red, with an admixture of scarlet ; but when held
up against the sun, it loses its deep tinge, and becomes of the color
of burning charcoal — whence the propriety of the name which the
ancients gave it.

JACINTH.

THIS precious gem, which is mentioned in Rev. xxi. 20, where it
is called in the Greek text hyacinth, as it also is in Pliny, is now
thought to be the amethyst of the moderns. The amethysts of the
ancients are now called garnets,

JASPER.

THE Greek and Latin namejaspis, as well as the English jasper,
is plainly derived from the Hebrew jaspeh, says Park hurst, and
leaves little doubt what species of gem is meant in Exod. xxviii.20,
Ezek. xxviii. 13, &c. The jasper is a genus of scrupi, of a com-
plex irregular structure, of great variety of colors, and emulating the
appearance of the finer marbles, or semi-pellucid gems.

ONYX AND SARDONYX. 329

MARBLE.

LXX., Vulgate, and Aquila and Theodotion, understand by
the Hebrew shesh, parian-stone, or marble, which is of a fine white
color. Its name is derived from the island of Paros, where it is
procured. Among the materials which David provided for build-
ing the temple, was this fine valuable stone (1 Chron. xxix. 2) ; and
it was also employed for laying the pavement in the palace of Ahas-
uerus, Esther i. 6.

The finest Grecian sculpture that has been preserved to the pres-
ent time is of Parian marble.

ONYX AND SARDONYX.

IF we may judge from the variety of renderings which have been
given by the LXX. of the Hebrew word shohem, they do not ap-
pear to have had any certain idea of the kind of stone'which it de-
noted. They translate it variously, topaz, emerald, beryl, sardo-
nyx, sapphire, and onyx. The Vulgate always renders onyx. Brau-
nius takes it to be the sardonyx, which according to Pliny is a
precious stone of a flesh color> inclining to white.

The onyx, which is a kind of chalcedony, derives its name from
the Greek language, and has been given to it on account of its re-
semblance in color to the whitish band at the base of the human
nail. The distinction which appears to be made between onyx
and sardonyx, arises from the colors of the former being arranged
either concentrically, or in a somewhat confused manner, and those
of the latter in regular stripes or bands. Of the sardonyx, the an-
cients made those beautiful cameos, many of which still ornament
our cabinets.

This kind of stone was found with the gold and bdellium of the
river Pison in the garden of Eden (Gen.ii. 12), and in Exod.xxviii.
9, 10, Moses is directed to take two onyx stones, and engrave on
them the names of the children of Israel. From J Chron. xxix. 2,
we find that the name of shohem or onyx, was given to a kind of
marble, as it is by no means probable that David found the gem so
named, ' in abundance,' for the temple.

28*

330 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HlSTO&YV

PEARLS.

THESE substances, which are found in a testaceous fish, resem-
bling an oyster, though esteemed of the number of gems by our
jewellers, and highly valued, proceed only from a distemper in the
creature that produces them, analagous to the bezoars, and other
stony concretions in several animals of other kinds.

Pearls are only once mentioned in our version of the Old Testa-
ment (Job xxviii, 18), and the propriety of introducing them in this
place has been much and justly contested. The Hebrew word in
the text is gebish, which in some passages is used for hail (Ezek.
xiii. 11, 13 ; xxxviii. 22), and when applied to precious stones seems
most likely to denote the crystal ; and so it has been understood by
the LXX.

But as pearls are so commonly spoken of in the New Testament,
it has been thought strange that they should not at all appear in the
prophetic writings. The learned Bochart has accordingly main-
tained that there are Hebrew words in the Old Testament which
unquestionably denote pearls, although unnoticed by all the trans-
lators. That the word btdolah (Gen. ii. 12) signifies the pearl, he
thinks is evident, because the country of Havilah abounds with
these substances more than any other place in the world ; and be-
cause the manna (Numb, x'u 7), is compared to bedolah, in conse-
quence of its roundness and whiteness. The word dar in Esth. i.
6, is also thought to denote pearl, as it is called in the Arabic; be-
sides that the Hebrew word properly denotes something round.
But whatever degree of credit these conjectures may seem to de-
serve, there is little doubt that the word peninim, in Job xxviii. 18,
Prov. viii. 11, and several other places, rendered rubies in our bi-
ble, does really signify penrls. Hence, as Bochart has observed,
the words pinna, pinninos, lithos, pinnikon, are retained in Greek
and Latin, either for the pearl-oyster, or for the pearl itself.

Aquila renders the word in Job, by things to be looked at, con-
spicuous, illustrious, plainly referring to the meaning of the verb
peneh ; and it is shown by Bochart, that pearls were estimated at a
very high rate, not only by the Jews, but by the Romans, and even
by the Medes, Persians, and Indians.

In Matt. vii. 6, our Lord cautions his disciples not to 'cast their
pearls before swine,' in conformity with a common mode of speak-
ing among the Rabbins, who called the precepts of wisdom ' pearls.'
Thus, also, in Matt. xiii. 46, the gospel is compared to 'a pearl of
great price.'

TOPAZ. 331

RUBY.

IN the preceding article we have stated it to be probable that the
Hebrew word ^em'ram, rendered ruby in our Bible, denotes the pearl,
rather than this precious gem.

SAPPHIRE.

THIS beautiful gem has preserved its original name in most Ian-*
guages, and there is no reason to doubt its identity.

The oriental sapphire is a gem of blue color, the shades of which1
vary from a full and deep tint to a nearly colorless appearance.
Hence the ' God of Israel ' is represented as having ' a paved work
of sapphire stone ' under his feet, and ' as it were the body of heav-^
en in his clearness,' Exod. xxiv. 10. Ezekiel also compares the
throne of God to a sapphire, ch. i, 26.

Jeremiah describing the former appearance of the inhabitants of
the holy city, says, ' Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they
were whiter than milk ; they were more ruddy in body than rubies,
their polishing was of sapphire' (Lam. iv. 7) ; and the bride says
of her beloved, that ' his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sap-
phires,' Cant. v. 14. The reference in each of these passages
seems to be to the fine color of the sapphire,- in connexion with the
delicate whiteness of the marble : — the snowy whiteness of the
skin was heightened by the intersecting veins, which were of th&
color of sapphire.

SARDIUS, OR SARDINE,

THE Sardius and Sardine of John (Rev. xxi. 20), is thought to
be the same with the adem of Moses (Exod. xxviii. 17) and Ezekiel
(ch. xxviii. 13) but we have no means of ascertaining this fact.

TOPAZ.

So the LXX., Josephus, and others, translate the ptted of the
Old Testament, and the topazion of John ; but it is certain that the
topaz of the ancients was a very different stone from that so called

332 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

by the moderns : theirs being of a pale green color intermixed with
yellow, whereas, ours is blue, pink, or white. The ancient topaz,
which is said to have derived its name from an island in the lied
Sea, is probably the same with our chrysolite.

As most of these stones are only mentioned in the description of
the high priest's breastplate (Exod. xxviii. 17, &c.), and in that of
foundation of the church (Isa. liv. 11, 12), and of the heavenly Je-
rusalem (Rev. xxi. 19—21), it can excite no surprise that we are
unable to ascertain the precise qualities which they severally pos-
sessed. It has, indeed, been thought by some writers, that ths
apostle in describing the foundations of the new Jerusalem had an
eye to the pectoral of the high priest, and that he enumerates the
stones in the same order as Moses had done. This, however, is
by no means probable, and every attempt hitherto made to trace
the connexion between them has utterly failed. In opposition to
that excessive love of spiritualizing every passage and thing occur-
ring in the Bible, and which finds in each of these stones some re-
condite and important meaning, Bishop Lowth has justly observed,
that 'they seem to be general images to. express beauty, magnifi-
cence, purity, strength, and solidity, agreeably to the idea of the
Eastern nations ; and to have never been intended to be strictly
scrutinized, or minutely and particularly explained, as if they had
each of them some precise moral and spiritual meaning.

CHAPTER II.
EARTHS.

WE must again solicit the reader's indulgence, for some occa-
sional departures from the method which an adherence to a strict-
ly scientific analysis would require. — We are greatly averse from
multiplying divisions, where no advantages are to be obtained by
so doing.

BRIMSTONE.

THIS well-known preparation of sulphur is frequently mention-
ed in the sacred writings, as one of the materials which God has
appointed to carry into effect his righteous decrees of punishing in-
corrigible sinners ; and also as a very significant symbol of desola-
tion and barrenness. In the Hebrew Scriptures it is called goph-
rith, which the LXX. render theion, from theios, divine, for which
Parkhurst adduces the following reasons, from Holloway.

'Sulphur was eminently applied among the idolaters of various
nations to their religious purifications. One method of purifying
persons among the Greeks was by going round him three times,
and sprinkling him as often, with a laurel bough, or with a torch of
some resinous wood, first lighted at the altar, and then dipped in
the holy water, which they consecrated with a mixture of salt and
sulphur; for, as the solar fire or a demon in the sun's orb, was
their chief acting god, so they thought fire was of sovereign virtue
to purify and make them holy ; and therefore, to secure effectually
its said supposed virtue, they took care to have it in double and
triple respects, as in a torch of some turpentine tree, and that set
on fire, with the addition of sulphur.

God made it an instrument of his vengeance on the heathen and
other delinquents, condemning them and their land to brimstone
and fire forever. See Job xviii. 15 ; Psalm xi. 6 ; Deut. xxix. 23 ;
Isa. xxxiv. 9 ; and Jude ver. 7, on the overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah,

334 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

PITCH.

IN the English Bible there are two Hebrew words which are
rendered * Pitch ' — zepheth (Ex. ii. 3, Isaiah xxxiv. 9), and chemer
(Gen. vi. 14); the latter of which is again rendered slime, in Gen.
xi. 3, and xiv. 10. They are both thought to be used for asphaltum
or bitumen, a brittle substance of a black or brownish color, and of
a consistence somewhat harder than pitch.

The ancients were well acquainted with this substance, which is
nothing more than mineral tar in an indurated or hardened state.
It is found on the surface of volcanic productions ; and it floats in
solid pieces, and in considerable abundance, on the Asphaltic Lake,
which has thence received its name.

It is also found near ancient Babylon, and there is reason to sup-
pose that the mortar so celebrated among the ancients, and with
which the walls of Babylon were cemented was nothing more than
a preparation of this substance, Gen. xi. 3. We are informed by
Herodotus, that a composition of heated bitumen mixed with the
tops of reeds, was used by the ancients as a cement. This account
is confirmed by modern travellers, who assert that the remains of
buildings have been discovered, in which bitumen was formerly
thus employed. It was doubtless the pitch used by Noah, for clos-
ing the interstices of the Ark (Gen. xi. 14) ; and by the mother of
MOSPS, to render the vessel in which she placed her infant son on
the Nile (Ex. ii. 3,) water-proof. The Arabs still^use it for similar
purposes.

Josephus states that bitumen was used among the ingredients for
embalming the dead,

SALT.

THIS well-known fossil substance is several times mentioned hi
scripture ; and from the uses to which it was appropriated by the
Jewish people, it will require a notice of some length. Its Hebrew
name is melech, from a verb which signifies to melt, and it is well
known to be a body soluble by water.

The use of salt in cleansing and preserving bodies from putrefac-
tion, was the occasion, no doubt, of its being prescribed to accom-
pany all the sacrifices offered under the Mosaic law : ' Every obla-
tion of thy meat-offering, shalt thou season with salt ; neither shalt
thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from
thy meat-offering : with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt,' Lev.
ii. 13.

Salt was the opposite to leaven, for it preserved from putrefac-

SALT. 335

lion and corruption, and signified the purity and persevering fideli-
ty that were necessary in the worship of God. Every thing was
well seasoned with it, to signify the purity and perfection that should
be extended through all parts of the divine service, and through the
hearts and lives of God's worshippers. It was called the salt of the
covenant of God ; because as salt is incorruptible, so was the cove-
nant made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs, relative
to the redemption of the world by the incarnation and death of Je-
sus Christ. Among the heathens, salt was a common ingredient in
all their sacrificial offerings, and as it was considered essential to
the comfort and preservation of life, and as an emblem of the most
perfect corporeal aud mental endowments, so it was supposed to
be one of the most acceptable presents they could make to their
gods, from whose sacrifices it was never absent.

Parkhurst particularly notices the phraseology employed in the
injunction, Lev. ii. 13; 'salt the purifier of (i. e. appointed by) thy
Aleim,' whence he infers that salt, added to all the sacrifices, was a
type of the purity or sinlessness of Christ, and of that which puri-
fies believers. But that which purifies believers in faith in Christ and
his atonement (2 Cor. v. 20, 21), and the consequent hope of seeing
God through him. Acts xv. 9; 2 Pet. i. 4 ; 1 John iii. 3 ; 1 Cor. iii.
21. Salt was therefore a type of that purifying faith and hope which
is the gifr of the Holy Spirit, Romans xv. 13 ; 1 Peter i. 22 ; Eph. ii. 8.
In Numb, xviii. 19, and 2 Chron. xiii. 5, we read of 'a covenant
of salt,' which most commentators have understood as a reference
to the covenant which God had made with his people, which cov-
enant had been ratified by a purification offering, or sacrifice, with
which, as we have seen, it was essential that salt should be offered.
Mr. Taylor, however, has suggested another idea, which deserves
attention. He conceives that the ' covenant of salt ' refers to an
engagement in which salt was used as a token of confirmation ; and
he adduces the following among other instances of such a usage,
from Baron du Tott.

' Moldovanji Pacha was desirous of an acquaintance with me, and
seeming to regret that his business would not permit him to stay
long, he departed, promising in a short time to return. I had al-
ready attended him) half way down the stair-case, when stopping^
and turning briskly to one of my domestics who followed mer
* Bring me directly,' said he, ' some bread and salt? I was not less
surprised at this fancy than at the haste which was made to obey
him. What he requested was brought; when, taking a little salt
between his fingers, and putting ii with a mysterious air on a bit of
bread, he ate it with a devout gravity, assuring me, that I might now
rely on him. 1 soon procured an explanation of this significant cere-
mony ; but this same man, when become Visir, was tempted to vio-
late this oath, thus taken in my favor. Yet if this solemn contract
be not always religiously observed, it serves, at least, to ' moderate
the spirit of vengeance so natural to the Turks.' The Baron adda
in a note : * The Turks think it the blackest ingratitude to forget

336 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

the man from whom we have received food ; which is signified by
the bread and salt in this ceremony.'

We ought to notice the readiness of the Baron's domestics, in
proof that they, knowing the usages of their country, well under-
stood what was about to take place. Also, that this covenant is
usually punctually observed ; and where it is not so, that it has a
restraining influence on the party who has made it ; and his non-
observance of it disgraces him.

M r. Hartner has well illustrated the phrase, ' We were salted with
the salt of the palace' (Ezra iv. J4), and the reader will be pleased
with his remarks. * It is sufficient to put an end to all conjecture,
to recite the words of a modern Persian monarch, whose court
Chard in attended some time about business. Rising in a wrath
against an officer who attempted to deceive him, he drew his sabre,
fell upon him, und hewed him in pieces, at the feet of the Grand
Visir, who was standing, and whose favor the poor wretch courted
by this deception. And looking fixedly on him, and on the other
great lords that stood on each side of him, he said, with a tone of
indignation, * I have then such ungrateful servants and traitors as
these to eat my salt!' 'Look on this sword; it shall cut oft' all
these perfidious heads.'" It is clear that this expression, 'eating
this prince's salt,' is equivalent to receiving a maintenance from
him.

Parkhurst says, 1 am well informed that it is a common expres-
sion of the natives in the East Indies, 'I eat such an one's salt ;*
meaning, lam fed by him. Tamerlane, in his institutes, mention-
ing one Shaw Behaun, who had quitted his service, joined the en-
emy, and fought against him : 'At length,' says he, ' my salt which
he, had eaten overwhelmed him with remorse : he again threw him-
self on my mercy, and humbled himself before me.'

Although salt in small quantities may contribute to the commin-
uting and fertilizing some kinds of stubborn soil, yet, according to
the observation of Pliny, all places where salt is found are barren,
and produce nothing.'

The -effect of salt, where it abounds, on vegetation, is described
by burning (Deut. xxix. 22). ' The whole land thereof is brimstone
and salt of burning (or bwning salt) ; it is not sown, nor bears,
nor any herb grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, &e.
Volney, speaking of the borders of the Asphaltie Lake, or Dead
Sea, says, ' The true cause of the absence of vegetables and animals,
is the acrid saltness of its waters, which is infinitely greater than
that of the sea. The land surrounding the lake, being equally
.impregnated with that saltness, refuses to produce plants ; the air
itself, which is by evaporation loaded with it, and which moreover,
receives vapors of sulphur and bitumen, cannot suit vegetation ;
whence that dead appearance which reigns around the lake. So a
« salt land ' (Jer. xvii. 6,) is the same as ' the parched places in the
wilderness,' and is descriptive of barrenness ; as ' saltness ' also is,
Job xxxix. 6; Psalm cvii. 34; Cornp. Ezek. xlvii. 11 j £eplu
ii. 9.

SALT. 337

Hence, the ancient custom of sowing an enemy's city, when
taken, with salt in token of perpetual desolation (Judg. ix. 45);
and thus in after times, the city of Milan was burnt, rased, sown
with salt, and plowed by the exasperated emperor Frederic Bar-
barossa.

From the mention not only of sulphur or brimstone, but of salt,
in Deut. xxix. 23, (comp. Gen. xiv. 3,) we may collect that the
latter, as well as the former, was employed by Jehovah in the de-
struction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and may thence explain what
is said of Lot's wife (Gen* xix. 26) : ' and she became a pillar of
salt;' namely, while she was looking with a wishful eye towards
Sodom, she was overtaken by the miraculous solo-sulphureous
shower, and thereby fixed and incrusted like a statue.

In Syria, where there are salt lakes, it is probable that compari-
sons, and even proverbs were taken from the properties of the
article they furnished. So we read, ' salt,' that is, in its genuine
state, 'is good, but if it have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye
season it ? ' — How restore to it any relish ? The surface of the salt
lakes, and also the thinner crust of salts, next the edges of the lakes
after rains, and specially after long continued rains, loses the saline
particles, which are washed away and drained off, yet it retains
the form and appearance of salt, like the most perfect. For this
reason, those who go to gather salt from the lakes, drive their
horses and carts over this worthless matter, and consequently
trample it into mere mud and dirt, in order to get some distance
into the lake, where the salt is better: and often they are obliged
to dig away the surface from thence, to obtain the salt, pure and
pungent.

From Ezek. xvi» 4, we learn that it was the custoni to salt the
bodies of new born infants ; which Jerom conceived to have been
intended to dry up the humidity and to close the pores of the skin.
It is said that the Tartars and the Greeks still continue the prac-
tice.

Salt is the symbol of wisdom (Col. iv. 6), and of perpetuity and
incorruption (Numb, xviii. 19 ; 2 Chr. xiii. 5), as well as of barren-
ness and sterility.

The only passage which remains to be noticed is Mark ix. 49, —
'For everyone shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall
be salted with salt,' — an exceedingly obscure passage, which has
exercised the ingenuity of many learned men. Jt would be useless
to bring before the reader the various conjectures and readings
which have been proposed of the text : they may be seen in Pole,
Wolfius, and Koecher; or the most likely ones may be seen in.
Bloomfield, who closes an elaborate note by stating that he cannot
accede to any interpretation he has yet seen : all being liable to ob-
jections.

Without affirming that the following interpretation is free from
what appears to attach itself to all others, it is submitted as afford-
ing a good sense of the passage.

338 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

« For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall
be salted with salt.' — This sentence connects with the foregoing ;
as the particles/or, which is casual, shows. In the preceding verse
we read, that offenders shall be cast into the Gehenna of fire;
where the fire shall perpetually burn them, and the consciousness,
of their crimes shall perpetually torment them. For every one —
that is, every one who is cast into the Gehenna of fire — shall be
seasoned, shall be preserved in this fire. This fire shall act upon
the wicked, who are thrown into it, as brine acts upon the meat,
oter which it is poured. It shall consolidate, not consume them.
Unlike all other fires, it shall not destroy life, but prolong it. Such
is the state of every incorrigible offender. It remains to be shown,
what is the portion reserved for the faithful. Every faithful disci-
ple, who is so truly devoted to the Christian cause as to be ready
to die in its defence, is here represented under the figure of a sac-
rifice, seasoned with salt. Every sacrifice, says Christ, thus prepar-
ed for, and devoted to me, shall be considered as seasoned with
salt. The Jews were taught to understand that sacrifices, so
seasoned, were acceptable to the Lord. Every sincere disciple is
here, by anticipation and prolepsis, denominated a sacrifice. By
this appellation he was forwarned of an event, which the sword of
persecution would not fail to accomplish. With a like view to
gacrifices Paul thus rites to the Philippians: If I be poured out;
and to Timothy : For I am now ready to be poured out.

Thus the punishment hereafter to be inflicted on the wicked, and
the recompense reserved for the faithful, are expressed in terms
fetched from those sacrificial rites with which the Jews were con-
versant. Commentators conceiving the sense to be, consumed by
fire, have proposed to read — instead of shall be salted — shall be de-
stroyed. But the very reverse of consumed is the sense intended.
A learned critic has indeed said, that ' as to salting with fire, no-
thing can be made of it.' But much, and much more to the pur-
]K>se may be made of it than can be made of any word which criti-
cism, in its ardor to amend, may have undertaken to substitute.

SOAP.

THE LXX. render berith, in Jer. ii. 22, the herb ; Jcrom and th«
Vulgate, the herb borith. In Mai. iii. 2, the LXX. translate berith
mtkbesim, by the herb of the washers, and the Vulgate, the herb of
fullers. ' With respect to the herb borith,' says Goguet, ' I imagine
it is sal-worth (salt-wort). This plant is very common in Judea,
Syria, and Arabia. They burn it, and pour water upon the ashes.
The water becomes impregnated with a very strong lixivial salt,
proper for taking stains or impurities out of wool or cloth.' Micha-

VERMILION. 330

e'lis, however, thinks that berith means, not the herb or plant Kali,
but the alkaline or lixivial salt procured from the ashes of that and
other plants ; though he confesses that in Jer. ii. 22, it may also fcc
rendered soap, made ofsnch salt. But he understands Mai. ii. 2, of
the alkaline salt itself, such as fullers indeed use, but which in this
passage he apprehends is mentioned only in respect to its use in
liquifying and purifying metals (ver. 3), by causing their impurities
to vitrify, and melt down into scoria?, thus leaving the metal pure.
In like manner he interprets 6er, in Isa, i. 25, ' I will melt down, «
(with) alkaline salt, thy dross, and I will remove all thy base metal,'

NITRE.

IN conjunction with the soap or alkali of the preceding article,
the prophet Jeremiah (ch. ii. 22) mentions nitre : ' Though thou
wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is
marked before me, saith the Lord God.'

This substance, nitre, differs very little from the berith we have
just noticed, being a pure and native salt, extremely different from
our nitre, and indeed, from all the other native salts. It is a fixed
alkali, plainly of the nature of those made by fire from vegetables*
Natrum, whether native or purified, dissolves in a very small quan
tity of water; and this solution is in many parts of Asia used fo
washing, where it is also made into soap, by mixing it with oil '
The natives sweep it from the surface of the ground, and call if
goap-earth. The earliest account we have of it is in the Scriptures
where we find that the salt called nitre, in those times, would fer
ment with vinegar, and had an abstersive quality, so that it was use.
in baths, and in washing things.

Solomon compares the singing of songs to a heavy heart to the
contrariety of vinegar and nitre, which nitre, with that mentioned
in the passage already cited, exhibits properties that perfectly agree
with this salt, but not at all with our nitre or saltpetre.

The ancient Egyptians are said to have made great use of this
nitre for the preservation of their dead, by macerating them in it for
several months previously to their being embalmed.

VERMILION,

THIS beautiful color is only spoken of in two passages of scrip-
ture ; in one of which it is referred to as being used in decorating
the interior of splendid buildings (Jer. xxii. 14); and in the other

840 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

as appropriated to the purpose of drawing or painting. Ezek. xxiii,
14.

The vermilion in present use is well known as a preparation of
mercury and sulphur; but Pliny informs us, that that which was
called by the Greeks milton, was found in silver mines, in the form
«f reddish sand, and was much used by the Romans in his time as
a paint, and formerly applied to sacred purposes. Coin p. Ezek,
xxiii. 14. Bochart observes, that there is a lake in Africa, called
from the Pho3nicians Sisari, so named, he thinks, on account of the
vermilion, or red paint ( called by the Hebrews st&er) for which
those parts were famous; and also of the neighboring river, called
likewise, in Latin, Rubicatus, — red -colored.

CLAY.

THIS well know and useful substance is spoken of in several
passages of scripture, from which it is evident that it has been ap-
propriated to the manufacture of various useful and ornamental
articles from a very early period of the world.

There is only one passage among these, however, that requires
elucidation, and as it has occasioned much embarrassment to bibli-
cal critics, the reader will not be displeased at the length of the fol-
lowing article, from the pen of the ingenious Landseer, which clears
up the sense of the sacred writer, and renders manifest the pro-
fundity and accuracy of his knowledge. The passage elucidated
is as follows: 'Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days;
and caused the day-spring to know his place, that it might take hold
of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it ?
It is turned as clay to the seals ; and they stand as a garment. And
from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall
be broken,' Job xxxviii. 12 — 14.

Dr. John Mason Good, who has favored the public with a new
and luminous arrangement and translation of this extraordinary
book, affirms, that there is hardly any passage in the whole poem
that has been supposed so difficult of elucidation as that above cited;
'nor,' continues he, 'have I met with a single rendering that is per-
spicuous, or will bear a critical examination. Schultens says, he
has compared and examined with great attention the different at-
tempts of interpreters to explain the fourteenth verse, but confesses,
that from none of them has he been able to extract its meaning ; and
even Reiske, the boldest critical expositor we are possessed of, fin-
ishes with exclaiming, ' Fateor me non capere.'

Now, Schulten and Reiske have failed of their object, not (as nu>y
well be supposed) from lack of scholarship or of judgment, but for

CLAY. 341

want of the local antiquarian knowledge which the ancient cylinders,
recently dug up at Babylon, supply ; and Dr. Good himself, in this
instance (however admirably he has, in other respects, treated his
subject), is, from the same cause, not a whit more successful than
his predecessors. His version of the passage in question is—

Within thy days hast them ordained the dawn,

And appointed to the day-spring his post,

That they should lay gold on the skirts of the earth,

And evil-doers be terrified away from it?

Canst thou cause them to bend round as clay to the mould ?

So that they are made to set like^a garment?

As the sense of these verses is obscure, — as it differs from the
rendering of every other Hebrew scholar that I have consulted, and
does not appear consistent with common sense or itself, even with
the help of two pages of notes, — I shall venture to argue, that it
cannot be the true meaning of the original. We may safely believe
that evil-doers were not, in the days of Job, any more than at pre-
sent, terrified away from skirts, or other places, where gold was
laid. Neither does the substitution of mould for seed at all clear the
sense, but the contrary ; for Dr. Good, remarking on this verse, says,
* Canst thou cause them to bend round as clay to the mould ? ' would
be rather more literally rendered if the to were omitted, and if it
were written, 'Canst thou cause them to bend round as clay the
mould ? ' But here again, in his aversion to the idea of a seal, he
says this really means, not as clay causes the mould to bend round,
but 'as the mould doth clay.'

I shall now request attention whilst I, fact by fact, and inference
by inference, pursue the meaning of these verses, in the manner
that appears to me the most simple and perspicuous ; at the same
time not disregarding that impressive opening of the chapter con-
taining them, which, to the end of time, should sound awfully in
the ears of biblical critics.

The chapter begins, 'Then the Lord answered Job out of the
whirlwind, and said, * Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words
without knowledge ? ' and after those grand interrogations which
have been so frequently admired, respecting the formation of the
earth, clouds, and sea, he proceeds : ' Hast thou commanded the
morning since thy days? Hast thou caused the day-spring to
know his place that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that
the wicked might be shaken out of it? ' —

Some slight degree of confusion between the light of morning,
and that religious light, or day-spring of truth and justice, to which
it is likened, must here be confessed to exist (at least in the Eng-
lish translation); and for the transition from literal light, to light
personified and invested with knowledge and. power, the idiom of
the Hebrew language, or the elevated ardor of the poet's imagina-
tion, must be accountable. If it is not critical, it is grand ; and
scarcely does the want of grammatical construction throw even a
faint shade over the general meaning of the sentence ; nor does it

342 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

affect at all the metaphor of the seal that follows, and which it is*
ray purpose to explain. The day-spring to be understood in the
second interrogation, is poetically adverted to by St. Luke (ch. i.
rer. 7, 8), on the occasion of Zechariah's prophecy respecting the
appearance of St. John the Baptist, the aurora of the Sun of Right-
eousness ; where he says, « The day-spring from on high hath vis-
ited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness.' In Job, howev-
er, the personified day-spring is made to « take hold of the ends of
the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it;' that is to
say, their wickedness being brought to light, the punishment which
legal justice inflicts, shall follow the exposure. This meaning re-
sults even to the Bible readers of the present day ; but what more
terrible sentiment raust have been felt by those disputants who,,
throughout the poem, had been darkening eouusel by words with-
out knowledge, it might be thought foreign to our -antiquarian pur-
pose to attempt to explain.

Th,e next verse proceeds, 4It is turned as clay to the seal, and
they stand as a garment,' or, as tl>e latter member of the sentence
is rendered by Junius and Tremellius, ' they present themselves-
like her coverings.'

It seems here proper to note, that, as the text implies — the seal-
ing substance of the land of Uz, and probably that of the nation*
on the banks of the Euphrates, at this remote period was clay— the
ooze of that river : the very same substance, levigated, perhaps, of
which the stamped Babylonian bricks are formed ; and the better
sort of that pottery whose fragments abundantly bestrew the sites
of Babylon and Susa, even at present — the potter's clay of the an-
cient prophets, and what is still used for the purpose of sealing in
some parts of the East. It may also be worthy of remark, that of
the various substances (such as waxes, pastes, we.) on which I have
tried to. impress these aneient signets, I have found clay the fittest
for the purpose, both of receiving and retaining the impression ; and1
though a Copernican objector might argue here, that it is not the
light of the morning which is turned, but the earth toward the
light, yet this would be casuistry : the poet who wrote this wonder-
ful book, probably believed otherwise ; or, if thi-? point he still re-
garded as of any importance, it may be answered, So does the sig-
net which is compared to the earth, in fact, turn (.on its axis, during
the operation of impressing it) toward the clay ; and if it be true, as
Volney has asserted, that some of tire oriental nations of antiquity
believed the earth to be of a cylindrical form, and have so represent-
ed it among their hieroglyphics, the metaphor would be still more
complete ; and the words contained in our English translation of
the preceding verse, 'that it might take hold of the ends of the
3arth,' be expressly correct, whether we regard the word it as refer-
ring to the light of morning, or as denoting that searching ray of
Providence which brings moral turpitude to view. The latter,
however, is the meaning to which the text before us has more es-
pecial reference. * It is turned as clay to the seal, and they stand or

CLAY. 343

present themselves as a garment/ means, that the wicked spoken
of in the preceding verse, stand confessed, or exposed to view, like
the embroidery of a garment at the approach of light. — Or, rather,
I think, when thisv verse is regarded together with the preceding,
the analogy is, that the wicked, and the dark contents of the en-
graving, are both cast off, as a garment is cast off, — a thing that has
fitted and adhered.

It is the blending of the literal and the figurative meanings to-
gether (which is done in all the translations that I have had an op-
portunity of consulting), that has somewhat perplexed the passage,
and conspired with their ignorance of cylindrical signets, and their
non-advertence to the science of astronomy, to perplex also those
commentators who have busied themselves in its explication. They
have fancied that the seals of the land of Uz could be of no other
form than that of the seals which are in modern use. But now
that these revolving seals are produced,* I should expect that the
clouds of learned conjecture which have obscured the subject would
be dispelled, and the meaning of this mysterious passage shine forth
like the morning light, in the superb metaphor before us ; for, from
the whole passage, when viewed with the signets, results an inter-
esting and beautiful similitude between three dissimilar things ; that
is to say, between the light of morning beaming on, and passing
round, a darkened world, and disclosing its contents ; and that in-
tellectual light, emanating from the Deity, which exposes, in their
true forms, the dark deeds and moral deformities of the wicked ;f
and the operation of impressing one of these ancient cylindrical
signets on cl.iy, which bends as the cylinder revolves in delivering
its impression, stands around it curved ly as a garment (till you flat-
ten it while in a moist state), and renders conspicuous to view the
dark contents of the intaglio engraving.

That there should exist a similar reference to a signet, perhaps to
a signet of a similar kind, in another of the most ancient of poems;
that the Grecian lyre of Orpheus should respond to the Hebrew
harp of the poet of Job — is another curious fact, which might serve
to confirm (if such confirmation were needed) the justness of the
poetical analogy before us.

* These interesting relics of antiquity are of various dimensions. Speaking generally,
they are from three-fourths of an inch in length: and from something less than an inch
to three inches in circumference. Their form, as above stated, is cylindrical. Some of
them are regular cylinders : due allowance being made for the wear and tear they have
undergone : but others are not exactly cylinders, having a small degree of concavity or
hollowness in their sides, like a dice box : and all of them are perforated longitudinally.
On each of these cylinders are engraved a variety of elaborate devices, in inlaglio. 'In-
troduce a metal axis,' says Mr. Landseer, who has given a series of beautifully1 executed
engravings of these precious gems, ' and mount one of these engraved gems upon the prin-
ciple of a garden rolling-stone, it becomes at once a seal, easy to use, and copious in iti
contents.'

t The words which in Job immediately follow these, are perfectly homogeneous with
the explanation which I here venture to submit. 'For, from the wicked their light if
withheld,' clearly means, that Providence discloses the evil deeds of the wicked, by mean*
of which their infatuation renders them blind to the approach. The remainder of tb»
l*th verse is easily understood, and has no reference to these cylinder!.

344 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

But, in justice to the author of the Hebrew or Arabian poem—
•whichsoever it originally was — I should not quit this text, without
noticing also, the depth of astronomical knowledge which is con-
tained in it. ' Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days ?
Hast thou caused the day-spring to know his place, that it might take
hold on the ends of the earth?' — when combined with that other
sublime assertion of the power of Jehovah, ' His hand incurvated
the flying serpent,' shows that the poet, and those of his readers
whom he immediately addressed, were informed of the spiral path;
— that is to say, apparent annual path — of the sun through the hea-
vens. The supposition that tha author and his readers or hearers
were thus informed, gives emphatic and forcible meaning to the
question, ' Hast thou caused the day-spring to know his place ? ' be-
cause that place varies from day to day. In the vernal season, and
at the remote sera of the patriarch, the day sprung from the stars
of Taurus ; but in the summer seasons from those of Leo.

The justness and profundity of observation that is implied in the
text : ' By his spirit hath he garnished the heavens ; His hand incur-
vated the flying serpent;' and the creative and presiding power of
Jehovah, that is asserted and displayed in it, are not fully manifes-
ted, as the passage has commonly been explained. — Not that more
is meant than meets the ear, but that what meets the ear cannot al-
so meet the mind, unless it be astronomically regarded : and the
generality of annotators have, on the contrary, supposed the words
flying, or ' crooked serpent,' (as it is rendered in the common Eng-
lish Bible), to allude literally to the incurvations of the serpent of
earth.

CHAPTER III.
METALS.

GOLD.

THIS is the heaviest, purest, most ductile, and on these accounts,
the most valuable of all metals. It is the most frequently found
native ; and is, indeed, very rarely found in fa state of ore ; that
is, divested of its metallic form, by its particles being inti-
mately mixed with sulphur; and in the few instances in which
it is found thus, it never constitutes a peculiar ore, but is found
intermixed among cres of other metals; and most frequently
among those of silver, or those in which, though of some other
metal, there yet is a large, quantity of silver, in which the "gold
liesin its state of ore. It is sometimes found in masses of con-
siderable size ; many of more than a pound weight ; these are
met with in gold mines, and are called aurum Obrizum, Qbrhium,
but they are very rare ; such, however, have been sometimes ob-
tained from the German mines. Its common appearance, in its
more loose state, is in form of what is called gold dust : this is na-
tive gold in smaller particles, usually, indeed, very small, mixed
among the sand of rivers. This is found in many parts of the
world, but the greatest quantity is from the coast of Guinea. By
all the trials that have been made, gold seems to be the most simple
of all substances. It is wholly incapable of rust, arid is not sono-
rous when struck. It requires a strong fire to melt it; is unaltered
in that degree of heat which fuses tin or lead ; but runs with a less
vehement fire than is necessary to fuse iron or copper.

Gold is mentioned throughout the scripture, and the use of that
metal, among the ancient Hebrews, in its native and mixed state,
and for the same purposes as at present used, was common. The
ark of the covenant was overlaid with pure gold ; and the mercy-
seat, and the vessels and utensils belonging to the tabernacle were
of gold, as were those also of the house of the Lord, and the drink-
ing vessels of king Solomon. They made chains, bracelets, and
other ornaments of gold, coins and medals, crowns, &c. The
mines whence David and Solomon procured the greatest part of
their gold, were those of Ophir.

Might not the sixtieth Psalm, and the five others that are distin-
guished by the epithet, be called 'golden,' on account of their hav-
ing been, on some occasion, written in letters of gold, and hung up
in the sanctuary, or elsewhere ? Not, it may be, on account of their

346 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

being judged to have a superior excellence to the other hymns of
this collection, absolutely speaking, hut their being suited to some
particular circumstances, which might occasion them to be treated
with this distinction. See Isaiah xxxvii. 14.

The works of seven of the most excellent Arab poets, who flour-
ished before the times of Mahomrnedanism, were called ' Al Moal-
lacat,' because they were successively fixed, by way of honor, to
the gate of the temple of Mecca ; and also, « Al Modhahebat,' which
signifies gilded or golden, because they were written in letters of
gold, upon Egyptian paper. The same writer, in a succeeding
page, states that the Arahs, when they would praise any one's
poems, were wont to say, These are the golden verses of such or
such-an-one, which he seems to suppose was derived from th$
writing of these poeins in tetters of gold.

SILVER.

THIS metal, which is equally well known with that of the for-
mer article, ranks next to it in value. Like that it has been, from
a very early period, coined into money, or at least stamped, for the
purposes of exchange, and also manufactured into various kinds of
utensils. See Numbers vii. 13, 84 ; ch. x. 2 ; 1 Chronicles xxviii.
15, 17, &c.

AMBER.

IT is evident from the manner in which the prophet Ezekiel
speaks of (chesmel,) amber (ch. i. 4, 27 ; and viii. 2), that he did not
intend the bituminous substance now so well known under this
name. The LXX. render the Hebrew word electron, which signi-
fies amber — a mixed metal of gold and silver — and crystal. From
this version of Ezekiel i. 4 — * And in the midst ofit (the whirlwind)
os the appearance oftlectrum in the midst of a fire' — it appears that
the translators, by electron could not mean either amber or crystal ;
the former of which grows dim as soon as it feels the fire, and
shortly dissolves into a resinous or pitchy substance ; the latter is
scarcely ever put into a fire, or if it were, it could hardly contract
any thing from it but soot and dimness. It remains then, that they
meant the mixed metal which is much celebrated by the ancients
for its beautiful lustre, and which, when exposed to the fire, does,
like other metals, grow more bright and shining. Hence the LXX.

COPPER. 347

by their translation seem to have come very near to the true mean-
ing of the Hebrew word ; for as Ezekiel prophesied among the
Chaldeans, after Jehoiachin's captivity, so here, as in other instan-
ces, he seems to have used a Chahlee word ; and considered as
such, chesmtl may be derived from nechesh, copper (dropping the
initial «), and the Chaldee melel, gold, as it comes from the mine ;
and so denotes, either a mixed metal of copper and gold, such as
the ./Es Pyiopum mentioned in the ancient Greek and Roman wri-
ters, and thus called from its fiery color, and the noted ^Es Corin-
thum or Corinthian brass : or else chesmtl may signify a fine kind
of copptr, such as Aristotle says was in color and appearance not
distinguishable from gold, and which it is probable the cups of Da-
rius, mentioned by the same author, and the two vessels of fait cop-
per (yellow or shining brass, — margin), precious as gold, (Ezra viii.
27) were made. Scheuchzer, who of the various interpretations of
chesmel prefers the last mentioned, adds, that this kind of fine cop-
per is still known in the East Indies by the name of Suassa, that it
is used in making rings and cups for great men, and is composed
of equal parts of gold, and of the reddest copper.

COPPER.

THIS metal which of all the imperfect ones approaches nearest ttf
gold and silver, is only mentioned in Ezra viii. 27, in the English
Bible ; our translators having rendered the word nechseth ' brass ' in
other passages where it occurs ; though, according to most interpre-
ters, they, have been guilty of an anachronism, the formation of this
factitious metal not having been practised, as is thought, till a period
long subsequent to the times in which they make it spoken of.

Dr. Adam Clarke, however, seems inclined to justify the propri-
ety of our translation, in some of these passages ; and so'it would ap-
pear does Dr. Geddes, for he adopts the same rendering. The
former critic remarks, that the factitious metal commonly called
brass, is formed by a combination of the oxide or ore of zinc, called
lapis calaminaris, with copper ; that brass seems to have been very
anciently in use, and that the preparation of copper, to transform
it into this factitious metal, seems to be very pointedly referred to
in Job xxviii. 2: * Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is mol-
ten out of the stone ; '—translated by the Vulgate Lapis solutus coJ-
ore, in <zs vertitur ; *the stone liquified by heat, is turned into brass.'
Is it going too far to say, that the stone here, may refer to the lapit
calaminaris, which was used to turn the copper into brass? Be-
cause brass was capable of so fine a polish so as to become exceed*
ingly bright, and keep its lustre a considerale time, it was hence
used for all weapons of war, and defensive armor, among ancient

348 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

nations ; and copper seems to have been in no repute, but for its use
in making brass.

Parkhurst supposes copper to be called necheshet, from the resem-
blance of its color to that of serpents, (nechesh) and remarks that
Moses made the serpent, which he was commanded to set up, of
copper, Numb. xxi. 9 > where the expression is remarkable iviosh
mesheh nechesh necheshtt. So gold is called zeheb from its splendor,
and silver keseph, from its pale color. And as man, no doubt, was
acquainted with animals before he was with minerals (Comp. Gen.
ii. 19. 20, with ch. iv. 22), it seems highly probable, as this ingenious
critic remarks,, that the primeval language might, in some instances,
and where there was a similarity of qualities, describe the latter by
names deduced from those which were at first given to the former.
And in the present case it is observable, that copper is not only of a
serpentine color, but resembles those noxious animals in its destruc-
tive properties, being in all its preparations accounted poisonous.
Dr. Harris proposes to read netshet, instead of necheshet, which we
may derive from the verb netesh to dig up, the very meaning of
* fossil' which comes from the Latin word fadio, to dig. It is to be
regretted, however, that this writer is so fond of conjectural emen-
dations of the sacred text. In the present instance, he does not
pretend to say that he is supported by a single MS. or version, as
indeed he could not; and therefore his conjecture, however, ingen-
ous, must fall to the ground.

Our translators have rendered the Hebrew word maroth, in Exod.
xxxiit. 8, and Job xxxvii. 1J, 'looking-glass.' But the making mir-
rors of glass, coated with quicksilver, is an invention quite modern.
Dr. Adam Clarke has a note upon the place in Exodus, where our
version represents Moses as making ' the laver of brass, and the
foot of it of brass of the looking-glasses of the women.' He says,
'Here metal highly polished must certainly be meant, as glass was
not yet in use; and had it been, we are sure that looking- GLASSES
could not make a BRAZEN laver. The word, therefore, should be
rendered mirrors, not looking-glasses, which in the above verse is
perfectly absurd, because, from those MAROTH the brazen laver was
made. The first mirrors known among men were the clear still
fountain, and unruffled lake. The first artificial ones were appa-
rently made of brass, afterwards of polished steel, and when luxury
increased they were made of silver; but they were made, at a very
early period, of mixed metal, particularly of tin and copper, the best
of which, as Pliny tells us, were formerly manufactured at Brun-
dusium. But, according to him, the most esteemed were those
made of tin : and he says, that silver mirrors became so common
that even the servant girls used them. When the Egyptian wo-
men went to the temples, they always carried their mirrors with
them. The Israelitish women did the same ; and Dr. Shaw states,
that the Arab women carry them constantly hung at their breasts.

It may be remarked, that the word * looking-glass' occurs in our
version of Ecclesiasticua xii, 11 : ' Never trust thine enemy ; for

IRON. t 349

like as iron [marg. brass] nisteth*, so is his wickedness. Though he
humble himself, and go crouching, yet take heed and beware of
him, and thou shalt be unto him as if thou hadst washed a looking-
glass, arid thou shalt know that his rust hath not been altogether
wiped away.' This passage proves, by its mention of rust, that
mirrors were then made of polished metal.

The fine brass of Rev. i. 15, and ch. ii. 18, is rendered by the Vul-
gate aurichalco, and JBochart has shown that the term aurichalcum
was used by the Romans for two kinds of metals, which must not
be confounded with each other ; the one was native, the other fac-
titious; the one in value almost equal to gold, the other far inferior
to it. As to the more valuable of these two, though it is mention-
ed by Hesiod under the name oreichalcon, and by Virgil, under that
of orichalco, yet it has been disputed from the days of Aristotle
whether such a metal ever really existed. Pliny, who was contem-
porary with the apostles, is express, that there was none of it to be
found for a long time before him. We may be pretty certain, there-
fore, that the chalkolibanon,'m the Revelation, denotes the worst sort
of aurichalcum, which was made of copper and ladmian earth, and
therefore very nearly resembled our brass ; for ' a mass of copper,
fused with an equal quantity of calamine or lapis calaminaris will
thereby be considerably augmented in quantity, and become by this
operation yellow copper or brass. Bochart accordingly observes, that
the French in his time called brass archal, by a corruption of the
Latin aurichalcum, and they stiil use the phrase Fil d? arena! for
brass wire.

in two or three passages our translators have rendered necheshet
— steel.

IRON.

THIS is, without dispute, the most useful, and, consequently, the
most valuable of all known metals. By its means the earth has
been cultivated and subdued, houses have been built, cities have
been constructed, ships have been formed, machinery has been
generated, and nations have been enriched.

Iron is seldom found in a native state, being generally mineraliz-
ed with some acid, and assuming the form of ore. It is evident
from Deut. viii. 9, that Palestine abounded with mines of this met-
al, though we believe they are not known to exist at present in any
part of the country except Lebanon. Our ignorance of their exist-
ence, however, is owing to ihe jealousy of the Arabs, who will suf-
fer no traveller to examine beneath the surface of the earth, lest he
should possess himself of any treasure which may be there con-
cealed ! It is evident from the earliest books of the Old Testament,
31

350 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY.

that iron was used in the time of Moses, not only for offensive and
defensive weapons, but also for articles of domestic use. Indeed,
its use was evidently known to the antediluvian patriarchs, who
were instructed in the art of metallurgy by Tubal Cain, Gen. iv.
22.

Since iron requires the strongest fire of all metals to fuse it, there
is a peculiar propriety, says Parkhurst, in the expression, ' a fur-
nace for iron.' or an ' iron furnace,' for violent and sharp afflictions,
Deut. iv. 20 ; 1 Kings viii. 51.

LEAD.

NEXT to gold and mercury, lead is the heaviest of metalline sub-
stances ; but in hardness it is exceeded by all of them. It is of a
pale and livid grey color, not sonorous when pure, and extremely
flexible. The most common state in which it is procured from the
mine, is in combination with sulphur and a small quantity of silver,
from which it is separated by passing through a smelting furnace,
in which it is reduced to a fluid state.

There is a singular passage in Jer. vi. 28—30 : « They are all cop-
per and iron ; — they are corrupt. The bellows are burned, being
consumed by the fire ; the lead (used to purify the ore) is vanished ;
the refiner melteth in vain ; but the wicked (or perhaps the bad
heterogeneous matters) are not separated; (and this being the case)
reprobate (or refuse) silver shall they be called, for Jehovah hath re-
jected them.'

From Job xix. 23, 24, we see that lead was in early use as a ma-
terial for inscribing such things upon as it was wished to preserve
for a long period of time. Several books of lead have been found
in eastern countries.

In 2 Kings ix. 30, and Jer. iv. 30, there is a substance spoken of,
which was used by females for the purpose of coloring their eyes,
called pouk, and which is generally thought to be either the pow-
der of lead ore. or the plumbago of black lead. Shaw and Russell
rtate, that the former of these is used for this purpose, by the wo-
men of Barbary and Aleppo.

TIN. 351

TIN.

THIS metal, so useful for a variety of purposes in the present day,
was also known in the time of Moses, who distinctly notices it in
liis enumeration of the six kinds of metal, in Numb. xxxi. 22.

Silver, of all the metals, suffers most from an admixture of tin, a
very small quantity serving to make that metal as brittle as glass,
and what is worse, being with great difficulty separated from it
again. The very vapor of tin has the same effect as the metal itself
on silver, gold, arid copper, rendering them brittle. Hence we may
see, says Parkhurst, the propriety of Jehovah's denunciation, by the
prophet Isaiah, chap. i. 25 ; for having, at the 22d verse, compar-
ed the Jewish people to silver, he declares at verse 25, ' I will turn
my hand upon thee, and purge away thy dross, and remove all thy
particles of tin ; where Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and the
Vulgate read, thy tin; but the LXX. read wicked ones. This de-
nunciation, however, by a comparison of the preceding and fol-
lowing context, appears to signify that God would, by a process of
judgment, purify those among the Jews who were capable of puri-
fication, as well as destroy the reprobate and incorrigible. Comp.
. Jer. vi. 29, 30 ; ix. 7 ; Ezek. xxii. 18, 20 ; Mai. iii. 3.

In Ezek. xxvii. 12, Tarshish is mentioned as furnishing tin, which
country is, on the authority of Bochart, generally believed to be the
ancient Tartessus in Spain.'

SKETCHES

O F

PALESTINE.

31*

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

PALESTINE, the land of Israel, the kingdom of David and Solo-
mon, the most favored and the most guilty country under heaven ;
during between two and three thousand years, the only section of
the earth where the worship of the true God was perpetuated, —

' Over whose acres walked those blessed feet
Which eighteen hundred years ago were nailed,
For our advantage, to the bitter cross ' —

this most interesting of countries is a small canton of Syria, inclu-
ded within the limits of the Turkish empire, and governed by the
pashas of Acre and Damascus. In the map, it presents the appear-
ance of a narrow slip of country, extending along the eastern coast
of the Mediterranean ; from which, to the river Jordan, the utmost
width does not exceed fifty miles. This river was the eastern boun-
dary of the land of Canaan, or Palestine, properly so called, which
derived its name from the Philistines or Palestines originally in-
habiting the coast. To three of the twelve tribes, however, Keuben,
Gad, and Manasseh, portions of territory were assigned on the east-
ern side of the river, which were afterwards extended by the sub-
jugation of the neighboring nations. The territory of Tyre and
Sidon was its ancient border on the north-west: the range of the
Libanus and Antilibanus forms a natural boundary on the north
and north-east; while in the south it is pressed upon by the Syri-
an and Arabian deserts. Within this circumscribed district, such
were the physical advantages of the soil and climate, there existed,
in the happiest period of the Jewish nation, an immense popula-
tion. The men able to bear arms in the time of Moses, somewhat
exceeded 600,000 ; which computation, when the Levites (20,000)
and women and children are added, will give nearly two millions
and a half as the amount of the population — as large as that of
Sweden. The kingdom of David and Solomon, however, extend-
ed far beyond these narrow limits. In a north-eastern direction, it
was bounded only by the river Euphrates, and included a consider-
able part of Syria.

At the time of the Christian era, Palestine was divided into five
provinces ; Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Perea, and Idumea. On the
death of Herod, Archelaus, his eldest son, succeeded to the govern-

356 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

raent of Judea, Samaria, arid Idurnea, with the title of tetrarch ;
Galilee being assigned to Herod Anlipas, and Perea, or the coun-
try beyond Jordan, to the third brother, Philip. But in less than
ten years, the dominions of Archelaus became annexed, on his dis-
grace, to the Roman province of Syria, and Judea was thenceforth
governed by Roman procurators. Jerusalem, after its final destruc-
tion by Titus, A. D. 71, remained desolate and almost uninhabited,
till the emperor Hadrian colonized it, and erected temples to Jupi-
ter and Venus on its site. The empress Helena, in the fourth cen-
tury, set the example of repairing in pilgrimage to the Holy Land,
to visit the scenes consecrated by the gospel narrative, and the coun-
try became enriched by the crowds of devotees who flocked there.
In the beginning of the seventh century, it was overrun by the Sar-
acens, who held it till Jerusalem was taken by the crusadeis in the
twelfth. The Latin kingdom of Jerusalem continued for about
eighty years, during which the Holy Land streamed continually
with Christian and Saracen blood. In 1187, Judea was conquered
by the illustrious Saladin, on the decline of whose kingdom it pass-
ed through various revolutions, and, at length, in 1317, was final-
ly swallowed up in the Turkish empire.

Palestine is now distributed into pashalics. That of Acre or Ak-
ka extends from Djebail nearly to Jaffa ; that of Gaza comprehends
Jaffa and the adjacent plains ; and these two being now united, ah1
the coast is under the jurisdiction of the Pasha of Acre. Jerusalem,
Hebron, Nablous, Tiberias, and in fact, the greater part of Pales-
tine, are included in the pashalic of Damascus, now held in con-
junction with that of Aleppo, which renders the present pasha, in ef-
fect, the viceroy of Syria. Though both pashas continue to be du-
tiful subjects to the Grand Seignior in appearance, and annually
transmit considerable sums to Constantinople to ensure the yearly
renewal of their office, they are to be considered as tributaries, rath-
er than subjects of the Porte; and it is supposed to be the religious
supremacy of the sultan, as caliph and vicar of Mahomrned, more
than any apprehension of his power, which prevents them from de-
claring themselves independent. The reverence shown for the fir-
rnauns of the Porte throughout Syria, attests the stronghold which
the sultan maintains, in this character, on the Turkish population.
The pashas of Egypt and Bagdad are attached to the Turkish sove-
reign by the same ecclesiastical tie, which alone has kept the ill-
compacted and feeble empire from crumbling to ruin.

The present mixed population of Palestine consists of Turks,
Syrians, Bedouin Arabs, Jews, Latin, Greek, and Armenian Chris-
tians, Copts, and Druses. In western Palestine, especially on the
coast, the inhabitants are stated by Burckhardt to bear generally
more resemblance to the natives of Egypt than to those of northern
Syria ; while, towards the east of Palestine, especially in the vil-
lages about Nablous, Jerusalem, and Hebron, they are evidently of
the true Syrian stock in features, though not in language. The
Syrian physiognomy assumes, however, a cast of features charac-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 357

teristically different in the Aleppine, the Turkman, the native of
Mount Libanus, the Damascene, the inhabitant of the sea-coast from
Beirout to Acre, and the Bedouin. Dr. Richardson, on entering the
country from Egypt, was struck at the change of physiognomy, as
well as of costume, observable even at El Arish, which is in the
pashalic of Egypt : the people are much fairer, as well as cleaner
and better dressed. The Turks in Palestine, as elsewhere through-
out the empire, occupy all the civil and military posts, Greeks
forma very numerous part of the population. A considerable num-
ber of monks, of different churches and orders, stili reside in the
Holy Land : there is, indeed, scarcely a town of any consequence,
which does not contain at least one convent. The country districts
are, to a great extent, filled witn nomadic Arabs. The true Arab
is always an inhabitant of the desert ; a name given to any solitude,
whetfier barren or fertile, and sometimes applied to extensive pas-
ture-lands. The moveables of a whole family seldom exceed a
camel's load. Nothing can be simpler in construction than their
tents. Three upright sticks, driven into the ground, with one laid
across the top, form the frame- work, ami a large brown cloth, made
of goat's or camel's hair, woven by their women, the covering.
The manner in which they secure their animals is equally simple.
Two sticks are driven into the ground, between which a rope is
stretched and fastened at each end ; to this rope the asses and mules
are all attached by the feet ; the horses also, but apart from the ass-
es; the camels are seldom secured at all. The dress of this peo-
ple in the Holy Land consists of a blue shirt or tunic, descending
below the knees, the legs and feet being exposed : or the latter are
sometimes covered with the ancient cothurnus or buskin. Over this
is worn a cloak of very coarse and heavy camel's hair cloth, (the
sackcloth of the Scriptures,) consisting of one square piece, with
holes for the arms, but having a seam down the back. This ap-
pears to have been the dress of John the Baptist, as well as of the
ancient prophets. The cloak (or hyke) is almost universally deco-
rated with black and white stripes, passing vertically down the back.
The head-dress is a small turban, resembling a coarse handkerchief
bound across the temples, one corner of which generally hangs
down, and is often fringed with strings in knots, by way of orna-
ment. The usual weapons of the Arab are a lance, a poniard, an
iron mace, a battle-axe, and sometimes, a matchlock gun. The u-
sual veil worn by all the females in Syria, except the Jewesses, is
a large white handkerchief or shawl, which covers the head and
face, and falls over the shoulders. It is astonishing, remarks Dr.
Richardson, what a light and cheerful air this costume imparts com-
pared with the dull funeral drapery of the Egyptian dames. In the
dress of the pastoral Arabs, we probably have preserved the most
faithful representation of the ancient Jewish costume. The usual
size of the hyke is six yards long, and from five to six broad ; and
as the Arabs sleep in their raiment, as the Israelites did of old, it
serves as a bed or blanket at night. The toga of the Romans, and

358 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

the plaid of the Highlanders of Scotland, are garments of the same
kind. The hahits of the Bedouin natives have probably undergone
as little change as their costume. ' Abraham,' remarks Dr. Rich-
ardson, ' was a Bedouin ; and I never saw a fine venerable-looking
sheikh busied among his flocks and herds, that it did not remind me
of the holy patriarch himself.'

NATURAL HISTORY, CLIMATE, &c. The geographical aspect of
Palestine is not less diversified than the appearance of its motley
population. Its prevailing character but imperfectly corresponds
to its ancient fertility ; but this is chiefly owing to the miserable
state of vassalage in which its inhabitants are held, together with
the devastating effects of perpetual wars, and probably some phys-
ical changes. Those writers, ancient and modern, who have
represented it as barren, must be understood, however, as referring
only to the mountainous districts round Jerusalem. Abulfeda
describes Palestine as the most fertile part of Syria, and the
neighborhood of Jerusalem as one of the most fruitful parts of
Palestine. An Oriental's ideas of fertility differ sufficiently from
ours, to explain in part this assertion ; for to him, plantations of
figs, vines, and olives, with which the limestone rocks of Judea
were once covered, would suggest the same associations of plenty
and opulence that are called up in the mind of an Englishman by
rich tracts of corn-land. The land of Canaan is characterized as
flowing with milk and honey, and it still answers to this descrip-
tion; for it contains extensive pasture-lands of the richest quality,
and the rocky country is covered with aromatic plants, yielding to
the wild bees, who hive in the hollow of the rocks, such abun-
dance of honey, as to supply the poorer classes with an article of
food. Wild honey and locusts were the usual diet of the forerun-
ner of our Lord, during his seclusion in the desert country of
Judea ; from which we may conclude that it was the ordinary fare
of the common people. The latter are expressly mentioned by
Moses as lawful and wholesome food ; and Pliny states that they
made a considerable part of the food of the Parthians and Ethio-
pians. They are still ealen in many parts of the East: when
sprinkled with salt and fried, they are said to taste much like the
river cray-fish. Honey from the rocks is repeatedly referred to in
the Scriptures, as a delicious food, and an emblem of plenty.
Dates are another important article of consumption, and the neigh-
borhood of Judea was famous for its numerous palrn-trees, which
are found springing up from chance-sown kernels in the midst of
the most arid districts. When to these wild productions we add
the oil extracted from the olive, so essential an article to an
Oriental, we shall be at no loss to account for the. ancient fertility
of the most barren districts of Judea, or for the adequacy of the
«oil to the support of so numerous a population, notwithstanding
the comparatively small proportion of arable land. There is no
reason to doubt, however, that corn and rice would be imported by
the Tyrian merchants, which the Israelites would have uo difficul-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 359

ty in exchanging for the produce of the olive-ground and the
vineyard, or for their flocks and herds. Delicious wine is still pro-
duced in some districts, and the valleys bear plentiful crops of
tobacco, wheat, barley, and millet, Tacitus compares both the
climate and the soil, indeed, to those of Italy, and he particularly
specifies the palm-tree and balsam-tree as productions which gave
the country an advantage over his own. Among other indigenous
productions, may be enumerated the cedar and other varieties of
the pine, the cypress, the oak, the sycamore, the mulberry-tree, the
fig-tree, the willow, the turpentine-tree, the acacia, the aspen, the
arbutus, the myrtle, the almond-tree, the tamarisk, the oleander,
the peach-tree, the chaste-tree, the carob or locust-tree, the oskar,
the doom, the mustard-plant, the aloe, the citron, the apple, the
pomegranate, and many flowering shrubs. The country about
Jericho was celebrated for its balsam, as well as for its palm-trees ;
and two plantations of it existed during the last war between the
Jews and the Romans, for which both parties fought desperately.
But Gilead appears to have been the country in which it chiefly
abounded : hence the name, balm of Gilead. Since the country
has fallen under the Turkish dominion, it has ceased to be culti-
vated in Palestine, but is still found in Arabia. Other indigenous
productions have either disappeared, or are now confined to cir-
cumscribed districts. Iron is found in the mountain range of Li-
banus, and silk is produced in abundance in the plains of Samaria.
Generally speaking, the climate is mild and salubrious. During
the months of May, June, July, and August, the sky is for the most
part cloudless ; but during the night the earth is moistened with a
copious dew. As in Persia, sultry days are not unfrequently suc-
ceeded by intensely cold nights. To these sudden vicissitudes
references are made in the Old Testament. During the other parts
of the year, there is no deficiency of rain ; and to this circumstance
the fertility of Palestine is chiefly attributable, in the absence of
springs. The streams with which it is watered, with the excep-
tion of the river Jordan, are all brooks or torrents fed by the
copious periodical rains. In the dry season, the only resource of
the natives is, the wells or the water collected in the rainy season.
Hence the high importance attaching to the possession of a well in
this country, and the value set upon a cup of cold water.
Throughout Syria, the traveller perceives, at stated distances on
the road, small reservoirs or large vases filled with water, having
beside them a pot for the use of passengers when thirsty. These
monuments are owing to pious foundations in favor of travellers;
but the greater part are falling into ruin. It is remarkable that in
Arabia, most of the inhabited places are situated in valleys or
hollows: in Palestine, on the contrary, the towns and villages are
almost uniformly built upon hills or heights. The scarcity of the
rains in Arabia, and their abundance in Palestine, has been with
some plausibility assigned as the reason for this difference. The
floods in the rainy season sometimes pour down from the hills

360 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

with such violence as to sweep every thing before them. The
Jordan, from this cause, formerly rose periodically above its banks.
Whether it has worn for itself u deeper channel, or discharges its
superfluous waters by some other means, is not ascertained, but the
rise is now insufficient to produce inundation.

We have but imperfect notices of the present zoology and orni-
thology of Palestine. The Scriptures contain familiar references
to the lion, the wolf, the fox, the leopard, the hart, the jackal, and
the wild boar, which lead one to suppose that they were native
animals. The wilder animals, however, have mostly disappeared,
liasselquist, a pupil of Linnaeus, who visited the iloly Land in
1750, men lions, as the only animals he saw, the porcupine, the
jackal, the fox, the rock-goat, and the fallow-deer. Captain
Mangles describes an animal qf the goat species as large as the ass,
with long, knotty, upright horns ; some bearded, and their color
resembled that of the gazelle. The horse does not appear to have
been generally adopted, till after the return of the Jews from
Babylon. Solomon was the first monarch who collected a numer-
ous stud of the finest horses that Egypt or Arabia could furnish.
In the earlier times, the wild ass was deemed worthy of being
employed for purposes of royal state as well as convenience. The
breed of cattle reared in Bashan and Gilead were remarkable for
their size, strength, and fatness.

In ornithology, the eagle, the vulture, the cormorant, the bittern,
the stork, the owl, the pigeon, the swallow, and the dove, were fa-
miliar to the Jews. Hasselquist enumerates the following from his
own observation : the vulture, two species, one seen near Jerusa-
lem, the other near Caua in Galilee ; the falcon, near Nazareth ; the
jackdaw, in numbers in the oak-woods near Galilee ; the green
wood-spite, at the same place ; the bee-catcher, in the groves and
plains between Acra and Nazareth ; the nightingale, among the
willows at Jordan and olive trees of Judeu ; the hekl-Jark, 'every
where ; ' the goldfinch, in the gardens near Nazareth ; the red part-
ridge, and two other species, the quail, and the quaii of the Isra-
elites ; the turtle-dove and the ring-dove. Game is abundant ; part-
ridges, in particular, being found in large coveys, so fat and heavy,
that they may easily be knocked down with a stick. Wild geese,
ducks, widgeon, snipe, and water-fowl of every description, abound
in some situations.

The Holy Land is at present infested with a frightful number of
lizards, different kinds of serpents, vipers, scorpions, and various
insects. Flies of every species are also extremeJy annoying. Ants
are so numerous in some pains, that one traveller describes the road
to Jafia, from El Arisch, as, for three da^s' journey, a continued
ant-hill.

The general outlines of the surface of the country may be thus
laid down. The Jordan, or river of Dan, which rises under the lof-
ty peaks of the Antilibanus, and flows in a direction almost con-
stantly southward, with the fake of Tiberias, through which it pass-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 361

ses, and that of Asphaltites (the Dead Sea), which it forms by its
discharge, divides Palestine completely from north to south. In
the western division, between the Mediterranean and the lake of
Tiberias, lie the two Galilees. The plain of Esdraelon, which oc-
cupies the greater part of this tract, being two day's journey, or
nearly fifty miles in length and twenty in breadth, is described by
Dr. Clarke as one vast meadow, covered with the richest pasture.
This plain is enclosed on all sides by the mountains, and riot a
house or a tree is to be discovered in it. Jt is completely com-
manded by Acre, so that the possessor of that port is the lord of one
of the richest territories in the Holy Land. To the south of Galilee
lies the district of ancient Samaria, now chiefly included in the dis-
trict of Nablous: it is mountainous, but well cultivated, and forms
at present the most flourishing part of the Holy Land. Judea Pro-
per comprises the territory extending from the Dead Sea to the
Mediterranean, and is composed of a range of limestone hills, ris-
ing by stages from the level of the coast, and becoming more rug-
ged and rocky as you approach Jerusalem from Jafia. .Between
Jaffa and Gaza, westward of the mountains of Judea, lies the tract
distinguished as the plain of the Mediterranean Sea, the ancient ter-
ritory of the Philistines, including the rive cities of Gaza, Askelon,
Ashdod, Gath and Ekron. This district still bears the name of
Phalastin, and forms a separate pashalic : it may be distinguished as
Palestine Proper.

JERUSALEM.

The approach to Jerusalem from Jaffa is not the direction in
which to see the city to the best effect. Dr. Clarke entered it by • the
Damascus gate, and he describes the view of Jerusalem, when first
descried from the summit of a hill, at about an hour's distance, as
most impressive. He confesses, at the same time, that there is no
other point of view in which it is seen to so much advantage, in
the celebrated prospect from the Mount of Olives, the city ties too
low, is too near the eye, and has too much the character ol a bird's-
eye view, with the formality of a topographical plan. ' We had not
been prepared,' says this lively traveller, * tor the grandeur of the
spectacle which the city alone exhibited. Instead of a wretched
and ruined town, by some described as the desolated remnant of
Jerusalem, we beheld, as it were, a flourising and stately metropolis,
presenting a magnificent assemblage of domes, towers, palaces,
churches, and monasteries ; all of which glittering in the suu's rays,
shone with inconceivable splendor. As we drew nearer, our whole
attention was engrossed by its noble and interesting appearance.
The lofty hills surrounding it, give the city itself an appearance of
elevation less than it really has.' Dr. Clarke was loitunate in
catching this first view of Jerusalem under the illusion of a brilliant
evening sunshine ; but his description is decidedly overcharged.
M. Chateaubriand, Mr. Buckingham, Mr. Brown, Mr. Jollitte, Sir
32

362 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

F. Henniker, and almost every other modern traveller, confirm the
representation of Dr. Richardson. Mr. Buckingham says: 'The
appearance of this celebrated city, independent of the feelings and
recollections which the approach to it cannot fail to awaken, was
greatly inferior to my expectations, and had certainly nothing of
grandeur or beauty, of stateliness or magnificence, about it. It ap-
peared like a walled town, of the third or fourth class, having nei-
ther towers, nor domes, nor minarets within it in sufficient numbers
to give even a character to its impressions on the beholder ; but
showing chiefly large flat-roofed buildings of the most unornament-
ed kind, seated amid rugged hills, on a stony and forbidding soil,
with scarcely a picturesque object in the whole compass of the sur-
rounding view.'

Chateaubriand's description is very striking and graphical. After
citing the language of the prophet Jeremiah, in his lamentations on
the desolation of the ancient city, as accurately portraying its pre-
sent state, he thus proceeds: —

* When seen from the Mount of Olives, on the other side of the
valley of Jehoshaphat, Jerusalem presents an inclined plane, de-
scending from west to east. An embattled wall, fortified with tow-
ers and a Gothic castle, encompasses the city all round ; excluding,
however, part of Mount Sion, which it formerly enclosed. In the
western quarter, and in the centre of the city, the houses stand ve-
ry close ; but, in the eastern part, along the brook Kedron, you per-
ceive vacant spaces; among the rest, that which surrounds the
mosque erected on the ruins of the Temple, and the nearly-desert-
ed spot where once stood the castle of Antonia and the second pal-
ace of Herod.

' The houses of Jerusalem are heavy square masses, very low,
without chimneys or windows ; they have flat terraces or domes on
the top, and look like prisons or sepulchres. The whole would ap-
pear to the eye one uninterrupted level, did not the steeples of the
churches, the minarets of the mosques, the summits of a few cy-
presses, and the clumps of nopals, break the uniformity of the plan.
On beholding these stone buildings, encompassed by a stony coun-
try, you are ready to inquire if they are not the confused monu-
ments of a cemetery in the midst of a desert.

* Enter the city, but nothing will you there find to make amends
for the dulness of its exterior. You lose yourself among narrow,
unpaved streets ; here going up hill, there going down, from the
inequality of the ground ; and you walk among clouds of dust, or
loose stones. Canvas stretched from house to house increases the
gloom of this labyrinth. Bazars, roofed over, and fraught with
infection, completely exclude the light from the desolate city. A
few paltry shops expose nothing but wretchedness to view, and
even these are frequently shut, from apprehension of the passage
of a cadi. Not a creature is to be seen in the streets, not a creature
at the gates, except now and then a peasant gliding through the
gloom concealing under his garments the fruits of his labor,

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 363

lest he should be robbed of his hard earnings by the rapacious
soldier. Aside, in a corner, the Arab butcher is slaughtering
some animal, suspended by the legs from a wall in ruins : from
his haggard and ferocious look, and his bloody hands, you would
suppose that he had been cutting the throat of a fellow-creature,
rather than killing a lamb. The only noise heard from time to
time in the city, is the galloping of the steed of the desert : it is the
janissary who brings the head of the Bedouin, or who returns from
plundering the unhappy Fellah.

* Amid this extraordinary desolation, you must pause a moment
to contemplate two circumstances still more extraordinary.
Among the ruins of Jerusalem, two classes of independent people
find in their religion sufficient fortitude to enable them to surmount
such complicated horrors and wretchedness. Here reside commu-
nities of Christian monks, whom nothing can compel to forsake
the tomb of Christ ; neither plunder nor personal ill-treatment, nor
menaces of death itself. Night and day they chaunt their hymns
around the Holy Sepulchre. Driven by the cudgel and the sabre,
women, children, flocks, and herds, seek refuge in the cloisters of
these recluses. What prevents the armed oppressor from pursuing
his prey, and overthrowing such feeble ramparts ? The charity of
the monks : they deprive themselves of the last resources of life
to ransom their suppliants Cast your eyes between the Tem-
ple and Mount Sion ; behold another petty tribe, cut off from the
rest of the inhabitants of this city. The particular objects of eveiy
species of degradation, these people bow their heads without mur-
muring; they endure every kind of insult without demanding
justice; they sink beneath repeated blows without sighing: if
their head be required, they present it to the scimitar. On the
death of any member of this proscribed community, his companion
goes at night, and inters him by stealth in the valley of Jehoshaphat,
in the shadow of Solomon's Temple. Enter the abodes of these
people, you will find them, amid the most abject wretchedness,
instructing their children to read a mysterious book, which they in
their turn will teach their offspring to read. What they did five
thousand years ago, these people still continue to do. Seventeen
times have they witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem, yet no-
thing can discourage them, nothing can prevent them from
turning their faces towards Sion. To see the Jews scattered
over the whole world, according to the Word of God, must
doubtless excite surprise. But to be struck with supernat-
ural astonishment, you mast view them at Jerusalem ; you
must behold these rightful masters of Judea living as slaves
and strangers in their own country ; you must behold them expect-
ing, under all oppressions, a king who is to deliver them. Crushed
by the Cross that condemns them, skulking near the Temple, of
which not one stone is left upon another, they, continue in their
deplorable infatuation. The Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, are
swept from the earth ; and a petty tribe, whose origin preceded that

364 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

of those great nations, still exists unmixed among the ruins of its
native land.'

But the Jerusalem of sacred history is, in fact, no more. Not
a vestige remains of the capital of David and Solomon ; not a mon-
ument of Jewish times is standing. The very course of the walls
is changed, and the boundaries of the ancient city are become
doubtful. The monks pretend to show the sites of the sacred
places ; but neither Calvary, nor the Holy Sepulchre, much less
the Dolorous Way, the house of Caiaphas, &c., have the slightest
pretensions to even a probable identity with the real places to
which the tradition refers. Dr. Clarke has the merit of being the
first modern traveller who ventured to speak of the preposterous
legends and clumsy forgeries of the priests with the contempt
which they merit. 'To men interested in tracing, within the
walls, antiquities referred to by the documents of sacred history, no
spectacle,' remarks the learned traveller, ' can be more mortifying
than the city in its present state. The mistaken piety of the early
Christians, in attempting to preserve, has either confused or an-
nihilated the memorials it was anxious to render conspicuous.
Viewing the havoc thus made, it may now be regretted that the
Holy Land was ever rescued from the dominion of Saracens, who
were far less barbarous than their conquerors. The absurdity, for
example, of hewing the rocks of Judea into shrines and chapels,
and of disguising the face of nature with painted domes and gilded
marble coverings, by way of commemorating the scenes of our
Saviour's life and death, is so evident, and so lamentable, that
even Sandys, with all his credulity, could not avoid a happy
application of the reproof conveyed by the Roman satirist against
a similar violation of the Egerian fountain.'

The Jerusalem that now is, is still a respectable, good-looking
town, of an irregular shape, approaching to a square ; it is surround-
ed by a high, embattled wall, built for the most part of the com-
mon stone of the country, which is a compact limestone. It has
now, including the golden gate, seven gates. One looks to the west,
and is called the gate of YafFa, or Bethlehem, because the road to
those places passes through it. Two look to the north, and are call-
ed the gate of Damascus, and the gate of Herod or Ephraim gate.
A fourth looking to the east, is called St. Stephen's gate, because
near it the proto-martyr was stoned to death ; it is close to the tem-
ple, or mosque of Omar, and leads to the gardens of Gethsernane
and the Mount of Olives. The fifth leads into the Temple, but is
now built up, owing, it is said, to a tradition that the Christians will
take the city by this gate : it is called the golden gate. Another
gate leads from without the city into the mosque of El Aksa, for-
merly the church of the presentation, and is called the gate of the
Virgin Mary. On account of a turn in the wall, this gate, though
in the east wall of tfie city, looks to the south towards Mount Zion ;
it is not, however, strictly speaking, a gate of the city. What, there-
fore, we reckon the sixth gate, is the dung gate, or sterquiline gate.

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 365

This is small, not admitting either horses or carriages, (of the
••alter, however, there are none in Jerusalem) ; and from the wall
resuming its former direction, it looks towards the east. The last
is called Zion gate, or the gate of the prophet David ; it looks to
the south, and is in that part of the wall which passes over Mount

The longest wall is that on the north side of the city, which runs
from the valley of Gihon on the west, to the valley of Jehoshaphat
on the east. The circumference of the area now enclosed within
the walls, does not exceed, according to the measurement of Maun-
drell and Pococke, two of our most accurate travellers, two miles
and a half. The city may be roughly stated to be about a mile in
length, and half a mile in breadth. Pococke accurately describes
it as standing at the south end of a large plain that extends north-
wards towards Samaria, though it in fact immediately occupies two
small hills, having valleys or ravines on the other three sides, which,
to the east and south, are very deep. That on the east is the the val-
ley of Jehoshaphat ; that on the south is called the valley of Siloam,
and (erroneously) of Gehinnom ; that on the west, which is not so
deep, the valley of Rephaim. The hills on the other side of these
valleys are, for the most part, considerably higher than either Mount
Zion" or Acra. On the east, Jerusalem is commanded by the Mount
of Olives, called Djebel Tor by the Arabs. On the south, by what
the Christians absurdly denominate the Hill of Offence and the
Hill of Evil Counsel. On the west, by a low rocky flat, which ri-
ses towards the north to a commanding elevation ; this has been
called Mount Gihon. On the north-west, Scopo, where Titus en-
camped, is also higher ground than that on which Jerusalem stands,
So that the Scripture representation of Jerusalem, as guarded by
mountains, literally answers to its topographichal situation ; ' As the
mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about
his people, from henceforth, even forever.'

The site of the ancient city is so unequivocally marked by its
natural boundaries on the three sides where there are ravines, that
there can be no difficulty, except with regard to its extent in a north-
ern direction ; and this may be ascertained with sufficient accuracy
from the minute description given by Josephus, His account of
its topography is, after all, the best guide to the modern traveller
and antiquary. * The city of Jerusalem,' he tells us, ' was fortified
with three walls, on such parts as were not encompassed with im-
passable valleys ; for in such places it hath but one wall. The city
was built upon two hills, which are opposite to one another, and
have a valley dividing them asunder, at which valley the corres-
ponding rows of houses on both hills terminate. Of these hills,
that which contains the upper city is much higher, and in length
more direct ; accordingly, it was called the Citadel by king David ;
he was the father of that Solomon who built this Temple at the
first ; but it is by us called the Upper Market-place. But the oth-
er bill, which was called Acra. and sustains the lower city, is in
32*

36G SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

the shape of the moon when she is horned. Over against this there
was a third hill, naturally lower than Acra, and parted formerly
from the other by a broad valley. However, in those times when
the Asmoneans reigned, they filled up that valley with earth, and
had a mind to join the city to the Temple. They then took off
part of the height of Acra, and reduced it to be of less elevation
than it was before, that the Temple might be superior to it. Now
the Valley of the Cheesemongers, as it was called, and was that
which we told you before distinguished the hill of the upper city
from that of the lower, extended as far as Siloam ; for that is the
name of a fountain which hath sweet water in it, and this in great
plenty also. But on the outside these hills are surrounded by deep
valleys, and, by reason of the precipices on both sides, are every-
where impassable.

THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. The chureh of the Holy Sepulchre is
built partly on the low ground and partly on the ascent. It is not
entered from the Via Dolorosa : the traveller has to ascend the next
street, and then, turning to the left, to proceed along a winding de-
scent, till he arrives at a large open court in front of the church,
where he will find everything his heart can wish in the form of
crucifixes, carved shells, beads and bracelets, saints, and sherbet ;
all exposed to sale, and the venders seated on the ground beside
their wares. The court is bounded by the wings of the convent;
that on the right contains Mount Calvary, and other supposititious
sacred places; that on the left, the Greek chapel, and anciently the
belfry. The door of the church faces the court ; it is on the side of
the building. It is open only on certain days in the week, and cer-
tain hours in each day. To get it opened at any other time, it is
necessary to have an order of the two convents, the Latin and the
Greek, with the sanction of the governor of the city. When open,
the door is always guarded by Turks, who exact a tribute from all
who enter. Once admitted, the visiters may remain all night, if
they please. The crowd pressing for admittance on certain days
is immense ; and the Turks, who keep the door, treat them in the
roughest manner, notwithstanding that they pay for admission,
squeezing and beating them about like so many cattle. ' It must
be allowed,' says Dr. Richardson, 'that they are often extremely
riotous, and conduct themselves in a manner very unbecoming their
character of pilgrims.'

* Having passed within these sacred walls, the attention is first
directed to a large flat stone in the floor, a little within the door ; it
is surrounded by a rail, and several lamps hang suspended over it.
The pilgrims approach it on their knees, touch, and kiss it, and,
prostrating themselves before it, offer up their prayers in holy ad-
oration. This is the stone on which the body of our Lord was
washed and anointed, and prepared for the tomb. Turning to the
left, and proceeding a little forward, we came into a round space
immediately under the dome, surrounded with sixteen large col-
umns that support the gallery above. In the centre of this space

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 367

stands the holy sepulchre ; it is enclosed in an oblong house, round-
ed at one end with small arcades or chapels for prayer in the ont-
side of it for the devotion of the Copts, the Abyssinian, the Syrian
Maronite, and other Christians, Who are not, like the Roman Cath-
olics, the Greeks, and the Armenians, provided with large chapels
in the body of the church. At the other end it is squared off
and furnished with a platform in front, which is ascended by a
flight of steps, having a small parapet wall of marble on each hand,
and being floored with the same material. In the middle of this
platform stand a block of polished marble, about a foot and a half
square ; on this stone sat the angel who announced the blessed tid-
ings, of the ressureotion to Mary Magdalen, and Joanna, and Mary
the mother of James : ' He is not here, he is risen, as he said : come,
see the place where the Lord lay.' Advancing a step, and taking
off our shoes and turbans, at the desire of the keeper, he drew aside
the curtain, and stepping down and bending almost to the ground,
we entered, by a low narrow door into this mansion of victory,
where Christ triumphed over the grave, and disarmed death of all
his terrors.

'The tomb exhibited is a sarcophagus of white marble, slightly
tinged with blue ; it is six feet one inch and three quarters long,
three feet three quarters of an inch broad, and two feet one inch and
a quarter deep, measured on the outside. It is but indifferently
polished, and seems as if it had at one time been exposed to the
pelting of the storm and the changes of the season, by which it lias
been considerably disintegrated : it is without any ornament, and is
made in the fashion of a Greek sarcophagus, and not like the an-
cient tombs of the Jews, which we see cut in the rock for the re-
ception of the dead ; nor like those stone troughs, or sarcophagi,
which I have already mentioned were called to me the beds of the
Lord Jesus, of Mary, of John, and of Zacharias. There are seven
silver lamps constantly burning over it, the gifts of different poten-
tates, to illuminate this scene of hope and joy. The sarcophagus
occupies about one half of the sepulchral chamber, and extends
from one end of it to the other. A space about three feet width in
front of it, is all that remains for the reception of visiters, so that not
above three or four can be conveniently admitted at a time.'

That the marble sarcophagus shown as the sepulchre, has no pre-
tensions to the distinction claimed for it, stands in no need of proo£
The Evangelists inform us that the sepulchre in which the body of
Jesus was laid, was hewn out of the rock, which is not marble, but
compact limestone ; a lateral excavation, in all probability, of the
same kind as are still seen in the rocks round Jerusalem. The
stone in the anti-room of the tomb, shown as that which was rolled
to the doorway of the sepulchre, and kissed and venerated by the
holy fathers accordingly, was admitted by the guide, when strictly
questioned, to be a substitute for the real stone, which was stolen
by the Armenians, and is exhibited by them in a chapel on Mount
Zion: but the block of marble, it was said, served their purpose

368 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

equally well. Dr. Richardson conjectures that, were the historians
of the sacred premises to exercise the same degree of candor as
their guide, it would turn out that the stone trough called the Sereer
Sidn Aisa by the Turks, was the sarcophagus originally exhibited
as the tomb of Christ.

The walls of the sepulchral chamber itself are of greenish ir.arble,
the species of breccia vulgarly called verd-antique. It is pretend'
ed that this exterior is only a casing to protect the internal surface
of the rock, which externally has been cut into the shape, to use
Dr. Clark's expression, of a huge pepper-box; all the surrounding
rock being levelled to the floor of the building, except this * grotto
above ground,' as Maundrell terms it. Thus, all that the pilgrim is
permitted to see, is a marble casing of a supposed rock, which rock
has, in fact, all the appearance of a building, as no doubt it really is.

From the sepulchre, the visiter is led to the place where Christ
appeared to Mary Magdalen ; to the * chapel of apparition,' where
he appeared to the Virgin ; and then to the Greek chape! facing the
sepulchre, in the centre of which the Greeks have set up a globe, to
mark out the spot as the centre of the earth ; thus transferring, as
Dr. Richardson remarks, the absurd notions of their ancient hea-
then priests respecting the navel of the earth, from Delphi to Jeru-
salem. A dark, narrow stair-case of about twenty steps conducts
the pilgrim to Mount Calvary. Here are shown the place where
Christ was nailed to the cross, where the cross was erected, the
hole in which the end was fixed, and the rent in the rock, all cov-
ered with marble, perforated in the proper places. * To complete,'
says Dr. Clarke, * the naivete of the tale, it is added, that the head of
Adam was found within the fissure.' ' Mount Calcary ' is, by that
learned traveller, stated to be in fact a modern piece of masonry ; a
sort of altar, within the contracted dimensions of which are exhib-
ited the marks or holes of the three crosses, without the smallest re-
gard to the space necessary for their erection.

Descending from Calvary, the pilgrim enters the chapel of St.
Helena, in the low rocky vault beneath which the cross is said to
have been found. In this murky den, the invention (or finding)
of the cross is celebrated,in an appropriate mass by the Latins on4tho
3d of May. It is large enoughio contain about thirty or forty per-
sons, wedged in close array, and on that occasion it is generally
crowded. The year that Dr. Richardson was at Jerusalem, it hap-
pened that the day on which the festival was to be celebrated by
the Latins, was the same as that on which it was to be celebrated
by the Greeks ; and he witnessed the tug of war between the ec-
clesiastical combatants, who, with brick-bats and clubs, teeth and
nails, fought for their chapel like kites or crows for their nest. The
Romans were routed. « The devil aids the Greeks,' exclaimed the
superior of the Latin Convent, panting from the effects of a blow ;
1 they are schismatics ; and you Englishmen, who live in our con-
vent, see us beaten and do not assist us.' ' How can you expect it,'
it was rejoined, ' when, if we fell in your cause, you would not al-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 369

low us Christian burial?' The Greeks spent the night in firing
pistols and rejoicing ; and were fined by the cadi next morning for
disturbing his repose.

The fathers of the Latin convent annually perform the cruci-
fixion. Maundrell, who was present on one occasion, has given a
particular description of the dramatic ceremonies.

It is impossible to calculate the extent of the evil resulting from
this pernicious mummery, in its two-fold character of a delusion
on the minds of the pilgrims, and a stumbling-block in the way of
tho conversion of the Mahommedans. in the year 1820, upwards
of 3000 pilgrims visited the Holy City. They consisted of Greeks
from Russia, Turkey, and Asia Minor, — Armenians, chiefly from
Anatolia, — Copts, Syrians, and about fifty Roman Catholics from
Damascus. Very few of them were able to read, and scarcely one
had seen a copy of the Scriptures. The true character of their
religion may be "judged of from the fact that the chief objects of
the Greek pilgrims are, to obtain candles touched with the sacred
fire, under the idea that, if burned at a person's funeral, they will
assuredly save his soul from punishment ; and to bathe themselves,
and dip their linen in the Jordan, bringing these clothes back to be
carefully preserved for their winding-sheet. 'If this be not hea-
thenism,' it has been remarked, 'what is Christianity?' Every
friend of his species must devoutly wish that all the murky dens
and grottoes of superstition, which profane and infest the once
sacred city, were laid open to the day, and the whole system of
scandalous imposture finally abolished.

The only genuine objects of interest in the Church of the Sepul-
chre were the tombs of Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother
Baldwin : they are described by Chateaubriand as two stone coffins,
supported by four little pillars, with Latin epitaphs in Gothic char-
acter. They had nothing to recommend them but their antiquity.
Mr. Buckingham states, that they have been spitefully destroyed by
ihe Greeks, so that not a vestige of them remains.

The reader must have had more than enough of the suppbsiti-
tious sacred places, and it cannot be necessary to particularize the
absurd legions which affect to point out the precise spot on which
every circumstance in the evangelical narrative occurred, down to
the window out of which Dives looked upon Lazarus, and the
place where Peter's cock crew. Whatever objects of antiquarian
interest Jerusalem may yet contain, remain to be brought to light
by excavation, which, under present circumstances, is impractica-
ble. By far the most interesting objects within the city are

THE JEWS.

The Jews reside chiefly on the edge of Mount Zion, and in the
lower part of the city, near the shambles, which, in summer, are
dreadfully offensive. Here, again, we shall avail ourselves of the
account given of the present condition of the Jews of Jerusalem

370 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

by Dr. Richardson. He reports their number to be 10,000 ; an
amazing increase, if correct, within the past thirty years.

Many of the Jews are rich and in comfortable circumstances;
and possess a good deal of property in Jerusalem ; but they are
careful to conceal their wealth, and even their comfort, from the
jealous eye of their rulers, lest, by awakening their cupidity, some
vile, indefensible plot should be devised to their prejudice. In
going to visit a respectable Jew in the holy city, it is a common
thing to pass to his house over a ruined foreground and up an
awkward outside stair, constructed of rough unpolished stones, that
totter under the foot ; but it improves as you ascend, and at the
top has a respectable appearance, as it ends in an agreeable plat-
form in front of the house. On entering the house itself, it ia
found to be clean and well furnished ; the sofas are covered with
Persian carpets, and the people seem happy to receive you. The
visiter is entertained with coffee and tobacco, as is the custom in
the houses of the Turks and Christians. The ladies presented
themselves with an ease and address that surprised me, and called
to my memory the pleasing society of Europe. This difference of
manner arises from many of the Jewish Yamilies in Jerusalem
having resided in Spain or Portugal, when the females had rid
themselves of the cruel domestic fetters of the East, and, on return-
ing to their beloved land, had very properly maintained their justly
acquired freedom and rank in society. They almost all speak a
broken Italian, so that conversation goes on without the clumsy
aid of an interpreter.

'It was the feast of the Passover, and they were all eating
unleavened bread ; some of which was presented to me as a curi-
osity, and I partook of it merely that I might have the gratification
of eating unleavened bread, with the sons and daughters of Jacob,
in Jerusalem ; it is very insipid fare, and no one would eat it from
choice. For the same reason I went to the synagogue, of which
there are two in Jerusalem, although I visited only one. The
form of worship is the same as in this country, and I believe in
every country which the Jews inhabit. The females have a sepa-
rate part of the synagogue assigned to them, as in the synagogues
in Europe, and in the Christian churches all over the Levant.
They are not however, expected to be frequent or regular in their
attendance on public worship. The ladies generally make a point
of going on the Sunday, that is the Friday night or Saturday
morning, after they are married ; and being thus introduced in
their new capacity, once a year is considered as sufficient compli-
ance, on their part, with the ancient injunction to assemble thenv
selves together in the house of prayer. Like the votaries of some
Christian establishments, the Jewesses trust more to the prayers of
their priests than to their own.

'The synagogues in Jerusalem are both poor and small, not
owing to the poverty of their possessors, but to the prudential
motives above mentioned.'

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 371

'The Jewesses in Jerusalem speak in a decided and firm tone,
unlike the hesitating and timid voice of the Arab and Turkish
females ; and claim the European privilege of differing from their
husbands, and maintaining their own opinions. They are fair and
good looking; red and auburn hair are by no means uncommon in
either of the sexes, I never saw any of them with veils ; and was
informed that it is the general practice of the Jewesses in Jerusa-
lem to go with their faces uncovered : they are the only females
there who do so.

'In passing up the synagogue, I was particularly struck with the
mean and wretched appearance of the houses on both sides of the
streets as well as with the poverty of their inhabitants. Some of
the old men and old women had more withered and hungry
aspects than any of our race 1 ever saw, with the exception of the
caverned dames at Gornou, in Egyptian Thebes, who might have
sat in a stony field as a picture of famine the year after the flood.
The sight of a poor Jew in Jerusalem has in it something pecu-
liarly affecting. The heart of this wonderful people, in whatever
clime they roam, still turns to it as the city of their promised rest.
They take pleasure in her ruins, and would lick the very dust for
her sake. Jerusalem is the centre around which the exiled sons of
Judah build, in airy dreams, the mansions of their future greatness.
In whatever part of the world he may live, the heart's desire of a
Jew, when gathered to his fathers, is to be buried in Jerusalem.
Thither they return from Spain and Portugal, from Egypt and
Barbary, and other countries among which they have been scat-
tered ; and when, after all their longings, and all their struggles up
the steeps of life, we see them poor, and blind, and naked in the
streets of their once happy Zion, he must have a cold heart that
can remain untouched by their sufferings, without uttering a
prayer that the light of a reconciled countenance would shine on
the darkness of Judah, and the day-star of Bethlehem arise in
their hearts.

1 The Jews are the best cicerones in Jerusalem, because they
generally give the ancient names of places, which the guides and
interpreters belonging to the different convents do not. They are
not forward in presenting themselves, and must generally be
sought for.'

BEAD AND RELIC TRADE. — In Jerusalem, there is scarcely any
trade, and but few manufactures ; the only flourishing one is that
of crucifixes, chaplets, beads, shells and relics, of which whole car-
goes are shipped from Jaffa, for Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The
shells are of the kind called mother-of-pearl, ingeniously
though coarsely sculptured into various shapes. Those of the larg-
est size, and the most perfect, are formed into clasps for the zones
of the Greek women. Such clasps are worn by the ladies of Cy-
prus, Crete, Rhodes, and other islands of the Archipelago. All
these, after being purchased, are taken to the church of St. Sepul-
chre, where they undergo the process of benediction or conseera-

372 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

tion, and are then fit for use. In like manner, beads and crosses
purchased at Loretto, are placed in a wooden bowl belonging to
the house of the Virgin, to be consecrated for the purpose of being
worn as amulets. The beads are manufactured either from date
stones, or from a very hard kind of wood called Mecca fruit ; when
first wrought, it appears of the color of box ; it is then dyed yel-
low, black, or red. They are of various sizes; the smaller are the
most esteemed, on account of the greater number used to fill a string ;
and rosaiies sell at higher prices when they have been long worn,
because the beads acquire a polish by friction. Strings of beads are
in request equally among the Moslems and the Christians. The
custom of carrying them appears to have been in use long before
the Christian era, and still prevails in the East. This is but one
instance among many, of the Heathen origin of the Romish cus-
toms. The shell worn as a badge by pilgrims, had probably a sim-
ilar origin : it was an ancient symbol of Astarte, the Syrian Venus.
Rosaries and amulets are made also of the black fetid lime-stone of
the Dead Sea, to be worn as a charm against the plague. Amulets
of the same mineral substance have been found in the chambers
below the pyramids of Sakhara, in Upper Egypt; the effluvia is
owing to the presence of Sulphuretted hydrogen. The Armenians
and the Jews are the chief traders in these sacred wares.

MOUNT SIGN. The Armenian convent, with its church and gar-
dens, occupies the whole of that part of Mount Sion which is now
within the walls; the greater part is now excluded from the city;
and for the best description of this interesting site, we must avail
onrselves of Dr. Richardson's Travels.

* Passing out by Zion's gate, or as it is more frequently denomin-
ated, the gate of David, the first object that meets the eye of the
traveller, is a long, dingy looking Turkish mosque, situated on the
middle of Mount Zion. It is called the mosque of the prophet
David, and is said to be built over his tomb, which is still exhibited
in the interior, and is held in the greatest possible veneration by the
Mussulmans. The Sautones, belonging to the mosque in Mount
Zion, are the most powerful in Jerusalem. Part of this building
was anciently the church of the Coenaculum, where our Saviour
ate the last supper with his disciples ; and I was shewn into an up-
per room in the front of the building, which both the Santon and
the Ciceroni affirmed to be the identical room in which this memo-
rable event to which the Christian world owes the institution of the
Holy Sacrament of the Supper took place, I should probably have
believed them, had I not learnt from higher authority, that thirty-
nine years thereafter, not only the walls, but every house in Jeru-
salem, had been rased from its foundation, and the ground plough-
ed up by the Roman soldiers, in order that they might discover the
treasures which they supposed the unfortunate Jews had hidden
under their feet.

' To the right of the mosque, and between it and the gate of the
city, there is a small Armenian chapel, built on the spot where for-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 373

merly stood the palace of Caiaphas. It is remarkable for nothing
but that the stone which closed up the door of the holy sepulchre
is built in an altar at the upper end of it, and exposed in several pla-
ces to be kissed and caressed, like other precious relics. It is an un-
polished block of compact lime-stone, the same with the rock on
which the city stands, and does nor, like the block of polished mar-
ble in present use, carry in its face the refutation of its once having
served the office assigned to it, though I confess there is almost as
little probability that it ever did.

A few paces to the west of the chapel, there is a Christian bury-
ing ground ; and among the lettered tomb-stones are several inscrib-
ed in the language of our own country. They record the names
and cover the ashes of Englishmen, who are reported to have met
their deaths in a way not very creditable to the Franciscan convent.
A little to the south of this is shown the place where the Virgin
Mary expired ; and on the north side of the gate is shown — what?
the place where the cock crew to Peter.

' Such is the sum total of the information which the traveller re-
ceives from his guide respecting the topography of this interesting
spot, Mount Zion. At the time when 1 visited this sacred ground,
one part of it supported a crop of barley, another was undergoing
the labor of the plough, and the soil turned up consisted of stone
and lime mixed with earth, such as is usually met with in the foun-
dations of ruined cities. It isneaily a mile in circumference, is high-
est on the west side, and towards the east, falls down in broad ter-
races on the upper part of the mountain, and narrow ones on the
side, as it slopes down towards the brook Kedron. Each terrace
is divided from the one above it by a low wall of dry stone,
built of the ruins of this celebrated spot. The terraces near the
bottom of the hill are still used as gardens, arid are watered from
the pool of Siloam. They belong chiefly to the inhabitants of the
small village of Siloa, immediately opposite. We have here another
remarkable instance of the special fulfilment of prophecy : 'There-
fore shall Zion for your sakes be ploughed as a field, and Jerusa-
lem shall become heaps.' — Micah iii. 12.

' Mount Zion is considerably higher than the ground on the
north, on which the ancient city stood, or that on the east leading
on to the valley of Jehoshaphat, but has very little relative height
above the ground on the south and on the west, and must have
owed its boasted strength principally to a deep ravine, by which it
is encompassed on the east, south, and west, and the strong high
walls and towers by which it was enclosed and flanked completely
round. This ravine, or valley, as the term has been rendered,
though the word trench or ditch would have conveyed a more cor-
rect idea of its appearance, seems to have been formed, by art on
the south and on the west, the surface of the ground on each side
being nearly of equal height, though Mount Zion is certainly the
highest, yet so little so that it could not have derived much addi-
tional strength from its elevation. The breadth of this ditch is
33

374 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

stated by Sfrabo, to be about 150 feet, and its depth, or the height
of Mount Zion above the bottom of the ravine, to be about sixty
feet. The measurement, in both instances, is nearly correct, and
furnishes one among many proofs that we derive from other sources,
fhat the places now called by these names are the same as those
that were anciently so denominated. The bottom of this ravine is
rock, covered with a thin sprinkling of earth, and, in the winter
season, is the natural channel for conveying off the water that falls
into it from the higher ground ; but, on both sides, the rock is cut
perpendicularly down, and most probably it was the quarry from
which the greater part of the stones were taken for building the ci-
ty. The precipitous edge of the ravine is more covered with earth
on the side of Mount Zion than on the other side, which is proba-
bly owing to the barbarous custom of razing cities from their foun-
dations, and tumbling both earth and stone into the ditch below.
The loose stones have been all removed from it for building the
present city. This ravine extends further north than the present
wall of the city, and ends in a gradual slope of deep earth, so as to
countenance the opinion that it once extended further than it does
now.'

The Mount of Olives forms part of a ridge of lime-stone hills,
extending to the north and the south-west. Pococke describes it
has having ibur summits. On the lowest and most northerly of
these, which, he tells us, is called Sulman Tashy, the stone of Solo-
mon, there is a large domed sepulchre, and several other Moham-
medan tombs. The ascent to this point, which is to the north-east
of the city, he describes as very gradual, through pleasant corn-
fields planted with olive trees. The second summit is that which
overlooks the city : the path to it rises from the ruined gardens of
Gethsernane, which occupy part of the valley. About halfway up
the ascent is a ruined monastery, built as the monks tell us, on the
spot where our Saviour wept over Jerusalem. From this point,
the spectator enjoys, perhaps, the best view of the Holy City. On
reaching the summit, an extensive view is obtained towards the
east, embracing the fertile plain of Jericho, watered by the Jordan,
and the Dead Sea, enclosed by mountains of considerable grandeur.
Here there is a small village, surrounded by some tolerable corn-
Jand. This summit is not relatively high, and would more proper-
ly be termed a hill, than a mountain ; it is not above two miles dis-
tant from Jerusalem. At a short distance from the summit is
shown the supposed print of our Savionr's/e/2foot — Chateaubriand
says the mark of the right was once visible, and Bernard de Brei-
denbach, saw it in 1483 — this is the spot fixed upon by the mother
of Constantine, as that from which our Lord ascended, and over
which she accordingly erected a church and monastery, the ruins
of which still remain. Pococke describes the building which was
standing in his time, as a small Gothic chapel, round within, and
octagonj*witLouf, and tells us that it was converted into a mosque.
The Turks, ior a stipulated sum, permit the Christian pilgrims to

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 375

take an impression of the foot- print in wax or plaster, to carry
home. 'Twice,' says Dr. Richardson, 'I visited this memorable
spot, and each time it was crowded with devout pilgrims, taking
casts of the holy vestige. They had to purchase permission of the
Turks; but, had it not been in the possession of the Turks, they
would have had to purchase it from the more mercenary and not
less merciless Romans or Greeks,' On Ascension eve, the Chris-
tians come and encamp in the court, and that night they '•perform
the offices of the Ascension.' Here, however, as with regard to
Calvary, and almost all the supposed sacred places, superstition has
blindly followed the blind. That this isnot the place of the Ascen-
sion, is certain from the words of St. Luke, who says that our Lord
led out his disciples * as far as Bethany, and lifted up his hands,
and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them,
he was parted from them, and carried up to heaven.' (Acts i.)

Bethany is a small village to the east of the Mount of Olives, on
the road to Jericho, not further from Jerusalem than the pinnacle of
the hill. There are two roads to it ; one passes over the Mount of
Olives ; the other, which is the shorter and easier, winds round the
eastern end, having the greater part of the hill on the north or left
hand, and on the right the elevation called by some writers the
Mount of Offence, which is, however, very little above the level of
the valley of Jehoshaphat. The village of Bethany is small and
poor, and the cultivation of the soil is much neglected ; but it is a
pleasant and somewhat romantic spot, sheltered by Mount Olivet
on the north, and abounding with trees and long grass. The in-
habitants are Arabs. Here they show the ruins of a sort of castle
as the house of Lazarus, and a grotto as his tomb, which, of course
is much frequented by pilgrims. On the eminence above is a small
Turkish mosque. The house of Simon the leper, of Mary Mag-
dalene, and of Martha, who, it seems, did not reside with her
brother, and the identical fig-tree which our Lord cursed, are
among the monkish curiosities of the place.

The third summit of the hill is further towards the south. Here
Pococke noticed two heaps of ruins, one of which, the Arabs told
him, had been a convent of Armenians. The fourth summit, still
further south, had also an Armenian convent : it was called, he
says, by the Arabs, Gorek-Nertebet.

Dr. Clarke has described some subterranean chambers on the
highest summit of Mount Olivet, which are not noticed by any
preceding traveller. One of them, he says, has the shape of a cone
of immense size, the vertex alone appearing level with the soil, and
exhibiting a small circular aperture like the mouth of a well ; the
sides extending below to a great depth. These were lined with a
hard, red stucco, like the substance covering the walls of the sub-
terranean galleries in the Isle of Aboukir. Dr. Clarke calls this
place a crypt and a subterranean pyramid, and supposes it may
Slave been appropriated to the idolatrous worship of Ashtaroth at

376 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

an early period of the Jewish history, and subsequently mads a re-
ceptacle for the bones of men.

The valley of Jehoshaphat, which lies between this mountain
and the hills on which Jerusalem is built, is still used as a burial-
place by the modern Jews, as it was by their ancestors. It is, gen-
erally speaking, a rocky flat, with a few patches of earth here and
there, about half a mile in breadth from the Kedron to the foot of
Mount Olivet, and nearly of the same length from Siloa to the gar-
den of Gethsemane. It is filled with tombs everywhere dug in the
rock, some of them large, indicating the superior condition of their
ancient possessors, but the greater part are small and of the ordina-
ry size. Many of the stones are covered with Hebrew inscriptions ;
and, to the learned in Rabbinical lore, this ancient grave -yard would
furnish an interesting field for investigation. The Jews have a
tradition, evidently founded on taking literally the passage, Joel iii.
]2, that this narrow valley will be the scene of the final judgment.
The prophet Jeremiah evidently refers to the same valley under
the name of the valley of the son of Hinnom, or the valley of To-
phet, the situation being clearly marked as being by the entry of
the east gate.

BETHLEHEM.

From the scene of our Lord's crucifixion and ascension, the pil-
grim proceeds to visit the place of his nativity. There arc two
roads from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. That which is used at pres-
ent is the shortest ; the old road is more to the west. Passing out
of the Jaffa gate, the traveller turns to the left, and, descending the
sloping bank into the ravine, leaves on his right the pool of Heze-
kiah ; he then ascends the rocky flat on the other side, and pro-
ceeds in a south-west direction, over rocky and barren ground, ex-
hibiting, in a few cultivated patches, some scanty crops of grain,
and in other parts, a covering of grass and wild flowers. The first
part of the road possesses little interest. The ruined town of Sim-
eon, the Greek monastery of Elias, and the tomb of Rachel, are
pointed out by the guides : the last is a Turkish oratory, with a
rounded top, like the whitened sepulchre of an Arab sheikh, and
the Turks are said to have a superstitious regard for the spot as a
burial-place. Dr. Clarke describes the first view of Bethlehem as
imposing. The town appears covering the ridge of a hill on the
southern side of a deep and extensive valley, and reaching from
east to west. The most conspicuous object is the monastery erect-
ed over the supposed ' Cave of the Nativity ; ' its walls and battle*
ments have the air of a large fortress. From this same point, the
Dead Sea is seen below on the left, seemingly very near, « but,*
says Sandys, ' not so found by the traveller ; for these high, declin-
ing mountains are not to be directly descended.' The road winds
round the top of a valley which tradition has fixed on as the scene
of the angelic vision which announced the birth of our Lord to the

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 377

Shepherds ; but different spots have been selected, the Romish au-
thorities not being agreed on this head.

The village of Bethlehem contains about 300 inhabitants, the
greater part of whom gain their livelihood by making beads, carv-
ing mother-of-pearl shells with sacred subjects, and manufacturing
small tables and crucifixes, all which are eagerly purchased by the
pilgrims. The monks of Bethlehem claim also the exclusive priv-
ilege of marking the limbs and bodies of the devotees with crosses,
stars, and monograms, by means of gunpowder; a practice
borrowed from the customs of heathenism, and noticed by Virgil
and Pornponius Mela. Pococke says: ' It is remarkable that the
Christians at Jerusalem, Bethlehem, St. John's and Nazareth, are
worse than any other Christians. I was informed that the women
of Bethlehem are very good; whereas those at Jerusalem are
worse than the men, who are generally better there than at the
other places.'

At about an hour's distance to the south of Bethlehem, are the
pools of Solomon. They are three in number, of an oblong figure,
and are supported by abutments. The antiquity of their appear-
ance entitles them, Dr. Richardson thinks, to be considered as the
work of the Jewish monarch : * like everything Jewish,' he says,
4 they are more remarkable for strength than for beauty.' They
are situated at the south end of a small valley, and are so disposed
on the sloping ground, that the waters of the uppermost may
descend into the second, and those of the second into the third.
That on the west is nearest the source of the spring, and is about
480 feet long ; the second is about 600 feet in length, arid the third
about 660; the breadth of all three being nearly the same, about
'270 feet. They are lined with a thick coat of plaster, and are
capable of containing a great quantity of water, which they dis-
charge into a small aqueduct that conveys it to Jerusalem. This
aqueduct is built on a foundation of stone : the water runs through
round earthen pipes, about ten inches in diameter, which are
cased with two stones, hewn out so as to fit them, and they are
covered over with rough stones, well cemented together. The
whole is so much sunk into the ground on the side of the hills
round which it is carved, that in many places nothing is to be seen
of it. In time of war, however, this aqueduct could be of no ser-
vice to Jerusalem, as the communication could be easily cut off".
The fountain which supplies these pools, is at about the distance
of 140 paces from them.

THE DEAD SEA.

This celebrated lake, which the prevailing passion for the mar-
vellous long invested with imaginary horrors, and of which the
natives themselves still speak with a degree of terror, has received
different names expressive of its character and origin. In Scrip-
ture, it is called the Sea of the Plain, the Salt Sea, nnd the East
33*

378 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

Sea. By Josephus, and the Greek and Roman writers, it is spokeft
of under the appellation of Lake Asphaltites, that is, the Bitumin-
ous Lake. St. Jerome styles it the Dead Sea, because, according
to the tradition, nothing could live in it. The Arabs call it El
Amout (the dead), and Bohr Louth, or the Sea of Lot; and the
Turks, according to Chateaubriand, Ula Deguisi. It is a lake
lying between two ranges of mountains, which enclose it on the
east and the west ; on the north it receives the Jordan from the
plain of Jericho ; while, on the south, it is equally open, and yet it
has no outlet for its waters. Reland, Pococke, and other travellers,
have supposed that it must throw off its superfluous waters by
some subterraneous channel ; but, although it has been calculated
that the Jordan daily discharges into it 6,090,000 tons of water,
besides what it receives from the Arnon and several smaller
streams, it is now known, that the loss by evaporation is adequate
to explain the absorption of the waters. Its occasional rise and
fall at certain seasons, is doubtless owing to the greater or less
volume which the Jordan and the other streams bring down from
the mountains.

The Jordan, at its embouchure, is deep and rapid, rolling a vol-
ume of waters from two to three hundred feet in width, with a cur-
rent so violent, that an expert swimmer, who attended Mr. Jolliffe,
found it impracticable to cross it. Dr. Shaw describes it, indeed,
as not more than thirty yards broad, and Maundrell, as only about
twenty yards over ; but they speak of its appearance at some dis-
tance from the mouth, where the pilgrims bathe. The former af-
firms that it runs about two miles an hour, — while the latter speaks
of its violent and turbid current, * too rapid to be swam against.'
It was the old opinion, that the waters of the river passed through
the lake without mingling with it ; and ' I thought I saw,' says Po-
cocke, ' the stream of a different color.' The fact is, that the water
of the lake is clear and of the color of the sea, while that of the Jor-
dan is muddy, and of course discolors the lake with its yellow cur-
rent.

The specific gravity of the waters of the Dead Sea is supposed to
have been much exaggerated by the ancient writers, but their state-
ments are now proved to be by no means very wide of the truth.
Pliny says, that no living bodies would sink in it; and Strabo, that
persons who went into it were borne up to their middle. Josephus
states, that Vespasian tried the experiment, by ordering some per-
sons who could not swim, to be thrown into the water with their
hands tied behind them, and that they all floated, as if impelled up-
wards by a subterranean current. Maundrell says; « Being willing
to make au experiment of its strength, I went into it, and found it
bore up my body in swimming with an uncommon force. But as
for that relation of some authors, that men wading into it were
buoyed up to the top as soon as they go as deep as the navel, I
found it by experiment not true.'

The question of its specific gravity, has been set to rest by the

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 379

chemical analysis of the waters made by Dr. Marcet, and publish-
ed in the London Philosophical Transactions for 1807. In 1778,
Messrs. Lavoisier, Macquer, and Le Sage had concluded, by experi-
ment, that a hundred pounds of the water contain forty -live pounds
six ounces of salt ; that is, six pounds four ounces of common ma-
rine salt, and thirty-eight ounces of marine salt with an earthly
base. But Dr. Marcet's more accurate analysis has determined the
specific gravity to be 1,211, (that of fresh water being 1000,) a de-
gree of density not to be met with in any other natural water ; and
it holds in solution the following salts, in the stated proportions to
100 grains of the water:

Muriate of lime 3,920 grains.

Muriate of magnesia 10,246

Muriate of soda 10,360
Sulphate of lime 0,054

24,580

So that the water of the lake contains about one-fourth of its weight
of salts, supposed in a state of perfect desiccation ; or if they be
desiccated at the temperature of 180° on Fahrenheit's scale, they
will amount to forty -one per cent, of the water. Its other general
properties are, that, 1. As stated by all travellers, it is perfectly
transparent. 2. Its taste is extremely bitter, saline, and pungent.
3. Re-agents demonstrate in it the presence of the marine and sul-
phuric acids. 4. It contains no alumine. 5. It is not saturated
with common salt. 6. It did not change the colors of the infusions
commonly used to ascertain the prevalence of an acid or an alkali,
such as litmus, violet and tumeric.

The water of the Jordan, when analysed, exhibited results strik-
ingly dissimilar. It is soft, has no saline taste, and 500 grains evap-
orated at 200°, left 0.8 grains of dry residue : that is, only 1-300 part
of the proportion of solid matter that is contained in the water of
the lake. Carbonate of lime was detected in the water of the river,
of which there is no trace in the salt water ; and two other precipi-
tates were produced, one of them magnesian. It is impossible to
account for this remarkable difference, on any other principle than
that which refers the origin of the lake to the convulsion recorded
in the Scripture narrative.

The Scriptural account is explicit, that ' the Lord rained upon
Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from heaven ;' v/hich
vre may safely interpret as implying a shower of inflamed sulphur,
or nitre. At the same time it is evident, that the whole plain un-
derwent a simultaneous convulsion, which seem referrible to the
consequences of a bituminous explosion. In perfect accordance
with this view of the catastrophe, we find the very materials, as it
were, of this awful visitation still at hand in the neighboring hills;
from which they might have been poured by the agency of a thun-

380 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

der-storra, without excluding a supernatural cause from the expla-
nation of the phenomena. Captains Irby and Mangles collected,
on the southern coast, lumps of nitre and fine sulphur, from the size
of a nutmeg up to that of a small hen's egg, which, it was evident
from their situation, had been brought down by the rain : « their
great deposit must be sought for,' they say, ' in the cliff'.'

In the plain bordering upon the lake are high rushes, which give
way to a variety of bushes and wild plants ; among others, several
species of acacia, the dwarf mimosa, the tamarisk, the wild cotton
plant, the doom, and the oschar. Captain Mangles describes also
a very curious tree, which abounds here ; its fruit resembling the
currant in its growth, but with the color of a plum ; having a
strong aromatic taste resembling mustard, and, if taken in any
quantity, producing the same irritability in the nose and eyes. The
leaves have the same pungent flavor in a less degree. On the
borders of the Derrah, they observed another peculiar shrub, its
branches inclining downwards, of a dull green, with little or no
foliage ; the fruit about the size of an almond in its green husk,
and not very dissimilar in color, but seamed or ribbed. When
ripe, it becomes soft and juicy, like a green gage, but the skin
retains its roughness. It contains a stone. The taste has a sort of
sweetness, mixed with a strong bitter ; the smell is sickly and dis-
agreeable. It is said by the natives to be poisonous, children
being reported to have frequently been disordered, and even to
have died, after eating it.

It was long a received tradition, that no living thing could pass
over this lake without being suffocated by the vapors, and that no
fish could endure the deadly waters. Captains Irby and Mangles
found on the shores a great number of dead locusts, which might
almost seem, they remark, to lend some countenance to the tale,
were it not a spectacle sufficiently common upon other shores, as
about El Arisen, and in Sicily. These, however, had not become
putrid, nor had they any smell, as when cast up by any other sea,
being completely penetrated and encrusted with salt; and they
had lost their color. Of the fabulous nature of one part of the
tradition, the travellers had ocular demonstration ; first, in a pair
of Egyptian geese, and afterwards in a flight of pigeons which
passed over the sea. And Maundrell saw several birds, he does
not say of what species, flying about and over the sea, without any
visible harm. The latter part also of the report, he adds, 1 1 have
some reason to suspect as false ; having observed among the peb-
bles on the shore two or three shells of fish, resembling oyster-
shells. These were cast up by the waves, at two hours' distance
from the mouth of the Jordan ; which 1 mention, lest it should be
suspected that they might be brought into the sea that way.'

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 381

LAKE OF TIBERIAS.

This inland sea, or more properly lake, which derives its several
names, the Lake of Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, and the Lake of
Gennesareth, from the territory which forms its western and south-
western border, is computed to he between seventeen and eighteen
miles in length, and from five to six in breadth. The mountains
on the east come close to its shore, and the country on that side
has not a very agreeable aspect : on the west, it has the plain of
Tiberias, the high ground of the plain of Hutin, or Hottein, the
plain of Gennesareth, and the foot of those hills by which you
ascend to the high mountain of Saphet. To the north and south
it has a plain country, or valley. There is a current throughout
the whole breadth of the lake, even to the shore ; and the passage
of the Jordan through it is discernible by the smoothness of the
surface in that part. Various travellers have given a very different
account of its general aspect. According to Captain Mangles, the
land about it has no striking features, and the scenery is altogether
devoid of character. ' It appeared,' he says, ' to particular disad-
vantage to us after those beautiful lakes we had seen in Switzer-
land ; but it becomes a very interesting object, when you consider
the frequent allusions to it in the Gospel narrative.' Dr. Clarke,
on the contrary, speaks of the uncommon grandeur of this memo-
rable scenery. ' The Lake of Gennesareth,' he says, 'is surround-
ed by objects well calculated to heighten the solemn impression '
made by such recollections, and ' affords one of the most striking
prospects in the Holy Land. Speaking of it comparatively, it may
be described as longer and finer than any of our Cumberland and
Westmoreland lakes, although perhaps inferior to Loch Lomond.
It does not possess the vastness of the Lake of Geneva, although
it much resembles it in certain points of view. In picturesque
beauty, it comes nearest to the Lake of Locarno in Italy, although
it is destitute of anything similar to the islands by which that
majestic piece of water is adorned. It is inferior in magnitude,
and the height of its surrounding mountains, to the Lake of
Asphaltites.' Mr. Buckingham may perhaps be considered as hav-
ing given the most accurate account, and one which reconciles in
some degree the differing statements above cited, when, speaking
of the lake as seen from Tel Hoom, he says — that its appearance is
grand, but that the barren aspect of the mountains on each side,
and the total absence of wood, give a cast of dulness to the picture;
this is increased to melancholy by the dead calm of its waters, and
the silence which reigns throughout its whole extent, where not a
boat or vessel of any kind is to be found.

There were fleets of some force on this lake during the wars of
the Jews with the Romans, and very bloody battles were fought be-
tween them. Josephus gives a particular account of a naval en*
gagement between the Romans under Vespasian, and the Jews who

382 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

had revolted during the administration of Agrippa Titus and Tra-
jan were both present, and Vespasian himself was on board the Ro-
man fleet. The rebel force consisted of an immense multitude,
who, as fugitives after the capture of Tarichsea by Titus, had sought
refuge on the water. The vessels in which the Romans defeated
them, were built for the occasion, and yet were larger than the Jew-
ish ships. The victory was followed by so terrible a slaughter of
the Jews, that nothing was to be seen, either on the lake or its
shores, but the blood and mangled corses of the slain, and the air
was infected by the number of dead bodies. Six thousand five
hundred persons are stated to have perished in this naval engage-
ment and in the battle of Tarichaea, besides twelve hundred who
were afterwards massacred in cold, blood by order of Vespasian, in
the amphitheatre at Tiberias, and a vast number who were given to
Agrippa as slaves.

Of the numerous towns which formerly flourished on the shores
of this lake, few traces now remain, and there is some difficulty in
determining even the sites of those whose names have come down
to us. About an hour and a qnarter to the northward of Tiberias,
following the course of the lake, is a small Mahoinmedan village
called Migdal, (which signifies in Hebrew a tower,) where there are
considerable remains of a very indifferent castle, that may possibly
have given its name to the place. It is seated near the edge of the
lake, beneath a range of high cliffs, in which are seen small grot-
toes or caves. The rums consist of an old square tower and some
larger buildings of rude construction, apparently ancient. It is
generally supposed that this is the Magdala of the Gospels, and the
Migdal of the earlier Scriptures.

THE VALE OF NAZARETH.

The delightful vale of Nazareth is described as a circular basin
encompassed by mountains. ' It seems,' says Dr. Richardson, ' as
if fifteen mountains met to form an enclosure for this delightful
spot: they rise round it like the edge of a shell to guard it from in-
trusion. It is a rich and beautiful field in the midst of barren
mountains : it abounds in fig-trees, small gardens, and hedges of
the prickly pear; and the dense, rich grass affords an abundant pas-
ture. The village stands on an elevated situation, on the west side
of the valley. The convent stands at the east end of the village,
on the high ground, just where the rocky surface joins the valley.

Nassara, or Naszera, is one of the principal towns in the pashalic
of Acre. Its inhabitants are industrious, because they are treated
with less severity than those of the country-towns in general. The
population is estimated at 3000, of whom 500 are Turks ; the re-
mainder are Christians. There are about ninety Latin families, ac-
cording to Burckhardt ; but Mr. Connor reports the Greeks to be
the most numerous: there is, besides, a congregation of Greek
Catholics, and another of Maronites. The Latin convent is a very

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 383

spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repair-
ed and considerably enlarged in 1730. The remains of the more
ancient edifice, ascribed to the mother of Constantine, may be ob-
served in the form of subverted columns, with fragments of capitals
and bases of pillars, lying near the modern building. Pococke
noticed, over a door, an old alto-relief of Judith cutting off the head
of Holofernes. Within the convent is the Church of the Annun-
ciation, containing the house of Joseph and Mary, the length of
which is not quite the breadth of the church, but it forms the prin-
cipal part of it. The columns and all the interior of the church are
hung round with darnask silk, which gives it a warm and rich ap-
pearance. Behind the great aliar, is a subterranean cavern, divided
into small grottoes, where the Virgin is said to have lived. Her
kitchen, parlor, and bed-room are shown, and also a narrow hole
in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his
persecutors. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots, are in the
habit of knocking oft' small pieces of stone from the walls, which
are thus considerably enlarging. In the church a miracle is still
exhibited to the faithful. In front of the altar are two granite col-
umns, each two feet one inch in .diameter, and about three feet
apart. They are supposed to occupy the very places where the
angel and the Virgin stood at the precise moment of the annunci-
ation. The innermost of these, that of the Virgin, has been broken
away, some say by the Turks, in expectation of fin ding treasure un-
der it ; 'so that,' as Mauudrell states, 'eighteen inches' length of it
is clean gone between the pillar and the pedestal.' Nevertheless it
remains erect, suspended from the roof; as if attracted by a load-
etone. It has evidently no support below ; and, though it touchts
the roof, the hierophant protests that it has none above. 'All tho
Christiana of Nazareth,' says Burckhardt, 'with the friars of course
at their head, affect to believe in this miracle, though it is perfectly
evident that the upper part of the columns is connected with the
roof.' 'The fact is,' says Dr. Clarke, ' that the capital and a piece
of a shaft of a pillar of grey granite have been fastened on to the
roof of the cave ; and so clumsily is the rest of the hocus pocus con-
trived, that what is shown for the lower fragment of the same pillar
resting upon the earth, is not of the same substance, but of Cipolino
marble. About this pillar, a different story has been related by al-
most every traveller since the trick was devised. Mauudrell and
Egmont and Heyman were told, that it was broken, in search of
hidden treasure, by a pasha who was struck with blindness for his
impiety. We were assured that it separated in this maimer, when
the angel announced to the Virgin the tidings of her conception.
The monks had placed a rail, to prevent persons infected with the
plague from coming to rub against these pillars ; this had been for
many years their constant practice, whenever afflicted with any
sickness. The reputation of the broken pillar, for healing every
kind of disease, prevails all over Galilee.'

Burckhardt says, that this church, next to that of the Holy Sep-

384 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

ulchre, is the finest in Syria, and contains two tolerable good or-
gans. Within the walls of the convent are two gardens, and a
small burying-ground : the walls are very thick, and serve occa-
sionally as a fortress to all the Christians in the town. There are
at present eleven friars in the convent ; they are chiefly Spaniards.
The yearly expenses of the establishment are stated to amount
to upwards of 900/., a small part of which is defrayed by the rent of
a few houses in the town, and by the produce of some acres of
corn-land : the rest is remitted from Jerusalem. The whole annu-
al expenses of the Terra Santa con vents are about 15,OOOJ., of which
the Pasha of Damascus receives about I2,000/. The Greek con-
vent of Jerusalem, according to JBurckhardt's authority, pays much
more, as well to maintain its own privileges, as with a view to en-
croach upon those of the Latins.

MOUNT TABOR.

Mount Tabor, having been pitched upon as the scene of the
Transfiguration, ranks among the sacred places to which pilgrims
repair from Nazareth. It is minutely described by both Pococks
and Maundrell.

The road from Nazareth lies for two hours between low hills ; it
then opens into the Plain of Esdraelon. At about two or three
furlongs within the plain, and six miles from Nazareth, rises this
singular mount, which is almost entirely insulated, its figure repre-
senting a half-sphere.' ' It is,' says Pococke, ' one of the finest hills
I ever beheld, being a rich soil that produces excellent herbage,
and is most beautifully adorned with groves and clumps of trees.
The ascent is so easy, that we rode up the north side by a winding
road. Some authors mention it as near four miles high, others as
about two : the latter may be true, as to the winding ascent up the
hill. The top of it, which is about half a mile long, and near a
quarter of a mile broad, is encompassed with a wall, which Jose-
phus built in forty days : there was also a wall along the middle of
it, which divided the south part, on which the city stood, from the
north part, which is lower, and is called the meidan, or place, being
probably used for exercises when there was a city here, which
Josephus mentions by the name of Ataburion. Within the outer
wall on the north side, are several deep fosses, out of which, it is
probable, the stones were dug to build the walls; and these losses
seem to have answered the end of cisterns, to preserve the rain-
water, and were also some defence to the city. There are like-
wise a great number of cisterns under ground, for preserving the
rain-water. To the south, where the ascent was most easy, there
are fosses cut on the outside, to render the access to the walls more
difficult. Some of the gates also of the city remain : as the gate
of the winds, to the west ; and the arched gate, a small one to the
south. Antiochus, King of Syria, took the fortress on the top of
his hill. Vespasian also got possession of it ; and after that, Jose-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 385

]>hus fortified it with strong walls. But what has made it more
famous than any thing else, is the common opinion, from the time
of St. Jerome, that the transfiguration of our Saviour was on this
mountain. On the east part of the hill are the remains of a strong
castle ; and within the precinct of it is the grot, in which are three
altars in memory of the three tabernacles which St. Peter propos-
ed to build, and where the Latin fathers always celebrate on the
day of the Transfiguration. It is said, there was a magnificent
church built here by St. Helena, which was a cathedral when this
town was made a bishop's see. There was formerly a convent of
Benedictine monks here ; and, on another part of the hill, a
monastery of Basilians, where the Greeks have an altar, and per-
form their service on the festival of the Transfiguration. On the
side of the hill, they show a church in a grot, where they say
Christ charged his disciples not to tell what things they had seen
till he was glorified.'

ROUTE TO NABLOUS AND TIBERIAS.

For some hours after leaving Jerusalem, the route to the north
lies over a rugged and mountainous country, which, though sus-
ceptible of cultivation by being terraced, now presents an aspect of
frightful nakedness and sterility. The road, if it may be called
such, is rough and stony ; and no object of interest occurs before
the traveller arrives at Beer, which is three hours and a half (about
ten miles) from Jerusalem. The name of the place is derived
from its well, which Bar signifies. It seems, Dr. Richardson says,
to have been once a place of considerable consequence; and
Maundrell supposed it to be the Beer referred to, Judges ix. 21, to
which Jothurn fled from the revenge of Abimelech. 'It is suppos-
ed also,' he adds, 'to be the same with Michrna&h, 1 Sam. xiv. 5.'
But Reland, on the authority of Eusebitis, places Michmas near
Jerusalem, in the direction of Rama. Close to the well, which is
at the bottom of the declivity on which stands the village, are the
mouldering walls of a. ruined khan ; and on the summit of the hill,
two large arches still remain of a ruined convent — Maundrell calls
it an old church, and says it was built by the empress Helena, in
commemoration of the Virgin's coming as far as this spot in quest
of the child Jesus, as related Luke x. 24 ! A little beyond Beer
two roads meet: that on the right conducts to Nablous. 'After
two hours' travelling along the same rocky path,' says Dr. Richard-
son, ' we passed the village of Einbroot, which is finely situated on
our left, on the top of a hill. The adjoining valley is well cultivat-
ed, and the sides of the hills are raised in terraces,*aud planted with
the olive, the vine, and the fig-tree. On approaching Einbroot,
the guide of the caravan called out for us to march in close order.
Here it was reported that we were in danger of being attacked by
banditti, and that the muskets were seen pointed at us over the
stones ; but upon the guide, who rode considerably in advance,

386 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

informing them who the party were whom they meant to attack^,
that they travelled under the protection of a firman from the Porte
and the pasha of Acre, and, what was, perhaps, as powerful a dis-
suasive, that we were armed, and could fight as well as they could,
they withdrew their weapons of offence, and remained quiet. A
little further on we passed two villages on our left, the names of
which I did not learn. The road lay partly through a rocky dell,
and partly through a narrow cultivated valley ; but the general
aspect of the country was particularly wild and barren. The next
village that we passed was called Engeeb, also on the top of a hill
on the left, and the adjoining ground was well cultivated in the
same manner. After this, we passed a fine looking picturesque
hill, every way susceptible of cultivation, at the foot of which we
entered the small valley of Khan Leban, where we found the
ruins of an old khan, with many mouldering vaults, and a plentiful
spring of clear water, much infested with small worms. It derives
its name from a village called Leban, at the other end of the valley.
It is eight hours from Jerusalem. Here we pitched our tents for
the night, the place being agreeable and convenient, with plenty of
grass for the animals.

Maundrell describes this spot as * a delicious vale,' and says, that
either Khan Leban, which is on the eastern side, or the village
which is on the opposite side, is supposed to be the site of the
ancient Lebonah. He notices also a village called Cinga, lying
at some distance on the traveller's left, about three quarters
of an hour south of Khan Leban ; and, between this and
Engeeb, he describes a very narrow valley between two high
rocky hills, where he found the ruins of a village and a 'monastery,
supposed to mark the site of the ancient Bethel, which was on the
confines of Ephraim and Benjamin. The monastery is almost
sufficient to awake the suspicion that this was not Bethel : possibly,
the Arabs, who are the best authorities, could decide the point, as
they have almost uniformly preserved the ancient names. But
neither the empress Helena nor the monks ever thought of consult-
ing them.

'Having passed the village of Leban,' continues Dr. Richardson,
'the road, winding with the valley, proceeds in a northern direc-
tion. Here the ground is rich and well cultivated, and several
ploughs were busily engaged. We next passed the village of
Zanio, and travelling for a considerable time over a mountainous
and barren track, descended into a fertile valley, where we found
the reapers cutting down an excellent crop of barley. Here are
three comfortable looking villages near each other; the first is
named Cousa, the second Anabous, and the third Couara. We are
now about two hours and a half from Nablous. The ground in
this valley is remarkably stony, but well cultivated. Having
ascended the hill, we passed on our right the tomb of the patriarch
Joseph, situated in the plain below. It is now a Turkish oratory
with a whitened dome, like the tomb of his mother Rachael 011 the

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 387

road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. At a little distance, in
the same plain, and nearer to the mountain, probably Gerizim, we
saw another building resembling the tomb of an Arab sheikh, and
said to be Jacob's Well. At the top of the hill we opened a fine
olive grove, with a stream of water in front of it. Here being
anxious to have a view of Jacob's Well, we proceeded across the
field in that direction, but had not advanced far .before we were
assailed by prohibitory calls from a smali fort on the side of the
hill; to which, however, as we did not understand them, we, at
first, paid no attention ; but the calls were speedily followed by the
discharge of a musket fired across our front. This arrested our
progress, and drew our attention to the place from which it came.
Upon this the calls were redoubled, and our guide coming up in-
formed us, that we were addressed by the guard who was placed
there to keep the pass, and that we could not proceed to Jacob's
Well. We had previously been informed that the Arabs around
Nablous were in arms against the governor; but this is the only
specimen of Turkish vigilance that occurred to us on the road.
We saw no symptoms of rebellion among the Arabs.'

Here again the question presents itself, Is this the well of the
patriarch whose name it now bears? Who gave it this name, the
natives or the Christians? Dr. Clarke, who can be sometimes in-
credulous, but at other times very confiding, says, that 'this is allow-
ed by all writers' to be the spot referred to, John iv. 6, where our
Saviour had the memorable conference with the Samaritan wo-
man* The concurrence of *all writers' cannot throw the least
light on; the fact ; as one after another has but repeated the le-
gend handed down from the days of that ' great and devout patron-
ess of the Holy Land,' as honest Maundrell slyly calls the empress
Helena, who is said to have built a church over the well of which
4 a few, foundations ' were then remaining. This faithful traveller,
however, notices as a difficulty, the distance at which this well is
situated from the modern city. * If it should be questioned,' he
says, ' whether this be the very well that it is pretended for, or no,
seeing it may be suspected to stand too remote from Sychar for wo-
men to come so far to draw water, it is answered, that probably the
€ity extended further this way in former times than k does now,
as may be conjectured from some pieces of a very thick wall still
to be seen not far from hence. These pieces of wall are but a sor-
ry voucher for the suppposed extension of the city eastward, so far
beyond the present walls ; and they are quite as likely to be the
work of the said empress. The simple circumstance of the dis-
tance of this well from Sychar (above a mile), would not, however,
disprove its identity, were there no springs nearer the town, or
were there no other reason for hesitation. But Mr. Buckingham
states, that, on inquiring of the inhabitants for the Bir (or Beer) el
Yakoab, he was told by every body that this was in the town. As
this information did not correspond to the 'described place of the
well,' it led to further explanation ; and, 'at length by telling the
*tory attached to it, we found,' he says, 'it was known here only by

388 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

the name of Beer Samareta, or the Well of Samaria.' It is not a lit-
tle singular, that this traveller should not, so far as appears, have
visited what now bears the name of Jacob's Well. That name
may have been arbitrarily or ignorantly given to it by the Turks j
otherwise, it would be highly deserving of attention. It is plain,
from the narrative of St. John, that Jacob's Well, where our Lord
rested while the disciples went forward into the city to by meat,
was at some short distance from Sychur ; and consequently, the
Beer el Yakoab, if absolutely within the town, can hardly be enti-
tled to the appellation. Mr. Buckingham notices, however, a third
well, * not far from the Well of Samaria, ' called the, Beer Yusef, or
Joseph's Well, over which there is a modern building ; and ' it is
said to be even at this day frequented for water from Nablous.'
The well of Samaria might, therefore, he remarks, also have been
so from Sy char. But if this third well derives its name from the
patriarch Joseph, to whom Jacob gave the parcel of ground con-
taining the place of sepulchre 'before the city,' it is very possible
that this Beer Yousef may be the well on which our Lord sat : it
would be correctly referred to as Jacob's Well by the evangelist,
although it bore the name of his son. It must be left to future
travellers to decide on the probabilities of the case. In the mean
time, we return to the account given us of the 'Well of Samaria.'
Having procured a Christian boy for a guide, Mr. Buckingham
left Nablous by the eastern gate, and after passing along the valley
for about a quarter of an hour, he arrived at the spot where the
pass opens into a more extensive vale, the mountains on the other
side of the Jordan being in sight on the left. Here he had on each
side grottoes and tombs, which we shall presently notice ; and from
hence, in another quarter of an hour, he reached the Well of Sa-
maria. 'It stands,' he says, ' at the commencement of the round
vale which is thought to be the parcel of ground bought by Jacob,
and which, like the narrow valley west of Nablous, is rich and fer-
tile. The mouth of the well itself had an arched or vaulted build-
ing over it ; and the only passage down to it at this moment is by a
small hole in the roof, scarcely large enough for a moderate-sized
person to work himself through.' Taking off his large Turkish
clothes, our traveller descended with a lighted taper, but even then
did not get down without bruising himself against the sides. ' Nor
was I,' he says, 'at all rewarded for such an inconvenience by the
sight below. Landing on a heap of dirt and rubbish, we saw a
large, flat, oblong stone, which lay almost on its edge across the
mouth of the well, and left barely space enough to see that there
was an opening below. We could not ascertain its diameter, but,
by the time of a stone's descent.it was evident that it was of con-
siderable depth, as well as that it was perfectly dry at this season
(Feb.), the fall of the stone giving forth a dead and hard sound. '
Maundrell removed the ' broad flat stone ' which lay on the mouth,
and examined the well more minutely. ' It is,' he says, 'dug in a
firm rock, and contains about three yards in diameter and thirty-
five in depth ; Jive of which we found full of water.1 This was the

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 389

latter end of March. 'This confutes a story,' he adds, 'commonly
told to travellers, who do not take the pains to examine the well, viz.
that it is dry all the year round, except on the anniversary of that
day on which our hlessed Saviour sat upon it, but then bubbles up
with abundance of water.' One would imagine,- that the ' old stone
vault' built over the spot was designed to protect the legend, rather
than the well, by concealing it from examination. If this were
really the well to which the inhabitants of Sychar were accustomed
to resort, it would be difficult to account for its having been thus
abandoned.

Nablous (as it is pronounced by the Turks and Arabs, or Naplosa,
as the Christians who speak Italian call it — a corruption of Neapo-
lis, or New Town) is one of the few places in the Holy Land, the
ancient name of which appears to be superseded by that which it has
received from its foreign conquerors. Its position identifies the
site, beyond all question, with the Shechern of the Old Testament*
and the Sychar (or Sichem, as Jerome contends it should be) of the
New, the ancient capital of Samaria. Josephus says that the na-
tives called it Mabartha, but by others it was commonly called
Neapolis. Few places exceed it in the romantic beauty of its po-
sition. It is situated in ft narrow valley between Mount Ebal and
Mount Gerizim, having the former on the north, and the latter on
the south ; but it is correctly described by Maundrell as lying under
Mount Gerizim, being built at the acclivity on the southern side of
the valley. It was from Mount Gerizim that God commanded the
blessings to be pronounced upon the children of Israel, and from
Mount Ebal the curses, respectively annexed to obedience and dis-
obedience, on their entering the promised land by way of Jericho
and Ai : half of the tribes were to be encamped over against the one
hill, and half against the other, f The modern town consists of two
long streets, running through the centre of the valley, and intersect-
ed by several smaller ones, mostly crossing them at righ!; angles.
At the present time it is populous and flourishing, and the environs
bear the marks of opulence and industry, being adorned with small
gardens that skirt the banks of the stream by which the valley is
watered. ' We passed.' says Dr. Richardson, ' its scarcely moisten-
ed bed, and a little above the town saw an ancient bridge with
twelve arches, which were still capable of maintaining the com-
munication between the two sides of the valley.' Dr. Clarke, in
approaching it from Jennin, was struck with its flourishing appear-
ance. 'There is nothng in the Holy Land finer,' he affirms, ' than
the view of Napolose from the heights around it. As the traveller
descends towards it from the hills, it appears luxuriantly embosom-
ed in the most delightful and fragrant bowers, half concealed by rich
gardens, and by stately trees collected into groves all around the
bold and beautiful valley in which it stands.' ' Within the town are

* Gen. xxxiii. 18 •, xxxvii. 13 : Josh. xxiv. 32 : Judges ix. f Deut. xi. 39 j xxvii.

.'13!, 13 } Josh. viii. 33.

34*

390 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

six mosques, five baths, one Christian church of schismatic Greeks,
an excellent covered bazar for fine goods, and an open one for pro-
visions, besides numerous cotton-cloth manufactories, and shops of
every description.' Dr. Clarke says, the principal trade is in soap ;
but the manufactures of the town supply a very widely extended
neighborhood. The watermelons too of Nablous are equal, he
says, to those of Jaffa. The resident population is supposed to
amount to 10,000, though Mr. Buckingham thinks this is rather
over-rating the numbers. These are almost allMahommedans, the
Greek Christians scarcely amounting, he says, to fifty. But Mr.
Connor states that there are about a hundred. They have one
church and two priests. Though the commerce is so considerable,
there are few Jews, owing perhaps to a religious prejudice against
the place ; Mr. Buckingham says, none among the permanent resi-
dents,— Mr. Connor says, ' about fifteen individuals.' Of the Sa-
maritans, of whom a respectable remnant existed here so late as the
time of Maundreli's journey, about a century ago, the reverend gen-
tleman last mentioned gives the following Interesting account. ' I
immediately made inquiry about the Samaritans. My host stepped
out, and fetched their priest: he sat with me some time : his name
is Shalmor ben Tabiah •. he is a native of Napolose, and is about
forty years of age.

'There are about forty Samaritans in Napolose. They have but
one synagogue in the town, where they have service every Satur-
day. Four times a year they go, in solemn procession, to the old
synagogue on Mount Gerizim ; and, on these occasions, they go up
before sunrise, and read the law till noon. On one of these days of
they kill six or seven rams. The Samaritans have one school in
Napolose, where their language is taught. The head of the sect re-
sides in Paris.

' I accompanied the priest to his house, and sat a long time with
him. There were several Jews present: they seem to live on
friendly terms with the Samaritans here. The priest showed me
part of the first volume of the English Polyglott, mentioned by
Maundrell : it consisted of about a dozen tattered leaves. He show-
ed me also a manuscript Samaritan Pentateuch, with an Arabic
version at its side ; this version, however, is not used in their syna-
gogue. He afterwards took me to see the synagogue, making me
first take off my shoes : it is a small gloomy building. I observed
a number of copies of the Samaritan Pentateuch, carefully envelop-
ed in linen, and laid on a shelf in the synagogue. Expressing a
wish to see the ancient manuscript, said by the Samaritans to be
3500 years old, the priest paused, and hesitated some time. I press-
ed him. Having laid aside his upper garments, he at length enter-
ed the sanctuary, and produced the venerated manuscript. It is
well written on vellum, in the Samaritan character, and is preserv-
ed in a tin roller : it bears the marks of age, and is rather tattered.
The priest would not permit me, nor any one present to touch it.
He was very inquisitive about the Samaritans who, he had heard,
were in England.'

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 391

The accounts which we have of the ancient Samaritans, (or Cut-
haeans, as they are called by the Jewish writers, from the founder
of the sect, Sanballad, a Cuthite,) have cboie to us chiefly through
their inveterate enemies the Jews; whose contempt and hatred
were apparently excited hy their being a mixed race, of doubtful
genealogy, and schismatical in their creed. In rejecting the whole
of the Old Testament excepting the Pentateuch, they were coun-
tenanced by the Sadducees. Our Lord, however, declares, that
they worshipped they knew notxwhat ; * which seems to imply that,
although they cherished, in common with the Jews, the expecta-
tion of a Messiah, their worship had still an idolatrous tincture : they
* feared the Lord,' but, if they did not still 'serve graven images,'
like their ancestors, f they did not worship God as a Spirit. Not-
withstanding their emnity against the Jews, they joined in revolt
against the Romans, and shared in the calamities of the guilty na-
tion. After the fall of Jotapata and Jaffa, eleven thousand six hun-
dred of them are stated to have posted themselves on Mount Gerizim;
as if, like the Jews of Jerusalem, trusting to the protection of their
temple,;or resolved to perish on the'sacred spot. The Roman gen-
eral Cerealis, with 600 horsemen and 300 footmen, blockaded them
here ; and after inviting them to surrender, which they obstinately
refused, put the greater part to the sword.

Five centuries after the Christian era, the Samaritans, who still
remained a distinct, though motley race, had so increased in strength
that they rose in arms, under the standard of a desperate leader, to
protect themselves against the persecution of the emperor Justinian.
They were, says Gibbon, * an ambiguous sect, rejected as Jews by
the Pagans, by the Jews as schismatics, and by the Christians as
idolaters. One hundred thousand, it has been computed, perished,
or were sold as captives in the Samaritan war, which converted the
once fertile province into a wilderness. A remnant, however, have
always rallied on this consecrated spot, under the shadow of Mount
Gerizim. In 1676, a correspondence took place between their
chief priest at Nablous and the learned Scaliger, on the differences
between the Samaritan and Hebrew Pentateuchs, in the course of
which information was elicited respecting the opinions then held
by this ancient sect. The summary of their creed was to this ef-
fect: That they believe in God, and in the laws of his servant Mo-
ses ; they practise circumcision ; keep the sabbath with all the rig-
or of a penance ; observe the passover, the pentecost, the feast of
tabernacles, and the great fast of expiation most strictly; and nev-
er offer any sacrifice but on Mount Gerizim. The hea.d of their
religion must reside at Shechem. In 1697, Mr. Maundrell had a
personal conference with the Samaritan chief-priest, on the subject
of a singular discrepancy between the text of the Samaritan Penta-
teuch and the received Hebrew text. The passage in question oc-
curs Deut. xxvii. 4 : ' Therefore it shall be, when ye be gone over

* John iv. 22. 1 2 Kinjs xvii. 41.

392 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you
this day ' (inscribed with the words of the law) ' in Mount Ebal ;
and thou shalt plaster them with plaster ; and there shalt thou build
an altar unto the Lord thy God.' The Samaritan Pentateuch has
Mount Gerizim in this place ; and the chief-priest contended that
the Jews had maliciously altered the Hebrew text out of odium to
the Samaritans : ' putting, for Gerizim, Ebal, upon no other account
but only because the Samaritans worshipped in the former moun-
tain, which they would have for that reason not to be the true place
appointed by God for his worship and sacrifice. To confirm this,
he pleaded that Ebal was the mountain of cursing, Deut. xi.29, and
in its own nature an unpleasant place ; but, on the contrary, Geri-
zim was the mountain of blessing, by God's own appointment, and
also in itself fertile and delightful ; from whence he inferred a prob-
ability that this latter must have been the true mountain appoint-
ed for those religious festivals, Deut. xxvii. 4, and not (as the Jews
have corruptly written it) Hebal. We observed that to be in some
measure true which he pleaded concerning the nature of both
mountains; for, though neither of the mountains has much to boast
of as to their pleasantness, yet, as one passes between them, Geri-
zim seems to discover a somewhat more verdant, fruitful aspect
than Ebal. The reason of which may be, because fronting towards
the north, it is sheltered from the heat of the sun by its own shade ;
whereas Ebal, looking southward, and receiving the sun that comes
directly upon it, must, by consequence, be rendered more scorched
and unfruitful. The Samaritan priest could not say that any of
those great stones which God directed Joshua to set up, were now
to be seen in Mount Gerizim; which, were they now extant, would
determine the question clearly on his side.'

Both Mount Gerizim and "Mount Ebal deserve to be explored.
Their altitude appeared to Mr. Buckingham to be nearly equal, not
exceeding 7 or 800 feet from the level of the valley, which is itself
elevated. Captains Irby and Mangles are the only modern travel-
lers who appear to have ascended either. They say : * We went
to the summit of Mount Gerizim, and found the ruins of a large
town, with a tank near a conspicuous sheikh's tomb.' They do
not appear, however, to have bestowed much attention on these
ruins, among which some traces of their boasted temple must, one
would imagine, be still discernible ; nor do they notice any syna-
gogue there. Mount Ebal they did not ascend.* In the Itinerary
of Benjamin of Tudela, the Cutheans are stated to offer sacrifice oa
Mount Gerizim, on an altar constructed of stones brought from the
Jordan by the children of Israel. He describes this mountain as
full of fountains and gardens, and Ghebal (Ebal) as arid and rocky.
As a topographical authority, the Itinerary is unquestionable.
With regard to the point at issue, it may be thought only to state

* Dr. Richardson says : c On Mount Ebal we saw a considerable village, and a larg«
building like a ruined fort. But he did not ascend its summit.

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 393

the matter agreeably to the Samaritan tradition. There is certain-
ly much plausibility in the arguments in favor of the Samaritan
texts ; which, in many other instances of variation from the receiv-
ed toxt, is admitted by Biblical critics to preserve the genuine
reading. It is very probable, that a further collation of Hebrew
MSS. will throw some light on the question.

The town is governed by a Mutsellirn, or Beg, subject to the
Pasha of Damascus, and having under his command about 400
Arnaout soldiers. The prevailing costume is the Turkish dress;
the women wear a colored veil, concealing the whole face, as
in the towns of the Yemen ; the scarf thrown over the head and
shoulders is of a yellowish white, with a deep red border. Nab-
lous is in long. 35? 22' E. lat. 32? 16' N. ; and is thirty-four miles
N. of Jerusalem.

The only object of antiquity noticed by travellers within the
town, is the eastern front of a ruined church, the site of which is
now occupied by one of the mosques. It presents a fine pointed
arch, supported by Corinthian columns, the upper part highly
ornamented, in the style of some of the Saracen doors in Cairo:
within are seen plain granite pillars ; and the whole exhibits, Mr.
Buckingham tells us, a singular mixture of orders, in the most
grotesque taste.

Just without the city, towards Jerusalem, is a small mosque,
said to have been built over the sepulchre purchased by the patri-
arch Jacob, and bearing the name of Joseph's Sepulchre : it is at
the foot of Mount Gerizirn. Mr. Buckingham, noticing the Ma-
hommedan buildings here, 'either mosques or tombs,' says, they
are now called Mahmoodea. ' On the left,' he adds, * at the foot of
Mount Ebal, were several well- hewn grottoes in the rock, some
with arched, and others withvsquare doors, most probably ancient
sepulchres.' These he had no time to examine, although the most
interesting antiquities of the place. That these caves may have
been used as places of retreat or ascetic seclusion, is very probable ;
but there is no room to doubt their sepulchral character. They
may, or may not, be of remote antiquity ; but of this description,
and not far" distant, must have been the burial-place of Joseph,
whose bones were brought up out of Egypt to be laid in Shechem.
To the practice of burying in the sides of mountains, we have
repealed references in the Old Testament. Abraham was buried
in the Cave of Machpelah before Mamre ; Joshua, on the north
side of the Hill of Gaash in Ephraim ;* Eleazer, the son of Aaron,
in a hill within the same district ; and Aaron himself in Mount
Hor.f The ' parcel of ground ' given by Jacob to his son, is gen-
erally supposed to be the ' wide field,' as Maundrell terms it, into
which the Valley of Sichem opens at the Well of Samaria; and
which he describes as 'exceeding verdant and fruitful,' being
watered with a fresh stream, rising between it and the town. The

* Gen. xxv. 9 ; Josh. xxiv. 22, 29. f Num. xx. 28 ; Deut. x. 6-

394 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

precise limits of this purchase it would be ridiculous to attempt to
ascertain. All that we know is, that it was near Sichar, 'before,*
or eastward of the city ; that it contained a well — a possession of
the greatest importance in those parts ; and, like ' the field of
Ephron' purchased by Abraham,* a buryitig-place. A place of
burial seems to have given a sacredness to the property in which
it was situated, and to have rendered the inheritance inalienable ;
it established a right of proprietorship, and, connected with this,
what we should call a right of common to the neighboring pas-
tures.f Thus, we find the sons of Jacob leaving their father's resi-
dence in Hebron, to feed his flocks in Shechetn,} by virtue of this
right, long after he had been compelled to remove from this neigh-
borhood. The burial-place was, no doubt, (as that of Abraham
and that of Joshua were,) at the 'end of the field,' on the 'border
of the inheritance,' which must have been Mount Gerizim itself;
and, if the mosque should prove to conceal the entrance to a later-
al excavation or grotto, of the kind universally chosen for sepul-
chres of distinguished persons by the ancient Jews, it may possibly
mark the identical place 'in Shechem where the bones of Joseph
were laid.'

Next to Jerusalem itself, this is, perhaps, the most interesting
spot in the Holy Land, as connected with those events transacted
in the fields of Sichem, which, from our earliest years, are remem-
bered with delight. ' Along the valley,' says Dr. Clarke, ' we be-
hold a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, as in the days
of Reuben and Judah, 'with their camels, bearing spicery, and
balm, and myrrh,' § who would gladly have purchased another
Joseph of his brethren, and conveyed him, as a slave, to some Po-
tiphar in Egypt. Upon the hills around, flocks and herds were
feeding as of old ; nor, in the simple garb of the shepherds of Sa-
maria, was there any thing to contradict the notions we may enter-
tain of the appearance formerly exhibited by the sons of Jacob.'
'The morning after our arrival, we met caravans coming from
Grand Cairo, and noticed others reposing in the large olive- planta-
tions near the gates.'

Leaving Nablous, the road lies along the narrow vale, and, in
about three quarters of an hour, conducts the traveller to a copious
spring of good water, called Beer-sheba. This, Dr. Richardson
says, is the broadest and best cultivated part of the valley ; he saw
the natives busily engaged (May) in reaping a scanty crop of bar-
ley. Maundrell notices a village on the left of the road (going
northwards) called Barseba, deriving its name, no doubt, from this
well ; and, half an hour further, another village which he calls She-
rack. After leaving Beer-sheba, Dr. Richardson's account makes
the road ascend. ' In about a quarter of an hour,' he says, 'we
reached the top of the hill ; and as we wound our way down the
other side, had an excellent view of the delightfully situated Sebaste.

* Gen. xxiii. 17. f Gen. xxxiv. 5. J Gen. xxxvii. 12— 14. § Gen. xxxvii. 25.

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 395

In a few minutes we passed a ruined aqueduct of Roman architec-
ture, and pitched our tents at the bottom of the lull, nearly oppo-
site to its unworthy successor, a poor village of the same name;
having travelled this day about nine hours.' This makes the dis-
tance from Khan Leban about twenty-seven miles, but, allowing
for deviations from the direct track, twenty-four miles, and sixteen
hours, or forty-eight miles, from Jerusalem. Josephus, however,
makes it but one day's journey from the capital.* It is six miles
beyond Napolose ; and if the distance of the latter place is correct-
ly given by our authorities, it cannot exceed forty miles.

Sebaste is the name which Herod gave to the ancient Samaria,
the imperial city of the ten tribes, in honor of Augustus (Sebastos)
Ca3sar, when he rebuilt and fortified it, converting the greater part
of it into a citadel, and erecting here a noble temple. ' The situa-
tion,'says Dr. Richardson, 'is extremely beautiful, and strong by-
nature; more so, 1 think, than Jerusalem. It stands on a fine,
large, insulated hill, compassed all around by a broad deep valley ;
and when fortified, as it is stated to have been by Herod, one
would have imagined that, in the ancient system of warfare,
nothing but famine could have reduced such a place. The valley
is surrounded by four hills, one on each side, which are cultivated
in terraces up to the top, sown with ^rain, and planted with fig
and olive trees, as is also the valley. The hill of Samaria likewise
rises in terraces to a height equal to any of the adjoining moun-
tains.

'The present village is small and poor, and after passing the
valley, the ascent to it is very steep. Viewed from the station of
our tents, it is extremely interesting, both from its natural situation,
and from the picturesque remains of a ruined convent, of good
Gothic architecture.

'Having passed the village, towards the middle of the first
terrace, there is a number of columns still standing. I counted
twelve in one row, besides several that stood apart, the brotherless
remains of other rows. The situation is extremely delightful, and
my guide informed me, that they belonged to the serai, or palace.
On the next terrace there are no remains of solid building, but
heaps of stone and lime and rubbish mixed with the soil in great
profusion. Ascending to the third or highest terrace, the traces of
former buildings were not so numerous, but we enjoyed a delight-
ful view of the surrounding country. The eye passed over the
deep valley that encompasses the hill of Sebaste, and rested on the
mountain beyond, that retreated as they rose with a gentle slope,
and met the view in every direction, like a book laid out for peru-
sal on a reading-desk. This was the seat of the capital of the
short-lived and wicked kingdom of Israel ; and on the face of
these mountains the eye surveys the scene of many bloody conflict!
and many memorable events. Here those holy men of God, Elijah

* Josephus Antiq. book XT. chap. 9. f Ibid.

396 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

and Elisha, spoke their tremendous warnings in the ears of their
incorrigible rulers, and wrought their miracles in the sight of all
the people.

* From this lofty eminence we descended to the south side of
the hill, where we saw the remains of a stately colonnade that
stretches along this beautiful exposure from east to west. Sixty
columns are still standing in one row. The shafts are plain, and
fragments of Ionic volutes, that lie scattered about, testify the
order to which they belonged. These are probably the relics of
some of the magnificent structures with which Herod the Great
adorned Samaria. None of the walls remain.'

Mr. Buckingham mentions a current tradition, that the avenue
of columns formed a part of Herod's palace. According to his
account, there were eighty-three of these columns erect in 1816,
besides others prostrate; all without capitals. Josephus states,
that, about the middle of the city, Herod built 'a sacred place, of a
furlong and a half in circuit, and adorned it with all sorts of deco-
rations ; and therein erected a temple, illustrious for both its large-
ness and beauty.' It is probable that these columns belonged to it.
On the eastern side of the same summit are the remains, Mr.
Buckingham states, of another building, 'of which eight large and
eight small columns are still standing, with many others fallen
near them. These also are without capitals, and are of a smaller
size and of an inferior stone to the others.' 'In the walls of the
humble dwellings forming the modern village, portions of sculptur-
ed blocks of stone are perceived, and even fragments of granite
pillars have been worked into the masonry.' The Gothic convent
referred to by Dr. Richardson, is the ruined cathedral, attributed,
like every thing else of the kind in Palestine, to the Empress
Helena. It stands east and west, and is about 100 feet in length,
by 50 in breadth. ' On the south side are high, slender buttresses;
and on a piece of building without this, is a sloping pyramidal
mole, constructed of exceedingly large stones. The northern wall
is quite plain; the eastern front is semi-circular, with three open
and two closed windows each, contained in arches divided from
each other by three Corinthian columns. The interior of the east-
ern front has a pointed arch, and columns of no known order;
though the capitals approach nearer to the Corinthian than any
other. The eight small arches which go round the tops of the
windows within, are semicircular, and have each at their spring the
capital of a column, but no shalt attached to it ; the great arch of
the recess is pointed, and the moulding that passes round it is fan-
tastic in the extreme. Among other things seen there, are the
representations of scaly armor, an owl, an eagle, a human figure,
and an angel, all occupying separate compartments, and all distinct
from each other.

' The exterior of the eastern front presents a still more singular
mixture of style, as the pointed and the round arch are both used
in the same range, and the ornaments of each are varied. In the

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 397

lower cornice are human heads, perhaps in allusion to the severed
head of the Baptist ; and there are here as fantastic figures as on the
inside, the whole presenting a strange assemblage of incongruous
ornaments in the most wretched taste.

' The masonry appears in some parts to have been exceedingly
solid, in others only moderately good, and in some places weak and
paltry ; and at the west end, in a piece of building, apparently add-
ed since the original construction of the church itself, are seen sev-
eral blocks of sculptured stone, apparently taken from the ruins,
and worked into the present masonry there.

' On the inside of this ruined edifice is a small mosque, erected
over the supposed dungeon in which St. John was executed ; and
an Arab family, who claim the guardianship of this sanctuary, have
pitched their dwelling on the south-west angle of the great church,
where it has the appearance of a pigeon-house. On learning that
I was a Moslem, we were all admitted into this mosque, which we
entered with becoming reverence. They have collected here the
white marble slabs, found amid the ruins of the church, to form a
pavement; and in one part we noticed three large pieces, with
sculptured circles and bands on them, which were set up in the
wall as tablets.

' The mosque itself is a small oblong room, with steps ascending
to an oratory, and its only furniture is a few simple lamps and some
clean straw mats for prayer, the recess of the Caaba being in the
southern wall. From the mosque, we descended by a narrow
flight of steps to the subterranean chamber or dungeon of St. John,
which had all the appearance of having been an ancient sepulchre.
It was not more than ten feet square ; and had niches, as if for the
reception of corpses, in arched recesses on each side. There was
here, too, one of those remarkable stone doors, which seem to have
been exclusively appropriated to tombs, resembling exactly in form
and size those described in the Roman sepulchres at Oorn Kais.
The pannelling, the lower pivot, and the sill in the ledge for receiv-
ing the bolt, were all still perfect ; but the door was now unhung,
and lay on its side against the wall.'

In the court at the west end of the church are ' two apertures
leading down to a large subterranean reservoir for water, well stuc-
coed on the inside, and during the rains often filled to the brim.'

The modern Sebaste is governed by its own sheikh, who is him-
self a husbandman : the natives pronounce the name of the place
Subusta.

The route taken by Dr. Richardson now passes over the moun-
tain to the east of Sebaste, and then descends to a ruined building
called by the natives Beit Emireen (the house of the two princes),
near a village of the same name, by a stream of water. ' Leaving
this valley,' he continues, * we crossed the mountain to the left, and
after travelling about an hour along a very rough and stony ravine,
we came to the village of Gibba, which is surrounded with olive and
pomegranate trees, the latter of which were in full blow, and occu-
35

398 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

pies a lofty station to overlook a small valley. From Gibba we pro-
ceeded along the valley to Sannour, which is a fort erected on an
insulated mountain that springs up in the middle of the valley. It
is commonly called Khallah Giurali, or Fort Jurali. from Giurali,
(Jerar ?) the name of the chief who commands the country. A few
miles further on, we came to Abata, a pleasant village on our right,
&nd similarly situated to Gibba, among olive and pomegranate trees.
The inhabitants are said to be particularly hospitable and kind to
strangers. We did not stop to put their hospitality to the test, but
continued our route along the narrow dell, and having crossed
another mountain on the left, opened the beautiful vale of Esdrae-
ion, and the town of Jeriin, pleasantly situated at the foot of the
mountain. We descended to a level piece of stony ground which
bore a tolerably good crop of thistles, and pitched our tents on the
outside of the town, having travelled this day about eight hours and
a half.'

Sannour, or Sanhcor, called by Dr. Clarke Santorri, deserves a
more particular notice. He makes it three hours, or nine miles,
from Jenin. The easlle, which he describes as very much resem-
bling the old castellated buildings in England, is very strong: it
held out against Djezzar Pasha, when he held the pashalic of Da-
mascus, for two months, and he was compelled at last to raise the
siege. In the time of the Crusades it must have been impregnable.
'Yet,' says Dr. Clarke, 'there is no account of it in any author; and
certainly it is not of later construction than the period of the holy
wars.' if the learned traveller has given the present name correct-
Jy, it would seem, both from the meaning and the language of the
word, holy fewer, to date from the Crusades. But, doubtless, the
site is noticed by the older writers, under its original name. Their
supposed silence, however, tempted Dr. Clarke to hazard the strange
conjecture that it might be the site of Samaria ; for, in his gallop
through the Holy Land, he forgot to visit, or overlooked Sebaste!
The hill commands the view to the northward of a fine broad val-
ley, bounded by other hills on every side, about two miles in breadth
and rive in length : the valley southward is narrower, and both are
cultivated. The ascent is steep on all sides. The walls of the
town are strongly built, 'apparently,' says Mr. Buckingham, 'of
old Saracenic work,' and in circuit less than half a mile, with two
gates in opposite quarters. The houses are well built, but the streets
are narrow; the inhabitants all Mahommedans. The governor
(then Hadje Ahraed Jerar) is tributary to Damascus, but absolute
within Lis own territory, which includes several towns and villages,
with extensive lands around them, of which he is as it were the
feudal lord. Hadje Ahmed is described as of a most amiable and
patriarchal character ; and the aspect of the country bore the most
pleasing marks of the benign influence of his mild and paternal
government.

Jennin, or Genii), (pronounced Djenneen,} the ancient Ginaia, or
Giurea, and supposed to be the Geman of Joseph us, was the fron-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 399

tier town of Samaria on the border of Galilee ; being situated at
the entrance of the great plain. It is mentioned by Josephus as
the scene of a battle between the Galileans, who were going up to
Jerusalem to the feast of tabernacles, and the natives. It is now a
mere village, containing about 800 inhabitants ; but there are evi-
dences of its having once been of much greater extent. There are
the remains of a Christian con vent on the outside of the walls, now
partly occupied by a Turkish cemetery. Within the town> Dr.
Clarke observed the ruins of a palace and a mosque, with marble
pillars, fountains, and even piazzas, some in a very perfect state.
An Arabic inscription over one of these buildings, purports that it
was erected by an individual of the name of Selim. As a fence to
the gardens, Dr. Clarke noticed the Indian Fig, growing to so enor-
mous a size, that the stem was larger than a man's body ; and its
gaudy blossoms made a most splendid show in the midst of its
bristly spines.

The route from Jennin to Nazareth lies directly across the plain
of Esdraelon, a distance of seven hours, or twenty-one miles. Near-
ly in the middle of the plain is the line of separation between the
pashalics of Acre and of Damascus. The road to Tiberias, which
we are now to follow, proceeds eastward along this beautiful vale;
watered, in this part, by a fertilizing stream, which, says Dr. Rich-
ardson, ' we crossed and re-crossed several times in our march. In
four hours after leaving Jennia, we came to the source, where it is-
sues in a large current from the rock, and is called El Geleed or, the
• cold. In two hours more we came to Bisan. The delightful vale of
Esdraelon is but thinly inhabited, and not half cultivated or stocked
with cattle. We did not pass a single village, and saw but few Be-
doween encampments till we came near to Bisan. As we ap-
proached this miserable village, we gradually withdrew from the
vale, and got upon an elevated rocky flat, covered with a thin and
meagre sprinkling of earth ; the vegetation which it bore was scan-
ty, and quite brown from the lack of moisture. The valley of the
Jordan began to open on our view, and, before we came up to
the village, we passed the remains of a Roman fortress and a Ro-
man theatre, with many vaults* and columns, on the left of our
route. The village itself is a collection of the most miserable hov-
els, containing about 200 inhabitants; and, on looking at their
wretched accommodation, and comparing it with a Bedoween en-
campment that was spread out at a little distance in the valley, we
were not surprised to hear that, in these countries, the dwellers in
tents look on the dwellers in towns as an inferior class of beings.'

The young emir, or chief of the Arabs of Bisan, who waited on
Lord Belmore, arrayed in his black abba and yellow boots, is de-
scribed as a mild-tempered, intelligent youth ; but the rest of the in-
habitants had the most ruffian-like and depraved appearance.

Bisan, the Bethsanor Bethshan of Scripture, f is the Scythopolis

* Supposed to be the ruins of subterranean granaries.

t Josh. xvii. 11 ; 1 Sam. xxxi. 12 ; 1 Kings iv. 12. It was one of the towns which Ma-

400 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

of the Greek and Roman writers. It was the largest city of the
Decapolis, and the only one on that side of the Jordan. The thea-
tre is quite distinct, and measures about 180 feet in length: it is
completely filled with weeds. In one of the most concealed vomi-
tories, Captain Mangles states that they found twenty-four human
skulls, with other bones. A viper was basking in one of the skulls,
with his body twisted between the eyes, — * a good subject for a
moralizer.' In some of the tombs which lie to the N. E. of the
acropolis, without the walls, there remained sarcophagi ; and, in a
few instances, the doors were still hanging on their ancient hinges
of stone: they observer! also niches of a triangular shape for lamps.
Two streams run through the ruins of the city, almost insulating
the acropolis : over the one to the S. W. is a fine Roman bridge, be-
yond which may be seen the paved way which led to the ancient
Ptolemais (Acre). These streams afterwards unite, and are cross-
ed by another bridge, having one high arch in the centre, and two
smaller ones, which have been walled up: along the outer edge of
this bridge, the wall of the city was continued ; and on the hill, near
the arch, the ruins of one of the gates of the city are distinguisha-
ble ; there are some prostrate columns of the Corinthian order.
The acropolis is a high circular hill, on the top of which are traces
of the ancient walls of the fortress. Dr. Richardson noticed masses
of ejected lava scattered round the village ; and the mountains, he
says, have the appearance of extinct volcanoes.

Pursuing the route to Tiberias, up the delightful plain of the Jor-
dan, the traveller has on his left Mount Gilboa, which comes close
to Bisan, and bounds the plain on the west. The natives still call
it Djebel Gilbo. It is a lengthened ridge ; rising up in peaks, about
800 feet above the level of the road, and probably 1000 feet above
the level of the Jordan. On the east, the plain is bounded by a
high mountain range, which forms part of Mount Gilead, so that
the view on both sides is extremely interesting ; and at the time of
Dr. Richardson's journey (May), rich crops of barley, apparently
over-ripe, added to the beauty of the landscape. After riding for
nearly three hours, the route led them to the banks of the Jordan,
where it is crossed by a large stone bridge, consisting of one large
and two smaller arches. Here a large khan has been built for the
accommodation of travellers who take the road to Damascus through
the Decapolis and Mount Gilead. The river at this point is of a
considerable depth, and between thirty and forty feet wide ; the chan-
nel very stony, and the waters of a « white sulphureous color,' but
free from any unpleasant smell or taste. Near Bisan, its width is
one hundred and forty feet, and the current is much more rapid.
Beyond the bridge, the plain of the Jordan narrows into a valley,
and the river remains in sight till the traveller arrives at the shores

nassnh had in Isachar. To the wall of Bethsan the Philistines fastened the bodies of
Saul and his three sons, after they had fallen in Mount Gilboa.

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 401

of the Lake of Tiberias ; a distance of about eight hours, or twenty-
four miles from Bisan.*

Tiberias, still called by the natives Tabaria, or Tabbareeah, was
anciently one of the principal towns of Galilee. It was built by
Herod the Tetrarch, and named by him hi honor of Tiberias, the
Roman emperor, with whom he was a great favorite.f Very con-
siderable privileges were granted to those who chose to settle there,
in order to overcome the prejudice arising from the city's having
been built on a site full of ancient sepulchres; from which circum-
stance we may infer the existence of a former city in the vicinity ;
this is supposed to have been the ancient Cinneroth or Kinnereth.
Here, during a visit paid to the city by Herod Agrippa,t.he kings of
Comagene, of Emessa, of the lesser Armenia, of Pontus, and of
Chalcis, met to do him honor, and were magnificently entertained.t
After the downfall of Jerusalem, it continued to be, until the fifth
century, the residence of Jewish rabbles and learned men ; and was
the seat of a patriarch, who acted as the supreme judge between
persons of his own nation. The office was hereditary, and was
supported with some lustre, under the Emperor Hadrian, in the
person of Selim III. ; but, in the year 429, it was suppressed, after
subsisting 350 years, under nine or ten "patriarchs. In the sixth
century, according to Procopius, Justinian rebuilt the walls. In
the seventh, A. D. 640, during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius,
the city was taken by the Saracens under Caliph Omar. Yet, in
the eighth, it is mentioned in an Itinerary cited by Reland, as still
containing many churches and Jewish synagogues. Pococke,
without citing his authority, says, that the Jewish rabbins lived
here till the eleventh century, but that the Jews had left the place
above eight hundred years. It seems doubtful, however, whether
it has ever been wholly deserted by them. Tiberias was an
ancient seat of Jewish literature. A university was founded here
by the patriarch, after the fall of Jerusalem ; and it is remarkable,
that there is a college of Jews in Tabaria at the present time : it
would be very interesting to ascertain the date of its establishment.
Dr. Richardson found six rabbies engaged in studying Hebrew
folios. 'They occupied two large rooms, which were surrounded
with books, and said they spent their time entirely in studying the
Scriptures and commentaries thereon. I regretted much,' adds
Dr. R., 'that I had not been apprised of this institution at an earlier
part of the day. Not having an interpreter with me, I could not
turn my short interview to the same advantage that I should other-
wise have done.'

The modern town of Tabaria is situated close to the edge of the
lake. It has tolerably high but ill -built walls on three of its sides,

* The river Jordan, on issuing from the Sea of Galilee, flows for about three hours near
the western hills : it then turns towards the eastern, on which side it continues its course
for several hours, till, at Korn^el-Hemar, it returns to the western side.

f Joseph. Antiq. lib. xviii. cap. 3 ; De Bell. lib. ii. cap. 8.

t Joseph. Antiq. lib. xix. cap, 7.

35*

402 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

flanked with circular towers ; on the fourth, it is open to the
water. Its figure is nearly quadrangular ; according to Pococke,
it is about a quarter of a mile in length, and half that in breadth ; in
circumference, therefore, about three quarters of a mile. Like all
Turkish cita'dels, it has an imposing appearance from without;
and its fortifications and circular towers give it more the aspect of
a Moorish city than most of the towns of Palestine. But it
exhibits the utmost wretchedness within the walls, one-fourth of the
space being wholly unoccupied, and the few houses or huts which
it contains are not built contiguously. The sheikh's house is
described by Van Egmont as tolerably good, and indeed the only
building that deserves the name ; and even this owes its beauty to
the ruins out of which it is built. Adjoining to it is a large hand-
some structure, which serves as a stable. Near the sheikh's house
are the ruins of a very large castle, with some remains of towers,
moats, and other works, which probably commanded the harbor.
One of these works, facing the lake, has been turned into a
mosque. On the rising ground to the northward of the ruin,
stands the modern castle, which dates only a few years before the
period of Pocock's visit. Hasselquist informs us, that it owes its
erection to Sheikh Daker, a native of Tiberias, and at that time
independent lord of the place, which he had recently defended
against the Pasha of Seide. 'He had no more than six small iron
cannon in this work of defence ; but he used another method, still
more ancient than cannons, for defending forts. He ordered loose
etones to be laid on the top of the wall, four feet high, which in
case of a siege, might be rolled down, and crush the besiegers.'
The marks of the siege were then to be seen on the walls.
Pococke, who preceded Hasselquist 'about thirteen years, was at
Tiberias when the fort was building, and they were strengthening
the old walls with buttresses on the inside, the sheikh then having
a dispute with Pasha of Damascus. * They have often,' he adds,
4 had disputes with the pashas of Damascus, who have come and
planted their cannon against the city, and sometimes have beaten
down part of the walls, but were never able to take it.' The town
has only two gates; one near the sheikh's house, facing the sea;
the other, which was very large, is partly walled up, the city on
that side being uninhabited. The nouses are described by Van
Egmont as 'very mean and low cottages, some of stone, nnd others
of dried mud, and can hardly be said to be above the ground. On
the terraces, which even the lints in this country are not without,
they build tents of rushes.' Mr. Buckingham states, that there are
two synagogues near the centre of the town, both of them inferior
to that of Jerusalem, though similar in design ; and, on the rising
ground near the northern quarter, a small, but good bazar, and two
or three coffee-sheds.

The only interesting relic of antiquity in the town, is the church
dedicated to St. Peter ; an oblong square edifice, arched over, said
to be on the spot where the house of St. Peter was though St.

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 403

Peter lived at Capernaum. It stands at the north-east corner of
the town, close to the water's edge, and is described by Mr.
Buckingham as a vaulted room, about thirty feet by fifteen, and
perhaps fifteen feet in height: over the door is one small window,
and on each side four others, all arched and open. ' The ancient
town extended about half a mile further to the south than the
present walls, as is indicated by a great number of confused ruins ;
and Pococke observed, that the suburbs extended still further in
the same direction. Near the present town, he says, there are
ruins of another church ; and further on some signs of a large
square building, about which lie several pillars, which might be the
house of the government. Captain Mangles states, that 'at the
northern extremity of the ruins are the remains of the ancient
town, which are discernible by means of the walls and other
ruined buildings, as well as by fragments of columns, some of
which are of beautiful red granite. This agrees with Van
Egmont's representation, that the old city began at some distance
to the north of the present town, extending along the side of the
lake beyond the Baths of Emmaus, which are about a mile from
the modern town, to the south of it. ' In our way thither,' says
the last-mentioned traveller, 'we plainly saw the foundations of the
old city, and the remains of bulwarks erected on frustums of
pillars. In short, the whole road to the bath, and even some dis-
tance beyond it, was full of ruins of walls ; and near it we saw the
ruins of a gate.' These walls were continued to the mountains
which confined the city towards the west, so that its breadth could
not exceed half a mile. The wall beyond the baths, which runs
from the lake to the mountain's side, is, however, supposed by Mr.
Banks to be rather the fortification of Vespasian's camp. Pococke
places the baths a quarter of a mile south of the walls of old
Tiberias. The ancient name of Ernmaus, which signifies baths,
is still preserved in the Arabic Hamam, by which the place is now
called. The waters are much resorted to, being esteemed good for
all sorts of pains and tumors, and even for the gout. Dr. Richardson
found the Pasha of Acre encamped here, with a numerous retinue ;
having been advised to use the baths, by his medical attendant,
who, was a Frank. At a little distance from him, Lady Hester
Stanhope had taken up her residence in a mosque. ' Not having
any thermometer,' says Dr. R, ' I could not ascertain the tempera-
ture of the spring; but it is so hot, that the hand could not endure
it ; and the water must remain twelve hours in the bath, before it
can be used ; and then 1 should consider it as above one 100°. It
contains a strong solution of common salt, with a considerable
intermixture of iron and sulphur.' Pococke, who brought away a
bottle of the waters, says, that they were found to hold a cousidera-
bleoquantity of gross fixed vitriol, some alum, and a mineral salt.'
He observed a red sediment upon the stones. Van Egmont and
Heyman state, that they resemble in quality those of Aix la Cha-
pelle. ' Our curiosity,' they say, « led us to go into the bath, the

404 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

water of which was so hot as not easily to be endured ; but, to
render it more temperate, we ordered the passage through which
it runs into the basin, to be stopped. The inhabitants of Tiberias
have built here a small house with a cupola; but there seems to
have been formerly a much more splendid edifice, as the baths
were very famous. The water rises something higher, whence it
is conducted into a stone basin. This water is so salt as to com-
municate a brackish taste to that of the lake near it.' Hassalquist
has given a still more minute account, which Dr. Clarke has
evidently overlooked in referring to him. 'The fountain or
source,' he says, ' is at the foot of a mountain, at the distance of a

Sistol-shot from the Lake Gennesareth, and a quarter of a league
•om the coasts of Tiberias. The mountain consists of a black and
brittle sulphureous stone, which is only to be found in large masses
in the neighborhood of Tiberias, but in loose stones also on the
coast of the Dead Sea, as well as here. They cut millstones out
of it in this place, which are sent by water from Acre to Egypt. I
saw an incredible quantity of them at Damietta. The spring
which comes from the mountain is in diameter equal to that of a
man's arm, and there is one only. The water is so hot, that the
hand may be put into it without scalding, but it cannot be kept
there long: consequently, it is not boiling hot, but the next degree
to it. It has a strong sulphureous smell. It tastes bitter, and
something like common salt. The sediment deposited by it is
black, as thick as paste, smells strongly of sulphur, and is covered
with two skins, or cuticles, of which that beneath is of a fine dark-
green color, and the uppermost of a light rusty color. At the
mouth of the outlet, where the water formed little cascades over
the stones, the first-mentioned cuticle alone was found, and so
much resembled a conferva, that one might easily have taken this,
that belongs to the mineral kingdom, for a vegetable production j
but, nearer the river, where the water stood still, one might see
both skins, the yellow uppermost, and under it the green.' At that
time (1750), the waters appear to have been neglected, and the
'miserable bathing house' was not kept in repair.

It seems at first difficult to account for the statement given by
this usually correct writer, that there is but one spring, when
Captain Mangles states that there are three ; but Mr. Buckingham's
minute and lively description explains the apparent discrepancy.

* Leaving the town at the western gate, we pursued our course
southerly along its wall, and came to some scattered ruins of the
old city of Tiberias ; among which we observed many founda-
tions of buildings, some fragments of others still standing, and
both grey and red granite columns, some portions of the latter
being at least four feet in diameter ; but among the whole, we saw
neither ornamented capitals nor sculptured stones of any kind,
though the city is known to have been a considerable one.

'In our way, we passed an old tree, standing amid these ruins,
and observed its branches to be hung with rags of every hue and

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 405

color, no doubt the offerings of those who either expected or had
received benefit from the springs in the road to which it lay.
Throughout the cliffs of the overhanging mountain on the west,
are rude grottoes at different heights ; and opposite to the tree are
two arched caves, one of them having a square door of entrance
beneath the arch, and both of them being apparently executed with
care. We had not time to examine them, though we conceived
them to have been most probably ancient sepulchres.

' In less than an hour after our leaving the town, we arrived at
the baths. The present building, erected over the springs here, is
small and mean, and is altogether the work of Mahommedans. It
is within a few yards of the edge of the lake, and contains a bath
for males and a bath for females, each with their separate apartment
annexed. Over the door of the former is an Arabic inscription ;
ascending to this door by a few steps, it leads to an outer room,
with an open window, a hearth for preparing coffee, and a small
closet for the use of the attendant. Within this is the bath itself, a
square room of about eighteen or twenty feet, covered with a low
dome, and having benches in recesses on each side. The cistern
for containing the hot water is in the centre of this room, and is
sunk below the pavement; it is a square of eight or nine feet only,
and the spring rises to supply it through a small head of some ani-
mal ; but this is so badly executed, that it is difficult to decide for
what it was intended. My thermometer rose here instantly to 130°,
which was its utmost limit ; but the heat of the water was certainly
greater. It was painful to the hand as it issued from the spout, and
could only be borne gradually by those who bathed in the cistern.

' There is here only an old man and a little boy to hold the horses,
and make coffee for the visitors ; and those who bathe, strip in the
inner room, and wash themselves in the cistern, without being fur-
nished with cloths, carpets, cushions, or any of the usual comforts
of a Turkish bath. The whole establishment, indeed, is of the
poorest kind, and the sight of tfee interior is rather disgusting than
inviting.

' At this bath we met with a soldier whom they called Mahom-
med Mumlouk, and I learnt that he was a German by birth, having
become a Mamlouk and Mahommedan when a boy. He was now
the basuadar or treasurer to the Agha of Tabareeah, and was so
completely a Turk as to profess, that he would not willingly return
to his native country, even if he could do so under the most favor-
able circumstances. He spoke the Turkish and Arabic languages
equally well ; and it was in the latter that we conversed, as he had
entirely forgotten his native tongue, though not more than thirty -
five years of age.

'Besides the spring which supplies the present baths, there are
several others near it, all rising close to the edge of the lake, and all
equally hot, finely transparent, and slightly sulphureous, resembling
exactly the spring at El-Hame. There are also extensive ruins
around, which are most probably the remains of Roman edifices ;

406 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

though that which has heen taken for the remains of a theatre, ap-
pears rather to have been the choir of an early Christian church.
Among them all, there is nothing, however, either interesting or
definite. We quitted this spot to return to the town, and in our
way by the bath, saw a party of Jewish women just coming out
from the female apartment. Their conversation was in German :
and, on inquiry, they said that they had come from Vienna with
their husbands, to end their days in the land of their fathers. In
our way back from hence, we were met by a party of Moslems,
who conceiving me from my dress and white turban, to be of their
faith, gave us the usual salute, which 1 returned without scruple ;
but our guide was so shocked at the interchange of forbidden salu-
tations between a Christian and a Mohammedan, that he expressed
his confidence in its ending in some unlucky accident to us. To
avert this, however, from his own head, he took a large stone from
the road, and after spitting on it, turned that part towards the north,
repeating a short Arabic prayer at the same time. Besides the pres-
ent incident, 1 had observed on several occasions, that, in this coun-
try, set forms of expressions are regarded as appropriate to men of
different faiths, and even different ranks in life ; and that nothing is
moie necessary for a traveller, than to acquaint himself with those mi-
nute shades of difference ; as they serve, like the watchword of an
army, to distinguish friends from foes; and any errors therein might
produce the most alarming consequences.

' On our way we met a Jewish funeral, attended by a party of
about fifty persons, all male. A group of half a dozen walked be-
fore, but without any apparent regard to order, and all seemed en-
gaged in humming indistinctly hymns, or prayers, or lamentations ;
for they might have been either, as far as we could distinguish by
the tone and the manner of their utterance. The corpse followed,
wrapped in linen, without a coffin, and slung on cords between two
poles borne on men's shoulders, with its feet foremost. A funeral
service was said over it at the grave, and it was sunk into its mo-
ther earth in peace.'

This traveller notices some ancient baths, to the north of Tiberias
also, which appear to have escaped the observation of preceding
travellers. About an hour from Tiberias, pursuing a northward
course along the border of the lake, became to the remains of three,
close to the water's edge, which he describes as so many large cir-
cular cisterns, quite open, and not appearing to have ever been in-
closed in a covered building. ' They were all,' he continues, ' near-
ly of the same size ; the one around the edge of which I walked,
being eighty paces in circumference, and from twelve to fifteen feet
deep. Each of these was distant from the other about one hun-
dred yards, ranging along the beach of the lake, and each was sup-
plied by a separate spring, rising also near the sea. The water was
in all of them beautifully transparent, of a slightly sulphureous
taste, and of a light-green color, as at the bath near Oom Kais ; but
the heat of the stream here was scarcely greater than that of the at-

SKETCHES OF PALESTINE. 407

mosphere, as the thermometer in the air stood at 84°, and when im-
mersed in water, rose to 86°. The first of these circular cisterns
had a stone bench or pathway running round its interior, for the
accomodation of the bathers, and the last had a similar work on the
outside ; in the latter, a number of small black fish were seen
swimming. Each of the baths were supplied by a small aqueduct
from its separate spring ; and there were appearances of a semicir-
cular wall having inclosed them all within one area.

Mr. Joilifie reports the estimated number of inhabitants to be
4000, two thirds of which are Jews. Burckhardt's account agrees
with this as to numbers; but he makes the proportion of Jews
only one fourth.* There are. he says, from one hundred and sixty
to two hundred Jewish families, of which ibrty or fifty are of
Polish origin ; the rest are Jews from Spain, Baibary, and differ-
ent parts of Syria. The quarter which they occupy in the middle
of the town, had lately been much enlarged by the purchase of
several streets, so that their numbers appear to be on the increase.
Tiberias holds out to the Jews peculiar advantages. They enjoy
here perfect religious freedom ; besides which, Tiberias is one of
the four holy cities of the Talmud, the other three being Saphet,
Jerusalem, and Hebron. ' It is esteemed holy ground,' Burckhardt
states, ' because Jacob is supposed to have resided here,f and
because it is situated on the Lake of Gennesareth ; from which,
according to the most generally received opinion of the Talmud,
the Messiah is to rise. It is a received dogma, that the world will
return to its primitive chaos, if prayers are not addressed to the
God of Israel, at least twice a week in the four holy cities. On
this account, Jewish devotees from all parts flock to these cities ;
and three or four missionaries are sent abroad every year, to collect
alms for the support of these religious fraternities, who do not fail
successfully to plead this imminent danger as an argument for
liberal contributions. One missionary is sent to the coasts of
Africa from Damietta to Mogadore; another to the coast of
tCurope from Venice to Gibraltar; a third to the Archipelago, Con-
stantinople ai,d Anatolia ; and a fourth through Syria. The charity
of the Jews of London is appealed to from time to time ; but the Jews
of Gibraltar have the reputation of being more liberal than any
others, and are stated to contribute from 4 to 5000 Spanish dollars
annually. The Polish Jews settled at Tabaria, are supported
almost entirely by their rich countrymen in Bohemia and Poland ;
and the Syrian Jews are said to be very jealous of them. When
a fresh pilgrim arrives, bringing a little money with him, the exor-
bitant demands which are made on him by his brethren, either for
rent, or on some oilier pretence, soon deprive him of it, and leave

* Mr. Buckingham says, that, according to the opinion of the best informed residents,
the population aoes not exceed 2000 souls, of whom about half are Jews.

f Perhaps not the patriarch, but some great rabbin of that name. Burckhardt speaks of
& great rabbin, who, he was informed, lies buried at Tiberias, with 14,000 of his scholar*
tound him !

408 SKETCHES OF PALESTINE.

him a pensioner on his nation. The missionaries generally
some property, as they are allowed teri per cent, upon the alms
they collect. But many of the Jews, who have been led to beg
their way to Palestine by their delusive representations, are ill
satisfied with the Land of Promise ; and some few are fortunate
enough to find their way home again. The greater number, how-
ever, console themselves with the inestimable advantage of laying
their bones in the Holy Land.

The Jewish devotees pass the whole day in the schools or the
synagogue, reciting the Old Testament and the Talmud, both of
which many of them know entirely by heart. They all write
Hebrew ; but their learning, Burckhardt says, seems to be on a
level with that of the Turks. He mentions some beautiful copies
of the Pentateuch, written on a roll of leather, which he saw in the
Syrian synagogue : no one could inform him of their age or histo-
ry . The libraries of the two schools are moderately stocked with
Hebrew books, printed chiefly at Vienna and Venice. They
observe here, he says, a singular custom in the public service.

'While the rabbin recites the psalms of David, or the prayers
extracted from them, the congregation frequently imitate, by their
voice or gesture, the meaning of some remarkable passages : for
example, when the rabbin pronounces the words, ' Praise the Lord
with the sound of the trumpet,' they imitate the sound of the
trumpet through their closed fists. When ' a horrible tempest '
occurs, they puff' and blow to represent a storm ; or should he
mention the cries of the righteous in distress, they all set up a loud
screaming.' And sometimes, we are told, these imitative accom-
paniments are carried on in a singular sort of fugue or concert ;
while some are blowing the storm, others having already begun
the cries of the righteous !

The Jews marry at a very early age. It is not uncommon,
Burckhardt affirms, to see fathers of thirteen years of age, and
mothers of eleven. On the occasion of a wedding, they traverse
the town in pompous procession, carrying before the bride the
plate of almost the whole community ; and they least in the house
of the bridegroom for seven successive days and nights. ' The
wedding least of a man who has about 50/. a-year, (and no Jew
can live with his family on less,) will often cost more than 60Z.'
Yet, few of them are rich, or carry on any merchandise. When
Burckhardt was at Tiberias, there were only two Jew merchants
resident there, who were men of property ; and they were styled
by the devotees, kafcrs, or unbelievers. The Rabbin of Tiberias,
is under the great Rabbin of SzafTad (Saphet), who pronounce*
final judgment on all contested points of law and religion.

THE END.

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