V- w ■ V 1 • ■1 ( '> ? Harper's Stereotype Edition PALESTINE, OR THE HOLY LAND. FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY THE REV. MICHAEL RUSSELL, LL.D., Author of “ View of Ancient and Modern Egypt.” WITH A MAP AND NINE ENGRAVINGS. NEW-YORK: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. & J. HARPER, NO. 82 CUFF-STREET, AND SOLD BY THE PRINCIPAL BOOKSELLERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. 1832 PREFACE. In giving an account of the Holy Land, an author, upon examining his materials, finds him¬ self presented with the choice either of simple history on the one hand, or of mere local descrip¬ tion on the other; and the character of his book is of course determined by the selection which he makes of the first or the second of these depart¬ ments. The volumes on Palestine hitherto laid before the public will accordingly be found to con¬ tain either a bare abridgment of the annals of the Jewish people, or a topographical delineation of the country, the cities, and the towns which they inhabited, from the date of the conquest under Joshua, down to the period of their dispersion by Titus and Adrian. Several able works have re¬ cently appeared on each of these subjects, and have been, almost without exception, rewarded with the popularity which is seldom refused to learning and eloquence. But it occurred to the writer of the following pages, that the expectations of the general reader would be more fully answered were the two plans to be united, and the constitu- v tion, the antiquities, the religion, the literature, and even the statistics of the Hebrews combined with the narrative of their rise and fall in the sacred land bestowed upon their fathers. A 2 10 PREFACE. In following out this scheme, he has made it his study to leave no source of information unexplored which might supply the means of illustrating the political condition of the Twelve Tribes imme¬ diately after they settled on the banks of the Jordan. The principles which entered into the constitution of their commonwealth are extremely interesting, both as they afford a fine example of the progress of society in one of its earliest stages, when the migratory shepherd gradually assumes the habits of the agriculturist; and also as they confirm the results of experience, in other cases, in regard to the change which usually follows in the form of civil government, and in the concentration of power in the hands of an individual. The chapter on the Literature and Religion of the Ancient Hebrews cannot boast of a great va¬ riety of materials, because what of the subject is not known to the youngest reader of the Bible must be sought for in the writings of Rabbinical authors, who have unfortunately directed the largest share of their attention to the minutest parts of their Law, and expended the labour of elucidation on those points which are least interesting to the rest of the world. It is to be deeply regretted, that so little is known respecting the Schools of the Pro¬ phets—those seminaries which sent forth, not only the ordinary ministers of the Temple and the Syna¬ gogue, but also that more distinguished order of men who were employed as instruments for reveal¬ ing the future intentions of Providence. But the Author hesitates not to say, that he has availed himself of all the materials which the research of modern times has brought to light, while he has PREFACE. 11 carefully rejected all such speculations or con¬ jectures as might gratify the curiosity of learning without tending to edify the youthful mind. The account which is given of the Feasts and Fasts of the Jews, both before and after the Babylonian Cap¬ tivity, will, it is hoped, prove useful to the reader, more especially by pointing out to him appropriate subjects of reflection while perusing the Sacred Records. The history of Palestine, prior to the Fall of Je¬ rusalem, rests upon the authority of the inspired writers, or of those annalists, such as Josephus and Tacitus, who flourished at the period of the events which they describe. The narrative, which brings down the fortunes of that remarkable coun¬ try to the present day, is much more various both in its subject and references ; more especially where it embraces the exploits of the Crusaders, those renowned devotees of religion, romance, and chiv¬ alry. The reader will find in a narrow compass the substance of the extensive works of Fuller, Wilken, Michaud, and Mills. In the more modern part of this historical outline, in which the affairs of Palestine are intimately connected with those of Egypt, it was thought unnecessary to repeat facts mentioned at some length in the volume already published on the latter country.* The topographical description of the Holy Land is drawn from the works of the long series of trav¬ ellers and pilgrims, who, since the time of the faith¬ ful Doubdan, have visited the interesting scenes where the Christian Faith had its origin and com¬ pletion. On this subject Maundrell is still a prin- [* No. XXI1L of this Family Library.] 12 PREFACE. cipal authority ; for, while we have the best reason to believe that he recorded nothing but what he saw, we can trust implicitly to the accuracy of his details in describing every thing which fell under his observation. The same high character is due to Pococke and Sandys, writers whose simplicity of style and thought afford a voucher for the truth of their narratives. Nor are Thevenot, Paul Lucas, and Careri, though less frequently consulted, at all unworthy of confidence as depositaries of historical facts. In more modern times we meet with equal fidelity, recommended by an exalted tone of feel¬ ing, in the volumes of Chateaubriand and Dr. Rich¬ ardson. Clarke, Burckhardt, Buckingham, Legh, Henniker, Jowett, Light, Macworth, Irby and Man¬ gles, Carne, and Wilson, have not only contributed valuable materials, but also lent the aid of their names to correct or to confirm the statements of some of the more apocryphal among their prede¬ cessors. The chapter on Natural History has no preten¬ sions to scientific arrangement or technical precision in its delineations. On the contrary, it is calculated solely for the common reader, who would soon be disgusted with the formal notation of the botanist, and could not understand the learned terms in which the student of zoology too often finds the knowledge of animal nature concealed. Its main object is to illustrate the Scriptures, by giving an account of the quadrupeds, birds, serpents, plants, and fruits which are mentioned from time to time by the inspired workers of either Testament. Edinburgh, September , 1831. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. Interest attached to the History of Palestine—Remarkable Character of the Hebrew People—Their small Peginning and astonishing Increase —The Variety of Fortune they underwent—Their constant Attach¬ ment to the Promised Land—The Subject presents ari interesting Problem to the Historian and Politician—The Connexion with Chris¬ tianity—Effect of this Religion on the Progress of Society—Importance of the Subject to the pious Reader—Holy Places—Pilgrims—Grounds for Believing the Ancient Traditions on this Head—Constantine and the Empress Helena—Relics—Natural Scenery—Extent of Canaan— Fertility—Geographical Distribution—Countries Eastward of the Jor¬ dan—Galilee—Samaria—Bethlehem—Jericho—The Dead Sea—Table representing the Possessions of the Twelve Tribes. Page 17 CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. Form of Government after the Death of Joshua—In Egypt—In the Wil¬ derness—Princes of Tribes and Heads ofFamilies—Impatience to take Possession of Promised Land—The Effects of it—Renewal of War— Extent of Holy Land—Opinions of Fleury, Spanheim, Reland, and Lowman—Principle of Distribution—Each Tribe confined to a sepa¬ rate Locality—Property Unalienable—Conditions ot Tenure—Popula¬ tion of the Tribes—Number of principal Families—A General Govern- ment or National Council—The Judges—Nature of their Authority— Not ordinary Magistrates—Different from Kings, Consuls, and Dic¬ tators—Judicial Establishments—Judges and Officers—Described by Josephus—Equality of Condition among the Hebrews—Their Inclina¬ tion for a Pastoral Life—Freebooters like the Arabs—Abimelech, Jeph- tliah, and David—Simplicity of the Times—Boaz and Ruth—Tribe of Levi—Object of their Separation—The learned Professions hereditary, after the Manner of the Egyptians—The Levitical Cities—Their Num¬ ber and Uses—Opinion of Michaelis—Summary View of the Times and Character of the Hebrew Judges. 35 CHAPTER III. HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM THE ACCESSION OF SAUL TO THE DE¬ STRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. Weakness of Republican Government—Jealousy of the several Tribes —Resolution to have a King—Rules for regal Government—Character of Saul—Of David—Troubles of his Reign—Accession of Solomon— Erection of the Temple—Commerce—Murmurs of the People—Reho B 14 CONTENTS boam—Division of the* Tribes—Kings of Israel—Kingdom of Judah —Siege of Jerusalem—Captivity—Kings of Judah—Return from Babylon—Second Temple—Canon of Scripture—Struggles between Egypt and Syria—Conquest of Palestine by Antiochus—Persecution of Jews—Resistance by the Family of Maccaba;us—Victories of Judas ■—He courts the Alliance of the Romans—Succeeded by Jonathan— Origin of the Asmonean Princes -John Hyrcanus—Aristobulus— Alexander Jannaeus—Appeal to Pompey—Jerusalem taken by Romans —Herod created King by the Romans—He repairs the Temple—Ar- chelaus succeeds him, and Antipas is nominated to Galilee—Quirinius Prefect of Syria—Pontius Pilate—Elevation of Herod Agrippa—Dis¬ grace of Herod Philip—Judea again a Province—Troubles— Accession of Young Agrippa—Felix—Festus—Floris—Command given to Ves¬ pasian—War—Siege of Jerusalem by Titus. Page 60 CHAPTER IV. ON THE LITERATURE AND RELIGIOUS USAGES OF THE ANCIENT . HEBREWS. Obscurity of the Subject—Learning issued from the Levitical Colleges— Schools of the Prophets—Music and Poetry—Meaning of the term Prophecy—Illustrated by References to the Old Testament and to the New—The Power of Prediction not confined to those bred in the Schools—Race of False Prophets—Their Malignity and Deceit—Mi- caiah and Ahab—Charge against Jeremiah the Prophet—Criterion to distinguish True from False Prophets—The Canonical Writings of the Prophets—Literature of Prophets—Sublime Nature of their Com¬ positions—Examples from Psalms and Prophetical Writings—Humane and liberal Spirit—Care used to keep alive the Knowledge of the Law —Evils arising from the Division of Israel and Judah—Ezra collects the Ancient Books—Schools of Prophets similar to Convents—Sciences —Astronomy—Division of Time, Days, Months, and Years—Sabbaths and New Moons—Jewish Festivals—Passover—Pentecost—Feast of Tabernacles—Of Trumpets—Jubilee—Daughters of Zelophedad— Feast of Dedication—Minor Anniversaries—Solemn Character of He¬ brew Learning—Its easy Adaptation to Christianity—Superior to the Literature of allother ancient Nations. 88 CHAPTER V. DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land—Arculfus—Willibald—Bernard—Effect of Crusades—William de Bouldesell—Bertrandon de la Broquiere — State of Damascus—Breidenbach—Baumgarten—Bartholemeo George- witz—Aldersey—Sandys—Doubdan—Cheron—Thevenot—Gonzales— Morison—Maundrell—Pococke—Road from Jaffa to Jerusalem—Plain of Sharon—Rama or Ramla—Condition of the Peasantry—Vale of Jeremiah—Jerusalem—Remark of Chateaubriand—Impressions of different Travellers—Dr. Clarke—Tasso—Volney—IIenniker—Mosque of Omar described—Mysterious Stone—Church of Holy Sepulchre— Ceremonies of Good Friday—Easter—The Sacred Fire—Grounds for Skepticism—Folly of the Priests—Emotion upon entering the Holy Tomb—Description of Chateaubriand—Holy Places in the City—On Mount Zion—Pool of Siloam—Fountain of the Virgin—Valley of Je- hoshaphat—Mount of Offence—The Tombs of Zechariah, of Jeliosha- CONTENTS 15 phat, and of Absalom—Jewish Architecture—Dr. Clarke’s Opinion on the Topography of Ancient Jerusalem—Opposed by other Writers —The Inexpediency of such Discussions. Page 113 CHAPTER VI. DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. Garden of Gethsemane—Tomb of Virgin Mary—Grottoes on Mount of Olives—View of the City—Extent and Boundaries—View of Bethany and Dead Sea—Bethlehem—Convent—Church of the Nativity de¬ scribed—Paintings—Music—Population of Bethlehem—Pools of Solo¬ mon—Dwelling of Simon the Leper—Of Mary Magdalene—Tower of Simeon—Tomb of Rachel—Convent of St. John—Fine Church—Tekoa — Bethulia—Hebron—Sepulchre of Patriarchs—Albaid—Kerek—Ex¬ tremity of Dead Sea—Discoveries of Bankes, Legh, and Irby and Man¬ gles—Convent of St. Saba—Valley of Jordan—Mountains—Descrip¬ tion of Lake Asphaltites—Remains of ancient Cities in its Basin—Qual¬ ity of its Waters—Apples of Sodom—Tacitus, Seetzen, Hasselquist, Chateaubriand—Width of River Jordan—Jericho—Village of Rihhah —Balsam—Fountain of Elisha—Mount of Temptation—Place of Blood—Anecdote of Sir F. Henniker—Fountain of the Apostles—Re¬ turn to Jerusalem—Markets—Costume—Science—Arts—Language— Jew's—Present Condition of that People. 161 CHAPTER VII. DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY NORTHWARD OF JERUSALEM. Grotto of Jeremiah—Sepulchres of the Kings—Singular Doors—Village of Leban—Jacob’s Well—Valley of Shechem— Nablous—Samaritans —Sebaste — Jennin—Gilead — Geraza, or Djerash—Description of Ruins—Gergasha of the Hebrews—Rich Scenery of Gilead—River Jabbok—Souf—Ruins of Gamala—Magnificent Theatre—Gadara— Capernaum, or Talhewm—Sea of Galilee—Bethsaida and Chorazin— Tarachea —Sumuk—Tiberias—Description of modern Town—House of St. Peter—Baths—University—Mount Tor,or Tabor—Description by Pococke, Maundr^ll, Burckhardf, and Doubdan—View from the Top —Great Plain—Nazareth—Church of Annunciation—Workshop of Joseph—Mount of Precipitation—Table of Christ—Cana, or Refer Kenna—Waterpots of Stone—Saphet, or Szaffad—University—French —Sidney Smith—Dan—Sepphoris—Church of St. Anne—Description by Dr. Clarke—Vale of Zabulon—Vicinity of Acre. 200 CHAPTER VIII. THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE FItOM THE FALL OF JERUSALEM TO THE PRESENT TIME. State of Judea after the Fall of Jerusalem—Revolt under Trajan—Barco- chab—Adrian repairs Jerusalem—Schools at Babylon and Tiberias— The Attempt of Julian to rebuild the Temple—Invasion of Chosroes —Sack of Jerusalem—Rise of lslamism—Wars of the Califs—First Crusade—Jerusalem delivered—Policy of Crusades—Victory at As- calon—Baldwin King—Second Crusade—Saladin—His Success at Tiberias—He recovers Jerusalem—The Third Crusade—Richard Cceur de Lion—Siege and Capture of Acre—Plans of Richard—His Return to Europe—Death of Saladin—Fourth Crusade—Battle of 16 CONTENTS Jaffa—Fifth Crusade—Fall of Constantinople—Sixth Crusade—Da- lnietta taken—Reverses—Frederick the Second made King of Jerusa¬ lem—Seventh Crusade—Christians admitted into the Holy City—in¬ road of Karismians—Eighth Crusade under Louis IX.—He takes Damietta—His Losses and Return to Europe—Ninth Crusade—Louis IX. and Edward I.—Death of Louis—Successes of Edward—Treaty with Sultan—Final Discomfiture of the Franks in Palestine, and Loss of Acre—State of Palestine under the Turks—Increased Tole¬ ration—Bonaparte invades Syria—Siege of Acre and Defeat of French —Actual State of the Holy Land—Number, Condition, and Character of the Jews.Page 246 CHAPTER IX. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF PALESTINE. Travellers too much neglect Natural History—Maundrell, Hasselquist, Clarke— Geology —Syrian Chain—Libanus—Calcareous Rocks— Granite—Trap —Volcanic Remains —Chalk—Marine Exuviae—Pre¬ cious Stones— Meteorology —Climate of Palestine—Winds—Thun¬ der—Clouds—Waterspouts—Ignis Fatuus— Zoology— Scripture Ani¬ mals—The Hart—The Roebuck—Faliow-deer—Wild Goat—Pygarrg —Wild Ox—Chamois—Unicorn—Wild Ass—Wild Goats of the Rock —Saphan, or Cony—Mouse—Porcupine—Jerboa—Mole—Bat— Birds —Eagle—Ossifrage—Ospray—Vulture —Kite—Raven—Owl—Night- hawk—Cuckoo—Hawk—Little Owl—Cormorant—Great Owl—Swan —Pelican—Gier Eagle—Stork—Heron—Lapwing—Hoopoe— Amphi¬ bia and Reptiles —Serpents known to the Hebrews—Ephe—Che- phir—Acshub —Pethen —Tzeboa —Tzimmaon —Tzepho —Kippos — Shephiphon—Shachal—Saraph, the Flying Serpent—Cockatrice’ Eggs —The Scorpion—Sea mons ers, or Seals— Fruits and Plants —Ve¬ getable Productions of Palestine—The Fig-tree—Palm—Olive—Cedars of Libanus—Wild Grapes—Balsam of Aaron—Thorn of Christ 302 + ENGRAVINGS. Map of Palestine. To face the Vignette. Vignette —Part of Jerusalem, with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. Page 125 Fountain of Siloam. 153 Tomb of Absalom.]56 Village of Bethany, and Dead Sea.165 Subterranean Church of Bethlehem.169 River Jabbok, and Hills of Bashan.215 Sea of Galilee, Town of Tiberias, and Baths of Emmaus.223 Mount Tabor.229 PALESTINE, OR ft THE HOLY LAND. CHAPTER I. Introductory Observations. Interest attached to the History of Palestine—Remarkable Character of the Hebrew People—Their small Beginning and astonishing Increase •—The Variety of Fortune they underwent—Their constant Attach¬ ment to the Promised Land—The Subject presents an interesting Problem to the Historian and Politician—The Connexion with Chris¬ tianity—Effect of this Religion on the Progress of Society—Import¬ ance of the Subject to the pious Reader—Holy Places—Pilgrims— Grounds for believing the ancient Traditions on this Head—Constan¬ tine and the Empress Helena—Relics—Natural Scenery—Extent of Canaan—Fertility—Geographical Distribution—Countries Eastward of the Jordan—Galilee—Bethlehem—Samaria—Jericho—The Dead Sea—Table representing the Possessions of the Twelve Tribes. The country to which the name of Palestine is given by the moderns is that portion of the Turkish empire in Asia wh c is comprehended within the 31st and 34th degrees of north latitude, and extends from the Mediterranean to the Syrian Desert, eastward of the river Jordan and the Dead Sea. Whether viewed as the source of our religious faith, or as the most ancient fountain of our historical knowledge, this singular spot of ejarth has at all times been regarded with feelings of the deepest interest and curiosity. Inhabited for many ages by a people entitled above all 18 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. others to the distinction of peculiar, it presents a record of events such as have not come to pass in any other land, monuments of a belief denied to all other nations, hopes not elsewhere cherished, but which, nevertheless, are con¬ nected with the destiny of the whole human race, and stretch forward to the consummation of all terrestrial things. To the eve of mere philosophy nothing can appear more striking than the effects produced upon the world at large by the opinions and events which originated among the Jewish people. A pastoral family, neither so numerous, so warlike, nor so well instructed in the arts of civilized life as many others in the same quarter of the globe, gradu¬ ally increased into a powerful community, became distin¬ guished by a system of doctrines and usages different from those of all the surrounding tribes ; retaining it, too, amid the numerous changes of fortune to which they were subjected, and finally impressing its leading principles upon the most enlightened nations of Asia and of E urope. At a remote era Abraham crosses the Euphrates, a solitary traveller, not knowing whither he went, but obeying a divine voice, which called him from among idolaters to become the father of a new people and of a purer faith, at a distance from his native country. His grandson Jacob, a “ Syrian ready to perish,” goes down into Egypt with a few individuals, where his descendants, although evil entreated and afflicted, became a “nation, great, mighty, and populous,” and whence they were delivered by the special interposition of Heaven. In prosperity and adversity they are still the objects of the same vigilant Providence which reserved them for a great purpose to be accomplished in the latter days; while the Israelites themselves, as if conscious that their election was to be crowned with momentous results, still kept their thoughts fixed on Palestine, as the theatre of their glory, not less than as the possession of their tribes. We accordingly see them at one period in bondage, the victims of a relentless tyranny, and menaced with complete extirpation ; but the hope of enjoying the land promised to their fathers never ceased to animate their hearts, for they trusted that God would surely visit them in the house of their affliction, and, in his appointed time, carry them into the inheritance of peace and rest. At a later epoch we INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 19 behold them swept away as captives by the hands of idola¬ ters, who used all the motives which spring from fear and from interest to secure their compliance with a foreign wor¬ ship ; but rejecting all such inducements, they still con¬ tinued a separate people, steadily resisting the operation of those causes which, in almost every other instance, have been found sufficient to melt down a vanquished horde into the population and habits of their masters. At length they appear as the instruments of a dispensation which em¬ braces the dearest interests of all the sons of Adam; and which, in happier circumstances than ever fell to their own lot, has already modified and greatly exalted the char¬ acter, the institutions, and the prospects of the most im¬ proved portion of mankind in both hemispheres of the globe. Connected with Christianity, indeed, the history of the Hebrews rises before the reflecting mind in a very singular point of view ; for, in opposition to their own wishes they laid the foundations of a religion which has not only superseded their peculiar rites, but is rapidly advancing towards that universal acceptation which they were wont to anticipate in favour of their own ancient law. In spite of themselves they have acted as the little leaven which was destined to leaven the whole lump ; and in performing this office, they have proceeded with nearly the same .absence of intention and consciousness as the latent principle of fermentation to which the metaphor bears allusion. They aimed at one thing, and have accomplished another ; but while we compare the means with the ends, whether in their physical or moral relations, it must be admitted that we therein examine one of the most remarkable events re¬ corded in the annals of the human race. Abstracting his thoughts from all the considerations of supernatural agency which are suggested by the inspired narrative, a candid man will nevertheless feel himself com¬ pelled to acknowledge that the course of events which con¬ stitutes the history of ancient Palestine has no parallel in any other part of the world. Fixing his eye on the small district of Judea, he calls to mind that eighteen hundred years ago there dwelt in that little region a singular and rather retired people, who, however, differed from the rest of mankind in the very important circumstance of not being 20 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. idolaters. He looks around upon every other country of the earth, where he discovers superstitions of the most hateful and degrading kind, darkening all the prospects of the human being, and corrupting his moral nature in its very source. He observes that some of these nations are far advanced in many intellectual accomplishments, yet, being unable to shake off the tremendous load of error by which they are pressed down, are extremely irregular and capricious, both in the management of their reason and in the application of their affections. He learns, moreover, that this little spot called Palestine is despised and scorned by those proud kingdoms, whose wise men would not for a moment allow themselves to imagine, that any speculation or tenet arising from so ignoble a quarter could have the slightest influence upon their belief, or affect, in the most minute degree, the general character of their social con¬ dition. But, behold, while he yet muses over this interesting scene, a Teacher springs up from among the lower orders of the Hebrew people,—himself not less contemned by his countrymen than they were by the warlike Romans and the philosophic Greeks,—whose doctrines, notwithstanding, continue to gain ground on every hand, till at last the proud monuments of pagan superstition, consecrated by the wor¬ ship of a thousand years, and supported by the authority of the most powerful monarchies in the world, fall one after another at the approach of his disciples, and before the prevailing efficacy of the new faith. A little stone becomes a mountain, and fills the whole earth. Judea swells in its dimensions till it covers half the globe, carrying captivity captive, not by force of arms, but by the progress of opin¬ ion and the power of truth. All the nations of Europe in successive ages,—Greek, Roman, Barbarian,—glory in the name of the humble Galilean ; armies, greater than those which Persia in the pride of her ambition led forth to conquest, are seen swarming into Asia, with the sole view of getting possession of his sepulchre ; while the East and the West combine to adorn with their treasures the stable m which he was born, and the sacred mount on which he surrendered his precious life.* * See Dialogues on Natural and Revealed Religion. By the Rev Robert Morehead, D.D., p. 241,—an able and interesting work. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 21 On these grounds, there is presented to the historian and politician a problem of the most interesting nature, and which is not to be solved by any reference to the ordinary principles whence mankind are induced to act or to suffer. The effects, too, produced on society, exceed all calcula¬ tion. It is in vain that we attempt to compare them to those more common revolutions which have changed for a time the face of nations, or given a new dynasty to ancient empires. The impression made by such events soon passes away : the troubled surface quickly resumes its equilibrium, and displays its wonted tranquillity; and hence we may assert, that the present condition of the world is not much different from what it would have been, though Alexander had never been born and Julius Csesar had died in his cradle. But the occurrences that enter into the history of Palestine possess an influence on human affairs which has no other limits than the existence of the species, and which will be everywhere more deeply felt in proportion as society advances in knowledge and refinement. The greatest nations upon earth trace their happiness and civilization to its benign principles and lofty sanctions. Science, freedom, and security, attend its progress among all conditions of men; raising the low, befriending the unfortunate, giving strength to the arm of law, and break¬ ing the rod of the oppressor. Nor is the subject of less interest to the pious Christian, who confines his thoughts to the momentous facts which illustrate the early annals of his religion. His affections are bound to Palestine by the strongest associations; and every portion of its varied territory, its mountains, its lakes, and even its deserts are consecrated in his eyes as the scene of some mighty occurrence. His fancy clothes with qualities almost celestial that holy land, Over whose acres walked those blessed feet. Which eighteen hundred years ago were nailed For our advantage to the bitter cross .* In a former age, when devotional feelings were wont to assume a more poetical form than suits the taste of the present times, an undue importance, perhaps, was placed * Shakspeare, Henry IV. Part I. Act 1. 22 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. on the mere localities of Judea, viewed as the theatre on which the great events of Christianity were realized, and more especially on those relics which were considered as identifying particular spots, honoured by the sufferings or triumph of its Divine author. The zealous pilgrim, who had travelled many thousand miles amid the most appalling dangers, required a solace to his faith in the contemplation of the cross, or in being permitted to kiss the threshold of the tomb in which the body of his Redeemer was laid. To such a character no description could be too minute, no details could be too particular. Forgetful of the ravages inflicted on Jerusalem by the hand of the Romans, and by the more furious anger of her own children within her,—fulfilling unintentionally that tremendous doom which Was pro¬ nounced from the Mount of Olives,—the simple worshipper expected to see the hall of judgment, the house of Pilate, and the palace of the high-priest, and to be able to trace through the streets and lanes of the holy city the path which led his Saviour to Calvary. This natural desire to awaken piety through the medium of the senses, and to banish all unbelief by touching with the hand, and seeing with the eye, the memorials of the crucifixion, has, there is reason to apprehend, been sometimes abused by fraud as well as by ignorance. But it is nevertheless worthy of remark, that from the very situation of Jerusalem, so well defined by natural limits which it cannot have passed, there is less difficulty in determining places with a certain degree of precision than would be experienced in any other ancient town. Nor can it be justly questioned, that the primitive Christians marked with peculiar care the principal localities distinguished by the deeds or by the afflictions of their Divine Master, it is natural to suppose, as M. Chateaubriand well observes, that the apostles and relatives of our Saviour, who com¬ posed his first church upon earth, were perfectly acquainted with all the circumstances attending his life, his ministry, and his death ; and as Golgotha and the Mount of Olives were not enclosed within the walls of the city, they would encounter less restraint in performing their devotions in the places which were sanctified by his more frequent presence and miracles. Besides, the knowledge of these scenes was soon extended to a very wide circle. The triumph of Pen- INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 23 tecost increased vastly the number of believers; and hence a regular congregation appears to have been formed in Je¬ rusalem before the expiry of the third year from that memorable epoch. If it be admitted that the early Chris¬ tians were allowed to erect monuments to their religious worship, or even to select houses for their periodical assem¬ blies, the probability will not be questioned that they fixed upon those interesting spots which had been distinguished by the wonders of their faith. 1 At the commencement of the troubles in Judea, during the reign of Vespasian, the Christians of Jerusalem withdrew to Pella, and as soon as their metropolis was demolished they returned to dwell among its ruins. In the space of a few months they could not have forgotten the position of their sanctuaries, which, generally speaking, being situated out¬ side the walls, could not have suffered so much from the siege as the more lofty edifices within. That the holy places were known to all men in the time of Adrian is de¬ monstrated by an undeniable fact. This emperor, when he rebuilt the city, erected a statue of Venus on Mount Cal¬ vary, and another of Jupiter on the sacred sepulchre. The grotto of Bethlehem was given up to the rites of Adonis; the jealousy of the idolaters thus publishing, by their abomi¬ nable profanations, the sublime doctrines of the Cross, which it was their object to conceal or to calumniate. But Adrian, although actuated by an ardent zeal in be¬ half of his own deities, did not persecute the Christians at large. His resentment seems to have been confined to the Nazarenes in Jerusalem, whom he could not help regarding as a portion of the Jewish nation,—the irreconcilable ene¬ mies of Rome. We accordingly perceive, that he had no sooner dispersed the church of the Circumcision established in the holy city, than he permitted within its walls the f formation of a Christian community, composed of Gentile converts, whose political principles, he imagined, were less inimical to the sovereignty of the empire. At the same time he wrote to the governors of his Asiatic provinces, in¬ structing them not to molest the believers in Christ, merely on account of their creed, but to reserve all punishment for crimes committed against the laws and the public tran¬ quillity. It has therefore been very generally admitted, that during this period of repose, and even down to the reign of, 24 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. Dioclesian, the faithful at Jerusalem, now called yElia, cele¬ brated the mysteries of their religion in public, and conse¬ quently had altars consecrated to their worship. If, in¬ deed, they were not allowed the possession of Calvary, the Holy Sepulchre, and of Bethlehem, where they might sol¬ emnize their sacred rites, it is not to be imagined that the memory of these holy sanctuaries could be effaced from their affectionate recollection. The very idols served to mark the places where the Christian redemption was begun and completed. Nay, the pagans themselves cherished the expectation that the temple of Venus, erected on the sum¬ mit of Calvary, would not prevent the Christians from vis¬ iting that holy mount; rejoicing in the idea, as the histo¬ rian Sozomen expresses it, that the Nazarenes, when they repaired to Golgotha to pray, would appear to the public eye to be offering up their adoration to the daughter of Ju¬ piter. This is a striking proof that a perfect knowledge of the sacred places was retained by the church of Jerusalem in the middle of the second century. At a somewhat later period, when exposed to persecution, if they were not al¬ lowed to build their altars at the Sepulchre, or proceed without apprehension to the scene of the Nativity, they enjoyed at least the consolation of keeping alive the remem¬ brance of the great events connected with these interesting monuments of their faith ; anticipating, at the same time, the approaching ruin of that proud superstition by which they had been so long oppressed. The conversion of Constantine gave a new vigour to these local reminiscences of the evangelical history.” That celebrated ruler wrote to Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, to cover the tomb of Jesus Christ with a magnificent church; while his mother, the Empress Helena, repaired in person to Palestine, in order to give a proper efficacy to the zeal which animated the throne, and to assist m searching for the venerable remains of the first age of the gospel. ° To this illustrious female is ascribed the glory of restoring to religion some of its most valued memorials. Not satisfied with the splendid temple erected at the Holy Sepulchre, she ordered two similar edifices to be reared under her own auspices ; one over the manger of the Messiah at Bethle¬ hem, and the other on the Mount of Olives, to commemo¬ rate his ascension into heaven. Chapels, altars, and houses INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 25 of prayer gradually marked all the places consecrated by the acts of the Son of Man ; the oral traditions were forth¬ with committed to writing, and thereby secured for ever from the treachery of individual recollection.* These considerations give great probability to the con¬ jectures of those pious persons who, in the fourth cen¬ tury of our era, assisted the mother of Constantine in fixing the locality of holy scenes. From that period down to the present day, the devotion of the Christian and the avarice of the Mohammedan have sufficiently secured the remem¬ brance both of the places and of the events with which they are associated. But no length of time can wear out the impression of deep reverence and respect which are ex¬ cited by an actual examination of those interesting spots that witnessed the stupendous occurrences recorded in the inspired volume. Or, if there be in existence any cause which could effectually counteract such natural and laudable feelings, it is the excessive minuteness of detail and fanci¬ ful description usually found to accompany the exhibition of sacred relics. The Christian traveller is delighted when he obtains the first glance of Carmel, of Tabor, of Libanus, and of Olivet; his heart opens to many touching recollec¬ tions at the moment when the Jordan, the Lake of Tibe¬ rias, and even the waters of the Dead Sea spread them¬ selves out before his eyes ; but neither bis piety nor his be¬ lief is strengthened when he has pr*esented to him a portion of the cross whereon oar Saviour was suspended, the nails that pierced his hands and feet, the linen in which his body w r as wrapped, the stone on which his corpse reposed in the sepulchre, as well as that occupied by the ministering angel on the morning of the resurrection. The skepticism with which such doubtful remains cannot fail to be examined is turned into positive disgust when the guardians of the grotto at Bethlehem undertake to show the water wherein the infant Messiah was washed, the milk of the blessed Virgin his mother, the swaddling-clothes, the man¬ ger, and other particulars neither less minute nor less im¬ probable. . But such abuses, the fruit of many ages of credulity and * Chateaubriand Itinbraire, tome i. p. 48, &c. Sozom. lib. iii. c. i. Euseb. Hist. Eccl.lib. vi. S. Cyril, Cat.xvi. c 25 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. ignorance, do not materially diminish the force of the im¬ pression produced by scenes which no art can change, and hardly any description can disguise. The hills still stand round about Jerusalem, as they stood in the days of David and of Solomon. The dew falls on Hermon, the cedars grow on Libanus, and Kishon, that ancient river, draws its stream from Tabor as in the times of old. The Sea of Galilee still presents the same natural accompaniments, the fig-tree springs up by the wayside, the sycamore spreads its branches, and the vines and olives still climb the sides of the mountains. The desolation which covered the Cities of the Plain is not less striking at the present hour than when Moses with an inspired pen recorded the judgment of God ; the swellings of Jordan are not less regular in their rise than when the Hebrews first approached its banks ; and he who goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho still incurs the greatest hazard of falling among thieves. There is, in fact, in the scenery and manners of Palestine, a perpetuity that accords well with the everlasting import of its historical records, and which enables us to identify with the utmost readiness the local imagery of every great transaction. The extent of this remarkable country has varied at dif¬ ferent times, according to the nature of the government which it has either enjoyed or been compelled to acknow¬ ledge. When it was first occupied by the Israelites, the land of Canaan, properly so called, was confined between the shores of the Mediterranean and the western bank of the Jordan ; the breadth at no part exceeding fifty miles, while the length hardly amounted to three times that space. At a later period, the arms of David and of his immediate successor carried the boundaries of the kingdom to the Euphrates and Orontes on the one hand, and in an opposite direction to the remotest confines of Edom and Moab. The population, as might be expected, has undergone a similar variation. It is true that no particular in ancient history is liable to a better-founded suspicion than the numerical statements which respect nations and armies ; for pride and fear have, in their turn, contributed not a little to exaggerate, in rival countries, the amount of the persons capable of taking a share in the field of battle. Proceeding on the usual grounds of calculation, we must infer, from the num¬ ber of warriors whom Moses conducted through the desert. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 27 that the Hebrew people, when they crossed the Jordan, did not fall short of two millions ; while, from facts recorded in the book of Samuel, we may conclude with greater con¬ fidence that the enrolment made under the direction of Joab must have returned a gross population of five millions and a half. The present aspect of Palestine, under an administration where every thing decays and nothing is renewed, can afford no just criterion of the accuracy of such statements. Hasty observers have indeed pronounced that a hilly country des¬ titute of great rivers could not, even under the most skilful management, supply food for so many mouths. But this precipitate conclusion has been vigorously combated by the most competent judges, who have taken pains to estimate the produce of a soil under the fertilizing influence of a sun which may be regarded as almost tropical, and of a well- regulated irrigation which the Syrians knew how to practise with the greatest success. Canaan, it must be admitted, could not be compared to Egypt in respect to corn. There is no Nile to scatter the riches of an inexhaustible fecundity over its valleys and plains. Still it was not without reason that Moses described it as “ a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of vallej'S and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig- trees, and pomegranates ; a land of oil-olive and honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayst dig brass.”* The reports of the latest travellers confirm the accuracy of the picture drawn by this divine legislator. Near Jericho the wild olives continue to bear berries of a large size, which give the finest oil. In places subjected to irrigation, the same field, after a crop of wheat in May, produces pulse in autumn. Several of the trees are continually bearing flowers and fruit at the same time, in all their stages. The mulberry, planted in straight rows in the open field, is fes¬ tooned by the tendrils of the vine. If this vegetation seems to languish or become extinct during the extreme heats,— if in the mountains it is at all seasons detached and inter¬ rupted,—such exceptions to the general luxuriance are not * Deuteronomy viii. 7, 8, 9. 28 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS- to be ascribed simply to the general character of all hot cli¬ mates, but also to the state of barbarism in which the great mass of the present population is immersed. Even in our day, some remains are to be found of the walls which the ancient cultivators built to support the soil on the declivities of the mountains ; the form of the cisterns in which they collected the rain-water; and traces ol the canals by which this water was distributed over the fields. These labours necessarily created a prodigious fertility under an ardent sun, where a little moisture w r as the only requisite to revive the vegetable world. The accounts given by native writers respecting the productive qualities of Ju¬ dea are not in any degree opposed even by the present aspect of the country. The case is exactly the same with some islands in the Archipelago ; a tract, from which a hundred individuals can hardly draw a scanty subsistence, formerly maintained thousands in affluence. Moses might justly say that Canaan abounded in milk and honey. The flocks of the Arabs still find in it a luxuriant pasture, while the bees deposite in the holes of the rocks their delicious stores, which are sometimes seen flowing down the surface. The opinions just stated in regard to the fertility of ancient Palestine receive an ample confirmation from the Roman historians, to whom, as a part of their extensive empire, it was intimately known. Tacitus, especially, in language which he appears to have formed for his own use, describes its natural qualities with the utmost precision, and, as is his manner, suggests rather than specifies a catalogue of productions, the accuracy of which is verified by the latest observations. The soil is rich, and the atmosphere dry; the country yields all the fruits which are known in Italy, besides balm and dates.* ^ But it has never been denied that there is a remarkable difference between the two sides of the ridge which forms the central chain of Judea. On the western acclivity, the soil rises from the sea towards the elevated ground in four distinct terraces, which are covered with an unfading ver- * Terra finesque, qua ad Orienfem vergunt, Arabia terminantur; a meridie .Egyptus objacet; ab occasu Phcenices et mare ; septemtrionem a latere Syriae ionge prospectant. Corpora hominum salubria et ferentia laborem: rari irnbres, uber solum : fruges nostrum ad morem; preter* que eas balsamum et palmae. Hist. lib. v. c. G. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 29 dure. The shore is lined with mastic-trees, palms, and prickly pears. Higher up, the vines, the olives, and the sycamores amply repay the labour of the cultivator; natu¬ ral groves arise, consisting of evergreen oaks, cypresses, andrachnes, and turpentines. The face of the earth is em¬ bellished with the rosemary, the cytisus, and the hyacinth. In a word, the vegetation of these mountains has been com¬ pared to that of Crete. European visiters have dined under the shade of a lemon-tree as large as one of our strongest oaks, and have seen sycamores, the foliage of which was sufficient to cover thirty persons along with their horses and camels. On the eastern side, however, the scanty coating of mould jdelds a less magnificent crop. From the summit of the hills a desert stretches along to the Lake Asphaltites, pre¬ senting nothing but stones and ashes, and a few thorny shrubs. The sides of the mountains enlarge, and assume an aspect at once more grand and more barren. By little and little the scanty vegetation languishes and dies ; even mosses disappear, and a red burning hue succeeds to the whiteness of the rocks. In the centre of this amphitheatre there is an arid basin, enclosed on all sides with summits scattered over with a yellow-coloured pebble, and affording a single aperture to the east, through which the surface of the Dead Sea and the distant hills of Arabia present them¬ selves to the eye. In the midst of this country of stones, encircled by a wall, we perceive extensive ruins, stunted cypresses, bushes of the aloe and prickly pear, while some huts of the meanest order, resembling whitewashed sepul¬ chres, are spread over the desolated mass. This spot is Jerusalem.* This melancholy delineation, which was suggested by the state of the Jewish metropolis in the third century, is not quite inapplicable at the present hour. The scenery of external nature is the same, and the general aspect of the venerable city is very little changed. But as beauty is strictly a relative term, and is everywhere greatly affected by association, we must not be surprised when we read in * Belon, Observations de Singularity, p. 140. Hasselquist’s Travels, p. 56. Korte’s Travels in Palestine. Chateaubriand, les Martyrs, vol. Ui. p. 99. Schultze’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 89. 30 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. the works of eastern authors the high encomiums which are lavished upon the vicinity of the holy capital. Abul- feda, for example, maintains, not only that Palestine is the most fertile part of Syria, but also that the neighbourhood of Jerusalem is one of the most fertile districts of Palestine. In his eye, the vines, the fig-trees, and the olive-groves, with which the limestone cliffs of Judea were once covered, identified themselves with the richest returns of agricultural wealth, and more than compensated for the absence of those spreading fields waving with corn which are neces¬ sary to convey to the mind of a European the ideas of fruitfulness, comfort, and abundance. Following the enlightened narrative of Malte Brun, the rea'der will find that southward of Damascus, the point where the modern Palestine may be said to begin, are the countries called by the Romans Auranitis and Gaulonitis, consisting of one extensive and noble plain, bounded on the north by Hermon or Djibel-el-Sheik, on the south-west by Djibel-Edjlan, and on the east by Haouran. In all these countries there is not a single stream which retains its water in summer. The most of the villages have their pond or reservoir, which they fill from one of the wadi, or brooks, during the rainy season. Of all these districts, Haouran is the most celebrated for the culture of wheat. Nothing can exceed in grandeur the extensive undulations of their fields, moving like the waves of the ocean in the wind. Bothin or Batanea, on the other hand, contains nothing except calcareous mountains, where there are vast caverns, in which the Arabian shepherds live like the ancient Troglodytes. Here a modern traveller, Dr. Seetzen, dis¬ covered, in the year 1816 , the magnificent ruins of Gerasa, now called Djerash, where three temples, two superb am¬ phitheatres of marble, and hundreds of columns still remain among other monuments of Roman power. But by far the fi^ e thm o that he saw was a long street, bordered on each side with a splendid colonnade of Corinthian architecture, and terminating in an open space of a semicircular form, surrounded with sixty Ionic pillars. In the same neighbour¬ hood the ancient Gilead is distinguished by a forest of stately oaks, which supply wealth and employment to the inhabitants. Peraea presents on its numerous terraces a mixture of vines, olives, and pomegranates. Karak-Moab. » 9 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 3 1 * the capital of a district corresponding to that of the primi¬ tive Moabites, still meets the eye, but is not to be con¬ founded with another town of a similar name in the Stony 1 Arabia.* The countries now described lie on the eastern side of the river Jordan. But the same stream, in the upper part of its course, forms the boundary between Gaulonitis and the fertile Galilee, which is identical with the modern dis¬ trict of Szaffad. This town, which is remarkable for the beauty of its situation amid groves of myrtle, is supposed to be the ancient Bethulia, which was besieged by Holofernes. Tabaria, an insignificant place, occupies the site of Tibe¬ rias, which gave its name to the lake more generally known by that of Genesareth, or the Sea of Galilee ; but industry has now deserted its borders, and the fisherman with his skiff and his nets no Ion o'er animates the surface of its O waters. Nazareth still retains some portion of its former consequence. Six miles farther south stands the hill of Tabor, sometimes denominated Itabyrius, presenting a pyramid of verdure crowned with olives and sycamores. From the top of this mountain, the modern Tor and scene of the transfiguration, we look down on the river Jordan, the Lake of Genesareth, and the Mediterranean Sea.f Galilee, says a learned writer, would be a paradise were it inhabited by an industrious people under an enlightened government. Vine stocks are to be seen here a foot and a half in diameter, forming, by their twining branches, vast arches and extensive ceilino-s of verdure. A cluster of O grapes, two or three feet in length, will give an abundant supper to a whole family. The plains of Esdraelon are occupied by Arab tribes, around whose brown tents the sheep and lambs gambol to the sound of the reed, which at ! nightfall calls them home.f For some years this fine country has groaned and bled under the malignant genius of Turkish despotism. The fields are left without cultivation, and the towns and vil¬ lages are reduced to beggary; but the latest accounts from * Seetzen, in Annales des Voyages, i. 398; and Correspondance de M. Zach. 425. t Maundrell, p. 60. i Chateaubriand Itinera ire, ii. 123. Malte Brun, vol. ii. 150—160. Edin. Edition. 32 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. the Holy Land encourage us to entertain the hope, that a milder administration will soon change the aspect of affairs, and bestow upon the Syrian provinces at large some of the benefits which the more liberal policy of Mohammed Ali has conferred upon the pashalic of Egypt. Proceeding from Galilee towards the metropolis, we enter the land of Samaria, comprehending the modern districts of Areta and Nablous. In the former we find the remains of Cesarea ; and on the Gulf of St. Jean d’Acre stands the town of Caypha, where there is a good anchorage for ships. On the south-west of this gulf extends a chain of mountains, which terminates in the promontory of Carmel, a name famous in the annals of our religion. There Elijah proved by miracles the divinity of his mission ; and there, in the middle a^es of the church, resided thousands of Christian devotees, who sought a refuge for their piety in the caves of the rocks. Then the mountain was wholly covered with chapels and gardens, whereas at the present day nothing is to be seen but scattered ruins amid forests ofToak and olives, the bright verdure being only relieved by the white¬ ness of the calcareous cliffs over which they are suspended. The heights of Carmel, it has-been frequently remarked, enjoy a pure and enlivening atmosphere, while the lower grounds of Samaria and Galilee are obscured by the densest fogs. The Shechem of the Scriptures, successively known by the names of Neapolis and Nablous, still contains a consider¬ able population, although its dwellings are mean and its inhabitants poor. The ruins of Samaria itself are now covered with orchards ; and the people of the district, who have forgotten their native dialect, as well perhaps as their angry disputes vtdth the Jews, continue to worship the Deity on the verdant slopes of Gerizim. Palestine, agreeably to the modern acceptation of the term, embraces the country of the ancient Philistines, the most formidable enemies of the Hebrew tribes prior to the reign of David. Besides Gaza, the chief town, we recog¬ nise the celebrated port of Jaffa or Yaffa, corresponding to the Joppa mentioned in the Sacred Writings. Repeatedly fortified and dismantled, this famous harbour has presented such a variety of appearances, that the description given of INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 33 it in one age has hardly ever been found to apply to its condition in the very next. Bethlehem, where the divine Messias was born, is a large village inhabited promiscuously by Christians and Mussul¬ mans, who agree in nothing but their detestation of the tyranny by which they are both unmercifully oppressed. The locality of the sacred manger is occupied by an elegant church, ornamented by the pious offerings of all the nations of Europe. It is not our intention to enter into a more minute discussion of those old traditions, by which the par¬ ticular places rendered sacred by the Redeemer’s presence are still marked out for the veneration of the faithful. They present much vagueness, mingled with no small portion of unquestionable truth. At all events, we must not regard them in the same light in which we are compelled to view the story that claims for Hebron the possession of Abra¬ ham’s tomb, and attracts on this account the veneration both of Nazarenes and Moslems. To the north-east of Jerusalem, in the large and fertile valley called El-Gaur, and watered by the Jordan, we find the village of Rah, the ancient Jericho, denominated by Moses the City of Palms. This is a name to which it is still entitled ; but the groves of opobalsamum, or balm of Mecca, have long disappeared; nor is the neighbourhood any longer adorned with those singular flowers known among the Crusaders by the familiar appellation of Jericho j'oses. A little farther south two rough and barren chains of hills encompass with their dark steeps a long basin formed in a clay soil mixed with bitumen and rock-salt. The water contained in this hollow is impregnated with a solution of different saline substances, having lime, magnesia, and soda for their base, partially neutralized with muriatic and sul¬ phuric acid. The salt which it yields by evaporation is about one-fourth of its weight. The bituminous matter rises from time to time from the bottom of the laske, floats on the surface, and is thrown out on the shores, where it is gathered for various economical purposes. It is to be re¬ gretted that this inland sea has not yet been examined with the attention which it deserves. We are told, indeed, by the greater number of those w r ho have visited it, that neither fish nor shells are to be found in its waters; that an un¬ wholesome vapour is constantly emitted from its bosom ; 34 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. and that its banks, hideous and desolate in the extreme, are never cheered by the note of any bird. But it is admitted by the same travellers, that the inhabitants are not sensible of any noxious qualities in its exhalations ; while the ac¬ counts formerly believed, that the winged tribes in attempt¬ ing to fly over it fell down dead, are now generally regarded as fabulous. Tradition supports the narrative of Sacred Scripture so far as to teach that the channel of the Dead Sea was once a fertile valley, partly resting on a mass of subterranean water, and partly composed of a stratum of bitumen ; and that a lire from heaven kindling these com¬ bustible materials, the rich soil sunk into the abyss beneath, and Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed in the tre¬ mendous conflagration. This brief outline of the geographical limits and physical characters of the Holy Land may prove sufficient as an introduction to its ancient history. Details much more ample are to be found in numerous works, whose authors, fascinated bv the interesting recollections which almost every object in Palestine is fitted to suggest, have endea¬ voured to transfer to the minds of their readers the profound impressions which they themselves experienced from a per¬ sonal review of ancient scenes and monuments. But w T e purposely refrain at present from the minute description to which the subject so naturally invites us, because, in a sub¬ sequent part of our undertaking, we shall be unavoidably led into a train of local particularities, while setting forth the actual condition of the country and of its venerable re¬ mains. Meantime, we supply, in the following table, the means of comparing the division or distribution of Canaan among the Twelve Tribes, with that which was afterward adopted by the Romans. Ancient Canaanitish Division. Israelitish Division. Roman Division. Sidonians, • Unknown,. Perizzites, - The same,. Hivites, The same,. Tribe of Asher (in Libanus) } ) Naphtali (north-west of the > Upper Galilee. \ Lake of Genesareth) Zebulun (west of that lake) ) $ Issacbar (Valley of Esdraelon, Lower Galilee. } Mount Tabor) S t Half-tribe of Manasseh (Dora I l and Cesarea) > Samaria. Ephraim (Shcchem, Samaria) ) HISTORY OF THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 35 Ancient Canaanitish Division. Jebusites,. Amorites, Ilittites,... Philistines,. Moabites,. Ammonites, Gilead, .. Kingdom of Bashan, Israelitish Division. Benjamin (Jericho. Jerusalem) ) Judah (Hebron, Judea proper) 1 \ Simeon (south-west of Judah) [ ( Dan (Joppa) J Reuben (Peraea, Heshbon) Gad (Decapolis, Ammonitis) ) Half-tribe of Manasseh, Gaul- ( onitis, Batanea, Roman Division. Judea. Pertea. Iu a pastoral country, such as that beyond the river Jor¬ dan especially, where the desert in most parts bordered upon the cultivated soil, the limits of the several possessions could not at all times be distinctly marked. It is well known, besides, that the native inhabitants were never entirely ex¬ pelled by the victorious Hebrews, but that they retained, in some instances by force, and in others by treaty, a consider¬ able portion of land within the borders of all the tribes, —a fact which is connected with many of the defections and troubles into which the Israelites subsequently fell. CHAPTER II. History of the Hebrew Commonwealth. Form of Government after the Death of Joshua—In Egypt—In the Wil¬ derness—Princes of Tribes and Heads of Families—Impatience to take Possession of Promised Land—The Effects of it—Renewal of War— Extent of Holy Land—Opinions of Fleury, Spanheim, Reland, and Lowman—Principle of Distribution—Each Tribe confined to a separate Locality—Property unalienable—Conditions of Tenure- Population of the Tribes—Number of Principal Families—A General Govern¬ ment or Natural Council—The Judges—Nature of their Authority— Not ordinary Magistrates—Different from Kings, Consuls, and Dic¬ tators—Judicial Establishments—Judges and Officers—Described by Josephus—Equality of Condition among the Hebrews—Their Inclina¬ tion for a Pastoral Life—Freebooters, like the Arabs—Abimeleeh, Jeph- thah, and David—Simplicity of the Times—Boaz and Ruth—Tribe of Levi— Object of their Separation—The learned Professions heredi¬ tary, after the manner of the Egyptians—The Levitical Cities—Their Number and Uses—Opinion of Michaelis—Summary View of the Times and Character of the Hebrew Judges. Learned men have long exercised their ingenuity with the view of determining the precise form of the social con¬ dition which was assumed by the Israelites when they took 38 HISTORY OF THE possession of the Promised Land. The sacred writer con¬ tents himself with stating, that “ it came to pass a long time after the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age ; and he called for all Israel, for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers.” The purport of the address he delivered on this occasion, and which is given at length in the twenty-third chapter of the book which bears his name, was solely to remind them of their religious obligations as the chosen people of Jeho¬ vah, and of the labours that they had yet to undergo in subdu¬ ing the remainder of Canaan. Neither in this speech, nor in the exhortation with which he afterward at Shechem en¬ deavoured to animate the zeal and constancy of his followers, did he make any allusion to the form of government that it behooved them to adopt; declining even to direct their choice in the appointment of a chief, who might conduct their armies in the field, and preside in the deliberations of the national council. The first events which occurred after the demise of Joshua appear to establish the fact, that to every tribe was com¬ mitted the management of its own affairs, even to the extent of being entitled to wage war and make peace wfithout the advice or sanction of the general senate. The only govern¬ ment to which the sons of Jacob had hitherto been accus¬ tomed, was that most ancient and universal system of rule which gives to the head of every family the direction and con¬ trol of all its members. We find traces of this natural sub¬ ordination among them, even under the pressure of Egyptian bondage. During the negotiations which preceded their deliverance under the ministry of Moses, the applications and messages were all addressed to the patriarchal rulers of the people. “ Go gather the elders of Israel together,” was the command of Jehovah to the son of Amram, when the latter received authority to rescue the descendants of Isaac from the tyranny of Pharaoh. But during the pilgrimage in the wilderness, and more particularly when the tribes approached the confines of the devoted nations of Canaan, the original jurisdiction of the family chiefs was rendered subordinate to the military power of their inspired leader, who, as the commander of the armies of Israel, was esteemed and obeyed by his followers HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 37 as the lieutenant of the Lord of Hosts. In truth, the mar¬ tial labours to which his office called him, placed the suc¬ cessor of Moses at the head of his countrymen in quality of a general, guiding them on their march or forming their array in the field of battle, rather than as a teacher of wis¬ dom or the guardian of a peculiar faith and worship. Until the conquered lands were divided among the victorious tribes, Joshua was a soldier and nothing more ; while, on the other hand, the congregation of the Hebrews, who seconded so well his military plans, appear at that juncture on the page of history in no other light than that of veteran troops, rendered hardy by long service in a parching climate, and formidable by the arts of discipline under a skilful and warlike leader. From the exode, in short, till towards the end of Joshua’s administration, we lose sight of that simple scheme of do¬ mestic superintendence which Jacob established among his sons. The princes of tribes, and the heads of families, were converted into captains of thousands, of hundreds, and of fifties ; regulating their movements by the sound of the trumpet, and passing their days of rest amid the vigi¬ lance and formality of a regular encampment. But no sooner did they convert the sword into a ploughshare, and the spear into a pruning-hook, than they unanimously returned to their more ancient form of society. As soon as there ap¬ peared a sufficient quantity of land wrested from the Canaan- ites to afford to the tribes on the western side of the Jor¬ dan a competent inheritance, Joshua “ sent the people away, and they departed and from this moment the mili¬ tary aspect that their community had assumed gave way to the patriarchal model, to which in fact all their institu¬ tions bore an immediate reference, and to the restoration of which their strongest hopes and wishes were constantly directed. Actuated by such views, it cannot be denied that the He¬ brews manifested an undue impatience to enjoy the fruits of their successful invasion. They had fought, it should seem, to obtain an inheritance in a rich and pleasant coun¬ try, rather than to avenge the cause of pure religion, or to punish the idolatrous practices of the children of Moab and Ammon. As soon, therefore, as the fear of their name and the power of their arms had scattered the inhabitants of the D 38 HISTORY OF THE open countries, the Israelites began to sow and to plant; being more willing to make a covenant with the residue of the enemy, than to purchase the blessings of a permanent peace by enduring a little longer the fatigue and privations of war. Their eagerness to get possession of the land flow¬ ing with milk and honey seems to have compelled Joshua to adopt a measure, which led at no distant period to much guilt and suffering on the part of his people. He consented that they should occupy the vacant fields before the nations which they had been commissioned to displace were finally subdued ; that they should cast lots for provinces which were still in the hands of the native Gentiles ; and that they should distribute, by the line and the measuring-rod, many extensive hills and fair valleys which had not yet submitted to the dominion of their swords. The effects of this injudicious policy soon rendered them¬ selves apparent; and all the evils which were foreseen by the aged servant of God, when he addressed the congre- gation at Shechem, were realized in a little time to their fullest extent. The Hebrews did indeed find the remnant of the nations among whom they consented to dwell proving scourges in their sides and thorns in their eyes, and still able to dispute with them the possession of the good land which they had been taught to regard as a sacred inherit¬ ance conferred upon them in virtue of a divine promise made to their fathers. For example, the author of the book of Judges relates, “ the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains for, he adds, “ they would not suffer them to come down to the valley.” Hence arose the fact, that the Israelites did not for several hundred years com¬ plete their conquest of Palestine. The Canaanites, re¬ covering from the terror which had fallen upon them in the commencement of the Hebrew invasion, attempted, not only to regain possession of their ancient territory, but even to obliterate all traces of their defeat and subjection. What movements were made by the petty sovereigns of the coun¬ try, in order to effect their object, we are nowhere expressly told ; but we find, from a consultation held by the southern tribes of Israel, soon after the death of Joshua, that the necessity of renewing military operations against the na¬ tives could no longer be postponed. It was resolved, ac¬ cordingly, that Judah and Simeon should unite their arms, HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 39 and take the held, to prevent, in the first place, an inroad with which their borders were threatened, and, subse¬ quently, to reduce to a state of entire subjection the cities and towns that stood within the limits of their respective districts. “And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot.”* But, leaving these preliminary matters, we shall proceed to take a survey of the Hebrew commonwealth, as it ap¬ peared upon its first settlement under the successors of Joshua ; endeavouring to ascertain the grounds upon which the federal union of the tribes was established; their rela¬ tions towards one another in peace and in war ; the re- . sources of which they were possessed for conquest or self- defence ; their civil rights and privileges as independent states ; their laws and judicatories ; and, above all, the na¬ ture and extent of their property, as well as the tenure on which it was held by families and individuals. Closely con¬ nected wdth this subject is a consideration of that agrarian law which was sanctioned by Moses and acted upon by Joshua, and which will be found, not only to have deter¬ mined, but also to have secured, the inheritance of every Israelite who entered the Promised Land. The extent of that portion of Syria which was granted to the Hebrew nation has been variously estimated. On the authority of Hecataeus, a native of Abdera, who is quoted by Josephus, the limits of the territory possessed by the Jews are fixed at three millions of acres, supposing the aroura of the Greeks to correspond to the denomination of English measure just specified. Proceeding on this ground, the Abb£ Fleury and other writers have undertaken to prove that the quantity of land mentioned by Hecataeus would maintain only three millions three hundred and seventy five thousand men,—a computation which is liable to many objections, and has not therefore been generally received. It is obvious, for instance, that the Abderite, who lived in the reign of Alexander the Great, and is said to have after¬ ward, attached himself to the person of the first Grecian king of Egypt, described the country of the Jews as he saw it, * Judges i. 3. 40 HISTORY OF THE under the dominion of the Syrian princes of the Macedonian line. He accordingly beheld only the inheritance of the two tribes which had returned from the Babylonian captivity, and of consequence confined his estimates to the provinces that they were permitted to enjoy ; taking no account of those extensive districts that formerly belonged to the Ten Tribes of Israel, and which, in his days, were in the hands of that mixed race of men who were descended from the Assyrian colonists whom Shalmaneser placed in their room.* Confiding in the greater accuracy of Spanheim, Reland, and Lowman, we are inclined to compute the Hebrew ter¬ ritory at about fifteen millions of acres ; assuming, with these writers, that the true boundaries of the Promised t Land were, Mount Libanus on the north, the Wilderness of Arabia on the south, and the Syrian Desert on the east. On the west some of the tribes extended their posses¬ sions to the very waters of the Great Sea, though on other parts they found their boundary restricted by the lands of the Philistines, whose rich domains comprehended the low lands and strong cities which stretched along the shore. It has been calculated by Spanheim, that the remotest points of the Holy Land, as possessed by King David, were situ¬ ated at the distance of three degrees of latitude, and as many degrees of longitude, including in all about twenty- six thousand square miles.t If this computation be correct, there was in the possession of the Hebrew chiefs land sufficient to allow to every Israelite capable of bearing arms a lot of about twenty acres ; reserving for public uses, as also for the cities of the Levites, about one-tenth of the whole. It is probable, how¬ ever, that if we make a suitable allowance for lakes, moun¬ tains, and unproductive tracts of ground, the portion to every householder would not be so large as the estimate now stated. But within the limits of one-half of this quan¬ tity of land there were ample means for plenty and frugal enjoyment. The Roman people under Romulus and long after could afford only two acres to every legionary soldier ; and in the most flourishing days of the commonwealth the * Joseph, contra Apion. cap. I. 2 Kings xvii. 24. t Reland, Palestina Illustrata, lib. ii. c. 5. Spanheim, Charta terns Israelis. Lowman on the Civil Government of the Hebrews. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 41 allowance did not exceed four. Hence the quatuor jugera y or four acres, is an expression which proverbially indicated plebeian affluence and contentment,—a full remuneration for the toils of war, and a sufficient inducement at all times to take up arms in defence of the republic. The territory of the Hebrews was ordered to be equally divided among their tribes and families according to their respective numbers; and the persons selected to super¬ intend this national work were Eleazar, the high-priest, Joshua, who acted in the character of judge, and the twelve princes or heads of Israel. The rule which they followed is expressed in these words,—“ And ye shall divide the land by lot, for an inheritance among your families ; and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance; and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance : every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.” Every tribe was thus put in possession of a separate dis¬ trict or province, in which all the occupiers of the land were not only Israelites, but more particularly sprung from the same stock, and descendants of the same patriarch. The several families, again, were placed in the same neighbour¬ hood, receiving their inheritance in the same part or sub¬ division of the tribe ; or, to use the language of Lowman, each tribe may be said to have lived together in one and the same county, and each family in one and the same hundred ; so that every neighbourhood were relations to each other and of the same families, as well as inhabitants of the same place. To secure the permanence and independence of every separate tribe, a law was enacted by the authority of Heaven, providing that the landed property of every Israelite should be unalienable. Whatever encumbrances might befall the owner of a field, and whatever miadit be the ob- ligations under which he placed himself to his creditor, he was released from all claims at the year of jubilee. “Ye shall hallow,” said the inspired legislator, “ the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you, and ye shall return every man to his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. And the land shall not D 2 42 HISTORY OF THE be sold for ever ; for the land is mine, saith the Lord ; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.”* The attentive reader of the Mosaical law will observe, that though a Hebrew could not divest himself of his land in perpetuity, he could dispose of it so far as to put another person in possession of it during a certain number of years; reserving to himself and his relations the right of redeeming it, should they ever possess the means ; and having at all events the sure prospect of a reversion at the period of the jubilee. In the eye of the lawgiver this transaction was not regarded as a sale of the land, but merely of the crops for a stated number of seasons. It might indeed have been con¬ sidered simply as a lease, had not the owner, as v/ell as his nearest kinsman, enjoyed the privilege of resuming occu¬ pation whenever they could repay the. sum for which the temporary use of the land had been purchased.! The houses which were built in fields or villages were, in regard to the principle of alienation, placed on the same foot¬ ing as the lands themselves ; being redeemable at all times, and destined to return to their original owners in the year of jubilee. But, on the contrary, houses in cities and large towns were, when sold, redeemable only during one year; after which the sale was held binding for ever. There was indeed an exception in this case in favour of the Levites, who could at any time redeem “ the houses of the cities of their possession,” and who, moreover, enjoyed the full ad¬ vantage of the fiftieth year. The Hebrews, like most other nations in a similar state of society, held their lands on the condition of military service. The grounds of exemption allowed by Moses prove clearly that every man of competent age was bound to bear arms in defence of his country,—a conclusion which is at once strikingly illustrated and confirmed by the conduct of the Senate or Heads of Tribes, in the melan¬ choly war undertaken by them against the children of Benjamin. Upon a muster of the confederated army at Mizpeh, it was discovered that no man had been sent from Jabesh-gilead to join the camp ; whereupon it was imme¬ diately resolved that twelve thousand soldiers should be despatched to put all the inhabitants of that town to mili- * Lev. xxv. 23. t Lev. xxv. 24-28. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 43 taTy execution. And the congregation commanded them, saying, Go and smite Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and children ; and the only reason assigned for this severe order was, that “ when the people were numbered, there were none of the men of Jabesh- gilead there.”* The reader will now be prepared to accompany us while we make a few remarks on the civil constitution of the Hebrews, both as it respected the government of the several tribes viewed as separate bodies, and as it applied to that of the whole nation as a confederated republic. The tribes of Israel, strictly speaking, amounted only to twelve, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. But as the posterity of Joseph was divided into two tribes, it fol¬ lows that the host which entered the Land of Canaan under Joshua comprehended thirteen of these distinct genealogies. Viewed in reference to merely secular rights and duties, however, the offspring of Levi having no part nor lot with their brethren, are not usually reckoned in the number ; while on other grounds, and chiefly an invincible propensity to idolatrous usages, the tribe of Dan at a later period was sometimes excluded from the list. In the twenty-sixth chapter of the book of Numbers, we have an account of the enrolment which was made on the plains of Moab ; from which the numerical strength of the eleven secular tribes may be exhibited as follows :— Joseph (including Ephraim and Manasseh) 85,200 Judah ... Issachar. Zebulun . Asher ... Dan. Benjamin Naphtali . Reuben .. Gad. Simeon.. 76.500 64,300 60.500 53.400 46.400 45,600 45.400 43,730 40.500 22,200 This catalogue comprehended all the men above twenty years of age, to which may be added 23,000 of the tribe of Levi, “ all males from a month old and upward: for ♦ Judges xxi. 8-13. 44 HISTORY OF THE they were not numbered among the children of Israel, be¬ cause there was no inheritance given them among the chil¬ dren of Israel.” The whole amounted to six hundred and six thousand seven hundred.* In every tribe there was a chief called the Prince of the Tribe, or the Head of Thousands ; and under him were the Princes of Families, or Commanders of Hundreds. For example, we find that at the muster which was made of the Hebrews in the Wilderness of Sinai, Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, was Prince of the Tribe of Judah. This tribe, again, like all the others, was divided into several families ; the term being used here not in its ordinary ac¬ ceptation, to signify a mere household, but rather in the heraldic sense, to denote a lineage or kindred descended from a common ancestor, and constituting the main branches of an original stock. In this respect the Israelites were guided by the same principle which regulates precedency among the Arabs, as well as among our own countrymen in the Highlands of Scotland. It appears, moreover, that a record of these families, of the households in each, and even of the individuals belong¬ ing to every household, was placed in the hands of the chief ruler ; for it is related that, on the suspicion excited with regard to the spoils of Jericho and the discomfiture at Ai, “ Joshua brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken ; and he brought the family of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites ; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken ; and he brought his household man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.”! We may collect from the twenty-sixth chapter of the book of Numbers, that the Heads of Families, at the time the children of Israel encamped on the eastern bank of the Jordan, were in number fifty-seven. If to these we add the thirteen Princes, the Heads of Tribes, the sum of the two numbers will be seventy ; whence there is some ground for the conjectures of those who allege, that the council which Moses formed in the Wilderness consisted of the patriarchal chiefs, who in right of birth were recognised * Numbers xxvi. 62. | Joshua vii. 16, 17,18. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 45 as bearing an hereditary rule over the several sections of the people. It is probable that the first-born of the senior family of each tribe was usually received as the prince of that tribe, and that the eldest son of every subordinate family suc¬ ceeded his father in the honours and duties which belonged to the rank of a patriarch. But the sacred narrative pre¬ sents too few details to permit us to form with confidence any general conclusions in regard to this point. The case of Nahshon, besides, has been viewed as an instance quite irreconcilable with such an opinion ; and it certainly seems to prove, that if the Prince of the Tribe was not elective, he was not always, at least, the direct descendant of the original chief. Nahshon, as has just been stated, was the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, who was a younger son of Hezron the son of Pharez, who was a younger son of Judah.* From the particulars now stated, we find that every tribe had a head who presided over its affairs, administered jus¬ tice in all ordinary cases, and led the troops in time of war. He was assisted in these important duties by the subordi¬ nate officers, the Chiefs of Families, who formed his council in such matters of policy as affected their particular dis¬ trict, supported his decisions in civil or criminal inquiries, and finally commanded under him in the field of battle. But the polity established by the Jewish lawgiver was not confined to the constitution and government of the separate tribes. It likewise extended its regulations to the common welfare of the whole, as one kingdom under the special direction of Jehovah ; and provided that on all great occasions they should have the means of readily uniting their counsels and their strength. Even during the less orderly period which immediately followed the settlement of the Hebrews in the land of their inheritance, we find traces of such a general government; a national senate, whose deliberations guided the administration of affairs in all cases of difficulty or hazard ; a judge, who was invested with a high degree of executive authority as the first magis¬ trate of the commonwealth ; and lastly, the controlling voice of the congregation of Israel, whose concurrence ap- * 1 Cljron. iL 10, 11. 46 HISTORY OF THE pears to have been at all times necessary to give vigour and effect to the resolutions of their leaders. To these con¬ stituent parts of the Hebrew government we may add the Oracle or voice of Jehovah, without whose sanction, as revealed by Urim and Thummim, no measure of importance could be adopted either by the council or by the judge. It has been justly remarked, at the same time, that how¬ ever extensive the power might be which was committed to the supreme court of the nation, and how much soever the authority of a military judge among the Israelites resembled that of a Roman dictator, the privilege of making laws was at no period intrusted to any order of the Jewish state. As long as the Hebrews were governed by a the¬ ocracy, this essential prerogative was retained by the Divine Head of the nation. “Now therefore hearken, 0 Israel, unto the statutes, and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and pos¬ sess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”* It is the opinion of learned men, that the Council of Seventy, established by Moses in the Wilderness, was only a temporary appointment, and did not continue after the Hebrews were settled in the -Land of Canaan. The only national assembly of which we can discover any trace sub¬ sequently to that event, is the occasional meeting of the Princes of Tribes and Chiefs of Families to transact busi¬ ness of great public importance. Thus, in the case of the war against Benjamin, of which we have a full account in the book of Judges, we are informed that the heads “ of all the tribes, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God.” On that memorable occasion, the interests and character of the whole Hebrew commonwealth were at stake ; for which reason the natural leaders of the tribes gathered themselves together at the head of their kinsmen and followers,—even four hundred thousand men that drew the sword,—in order * Deut. iv. 1, 2; xii. 32. “ Hoc igitur argumento maximo est; juris illius majestatis quod in legibus ferendis est positum, nihil quicquam penes hominem ftiisse.”— Conringius de Repub. Heb. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 47 to consult with one another, and to adopt such measures as might be deemed most suitable for punishing the atrocities which had been committed at Gibeah. During the period to which this part of our narrative refers, the supreme power among the Hebrews was occa¬ sionally exercised by judges,—an order of magistrates to which nothing similar is to be found in any other country. The Carthaginians, indeed, had a description of rulers, ■whose names, being derived from the same oriental term, appear to establish some resemblance in their office to that of the successors of Joshua. But it will be found upon a comparison of their authority, both in its origin and the purposes to which it was meant to be subservient, that the Hebrew judges and the suffites of Carthage had very little in common. Nor do we find any closer analogy in the du¬ ties of a Grecian archon or of a Roman consul. These were ordinary magistrates, and periodically elected ; where¬ as, the judge was never invested with power except when the exigencies of public affairs required the aid of extraor¬ dinary talents or the weight of a supernatural appointment. On this account the Hebrew commander has been likened to the Roman dictator, who, when the commonwealth was in danger, was intrusted with an authority almost unlimited, and with a jurisdiction which extended to the lives and for¬ tunes of nearly all his countrymen. But in one important particular this similarity fails. The dictator laid down his office as soon as the crisis which called for its exercise had passed away ; and in no circumstances was he entitled to retain such unwonted supremacy beyond a limited time. The judge, on the other hand, remained invested with his high authority during the full period of his life, and is therefore usually described by the sacred historian as pre¬ siding to the end of his days over the tribes of Israel, amid the peace and security which his military skill, aided by the blessing of Heaven, had restored to their land.* The Hebrew judges, says Dupin, were not ordinary ma¬ gistrates, but men raised up by God, on whom the Israelites bestowed the chief government, either because they had de¬ livered them from the oppressions under which they groaned, * Livii Hist. lib. xxviii. 37; lib. xxx. 7. Bochart, Geog. Sacra, part ii. lib. ii. 24. 48 HISTORY OF THE or because of their prudence and equity. They ruled ac¬ cording to the law of Jehovah, commanded their armies* made treaties with the neighbouring princes, declared wa and peace, and administered justice. They were different from kings,— 1. In that they were not established either by election or succession, but elevated to power in an extraordinary manner. 2. In that they refused to take upon them the title and quality of king. 3. In that they levied no taxes upon the people for the maintenance of government. 4. In their manner of living, which was very far from the pomp and ostentation of the regal state. 5. In that they could make no new laws, but governed according to the statutes contained in the Books of Moses. 6. In that the obedience paid to them by the people was voluntary and unforced, being at most no more than consuls and magistrates of free cities.* But it is less difficult to determine what the judges were not than to ascertain with precision the various parts of their complicated office. In war, they led the host of Israel to meet their enemies; and in peace, it is probable they pre¬ sided in such courts of judicature as might be found neces¬ sary for deciding upon intricate points of law, or for hearing appeals from inferior tribunals. Those who went up to Deborah for judgment had, we may presume, brought their causes in the first instance before the judges of their respect¬ ive cities ; and it was only, perhaps, in cases where greater knowledge and a higher authority were required to give satisfaction to the litigants that the chief magistrate of the republic, aided by certain members of the priesthood, was called upon to pronounce a final decision. It belongs to this part of the subject to mention the pro¬ vision made by Moses, and established by Joshua, for the due administration of justice throughout the land. “Judges and officers,” said the former, “ shalt thou make thee in all thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee ; and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither * Complete History of the Canon, book i. c. 3. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 49 take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous.” To the same purpose . 'osephus relates, in his account of the last address delivered by Moses to the Hebrew people, that this great legislator gave instructions to appoint seven judges in every city, men who had distinguished themselves by their good conduct and impartial feelings. Let those who judge, he adds, be per¬ mitted to determine according as they shall think right, un¬ less any one can show that they have taken bribes to the perversion of justice, or can allege any other accusation against them.* Between the “judges” and the “officers” nominated by the Jewish lawgiver there was no doubt a marked distinc¬ tion ; though from the remote antiquity of the appointment and the obscure commentaries of the rabbinical writers it has become extremely difficult to define the limits of their respective functions. Maimonides asserts, that in every city where the number of householders amounted to a hun¬ dred and twenty there was a court consisting of twenty- three judges, who were empowered to determine in almost all cases both civil and criminal. This is unquestionably the same institution which is mentioned by Josephus in the fourth book of his Antiquities, and described by him as being composed of seven judges and fourteen subordinate officers, or assistants, selected from among the Levites ; for these, with the president and his deputy, make up the sum of twenty-three specified by the Jewish writers. In smaller towns, the administration of law was intrusted to three judges, whose authority extended to the determination of all questions respecting debt, theft, rights of inheritance, restitution, and compensation. Though they could not in¬ flict capital punishments, they had power to visit minor offences with scourging and fines, according to the nature of the delinquency and the amount of the injury sus¬ tained.! Of the former of these judicial establishments, there were two fixed at Jerusalem even during the period that the San¬ hedrim of Seventy was invested with the supreme authority over the lives and fortunes of their countrymen, one of which * Deut. xvi. 18, 19. Joseplius’3 Antiquities, book iv. 8. t Reland. Antiq. Sac. Pars, ii. c. 7 E 50 HISTORY OF THE sat in the gate of Shusan, and the other in that of Nicanor. The place where these judges held their audience was, as Cardinal Fleury remarks, the gate of the city; for as the Israelites were all husbandmen who went out in the morning to their work, and did not return till the evening, the gate of the city was the place where they most frequently met; and we must not be astonished to find that the people la¬ boured in the fields and dwelt in the towns. These were not cities like our provincial capitals, which can hardly sub¬ sist on what is supplied to them by twenty or thirty leagues of the surrounding soil. They were the habitations for as many labourers as were necessary to cultivate the nearest fields ; hence, as the country was very populous, the towns were very thickly scattered. For a similar reason among the Greeks and Romans, the scene of meeting for all mat¬ ters of business was the market-place, or forum, because they were all merchants.* Among the Jews, the judges took their seats immediately after morning prayers, and con¬ tinued till the end of the sixth hour, or twelve o’clock ; and their authority, though not in capital cases, continued to be respected by the Israelites long after Jerusalem was levelled with the ground.f With the aid of the particulars stated above, the reader may have been enabled to form some notion of the civil and political circumstances of the ancient Hebrews. They en¬ joyed the utmost degree of freedom that was consistent with the objects of regular society, acknowledging no authority but that of the laws as administered by the elders of their tribes and the heads of their families. The equality of their property, too, and the sameness of their occupations, pre¬ cluded the rise of those distinctions in social life which, whatever may be their use in older nations, are opposed by all the habits of a people whose sole cares are yet devoted to the culture of their fields and the safety of their flocks. The form of government which suits best with such a distribu¬ tion of wealth and employment is unquestionably that which was established by Moses on the basis of the ancient patri¬ archal rule. But it is worthy of notice, that this model, so convenient in the earliest stage of social existence, was imperceptibly changed by the increasing power and intelli- * Fleury, Mceurs des Israelites, xxv. f Lewis, Orig. Heb. lib. i. 6. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 51 gence of the people at large, until, as happened towards the y the stuff.”* ft is manifest, that in the simple condition of society to which opr attention is now directed, the profession of a freebooter was not in any sense accounted dishonourable. The courage and dexterity which such a life requires stand high in the estimation of tribes who are almost constantly in a state of war; and hence, in reading the history of the ancient Israelites, we must form an opinion of their man¬ ners and principles, not according to the maxims of an en¬ lightened age, but agreeably to the habits, pursuits, and mental cultivation which belonged to their own times. It is farther worthy of remark, that during the period of the Hebrew judges there is not the slightest trace of those distinctions of rank which spring from mere wealth, office, or profession. From the princes of Judah down to the meanest family in Benjamin, all were agriculturists or shep- * 1 Samuel xxv. 4-14. E 2 54 HISTORY OF THE herds, driving their own oxen, or attending in person to their sheep and their goats. The hospitable Ephraimite, who received into his house at Gibeah the Levite and his unfortunate companion, is described as “ an old man coming from his work out of the field at even.” Gideon, again, was thrashing his corn with his own hands when the angel announced to him that he was selected by Divine Providence to be the deliverer of his people. Boaz was attending his reapers in the field when his benevolence was awakened in favour of Ruth, the widow of his kinsman. When Saul received the news of the danger which threatened the in- O t habitants of Jabesh-gilead, he was in the act of “ coming after the herd out of the field.” Sovereign as he was, he thought it not inconsistent with his rank to drive a yoke of oxen. Every one knows that David was employed in keep¬ ing the sheep when he was summoned into the presence of Samuel to be anointed king over Israel; and even when he was upon the throne, and had by his talents and bravery extended at once the power and the reputation of his coun¬ trymen among the neighbouring nations, the annual occupa¬ tion of sheep-shearing called his sons and his daughters into the hill country to take their share in its toils and amusements. In point of blood and ancestry, too, every descendant of Jacob was held on the same footing; and the only ground of pre-eminence which one man could claim over another was connected with old age, wisdom, strength, or courage,—the qualities most respected in the original forms of civilized life.* We have been the more careful to collect these fragments of personal history, because it is chiefly from them that the few rays of light are reflected which illustrate the state of society at the era of the Hebrew commonwealth. That the times in which the judges ruled were barbarous and unset¬ tled is rendered manifest, not less by the general tenor of events, than by the qualities which predominated in the public mind during the long period that elapsed between the death of Joshua and the reign of Solomon. These no¬ tices also convey to us some degree of information, in regard to the political relations which subsisted among the Syrian tribes prior to the commencement of the regal government * Judges Vi. 12. 2 Samuel xiii. 23, 24. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 55 at Jerusalem. The wars which were carried on at that remote epoch seem not to have been waged with any view to permanent conquest, or even to territorial aggrandizement, but merely to revenge an insult, to exact a ransom, or to abstract slaves and cattle. The history of the judges sup¬ plies no facts which would lead us to infer that during any of the servitudes, which for their repeated transgressions were inflicted on the Hebrews, their lands were taken from them, or their cities destroyed by their conquerors. It was not till a later age that a more systematic plan of conquest was formed by the powerful princes who governed beyond the Euphrates and on the banks of the Nile, and who, not content with the uncertain submission of tributaries, re¬ solved to reduce the Israelites for ever to the condition of subjects or of bondmen. The account which has been given of the political con¬ stitution of the ancient Jews would not be complete were we to omit all notice of the tribe of Levi, the duties and reve¬ nues of which were fixed by peculiar laws. It may, per¬ haps, be thought by some readers, that this institution rested on a basis altogether spiritual; but, upon suitable inquiry, it will be found that the Levitical offices comprehended a great variety of avocations, much more closely connected with secular life than with the ministry of the tabernacle, or with the services which were due to the priesthood. This sacred tribe, indeed, supplied to the whole nation of the Israelites their judges, lawyers, scribes, teachers, and physicians; for Moses, in imitation of the Egyptians, in whose wisdom he was early and deeply instructed, had thought proper to make the learned professions hereditary in the several families of Levi’s descendants. We find, in the first chapter of the book of Numbers, a command issued by the authority of Heaven to separate the tribe now mentioned from the rest of their brethren, and not to enrol them among those who were to engage in war. It was determined, on similar grounds, that the Levites were to have no inheritance in the land like the other tribes, but were to receive from their kinsmen, in name of maintenance, a tenth part of the gross produce of their fields and vineyards. The occupations for which they were set apart were altogether incompatible wfith the pur¬ suits of agriculture or the feeding of cattle. It was deemed 56 HISTORY OF THE expedient, therefore, that they should be relieved from the cares and toil connected with the possession of territorial estates, and devote their whole attention to the service of the altar and the instruction of the people. To effect these wise purposes, it was necessary that the members of this learned body should not be confined to one particular district, but that they should be distributed among all the other tribes, according to the extent of their several inheritances and the amount of their population. With this view the law provided that a certain number of cities should be set apart for them, together with such a portion of soil as might seem requisite for their comfort and more imme¬ diate wants. “ Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites, of the inheritance of their posses¬ sion, cities to dwell in ; and ye shall give unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. And ye shall measure from without the city, on the east side, two thou¬ sand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits ; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and-eight cities ; them shall ye give with their suburbs.”* It was not till after the conquest and division of Canaan that the provisions of this enactment were practically ful¬ filled. When the other tribes were settled in their respect¬ ive possessions, the children of Levi reminded Joshua of the arrangement made by his predecessor, and claimed cities to dwell in, and suburbs for their cattle. The justice of their appeal being admitted, the Levitical stations were dis^ fributed as follows,— In the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.13 In Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,.. 10 In the other half-tribe of Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali,.13 In Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad,.12 48 Every reader of the Bible is aware, that six of these cities were invested with the special right of affording * Numbers xxxv. 2, 5, 7. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 57 ' refuge and protection to a certain class of criminals. The Jewish doctors maintain that this privilege, somewhat lim¬ ited, belonged to all the forty-eight; for, being sacred, no act of revenge or mortal retaliation was permitted to take place within their gates. Into the six cities of refuge, pro¬ perly so called, the manslayer could demand admittance, whether the Levites were disposed to receive him or not; and on the same ground he was entitled to gratuitous lodg¬ ing and maintenance, until his cause should be determined by competent judges. It is added, that they could exercise a discretionary power as to the reception of a homicide into any other of their cities, and even in respect to the hire which they might demand for the house used by him during his temporary residence. But the institution of Moses, af¬ terward completed by Joshua, affords no countenance to these rabbinical distinctions; and we have no reason whatever to believe that the benefit of asylum was granted to any Levitical town besides Hebron, Shechem, Ramoth, Bezer, Kedesh, and Golan.* As learning and the several professions connected with the knowledge of letters were confined almost exclusively to the tribe of Levi, the distribution of its members through¬ out the whole of the Hebrew commonwealth was attended with many advantages. Every Levitical city became at once a school and a seat of justice. There the language, the traditions, the history, and the laws of their nation were the constant subjects of study, pursued with that zeal and earnestness which can only arise from the feeling of a sacred obligation, combined with the impulse of an ardent patriotism. Within their walls were deposited copies of their religious, moral, and civil institutions ; which it was their duty not only to preserve, but to multiply. They kept, besides, the genealogies of the tribes ; in which they marked the lineage of every family who could trace their descent to the father of the faithful. Being carefully in¬ structed in the law, and possessed of the annals of their people from the earliest (lavs, they were well qualified to supply the courts with magistrates and scribes, men wha were fitted not only to administer justice, but also to frame a record of all their decisions. It is perfectly clear that, in * Joshua xx. 7, 8. Numbers xxxv. 6, 15. Deut. xix. 4, 1C 58 HISTORY OF THE the reign of David and of the succeeding kings, the judges and other legal officers were selected from among the Le- vites ; there being in those days not fewer than six thou¬ sand of this learned body who held such appointments. Michaelis represents the Levitical law among the He¬ brews in the light of a literary noblesse ; enjoying such a degree of wealth and consideration as to enable them to act as a counterpoise to the influence of the aristocracy; while, on the other hand, they prevented the adoption of those hasty measures which were sometimes to be apprehended from the democratical nature of the general government. They were not merely a spiritual brotherhood, but profes¬ sional members of all the different faculties ; and by birth obliged to devote themselves to those branches of study, for the cultivation of which they were so liberally rewarded. Like the Egyptian priesthood, they occupied the whole field of literature and science ; extending their inquiries to phi¬ losophy, theology, natural history, mathematics, jurispru¬ dence, civil history, and even medicine. Perhaps, too, it was in imitation of the sages of the Nile that the Hebrews made these pursuits hereditary in a consecrated tribe ; whence flowed this obvious advantage, that the sons of the Levites, from the very dawn of reason, were introduced to scientific researches, and favoured with a regulated system of tuition suited to the occupation in which their lives were to be spent. In short, the institution bears upon it all the marks of that wisdom for which the Mosaical economy is so remarkably distinguished, when viewed as the basis of a government at once civil, religious, and political.* The youngest reader of the Sacred Volume cannot fail to have perceived, that the character and government of the Hebrew judges withdraw the attention from the ordi¬ nary course of human events, and fix it on the marvellous or supernatural. These personages were raised up by the special providence of God, to discharge the duties of an office which the peculiar circumstances of a chosen people from time to time rendered necessary ; and the various gifts with which they were endowed, as they constituted the main ground of vocation to their high employment, so were * Michaelis’s Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, vol. i. art. 52. Jablonsky Panth. jEgypt. Prolegomena, 21, 41, 43. HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 59 they suited to the difficulties that they had to overcome, and to the achievements they were called to perform. The sanctity of their manners did not, indeed, in all cases cor¬ respond to the dignity of their station ; and the miracles which they wrought for the welfare of their country were not always accompanied with self-restraint and the due sub¬ ordination of their passions. Their military exploits were worthy of the highest admiration; while, in some instances, their private conduct calls forth only our surprise and re¬ gret. For examples of heroism and bravery, we can with confidence point to Gideon, to Samson, and to Jephthah; but there is not in their character anything besides that a father could recommend to the imitation of his son, or that a lover of order and pureness of living would wish to see adopted in modern society. We observe, in the greater number of them, uncommon and even supernatural powers of body, as well as of mind, united with the gross manners and fierce passions of barbarians. We applaud their pat¬ riotism, admire their courage and talent in the field, and even share in the delight which accompanied their triumphs; yet, when we return to their dwellings, we dare not inspect too narrowly the usages of their domestic day, nor examine into the indulgences with which they sometimes thought proper to remunerate the toils and cares of their public life. Divine Wisdom, stooping to the imperfection of human na¬ ture, employed the instruments that were best fitted for the gracious ends which, by their means, were about to be ac¬ complished ; though it does not appear to have been in¬ tended that mankind should ever resort to the history of the Judges for lessons of decorum, humanity, or virtue. 60 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL CHAPTER III. Historical Oatline from the Accession of Saul to the Destruc¬ tion of Jerusalem. Weakness of Republican Government—Jealousy of the several Tribes —Resolution to have a King—Rules for regal Government—Character of Saul—Of David—Troubles of his Reign—Accession of Solomon— Erecticin of the Temple—Commerce—Murmurs of the People—Reho- boam—Division of the Tribes—Kings of Israel—Kingdom of Judah —Siege of Jerusalem—Captivity—Kings of Judah—Return from Babylon—Second Temple—Canon of Scripture—Struggles between Egypt and Syria—Conquest of Palestine by Antiochus—Persecution of Jews—Resistance by the Family of Maccabteus—Victories of Judas —He courts the Alliance of the Romans—Succeeded by Jonathan— Origin of the Asmonean Princes—John Hyrcanus—Aristobulus— Alexander Jannaeus—Appeal to Pompey—Jerusalem taken by Romans —Herod created King by the Romans—He. repairs the Temple—Ar- chelaus succeeds him, and Antipas is nominated to Galilee—Quirinius Prefect of Syria—Pontius Pilate—Elevation of Herod Agrippa—Dis¬ grace of Herod Philip—Judea again a Province—Troubles—Accession of Young Agrippa—Felix—Festus—Floris—Command given to Ves¬ pasian—War—Siege of Jerusalem by Titus. The weakness and jealousy which seem inseparable from a government comprehending a number of independent states, had been deeply felt during the administration of Eli, and even under that of Samuel in his latter days. Established in different parts of the country, the several tribes were actuated by local interests and selfish views ; those in the north, who were exempted from the hostile inroads of the Philistines and Ammonites, refusing to aid their brethren, the children of Simeon and Judah, whose territory was constantly exposed to the ravages of those warlike neighbours. In the time of the more recent judges, the federal union on which the Hebrew common¬ wealth was founded appeared practically dissolved. Nay, a spirit of rivalry and dissension occasionally manifested itself among the kindred communities of which it was com- posed;—Ephraim, stimulated by envy, vexed Judah, and Judah vexed Ephraim A * Isaiah xi. 13. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 61 Meanwhile, several powerful kingdoms in the east, as well as the south, threatened the independence of the Twelve Tribes, especially those on the borders of the desert. Assyria had already turned her views towards the fertile lands which skirt the shores of the Mediterranean ; and Egypt, in order to protect her rich valley from the aggres¬ sions of that rising monarchy, began to open her eyes to the expediency of securing the frontier towns in the nearest parts of Palestine. In a word, it was fast becoming mani¬ fest that the existence of the Hebrews, as a free and dis¬ tinct people, could only be secured by reviving the union which had originally subsisted among their leading families, under a form that would combine their physical strength and patriotism in the support of a common cause. An aged priest, although he might with the utmost authority direct the solemnities of their national worship, and even administer the laws to which they were all bound to sub¬ mit, could not command the secular obedience of rude clans, or, with any prospect of success, lead them to battle against an enemy practised in all the stratagems of war. The people, therefore, demanded the consent of Samuel to a change in the structure of their government, that they might have a king, not only to preside over their civil affairs, but also to go out before them and fight their battles.* The principal reason assigned by the elders of Israel for the innovation which they required at the hands of then- ancient prophet was, that they might be “ like all the na¬ tions evidently alluding to the advantages of monarchical power, when decisive measures become necessary to defend the interests of a state. It is remarkable that Moses had anticipated this natural result in the progress of society, and even laid down rules for the administration of the regal government. This wise legislator provided that the king of the Hebrews should not be a foreigner, lest he might be tempted to sacrifice the interest of his subjects to the policy of his native land, and perhaps to countenance the intro¬ duction of unauthorized rites into the worship of Jehovah. It was also stipulated that the sovereign of the chosen people should not multiply horses to himself, lest he should be carried by his ambition to make war in distant countries, * 1 Samuel viii. 4-21. F 62 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL and neglect the welfare of the sacred inheritance promised to the fathers of the Jewish nation.* The qualities which recommended Saul to the choice of Samuel and the approbation of the Tribes, leave no room for doubt that it was chiefly as a military leader that the son of Kish was raised to the throne. Nor was their ex¬ pectation disappointed in the young Benjaminite, so far as courage and zeal were required in conducting the affairs of war. But the impetuosity of his character, and a cer¬ tain indifference in regard to the claims of the national faith, paved the way for his downfall and the extinction of his family. The scene of Gilboa, which terminated the career of the first Hebrew monarch, exhibits a most affect¬ ing tragedy; in which the valour of a gallant chief, con¬ trasted with his despair and sorrow, throws a deceitful lustre over an event which the reader feels that he ought to condemn. David, to the skill of an experienced warrior, added a deep reverence for the institutions of his country and the forms of Divine worship ; whence he procured the high distinction of being a man after God’s own heart. To this celebrated king was reserved the honour of taking from the Jebusites a strong fortress on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, and of laying the foundations of Jerusalem, viewed, at least, as the metropolis of Palestine and the seat of the Hebrew government. On Mount Zion he built a suburb of considerable beauty and strength, which con¬ tinued for many years to bear his name, and to reflect the magnificence of his genius. Not satisfied with this acqui¬ sition, he extended his arms on all sides, till the borders of his kingdom touched the western bank of the Euphrates and the neighbourhood of Damascus. He likewise de¬ feated the Philistines, those restless enemies of the southern tribes, and added their dominions to the crown of Israel. The Moabites, who had provoked his resentment, were subjected to military execution, and deprived of a large portion of their land ; an example of severity which, so far from intimidating the children of Ammon, only provoked them to try the fortune of war against the victorious mon¬ arch. David despatched an army under the comm'nd of * Deut. xvii. 14-20. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 63 the irascible Joab, who, after worsting them in the held, inflicted a tremendous chastisement upon the followers of Hanun, for having studiously insulted the ambassadors of his master.* But the splendour of this reign was afterward clouded by domestic guilt and treason; and the nation, which could now have defied the power of its bitterest enemies, was divided and rendered miserable by the foul passions that issued from the royal palace. Still, notwithstanding the rebellion of Absalom, and the defection of certain mili¬ tary leaders, David bequeathed to his successor a flourish¬ ing kingdom ; rapidly advancing in the arts of civilized life, enjoying an advantageous commerce, the respect of neighbouring states, and a decided preponderance among the minor governments of Western Asia. His last years were spent in making preparations for the building of a temple at Jerusalem,—a work that he himself was not allowed to accomplish, because his hands were stained with blood, which, however justly shed, rendered them unfit for erecting an edifice to the God of mercy and peace.! The success which had attended the arms of his father rendered the accession of Solomon tranquil and secure, so far, at least, as we consider the designs of the surrounding nations. Accordingly, finding himself in possession of quiet as well as of an overflowing treasury, he proceeded to realize the pious intentions of David in regard to the house of God, and thereby to obey the last commands which had been imposed upon him before he had received the crown. The chief glory of Solomon’s administration is identified with the erection of the Temple. Nor were the advantages arising from this great undertaking confined to the spiritual objects to which it was principally subser¬ vient. On the contrary, the necessity of employing foreign artists, and of drawing part of his materials from a distance, suggested to the king the benefits of a regular trade ; and as the plains of Syria produced more corn than the natives could consume, he supplied the merchants of Tyre and the adjoining ports with a valuable commodity, in return for the manufactured goods which his own subjects could * 2 Samuel viii. 1, 2. I Chron. xviii. 1,2; xix. 1-20. ! 1 Chron. xxii. 8. 64 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL not fabricate. It was in his reign that the Hebrews first became a commercial people ; and although we must admit that considerable obscurity still hangs over the tracks of navigation which were pursued by the mariners of Solomon, there is no reason to doubt that his ships were to be seen on the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.* But the popularity of his government did not keep pace with the rapidity of his improvements or the magnificence of his works. Perhaps the vast extent of his undertakings may have led to unusual demands upon the industry of his people, and given occasion to those murmurs which could hardly be repressed even within the precincts of the court. Like his predecessor, too, he occasionally failed to illustrate, in his own conduct, the excellent precepts that he propounded for the direction of others ; and towards the close of his life, particularly, the wisdom of his moral les¬ sons was strangely contrasted with the practical follies which stand recorded against him in the inspired narrative. He totally disregarded the leading principles of the consti¬ tution constructed by Moses and left for the guidance of all Hebrew kings ; not only multiplying horses even to the extent of maintaining a large body of cavalry, and marry¬ ing many wives who turned away his heart, but proceeding so far as to give his countenance to idolatrous worship within sight of the very Temple which he had conse crated to Jehovah, the God of all the earth.f It was in this reign that the limits of Jewish power attained their utmost reach, comprehending even the re¬ markable district of Palmyrene, a spacious and fertile province in the midst of a frightful desert. There were in it two principal towns, Thapsacus and Palmyra, from the latter of which the whole country took its name. Solomon, it is well known, took pleasure in adding to its beauty and strength, as being one of his main defences on the eastern border; and hence it is spoken of in Scripture as Tadmor in the wilderness. Josephus calls it Thadamor ; the Seventy recognise it under the name of Theodmor and Thedmor ; while the Arabs and Syrians at the present day keep alive the remembrance of its ancient glory as Tadmor, * 2 Chron. ii. and ix. throughout. 11 Kings xi. 1-8. wmwwf ■ I TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 65 Tadmier, and Tatmor. But of Solomon’s labours not one vestige now remains. The inhabitants having revolted from the Emperor Aurelian, and pledged their faith to an adven¬ turer called Antiochus, or Achilles, who had assumed the purple, this splendid town was attacked and razed to the ground. Repenting of his hasty determination, he Roman prince gave orders that Palmyra should be immediately rebuilt ; but so inefficient were the measures which he adopted, or so imperfectly was he obeyed in their execution, that the city in the desert has ever since been remarkable only as a heap of magnificent ruins. The first object that now presents itself to the traveller who approaches this forlorn place, is a castle of mean architecture and uncertain origin, about half an hour’s walk from it, on the north side. “From thence,” says Mr. Maundrell, “we descry Tadmor, enclosed on three sides by long ridges of mountains ; but to the south is a vast plain which bounds the visible horizon. The barren soil presents nothing green but a few palm trees. The city must have been of large extent, if we may judge from the space now taken up by the ruins ; but as there are no traces of its walls, its real dimensions and form remain equally unknown. It is now a deplorable spectacle, inhabited by thirty or forty miserable families, who have built huts of mud within a spacious court which once en¬ closed a magnificent heathen temple.”* The despotism exercised by Solomon created a strong reaction, which was immediately felt on the accession of his son Rehoboam. This prince, rejecting the advice of his aged counsellors, and following that of the younger and more violent, soon had the misfortune to see the greater part of his kingdom wrested from him. In reply to the address of his people, who entreated an alleviation of their burdens, he declared, that instead of requiring less at their hands he should demand more. “ My father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke ; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” Such a resolution, expressed in language at once so con¬ temptuous and severe, alienated from his government ten tribes, who sought a more indulgent master in Jeroboam, a declared enemy of the house of David. Hence the origin m * Maundrell’s Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem in 1697. F 2 66 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL of the kingdom of Israel, as distinguished from that of Judah ; and hence, too, the disgraceful contentions between these kindred states, which acknowledged one religion, and professed to be guided by the same law. Arms and nego¬ tiation proved equally unavailing, in repeated attempts which were made to reunite the Hebrews under one sceptre; till, at length, about two hundred and seventy years after the death of Solomon, the younger people were subdued by Shalmaneser, the powerful monarch of Assyria, who carried them away captive into the remoter provinces of his vast empire.* Our plan does not admit a minuter detail of the sacred history than may be readily found in the pages of the Old Testament. Suffice it therefore to observe, that Jerusalem soon ceased to be regarded by the Israelites as the centre of their religion, and the bond of union among the descend¬ ants of Abraham. Jeroboam had erected in his kingdom the emblems of a less pure faith, to which he confined the attention of his subjects; while the frequent wars that ensued, and the treaties formed on either side with the Gentile nations on their respective borders, soon completed the estrangement which ambition had begun. Little attached to the native line of princes, the Israelites placed on the throne of Sa¬ maria a number of adventurers, who had no qualities to recommend them besides military courage and an irrecon¬ cilable hatred towards the more legitimate claimants of the house of David. The following list will give a condensed view of the names, the order, and the length of the reigns which belong to the sovereigns of Israel, from the demise of Solomon down to the extinction of their kingdom by the arms of Assyria:— Years. B. C. 1. Jeroboam .22 990 2. Nadad . 2 968 3. Baasha .23 966 4. Ela. 1 943 5. Zimri and Omri .11 942 6. Ahab .22 931 7. Abaziah. 2 909 8. Jehoram or Joram .12 907 9. Jehu.28 895 * 2 Kings xvii. 1-7. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 67 Years. B. C. 10. Jehoahaz.17 867 11. Jehoash or Joash.16 850 12. Jeroboam II. .41 834 1st Interregnum .22 793 13. Zechariah and Shallum. 1 771 14. Menabem .10 770 15. Pekahiah . 2 760 16. Pekah . 20 758 2d Interregnum.10 738 17. Hoshea. 9 728 Samaria taken 271 719 It appears to have escaped the notice of the greater num¬ ber of commentators, that the separation of interests, which in the days of Rehoboam produced a permanent division of the tribes, had manifested itself at a much earlier period. In truth, it is extremely doubtful whether the union and co-operation between the northern and the southern com¬ munities, which was meant to be accomplished by the in¬ stitution of monarchy, were ever cordial or efficient. There is no doubt, at least, that the two parties differed essentially in their choice of a successor to Saul; for, while the people of Judah invited David to the supreme power as their anointed sovereign, the suffrages of Israel were unanimous in favour of Ishbosheth, the son of the deceased king. We may therefore conclude, that the exactions of Solomon were the pretext rather than the true cause of the unfortunate dismemberment of the Hebrew confederation, which in the end conducted both sections of it by gradual steps to defeat and captivity. The kingdom of Judah, less distracted by the pretensions of usurpers, and being confirmed in the principles of pa¬ triotism by a more rigid adherence to the law of Moses, continued during one hundred and thirty years to resist the encroachments of the two rival powers, Egypt and Assyria, which now began to contend in earnest for the possession of Palestine. Several endeavours were made, even after the destruction of Samaria, to unite the energies of the Twelve Tribes, and thereby to secure the indepen¬ dence of the sacred territory a little longer. But a pitiful jealousy had succeeded to the aversion generated by a long course of hostile aggression ; while the overwhelming hosts, which incessantly issued from the Euphrates and the Nile 68 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL to select a field of battle within the borders of Canaan, soon left to the feeble councils of Jerusalem no other choice than that of an Egyptian or an Assyrian master. In the year six hundred and two before the Christian era, when Jehoiakim was on the throne of Judah, Nebu¬ chadnezzar, who already shared with his father the govern* ment of Assyria, advanced into Palestine at the head of a formidable army. A timely submission saved the city as well as the life of the pusillanimous monarch. But after a short period, finding the conqueror engaged in more im¬ portant affairs, the vanquished king made an effort to recover his dominions by throwing off the Babylonian yoke. The siege of Jerusalem was renewed with greater vigour on the part of the invaders, in the course of which Jehoia¬ kim was killed, and his son Coniah ascended the throne. Scarcely, however, had the new sovereign taken up the reigns of government, when he found it necessary to open the gates of his capital to the Assyrian prince, who carried him, his principal nobility, and the most expert of his arti¬ sans, as prisoners to the banks of the Tigris. The nominal authority was now confided to a brother or uncle of the captive king, whose original name, Matta- niah, was changed to Zedekiah by his lord paramount, who considered him merely as the governor of a province. Im¬ patient of an office so subordinate, and instigated, it is probable, by the emissaries of Egypt, he resolved to hazard his life and liberty for the chance of reconquering the inde¬ pendence of his crown. This imprudent step brought Nebuchadnezzar once more before the walls of Jerusalem. A siege, which appears to have continued fifteen or sixteen months," terminated in the final reduction of the holy city, and in the captivity of Zedekiah, who was treated with the utmost severity. His two sons were executed in his pres¬ ence, after which his eyes were put out; when, being loaded with fetters, he was carried to Babylon and thrown into prison. The work of demolition was intrusted to Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, who “ burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. And the army of the Chaldees that were with the captain of the guard brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. The rest TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 69 of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the King of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did the captain of the guard carry away. But he left the poor of the land to be vine-dressers and hus¬ bandmen.”* The kings who reigned over Judah from the demise of Solomon to the destruction of the first temple are as fol¬ lows :— Tears. B.C. 1. Rehoboam. 17 990 2. Abijah... 3 973 •) ... 41 970 4 . Jehosliaphat’.’.*.* .25 929 5. Jehoram or Joram. 8 904 6. Ahaziah. 1 896 7 Queen Athaliah. 6 895 8. Joash or Jehoash. 40 889 9. Amaziah. 29 849 Interregnum. 11 820 10. Uzziah or Azariah. 52 809 11. Jotham. 16 757 12. Ahaz . * . 16 741 13. Hezekiab. 29 725 14. Manasseh. 55 696 15. Amor. 2 641 16. Josiah. 31 639 17. Jehoahaz. 3 months 18. Jehoiakim. 11 608 19. Coniali or Jehoiachin. 3 months 20. Zedekiah. 11 597 Jerusalem taken..404 586 The desolation inflicted upon Jerusalem by the hands of her enemies excited the deepest sorrow, and gave rise to the most gloomy apprehensions in regard to the future. Considering themselves under the special protection of Je¬ hovah, the inhabitants could not by any means be induced to believe that the throne of David would be overturned by the armies of the heathen. It was in vain that Jeremiah, at the imminent peril of his life, announced the approach¬ ing judgment, assuring the monarch and his princes that the King of Babylon would certainly besiege and lay waste their holy city, unless the evil were averted by an imme¬ diate change of manners. All his remonstrances were treated with contempt; and at length the prophet had to * 2 Kings xxv. 4-13 70 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL bewail the misery which thus overtook his people, and the varied sufferings, the contumely, and the degradation, which they were doomed to endure in the land of their conquerers. “ How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people ! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, is become tributary ! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks! Judah is gone into captivity; she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest.”* These sentiments, although applied to a later period, are beautifully expressed by a modern poet, to whom was granted no small share of the pathetic eloquence of the pro¬ phetic bard whose words have just been quoted. I‘ Reft of thy sons, amid thy foes forlorn, Mourn, widowed Queen, forgotten Sion, mount! Is this thy place, sad city, this thy throne, Where the wild desert rears its craggy stone, While suns unbless’d their angry lustre fling, And wayworn pilgrims seek the scanty spring ? Where now thy pomp which kings with envy viewed; Where now thy might which all those kings subdued ? No martial myriads muster in thy gate; No suppliant nations in thy Temple wait; No prophet bards, thy glittering courts among, Wake the full lyre, and swell the tide of song. But lawless Force and meager Want are there, And the quick-darting eye of restless Fear; While cold Oblivion, ’mid thy ruins laid, Folds bis dark wing beneath the ivy shade.”t The seventy years which were determined concerning Jerusalem began, not at the demolition of the city by Nebu- zar-adan, the captain of the guard, but at the date of the former invasion by his master, in the reign of Jehoiakim, when the Assyrians carried away some of the princes, and among others Daniel and his celebrated companions, as captives, or perhaps as hostages for the good conduct of the king. The event now alluded to took place exactly six centuries before the Christian era; and hence the return of the Jews to the Holy Land must have occurred about the year 530 prior to the same great epoch. But as their migration homeward was gradually accomplished under different leaders, and with various objects in view, their * Lamentations i. 1-4. t Heber’s Palestine. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 71 historians have not thought it necessa ry to enter into par¬ ticulars ; and hence has arisen a cert ain obscurity in the ealculations of divines respecting the commencement, the duration, and the end of the Babylonian captivity. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who now consti¬ tuted the whole Jewish nation, brought back with them to Palestine the ancient spirit of hostility towards the Israel- itish kingdom, the people of which they were pleased to' class under the general denomination of Samaritans, an im¬ pure race, descended from the eastern colonists sent by Shalmaneser to replace the Hebrew captives whom he re¬ moved to Halah and Habor and the cities of the Medes. In this way they roused an opposition, and created difficulties, which otherwise they might not have experienced during their erection of the second Temple. The countenance of the Persian court itself was occasionally withdrawn from men, who appeared to acknowledge no affinity with any Other order of human beings, anti who seemed determined to exclude from their country, as w r ell as from their religious rites and privileges, all who could not establish an immacu¬ late descent from the father of the faithful. For this reason, the sympathy which is so naturally excited in the breast of the reader in behalf of the weary exiles, who sat down and wept by the waters of Babylon with their thoughts fixed on Zion, is very apt to be extinguished when he contemplates the bitter enmity with which they rejected the kind offices of their ancient brethren amid the ruins of their metropolis. The names of Zerubbabel, Neheminh, and Ezra occupy the most distinguished place among those worthies who were selected by Divine Providence to conduct the restora¬ tion of the chosen people. After much toil, interruption, and alarm, Jerusalem could once more boast of a temple which, although destitute of the rich ornaments lavished upon that of Solomon, was at least of equal dimensions, and erected on the same consecrated ground. But the wor¬ shipper had to-deplore the absence of the Ark, the symbol¬ ical Urim and Thummim, the Shechinah or Divine Pres¬ ence, and the celestial fire which had maintained an un¬ ceasing flame upon the altar. Their Sacred Writings, too, had been dispersed, and their ancient language w r as fast becoming obsolete. To prevent the extension of so great 72 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL an evil, the more valuable manuscripts were collected and arranged, containing the Law, the earlier Prophets, and the inspired Hymns used for the purpose of devotion. Some compositions, however, which respected the remotest pe¬ riod of their commonwealth, especially the Book of Jasher and the Wars of the Lord, were irretrievably lost. Under the Persian satraps, who directed the civil and military government of Syria, the Jews were permitted to acknowledge the authority of their own high-priest, to whom, in all things pertaining to the law of Moses, they rendered the obedience which was due to the head of their nation. Their prosperity, it is true, was occasionally di¬ minished or increased by the personal character of the sove¬ reigns who successively occupied the throne of Cyrus ; but no material change in their circumstances took place until the victories of Alexander the Great had laid the founda¬ tions of the Syro-Macedonian kingdom in Western Asia, and given a new dynasty to the crown of Egypt. The struggles which ensued between these powerful states fre¬ quently involved the interests of the Jews, and made new demands upon their allegiance ; although it is admitted, that as each was desirous to conciliate a people who claimed Palestine for their unalienable heritage, the He- brews at large were, during two centuries, treated with much liberality and favour. But this generosity or forbear¬ ance was interrupted in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, who, alarmed bv the report of insurrections, and harassed by the events of an unsuccessful war in Egypt, directed his angry passions against the Jews. Marching at the head of a large force, he attacked Jerusalem so suddenly that no means of defence could be used, and hardly any resistance attempted. Forty thousand of the inhabitants were put to death, and an equal number condemned to slavery. Not satisfied with this punishment, he proceeded to measures still more appalling in the eyes of a Jew. He entered the Temple, pillaged the treasury, seized all the sacred utensils, the golden candlestick, the table of shew-bread, and the altar of incense. He then commanded a great sow to be sacrificed on the altar of burnt-offerings, part of the flesh to be boiled, and the liquor from this unclean animal to be sprinkled over every part of the sacred edifice ; thus pol¬ luting with the most odious defilement even the Holy TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 73 of Holies, which no human eye, save that of the high-priest, was ever permitted to behold. A short time afterward, being the year 168 before the epoch of Redemption, he issued an edict for the extermina¬ tion of the whole Hebrew race, against whom he had again conceived a furious dislike. This commission was intrusted to Apollonius,—an instrument worthy of so sanguinary a tyrant,—who, waiting till the Sabbath, when the people were occupied in the peaceful duties of religion, let loose his soldiers upon the unresisting multitude, slew all the men, whose blood deluged the streets, and seized the women as captives. He first proceeded to plunder and then to dismantle the city, which he set on fire in many places. He threw down the walls, and built a strong fortress on the highest part of Mount Sion, which commanded the Temple and all the adjoining parts of the town. From this garri¬ son he harassed the inhabitants of the country, who, with fond attachment, stole in to visit the ruins, or to offer a hasty and perilous worship in the place where their sanc¬ tuary had stood. All the public services had ceased, and no voice of adoration was heard within the holy gates, ex¬ cept that of the profane heathen calling on their idols.* But the persecution did not end even with these furious expedients. Antiochus next issued an order for uniformity of worship throughout all his dominions, and sent officers everywhere to enforce the strictest compliance. In the districts of Judea and Samaria, this invidious duty was in¬ trusted to Athenseus, an old man, whose chief recommend¬ ation appears to have been his intimate acquaintance with the doctrines and usages of the Grecian religion. The Samaritans are said to have conformed without scruple, and even to have permitted their temple on Mount Gerizim to be regularly dedicated to Jupiter, in his character of the Stranger’s Friend. Having so far succeeded, the royal en¬ voy turned his steps to Jerusalem, where, at the point of the sword, he prohibited every observance connected with the Jewish faith; compelling the people to profane the Sab¬ bath, to eat swine’s flesh, and to abstain, under a severe penalty, from the national rite of circumcision. The Tem¬ ple was consigned by consecration to the ceremonies of * History of the Jews (Nos. 1, 2, 3, Family Library), vol. ii. p. 39. G 74 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL Jupiter Olympius; while the statue of that deity was erected on the altar of burnt-olferings, and sacrifice duly performed in his name. Two women, who had the initiatory ordinance enjoined by the Mosaical law performed on their children, were hanged in a conspicuous part of the city with their infants suspended round their necks ; and many other cruelties were perpetrated, the very atrocity of which pre¬ cludes them at once from popular belief and from the pages of history. Neither age, nor sex, nor profession saved the proscribed Jew from the horrors of a violent death. From Jerusalem, too, the persecution spread over the whole coun-- try; in every city the same barbarities were executed and the same profanations introduced. As a last insult, the feasts of the Bacchanalia, the license of which, as they were celebrated in the later ages of Greece, shocked the severe virtue of the older Romans, were substituted for the na¬ tional festival of tabernacles. The reluctant Hebrews were forced to join in these riotous orgies, and carry the ivy, the insignia of the god. So nearly were the Jewish nation and the worship of Jehovah exterminated by the double weapons of superstition and violence !* But this savage intolerance produced in due time a formi¬ dable opposition. To a sincere believer death has always appeared a smaller evil than the relinquishment of his faith; and, in this respect, no people ancient or modem have shown more resolution than the descendants of Abra¬ ham. The severities of Antiochus, which had inflamed the resentment of the whole Jewish people, called forth in a hostile attitude the brave family of the Maccabees, whose valour and perseverance enabled them to dispute with the powerful monarch of Syria the sovereignty of Palestine. Judas, the ablest and most gallant of five sons, put himself at the head of the insurgents, whose zeal, more than com¬ pensating for the smallness of their numbers, carried him to victory against large armies and experienced generals. Making every allowance for the enthusiastic description of an admiring countryman, who has recorded - the exploits of the Maccabsean chiefs, there will still remain the most ample evidence to satisfy every candid reader, that in all the * History of the Jews, vol. ii. p. 40. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 75 great battles the fortune of war followed the standard of the Jews. But the victorious Maccabees, who had delivered their country from the oppression of foreigners, encountered a more formidable enemy in the factious spirit of their own people. Alcimus, a tool of the Syrians, assumed the title of high-priest, and in virtue of his office claimed the obe¬ dience of all who acknowledged the institutions of Moses. In this emergency Judas courted the alliance of the Romans, who willingly extended their protection to confederates so likely to aid their ambitious views in the East; but before the republic could interpose her arms in his behalf, the Hebrew general had fallen in the field of battle. This distinguished patriot was succeeded by his brother Jonathan, who, though less celebrated as a warrior, had the good fortune to restore the drooping cause of his country¬ men, and even to establish their rights on the footing of in¬ dependence. Profiting by a sanguinary competition for the throne of Syria, he consented to employ his power in favour of Alexander Balas, on condition that, in return for so sea¬ sonable an aid, he should be allowed to assume the pontifi¬ cal robe as ruler of Judea. Hence the origin of the Asmo- nean princes, who, uniting civil with spiritual authority, governed Palestine more than a hundred years. But Jonathan fell the victim of that refined policy to which he was mainly indebted for his elevation. He left the sovereign priesthood to his brother Simon, who, wisely abstaining from all interference in the disputes which em¬ broiled Egypt and Syria, directed his whole attention to the improvement of the Jewish kingdom. To secure the tranquillity which had been so dearly purchased he culti¬ vated a more intimate connexion with Rome ; remitting, from time to time, such valuable tokens of his respect as could not fail to make an impression on the venal minds of those aspiring chiefs who already contended for the empire of the world in that celebrated capital. But a conspiracy, originating in his own house, and fomented by the agents of Antiochus, put an end to the life of Simon and of his eldest son, who had earned considerable reputation in the command of armies. The duty of avenging his death and of governing a distracted country devolved upon his 76 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL younger son, afterward well known in history by the name of John Hyrcanus. The unhappy circumstances under which he succeeded to power compelled him to submit for a time to the con¬ dition of vassalage ; but no sooner had Antiochus Sidetes fallen in the Parthian war, than John shook off the yoke of Syria, and exercised the rights of an independent sovereign. He even extended his sway beyond the Jordan, reducing several important towns to his obedience; though the achievement which most gratified his Jewish subjects was the capture of Shechem, followed by the demolition of the temple on Gerizim, so long regarded as the opprobrium of the Hebrew faith. At a later period he made himself master of Samaria and Galilee, when, to gratify still farther the vindictive grudge which yet rankled in the breasts of his people, he destroyed the capital of the former, and debased It to the condition of a stagnant lake. Nor was his atten¬ tion confined to foreign conquest. He strengthened the fortifications of Jerusalem, and built the castle of Baris within the walls which surrounded the hill of the Temple, *—a stronghold, that at a future period attracted no small degree of notice under the name of Antonia. The government was enjoyed during a brief space by Aristobulus, the son of Hyrcanus, whose reign was only distinguished by the most painful domestic calamities. The throne was next occupied by Alexander Jannseus, a man of ignoble birth, but of a warlike and very ambitious temper. The distracted state of the neighbouring coun¬ tries induced him to take the field, with the view of reducing several towns on the coast of the Mediterranean,—an under¬ taking which finally involved him in the troubled politics of Egypt and Cyprus. In process of time, the severity of his measures, or the meanness of his extraction, rendered him so unpopular at Jerusalem that the inhabitants expelled him by force of arms. A civil war of the most sanguinary na¬ ture raged several years, during which the insurgents in¬ vited the assistance of Demetrius Euchaerus, one of the kings of Syria. This measure seems to have united a large party of Jews, who were equally hostile to the dominant faction within the city, and to the ally whom they had called to their aid. Alexander, after having repeatedly suffered the heaviest losses, saw himself again at the head of a power* TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 77 fill army, with which he resolved to march against the re¬ bellious capital. He inflicted a signal punishment upon such of the unfortunate citizens as fell into his hands ; or¬ dering nearly a thousand of them to be crucified, and their wives and children to be butchered before their eyes. Having fully re-established his power to the remotest parts of Palestine, the victorious high-priest, now drawing towards the close of his days, gave instructions to his wife for the future government of the country. Alexandra, a woman of a vigorous mind, held the reins of civil power with great steadiness, while her eldest son, Hyrcanus the Second, was decorated with the sacred diadem as the head of the nation. But, unhappily, the commotions which had disturbed the reign of her husband were again excited, and once more divided the people into two furious parties. Aristobulus, the younger son of Jannseus, gave his counte¬ nance to the body who opposed his brother, and at length threw off his disguise so completely as to aspire to supreme power in defiance of the rights of birth and of a legal investi¬ ture. Hyrcanus, who was far inferior to his ambitious rela¬ tive in point of talent and resolution, would probably, after the death of their mother, have been unable to keep his seat on the throne, had he not received the powerful aid of An¬ tipater, a son of Antipas, the governor of Idumea. Both sides were making preparation for an appeal to arms, when the Romans, who had already overrun the finest parts of Syria, advanced into the province of Palestine in the charac¬ ter at once of umpires and of allies. Pompey readily listened to the claims of the two com¬ petitors, but deferred coming to an immediate decision ; having resolved, as it afterward appeared, that neither of the kinsmen should continue any longer to possess the civil and military command of Judea. Aristobulus, impatient of delay, and having no confidence in the goodness of his cause, had recourse to arms, and at length shut himself up in Jerusalem. The Roman general issued orders to his lieutenant Gabinius to invest the holy city ; which, after a siege of three months, was taken by assault at a great expense of human life. Many of the priests who were employed in the duties of their office fell victims to the rage of the soldiers ; while others, unable to witness the desecration of their Temple G 2 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL 7 $ by the presence of idolaters, threw themselves from thd rock on which that building stood. Induced by curiosity* the rival of Caesar imitated the profane boldness of Antio- chus, penetrating into the Holy of Holies, and examining all the instruments of a worship which differed so much from that of all other nations. But Pompey was more politic, or more generous than the Syrian monarch; for although he found much treasure in the sanctuary as well as many vessels of gold and silver, he carried nothing away. He expressed much astonishment that, in a fane so magnificent, and frequented by Jews from all parts of the earth, there should be no material form, statue, nor picture to represent the Deity to whose honour it was erected. Having, in order to satisfy the scruples of the people, ordered a purification of the Temple, he renewed the ap¬ pointment of Hyrcanus to the high priesthood, but without any civil power; while in respect to the more turbulent Aristobulus, he resolved to exercise the right of a con¬ queror, by sending him and his two sons to Rome, that they might swell the train of his approaching triumph. The escape of one of these young men, and afterward of the father himself, rekindled the flame of war in Pales¬ tine. But the Romans under Gabinius and the celebrated Mark Antony, speedily subdued the hasty levies of Aristo¬ bulus, and completely re-established the ascendency of the Republic in all the revolted districts. Ill the civil war which ensued, Antipater, who still directed the affairs of the weak-minded Hyrcanus, paid his court so successfully to the dominant faction as to obtain for his master the pro¬ tection of Caesar, and for himself the procuratorship of Judea. Raised to this commanding eminence, he named Phasael, his eldest son, governor of Jerusalem, and con¬ fided to the younger, the artful and unscrupulous Herod, the charge of Galilee. But there still remained an individual belonging to the family of Aristobulus, who, having found refuge among the Parthians, led a powerful army of that people into Syria, and finally invested Jerusalem. The invaders, after obtain¬ ing possession of the city, deprived Hyrcanus of the priest¬ hood and Phasael of his life ; the barbarian soldiers, mean¬ time, committing pillage on all classes, both within the Walls and in the adjoining country. Herod, warned by his TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 79 less fortunate relative in the capital, had fled to Rome, with the view, it is said, of recommending the interests of another Aristobulus, a grandson of Hyrcanus, and brother of the beautiful Mariamne, to whom he himself was already betrothed. Octavius and Antony, however, thought it more expedient for their rising empire that Herod should wear the vassal crown of Judea in his own person, rather than see it placed on the head of an inexperienced youth ; and as the son of Antipater was about to unite himself with a descendant of the Asmonean princes, it was considered that the claims of each family would be thereby fully satisfied. The reign of Herod, who, to distinguish him from others of the same name, is usually called the Great, was no less remarkable for domestic calamity than for public peace and happiness. Urged by suspicion, he put to death his be¬ loved wife,* her mother, brother, grandfather, uncle,' and * The effects produced upon the mind of the king by the murder of Mariamne are powerfully described by two poetical writers, the author ef the History of the Jews, and the unfortunate Lord Byron. “ All the passions,” says the former, “ which filled the stormy soul of Herod were alike without bound: from violent love and violent resentment he sank into as viole'nt remorse and despair. Everywhere by day he was haunted by the image of the murdered Mariamne ; he called upon her name; he perpetually burst into passionate tears. In vain he tried every diversion,—banquets, revels, the excitements of society. A sud¬ den pestilence broke out, to which many of the noblest of his court, and of his own personal triends, fell a sacrifice; he recognised and trembled beneath the hand of the avenging Deity. On pretence of hunting, he sought out the most melancholy solitude, till the disorder of his mind brought on disorder of body, and he was seized with violent inflamma¬ tion and pains in the back of his head, which led to temporary derange¬ ment.”—Vol. ii. p. 90. i. “ Oh, Mariamne ! now for thee The heart for Which thou bled’st is bleeding; Revenge is lost in agony, And wild remorse to rage succeeding. Oh, Mariamne! Where art thou 1 Thou canst not hear my bitter pleading; ' Ah, coUldst thou—thoU wouldst pardon now, Though Heaven were to my prayer unheeding. ii. And is she dead f—and did they dare Obey my phrensy’s jealous raving 1 My wrath but doomed my own despair: The sword that smote her’s o'er me waving.-* 80 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL two sons. His palace was the scene of incessant intrigue, misery, and bloodshed; his nearest relations being ever the chief instruments of his worst sufferings and fears. It was, perhaps, to divert his apprehensions and remorse that he employed so much of his time in the labours of archi¬ tecture. Besides a royal residence on Mount Zion, he built a number of citadels throughout the country, and laid the foundations of several splendid towns. Among these was Cesarea, a station well selected both for strength and commerce, and destined to become, under a different govern¬ ment, a place of considerable importance. But the impurity of his blood as an Idumean, and his undisguised attachment to the religion of his Gentile mas¬ ters, created an obstacle to a complete understanding with his subjects, which no degree of personal kindness, or of wisdom and munificence in the conduct of public affairs, could ever entirely remove. At length he determined on a measure which, he hoped, would at the same time employ the people and ingratiate himself with the higher classes, —the rebuilding of the temple in its former splendour and greatness. The lapse of five hundred years, and the ravage of successive wars, had much impaired the structure of Zerubbabel. As it was necessary to remove the dilapi¬ dated parts of the edifice before the new building could be begun, the Jews looked on with a suspicious eye; appre¬ hensive lest the king, under pretence of doing honour to their faith, should obliterate every vestige of their ancient sanctuary. But the prudence of Herod calmed their fears ; the work proceeded with the greatest regularity, and the But thou art cold, my murder’d love! And this dark heart is vainly craving For her who soars alone above, And leaves my soul unworthy saving. hi. “ She’s gone, who shared my diadem; She sunk, with her my joys entombing; I swept that flower from Judah’s stem Whose leaves for me alone were blooming ; And mine’s the guilt, and mine the hell, This bosom’s desolation dooming; And I have earned those tortures well, Which unconsumed are still consuming.” Hebrew Melodies. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 81 nation saw, with the utmost joy, a fabric of stately archi¬ tecture crowning the brow of Mount Moriah with glitter¬ ing masses of white marble and pinnacles of gold. Yet during this pious undertaking the Jewish monarch main¬ tained his double character; presiding at the Olympic games, granting large donations for their support, and even allowing himself to be nominated president of this pagan festival.* As he advanced towards old age his troubles multiplied, and his apprehensions were increased, till, at length, four years anterior to the common era of Christianity, Herod sank under the pressure of a loathsome disease. He was permitted by the Romans so for to exercise the privileges of an independent prince as to distribute by will the inherit¬ ance of sovereignty among the more favoured of his chil¬ dren ; and in virtue of this indulgence he assigned to Archelaus the government of Idumea, Samaria, and Judea, while he bestowed upon Antipas a similar authority over Peraea and Galilee. But the young princes required the sanction of the Roman emperor, whom they both regarded as their liege lord ; and with that view repaired to the capital of Italy. The will of the late king was acknowledged and confirmed by Au¬ gustus, who was moreover pleased to give to Herod Philip, their elder brother, the provinces of Auranitis, Trachonitis, Paneas, and Batanea. Archelaus, the metropolis of whose dominions was Jerusalem, ruled in quality of et hna rch about nine years ; but so little to the satisfaction either of his master at Rome or of the people whom he was ap¬ pointed to govern, that at the end of this period he was summoned to render an account of his administration at the imperial tribunal, when he was deprived of his power and wealth, and finally banished into Gaul. Judea was now reduced to a Roman province, dependent on the pre¬ fecture of Syria, though usually placed under the inspec¬ tion of a subordinate officer, called the procurator or governor. Thus the sceptre passed away from Judah, and the lawgiver descended from the family of Jacob ceased to enjoy power within the confines of the Promised Land. .No reader can require to be reminded, that it was at this * History of the Jews, vol. ii. p. 96. 82 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL epoch, in the last year of the reign of Herod, the Messias was born, and conveyed into Egypt for security. The unjust and cruel government of Archelaus, for which, as has just been related, he was stripped of his authority by the head of the empire, was probably the cause why the holy family did not again take up their residence in Judea, but preferred the milder rule of Antipas. When Joseph “ heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of 'Tiis father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee : and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth.”* The first thirty years of the Christian era did not pass away without several insurrections on the part of the Jews, and repeated acts of severity and extortion inflicted upon them by their stern conquerors. The commotion excited by Judas, called the Galilean, is regarded by historians as one of the most important of those ebullitions which were constantly breaking forth among that inflammatory people, not only on account of its immediate consequences, but for the effects produced on the national character, in regard to the speculative tenets connected with tribute and submission to a heathen government. Upon the exile of Archelaus, the prefecture of Syria was committed to Publius Sulpicius Quirinius. This com¬ mander is mentioned in the Gospel of St. Luke by the name of Cyrenius, and is described as the person under whom the taxing was first made in that province. Hence we may conclude, that the enrolment which took place at the birth of our Saviour was merely a census, comprehend¬ ing the numbers, and perhaps the wealth and station of the several classes of the people. It was about the twenty-sixth year of our epoch that * Matth. ii. 22, 23. “ Among the atrocities which disgraced the later days of Herod, what is called the Massacre of the Innocents (which took place late in the year before, or early in the same year with the death of Herod) passed away unnoticed. The murder of a few children in a village near Jerusalem would excite little sensation among such a succession of dreadful events, except among the immediate sufferers. The jealousy of Herod against any one who should be born as a king in Judea— the dread that the high religious spirit of the people might be re-excited by the hope of a real Messiah,—as well as the summary man. ner in which he endeavoured to rid himself of the object of his fears, are strictly in accordance with the relentlessness and decision of his character .”—History of the Jews, vol. ii. p. 106. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 83 Pontius Pilate was nominated to the government of Judea. Ignorant or indifferent as to the prejudices of the Jews, he roused among them a spirit of the most active resentment, by displaying the image of the emperor in Jerusalem, and by seizing part of their sacred treasure for the purposes of general improvement. As the fiery temper of the inhabit¬ ants drove them, on most occasions, to acts of violence, he did not hesitate to employ force in return; and we find, accordingly, that his administration was dishonoured by several acts of military execution directed against Jews and Samaritans indiscriminately. His severity towards the latter people finally led to his recall and disgrace about the year 36, when Yitellius, the father of the future emperor of the same name, presided over the affairs of the Syrian province. The plan of our work does not permit us to do more than allude to the great event which took place at Jerusalem under the auspices of Pilate. We may nevertheless observe, that the narrative of the gospel is in strict harmony with the character, not only of the time to which it refers, but also of all the persons whose acts it describes. The ex¬ pectation of the Jews when Jesus of Nazareth first appeared, —their subsequent disappointment and rage,—their hatred and impatience of the Roman government,—the perplexity of the military chief,—and the motive which at length induced him to sacrifice the innocent person who was sisted before him, are facts which display the most perfect accordance with the tone of civil history at that remarkable period. During the troubles which agitated Judea, the districts that owned the sovereignty of Antipas and Philip, namely, Galilee and the country beyond the Jordan, enjoyed com¬ parative quiet. The former, who is the Herod described by our Saviour as “ that fox,” was a person of a cool and rather crafty disposition, and might have terminated his long reign in peace, had not Herodias, whom he seduced from his brother—the second prince just mentioned—irritated his ambition by pointing to the superior rank of his nephew, Herod Agrippa, whom Caligula had been pleased to raise to a provincial throne. Urged by his wife to solicit a simi¬ lar elevation, he presented himself at Rome, and obtained an audience of the emperor; but the successor of Tiberius was so little pleased with his conduct on this occasion, I • * 84 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL that he divested him of the tetrarchy, and banished him into Gaul. The death of Herod Philip and the degradation of the Galilean tetrarch paved the way for the advancement of Agrippa to all the honour and power which had belonged to the family of David. He was permitted to reign over the whole of Palestine, having under his direction the usual number of Roman troops, which experience had proved to be necessary for the peace of a province at once so remote and so turbulent. The only event that disturbed the tran¬ quillity of his government was an insane resolution ex¬ pressed by Caligula to place his own statue in the temple of Jerusalem, as an object of respect, if not of positive and direct worship, to the whole Jewish nation. The prudence of the Syrian prefect, and the influence which Agrippa still possessed over the mind of his imperial friend, prevented the horrors that must have arisen from the attempt to dese¬ crate, in this odious manner, a sanctuary deemed most holy by every descendant of Abraham. But no position could be more difficult to hold with safety and reputation than that which was occupied by this He¬ brew prince. He was assailed on the one hand by the jealousy of the Roman deputies, and on the other by the suspicion of his own countrymen, who could never divest themselves of the fear that his foreign education had ren¬ dered him indifferent to the rites of the Mosaical law. To satisfy the latter, he spared no expense in conferring mag¬ nificence on the daily service of the temple, while he put forth his hand to persecute the Christian church in the persons of St. Peter and James the brother of John. To remove every ground of disloyalty from the eyes of the political agents who were appointed by Claudius to watch his conduct, he ordered a splendid festival at Cesarea in honour of the new emperor; on which occasion, when arrayed in the most gorgeous attire, certain words of adula¬ tion reached his ear, not fit to be addressed to a Jewish monarch. The result will be best described in the words of sacred Scripture : “ And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 85 glory; and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”* He left a son and three daughters, of whom Agrippa, Ber¬ nice, and Drusilla make a conspicuous figure towards the close^of the book of Acts. These events took place between the fortieth and the forty-fifth years of the Christian faith. The youth and inexperience of the prince dictated to the Roman government the propriety of assuming once more the entire direction of Jewish affairs. The prefecture of Syria was confided to Cassius Longinus, under whom served, as procurator of Judea, Caspius Fadus, a stern though an upright soldier. But the impatience and hatred of the people were now inflamed to such a degree, that gentleness and severity were equally unavailing to preserve the tranquillity of the country. Impostors appeared on every hand, proclaiming deliverance to the oppressed chil¬ dren of Jacob, and provoking the more impetuous among their brethren to take up arms against the Romans. Various conflicts ensued, in which the discipline of the legions hardly ever failed to disperse or destroy the tumultuary bands who, under such unhappy auspices, attempted to restore the king¬ dom to Israel. The holy city, which was from time to time beleaguered by both parties, sustained material injury from the furious assaults of pagan and Jew alternately. The predictions of its downfall, already circulated among the Christians, began to mingle with the shouts of its fanatical inhabitants ; and already, even at the accession of Agrippa the Second to his limited sovereignty, every thing portended that miserable consummation which at no distant period closed the temporal scene of Hebrew hope and dominion. Every succeeding day witnessed the progress of that ferocious sect founded on the opinions of Judas the Gaulon- ite, who acknowledged no sovereign but Jehovah, and who constantly denounced as the greatest of all sins those pay¬ ments or services by means of which a heathenish govern¬ ment was supported. In prosecuting their revolutionary schemes, they esteemed no man’s life dear, and set as little value upon their own. Devoted to the principles of a frantic patriotism, they were content to sacrifice to its claims the clearest dictates of humanity and religion; being at all times ready to bind themselves by an oath that they would * Acts xii. 21,22, 23. H 86 HISTORICAL OUTLINE FROM SAUL neither eat nor drink until they had slain the enemy of thek nation or of their God. This was the school which sup¬ plied that execrable faction, who added tenfold to the mise¬ ries of Jerusalem in the day of her visitation, and who contributed more than all the legions of Rome to realize the bitterness of the curse which was poured upon her devoted head. A succession of unprincipled governors, who were sent forth to enrich themselves on the spoils of the Syrian prov¬ inces, accelerated the crisis of Judea. About the middle of the first century the notorious Felix was appointed to the government, who, in the administration of affairs, habit¬ ually combined violence with fraud, sending out his soldiers to inflict punishment on such as had not the means or the inclination to bribe his clemency. An equal stranger to righteousness and temperance, he presented a fine subject for the eloquence of St. Paul, who it is presumed, how¬ ever, made the profligate governor tremble, without either affecting his religious principles or improving his moral conduct. The short residence of Festus procured for the unhappy Jews a respite from oppression. He laboured successfully to put down the bands of insurgents, whose ravages were inflicted indiscriminately upon foreigners and their own countrymen; nor was he less active in checking the ex¬ cesses of the military, so long accustomed to rapine and free quarter. Agrippa at the same time transferred the seat of his government to Jerusalem, where his presence served to moderate the rage of parties, and thereby to post¬ pone the final rupture between the provincials and their imperial master. But this brief interval of repose was fol¬ lowed by an increased degree of irritation and fury. Florus, alike distinguished for his avarice and cruelty, and who saw in the contentions of the people the readiest means for filling his own coffers, connived at the mutual hostility which it was his duty to prevent. In this nefarious policy he re¬ ceived the countenance of Cestius Gallus, the prefect of Syria, who, imitating the maxims of his lieutenant, stu¬ diously drove the natives to insurrection, in order that their cries for justice might be drowned amid the clash of arms. But he forgot that there are limits to endurance even among the most humble and abject. Unable to support the TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 87 ■weight of his tyranny, and galled by certain insults directed against their faith, the Jewish inhabitants of Cesarea set his power at defiance, and declared their resolution to repel his injuries by force. The capital was soon actuated by a similar spirit, and made preparations for defence. Cestius marched to the gates, and demanded an entrance for the imperial cohorts, whose aid was required to support the garrison within. The citizens, refusing to comply, antici¬ pated the horrors of a siege, when after a few days they saw, to their great surprise, the Syrian prefect in full retreat, carrying with him his formidable army. Sallying from the different outlets with arms in their hands, they pursued the fugitives with the usual fury of an incensed multitude ; and, overtaking their enemy at the narrow pass of Bethhoron, they avenged the cause of independence by a considerable slaughter of the legionary soldiers, and by driving the remainder to an ignominious flight. Nero received the intelligence of this defeat while amus¬ ing himself in Greece, and immediately sent Vespasian into Syria to assume the government, with instructions to restore the peace of the province by moderate concessions or by the most vigorous warfare. It was in the year sixty-seven that this great commander entered Judea, accompanied by his son, the celebrated Titus. The result is too well known to require details. A series of sanguinary battles deprived the Jews of their principal towns one after another, until they were at length shut up in Jerusalem ; the siege and final reduction of which compose one of the most affecting stories that are anywhere recorded in the annals of the human race. @8 'LITERATURE AND RELIGION CHAPTER IV. On the Literature and Religious Usages of the Ancient Hebrews. Obscurity of the Subject—Learning issued from the Levitical Colleges— Schools of the Prophets—Music and Poetry—Meaning of the term Prophecy—Illustrated by References to the Old Testament and to the New—The Power of Prediction not confined to those bred in the Schools—Race of False Prophets—Their Malignity and Deceit—Mi- caiah and Ahab—Charge against Jeremiah the Prophet—Criterion to distinguish True from False Prophets—The Canonical Writings of the Prophets—Literature of Prophets—Sublime Nature of their Com¬ positions—Examples from Psalms and Prophetical Writings— Humane and liberal Spirit—Care used to keep alive the Knowledge of the Law —Evils arising from the Division of Israel and Judah—Ezra collects the Ancient Boobs—Schools of Prophets similar to Convents—Sciences —Astronomy—Division of Time, Days, Months, and Years—Sabbaths and New Moons—Jewish Festivals—Passover—Pentecost—Feast of Tabernacles—Of Trumpets—Jubilee—Daughters of Zelophedad— Feast of Dedication—Minor Anniversaries—Solemn Character of He¬ brew Learning—Its easy Adaptation to Christianity—Superior to the Literature of all other ancient Nations. There is no subject on which greater obscurity prevails than that of the learning and schools of the Hebrews prior to their return from the Babylonian captivity. The wise institution of Moses, which provided for the maintenance of Levitical towns in all the tribes, secured at least an hereditary knowledge of the law, including both its civil and its spiritual enactments. It is extremely probable, therefore, that all the varieties of literary attainment which might be deemed necessary, either for the discharge of pro¬ fessional duties or for the ornament of private life, were derived from those seminaries, and partook largely of their general character and spirit. An examination of the scanty remains of that remote period will justify, to a considerable extent, the conjecture now made. It will appear that the poetry, the ethics, the oratory, the music, and even the physical science cultivated in the time of Samuel and David bore a close relation to the original object of the OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 89 ; I Levitical colleges, and were meant to promote the prin¬ ciples of religion and morality, no less than of that singular patriotism which made the Hebrew delight in his separation from all the other nations of the earth. Our attention is first attracted by the several allusions which are scattered over the earlier books of the Old Tes¬ tament to the schools of the prophets. These were estab¬ lishments obviously intended to prepare young men for certain offices analogous to those which are discharged in our days by the different orders of the clergy ; maintained in some degree at the public expense ; and placed under the superintendence of persons who were distinguished for their gravity and high endowments. The principal studies pur¬ sued in these convents appear to have been poetry and music, the elements of which were necessary to the young prophet when he was called to take a part in the worship of Jehovah. In the book of Samuel we find the pupils per¬ forming on psalteries, tabrets, and harps; and in the first section of the Chronicles it is said that the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthan prophesied with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals. For the same reason Miriam the sister of Moses is called a prophetess. When preparing to chant her song of triumph, upon the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea, “ she took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.” On a similar ground is the expression to be interpreted when used by St. Paul in the eleventh chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians. “ Every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head that is, every female who takes a part in the devo¬ tions of the Christian Church,—the supplications and the praises,—ought, according to the practice of eastern na¬ tions, to have her face concealed in a veil, as becoming the modesty of her sex in a mixed congregation. The term prophesy, in this instance, must be restricted to the use of psalmody, because exposition or exhortation in public was not permitted to the women, who were not allowed to speak or even to ask a question in a place of worship. Nay, the same apostle applies the title of prophet to those persons among the heathen who composed or uttered songs in praise of their gods. In his Epistle to Titus he alludes to H 2 90 LITERATURE AND RELIGION the people of Crete in these words, “ one of themselves, even a prophet of their own, has said, the Cretans were always liars.” And every classical scholar is perfectly aware that in the language of pagan antiquity a poet and a prophet were synonymous appellations. But the function of the prophet was not confined to the duty of praise and thanksgiving ; it also implied the ability to expound and enforce the principles of the Mosaical Law. He was entitled to exhort and entreat; and we accordingly find that the greater portion of the prophetical writings consist of remonstrances, rebukes, threatenings, and expos¬ tulations. In order to be a prophet, in the Hebrew sense of the expression, it was not necessary to be endowed with the power of foreseeing future events. It is true that the holy men through whom the Almighty thought meet to reveal his intentions relative to the church, were usually selected from the order of persons now described. But there were several exceptions, among whom stood pre¬ eminent the eloquent Daniel and the pathetic Amos. To prophesy, therefore, in the later times of the Hebrew com¬ monwealth meant most generally the explication and en¬ forcement of Divine truth—an import of the term which was extended into the era of the New Testament, when the more recondite sense of the phrase was almost entirely laid aside. In truth, it should seem that even before the days of Samuel the opinions, or rather perhaps the popular notions connected with the name and offices of a prophet, had un¬ dergone some change, and began to point to higher objects. Saul, when employed in seeking his father’s asses, had journeyed so far from home that he despaired of finding his way thither; and when he was come to the land of Zuph he said to his servant, “ Come, and let us return ; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man ; all that he saith cometh surely to pass : now let us go thither; peradventure he can show us our way that we should go. Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man ; for the bread is spent in our ves¬ sels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God : what have we 1 And the servant answered Saul again, OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 91 and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver; that will I give to the man of God to tell us our way. (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer.) Then said Saul to his servant, Well said ; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.”* The description of soothsayer whom Saul and his servant had resolved to consult is very common in all lands at a certain stage of knowledge and civilization,—a personage who, without much reliance on Divine aid, could amuse the curiosity of a rustic and perplex his ignorance with an am¬ biguous answer. But the age of Samuel required more solid qualifications in the prophets, and hence the term seer had already given way to that of expounder or master of eloquence and wisdom. The expedient suggested by the attendant of the son of Kish was very natural, and quite Consistent with his rank and habits ; while the easy ac¬ quiescence which he obtained from his master denotes the simplicity of ancient times, not less than the untutored state of mind in which the future King of Israel had left his pa¬ rent’s dwelling. Before he mounted the throne, however, he was sent to acquire the elements of learning among the sons of the prophets; whom, in a short time, he accom¬ panied in their pious exercises in a manner so elevated as to astonish every one who had formerly known the young Benjamite; till then remarkable only for a mild disposition and great bodily strength. The mental bias towards prediction, which is almost un¬ avoidably acquired by the practice of elucidation and com¬ mentary on a dark text, soon showed itself in the schools of the prophets. Many of them, trusting to their own in¬ genuity rather than to the suggestion of the Spirit of Truth, ventured to foretel the issue of events, and to delineate the future fortunes of nations, as well as of individuals. Hence the race of false prophets, who brought so much obloquy upon the whole order, and not unfrequently barred against the approach of godly admonition the ears of those who were actually addressed by an inspired messenger. Nay, * i Samuel ix. 5-11. 9$ LITERATURE AND RELIGION it appears that some of them arrogated the power of real" izing the good or the evil which they were pleased to fore- tel; allowing the people to believe that they were possessed with demons, who enabled them, not only to foresee, but to influence in no small measure the course of Providence. The impression on the mind of Ahab in regard to Micaiah leaves no room for doubt that the king imagined the prophet to be actuated by a malignant feeling towards him. “ I hate him,” he exclaimed, “ for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” Nor was the conviction that this ungracious soothsayer spoke from his own wishes rather than from a divine impulse confined to the Israelitish monarch. The messenger who was sent to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, “ Behold now, the words of the prophets de¬ clare good unto the king with one mouth : let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.”* When we consider the uncertainty which must have attended all predictions, where the wishes or feelings of the prophet could give a different expression to the purposes of God, we cannot any longer be surprised at the neglect with which such announcements were frequently treated by those to whom they were addressed. It is remarkable, too, that one prophet did not possess the gift of ascertaining the truth or sincerity of another who might declare that he spoke in the name of God; and hence there were no means of deter¬ mining the good faith of this order of men, except the gene¬ ral evidence of a pious character, or the test of a successful experience. For example, when Jeremiah proclaimed the approaching faH of Jerusalem, the other prophets were among the first to oppose him, saying, “ Thou shalt surely die : why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord that this house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be deso¬ late without an inhabitant V’ The princes of Judah as¬ sembled in the Temple to hear the charge repeated against this fearless minister ; when again “ spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes, and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.” It is worthy of notice, too, that the prediction which gave * I Kings xxii. 8, 13. OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 93 so much offence was conditional and contingent, and that Jeremiah, accordingly, incurred the hazard of suffering the severe punishment due to a false prophet; because if the people had turned from their sins the fate of their capital and nation would have been protracted. “ The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house, and against this city, all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand ; do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you : but know ye for certain, that, if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof; for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you, to speak all these words in your ears.”* The decision of the princes was more equitable than the accusation adduced by the priests and prophets; for ac¬ cording to the law of Moses no man could be punished for predicting the most calamitous events, provided he perse¬ vered in the assertion that he spoke in the name of Jehovah. The divine legislator denounced the penalty of death against every prophet who should speak in the name of any false god, or who should speak in the name of Jehovah that which he was not commanded to speak; but, in regard to the latter offence, the guilt could only be substantiated by the failure of the prophecy. “ And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken 1 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously.”! It is obvious, however, that in all cases where a con¬ dition was implied, the fulfilment of the prediction could not be regarded as essential to the establishment of the pro¬ phetic character. The capture of Jerusalem produced the most undeniable testimony to the inspiration of Jeremiah, as well as to the sincerity of his expostulation ; yet it is well known that his motives did not escape suspicion, and * Jer. xxvi. 8-16. t Deut. xviii. 21,22. 94 LITERATURE AND RELIGION that his memory was loaded by many of his countrymen with the charge of having favoured the Chaldeans. It may not appear out of place to inform the young reader that the prophets whose writings are contained in the Old Testament are in number sixteen, and usually di¬ vided into two classes, the greater and the minor, according to the extent of their works and the importance of their sub¬ ject. Of the former, Isaiah, who may be regarded as the chief, began to prophesy under Uzziah, and continued till the first year of Manasseh. Jeremiah flourished a few years before the great captivity, and lived to witness the fulfilment of his own predictions. Ezekiel, who had been carried into the Babylonian territory some time before the ruin of his native country in the days of Zedekiah, began to perform his office among the Jewish captives in the land of the Chaldees, in the fifth year after Jehoiakim was made prisoner. Daniel, the youngest of the four, was only twelve years of age when he was involved in the miseries of conquest, and reduced to the condition of a dependant at a foreign court. Among the twelve minor prophets, Jonas, Hosea, Amos, and Micah preceded the destruction of the kingdom of Israel. Nahum and Joel appeared between that catastrophe and the captivity of Judah. Habakkuk, Obadiah, and Zephaniah lived at the time when Jerusalem was taken, and during part of the captivity. Haggai, Zecharias, and Malachi, the last of the whole, prophesied after the return from Babylon. But our business is rather with the literature of the prophets at large than with the special functions of the few individuals of their body who were commissioned by Heaven to reveal the secrets of future time. Of the fruits of their professional study we have fine examples preserved in the Psalms of David and the Proverbs of Solomon; the former, a collection of sacred lyrics composed for the worship of Jehovah; the latter, a compend of practical wisdom, sug¬ gested by an enlightened experience, and expressed in language equally striking for its divine truth and rare sim¬ plicity. In early times the dictates of moral philosophy are enounced in short sentences, the result of much thought, and of which the effect is usually heightened by the intro- OP THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 95 Auction of a judicious antithesis both in the sentiment and the expression. The apothegms ascribed to the wise men of Greece belong to this kind of composition ; being ex¬ tremely valuable to a rude people who can profit by the fruits of reasoning without being able to attend to its forms, and deposite in their minds a useful precept, unencumbered with the arguments by means of which its soundness might be proved. The books which bear the name of Solomon are distinguished above all others for the sage views that they exhibit of human life, and for the sensible maxims ad¬ dressed to all conditions of men who have to encounter its manifold perils—proving a guide unto the feet and a lamp unto the path. In no respect does the Hebrew nation appear to greater advantage than when viewed in the light of their sublime compositions. Nor is this remark confined simply to the style or mechanism of their writings, which is neverthe¬ less allowed by the best judges to possess many merits; but may be extended more especially to the exalted nature of their subjects,—the works, the attributes, and the pur¬ poses of Jehovah. The poets of pagan antiquity, on the other hand, excite by their descriptions of divine things our ridicule or disgust. Even the most approved of their order exhibit repulsive images of their deities, and suggest the grossest ideas in connexion with the principles and enjoy¬ ments which prevail among the inhabitants of Olympus. But the contemporaries of David, inferior in many things to the ingenious people who listened to the strains of Homer and of Virgil, are remarkable for their elevated conceptions of the Supreme Being as the Creator and Governor of the world, not less than for the suitable terms in which they give utterance to their exalted thoughts. In no other country but Judea, at that early period, were such sentiments as the following either expressed or felt. “ 0 Jehovah, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, thou that hast set thy glory above the heavens ! When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained ; what is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him 1 Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul. 0 Lord my God, thou art very great, and art clothed with honour and majesty! Thou coverest thyself with light as with a gar- 96 LITERATURE AND RELIGION ment, and stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot, and walketh upon the wings of the wind! Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless Jehovah, 0 my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine ini¬ quities ; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who crowneth thee with loving-kind¬ ness and tender mercies. Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, neither rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust.”— “ 0 Lord, thou hast searched me and known me : thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou under- standest my thoughts long before. Thou art about my bed and about my path, and art acquainted with all my ways, Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence 1 If I ascend up into heaven, thou arl there ; if I go down to the dwelling of the departed, thou art there also. If I take the wings of the morning anc abide in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall b< turned into day. Yea, the darkness is no darkness wit! thee, but the night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” A similar train of lofty conception pervades the writings of the prophets. “ Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance 1 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance ; he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grass¬ hoppers. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hat! created these things, who bringeth out their host by num¬ ber : he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, fo'r that he is strong in pow r er, no one faileth. Hasl thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 97 God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary 1 There is no searching of his under¬ standing.” The following quotation from the same inspired author is very striking, inasmuch as the truth contained in it is founded upon an enlarged view of the Divine government, and directly pointed against that insidious Manicheism, which, originating in the East, has gradually infected the religious opinions of a large portion of mankind. Light was imagined to proceed from one source, and darkness from another; all good was traced to one being, and all evil was ascribed to a hostile and antagonist principle. Spirit, pure and happy, arose from the former ; while matter, with its foul propensities and jarring elements, took its rise from the latter. But Isaiah, abided by an impulse which super¬ sedes the inferences of tne profoundest philosophy, thus speaks concerning the God of the Hebrews:—“ I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God besides me. I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things.” But it is not only in such sublimity of language and ex¬ alted imagery that the literature of the Hebrews surpasses the writings of the most learned and ingenious portion of the heathen world. A distinction not less remarkable is to be found in the humane and compassionate spirit which ani¬ mates even the earliest parts of the sacred volume, com¬ posed at a time when the manners of all nations were still unrefined, and the softer emotions were not held in honour. “ Blessed is he who considereth the poor and needy ; the Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive; he shall be blessed upon earth, and thou wilt not deliver him into the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing; thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.” We shall in vain seek for instances of such a benign and liberal feeling in the volumes of the most enlightened of pagan writers, whether poets or orators. How beautifully does the following observation made by Solomon contrast with the contempt expressed by Horace for the great body of his countrymen :—“ He that despiseth his neighbour sin- neth; but he that hath mercy on the poor happy is he. He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker.” 98 LITERATURE AND RELIGION Among the Israelites there was no distinction as to lite¬ rary privilege or philosophical sectarianism. There was no profane vulgar in the chosen people. The stores of Divine knowledge were open to all alike. The descendant of Jacob beheld in every member of his tribe a brother, and not a master ; one who in all the respects which give to man dig¬ nity and self-esteem was his equal in the strictest sense of the term. Hence the noble flame of patriotism which glowed in all the Hebrew institutions before the people became cor¬ rupted by idolatry and a too frequent intercourse with the surrounding tribes ; and hence, too, the still more noble spirit of fraternal affection which breathed in their ancient law, their devotional writers, and their prophets. It is worthy of remark, that in order to prevent any part of the sacred oracles from becoming obsolete or falling into oblivion, the inspired lawgiver leffcan injunction to read the books which bear his name, in the hearing of all the people, at the end of every seven years at farthest. “ And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests, the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou slialt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: and that their children which have not known any thing may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.”* The value of the Levitical institution, whence originated the schools of the prophets, will be the most highly appre¬ ciated by those readers who have noted the evils which arose from its suppression among the ten tribes, and finally, in the kingdom of Judah itself. The separation of the Israel¬ ites under Jeroboam led, in the first instance, to a defection from the Mosaic ritual, and, in the end, to the establishment * Deut. xxxi. 9-14, OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 99 of a rival worship,—a revolution which compelled all the I Levites who remained attached to the primitive faith to de¬ sert such of their cities as belonged to the revolted tribes, and to seek an asylum among their brethren who acknow¬ ledged the successor of Solomon. Hence the reign of idol¬ atry and that total neglect of the law which disgraced the government of the new dynasty ; though it must be granted, that with a view to perpetuate their relationship to the father of the faithful, the people preserved certain copies of the Pentateuch, even after the desolation of their land and the complete extinction of their political independence. It is more surprising to find, that even among the ortho¬ dox Hebrews at Jerusalem the law sank into a gradual oblivion ; insomuch that in the days of Jehoshaphat, the fifth from David, it was found necessary to appoint a special commission of Levites and priests to revive the knowledge of its holy sanctions in all parts of the country. “ And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.”* At a later period, after a succession of idolatrous princes, the neglect of the Mosaical writings became still more gene¬ ral, till at length the very manuscript, or book of the law, i which used to be read in the ears of the congregation, could nowhere be found. Josiah, famed for his piety and atten¬ tion to the ceremonies of the national religion, gave orders to repair the Temple for the worship of Jehovah ; on which occasion, Hilkiah, the high-priest, found the precious record in the house of the Lord, and sent it to the king.f A mo¬ mentary zeal bound the people once more to the belief and usages of their ancestors; but the example of the profane or careless sovereigns who afterward filled the throne of Josiah plunged the country once more into guilt, obliterat¬ ing all recollection of the divine statutes, at least as a code of public law. The captivity throws a temporary cloud over the Hebrew annals, and prevents us from tracing be¬ yond that point the progress of opinion on this interesting subject. But upon the return from Babylon a new era commences ; and we now observe the same people, who in their prosperity were constantly deviating into the grossest * 2 Chronicles xvii. 9. t 2 Kings xxii. 8. 100 LITERATURE AND RELIGION superstitions and most contemptible idolatry, remarkable for a rigid adherence to the ritual of Moses, and for a severe intolerance towards all who questioned its heavenly origin or its universal obligation. Ezra is understood to have charged himself with the duty of collecting and arranging the manuscripts which had survived the desolation inflicted upon his country by the arms of Assyria, at the same time substituting for the more ancient characters usually known as the Samaritan the Chaldean alphabet, to which his fol¬ lowers had now become accustomed. From these notices, however, which respect a later period, we return to the more primitive times immediately succeeding the era of the com¬ monwealth. We have ascribed the cultivation of sacred knowledge to the schools of the prophets, without having been able to trace very distinctly the institution of these seminaries to the Levitical colleges, the proper fountains of the national lite¬ rature. In the days of Samuel, it would appear that the necessity of certain subordinate establishments had been ad¬ mitted, in order to supply a class of persons qualified to instruct such of the people as lived at a distance from the cities of the Levites. The rule of the prophetical schools seems to have borne some resemblance to that of the better description of Christian convents in the primitive ages, en¬ joining abstinence and labour, together with an implicit obedience to the authority of their superiors. The clothing, also, it may be presumed, was humble, and somewhat pecu¬ liar. A rough garment fastened with a girdle round The loins is alluded to by Zechariah ; while the impression made on the courtiers at Ramoth-gilead by the appearance of one of the sons of the prophets sent thither by Elisha would lead us to the same conclusion. “ Wherefore,” said they, “ came this mad fellow to thee 1” Nor is it without reason that some authors have attributed the conduct of the children who mocked Elisha to the uncouthness of his dress and to the want of a covering for his head. Be this as it may, there is no doubt that from the societies now mentioned sprang the most distinguished men who adorned the hap¬ piest era of the Jewish church. Were we allowed to form a judgment from the few inci¬ dents recorded in the books of the Kings, we should con¬ clude that the accomplishment of writing was not very OP THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 101 general among the subjects of David and Solomon. It is ingeniously conjectured by Michaelis, that Joab, the captain of the host, and sister’s son of the inspired monarch him¬ self, could not handle the pen ; else he would not, for the purpose of concealing from the bearer the real object for which he was sent, have found it necessary to tax his inge¬ nuity by putting the very suspicious detail of Uriah’s death into the mouth of a messenger to be delivered verbally to the king. He would at once have written to him that the devoted man was killed.* As to science in its higher branches, we cannot expect any proofs of eminence among a secluded people, devoted, as the Hebrews were, to the pursuits of agriculture and the feeding of cattle. Solomon, indeed, is said to have been acquainted with all the productions of nature, from the cedar of Libanus to the hyssop on the wall; and we may readily believe, that the curiosity which distinguished his temper would find some gratification in the researches of natural history,—the first study of the opening mind in the earliest stage of social life. But astronomy had not ad¬ vanced farther than to present an interesting subject of con¬ templation to the pious mind, which could only regard the firmament as a smooth surface spread out like a curtain, or bearing some resemblance to the canopy of a spacious tent. The schools of the prophets, we may presume, were still strangers to those profound calculations which determine the distance, the magnitude, and the periodical revolutions of the heavenly bodies. Even the sages of Chaldea, who boast a more ancient civilization than is claimed by the Hebrews, satisfied themselves with a few facts which they had not learned to generalize, and sometimes with conjec¬ tures which had hardly any relation to a fixed principle or a scientific object. Long after the reign of David, these wise men had not distinguished the study of the stars from the dreams of astrology. The first application of astronomical principle is to the division of time, as marked out by the periodical movements of the heavenly bodies. The Hebrews combined in their Calculations a reference to the sun and to the moon, so as to avail themselves of the natural measure supplied by each. * 2 Samuel xi. 18,22. Commentaries on Laws of Moses, vol. i. p. 257. 12 102 LITERATURE AND RELIGION Their year accordingly was lunisolar, consisting of twelve lunar months, with an intercalation to make the whole agree with the annual course of the sun. The year was further distinguished as being either common or ecclesias¬ tical. The former began at the autumnal equinox, the season at which they imagined the world was created; while the latter, by Divine appointment, commenced about six months earlier, the period when their fathers were de¬ livered from the thraldom of Egypt. Their months always began with the new moon; and before the captivity they were merely named according to their order, the first, second, third, and so on down to the twelfth. But upon their return they used the terms which they found employed in Babylon, according to the following series :— Nisan*.March. Zif, or Ijar.April. Sivan.May. Tamuz.June. Ab.July. Elul.August. Ethanim, or Tisri.September. Bui, or Mareshuan.October. Chisleu..November. Tebeth.December. Sebat.January. Adar..February. One-half of these months consisted of thirty days, the other of twenty-nine, alternately, making in all three hun¬ dred and fifty-four. To supply the eleven days and six hours which were deficient, they introduced every second year an additional month of twenty-two days, and every fourth year one of twenty-three days ; by which means they approached as nearly to the true measure as any other nation had attained till the establishment of the Gregorian calendar. The Hebrews divided the space from sunrise to sunset into twelve equal parts, and hence the hours of their day varied in length according to the season of the year. For example, when the sun rose at five and set at seven, an * Nisan was sometimes called Abib, as descriptive of the state of vegetation in that month,—the earing of the corn and the blooming of the fruit-trees. OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 103 hour contained seventy minutes ; but when it rose at seven and set at five, the hour was reduced to fifty minutes, and so on in proportion to the duration of the time that the sun was above the horizon. A similar rule applied to the night, which was likewise divided into twelve equal portions. It must be acknowledged, however, that the observations now made apply rather to the acquirements of the Jews after their return from the East, than to the more simple condition in which they appear under their judges and prophets. Next to the learning of this early period, the reader of the sacred history will have his curiosity excited in regard to the time, the place, and the manner of religious worship. When the Israelites had obtained possession of the Holy Land, and distributed the territory among their tribes, the tabernacle, or ambulatory temple, was placed at Shiloh, a town in the possession of Ephraim. To that sacred re¬ treat the Hebrews were wont to travel at the three great festivals, to accomplish the service enjoined by their law. But it appears that a more ordinary kind of religious duty was performed at certain stations within the several tribes, in the intervals between the stated feasts appointed for the whole nation; having some reference, it is probable, to the periodical return of the Sabbath and new moons. For this purpose the people seem to have repaired to high places, where they might more readily perceive the lunar crescent, and give utterance to their customary expression of gratitude and joy. This species of adoration was con¬ nived at rather than authorized by the priests and Levites, who found it impossible to check altogether the propensity of the multitude to perform their worship on the high hill and under the green tree. Samuel, the prophet and judge, saw the expediency on one occasion of building an altar unto the Lord on Ramah, which is called the High Place ; and in the reign of Solomon the same practice was con¬ tinued, “ because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days.”* It is difficult to determine with precision at what epoch the Hebrews first formed those meetings or congregations * 1 Kings iii. 2. 104 LITERATURE AND RELIGION which are called synagogues,—a name afterward more fre" quently applied to the buildings in which they convened-' The ear liest allusion to them is found in the seventy-fourth Psalm, where the writer, describing the havoc committed by the Assyrians, remarks, “ they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land.” We might infer, from this statement alone* that such edifices were common before the Babylonian captivity ; but we are supplied with a more direct proof in the words of St. James, who informs us, that “ Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day.”* The duty in these places, which was confined to prayer and exposition, was performed by that section of the Levites who are usually denominated scribes; the higher office of sacrifice, the scene of which was first the tabernacle and afterward the temple, being confined to the priests, the sons of Aaron. Perhaps in remote places, where the population was small, the inhabitants met in the house of the Levite, a conjecture which derives some plausibility from an af¬ fecting incident mentioned in the second book of the Kings. When the son of the woman of Shunern died, “ she called unto her husband and said, send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God. And he said, wherefore wilt thou go 1 it is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” It is reasonable to con¬ clude, that on these days it was customary to repair to the dwelling of the holy man for religious purposes. We have already alluded to the fact, that at the first set¬ tlement of the Promised Land the tabernacle was estab¬ lished in Shiloh, a village in Ephraim, at that time the most numerous and powerful of all the tribes. The profanity or disobedience of the people in this district led to the removal of the Divine presence, the symbols of which w r ere com¬ manded to be deposited in Jerusalem. “ Go ye,” says the prophet Jeremiah, “unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first ; and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.” Hence the ori¬ gin of the feud which subsisted so long between Ephraim and Judah, and afterward between the Jews and Samaritans, in regard to the spot where Jehovah ought to be worshipped. * Acts xv. 21. OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 105 Each laid claim to a Divine appointment; neither would yield to the other or hold the slightest intercourse in their adoration of the same great Being; and the question re¬ mained as far as ever from being determined when the Ro¬ mans finally cut down all distinctions by their victorious arms. Our limits will not permit us to indulge in a minute ac¬ count of the Jewish festivals. • Still the three great insti¬ tutions at which all the males of the Hebrew nation were commanded to appear before Jehovah are so frequently mentioned in the history of the Holy Land, that we must take leave to specify their general objects. The feast of the Passover, comprehending that of unleavened bread, commemorated the signal deliverance of this wonderful people from the tyranny of Pharaoh. It was to be kept upon the fifteenth day of the first month, to last seven days, and to begin, as all their festivals began, the evening before at the going down of the sun. The reader will attend to the distinction just stated—the beginning and end of their sacred days. The celebration of the ordinary Sabbath, indeed, commenced on the eve¬ ning of Friday, and terminated at the going down of the sun on Saturday. “ From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbaths.” But the Jews, in the concluding period of their government, had innovated so far on the Mosaical institution as to prohibit the passover from being observed on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, and to appoint the cele¬ bration of it on the following day. The year in which our Lord suffered death this great annual feast fell on a Fri¬ day—beginning, as already stated, at sunset on Thursday evening—and the Redeemer accordingly, who came to fulfil all righteousness, ate the paschal supper with his disciples on the evening of Thursday. Yet the Jews, we find from the evangelical narrative, were not to observe that rite till the following evening; and hence, the early part of Friday being the preparation, they would not go into the judgment hall “ lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the passover” after the going down of the sun. For the same reason they besought Pilate that the bodies might be removed; intimating that the day which was to begin at sunset was to them a high day, being in fact not only the Sabbath, but also the paschal feast, both extremely solemn in the estimation of every true Israelite. 106 LITERATURE AND RELIGION On the ground now stated is easily explained the appa¬ rent discrepancy between the account given by St. John and that of the other Evangelists. They tell us that our Lord celebrated the passover on Thursday evening, the first day of the yearly festival; whereas the beloved disciple relates, that the next morning was still the preparation of that ordinance which was to be observed by the whole nation the ensuing night. Both statements are perfectly correct; only our Saviour adhered to the day fixed by the original institution, while the priests and lawyers followed the rule established by the Sanhedrim, which threw the festival a day after its proper time. The proper preparation indeed of every festival began only at three o’clock, called by the Hebrews the ninth hour, and continued till the close of the day, or the disap¬ pearance of the sun. It was at that hour, accordingly, that the Jews entreated the governor to take down the bodies from the cross ; holding it extremely improper that any token of a curse or capital punishment should meet their eyes while making ready to kill the paschal lamb. The Feast of Pentecost was an annual offering of grati¬ tude to Jehovah for having blessed the land with increase. It took place fifty days after the passover, and hence the origin of its name in the Greek version of our Scriptures. Another appellation was applied to it—the Feast of Weeks —for the reason assigned by the inspired lawgiver. “ Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee ; beginning to number the seven weeks from such time as thou puttest the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a free-will offering of thine hand, in the place which Jehovah shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt.”* t This was a very suitable celebration in an agricultural society, where joy is always experienced upon the gathering in of the fruits of the earth. The Hebrews were espe¬ cially desired on that happy occasion to contrast their improved condition, as freemen reaping their own lands, with the miserable state from which they had been rescued by the good providence of Jehovah. The month of May * Deut. xvi. 9—12. OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 107 ■ witnessed the harvest-home of all Palestine in the days of Moses, as well as in the present times ; and no sooner was the pleasant toil of filling their barns completed, than all the males repaired to the holy city with the appointed tribute in their hands, and the song of praise in their mouths. Jewish antiquaries inform us, that there was combined with this eucharistical service a commemoration of the wonders which took place at Mount Sinai, when the Lord conde¬ scended to pronounce his law in the ears of his people. E The history of our own religion has supplied a greater event, which at once supersedes the pious recollections of the Hebrew, and touches the heart of the Christian wor¬ shipper with the feeling of a more enlightened gratitude. The termination of the vintage was marked with a similar expression of thanksgiving, uttered by the assem¬ bled tribes in the place which had received the “Name of Jehovah the visible manifestation of his presence and power. The precept for this observance is given in the following terms:—“ On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days. And ye shall take unto you, on the first day, the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and the boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” This festival was of the most lively and animated de¬ scription, celebrated with a joyous heart, and under the canopy of heaven, in a most delightful season of the year. If more exquisite music and more graceful dances accom¬ panied the gathering in of the grapes on the banks of the Cephisus, the tabret and the viol and the harp, which sounded around the walls of the sacred metropolis, were not wanting in sweetness and gayety ; and, instead of the frantic riot of satyrs and bacchanals, the rejoicing was chastened by the solemn religious recollections with which it was associated, in a manner remarkably pleasing and picturesque.* The Feast of Trumpets had a reference to the mode * History of the Jews, vol. i. p. 99. 108 LITERATURE AND RELIGION practised by many of the ancients for announcing the commencement of seasons and epochs. The beginning of every month was made known to the inhabitants of Jerusa¬ lem by the sound of musical instruments. “ Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast-day: for this was a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob.” As the first day of the moon in Sep¬ tember was the beginning of the civil year, the festivity was greater and more solemn than on other occasions. The voice of the trumpets waxed louder than usual, and the public mind was instructed by a grdve assurance from the mouth of the proper officer, that another year was added to the age of the world. “ In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein ; but ye shall offer an offer¬ ing made by fire unto the Lord.”* We have already alluded to the jubilee which occurred periodically after the lapse of forty-nine years, or, as the Jews were wont to express it, after a week of Sabbaths. The benevolent uses of this most generous institution are known to every reader, more especially as they respected personal freedom and the restoration of lands and houses. Great care was taken by the Jewish legislator to prevent an accumulation of property in one individual, or even in one tribe. Nor was his anxiety less to prevent the alienation of land, either by sale, mortgage, or marriage. With this view we find him enacting a rule, suggested by the case of the daughters of Zelophedad, who had been allowed to become heirs to their father, of which the object was to perpetuate the possession of landed estates within the limits of each particular tribe. The heads of the chief families of Manasseh, to which community the young women belonged, came before Moses and the Princes of Israel, when, after reminding these dignitaries of the fact just mentioned, they said, “ If they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received; so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. And when * Lev. xiii. 24, 25. or THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. 109 the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe where- unto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.” To this judicious remonstrance Moses gave the following answer :—“ This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophedad ; let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. And every daughter that possess¬ ed an inheritance shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe ; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.”* Besides the anniversaries enjoined by Divine authority, the Hebrews observed several which were meant to keep alive the remembrance of certain great events recorded in their history. Of these was the Feast of Dedication men¬ tioned by St. John, referring, it has been thought, to the purification of the altar by Judas Maccabseus, after it had been profaned by Antiochus, the king of Syria. When the ceremony was performed, “ Judas and his brethren, with the whole congregation of Israel, ordained that the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their season, from year to year, by the space of eight days, from the five- and-twentieth day of the ninth month (November,) with mirth and gladness.”f The restoration of the heavenly fire in the temple, after the return from Babylon, was likewise commemorated every year. This sacred flame, which had been long extinct, was revived on the altar the day that Nehemiah performed sacri¬ fice in the new building. For this reason the Jews of Palestine wrote to those in Egypt, recommending an annual festival in remembrance of an event so important to their national worship. They thought it necessary to certify them of the fact, that their brethren also might celebrate the “ feast of the fire which was given us w r hen Neemias offered sacrifice after that he had builded the Temple and the altar.”t * Numbers xxxvi. 1-10. T John x. 22. + Maccab. iv. 36, &c. 2 Maccab. i. 18, 19. K 110 LITERATURE AND RELIGION It was likewise a custom among this singular people, that the young women “ went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, four days in a year.” A more joyous ceremony, on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar, reminded the faithful Hebrew of the triumph gained by his kindred over the cruel and perfidious Haman, who had intended to extirpate their whole race. Besides these, we find in the book of Zecharias the prophet an allusion to the “ fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth days of humiliation which probably recalled certain national calamities, such as the destruction of their city and Temple, and the era of their long captivity. In concluding this chapter on the literature and religion of the ancient Hebrews, we may remark, in regard to the system bequeathed to them by Moses, that it contains the only complete body of law which was ever given to a people at one time,—that it is the only entire body of law which has come down to our days,—that it is the only body of ancient law which still governs an existing people,—that, the nation which it respects being scattered over the face of the whole earth, it is the only body of law that is equally observed in the four quarters of the globe,—and, finally, that all the other codes of law of which history has pre¬ served any recollection, were given to communities who already had written statutes, but who wished to change their form or modify their application ; whereas, in this case, we behold a new society under the hands of a legislator who proceeds to lay its very foundations.* It may be said of the Hebrews, that they had no profane literature, no works devoted to mere amusement or relaxa¬ tion. As they admitted no image of any thing in heaven or in earth, they consequently rejected the use of all those arts called imitative, and which supply so large a portion of the more refined enjoyment characteristic of civilized nations. In like manner, they seem to have viewed in the light of sacrilege every attempt to bring down the sublime language in which they praised Jehovah and recorded his mighty works, to the more common and less hallowed pur- * Croxall’s Scripture Politics, p. 60, 85. Histoire des H£breux, par Rabelleau, tom. i. p. 405. Esprit de l’Histoire, tom. i. p. 28- f OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS. Ill poses of fictitious narrative, or of amatory, dramatic, and lyrical composition. The Jews have no epic poem to throw a lustre on the early annals of their literature. Even the Song of Songs is allowed to have a spiritual import, point¬ ing to much higher themes than Solomon and his Egyptian bride. A solemn gravity pervades all their writings, befitting a people who were charged with the religious history of the world and with the oracles of Divine truth. No smile ap¬ pears to have ever brightened the countenance of a Jewish author,—no trifling thought to have passed through his mind,—no ludicrous association to have been formed in his fancy. In describing the flood of Deucalion, the Roman poet laughs at the grotesque misery which he himself ex¬ hibits, and purposely groups together objects with the inten¬ tion of exciting in his readers the feeling of ridicule. But in no instance can we detect the faintest symptom of levity in the Hebrew penmen; their style, like their subject, is uniformly exalted, chaste, and severe ; they wrote to men concerning the things of God, in a manner suitable to such a momentous communication; and they never ceased to remember that, in all their records, whether historical or prophetic, they were employed in propagating those glad tidings by which all the families of the earth were to be blessed. There can be no stronger proof of the pure and sublime nature of Hebrew poetry than is supplied by the remarkable fact, that it has been introduced into the service of the Christian church, and found suitable for expressing those lofty sentiments with which the gospel inspires the heart of every true worshipper. No other nation of the ancient world has produced a single poem which could be used by an enlightened people in these days for the purposes of de¬ votion.* Hesiod, although much esteemed for the moral tone of his compositions, presents very few ideas indeed capable of being accommodated to the theology of an im- * The sentiment contained in the text is beautifully expressed in the following ode by Lord Byron: “The harp the monarch minstrel swept, The king of men, the loved of Heaven, Which music hallowed while she wept O’er tones her heart of hearts had given, Redoubled be her tears, its chords are riven ! 112 LITERATURE AND RELIGION, ETC. proved age. In perusing the works of the greatest writers of paganism, we are struck with a monstrous incongruity in all their conceptions of the Supreme Being. The ma¬ jesty with which the Hebrews surrounded Jehovah is entirely wanting; the attributes belonging to the great Sovereign of the universe are not appreciated; the pro¬ vidence of the Divine mind, united with benevolence, compassion, and mercy, is never found to enter into their descriptions of the eternal First Cause ; while their incessant deviations into polytheism outrage our religious feelings, and carry us back to the very rudest periods of human history. In these respects the literature of the Jews is far exalted above that of every other nation of which history has pre¬ served any traces. It must be acknowledged, that we remain ignorant of the learning and theological opinions cultivated amoncr the Persians at the time when the Jews O . were under their dominion, and cannot therefore determine the precise extent to which the dogmas of the captive tribes were affected by their intercourse with a race of men who certainly taught the doctrine of the Divine unity, and ab¬ stained from idolatrous usages. But confining our judg¬ ment even to the oldest compositions of the Hebrews, those, for example, which may be traced to the days of Moses, of Samuel, and of David, we cannot hesitate to pronounce that they are distinguished by a remarkable peculiarity, indicat¬ ing by the most unambiguous tokens, that, in all things pertaining to religious belief, the descendants of Jacob were placed under a special superintendence and direction. It softened men of iron mould, It gave them virtues not their own; No ear so dull,-no soul so cold, That felt not, fired not to the tone, Till David’s lyre grew mightier than his throne. II. lt It told the triumphs of our King, It wafted glory to our God; It made our gladden’d valleys ring, The cedars bow, the mountains nod ; Its sound aspired to heaven and there abode ! Since then, though heard on earth no more, Devotion and her daughter Love Still bid the bursting spirit soar To sounds that seem as from above, In dreams that day’s broad light cannot remove, DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 113 CHAPTER V. Description of Jerusalem. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land—Arculfus—Willibald—Bernard—Effect of Crusades—William de Bouldesell—Bertrandon de la Broquiere— State of Damascus—Breidenbach—Baumgarten—Bartholemeo George- witz—Aldersey—Sandys—Doubdan—Cheron—Thevenot—Gonzales— Morison—Maundrell—Pococke—Road from Jaffa to Jerusalem—Plain of Sharon—Rama or Ramla—Condition of the Peasantry—Vale of Jeremiah—Jerusalem—Remark of Chateaubriand—Impressions of different Travellers—Dr. Clarke—Tasso—Volney—Henniker—Mosque of Omar described—Mysterious Stone—Church of Holy Sepulchre— Ceremonies of Good Friday—Easter—The Sacred Fire—Grounds for Skepticism—Folly of the Priests—Emotion upon entering the Holy Tomb—Description of Chateaubriand—Holy Places in the City—On Mount Zion—Pool of Siloam—Fountain of the Virgin—Valley of Je- hoshaphat—Mount of Offence—The Tombs of Zechariah, of Jehosha- phat, and of Absalom—Jewish Architecture—Dr. Clarke’s Opinion on the Topography of Ancient Jerusalem—Opposed bv other Writers —The Inexpediency of such Discussions. Having described, as fully as the plan of our undertaking will admit, the constitution,.history, learning, and religion of the ancient Hebrews, we now proceed to give an account of the present condition of the country which they inhab¬ ited nearly 1500 years, interrupted only by short intervals of captivity or oppression. The connexion which Chris¬ tianity acknowledges with the people and soil of Judea has, from the earliest times, given a deep interest to travels in the Holy Land. The curiosity natural to man in respect to things which have obtained celebrity, joined to the con¬ viction, hardly less natural, that there is a certain merit in enduring privation and fatigue for the sake of religion, has in every age induced pilgrims to visit the scenes where our Divine Faith was originally established, and to communi¬ cate to their contemporaries the result of their investiga¬ tions. It is to be regretted, indeed, that some of them from ignorance, and others from a feeling of the weakest bigotry, have omitted to notice those very objects which are esteemed the most interesting to the general reader; thinking it their 114 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM- duty, as one of them expresses it, to “ quench all spirit of vain curiosity, lest they should return without any benefit to their souls.” About the year 705, Jerusalem and its holy places w'ere visited by Arculfus, from whose report Adamnan composed a narrative, which was received with considerable appro¬ bation. He describes the Temple on Mount-Calvary with some minuteness, mentioning its twelve pillars and eight gates. But his attention was more particularly attracted by relics, those objects which all Jerusalem flocked to han¬ dle and to kiss with the greatest reverence. He saw the cup used at the Last Supper,—the sponge on which the vinegar was poured,—the lance which pierced the side of our Lord,—the cloth in which he was wrapped,—also another cloth woven by the Virgin Mary, whereon were represented the figures of the Saviour and of the Twelve Apostles. Eighty years later, Willibald, a Saxon, undertook the same journey, influenced by similar motives. From his infancy he had been distinguished by a sage and pious dis¬ position ; and, on emerging from boyhood, he was seized with an anxious desire to “ try the unknown ways of pere¬ grination—to pass over the huge wastes of ocean to the ends of the earth.” To this erratic propensity he owed all the fame which a place in the Romish calendar and the authorship of an indifferent book can confer. In Jerusalem he saw all that Arculfus saw, and nothing more ; but he had previously visited the Tomb of the Seven Sleepers, and the cave in which St. John wrote the Apocalypse. Bernard proceeded to Palestine in the year 878. He travelled first in Egypt, and from thence made his way across the Desert, the heat of which recalled vividly to his imagination the sloping hills of Campania when covered with snow. At Alexandria he was subjected to tribute by the avaricious governor, who paid no regard to the written orders of the sultan. The treatment which he received at Cairo was still more distressing. He was thrown into prison, and in this extremity he asked counsel of God; whereupon it was miraculously revealed to him, that thir¬ teen denari, such as he had presented to the other Mussul¬ man, would produce here an equally favourable result. The celestial origin of this advice was proved by its com- DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 115 plete success. The pilgrim was not only liberated, but obtained letters from the propitiated ruler which saved him from all farther exaction. The Crusades threw open the holy places to the eyes of all Europe ; and accordingly, so long as a Christian king swayed the sceptre in the capital of Judea, the merit of individual pilgrimage was greatly diminished. But no sooner had the warlike Saracens recovered possession of Jerusalem than the wonted difficulty and danger returned ; and, as might be expected, the interest attached to the sacred buildings, which the “ infidel dogs” were no longer worthy to behold, revived in greater vigour than formerly. In 1331, William de Bouldesell adventured on an expedi¬ tion into Arabia and Palestine, of which some account has been published. . In the monastery of St. Catharine, at the base of Mount Sinai, he was hospitably received by the monks, who showed him the bones of their patron reposing in a tomb, which, however, they appear not to have treated with much respect. By means of hard beating, we are told, they brought out from these remains of mortality a small portion of blood, which they presented to the pilgrim as a gift of singular value. A circumstance which particularly astonished him would probably have produced no surprise in a less believing mind ; the blood, it seems, “ had not the appearance of real blood, but rather of some thick oily sub¬ stance nevertheless, the miracle was regarded by him as one of the greatest that had ever been witnessed in this world. A hundred years afterward Bertrandon de la Broquiere sailed from Venice to Jaffa, where, according to the statis¬ tics of contrite pilgrims, the “ pardons of the Holy Land begin.” At Jerusalem he found the Christians reduced to a state of the most cruel thraldom. Such of them as en¬ gaged in trade were locked up in their shops every night by the Saracens, who opened the doors in the morning at such an hour as seemed to them most proper or convenient. At Damascus they were treated with equal severity. The first two persons whom he met in this city knocked him down,—an injury which he dared not resent for fear of im¬ mediately losing his life. About thirty years before the period of his visit, the destroying arms of Timur had laid a large portion of the Syrian capital in ruins, though the 116 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. population had again increased to nearly one hundred thousand. During his stay he witnessed the arrival of a caravan consisting of more than three thousand camels. Its entry employed two days and two nights; the Koran wrapped in silk being carried in front on the back of a camel richly adorned with the same costly material. This part of the procession was surrounded by a number of persons brandishing naked swords, and playing on all sorts of mu¬ sical instruments. The governor, with all the inhabitants, went out to meet the holy cavalcade, and to do homage to the sacred ensign, which at once proclaimed their faith, and announced the object of the pious mission thus success¬ fully concluded. Broquiere found the greatest respect paid to every one who had performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, and was gravely assured by an eminent Moulah, that no such person could ever incur the hazard of everlasting damnation. We merely mention the names of Breidenbach of Mentz, and of Martin Baumgarten, who in the beginning of the sixteenth century achieved a journey into the Holy Land. The latter of these, while passing through Egypt, was most barbarously treated by the Saracen boys, who pelted him with dirt, brickbats, stones, and rotten fruit. At Heb¬ ron he was shown the field “ where it is said, or at least guessed, that Adam was made but the reddish earth of which it is composed is now used in the manufacture of prayer-beads. The work of Bartholemeo Georgewitz, who travelled in the same century, gives a melancholy account of the mise¬ ries endured by such Christians as were carried into slavery by the Turks in those evil days. The armies of that nation were followed by slave-dealers supplied with chains, by means of which fifty or sixty were bound in a row together, leaving only two feet between to enable them to walk. The hands were manacled during the day, and at night the feet also. The sufferings inflicted upon men of rank, and those belonging to the learned professions, were almost beyond description ; extending not only to the lowest labours of the field, but even to the work of oxen, being sometimes yoked like these animals in the plough. Owing to the great rivers and arms of the sea, it was extremely difficult for those who were sent into Asia to effect their escape ; DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 117 ■whence, in many cases, the horrors of captivity had no other limits than those of the natural life. No wonder that Bar- tholemeo recommends to every one visiting those parts to make his will, “ like one going not to the earthly, but to the heavenly Jerusalem.” Laurence Aldersey, who set out from London in 1581, was the first Protestant who encountered the perils of a voyage to Syria. In the Levant a Turkish galley hove in sight, and caused great alarm. The master, “ being a wise fellow, began to devise how to escape the danger ; but, while both he and all of us were in our dumps, God sent us a merrie gale of wind.” As they approached Candia a violent storm came on, and the mariners began to reproach the Englishman as the cause, “ and saide I was no good Christian, and wished I were in the middest of the sea, say- ifig that they and the shippe were the worse for me.” He replied, “ I thinke myself the worst creature in the worlde, and do you consider yourselves also.” These remonstrances were followed by a long sermon, the tenor of which was, “ that they were not all good Christians, else it were not possible for them to have such weather.” A gentleman on board informed Aldersey, that the suspicions respecting him originated in his refusal to join in the prayers to the Virgin Mary,—a charge which he parried by remarking that “ they who praied to so many goe a wrong way to worke.” The friars, resolving to bring the matter to an issue, sent round the image of Our Lady to kiss. On its approach the good Protestant endeavoured to avoid it by going another way ; but the bearer “ fetched his course about,” and presented it. The proffered salutation being then positively rejected, the affair might have become serious, had not two of the more respectable monks interceded in his behalf, and enforced a more charitable procedure. Of the people of Cyprus he remarks, that they “ be very rude, and like beasts, and no better : they eat their meat sitting upon the ground, with their legs acrosse like tailors.” On the 8th of August they arrived at Joppa, but did not till the next day receive permission to land from the great pasha, “ who sate upon a hill to see us sent away.” Al¬ dersey had mounted before the rest, which greatly displeased his highness, who sent a servant to pull him from the saddle and beat him; “ whereupon I made a long legge, saving, L 2 118 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. Grand mercye, seignor.” This timely submission seems to have secured forgiveness; and accordingly, “ being horsed upon little asses,” they commenced their journey towards Jerusalem. Rama he describes as so “ ruinated, that he took it to be rather a heape of stones than a towne finding no house to receive them but such a one as they were compelled to enter by creeping on their knees. The party were exposed to the usual violence and extortion of the Arabs ; “ they that should have rescued us stood still, and dm*st doe nothing, which was to our cost.” On reach¬ ing the holy city they knelt down and gave thanks ; after which they were obliged to enter the gate on foot, no Chris¬ tian at that period being allowed to appear within the walls mounted. The superior of the convent received the pilgrims courteously into his humble establishment, where Aldersey tells us, “ they were dieted of free cost, and fared reasonable well.”* The beginning of the seventeenth century witnessed a higher order of travellers, who, from such a mixture of mo¬ tives as might actuate either a pilgrim or an antiquary, undertook the perilous tour of the Holy Land. Among these, one of the most distinguished was George Sandys, who commenced his peregrinations in the year 1610. He was succeeded by Doubdan, Cheron, Thevenot, Gonzales, Morison, Maundrell, and Pococke, all of whom have con¬ tributed many valuable materials towards a complete know¬ ledge of the localities, government, and actual condition of modern Palestine. In our own days the number of works on these important subjects has increased greatly, present¬ ing to the historian of the Turkish provinces in Asia a nearer and more minute view of society than could be ob¬ tained by the earlier travellers, who, instead of yielding to the characteristic bigotry of Moslem, usually opposed to it a prejudice not less determined and uncharitable. We must not hazard a catalogue of the enterprising authors to w r hom the European public are indebted for the information now enjoyed by every class of readers, in regard to the most interesting of all ancient kingdoms,—the country inhabited by Israel and Judah. In the description which we are * Murray’s Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in Asia, vol. iil. p. 13a DESCRIPTION OP JERUSALEM. 119 about to give of the principal towns, the buildings, the an¬ tiquities, the manners, the opinions, and the religious forms which meet the observation of the intelligent tourist in the Land of Canaan, we shall select the most striking facts from writers of all nations and sects, making no distinction but such as shall be dictated by a respect for the learning, the candour, and the opportunities which are recorded in their several volumes. Palestine is usually approached, either from the sea at the port of JafTa (the ancient Joppa), or from Egypt, by way of the intervening desert. In both cases, the principal otfject is to obtain a safe and easy route to the capital, which, even at the present hour, cannot be reached without much danger, unless under the special protection of the na¬ tive authorities. The power of Mohammed Ali, it is true, extends almost to the very walls of Gaza ; and wherever his government is acknowledged no violence can be committed with impunity on European travellers. But the Syrian pashas, equally deficient in inclination and vigour, still per¬ mit the grossest extortion, and sometimes connive at the most savage atrocities. Besides, there is a class of lawless Arabs who scour the borders of the wilderness, holding at defiance all the restrictions which a civilized people impose or respect. Sir Frederick Henniker, who followed the un¬ wonted track which leads from Mount Sinai to the southern shore of the Bead Sea, narrowly escaped with his life, after having been severely wounded and repeatedly robbed by one of the most savage hordes of Bedouins. The history of the crusades will draw our attention to Jaffa more minutely than would be suitable at the present stage of our narrative ; we shall therefore proceed on the usual route to Jerusalem, collecting as we go along such notices as may prove interesting to the reader. At a short distance from this celebrated port the pilgrim enters the plain of Sharon, celebrated in Scripture for its beautiful roses. The monk Neret informs us, that in his time it was covered with tulips, the variety of whose colours formed a lovely parterre. At present, the eye of the traveller is de¬ lighted with a profusion of roses white and red, the nar¬ cissus, the white and orange lily, the carnation, and a highly-fragrant species of everlasting-flower. This plain stretches along the coast from Gaza in the south to Mount 120 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. Carmel on the north, being bounded towards the east by the hills of Judea and Samaria. The whole of it is not upon the same level; it consists of four platforms separated from each other by a wall of naked stones. The soil is composed of a very fine sand, which, though mixed with gravel, appears extremely fertile ; but owing to the desolat¬ ing spirit of Mohammedan despotism, nothing is seen in some of the richest fields except thistles and withered grass. Here and there, indeed, are scanty plantations of cotton, with a few patches of doura, barley, and wheat. The vil¬ lages, which are commonly surrounded with olive-trees and sycamores, are for the most part in ruins; exhibiting a melan¬ choly proof that under a bad government even the bounty of Heaven ceases to be a blessing. The path by which the hilly barrier is penetrated is diffi¬ cult, and in some places dangerous. But before you reach it, turning towards the east, you perceive Rama, or Ramla, the ancient Arimathea, distinguished by its charming situa¬ tion, and well known as the residence of a Christian com¬ munity. The convent, it is true, had been plundered five years before it was visited by Chateaubriand; and it was not without the most urgent solicitation that the friars were permitted to repair their building, as if it were a maxim I among the Turks, who by their domination continue to afflict and disgrace the finest parts of Palestine, that the progress of ruin and decay should never be arrested. Yolney tells us, that when he was at Ramla a commander resided there in a serai, the walls and floors of which were on the point of tumbling down. He asked one of the inferior offi¬ cers why his master did not at least pay some attention to his own apartment. The reply was, “ If another shall ob¬ tain his place next year, who will repay the expense ?” In those days the aga maintained about one hundred horsemen and as many African soldiers, who were lodged in an old Christian church, the nave of which was converted into a stable, as also in an ancient khan, which was dis¬ puted with them by the scorpions. The adjacent country is planted with lofty olives, the greatest part of w hich are as large as the walnut-trees of France, though they are daily perishing through age and the ravages of contending fac¬ tions. When a peasant is disposed to take revenge on his enemy, he goes by night and cuts his trees close to the DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 121 ground, when the wound, which he carefully covers from the sight, drains off the sap like an issue. Amid these planta¬ tions are seen at every step dry wells, cisterns fallen in, and immense vaulted reservoirs, which prove that in ancient times this town must have been upwards of four miles in circumference. At present it does not contain more than a hundred miserable families. The houses are only so many huts, sometimes detached, and sometimes ranged in the form of cells round a court, enclosed by a mud wall. In winter, the inhabitants and their cattle may be said to live together; the part of the building allotted to themselves being raised only two feet above that in which they lodge their beasts. The peasants are by this means kept warm without burning wood,—a species of economy indispensable in a country absolutely destitute of fuel. As to the fire necessary for culinary purposes, they make it, as was the practice in the days of Ezekiel the prophet, of dung kneaded into cakes, which they dry in the sun, exposing them to its rays on the walls of their huts. In summer, their lodging is more airy; but all their furniture consists of a single mat and a pitcher for carrying water. The immediate neighbourhood of the village is sown at the proper season with grain and water¬ melons ; all the rest is a desert, and abandoned to the Bedouin Arabs, who feed their flocks on it. There are fre¬ quent remains of towers, dungeons, and even of castles with ramparts and ditches, in some of which are a few Barbary soldiers with nothing but a shirt and a musket. These ruins, however, are more commonly inhabited by owls, jackals, and scorpions.* The only remarkable antiquity at Ramla is the minaret of a decayed mosque, which, by an Arabic inscription, appears to have been built by the Sultan of Egypt. From the summit, which is very lofty, the eye follows the whole chain of mountains, beginning at Nablous, and skirting the extremity of the plain till it loses itself in the south. A ride of two hours brings the traveller to the verge of the mountains, where the road opens through a rugged ravine, and is formed in the dry channel of a torrent. A scene of marked solitude and desolation surrounds his steps * Chateaubriand, Itineraire, tom. i. p. 380. Volney’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 335. L 122 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. g,s he pursues his journey in what is so simply described in the gospel as the “hill country of Judea.” He finds him¬ self amid a labyrinth of mountains, of a conical figure, all nearly alike, and connected with each other at their base. A naked rock presents strata or beds resembling the seats of a Roman amphitheatre, or the walls which support the vineyards in the valleys of Savoy. Every recess is filled with dwarf oaks, box, and rose-laurels. From the bottom of the ravines olive-trees rear their heads, sometimes form¬ ing continuous woods on the sides of the hills. On reach¬ ing the most elevated summit of this chain, he looks down towards the south-west on the beautiful Valley of Sharon, bounded by the Great Sea; before him opens the Vale of St. Jeremiah; and in the same direction, on the top of a rock, appears in the distance an ancient fortress called the Castle of the Maccabees. It is conjectured that the author of the Lamentations came into the world in the village which has retained his name amid these mountains ; so much is certain, at least, that the melancholy of this deso¬ late scene appears to pervade the compositions of the pro¬ phet of sorrows. The unvarying manners of the East exhibit to the view of the stranger, at the present day, the same picture of rural innocence and simplicity which might have met the eye of the mother of the Redeemer when she came into this pastoral country to salute her cousin Elizabeth. Herds of goats with pendant ears, sheep with large tails, and asses which remind you, by their beauty, of the onagra of Scrip¬ ture, issue from the villages at the dawn of day. Arab women are seen bringing grapes to dry in the vineyards; others with their faces veiled, carrying pitchers of water on their heads, like the daughters of Midian. From the Valley of Jeremiah the traveller towards Zion descends into that which bears the name of Turpentine, and is deeper and narrower than the other. Here are ob¬ served some vineyards, and a few patches of doura. He next arrives at the brook where the youthful David picked up the five smooth stones, with one of which he slew the gigantic Goliath. Having crossed the stream, he perceives the village of Heriet-Lefta on the bank of another dry channel, which resembles a dusty road. El Bird appears in the distance on the summit of a lofty hill on the way to DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 123 Nablous, the Shechem of the Israelites and the Neapolis of the Herods. He now pursues his course through a desert, where wild fig-trees thinly scattered wave their em¬ browned leaves in the southern breeze. The ground, which had hitherto exhibited some verdure, becomes altogether bare ; the sides of the mountains, expanding themselves, assume at once an appearance of greater grandeur and sterility. Presently all vegetation ceases; even the very mosses disappear. The confused amphitheatre of the mountains is tinged with a red and vivid colour. In this dreary region he keeps ascending a whole hour to gain an elevated hill which he sees before him ; after which he pro¬ ceeds during an equal space across a naked plain strewed with loose stones. All at once, at the extremity of this plain, he perceives a line of Gothic walls flanked with square towers, and the tops of a few buildings peeping above them;—he beholds Jerusalem, once the joy of the whole earth ! “ I can now account,” says M. Chateaubriand, “ for the surprise expressed by the crusaders and pilgrims at the first sight of Jerusalem, according to the reports of histo¬ rians and travellers. I can affirm that whoever has, like me, had the patience to read nearly two hundred modern accounts of the Holy Land, the Rabbinical compilations, and the passages in the ancient writers respecting Judea, still knows nothing at all about it. I paused with my eyes fixed on Jerusalem, measuring the height of its walls, re¬ viewing at once all the recollections of history from the patriarch Abraham to Godfrey of Bouillon, reflecting on the total change accomplished in the world by the mission of the Son of Man, and in vain seeking that Temple, not one stone of which is left upon another. Were I to live a thousand years, never should I forget that desert, which yet seems to be pervaded by the greatness of Jehovah and the terrors of death.”* On this occasion a camp of Turkish horse, with all the accompaniments of oriental pomp, was pitched under the walls. The tents in general were covered with black lamb¬ skins, while those belonging to persons of distinction were formed of striped cloth. The horses, saddled and bridled, * Itin^raire, tom. ii. p. 385. 124 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. were fastened to stakes. There were four pieces of horse- artillery, well mounted on carriages, which appeared to be of English manufacture. These fierce soldiers are stationed near the capital, as well for the purpose of checking the savage Bedouins, who acknowledge no master, as for en¬ forcing the tribute demanded from all strangers who enter the holy city. The recollections of the Mussulman, no less than those of the Christian, inspire a reverential feeling for the town in which David dwelt ; and hence, although the European pilgrim be oppressed by the present laws of Palestine, his motives are usually respected, and even praised. The reader who has perused with attention some of the more recent works on Palestine must have been struck with the diversity, and even the apparent contradiction, which prevail in their descriptions of Jerusalem. Accord¬ ing to one, the magnificence of its buildings rivals the most splendid edifices of modern times, w hile another could perceive nothing but filth and ruins, surmounted by a gaudy mosque and a few glittering minarets. The greater num¬ ber, it must be acknowledged, have drawn from their own imagination the tints in which they have been pleased to exhibit the metropolis of Judea; trusting more to the im¬ pressions conveyed by the brilliant delineations of poetry, than to a minute inspection of w r hat they might have seen with their own eyes. Dr. Clarke, for example, has allowed his pen to be guided by the ardent muse of Tasso, rather than by the cool obser¬ vation of an unbiassed traveller. “ No sensation of fatigue or heat,” says he, “could counterbalance the eagerness and zeal which animated all our party in the approach to Jeru¬ salem ; every individual pressed forward, hoping first to announce the joyful intelligence of its appearance. We passed some insignificant ruins, either of ancient buildings or of modern villages ; but had they been of more import¬ ance they w r ould have excited little notice at the time, so earnestly bent was every mind towards the main object of interest and curiosity. At length, after about two hours had been passed in this state of anxiety and suspense, ascending a hill towards the south—Hagiopolis! exclaimed a Greek in the van of our cavalcade; and, instantly throw¬ ing himself from his horse, was seen upon his knees, bare* DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 127 headed, facing the prospect he surveyed. Suddenly the sight burst upon us all. The effect produced was that of total silence throughout the whole company. Many of our party, by an immediate impulse, took off their hats as if entering a church, without being sensible of so doing. The Greeks and Catholics shed torrents of tears ; and, presently beginning to cross themselves with unfeigned devotion,, asked if they might be permitted to take off the covering from their feet, and proceed barefooted to the Holy Sepul¬ chre. We had not been prepared for the grandeur of the spectacle which the city alone exhibited. Instead of a wretched and ruined towni by some described as the deso¬ lated remnant of Jerusalem, we beheld, as it were, a flourish¬ ing and stately metropolis, presenting a magnificent assem¬ blage of domes, towers, palaces, churches, and monasteries; all of which, glittering in the sun’s rays, shone with incon¬ ceivable splendour. As we drew nearer, our whole atten¬ tion was engrossed by its noble and interesting appear¬ ance.”* The effect produced upon the Christian army when they obtained the first view of the holy city is beautifully de¬ scribed by the Italian poet, thereby supplying, it may be suspected, the model which has been so faithfully copied by the English tourist. We avail ourselves of the transla¬ tion of Hoole. *- “Now from the golden East the zephyrs borne, Proclaimed with balmy gales the approach of morn; And fair Aurora decked her radiant head With roses cropp’d from Eden’s flowery bed; When from the sounding camp was heard afar The noise of troops preparing for the war: To this succeed the trumpet’s loud alarms, And rouse, with shriller notes, the host to arms. “ With holy zeal their swelling hearts abound, And their wing’d footsteps scarcely print the ground. When now the sun ascends the ethereal way, And strikes the dusty field with warmer ray; Behold, Jerusalem in prospect lies! Behold, Jerusalem salutes their eyes ! At once a thousand tongues repeat the name, And hail Jerusalem with loud acclaim! * Travels, vol. iv. p. 289. 128 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. “At first, transported with the pleasing sight, Each Christian bosom glowed with full delight; But deep contrition soon their joy suppressed, And holy sorrow saddened every breast; Scarce dare their eyes the city walls survey, Where clothed in flesh their dear Redeemer lay, Whose sacred earth did once their Lord enclose, And when triumphant from the grave he rose ! “Each faltering tongue imperfect speech supplies; Each labouring bosom heaves with frequent sighs. Each took the example as their chieftains led. With naked feet the hallowed soil they tread : Each throws his martial ornaments aside, The crested helmets with their plumy pride: To humble thoughts their lofty hearts they bend, And down their cheeks the pious tears descend.”* No city assuredly presents a more striking example of the vicissitude of human affairs than the capital of the Jews. When we behold its walls levelled, its ditches filled up, and all its buildings embarrassed with ruins, we scarcely can be¬ lieve we view that celebrated metropolis which formerly withstood the efforts of the most powerful empires, and for a time resisted the arms of Rome itself; though, by a whim¬ sical change of fortune, its mouldering edifices now receive her homage and reverence. “In a word,” says Yolney, “we with difficulty recognise Jerusalem.” Still more are we astonished at its ancient greatness, when we consider its situation, amid a rugged soil, destitute of water, and surrounded by the dry channels of torrents and steep hills. Remote from every great road, it seems not to have been calculated either for a considerable mart of commerce, or for the centre of a great consumption. It overcame, how¬ ever, every obstacle, and may be adduced as a proof of what patriotism and religion may effect in the hands of a good government, or when favoured by happy circumstances from without. The same principles, in some degree modi¬ fied, still preserve to this city its feeble existence. The * The original presents one of the most animated and musical pas sages in the Gerusalemme Liberata:— “ Ma quando il sol gli aridi campi fiede Con raggi assai fervente, a in alto sorge, Ecco apparir Gerusalem si vede ! Ecco additar Gerusalem si scorge! Ecco da mille voci unitamente, Gerusalemme salutar si sente '."—Canto ill. stan. v. 2. DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 129 renown of its miracles, perpetuated in the East, invites and retains a considerable number of inhabitants within its walls.* As a contrast to the description of Dr. Clarke, the reader may not be displeased to peruse the notes of Sir Frederick Henniker on the same subject:—“Jerusalem is called, even by the Mohammedans, the Blessed City,—the streets of it are narrow and deserted,—the houses dirty and ragged,— the shops few and forsaken,—and throughout the whole there is not one symptom of either commerce, comfort, or happiness. Is this the city that men call the Perfection of Beauty, the Joy of the whole Earth 1 —The town, which appears to me not worth possession, even without the trouble of conquest, is walled entirely round, is about a mile in length and half a mile in width, so that its circum¬ ference may be estimated at three miles. In three quarters of an hour I performed the circuit. It would be difficult to conceive how it could ever have been larger than it now is ; for, independent of the ravines, the four outsides of the city are marked by the brook of Siloam, by a burial-place at either end, and by the Hill of Calvary; and the Hill of Calvary is now within the town, so that it was formerly smaller than it is at present. The best view of it is from the Mount of Olives; it commands the exact shape, and nearly every particular, namely, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Convent, the Mosque of Omar, St. Stephen’s Gate, the round-topped houses, and the barren vacancies of the city. The Mosque of Omar is the St. Peter’s of Turkey. The building itself has a light, pagoda appearance ; the garden in which it stands occupies a con¬ siderable part of the city, and contrasted with the surround¬ ing desert is beautiful; but it is forbidden ground, and Jew or Christian entering within its precincts must, if discovered, forfeit either his religion or his life.”J- The observation made by Sir Frederick, in regard to the difficulty and danger of entering the Mosque of Omar, has been verified on more than one occasion. But the obstacles, apparently insurmountable, were overcome by Dr. Richard¬ son, who, in return for the successful exercise of his pro- * Travels in Egypt and Syria, vol. ii. p. 303. f Notes on Egypt, &c. p. 274. 130 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. fessional skill, was rewarded by a clandestine visit to the shrine of the Mussulman saint. It will appear, from the few details which we are about to select from his volume, that the veil of mystery does not conceal anything really worth seeing. Like Pompey in the Temple, the Christian visiter, whose presence, in like manner, profanes the holy place, feels no other surprise than is occasioned by the fact, that men have agreed to excite curiosity by prohibiting an imaginary gratification. “ On our arrival at the door, a gentle knock brought up the sacristan, who, apprized of our intention, was within waiting to receive us. He demanded, rather sternly, who we were, and was answered by my black conductor in tones no less consequential than his own. The door immediately edged up, to prevent as much as possible the light from shining out, and we squeezed ourselves in with a gentle and noiseless step, although there was no person near who could be alarmed by the loudest sound of our bare feet upon the marble floor. The door was no sooner shut than the sacristan, taking a couple of candles in his hand, showed us all over the interior of the building, pointing, in the pride of his heart, to the elegant marble walls, the beauti¬ fully-gilded ceiling, the well where the true worshippers drink and wash,—with which we also blessed our palates and moistened our beards,—the paltry reading-desk with the ancient Koran, the handsome columns, and the green stone with the wonderful nails. As soon as we had com¬ pleted this circuit, pulling a key from his girdle, he unlocked the door of the railing that separates the outer from the inner part of the mosque, which, with an elevation of two or three steps, led us into the sacred recess. Here he pointed out the patches of mosaic in the floor, the round flat stone which the Prophet carried on his arm in battle, directed us to introduce our hand through the hole in the wooden box, to feel the print of the Prophet’s foot, and, through the posts of the wooden rail, to feel as well as to see the marks of the angel Gabriel’s fingers (into which T carefully put my own) in the sacred stone that occupies the centre of the mosque, and from which it derives the name of Sakhara or Locked-up, and over which is sus¬ pended a fine cloth of green and red satin. It was so covered with dust that, but for the information of my guide, DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 131 I should not have been able to tell the composing colours. Finally, he pointed to the door that leads into the small cavern below, of which he had not the key. “ I looked up to the interior of the dome ; but, there being few lamps burning, the light was not sufficient to show me any of its beauty farther than a general glance. The col¬ umns and curiosities were counted over again and again, the arches were specially examined and enumerated, to be sure that I had not missed nor forgotten any of them. Writing would have been an ungracious behaviour, calcu¬ lated to excite a thousand suspicions, that next day would have gone to swell the current of the city gossip, to the prejudice both of myself and of my friend. Having ex¬ amined the adytum, we once more touched the footstep of the Prophet and the finger-prints of the angel Gabriel, and descended the steps, over which the door was immediately secured.”* Dr. Richardson was afterward permitted to visit this splendid mosque during the day, when he found that the dimensions of the enclosure in which it stands is about fif¬ teen hundred feet in length, and a thousand in breadth. In the sacred retirement of this charming spot, the followers of the Prophet delight to saunter, or repose, as in the ely- sium of their devotions ; and, arrayed in the gorgeous cos¬ tume of the East, add much to the interest, the beauty, and solemn stillness of the scene, from which they seem loath to retire. The Sakhara itself is a regular octagon of about sixty feet a side, and is entered by four spacious doors, each of which is adorned with a porch projecting from the line of the building and rising considerably on the wall. All the sides of it are paneled. The centre-stone of one panel is square, of another it is octagonal, and thus they alternate all round; the sides of each running down the angles like a plain pilaster, and giving an appearance as if the whole were set in a frame. The marble is white, with a con¬ siderable tinge of blue ; square pieces of the latter colour being introduced in different places, so as to confer upon the exterior a very pleasing effect. The upper story is faced with small tiles painted of different colours, white, yellow, green, and blue ; some of them are also covered * Travels along the Mediterranean and parts adjacent, vol. ii. p. 285. 132 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. with sentences from the Koran. At this height there are seven elegant windows on each side, except where the porches interfere, and then there are only six ; the general appearance of the edifice being extremely light and beauti¬ ful, more especially from the mixture of the soft colours above and the delicate tints of the marble in the main body of the structure. The interior fully corresponds to the magnificence and beauty just described. There are twenty-four marble co¬ lumns, placed parallel to the eight sides of the building, three opposite to each side, so as still to preserve the octago¬ nal form. Eight of them are large plain pillars belong¬ ing to no particular order of architecture, and all standing opposite to the eight entering angles of the edifice, and deeply indented on the inner side ; so that they furnish an acute termination to the octagonal lines within. Between every two of the square columns there are two of a round figure, well proportioned, and resting on a base. They are from eighteen to twenty feet high, with a sort of Corinthian capital. A large square plinth of marble extends from the top of the one column to the other, and above it there is constructed a number of arches all round, which support the inner end of the roof or ceiling, the outer end resting upon the walls of the building. This is composed of wood, or plaster, highly ornamented with a species of carving, and richly gilt. , But this gorgeous temple owes both its name and exist¬ ence to a large irregular mass of stone, having an oblong shape, which still occupies the centre of the mosque. It is a portion of the calcareous rock on which the city is built, and which prevails in the other mountains in the neighbour¬ hood of Jerusalem, having very much the appearance of being a part of the bed that might have been left when the foundation of the building was levelled. It rises highest towards the south-west corner, and falls abruptly at the end, where are the prints of the Prophet’s foot. It is irregular on the upper surface, the same as when it was broken from the quarry. It is enclosed all round with a wooden rail about four feet high, and which in every place is nearly in contact with the stone. We have already mentioned that there is a cover or canopy of variously-coloured silk sus¬ pended over it; and nothing, we are assured can be held DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 133 in higher veneration than the Hadjr-el-sakhara, the Lockcd- up Stone.* But this fragment of limestone has more weighty preten¬ sions to the veneration of the Moslem than the mere print of the angel Gabriel’s fingers or of the Prophet’s foot; for, like the Palladium of ancient Troy, it is said to have fallen from heaven on this very spot, at the time when prophecy commenced in Jerusalem. It was employed as a seat by the venerable men to whom that gift was communicated ; and, as long as the spirit of vaticination continued to enlighten their minds, the slab remained steady for their accommoda¬ tion. But no sooner was the power of prophecy with¬ drawn, and the persecuted seers compelled to flee for safety to other lands, than the stone is declared to have manifested the profoundest sympathy in their fate, and even to have resolved to accompany them in their flight. On this occa¬ sion Gabriel the archangel interposed his authority, and prevented the departure of the prophetical chair. He grasped it with his mighty hand, and nailed it to its rocky bed till the arrival of Mohammed, who, horsed on the light¬ ning’s wing, flew thither from Mecca, joined the society of seventy thousand ministering spirits, and, having offered up his devotions to the throne of God, fixed the stone immove- ably in this holy site, around which the Caliph Omar erected his magnificent mosque. Within the same enclosure there is another house of prayer called El Aksa, which, though a fine building, is greatly inferior to El Sakhara. Between the two there is a beautiful fountain, which takes its name from a clump of orange-trees overshadowing its water. The mosque is composed of seven naves supported by pillars and columns, and at the head of the centre nave is a fine cupola. Two others branch off at right angles to the principal body of the edifice. Before it is a portico of seven arches in front and one in depth, supported by square pillars. Ali Bey, who in his character of Mussulman was permitted to examine the holy fane at leisure, describes the great central nave of the Aksa as about 162 feet long and 32 broad. It is sup¬ ported on each side by seven arches lightly pointed, resting upon cylindrical pillars, in the form of columns, but with- * Richardson’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 301. M 134 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. out any architectural proportion, with foliaged capitals which do not belong to any order. The fourth pillar to the right of the entrance is octangular, and enormously thick. It is called the pillar of Sidi Omar. The walls rise 13 feet above the tops of the arches, and contain two rows of twenty-one windows each. The roof is of timber, without being vaulted. The cupola is supported by four large arches resting upon four square pillars. It is spherical, with two rows of windows, and is ornamented with arabesque paintings and gilding of exquisite beauty. Its diameter is equal to that of the central nave. M. Burckhardt describes the Holy House in Jerusalem as a union of several buildings erected at different periods of Islamism, bearing upon them demonstrative proofs of the prevailing taste of the various ages in which they were suc¬ cessively constructed. It is not precisely one mosque, but a group of mosques. Its name in Arabic, El Haram, strictly signifies a temple or place consecrated by the pecu¬ liar presence of the Divinity. The profane and the infidel are forbidden to enter it. The Mussulman religion acknow¬ ledges but two temples, those, namely, of Mecca and of Jerusalem : both are called El Haram; both are equally prohibited by law to Christians, Jews, and every other per¬ son who is not a believer in the Prophet. The mosques, on the other hand, are considered merely as places of meet¬ ing for certain acts of worship, and are not held so espe¬ cially consecrated as to demand the total exclusion of all who do not profess the true faith. Entrance into them is not denied to the unbeliever by any statute of the Moham¬ medan law; and hence it is not uncommon for Christians at Constantinople to receive from the government a written order to visit even the Mosque of St. Sophia. But the sultan himself could not grant permission to an infidel either to pass into the territory of Mecca, or to enter the Temple of Jerusalem. A firman granting such privileges would be regarded as a most horrid sacrilege : it would not be respected by the people ; and the favoured object would inevitably become the victim of his own imprudent boldness.* In the interior of the rock whereon the Sakhara stands there is a cave, into which Dr. Richardson could not obtain * Travels of Ali Bey, vol. ii. p. 214. DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 135 admittance. He was four times in the mosque, and went twice thither under the express assurance that its doors should be thrown open to him. But when he arrived the key was always wanting, and when the keeper of it was sought he could never be found. Ali Bey, who encoun¬ tered no obstacle, reveals all the mystery of this subterra¬ nean mansion. It is a room forming an irregular square of about eighteen feet surface, and eight feet high in the middle. The roof is that of a natural vault, quite irregular. In descending the staircase, there is upon the right-hand, near the bottom, a little tablet of marble, bearing the name of El Makam Souleman, the Place of Solomon. A similar one upon the left is named El Makam Daoud, the Place of David. A cavity or niche on the south-west side of the rock is called El Makam Ibrahim, the Place of Abraham. A similar concave step at the north-west angle is described as El Makmn Djibrila, the place of Gabriel; and a sort of stone table at the north-east angle is denominated El Makam el Hoder, the Place of Elias. In the roof of the apart¬ ment, exactly in the middle, there' is an aperture almost cylindrical through the whole thickness of the rock, about three feet in diameter. This is the Place of the Prophet. M. Burckhardt observed a copy of the Koran, the leaves of which were four feet long, and more than two feet and a half broad. Tradition reports that it belonged to the Caliph Omar ; but he saw a similar one in the grand mosque at Cairo, and another at Mecca, to both of which the same origin is assigned. The drawings supplied by this enter¬ prising traveller give a very distinct notion of the extent and magnificence of the great Mussulman temple,—the most prominent object in the modern Jerusalem, and occu¬ pying the site of the still more interesting edifice erected by Solomon in the proudest period of Jewish history. But the Christian pilgrim, who walks about the holy city “ to tell her towers and mark her bulwarks,” is more readily attracted by less splendid objects, the memorials of his own more humble faith. Among these the most re¬ markable is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built on the lower part of the sloping hill distinguished by the name of Acra, near the place where it is joined to Mount Moriah. The Turkish government, aware of the veneration which all Christians entertain for relics in any DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 136 way connected with the sufferings of the great Author of their religion, have converted this feeling into a source of revenue ; every person not subject to the Sublime Porte, who visits the shrine of Jesus Christ, being compelled to pay a certain sum of money for admittance. But the church, nevertheless, is opened only on particular days of the week, and cannot be seen at any other time without an order from the two convents, the Latin and the Greek, with the sanc¬ tion of the governor of the city. On such occasions the pressure at the doors is very great; the zeal of the pilgrims checked by the insolence of the Turks, who delight to insult and disappoint their anxiety, leading sometimes to scenes of tumult not quite in harmony with their pious motives. We shall give an account of the effect produced by the local and historical associations of the place on a sober spirit, hi the words of a traveller to whom we have been already indebted :—• “ The mind is not withdrawn from the important con¬ cerns of this hallowed spot by any tasteful decorations or dignified display of architecture in its plan or in its walls ; but having cleared the throng, the religion of the place is allowed to take full possession of the soul, and the visiter feels as if he were passing into the presence of the great and immaculate Jehovah, and summoned to give an ac¬ count of the most silent and secret thoughts of his heart. 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 adoration. 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 pro¬ ceeding a little forward, we came into a round space imme¬ diately under the dome, surrounded with sixteen large columns which support the gallery above. In the centre of this space stands the Holy Sepulchre ; it is enclosed in an oblong house, rounded at one end with small arcades or chapels for prayer, on the outside of it. These are for the Copts, the Abyssinians, the Syrian Mareonites, and other Christians, who are not, like the Roman Catholics, the Greeks, and Armenians, provided with large chapels in the DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. I'd 7 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 floored with the same material. In the middle of this small platform stands a block of polished marble about a foot and a half square ; on this stone sat the angel who announced the blessed tidings of the resur¬ rection to Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. Advancing, 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 r narrow door into this mansion of victory, where Christ triumphed over the grave, and dis¬ armed Death of all his terrors. Here the mind looks on Him who, though he knew no sin, yet entered the man¬ sions of the dead to redeem us from death, and the prayers of a grateful heart ascend with a risen Saviour to the pres¬ ence of God in heaven.”* The tomb exhibited is a sarcophagus of white marble, slightly tinged with blue, being fully six feet long, three feet broad, and two feet two inches deep. It is but indif¬ ferently polished, and seems as if it had at one time been exposed to the action of the atmosphere, by which it has been considerably affected. It is without any ornament, made in the Greek fashion, and not like the more ancient tombs of the Jews, which we see cut in the rock for the reception of the dead. There are seven lamps constantly burning over it, the gifts of different sovereigns in a suc¬ cession of ages. It occupies about one-half of the sepul¬ chral chamber, and extends from one end of it to the other. A space about three feet wide in front of it is all that remains for the accommodation of visiters, so that not more than three or four can be conveniently admitted at a time. Leaving this hallowed spot, the pilgrim is conducted to the place where our Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene, and next to the Chapel of Apparition, where he presented himself to the Blessed Virgin. The Greeks have an oratory opposite to the Holy Sepulchre, in which they have set up a globe, representing, as they are pleased to imagine, the centre of the earth ; thus transferring from Delphi to Je- * Richardson’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 321. M2 138 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. rusalem the absurd notions of the pagan priests of anti¬ quity relative to the figure of the habitable world. After this he enters a dark narrow staircase, which, by about twenty steps, carries him to Mount Calvary. “ This,” ex¬ claims Dr. Richardson, “ is the centre, the grand magnet of the Christian church : from this proceed life and salva¬ tion ; thither all hearts tend and all eyes are directed ; here kings and queens cast down their crowns, and great men and women part with their ornaments ; at the foot of the cross all are on a level, equally needy and equally welcome.”* On Calvary is shown the spot where the Redeemer was nailed to the cross, the hole into which the end of it was fixed, and the rent in the rock. All these are covered with marble, perforated in the proper places, so that they may be seen and touched. Near at hand a cross is erected on an elevated part of the ground, and a wooden body stretched upon it in the attitude of suffering. Descending from the Mount, the traveller enters the chapel of St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, in which is the vault where the true cross is said to have been found,—an event that con¬ tinues to be celebrated every year on the third of May by an appropriate mass. The place is large enough to con¬ tain about thirty or forty individuals, and on that annual solemnity it is usually crowded to the door. The spirit in which these commemorations are some¬ times performed is by no means honourable to the Christian character. An ancient rivalry between the members of the Greek and those of the Roman communion continues to imbitter their disputes in regard to their respective privi¬ leges and procedure. Maundrell informs us that in his time each fraternity had their own altar and sanctuary, at which they had a peculiar right to celebrate divine service and to exclude all other nations. But, says he, that which has always been the great prize contended for by the several sects, is the command and appropriation of the Holy Sepul¬ chre ; a privilege contested with so much unchristian fury and animosity, especially between the Greeks and Latins, that, in disputing which party should go in to celebrate their mass, they have sometimes proceeded to blows and wounds, even at the very door of the sepulchre, mingling * nn - , rn , - R 32& DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 139 their own blood with their sacrifices. The King of France interposed about the end of the seventeenth century, and obtained an order from the grand vizier to put that holy place into the possession of the Western Church ; an ar¬ rangement which was accomplished in the year 1690, and secured to the Latins the exclusive privilege of saying mass in it. “And though it be permitted to Christians of all nations to go into it for their private devotions, yet none other may solemnize any public office of religion there.”* The daily employment of these recluses is to trim the lamps, and to make devotional visits and processions to the several sanctuaries in the church. Thus they spend their time, many of them for four or six years together; nay, so far are some transported with the pleasing contemplation in which they here entertain themselves, that they will never come out to their dying day; burying themselves, as it were, alive in our Lord’s grave.f It was at the holy season of Easter that Mr. Maundrell visited Jerusalem, when he witnessed the annual service performed by the monks; rather too minutely descriptive, perhaps, of the great event to which it refers. “ Their ceremony begins on Good Friday night, which is called by them the Nox Tenebrosa, and is observed with such an ex¬ traordinary solemnity that I cannot omit to give a particular description of it:—As soon as it grew dark, all the friars and pilgrims were convened in the chapel of the Apparition, in order to go in a procession round the church. But before they set out one of the friars preached a sermon in Italian. He began his discourse thus :—In questa notte tenebrosa ,— at which words all the candles were instantly put out, to yield a livelier image of the occasion : and so we were held by the preacher for near half an hour very much in the dark. Sermon being ended, every person present had a large lighted taper put into his hand, as if it were to make amends for the former darkness ; and the crucifixes and other uten¬ sils were disposed in order for beginning the procession. Among the other crucifixes there was one of a very large size, which bore upon it the image of our Lord as big as the life. The image was fastened to it with great nails, crowned with thorns, and besmeared with blood ; and so exquisitely * Maundrell’s Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 71. 140 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. was it formed, that it represented, in a very lively manner,' the lamentable spectacle of our Lord’s body as it hung upon the cross. This figure was carried all along in the head of the procession; after which the company followed to all the sanctuaries in the church, singing their appointed hymn at every one. “ The first place they visited was that of the pillar of Flagellation, a large piece of which is kept in a little cell just at the door of the chapel of the Apparition. There they sang their proper hymn ; and another friar entertained the company with a sermon in Spanish, touching the scourging of our Lord. From hence they proceeded in solemn order to the prison of Christ, where they pretend he was secured while the soldiers made things ready for his crucifixion; here likewise they sang their hymn, and a third friar preached in French. From the prison they went to the altar of the Division of our Lord’s garments, where they only sang their hymn without adding any sermon. Having done here, they advanced to the chapel of the Di¬ vision ; at which, after their hymn, they had a fourth sermon, as I remember, in French. “ From this place they went up to Calvary, leaving their shoes at the bottom of the stairs. Here are two altars to be visited; one where our Lord is supposed to have been nailed to the cross, another where his cross was erected. At the former of these they laid down the great crucifix upon the floor, and acted a kind of resemblance of Christ’s being nailed to the cross ; and after the hymn another friar preached a sermon in Spanish upon the crucifixion. From hence they removed to the adjoining altar, where the cross is supposed to have been erected, bearing the image of our Lord’s body. At this altar is a hole in the natural rock, said to be the very same individual one in which the foot of our Lord’s cross stood. Here they set up their cross with the bloody crucified image upon it; and leaving it in that posture, they first sang their hymn, and then the father guardian, sitting in a chair before it, preached a passion- sermon in Italian. “ At about one yard and a half distant from the hole in which the foot of the cross was fixed is seen that memo¬ rable cleft in the rock, said to have been made by the earth¬ quake which happened at the suffering of the God of DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 141 nature ; when, as St. Matthew witnesseth, the rocks rent and the very graves were opened. This cleft, or what now ap¬ pears of it, is about a span wide at its upper part, and two deep ; after which it closes. But it opens again below, as you may see in another chapel contiguous to the side of Calvary, and runs down to an unknown depth in the earth. That this rent was made by the earthquake that happened at our Lord’s passion there is only tradition to prove ; but that it is a natural and genuine breach, and not counter¬ feited by any art, the sense and reason of every one that sees it may convince him ; for the sides of it fit like two tal¬ lies to each other, and yet it runs in such intricate windings as could not well be counterfeited by art, nor arrived at by any instruments. “ The ceremony of the passion being over, and the guar¬ dian’s sermon ended, two friars, personating, the one Joseph of Arimathea, the other Nicodemus, approached the cross, and with a most solemn, concerned air, both of aspect and behaviour, drew out the great nails, and took down the feigned body from the cross. It was an effigies so con¬ trived that its limbs were soft and flexible, as if they had been real flesh ; and nothing could be more surprising than to see the two pretended mourners bend down the arms which w'ere before extended, and dispose them upon the trunk in such a manner as is usual in corpses. The body being taken down from the cross was received in a fair large winding-sheet, and carried down from Calvary; the whole company attending as before to the stone of Unction. This is taken for the very place where the precious body of our Lord was anointed and prepared for the burial. Here they laid dow r n their imaginary corpse ; and casting over it seve¬ ral sweet powders and spices, wrapped it up in the winding- sheet. While this was doing they sang their proper hymn, and afterward one of the friars preached in Arabic a funeral- sermon. These obsequies being finished, they carried off’ their fancied corpse and laid it in the Sepulchre, shutting up the door till Easter morning. And now, after so many sermons, and so long, not to say tedious, a ceremony, it may well be imagined that the weariness of the congregation, as well as the hour of the night, made it needful to go to rest.”* * Journey, p. 74. 142 DESCRIPTION OP JERUSALEM. Easter-eve passed without any remarkable observance,—- a period of leisure which was employed by many of the pil¬ grims in having their arms marked with the usual ensigns of Jerusalem. “ The artists who undertake the operation do it in this manner ; they have stamps of wood of any figure that you desire, which they first print off upon your arm with powder of charcoal, then taking two very fine needles tied close together, and dipping them often, like a pen, in certain ink compounded, as I was informed, of gun¬ powder and ox-gall, they make with them small punctures all along the lines of the figure which they have printed; and then, washing the part in wine, conclude the work. The punctures they make with great quickness and dex¬ terity, and with scarce any smart, seldom piercing so deep as to draw blood. In the afternoon of this day the congre¬ gation was assembled in the area before the holy grave, where the friars spent some hours in singing over the Lamentations of Jeremiah ; which function, with the usual procession to the holy places, was all the ceremony required by the ritual of the place.” On Easter-day the scene was changed from gloom to the most lively congratulation. “ The clouds of the former morning were cleared up ; and the friars put on a face of joy and serenity, as if it had been the real juncture of our Lord’s resurrection. Nor doubtless was this joy feigned, whatever their mourning might be ; this being the day on which their Lenten disciplines expired, and they were now come to a full belly again. The mass was celebrated this morning just before the Holy Sepulchre, being the most emi¬ nent place in the church; where the father guardian had a throne erected, and being arrayed in episcopal robes, with a mitre on his head, in the sight of the Turks he gave the Host to all that were disposed to receive it; not refusing it to children of seven or eight years old. This office being ended, we made our exit out of the Sepulchre, and returning to the convent, dined with the friars.”* The latest travellers in Palestine witnessed similar ob¬ servances on the same solemn occasion, none of which were in the least calculated to edify an enlightened mind, and * Journey, p. 70. DESCRIPTION OP JERUSALEM. 143 many of them stich as could not be contemplated without feelings of just indignation, mingled with contempt. There is no greater obstacle to the propagation of Chris¬ tianity among the Syrian tribes, and more especially among the Turks and Jews, than the foolish exhibitions which dis¬ grace the return of the principal festivals in the Holy Land. The mummeries already described could not fail to be suf¬ ficiently revolting to a people who permit not any image or representation of created things, even in the uses of ordinary life. Still, the sincerity and apparent devotion with which the ceremony of the crucifixion was performed might, in some degree, atone for the unseemly method adopted by the monks to commemorate an event at once so solemn and im¬ portant. But what shall be said in defence of the manifest fraud which is annually practised in Jerusalem on E aster- eve by the Greek church, when the credulous multitude are taught to believe that fire descends from heaven into the Holy Sepulchre to kindle their lamps and torches 1 Upon comparing the description given by Maundrell with the accounts of the latest travellers, we perceive that nearly a century and a half has passed away without producing any improvement, and that the friars of the present age are probably not less ignorant or dishonest than their predeces¬ sors five hundred years ago. “ They began their disorders by running round the Holy Sepulchre with all their might and swiftness, crying out as they went huia , which signifies this is he , or this is it ,—an expression by which they assert the verity of the Christian religion. After they had by these religious circulations and clamours turned their heads and inflamed their madness, they began to act the most antic tricks and postures in a thousand shapes of distraction. Sometimes they dragged one another along the floor all round the Sepulchre ; sometimes they set one man upright upon another’s shoulders, and in this posture marched round ; sometimes they tumbled round the Sepulchre after the manner of tumblers on the stage. In a word, nothing can be imagined more rude or extravagant than what was acted upon this occasion.”* “ The Greeks first set out in a procession round the Holy Sepulchre, and immediately at their heels followed the Ar- * Maundrell’s Journey, p. 94. 144 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. menians. In this order they compassed the Holy Sepulchre thrice, having produced all their gallantry of standards, streamers, crucifixes, and embroidered habits. Towards the end of this procession there was a pigeon came flutter¬ ing into the cupola over the Sepulchre, at sight of which there was a greater shout and clamour than before. This bird, the Latins told us, was purposely let fly by the Greeks to deceive the people into an opinion that it was a visible descent of the Holy Ghost. The procession being over, the suffragan of the Greek patriarch and the principal Arme¬ nian bishop approached to the door of the Sepulchre, and, cutting the string with which it is fastened and sealed, en¬ tered in, shutting the door after them, all the candles and lamps within having been before extinguished in the pres¬ ence of the Turks and other witnesses. The exclamations were doubled as the miracle drew nearer to its accomplish¬ ment ; and the people pressed with such vehemence towards the door of the Sepulchre that it was not in the power of the Turks to keep them off". The cause of their pressing in this manner is, the great desire they have to light their can¬ dles at the holy flame as soon as it is first brought out of the Sepulchre, it being esteemed the most sacred and pure as coming immediately from heaven. The two miracle- mongers had not been above a minute in the Holy Sepul¬ chre when the glimmering of the holy fire was seen, or imagined to appear, through some chinks of the door; and, certainly, Bedlam itself never saw such an unruly transport as was produced in the mob at this sight. “ Immediately after, out came two priests with blazing torches in their hands, which they held up at the door of the Sepulchre ; while the people thronged about with inex¬ pressible ardour, every one striving to obtain a part of the first and purest flame. The Turks, in the mean tirrie, with huge clubs laid on without mercy ; but all this could not repel them, the excess of their fury making them insensible of pain. Those that got the fire applied it immediately to their beards, faces, and bosoms, pretending that it would not burn like an earthly flame. But I plainly saw none of them could endure this experiment long enough to make good that pretension. So many hands being employed, you may be sure it could not be long before innumerable tapers were lighted. The whole church, galleries, and every place DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 145 seemed instantly to be in a flame ; and with this illumina¬ tion the ceremony ended. “ It must be owned that those two within the Sepulchre performed their part with great quickness and dexterity; but the behaviour of the rabble without very much discredited the miracle. The Latins take a great deal of pains to ex¬ pose this ceremony as a most shameful imposture and a scandal to the Christian religion,—perhaps out of envy that others should be masters of so gainful a business. But the Greeks and Armenians pin their faith upon it; such is the deplorable unhappiness of their priests, that having acted the cheat so long already, they are forced now to stand to it for fear of endangering the apostacy of their people. Going out of church after the rant was over, we saw several people gathered about the Stone of Unction, who, having got a good store of candles lighted with the holy fire, were employed in daubing pieces of linen with the wicks of them and the melting wax, which pieces of linen were designed for wind¬ ing-sheets. And it is the opinion of these poor people, that if they can but have the happiness to be buried in a shroud smutted with this celestial fire, it will certainly secure them from the flames of hell.”* Dr. Richardson, who witnessed the same pitiful cere¬ mony, is not inclined to give much honour to the performers in respect to skill or dexterous manipulation. On the con¬ trary, he is of opinion that theref is not a pyrotechnist in London who could not have improved the exhibition. From the station which he occupied in the church, being the organ-loft of the Roman Catholic division, he distinctly saw the flame issuing from a burning substance placed within the tomb, and which was raised and lowered according to circumstances. The priests meant to be very artful, but were in reality very ignorant. Like the Druids of old, no one, under the pain of excommunication, dared to light his torch at that of another ; every individual was bound to dc- / rive his flame from the miraculous spark that descended from above, and which could only be conveyed by the hands of the chief priest.t Having seen the exhibition of this vile and infamous * Journey, p. 96, t “ Je ne decrirai pas la suite des ceremonies rdligieuses qui occupent le reste de la semaine sainte: e’est un r6cit qui pent bien edifier des ames N 146 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM 4 delusion, the traveller naturally inquires what credit he ougM to give to the historical statements and local descriptions derived from the Christians who now occupy Jerusalem. Are the honoured spots within these walls really what the guardians of the metropolitan church declare them to be 7 Is the Mount Calvary shown at this day in the holy city the actual place where Christ expired upon the cross to redeem the human race 1 Is the Sepulchre there exhibited really that of the just man Joseph of Arimathea, in which the body of the blessed Jesus was laid 1 Or are all these merely convenient spots, fixed on at random, and consecrated to serve the interested views of a crafty priesthood 1* We agree in the conclusion, that it is of no consequence to the Christian faith in what way these questions shall be determined. The great facts on which the history of the gospel is founded are not so closely connected with par¬ ticular spots of earth or sacred buildings as to be rendered doubtful by any mistake in the choice of a locality. Nor is there any material discrepancy between the opinions of Chateaubriand, which we are inclined to adopt, and those of Dr. Clarke, who treats with contempt all the traditions respecting holy places ; for the outline may be correct, devotes, mais non pas plaire A quelqu’un qui lit un voyage pour sln- struire et s’amuser. “ 11 n’en est pas de mfeme d’une pratique superstitieuse des Grecs schismatiques, dont la bixarrerie ne laissera pas de divertir un moment. “ Cette secte, abusee par ses prtltres, croit de bonne foi que Dieu fait annuellement un miracle pour lui envoyer le feu sacrb. “ A en croire les prfetres Grecs, cette faveur divine, dont on ne peut pas douter, est un preuve insigne de l’excellence de leur communion. Mais ne pourrait-on pas objecter aux Grecs, que les Armeniene et les Cofes, qu’ils traitent d’taeretiques, participent k cette m£me grace. Ennemis acharnes les uns des autres, les ministres de ces trois sectes se r£u- nissent en apparence pour la cbremonie du feu sacrC. Cette reconcilia¬ tion momentanee n’est due qu’a l’interet de tous; sbparbment ils seraient obliges de payer au gouverneur, pour la permission de faire la miracle, une somme aussi forte que cette qu’ils donnent ensemble. “ Ces pretres portent la fourberie jusqu’a vouloir persuader au peuple que le feu sacre ne brule pas ceux qui sont en Ctat de grace. Ils se frottent les mains d’une certaine eau, qui les garantit de la brulure & la premidre approche, et par ce moyen ne se font aucun mal en touchant leurs cierges. Leur proselytes sont jaloux de les imiter ; mais comme ils n’ont pas leur recette,bien souvent ils se brulent les doigts et le visage: il arrive dblil que les pretres, paraissant jouir exclusivement de la grace de Dieu, en sont plus respectes et mieux pay6s.”— Afan'fi, Voyages, &c., tom. ii. p. 340. , * Richardson, vol. ii. p. 333. DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM.’ 147 although the minuter details are open to a just suspicion. For example, it is now extremely difficult to trace the bound¬ aries of Calvary; the effects of time and the operations of the siege under the Roman prince have obliterated some of the features by which that remarkable scene was distin¬ guished ; it has even ceased to present the appearance of a mount,—an appellation, by-the-way, which is nowhere given to it in Scripture. But it does not follow that the Chris¬ tians who returned from Pella to inhabit the ruins of the sacred metropolis should have been equally ignorant of its extent and situation ; nor is it at all probable that places so interesting to the affections of the infant church would be allowed to fall into a speedy oblivion. The main error of the modern priests at Jerusalem arises from an anxiety to exhibit every thing to which any allusion is made by the evangelical historians; not remembering that the lapse of ages and the devastation of successive wars have destroyed much, and disguised more, which the early disciples could most readily identify. The mere cir¬ cumstance that almost all the events which attended the close of our Saviour’s ministry are crowded into one scene, covered by the roof of a single church, might excite a very justifiable doubt as to the exactness of the topography main¬ tained by the friars of Mount Moriah. “ This edifice,” says Mr. Maundrell, “ is less than one hundred paces long, and not more than sixty wide ; and yet it is so contrived, that it is supposed to contain under its roof twelve or thir¬ teen sanctuaries, or places consecrated to a more than ordi¬ nary veneration, by being reputed to have some particular actions done in them relating to the death and resurrection of Christ,.”* All that can now be affirmed, observes Dr. Clarke, with any show of reason, is this, “ that if Helena had reason to believe she could identify the spot where the Sepulchre was, she took especial care to remove every trace of it, in order to introduce the fanciful and modern work which now re¬ mains. The place may be the same pointed out to her; but not a remnant of the original Sepulchre can now be ascertained. Yet, with our skeptical feelings thus awakened, it may prove how powerful the effect of sympathy is, if we * Journey, p. 69. 148 description of Jerusalem. Confess, that when we entered into the supposed Sepulchre, and beheld, by the light of lamps there continually burning, the venerable figure of an aged monk, with streaming eyes and a long white beard, pointing to ‘ the place where the Lord lay,’ and calling upon us to kneel and experience par* don for our sins,—we did kneel, and we participated in the feelings of more credulous pilgrims. Captain Culverhouse, in whose mind the ideas of religion and of patriotism were inseparable, with firmer emotion, drew from its scabbard the sword he had so often wielded in the defence of his country, and placed it upon the tomb. Humbler comers heaped the memorials of an accomplished pilgrimage ; and while their sighs alone interrupted the silence of the sanc¬ tuary a solemn service was begun.”* It is observed by the author of the Itineraire, that the ancient travellers were extremely fortunate in not being obliged to enter into all these critical disquisitions ; in the first place, because they found in their readers that religion which never contends against truth ; and, secondly, because every mind was convinced that the only way of seeing a country as it is must be to see it with all its traditions and recollections. It is, in fact, with the Bible as his guide that a traveller ought to visit the Holy Land. If we are deter¬ mined to carry with us a spirit of cavil and contradiction, Judea is not worth our going so far to examine it. What should we say to a man who, in traversing Greece and Italy, should think of nothing but contradicting Homer and Vir¬ gil 1 Such, however, is the course adopted by too many modern travellers ; evidently the effect of our vanity, which would excite a high idea of our own abilities, and at the same time fill us with disdain for those of other people.! A short time after M. Chateaubriand visited Jerusalem, the church of the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed by fire; and although it has been since repaired, it is admitted that both the architecture and the internal decorations are much inferior to those of the original edifice. The general plan of the whole building, however, as well as the arrangement of the holy stations, are so exactly preserved, that the descriptions of the earliest writers apply as correctly to its * Travels, vol. iv. p. 315. f Vol. ii. p. SI. DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 149 present as to its former state. It is true, that the tombs of Godfrey de Bouillon and of Baldwin his brother, which called forth the enthusiastic admiration of the French author just named, have been annihilated by the malignant Greeks, so that not a vestige remains to mark the spot whereon they stood. The Corinthian columns of fine marble which for¬ merly adorned the interior being rendered useless by the fire, the dome is now supported by tall slender pillars of masonry, plastered on the outside, and so closely grouped together as to produce the worst effect. We are told, indeed, that the meanness of every thing about the archi¬ tecture of the central dome, and of the whole rotunda which surrounds the Sepulchre itself, can only be exceeded by the wretched taste of its painted decorations.* It was of the older building that the Vicomte made the following remarks :—“ The church of the Holy Sepulchre, composed of several churches erected upon an unequal sur¬ face, illumined by a multitude of lamps, is singularly mys¬ terious ; a sombre light pervades it, favourable to piety and profound devotion. Christian priests of various sects inhabit different parts of the edifice. From the arches above, where they nestle like pigeons, from the chapels below and subter¬ raneous vaults, their songs are heard at all hours both of the day and night. The organ of the Latin monks, the cymbals of the Abyssinian priest, the voice of the Greek caloyer, the prayer of the solitary Armenian, the plaintive accents of the Coptic friar, alternately, or all at once, assail your ear. You know not whence these accents of praise proceed; you inhale the perfume of incense without per¬ ceiving the hand that burns it: you merely observe the pontiff, who is going to celebrate the most awful of mys¬ teries on the very spot where, they were accomplished, pass quickly by, glide behind the columns, and vanish in the gloom of the temple. “ Christian readers wifi perhaps inquire what were my feelings upon entering this sacred place. I really cannot tell. So many reflections rushed at once upon my mind, that I was unable to rlwell upon any particular idea. I continued nearly half an hour upon my knees in the little * Buck/ ngham’s Travels, vol. i. p. 384. , N 2 150 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. chamber of the Holy Sepulchre, with my eyes riveted upon the stone, from which I had not the power to turn them. One of the two monks who accompanied me remained pros¬ trate on the marble by my side, while the other, with the Testament in his hand, read to me by the light of the lamps the passages relating to the sacred tomb. All I can say is, that when I beheld this triumphant Sepulchre, I felt nothing but my own weakness ; and that when my guide exclaimed with St. Paul, O death, where is thy sting 1 O grave, where is thy victory ? I listened, as if death were about to reply that he was conquered and enchained in this monu¬ ment. Where shall we look in antiquity for anything so impressive, so wonderful, as the last scenes described by the Evangelists ? These are not the absurd adventures of a deity foreign to human nature : it is a most pathetic history, *—a history which not only extorts tears by its beauty, but whose consequences, applied to the universe, have changed the face of the earth. I had just beheld the monuments of Greece, and my mind was still profoundly impressed with their grandeur; but how far inferior were the sentiments which they excited to those I felt at the sight of the places commemorated in the gospel!”* We must not presume to follow the ardent pilgrim along the Via Dolorosa , the name given to the way by which the Saviour passed from the house of Pilate to the Mount of Calvary. Nor can we stop to revere the arch, called Ecce Homo , where, we are told, the window may still be seen from which the Roman judge exclaimed to the vindictive Jews, “ Behold the Man !” We cannot resign our belief to the minute description which recognises the house of Simon the Pharisee, where Mary Magdalene confessed her sins ; the prison of St. Peter, and the dwelling of Mary the mother of Mark, in which the same apostle took refuge when he was set at liberty by the angel; and the mansion of Dives, the rich man at whose gate the mendicant Lazarus w r as laid, full of sores. On crossing the small ravine which divides the modem city from Mount Zion, the attention of the traveller is drawn to three ancient monuments, or more properly ruins, * Travels in Greece, Palestine, Egyp t, &u vol. ii. p. 22. DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 151 Covered with buildings comparatively modern,—the house of (Jaiaphas,—the place where Christ held his Last Supper, —and the tomb or palace of David. The first of these is now a church, the duty of which is performed by the Arme¬ nians ; the second, consecrated by the affecting solemnity, with the memory of which it is still associated, presents a mosque and a Turkish hospital; while the third, a small vaulted apartment, contains only three sepulchres formed of dark-coloured stone. This holy hill is equally celebrated in the Old Testament and in the New. Here the successor of Saul built a city and a royal dwelling,—here he kept for three months the Ark of the Covenant,—here the Redeemer instituted the sacrament which commemorates his death,— here he appeared to his disciples on the day of his resur¬ rection,—and here the Holy Ghost descended on the apos¬ tles. The place hallowed by the Last Supper, if we may believe the early Fathers, was transformed into the first Christian temple the world ever saw, where St. James the Less was consecrated the first bishop of Jerusalem, and where he presided in the first council of the church. Finally, it was from this spot that the apostles, in compliance with the injunction to go and teach all nations, departed, with¬ out purse and without scrip, to seat their religion upon all the thrones of the earth. Descending Mount Zion on the east side, you perceive in the valley the Fountain and Pool of Siloam, so celebrated in the history of our Saviour’s miracles. The brook itself is ill supplied with water, and, compared with the ideas formed in the mind by the fine invocation of the poet, usually creates disappointment. Going a few paces to the northward, you come to the source of the scanty rivulet, which is called by some the Fountain of the Virgin, from an opinion that she frequently came hither to drink. It appeals in a recess about twenty feet lower than the sur¬ face, and under an arched vault of masonry tolerably well executed. The rock had been originally hewn down to reach this pool; and a small crooked passage, of which only the beginning is seen, is said to convey the water out of the Valley of Siloam, and to supply the means of irri¬ gating the little gardens still cultivated in that spot. Not¬ withstanding the dirty state of the water, and its harsh and 152 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. brackish taste, it is still used by devout pilgrims for diseases of the eye.* It is said to have a kind of ebb and flow, sometimes dis¬ charging its current like the Fountain of Yaucluse, at others retaining and scarcely suffering it to run at all. The Levites, we are likewise told, used to sprinkle the water of Siloam on the altar at the Feast of Tabernacles, saying, “Ye shall draw water with joy from the wells of salvation.” The reader will find on the opposite page a representation of the Fountain or Pool of Siloam, as it appeared to the eye of an able traveller; a considerable part of the arch having fallen down, or been destroyed by the barbarians who continue to hold Jerusalem in subjection. The Valley of Jehoshaphat stretches between the eastern walls of the city and the Mount of Olives, containing a great variety of objects, to which allusion is made in the Sacred Writings. It was sometimes called the King’s Dale, from a reference to an event recorded in the history of Abraham, and was afterward distinguished by the name of Jehoshaphat, because that sovereign erected in it a magni¬ ficent tomb. This narrow vale seems to have always served as a burying-place for the inhabitants of the holy city : there you meet with monuments of the most remote ages, as well as of the most modern times : thither the descend¬ ants of Jacob resort from the four quarters of the globe, to yield up their last breath; and a foreigner sells to them, for its weight in gold, a scanty spot of earth to cover their remains in the land of their forefathers. “ Observing many Jews, whom I could easily recognise by their yellow tur¬ bans, quick dark eyes, black eyebrows, and bushy beards, walking about the place, and reposing along the Brook Kedron in a pensive mood, the pathetic language of the Psalmist occurred to me, as expressing the subject of their * The invocation alluded to must be familiar to the youngest reader: “ Sing, Heavenly muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb or of Sinai didst inspire That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, In the beginning, how the heavens and earth Rose out of chaos; or, if Zion hill Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed Fast by the oracle of God; I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song.” Paradise Lost, book i. DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM 153 neditation—‘ By the rivers we sat down and wept when we eniembcred Zion.’ Upon frequently inquiring the motive hat prompted them in attemptmg to go to Jerusalem, mswer was, ‘ To die in the land of our fathers. Th" valley or dale still exhibits a very desdate appear¬ ance The western side is a high challt-clift supporting *e walls of the city, above which you perceive Jerusalem itself; while the eastern acclivity is formed by the Mount * Travels by Rae Wilson, vol. i. p. 220, 154 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM# of Olives and the Mount of Offence, so called from the idolatry which oppresses the fame of Solomon. These two hills are nearly naked, and of a dull red colour. On their slopes are seen, here and there, a few bleak and parched vines, some groves of wild olive-trees, wastes covered with hyssop, chapels, oratories, and mosques in ruins. At the bottom of the valley you discover a bridge of a single, arch, thrown across the channel of the Brook Kedron. The stones in the Jewish cemetery look like a heap of rubbish at the foot of the Mount of Offence, below the Arab village of Siloane, the paltry houses of which are scarcely to be dis¬ tinguished from the surrounding sepulchres. From the stillness of Jerusalem, whence no smoke arises and no noise proceeds,—from the solitude of these hills, where no living creature is to be seen,—from the ruinous state of all these tombs, overthrown, broken, and half-open, you would ima¬ gine that the last trumpet had already sounded, and that the Valley of Jehoshaphat was about to render up its dead. Amid this scene of desolation three monuments arrest the eyes of the intelligent pilgrim,—the tombs of Zachariah, of Absalom, and of the king whose name still distinguishes the valley. The first-mentioned of these is a square mass of rock, hewn down into form, and isolated from the quarry out of which it is cut by a passage of twelve or fifteen feet wide on three of its sides ; the fourth or western front being open towards the valley and to Mount Moriah, the foot of which is only a few yards distant. This huge stone is eight paces in length on each side, and about twenty feet high in the front, and ten feet high at the back; the hill on which it stands having a steep ascent. It has four semicolumns cut out of the same rock on each of its faces, with a pilaster at each angle, all of a mixed Ionic order, and ornamented in bad taste. The architraves, the full moulding, and the deep overhanging cornice which finishes the square, are all perfectly after the Egyptian manner ; and the whole is sur¬ mounted by a pyramid, the sloping sides of which rise from the very edges of the square below, and terminate in a finished point. The body of this monument, we have already stated, is one solid mass of rock, as well as its semicolumns on each face ; but the surmounting pyramid appears to be of ma¬ sonry. Its sides, however, are perfectly smooth, like the DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 155 coated pyramids of Sahara and Dashour, and not graduated by stages like those of Djizeh in Lower Egypt. Inconsiderable in size and paltry in its ornaments, this monument, as Mr. Buckingham observes, is eminently cu¬ rious. There is no appearance of an entrance into any part of it; so that it seems, if a tomb, to have been as firmly closed as the Egyptian pyramids, and, perhaps, for the same respect for the repose of the dead. It is probable, indeed, that the original style and plan of the building are derived from the country of the Pharaohs; while the Grecian col¬ umns and pilasters may be the work of a much later period, when the Jews had learned to combine with the massy piles of their more ancient architecture the elegant lightness which distinguished the times of the Seleucidae.* In the immediate vicinity is the tomb of Jehoshaphat,—a cavern which is more commonly called the Grotto of the Disciples, from an idea that they went frequently thither to be taught by their Divine Master. The front of this exca¬ vation has two Doric pillars of small size, but of just pro¬ portions. In the interior are three chambers, all of them rude and irregular in their form, in one of which were seve¬ ral gravestones, removed, we may suppose, from the open ground for greater security. Like all the rest, they were flat slabs of an oblong shape, from three to six inches in thickness, and evidently a portion of the limestone rock which composes the adjoining hills. Opposite to this, on the east, is the reputed tomb of Ab¬ salom, resembling nearly in the size, form, and decoration of its square base that of Zachariah already described, ex¬ cept that it is sculptured with the metopes and triglyphs of the Doric order. This is surmounted by a sharp conical dome, having large mouldings running round its base, and on the summit something like an imitation of flame. There is here again so strange a mixture of style and ornament, that one knows not to what age to attribute the monument as a whole. The square mass below is solid, and the Ionic columns which are seen on each of its faces are half-indented in the rock itself. The dome is of masonry, and on the eastern side there is a square aperture in it. Generally speaking, the sight of this monument rather confirms the * Travels in Palestine, vol. i. p. 297. 156 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. idea suggested by the tomb of Zachariah, that the hewn mass of solid rock, the surmounting pyramid and dome of masonry, and the sculptured frieze and Ionic columns wrought on the faces of the square below were works of different periods; being probably ancient sepulchres, the primitive character of which had been changed by the subse¬ quent addition of foreign ornaments. There is, besides, every reason to believe that this monument, represented below, really occupies the site of the one which was set up by him whose name it bears. “Now Absalom in his life¬ time had reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the King’s Dale : for he said, I have no son to keep my name DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 157 in remembrance ; and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day Absalom’s Place.”* Chateaubriand is of opinion, that except the Pool of I3e- thesda at Jerusalem, we have no remains of the primitive architecture of its inhabitants. This reservoir, a hundred and fifty feet long and forty broad, is still to be seen near St. Stephen’s Gate, where it bounded the Temple on the north. The sides are walled by means of large stones joined together by iron cramps, and covered with flints imbedded in a substance resembling plaster. Here the lambs destined for sacrifice were washed ; and it was on the brink of this pool that Christ said to the paralytic man, “ Arise, take up thy bed and walk.” It receives a melancholy interest from the fact that it is probably the last remnant of Jerusalem as it appeared in the days of Solomon and of his immediate successors. It cannot be denied that the tombs in the Valley of Je- hoshaphat display an alliance of Egyptian and Grecian taste; and, in naturalizing in their capital the architecture of Memphis and of Athens, it is equally certain that the Jews mixed with it the forms of their own peculiar style. From this combination resulted a heterogeneous kind of structure, forming, as it were, the link between the Pyramids and the Parthenon,—monuments in which you discover a sombre, yet bold and elevated genius, associated with a pleasing and cultivated imagination. Our limits forbid us to follow the footsteps of the pilgrim in his minute survey of the “ Sepulchres of the Kings,” which, it is acknowledged, cannot be traced back to a re¬ moter era than that of the Grecian dynasty at Antioch and Damascus. There are several other tombs and grottoes, to which tradition has attached venerable names, and even consecrated them as the scene of important events ; but as they are not remarkable on any other account, we shall not extend to an undue length our description of the holy places under the walls of Jerusalem. We shall simply remark, that a difference of opinion ex¬ ists among modern travellers in regard to the extent of the ancient city, the ground which it actually covered, the changes that it has since undergone in point of locality, and * 2 Samuel xviii 18, Travels in Palestine, vol. i, p. 302, O 158 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. hence, m respect to the position of some of the more promi¬ nent objects which attract the attention of the inquisitive tourist in our own days. Dr. Clarke has distinguished him¬ self by some bold speculations on this head, the effect of which is to derange all the received notions relative to the scene of the crucifixion and the place of the Holy Sepulchre. It will indeed be readily granted, that it is a matter of very small importance to the faith of a Christian to determine whether the decease which was accomplished at Jerusalem took place on the north-western or the south-eastern ex¬ tremity of that metropolis. But as the history and tradition of many ages have fixed the spot where the cross was erected and where the new tomb in the rock had its situa¬ tion, it is requisite that the arguments of a writer who him¬ self pays so little respect to authority should be examined with attention. In this case, it is obvious, an inspection of the ground candidly and distinctly reported is of much more weight than the most ingenious reasoning if destitute of facts ; on which account, we are happy to have it in our power to refer to the journal of a learned gentleman hitherto unpublished, who about three years ago travelled in Syria and Palestine. “ We passed by the place of St. Stephen’s martyrdom down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat. This valley, inde¬ pendently of associations, is highly picturesque. It is deep and narrow ; the lower part is green with scattered olives. The slope up towards the city is also smooth and green, and crowned by the towers and battlements. On ascending the Mount of Olives, which we did towards the south, we had a splendid view of Jerusalem. The chief ornaments are the two domes of the Holy Sepulchre, the mosque of Omar, and another large mosque with a smaller dome ; but the white houses make a good show, and the walls are picturesque. On looking at Jerusalem from this place, the great features seemed to me to agree entirely with the established maps, and Dr. Clarke’s theory appeared quite untenable. The only difficulty is, that there is no valley which rwis zip all the way so as to divide entirely Mount Zion from Mount Moriah. A ravine does run far enough to cut off the Tem¬ ple, but no more. The extent of this difficulty must depend on the description left us of the Tyropaemn and Millo. Was there a deep valley such as time and change might not DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 159 have obliterated 1 The people of the convent gave the name of the Mount of Offence to a low hill on the south nf the Mount of Olives; but Clarke seems to think that the real Mount of Offence is that divided by Jehinnom from Zion, and called by our guide Monte de Mai Consiglio. We visited the Mohammedan chapel over the place of the Ascen¬ sion, and saw the alleged print of Christ’s foot. We next went to the place called Viri Galilaei (ye men of Galilee), and, after looking in vain for Dr. Clarke’s pagan remains, descended towards the Cave of the Prophets. We saw the well where Nehemiah found the fire of the altar, and then went up the Valley of Hinnom; first to the tomb called the Crypt of the Apostles, close to the Aceldama, or Field of Blood. We saw many other grottoes; one had t>js ayiag Eiwv inscribed upon it, as had another much farther up. Near this last was that which Clarke maintained to be the Holy Sepulchre. We saw one which would do very well for it; but so would many others. This one was a cave, with a place for a body cut out in the back part of it, but raised like a stone trough, not sunk in the floor. There is, of course, not a shadow of reason for thinking Clarke’s cave to be the real one, and very little that I can see for doubting that the nominal Holy Sepulchre is so in fact, or, rather, that it is on the site of the real one, which must have been destroyed when Adrian erected his temple to Venus on the spot. From these caves we went by the Pool of Bathsheba to the Bethlehem Gate, and so along the west side of the town to the Tombs of the Judges and Kings, which lie north or north-west of the city. I observed large foundations of ancient walls and heaps of rubbish west of the modern town, where Clarke seems to assume that there was an¬ ciently no part of the city. There and on the north I also observed wells opening into large covered reservoirs for water. We entered only one of the Tombs of the Judges, the rest being insignificant. That one was large, with a pediment which had dentiles and other Greek ornaments. Inside there were at least three chambers, surrounded by receptacles for bodies. In returning we went to the Tombs of the Kings, which, like the others, are cut out of the rock, and, like them too, have Grecian ornaments. There is one large cave ; the front has a handsome entablature, the upper part ornamented with alternate circular garlands, bunches 160 DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. of grapes, and an ornament of acanthus leaves ; the lower with a rich band of foliage disposed with much elegance.”* Hence, it appears that the weight of evidence preponde¬ rates decidedly in favour of the common opinions in regard to the form of the ancient city and the places which are usually denominated holy. Why, then, should any one attempt to disturb the belief or acquiescence of the Chris¬ tian world on a subject concerning which all nations have hitherto found reason to agree 1 The members of the primi¬ tive church had better means than we have of being fully in¬ formed respecting the scenes of the evangelical history ; and it is manifest, that amid all the changes which ensued in Jerusalem, either from conquest or superstition, nothing was more unlikely than that the faithful should forget the sacred spot where their redemption was completed, or that they should consent to transfer their veneration to any other, t * See Tour of the Holy Land, by the Rev. Robert Morehead, D.D.; in the Appendix to which are extracts from this anonymous manuscript. t “ Having so often mentioned Clarke, I must say, that although an animated and interesting writer, and not incorrect in his descriptions, he is more deficient in judgment than any traveller I am acquainted with; and I do not recollect an instance, either here or in Egypt, where he has attempted to speculate, without falling into some very decided error. I mention this the more, as his enthusiasm and conviction of the truth of his own theories led me formerly to place great faith in his authority.”— Anonymous Journal. DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY, ETC. 1G1 CHAPTER VI. Description of the Country South and East of Jerusalem. Garden of Gethsemane—Tomb of Virgin Mary—Grottoes on Mount of Olives—View of the City—Extent and Boundaries—View of Bethany and Dead Sea—Bethlehem—Convent—Church of the Nativity de¬ scribed—Paintings—Music—Population of Bethlehem—Fools of Solo¬ mon—Dwelling of Simon the Leper—Of Mary Magdalene—Tower of Simeon—Tomb of Rachel—Convent of John—Fine Church—Tekoa— Bethulia—Hebron—Sepulchre of Patriarchs—Albaid — Kerek — Ex¬ tremity of Dead Sea—Discoveries of Bankes, Legh, and Irby and Man¬ gles—Convent of St. Saba—Valley of Jordan—Mountains—Descrip¬ tion of Lake Asphaltites—Remains of ancient Cities in its Basin—Qual¬ ity of its Waters—Apples of Sodom—Tacitus, Seetzen, Hasselquist, Chateaubriand—Width of River Jordan—Jericho—Village of Rihhali —Balsam—Fountain of Elisha—Mount of Temptation—Place of Blood—Anecdote of Sir F. Henniker—Fountain of the Apostles—Re¬ turn to Jerusalem—Markets—Costume—Science—Arts—Language— Jews—Present Condition of that People. In proceeding from Jerusalem towards Bethany, the traveller skirts the Mount of Olives; or, if he wishes to enjoy the magnificent view which it presents, both of the city and of the extensive tract watered by the Jordan, he ascends its heights, and at the same time inspects the remains of sacred architecture still to be seen on its summit. As he passes from the eastern gate, the Garden of Gethsem¬ ane meets his eyes, as well as the tomb which bears the name of the Blessed Virgin. This has a building over it with a pretty front, although the Grecian ornaments sculp¬ tured in marble are not in harmony with the pointed arch at the entrance. It is approached by a paved court, now a raised way, leading from the Mount of Olives over the Brook Kedron. The descent into it is formed by a hand¬ some flight of steps composed of marble, being about fifty in number and of a noble breadth. About midway down are two arched recesses in the sides, said to contain the ashes of St. Anne, the mother of Mary, and of Joseph her husband. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the visiter is shown the tomb of the holy Virgin herself, which is in the form of » simple bench coated with marble. Here the O 2 162 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY Greeks and Armenians say mass by turns, and near it there is an humble altar for the Syrian Christians; while oppo¬ site to it is one for the Copts, consisting of earth, and en¬ tirely destitute of lamps, pictures, covering, and every other species of ornament. Chateaubriand tells us that the Turks had a portion of this grotto : Buckingham asserts that they have no right to enter it, nor could he “ learn from the keepers of the place that they ever had whereas the author of the Anonymous Journal, from which we have already quoted, states distinctly that “ there is a place reserved for the Mussulmans to pray, which at the Virgin’s Tomb one would not expect to be much in request.” So much for the clashing of authorities on the part of writers who could have no wish to deceive ! There are various other grottoes on the acclivity of the hill, meant, to keep alive the remembrance of certain occur¬ rences which are either mentioned in the gospel, or have been transmitted to the present age by oral tradition. Among these is one which is supposed to be the scene of the agony and the bloody sweat; a second, that marks the place where St. Peter and the two sons of Zebedee fell asleep when their Master retired to pray ; and a third, indi¬ cating the spot whereon Judas betrayed the Son of Man with a kiss. Here also is pointed out the rock from which our Saviour predicted the sack of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple,—that dreadful visitation, of which the traces are still most visible both within and around the walls. The curious pilgrim is further edified by the sight of a cavern where the apostles were taught the Lord’s Prayer ; and of another where the same individuals at a later period met together to compose their Creed. On the principal top of the Mount of Olives,—for the elevated ground presents three separate summits,—are a mosque and the remains of a church. The former is distinguished by a lofty minaret which commands an extensive prospect ; but the latter is esteemed more remarkable, as containing the piece of rock imprinted with the mark of our Saviour’s foot while in the act of ascension. But the view of the venerable metropolis itself, which stretches out its lanes and sacred enclosures under the eye of the traveller, is still more interesting than the recapitula¬ tion of ambiguous relics. It occupies an irregular square SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 1G3 of about two miles and a half in circumference. Eusebius gave a measurement of twenty-seven stadia, amounting to nearly a mile more than its present dimensions ; a differ¬ ence which can easily be explained, by adverting to the alterations made on the line of fortifications by the Sara¬ cens and Turks, especially on the north-west and western extremities of the town. Its shortest apparent side is that which faces the east, and in this is the supposed gate of the ancient Temple, shut up by the Mussulmans from a superstitious motive, and the small projecting stone on which their prophet is to sit when he shall judge the world assembled in the vale below. The southern side is exceed¬ ingly irregular, taking quite a zigzag direction ; the south¬ western entrance being terminated by a mosque built over the supposed sepulchre of David, on the elevation of Mount Zion. The form and exact direction of the western and northern walls are not distinctly seen from the position now assumed; but every part of them appears to be a modern work, and executed at the same time. They are flanked at certain distances by square towers, and have battlements all along their summits, with loopholes for arrows or musketry close to the top. Their height is about fifty feet, but they are not surrounded by a ditch. The northern wall runs over ground which declines slightly outward; the eastern wall passes straight along the brow of Mount Moriah, with the deep valley of Jehoshaphat below ; the southern wall crosses Mount Zion, with the vale of Hinnom at its feet; and the western wall is carried over a more uniform level, near the summit of the bare hills which terminate at the Jaffa gate.* * Buckingham, vol. i. p. 316.—The following words, put into the mouth of Titus by the eloquent author of the “ Fall of Jerusalem,” will be read with interest in connexion with the view just given. The son of Vespasian stands on the Mount of Olives:— “ It must be— And yet it moves me, Romans! it confounds The counsels of my firm philosophy, That Ruin’s merciless ploughshare must pass o’er And barren salt be sown on yon proud city. As on our olive-crowned hill we stand, Where Kedron at our feet its scanty waters Distils from stone to stone with gentle motion, As through a valley sacred to sweet Peace. How boldly doth it front us ! how majesticaliy ! Like a luxurious vineyard, the hilt-side 164 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY Turning towards the east, the traveller sees at the foot of the hill the little village of Bethany, so often mentioned in the history of our Lord and of his personal followers ; and at a greater distance, a little more on the left, he beholds the magnificent scenery of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. There are two roads from Jerusalem to Bethany ; the one passing over the Mount of Olives ; the other, the shorter and easier, winding round the eastern side of it. This village is now both small and poor, the cultivation of the soil around it being very much neglected by the indolent Arabs into whose hands it has fallen. Here are shown the ruins of a house, said to have belonged to Lazarus whom our Saviour raised from the dead ; and, in the immediate neighbourhood, the faithful pilgrim is invited to devotion in a grotto, which is represented as the actual tomb wherein Is lmng with marble fabrics, line on line, Terrace o’er terrace, nearer still, and nearer To the blue heavens. Here bright and sumptuous palaces, With cool and verdant gardens interspersed ; Here towers of war that frown in massy strength. While over all hangs the rich purple eve, As conscious of its being her last farewell Of light and glory to that fated city. And as our clouds of battle, dust, and smoke Are melted into air, behold the Temple, In undisturbed and lone serenity, Finding itself a solemn sanctuary In the profound of heaven ! It stands before us A mount of snow fretted with golden pinnacles 1 The very sun, as though he worshipped there, lungers upon the gilded cedar roofs ; And down the long and branching porticoes, On every flowery sculptured capital Glitters the homage of his parting beams. By Hercules ! the sight might almost win The offended majesty of Rome to mercy.” Old Sandys, a simple and amusing writer, describes Jerusalem as follows:—“ This citie, once sacred and glorious, elected by God for his seate, and seated in the midst of nations,—like a diadem crowning the head of the mountaines,—the theatre of mysteries and miracles,—was founded by Melchisedek (who is said to be the son of Noah, and that not unprobably) about the year of the world 2023, and called Salem (by the Gentiles Solyma), which signifyeth Peace: who reigned here fifty years.—This citie is seated on a rockie mountaine; every way to be ascended (except a little on the north) with steep ascents and deep valleys naturally fortified; for the most part environed with other not far removed mountaines, as if placed in the midst ofan amphitheater.”—Lib. iii. p. 154. ___ SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 167 the miracle was performed. The dwellings of Simon the Leper, of Mary Magdalene, and of Martha are pointed out by the Mussulmans, who traffic on the credulity of ignorant Christians. Nay, they undertake to identify the spot where the barren fig-tree withered under the curse, and the place where Judas put an end to his life, oppressed by a more dreadful malediction. There is no traveller of any nation, whatever may be his creed or his impressions in regard to the gospel, who does not make the usual journey from the Jewish capital to Bethlehem the place of our Lord’s nativity. The road, as we find related, passes over ground extremely rocky and barren, diversified only by some cultivated patches bearing a scanty crop of grain, and by banks of wild-flowers which grow in great profusion. On the way the practised guide points out the ruined tower of Simeon, who upon beholding the infant Messiah expressed his readiness to leave this world; the Monastery of Elias, now in possession of the Greeks ; and the tomb of Rachel, rising in a rounded top like the whitened sepulchre of an Arab sheik. “ This,” says the honest Maundrell, “ may probably be the true place of her interment ; but the present sepulchral monu¬ ment can be none of that which Jacob erected, for it appears plainly to be a modern and Turkish structure.” Farther on is the well of which David longed to drink, and of which his mighty men, at the risk of their lives, procured him a sup¬ ply ; and here opens to view, in a great valley, that most interesting of all pastoral scenes, where the angel of the Omnipotent appeared by night to the shepherds, to announce the glad tidings that Christ was born in Bethlehem.* As there was another town of the same name in the tribe * “Bethlehem soon after came in sight,—a fine village, surrounded with gardens of fig-trees and olives. There is a deep valley below, ami half-way down on the top of a hill is a green plain, the only one we have seen in Judea:—I could fancy Boaz’s field forming part of it. The convent is a very remarkable building, and well worth seeing. Without, it is a perfect fortress, with heavy buttresses and small grated windows; on entering, we immediately came to a magnificent church, with a double row of ten Corinthian pillars of marble on each side,—forty pillars in all. On the arched roof are the remains of Mosaic, of the Empress Helena’s time. One part was very distinct: it represented a city with temples, &e., and over it was written in Greek characters, Laodicea .”— Anonymous Journal. 168 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY of Zebulon, the Bethlehem that we now approach was usually distinguished by the addition of Ephrata, or by a reference to the district in which it was situated. The convent which marks the place of the Redeemer’s birth was built by Helena, after removing the idolatrous structure said to have been erected by Adrian, from a feeling of contempt or jealousy towards the Christians. At present it is di¬ vided among the monks of the Greek, Roman, and Arme¬ nian sects, who have assigned to them separate portions, as well for lodging as for places of worship ; though, on cer¬ tain days, they may all celebrate the rites of their common faith on altars which none of them have been hitherto al¬ lowed to appropriate. There are two churches, an upper and a lower, under the same roof. The former contains nothing remarkable, if we except a star inlaid in the floor, immediately under the spot in the heavens where the su¬ pernatural sign became visible to the wise men, and, like it, directly above the place of the Nativity in the church below. This last is an excavation in the rock, elegantly fitted up and floored with marble, and to which there is a descent by a flight of steps through a long narrow passage. Here are shown a great number of tombs, and among them one in which were said to be buried all the babes of Bethlehem murdered by the barbarous Herod. From hence the pilgrim is conducted into a handsome chapel, of which the floors and walls are composed of beautiful marble, having on each side five oratories, or recesses for prayer, corresponding to the ten stalls supposed to have been in the stable wherein our blessed Saviour was born. This sacred crypt is irregu¬ lar in shape, because it occupies the site of the stable and the manger. It is thirty-seven feet six inches long, eleven feet three inches broad, and nine feet in height. As it re¬ ceives no light from without, it is illumined by thirty-two lamps, sent by different princes of Christendom; the other embellishments are ascribed to the munificent Helena. At the farther extremity of this small church there is an altar placed in an arcade, and hollowed out below in the form of an arch, to embrace the sacred spot where Emmanuel, hav¬ ing laid aside his glory, first appeared in the garb of human nature. A circle in the floor, composed of marble and jus- SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. IG9 per, surrounded with silver, and having rays like those with which the sun is represented, marks the precise situation wherein that stupendous event was realized. An inscrip¬ tion, denoting that “ here Jesus Christ was born of the Vir¬ gin Mary,” meets the eye of the faithful worshipper. Hie de Virgiue Maria Jesus Cliristus natus est. Adjoining the Altar of the Nativity is the Manger in which the Infant Messiah was laid. It is also formed of marble, and is raised about eighteen inches above the floor, bearing a resemblance to the humble bed which alone the P no DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY furniture of a stable could supply. Before it is the Altar of the Wise Men,—a memorial of their adoration and praise at the moment when they saw the young child and Mary his mother. This edifice, says the Yicomte de Chateaubriand, is cer¬ tainly of high antiquity, and, often destroyed and as often repaired, it still retains marks of its Grecian origin. It is built in the form of a cross, the nave being adorned with forty-eight columns of the Corinthian order in four rows, which are at least two feet six inches in diameter at the base, and eighteen feet high, includingThe base and capital. As the roof of the nave is wanting, these pillars support no¬ thing but a frieze of wood, which occupies the place of the architrave and of the whole entablature. The windows are large, and were formerly adorned with Mosaic paintings and passages from the Bible in Greek and Latin characters, the traces of which are still visible. The top of the church affords a fine prospect into the sur¬ rounding country, extending to Tekoa on the south and En- gedi on the east. In the latter place is the grotto where David, a native of Bethlehem, cut off the skirt of Saul’s garment. There is also the convent of Elias, in which is said to be a large stone still retaining an impression of his body. Between this point and Jerusalem Mr. Buckingham was struck with the appearance of several small detached towers of a square form built in the midst of vine-lands. These, he learned, were for the accommodation of watch¬ men appointed to guard the produce from thieves and wild beasts ; hence explaining a passage which occurs in the Gospel according to St. Mark :—“A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the wine-fat, and built a tower , and let it out to husband¬ men.”* It is painful to find that the same animosity which attends the claims of the several sects of Christians at Jerusalem for the possession of the Holy Sepulchre disgraces their contentions at Bethlehem for the Grotto of the Nativity. A few years ago, during the celebration of the Christmas fes¬ tival, at which Mr. Bankes was present, a battle took place, in which some of the combatants were wounded, and others * Richardson, Buckingham, Maundrell. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 171 severely beaten ; and in the preceding season the privilege of saying mass at the altar on that particular day had been fought for at the door of the sanctuary itself with drawn swords. Dr. Clarke, whose skepticism in regard to the holy places in the capital has been already mentioned, grants that the tradition respecting the Cave of the Nativity is so well au¬ thenticated as hardly to admit of dispute. Having been always held in veneration, the oratory established there by the first Christians attracted the notice and indignation of the heathens so early as the time of Adrian, who, as is else¬ where stated, ordered it to be demolished, and the place to be set apart for the rites of Adonis. This happened in the second century, and at a period in the emperor’s life when the Grotto of the Nativity was as well known in Bethlehem as the circumstance to which it owed its celebrity. In the fourth age, accordingly, we find this fact appealed to by St. Jerome as an indisputable testimony by which the cave itself had been identified. Upon this subject there does not seem to be the slightest ground for skepticism ; and the evidence afforded by such a writer will be deemed sufficient for be¬ lieving that the monastery erected over the spot, and where he himself resided, does at this day point out the place of our Saviour’s birth.* Nothing, observes a late traveller, can be more pleasing, or better calculated to excite sentiments of devotion, than this subterranean church. It is adorned with pictures of the Italian and Spanish schools, representing the mysteries peculiar to the place,—the Virgin and Child, after Raphael; the Annunciation; the Adoration of the Wise Men; the Coming of the Shepherds ; and all those miracles of min¬ gled grandeur and innocence. The usual ornaments of the manger are of blue satin, embroidered with silver. Incense is continually smoking before the cradle of the Saviour. “ I have heard an organ, touched by no ordinary hand, playing during mass the sweetest and most tender tunes of the best Italian composers. These concerts charm the Christian Arab, who, leaving his camels to feed, repairs, like the shep- * Bethleem nunc nostram, et augustissimum urbis locum dc quo Psalmista canit (Ps. lxxxiv. 12). Veritas de terra orta est, lucus inurn- brabat Thamus, id est, Adonidis; et in specu ubi quondam Christus par- vulus vagiit, Veneris Amasias plangebatur.— Epis. ad Paul. 172 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY herds of old, to Bethlehem, to adore the King of Kings in his manger. I have seen this inhabitant of the desert communicate at the altar of the Magi with a fervour, a piety, a devotion unknown amonjr the Christians of the West.” No place in the world, says Father Neret, excites more pro¬ found devotion. The continual arrival of caravans from all the nations of Christendom—the public prayers—the pros¬ trations—nay, even the richness of the presents sent thither by the Christian princes—altogether produce feelings in the soul which it is much easier to conceive than to describe.* It may be added, that.the effect of all this is heightened by an extraordinary contrast; for, on quitting the grotto where you have met with the riches, the arts, the religion of civilized nations, you find yourself in a profound solitude, amid wretched Arab huts, among half-naked savages and faithless Mussulmans. This place is nevertheless the same where* so many miracles were displayed; but this sacred land dares no more express its joy, and locks within its bosom the recollections of its glory. Bethlehem has usually shared the vicissitudes of Jerusa¬ lem, being, both from its situation and the nature of the relics which it contains, exposed to the rage or cupidity of barba¬ rian conquerors. It fell under the power of the Saracens when led by their victorious calif; but for seven centuries it has been guarded by a succession of religious persons who, it has been said, suffer a perpetual martyrdom. In the time of Yolney, they reckoned about six hundred men ** Pour ce qui est des ornemens de ce saint Temple, il n’en reste que fort peu en comparaison de ce qui y estoit. Car tous les mure estoient autrefois magnifiquement reuestus et couuertes de belles tables de marbre gris ondd, comme on en voit encore en quelques endroits que les Irifidelles n’ont pfi avoir. Comme ils ont emporte tout le reste pour en orner leurs Mosquees, et est une chose pitoyable de voir que tous les murs sont remplis de gros clous et crampons de fer qui les tenoient attachez. Au-dessus des colomnes de la nef est unmur tout couvert, et peint de la plus belle et fine Mosa'ique qu’il est possible de voir, n’estant composde que de petites pierres fines et transparentes comme cristal de toutes les couleurs, qui representent grandes figures et histoires de la Vie, Miracles, Mort, et Passion de Nostre Seigneur, si naiument faites des couleurs si vives et dclatantes, et le fonds d’un or si luysant, qu’il semble qu’elles sont faites depuis peu, encore qu’il y ait plus de treize cens ans. Entre ces figures sont treize fenestres de chacun coste, qui rendent un grand jour par toute l’eglise : derridre la troisidme et quatridme colomne ds la main droite est un tres-beau et riche base de marbre blanc de forme ronde a six pans de quelques trois pieds de diametre, qui sert de fonds baptismaux.— Doubdan, p. 133. T SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 173 inthis village capable of bearing arms, of whom about one hundred were Latin Christians. The necessity of uniting for their common defence against the Bedouins, and the still more relentless agents of despotism, has in many instances prevailed over points of faith, and induced the monks to live on good terms with the Mohammedans. Mr. Buckingham assures us, that at present the town is equal to Nazareth in extent, and contains from 1000 to 1500 inhabitants, who are almost wholly Christians. Dr. Richardson gives the num¬ ber at 300,—an estimate, we should imagine, considerably below the actual population. The men are robust and well made, and the women are among the fairest and most hand¬ some that are to be seen in Palestine. The neighbourhood of Bethlehem presents a variety of objects too important to be passed over without a slight no¬ tice. The Pools of Solomon, connected, it is probable, with a scheme for supplying Jerusalem with water, are usually visited by the more enlightened class of travellers, who com¬ bine in their researches a regard to the arts as well as to the religion of Judea. These reservoirs are four in number, being so disposed, says Maundrell, that the water of the uppermost may descend into the second, and that of the second into the third. Their figure is quadrangular; the breadth is the same in all, amounting to about ninety paces. In their length there is some difference ; the first being one hundred and sixty paces long, the second two hundred, and the third two hundred and twenty. They are all lined with masonry and plastered. The springs whence the pools are supplied seem to have been secured with great care, having, says the author of the Journey from Aleppo, “ no avenue to them but by a little hole like to the mouth of a narrow well.” Through this hole you descend directly about four yards, when you come to a chamber forty-five feet long and twenty-four broad, adjoining to which there is another apartment of the same kind, but not quite so large. Both these rooms are neatly arched, and have an air of great antiquity. The water, which rises from four separate sources, is partly conveyed by a subterranean passage into the ponds ; the remainder being received into an aqueduct of brick pipes, and carried by many turnings and windings among the mountains to the walls of Jerusalem. The monks of Bethlehem are perfectly convinced that it was in allusion P 2 174 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY to this guarded treasure, so valuable in Palestine, that Solo¬ mon called his beloved spouse a “ sealed fountain.” Of the aqueduct here mentioned some traces are still to be detected in the intermediate space, and denote an acquaint¬ ance with the principles of hydraulics which we could not have expected among Hebrew architects. It was con¬ structed all along upon the surface of the ground, and framed of perforated stones let into one another, with a fillet round the cavity, so contrived as to prevent leakage, and united together with so firm a cement that they will sometimes sooner break than endure a separation. These pipes were covered with an arch, or layer of flags, strengthened by the application of a peculiarly strong mortar; the whole “ being endued with such absolute firmness as if it had been de¬ signed for eternity. But the Turks have demonstrated in this instance, that nothing can be so well wrought but they are able to destroy it; for of this strong aqueduct, which was carried formerly five or six leagues with so vast expense and labour, you see now only here and there a fragment re¬ maining.”* In a valley contiguous to Bethlehem are the remains of a church and convent which were erected by the pious em¬ press over the place where the angels appeared to the shep¬ herds. Nothing has survived the desolation to which every edifice in Palestine has been repeatedly subjected but a small grotto wherein the heavenly communication was vouchsafed to the simple keepers of the flock. On the way back to Jerusalem the traveller is induced to leave the more direct route, that he may visit the Convent of St. John in the Desert. This monastery is built over the dwelling where the Baptist is supposed to have first seen the light ; and accordingly, under the altar, the spot on which he was brought forth is marked by a star of marble bearing this inscription :— “Hie precursor Domini Christi natusest.” Here the forerunner of the Lord Christ was born. The church belonging to this establishment has been de¬ scribed as one of the best in the Holy Land, having an ele¬ gant cupola and a pavement of Mosaic, with some paintings. * Maundrell, p 90. 175 i SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. But the appearance, nevertheless, is poor and deserted, as if its votaries were few, and but little concerned in preserv¬ ing its ancient grandeur. The account given of it by Sandys will amuse the reader by the simplicity of the narrative as well as by the deep interest the good man felt in the various scenes which passed before him :—“ Having travelled about a mile and a halfe farther, we came to the cave where the Baptist is said to have lived from the age of seven until such time as he went into the wilderness by Jordan, se~ questred from the abode of men, and feeding on such wilde nourishment as these uninhabited places affoorded. This cave is seated on the northern side of a desart mountaine,— only beholden to the locust-tree,—hewne out of the precipi¬ tating rock, so as difficultly to be ascended or descended to, entered at the east corner, and receiving light from a win¬ dow in the side. At the upper end there is a bench of the selfesame, whereon, they say, he accustomed to sleepe; of which whoso breaks a piece off stands forthwith excommu¬ nicate. Over this, on a little flat, stand the ruins of a mon¬ astery, on the south side, naturally walled with the steepe of a mountain ; from whence there gusheth a living spring which entereth the rock, and atrain bursteth forth beneathe the mouth of the cave,—a place that would make solitari- nesse delightful, and stand in comparison with the turbu¬ lent pompe of cities. This overlooketh a profound valley, on the far side hemmed with aspiring mountains, whereof some are cut (or naturally so) in degrees like allies, which would be else unaccessibly fruitlesse ; whose levels yet bear the stumps of decayed vines, shadowed hot rarely with olives and locusts. And surely I think that all or most of those mountains have bin so husbanded, else could this little countrey have never sustained such a multitude of people. After we had fed of such provision as was brought us from the city by other of the fraternitie that there met us, we turned towards Jerusalem, leaving the way of Bethlehem on the right-hand, and that of Emmaus on the left. The first place of note that we met with was there where once stood the dwelling of Zachary, seated on the side of a fruitful hill, well stored with olives and vineyards. Hither came the blessed Virgin to visit her cousin Elisabeth. Here died Elisa¬ beth, and here, in a grot, on the side of a vault or chapell, lies buried ; over which a goodly church was erected, together 176 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY with a monastery, whereof now little standeth but a part of the walls, which offer to the view some fragments of paint¬ ing, which show that the rest have been exquisit. Beyond and lower is Our Lady’s Fountaine (so called of the inhabit¬ ants), which maintaineth a little current thorow the neigh¬ bouring valley. Neer this, in the bottome and uttermost extent thereof, there standeth a temple, once sumptuous, now desolate, built by Helena, and dedicated to St. John Baptist, in the place where Zachary had another house, possest, as the rest, by the beastly Arabians, who defile it with their cattell, and employ to the basest of uses.”* It is a point still unsettled, whether the food of him who was sent to prepare the way consisted of fruit or of insects ; the name locust being indiscriminately applied to either, and both being used by the inhabitants of Palestine. There is less doubt in regard to the opinions of the early Christians, who were unanimous in the belief that the Baptist lived on the produce of a particular tree which still abounds in the desert. Nay, the friars at the present day assert, that the very plants which yielded sustenance to the holy recluse continue to flourish in their ancient vigour ; and the popish pilgrims, says Mr. Maundrell, who dare not be wiser than such blind guides, gather the fruit of them, and carry it away with much devotion. But we must not permit the interesting associations of Bethlehem to detain us any longer in its vicinity. We pro¬ ceed now towards the extremity of the Dead Sea ; whence, after having visited the most remarkable scenes on its western shore,—the mouth of the Jordan and the position of Jericho,—we shall return to the capital by a different route. After having satisfied his curiosity in church and convent, the traveller turns his face southward to Tekoa and Hebron, those remoter villages of the Holy Land. The former, which was built by Rehoboam, and is distinguished as the birthplace of Amos the prophet, presents considerable ruins, and even some remains of architecture. It appears to have stood upon a hill, which Pococke describes as being about half a mile in length and a furlong broad. On the north¬ eastern corner there are fragments of an old building, sup- * Relation of a Journey, p. 183. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 177 posed to have been a fortress, while about half-way up the ascent there are similar indications of a church now in a state of complete dilapidation. There is preserved, how¬ ever, a large font of an octagon form, composed of red and white marble ; as also pieces of broken pillars consisting of the same material. Farther towards the south, various manifestations present themselves of ancient civilization, the traces of which are most distinctly marked by places of worship and numerous strongholds. The traveller just named mentions a ruined castle called Creightoun, situated on the side of a steep hill, and a church dedicated to St. Pantaleone. At a little dis¬ tance there is an immense grotto, which is said on one oc¬ casion to have contained 30,000 men ; and hence it is con¬ jectured to be one of those retreats in the fastnesses of En- gedi to which David fled from the pursuit of Saul. About two miles farther, in a south-eastern direction, is the Mount of Bethulia, near a village of the same name; a position which is thought to agree with that of Beth-haccerem, speci¬ fied by Jeremiah as a proper place for a beacon, where the children of Benjamin were to sound the trumpet in Tekoa.* There is a tradition that the knights of Jerusalem, during the Holy War, held this strong post forty years after the capital had fallen. It is a single hill, and very high ; and the top of it appears like a large mount formed by art, being defended by a double line of fortifications and several towers, which in a rude state of warfare might be pronounced almost impregnable. At the foot of an eminence towards the north there are the remains of a magnificent church as well as of other buildings. On a slope a little farther west there is a cistern connected with a pond, which appears to have had an island in it, and probably some structure suited to the supply of water. These works were also encom¬ passed with a double wall; and it is said that two aqueducts may still be perceived terminating in the basin, one from the Sealed Fountain of Solomon, and another from the hilly district which stretches between Bethlehem and Tekoa. In reference to the tradition that the knights of Jerusalem * O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruc¬ tion.—Jer. vi. 1. 178 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY held the garrison of Bethulia forty years, Captain Mangles remarks, that the place is too small to have contained even half the number of men which would have been requisite to make any stand in such a country; and the ruins, though they maybe those of a place once defended by Franks, ap¬ pear to have had an earlier origin, as the architecture seems to be decidedly Roman. There can be little doubt, indeed, that it is one of the works of Herod the Great; and its dis¬ tance does not differ much from that of Herodium, which is described by Josephus as being about sixty furlongs from the metropolis. The delineation of the hill, too, by the same historian, corresponds with the Mount of the Franks ; and when he adds that water was conveyed to it at a great ex¬ pense, we cannot permit ourselves to question the identity of Herodium and the fortress of Bethulia.* Hebron, Habroun, or, according to the Arabic orthography followed by the moderns, El Hhalil, is considerably removed from the usual track of pilgrims and tourists. An accident or quarrel once excited the indignation of the inhabitants against the Franks, who during a long course of time were dissuaded by the monks at Jerusalem from extending their researches beyond Bethlehem. Sandys could only report, apparently on the information of others, that Hebron was reduced to ruins ; but he adds, there is a little village seated in the field of Machpelah, “ where standeth a goodly temple, erected over the burying-cave of the patriarchs by Helena, the mother of Constantine, converted now into a mosque.” Without minutely analyzing the topography of this rather credulous author, we may repeat the assurance which he gives relative to the existence of the imperial monument dedicated to the memory of Abraham and his immediate de¬ scendants. M. Burckhardt, who saw it in 1807, bears tes¬ timony to the fact that the sepulchre, once a Greek church, is now appropriated to the worship of Mohammed. The ascent to it is by a large and fine staircase that leads to a long gallery, the entrance to which is by a small court. Towards the left is a portico resting upon square pillars. The vestibule of the temple contains two rooms ; the one being the tomb of Abraham, the other that of Sarah. In the body of the church, between two large pillars on the * Modern Traveller, vol. i.p. 183. Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 13. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 179 right, is seen a small recess, in which is the sepulchre of Isaac, and in a similar one upon the left is that of his wife. On the opposite side of the court is another vestibule, which has also two rooms, being respectively the tomb of Jacob and of his spouse. At the extremity of the portico, upon the right-hand, is a door which leads to a sort of long gal¬ lery that still serves for a mosque ; and passing from thence is observed another room containing the ashes of Joseph, which are said to have been carried thither by the people of Israel. All the sepulchres of the patriarchs are covered with rich carpets of green silk, magnificently embroidered with gold ; those of their wives are red, embroidered in like manner. The sultans of Constantinople furnish these car¬ pets, which are renewed from time to time. M. Burck- liardt counted nine, one over another, upon the sepulchre of Abraham. The rooms also which contain the tombs are covered with rich carpets ; the entrance to them is guarded by iron gates, and wooden doors plated with silver, having bolts and padlocks of the same metal. More than a hun¬ dred persons are employed in the service of this temple , affording, with the decorations and wealth lavished upon the structure, a remarkable contrast to the simple life of the venerable man to whose memory it is meant to do honour. If the description given by Sanays in the seventeenth century was correct, we must conclude that Hebron has subsequently enjoyed a period of improvement. According to the traveller whom we have just quoted, it contains about four hundred families, of which about a fourth part are Jews. It is situated on the slope of a mountain ; has a strong castle; can boast abundance of provisions, a con¬ siderable number of shops, and some neat houses. The whole of the country between Tekoa and Hebron is finer and better cultivated than in the neighbourhood of Jerusa¬ lem ; while the sides of the hills, instead of being naked and dreary, are richly studded with the oak, the arbutus, the Scottish fir, and a variety of flowering-shrubs. Beyond this point the information of Europeans ceased until about twelve years ago, when the desert which stretches between the Sepulchre of Abraham and the Dead Sea was entered by Mr. Bankes, Mr. Legh, and Captains Irby and Mangles. After a journey of three days from Hebron towards the south, the travellers were informed of extensive ruins at Abdi in the Wilderness. On turning their faces to 180 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY Kerek, the object of their search, the road led ill the direc¬ tion of the Lake Asphaltites, through a country which, although well cultivated, was extremely uninteresting. They observed a variety of ruins, with some subterranean tombs in the neighbourhood, denoting the existence of an ancient town; when, after having advanced eight or nine miles farther, they found themselves on the borders of an extensive desert, entirely abandoned to the wandering Be¬ douins. Near the point at which this change of aspect begins is a place called by the natives Al-baid, where there is a fountain in the rock and a pool of greenish water. The travellers, at some distance from this halting-place, arrived at a camp of Jellaheen Arabs, who told them that in years of scarcity they were accustomed to retire into Egypt, —a practice which seems to have been handed down from the days of the patriarchs, or dictated by the same necessity that compelled the family of Jacob to adopt a similar expe¬ dient. At the distance of eight hours from Al-baid, in a deep barren valley, are the ruins of an old Turkish fort, standing on a solitary rock to the left of the track. Farther on the cliff is excavated, at a considerable height, into loop¬ holes ; where it is probable a barrier was formerly estab¬ lished for levying a certain duty on goods and travellers. The place is called El Zowar, or El Ghor. From hence a gravelly ravine, studded with bushes of acacia and other shrubs, conducts to the great plain at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea; bounded at the distance of eight or nine miles by a sandy cliff at least seventy feet high, which forms a barrier to the lake when at its greatest elevation. The existence of that long valley which extends from Asphal¬ tites to the iEIanitic Gulf was first ascertained by Burck- hardt; and the prolongation of it, as connected with the hollow of the Jordan, has been considered as a proof that the river at one time discharged its waters into the eastern branch of the Red Sea. The change is attributed to that great volcanic convulsion mentioned in the nineteenth chap¬ ter of Genesis, which, interrupting the course of the river, converted into a lake the fertile plain occupied by the cities of Adma, Zeboim, Sodom, and Gomorrah, and reduced all the valley southward to the condition of a sandy waste.* * Burckhardt’s Travels in Syria, Pref. vi. Modern Traveller, vol. i. p. 203. Doubdan, Voyage, p. 322, 326. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 181 But, having reached the shore of the Dead Sea by an Unfrequented path, we have no guide to the examination of the wild country which rises on either side of it; we therefore prefer the more wonted route which leads to its northern border, near the mouth of the Jordan and the site of the ancient Jericho. Avoiding, at the same time, the track of the caravan from Jerusalem through the hilly desert which intervenes, we shall accompany the Vicomte de Chateaubriand from Bethlehem through the interesting Valley of Santa Saba. On leaving the Church of the Nativity the traveller pur¬ sues his course eastward, through a vale where Abraham is said to have fed his flocks. This pastoral tract, how¬ ever, is soon succeeded by a range of hilly ground, so ex¬ tremely barren that not even a root of moss is to be seen upon it. Descending the farther side of this meager plat¬ form two lofty towers are perceived, rising from a deep valley, marking the site of the Convent of Santa Saba. Nothing can be more dreary than the situation of this reli¬ gious house. It is erected in a ravine, sunk to the depth of several hundred feet, where the brook Kedron has formed a channel, which is dry the greater part of the year. The church is on a little eminence at the bottom of the dell; whence the buildings of the monastery rise by perpendicu¬ lar flights of steps and passages hewn out of the rock, and thus ascend to the ridge of the hill, where they terminate in the two square towers already mentioned. From hence you descry the sterile summits of the mountains both to¬ wards the cast and west; the course of the stream from Jerusalem ; and the numerous grottoes formerly occupied by Christian anchorites. In advancing, the aspect of the country still continues the same, white and dusty, without tree, herbage, or even moss. At length the road seeks a lower level, and ap¬ proaches the rocky border which bounds the Valley of the Jordan ; when, after a toilsome journey of ten or twelve hours, the traveller sees stretching out before his eyes the Dead Sea and the line of the river. But the landscape, however grand, admits of no comparison to the scenery of Europe. No fields waving with corn,—no plains cov¬ ered with rich pasture present themselves from the moun¬ tains of Lower Palestine. Figure to yourself two long 182 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY chains of mountains, running in a parallel direction from north to south, without breaks and without undulations. The eastern or Arabian chain is the highest; and, when seen at the distance of eight or ten leagues, you would take it to be a prodigious perpendicular wall, resembling Mount Jura in its form and azure colour. Not one sum¬ mit, not the smallest peak can be distinguished; you merely perceive slight inflections here and there, “ as if the hand of the painter who drew this horizontal line along the sky had trembled in some places.” The mountains of Judea form the range on which the observer stands as he looks down on the Lake Asphaltites. Less lofty and more unequal than the eastern chain, it differs from the other in its nature also; exhibiting heaps of chalk and sand, whose form, it is said, bears some re¬ semblance to piles of arms, waving standards, or the tents of a camp pitched on the border of a plain. The Arabian side, on the contrary, presents nothing but black precipi¬ tous rocks, which throw their lengthened shadow over the waters of the Dead Sea. The smallest bird of heaven would not find among these crags a single blade of grass for its sustenance ; every thing announces the country of a reprobate people, and well fitted to perpetuate the punish¬ ment denounced against Ammon and Moab. The valley confined by these two chains of mountains displays a soil resembling the bottom of a sea which has long retired from its bed, a beach covered with salt, dry mud, and moving sands, furrowed, as it were, by the waves. Here and there stunted shrubs vegetate with difficulty upon this inanimate tract; their leaves are covered with salt, and their bark has a smoky smell and taste. Instead of vil¬ lages you perceive the ruins of a few towers. In the middle of this valley flows a discoloured river, which reluctantly throws itself into the pestilential lake by which it is in¬ gulfed. Its course amid the sands can be distinguished only by the willows and the reeds that border it; among which the Arab lies in ambush to attack the traveller and to murder the pilgrim.* M. Chateaubriand remarks, that when you travel in Judea the heart is at first filled with profound melancholy. * Chateaubriand, tom. i. p. 408. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 183 But when, passing from solitude to solitude, boundless space opens before you, this feeling wears off by degrees, and you experience a secret awe, which, so far from de¬ pressing the soul, imparts life and elevates the genius. Extraordinary appearances everywhere proclaim a land teeming with miracles. The burning sun, the towering eagle, the barren fig-tree, all the poetry, all the pictures of Scripture are here. Every name commemorates a mys¬ tery,—every grotto announces a prediction,—every hill re¬ echoes the accents of a prophet. God himself has spoken in these regions, dried up rivers, rent the rocks, and opened the grave. “ The desert still appears mute with terror ; and you would imagine that it had never presumed to in¬ terrupt the silence since it heard the awful voice of the Eternal. The celebrated lake which occupies the site of Sodom and Gomorrah is called in Scripture the Dead Sea. Among the Greeks and Latins it is known by the name of Asphal- tites ; the Arabs denominate it Bahar Loth, or Sea of Lot. M. de Chateaubriand does not agree with those who conclude it to be the crater of a volcano ; for, having seen Vesuvius, Solfatara, the Peak of the Azores, and the ex¬ tinguished volcanoes of Auvergne, he remarked in all of them the same characters ; that is to say, mountains exca¬ vated in the form of a tunnel, lava, and ashes, which ex¬ hibited incontestable proof of the agency of fire. The Salt Sea, on the contrary, is a lake of great length, curved like a bow, placed between two ranges of mountains, which have no mutual coherence of form, no similarity of compo¬ sition. They do not meet at the two extremities of the lake; but while the one continues to bound the valley of Jordan, and to run northward as far as Tiberias, the other stretches away to the south till it loses itself in the sands of Yemen. There are, it is true, hot springs, quantities of bitumen, sulphur, and asphaltos; but these of themselves are not sufficient to attest the previous existence of a vol¬ cano. With respect, indeed, to the ingulfed cities, if we adopt the idea of Michaelis and of Biisching, physics may be admitted to explain the catastrophe without offence to religion. According to their views, Sodom was built upon a mine of bitumen,—a fact which is ascertained by the tes¬ timony of Moses and Josephus, who speak of wells of 184 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY naphtha in the Valley of Sitldim. Lightning kindled the combustible mass, and the guilty cities sank in the subter¬ raneous conflagration. Malte Brun ingeniously suggests that Sodom and Gomorrah themselves may have been built of bituminous stones, and thus have been set in flames by the fire from heaven. According to Strabo, there were thirteen towns swal¬ lowed up in the Lake Asphaltites ; Stephen of Byzantium reckons eight; the book of Genesis, while it names five as situated in the Vale of Siddim, relates the destruction of two only : four are mentioned in Deuteronomy, and five are noticed by the author of Ecclesiasticus. Several travellers, arul among others Troilo and D’Arvieux, assure us, that they observed fragments of walls and palaces in the Dead Sea. Maundrell himself was not so fortunate, owing, he supposes, to the height of the water ; but he relates that the Father Guardian and Procurator of Jerusalem, both men of sense and probity, declared that they had once actually seen one of these ruins; that it was so near the shore, and the lake so shallow, that they, together with some Frenchmen, went to it, and found there several pillars and other fragments of buildings. The ancients speak more positively on this subject. Josephus, who employs a poetical expression, says, that he perceived on the shores of the Dead Sea the shades of the overwhelmed cities. Strabo gives a circum¬ ference of sixty stadia to the ruins of Sodom, which are also mentioned by Tacitus.* It is surprising that no pains have been taken by recent travellers to throw light upon this interesting point, or even to learn whether the periodical rise and fall of the lake af¬ fords any means for determining the accuracy of the ancient historians and geographers. Should the Turks ever give permission, and should it be found practicable, to convey a vessel from Jaffa to this inland sea, some curious discoveries would certainly be made. Is it not amazing that, notwith¬ standing the enterprise of modern science, the ancients were better acquainted with the properties, and even the dimensions of the Lake Asphaltites, than the most learned * “ Hatid procul inrle campi, quos ferunt olim uberes, magnisque ur- bibus habitatos, fulminum jactu, arsisse; et manere vestigia, terramque jpsam, specie torridam, vim frugiferam perdidisse.”— Tacit. Hist. lib. v. cap. 7. south and east of Jerusalem 185 nations of Europe in our own times 1 It is described by- Aristotle, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, Tacitus, Soli- nus, Josephus, Galen, and Dioscorides. The Abbot of Santa Saba is the only person for many centuries who has made the tour of the Dead Sea. From his account wo learn, through the medium of Father Nau, that at its ex¬ tremity it is separated, as it were, into two parts, and that there is a way by which you may walk across it, being only mid-leg deep, at least in summer ; that there the land rises, and bounds another small lake of a circular or rather an oval figure, surrounded with plains and hills of salt; and that the neighbouring country is peopled by innumerable Arabs.* It is known that seven considerable streams fall into this basin, and hence it was long supposed that it must discharge its superfluous stores by subterranean channels into the Mediterranean or the Red Sea. This opinion is now every¬ where relinquished, in consequence of the learned remarks on the effect of evaporation in a hot climate, published by Dr. Halley many years ago ; the justness of which were admitted by Dr. Shaw, though he calculated that the Jordan alone threw into the lake every day more than six million tuns of water. It is deserving of notice, that the Arabian philosophers, if we may believe Mariti, had anticipated * The Abbe Mariti, who saw little himself, is not willing to allow to others the advantage of having been more fortunate. “ Quelques voy- ageurs ont avancd qu’on distinguoit encore les debris de ces villes in- fortundes, lorsque les eaux de la mer etoient basses et lympides. 11 en est m£me que-disent avoir apperqu des restes de colonnes avec lenrs chapitaux. Mais, il faut que l’imagination les ait tromp6s, ou que de- puis leur retour, cette mer ait eprouve de nouvelles secousses, car je n’y peux rien voir de semblable^ malgrd toute ma bonne volontC. Un pdre capucin crut aussi reconnoitre sur ces bords, les effets frappans de la malediction celeste. Ici, ce sont des traces de feu, Id, une surface de cendres, partout des champs arides et maudits. II croit m£me respirer encore une odeur de soufre. Pour moi je suis affects en sens contraire : rien dans ce lieu ne me rappelle la desolation dont parle la bible. L’air y est pure, le gazon d’un beau vert; en plus d’un endroit mon ceil se refralchit aux eaux argentines qui jaillissant en gerbes da sommet des monts; la sterilite dont une partie de ces campagnes ftit frappde dds la naissance du monde, rend plus douce par le contraste l’apparence de fertility que je reinarquai dans le sol d’Alvona. Mais d'ou vient done que deux voyageurs peuvent £tre si opposes 1 C’est que un capucin porte partout les cinq sens de la foi, et que moi je ne suis dou6 que do ceux de la nature.”—Tom. ii. p. 334. 188 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY Halley in his conclusions in regard to the absorbent power of a dry atmosphere.* The marvellous properties usually assigned to the Dead Sea by the earlier travellers have vanished upon a more rigid investigation. It is now known that bodies sink or float upon it, in proportion to their specific gravity; and that, although the water is so dense as to be favourable to swimmers, no security is found against the common accident of drowning. Josephus indeed asserts that Vespasian, in order to ascertain the fact now mentioned, commanded a number of his slaves to be bound hand and foot and thrown into the deepest part of the lake ; and that, so far from any of them sinking, they all maintained their place on the sur¬ face until it pleased the emperor to have them taken out* But this anecdote, although perfectly consistent with truth, does not justify all the inferences which have been drawn from it. “ Being willing to make an experiment,” says Maundrell, “ I went into it, and found that 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 got as deep as the middle, I found it, upon trial, not true.”f The water of this sea has been frequently analyzed both in France and England. The specific gravity of it, accord¬ ing to Malte Brun, is 1.211, that of fresh water being 1.000. It is perfectly transparent. The application of tests, or reagents, prove that it contains the muriatic and sulphuric acids. There is no alumina in it, nor does it appear that it is saturated with marine salt or muriate of soda. It holds in solution the following substances, and in the proportions here stated: • Muriate of lime, ... 3.920 Magnesia,..10.246 Soda,.10.360 Sulphate of lime,.054 We need not add that such a liquid must be equally salt and bitter. As might be expected, too, it is found to de- * “On plutdt doit on admettre l’opinion des physiciens Arabes, qui etablissent, non sans quelque fondement, qu’elles se dissipent en evapo- ration T } —Tom. ii. p. 334. " t Mr. Gordon, however, maintains, that persons who have never learned to swim will float on its surface. Chateaubriand, tom. i. p. 412. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 187 posite its salts in copious incrustations, and to prove a ready- agent in all processes of petrifaction. Clothes, boots, and hats, if dipped in the lake, or accidentally wetted with its water, are found, when dried, to be covered with a thick coating of these minerals. Hence, we cannot be surprised to hear that the Lake Asphaltites does not present any variety of fish. Mariti asserts that it produces none, and even that those which are carried into it by the rapidity of the Jordan perish almost immediately upon being immerged in its acrid waves. A few shell-snails constitute the sole tenants of its dreary shores, unmixed either with the helix or the muscle. It was formerly believed that the approach to Asphaltites was fatal to birds, and that, like another lake of antiquity, it had the power of drawing them down from the wing into its poisonous waters. This dream, propagated by certain visionary travellers, is now completely discredited. Flocks of swallows may be seen skimming along its surface with the utmost impunity, while the absence of all other species is easily explained by a glance at the naked hills and barren plains, which supply no vegetable food. The historian Josephus, who measured the Dea^ ®ea, found that in length it extended about five Hundred and eighty stadia, and in breadth one hundred and fifty,— -ac¬ cording to our standard, somewha* jnore than seventy miles by nineteen. A recent trailer, to whose unpublished journal we have repeat-dly alluded, remarks that the lake, when he visited it, vvas sunk or hollow, and that the banks had been recently under water, being still very miry and difficult to pass. The shores were covered with dry wood, some of it good timber, which they say is brought by the Jordan from the country of the Druses. “ The water is pungently salt, like oxymuriate of soda. It is incredibly buoyant. G-bathed in it, and when he lay still on his back or belly, he floated with one-fourth at least of his whole body above the water. He described the sensation as ex¬ traordinary, and more like lying on a feather-bed than float¬ ing on water. On the other hand, he found the greatest resistance in attempting to move through it: it smarted his eyes excessively. I put a piece of stick in ; it required a good deal of pressure to make it sink, and when let go it bounded out again like a blown bladder. The water was 188 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY clear, and of a yellowish tinge, which might be from the colour of the stones at bottom, or from the hazy atmosphere* There were green shrubs down to the water’s edge in one place, and nothing to give an idea of any thing blasting in the neighbourhood of the sea; the desert character of the soil extending far beyond the possibility of being affected by its influence.”*' The bitumen supplied by this singular basin affords the means of a comfortable livelihood to a considerable number of Arabs who frequent its shores. The Pasha of Damas¬ cus, who finds it a valuable article of commerce, purchases at a small price the fruit of their labours, or supplies them with food, clothing, and a few ornaments in return for it. In ancient times it found a ready market in Egypt, where it was used in large quantities for embalming the dead : it was also occasionally employed as a substitute for stone, and appeared in the walls of houses and even of temples. Associated with the Dead Sea, every reader has heard of the apples of Sodom, a species of fruit which, extremely beautiful to the eye, is bitter to the taste, and full of dust. Tacitus, in the fifth book of his history, alludes to this sin¬ gula* fact, but, as usual, in language so brief and ambigu¬ ous, that no light can be derived from his description, atra el inania velut in cinerem vanescunt. Some travellers, unable to discover this singula* production, have considered it merely as a figure of speech, depicting the deceitful nature of all vicious enjoyments. Hassei^pist regards it as the production of a small plant called Solanm m melongencL , a species of nightshade, which is to be found abundantly in the neighbourhood of Jericho. He admits that tbo apples are sometimes full of dust; but this, he maintains, appears only when the fruit is attacked by a certain insect, which converts the whole of the inside into a kind of powder, leaving the rind wholly entire, and in possession of its beautiful colour. * “ Le Cardinal de Vitry la nomine la Mer du Diable, et Marinus Sa- nutus dit qu’elle est tousjours couuerte d’une fumee epaisse et de vapeurs Tioires, comme quelque sotipirail ou cheminbe d’Enfer. D’autres disent qne son eau est noire, gluante, epaisse, grasse, fanguese, et de tres- mauvaise odeur; et toutefois j’ay parle a des Religieux qui m’ont asseur6 y avoir 6te, et que cette eau est claire, nette, et liquide: mais tr£s-am6re et sal6e. Et comme j’ay dit, je n’y ay veu, ny f\im6e ny brouillards.”— Doubdatv, Voyage de la Terre Sainte, p. 317. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 189 M. Seetzen, again, holds the novel opinion, that this mys¬ terious apple contains a sort of cotton resembling silk ; and, having no pulp or flesh in the inside, might naturally enough, when sought for as food, be denounced by the hungry Be¬ douin as pleasing to the eye and deceitful to the palate. Chateaubriand has fixed on a shrub different from any of the others. It grows two or three leagues from the mouth of the Jordan, and is of a thorny appearance, with small tapering leaves. Its fruit is exactly like that of the Egyp¬ tian lemon, both in size and colour. Before it is ripe it is filled with a corrosive and saline juice ; when dried, it yields a blackish seed that may be compared to ashes, and which in taste resembles bitter pepper. There can be little .doubt that this is the true apple of Sodom, which flatters the sight while it mocks the appetite.* ' In ascending the western shore, the traveller at length reaches the point where the Jordan mixes its muddy waters with those of the lake. Hasselquist, the only modern author who describes the mouth of that celebrated river, tells us that the plain which extends from thence to Jericho, a dis¬ tance of more than three leagues, is, generally speaking, level, but uncultivated and barren. The soil is a grayish sandy clay, so loose that the horses often sank up to the knees in it. The whole surface of the earth is covered with salt in the same manner as on the banks of the Nile, and would, it is probable, prove no less fruitful were it irrigated with equal care. The stones on the beach, it is added, were all quartz, but of various colours ; some specimens of which, having a slaty structure, emitted, when exposed to fire, a strong smell of bitumen, thereby denoting, perhaps, its volcanic origin. There is a great want of unanimity among authors in respect to the width of the Jordan. The Swede whom we have just quoted relates, that opposite to Jericho it was eight paces over, the banks perpendicular, six feet in height, * u As for the apples of Sodom, so much talked of, I neither saw nor heard of any hereabouts; nor was there any tree to be seen near the lake from which one might expect such a fruit. Which induces me to believe that there may be a greater deceit in this fruit than that which is usually reported of it; and that its very being, as well as its beauty, is a fiction, only kept up, as my Lord Bacon observes other false notions are, because it serves for a good allusion, and helps the poet to a similitude.— Mauri' dr ell, p. 85. 190 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY the water deep, muddy, warm rather than cold, and much inferior in quality to that of the Nile. Chateaubriand, again, who measured it in several places, reports that it was about fifty feet in breadth, and six feet deep close to the shore,—a discrepancy which must arise from the period of the year when it was seen by these distinguished writers.* The Old Testament abounds with allusions to the swell¬ ings of Jordan ; but at present, whether the current has deepened its channel, or whether the climate is less moist than in former days, this occurrence is seldom witnessed,— the river has forgotten its ancient greatness. Maundrell could discern no sign or probability of such overflowings ; for although he was there on the 30th of March,—the proper season of the inundation,—the river was running two yards at least under the level of its banks. The mar¬ gin of the stream, however, continues as of old to be closely covered with a natural forest of tamarisk, willows, oleanders, and similar trees, and to afford a retreat to several species of wild beasts. Hence the fine metaphor of the prophet Jeremiah, who assimilates an enraged enemy to a lion coming up “from the swellings of Jordan,” driven from his lair by the annual flood, and compelled to seek shelter in the surrounding desert. Jericho, which is at present a miserable village inhabited by half-naked Arabs, derives all its importance from history. It was the first city which the Israelites reduced upon en¬ tering the Holy Land. Five hundred and thirty years afterward it was rebuilt by Heliel of Bethel, who succeeded in restoring its population, its splendour, and its commerce; in which flourishing condition it appears to have continued during several centuries. Mark Antony, in the pride of power, presented to Cleopatra the whole territory of Jericho. Vespasian, in the course of the sanguinary war which he prosecuted in Judea, sacked its walls, and put its inhabit¬ ants to the sword. Re-established by Adrian in the 138th year of our faith, it was doomed at no distant era to expe¬ rience new disasters. It was again repaired by the Chris- * The reading in Hasselquist must be eighteen instead of eight, or eight fathoms, instead of feet, for Mr. Maundrell remarks that the breadth of the river “might be about twenty yards over, and in depth it far exceeded my height.”— Journey, p. 83. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 191 tians, who made it the seat of a bishop ; but in the twelfth century it was overthrown by the infidels, and has not since emerged from its ruins. Of all its magnificent buildings there remain only the part of one tower, supposed to be the dwelling of Zaccheus the publican, and a quantity of rubbish, which is understood to mark the line of its ancient walls. Mr. Buckingham saw reason to believe that the true site of Jericho, as described by Josephus, was at a greater dis¬ tance from the river than the village of Rahhah, commonly supposed to represent the City of Palms. Descending from the mountains which bound the valley on the western side, he observed the ruins of a large settlement,, covering at least a square mile, whence, as well as from the remains of aqueducts and fountains, he was led to conclude that it must have been a place of considerable consequence. Some of the more striking objects among the wrecks of this an¬ cient city were large tumuli, evidently the work of art, and resembling those of the Greek and Trojan heroes on the plains of Ilium. There were, besides, portions of ruined buildings, shafts of columns, and a capital of the Corinthian order; tokens not at all ambiguous of former grandeur and of civilized life. Josephus fixes the position of Jericho at the distance of one hundred and fifty furlongs from Jerusalem, and sixty from the river Jordan ; stating that the country, as far as the capital, is desert and hilly, while to the shores of the Lake Asphaltites it is low, though equally waste and un¬ fruitful. Nothing can apply more accurately, in all its particulars, than this description does to the ruins just mentioned. The spot lies at the very foot of the sterile mountains of Judea, which may be said literally to over¬ hang it on the west; and these ridges are still as barren, as rugged, and as destitute of inhabitants as formerly, throughout their whole extent, from the Lake of Tiberias to the Dead Sea. The distance, by the computation in time, amounted to six hours, or nearly twenty miles, from Jerusalem ; the space between the supposed city and the river being little more than one-third of that amount, the precise proportion indicated by the Jewish historian. The soil round Jericho was long celebrated, for a precious balsam, which used to be sold for double its weight of silver. The historian Justin relates, that the trees from which it 192 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY exudes bear a resemblance to firs, though they are lower, and are cultivated after the manner of vines. He adds, that the wealth of the Jewish nation arises from their pro¬ duce, as they grow in no other part of Syria. At present, however, there is not a tree of any description, either palm or balsam, to be seen near the site of this deserted town; but it is admitted, that the complete desolation with which its ruins are invested ought to be attributed to the cessation of industry rather than to any perceptible change either in the climate or the soil. Rahhah stands about four miles nearer the river, or about half-way between the assumed position of Jericho and the bank of the current. It consists of about fifty dwellings, all very mean in their appearance, and every one fenced in front with thorny bushes; one of the most effectual defences that could be raised against the incursions of the Bedouins, whose horses will not approach these formidable thickets. The inhabitants, without exception, are professed believers in the creed of Islamism. Their habits are *hose of shepherds rather than of cultivators of the soil g this last duty, indeed, when performed at all, being done chiefly by the women and children, as the men roam the plam ; on horseback, and derive the principal means of subfjstf from robbery and plunder. They are governed by a whose influence among them is more ii.. TnJuvrty of a father over his children than that of «. rn agist io and who is, moreover, checked in the exercise of hi" wer, by the knowledge that he would instantly ba deprived of life and station were he to exceed the bounds which, in all rudo countries, are opposed even to the caprices of despotism. It is remarkable that the name of this village corresponds to Rahab, the name of the hostess who received into her house the Hebrew spies, and signifies odour or perfume ; the slight change on the form of the Arabic term implying no difference in the import of the root whence they are both originally derived. The mountains on the eastern side of the Jordan are more lofty than those which skirt the Vale of Jericho, being not less than 2000 feet in height. From the summit of a towering peak, which the traveller still delights to recog¬ nise, Moses was permitted to behold the promised inherit¬ ance, stretching towards the west, the south, and the north, SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 193 -—“ All the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him, this is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed : I have caused thee to see it w ith thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.”* The road from Jericho to Jerusalem presents some his¬ torical reminiscences of the most interesting nature. When entering the mountains which protect the western side of the plain, the attention of the traveller is invited to the Fountain of Elisha, the waters of which were sweetened by the power of the prophet. The men of Jericho repre¬ sented to him that though the situation of the town was ' pleasant, “the water was naught, and the ground barren. .■ And Be said, br-ing me a new cruse, and put salt therein : and they brought fit to him. And he went forth unto the °f the?waters 1 , and cast the salt in there, and said, '".aus sSith ther LscJ, I have healed these waters ; there shall : no-tfi;^ ’ Ace any more death or barren land. So the ^ -fg'wefe neaftd unto this day, according to the saying of Elis: which he spake.”! Its waters are at present received in a basin about nine or ten paces long, and five or six broad ; and from thence, issuing out in good plenty*, divide themselves into several small streams, dispersing their refreshment to all the land as far as Jericho, and rendering it exceedingly fruitful. Ad¬ vancing into the savage country through which the usual road to the capital is formed, the tourist soon finds himself at the foot of the mountain called Quarantina, from being the supposed scene of the temptation and fast of forty days endured by our Saviour, who, - “ looking round on every side, beheld A pathless desert dusk with horrid shades: * Deut. xxxiv. 1-7. R t 2 Kings ii. 19-23. 194 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY The way he came not having marked, return Was difficult, by human steps untrod; And he still on was led, but with such thoughts Accompanied of things past and to come Lodg’d in his breast, as well might recommend Such solitude before choicest society.* The neighbourhood of this lofty eminence is, according to Mr. Maundrell, a dry, miserable, barren place ; consist¬ ing of high rocky mountains, so torn and disordered, “ as if the earth had here suffered some great convulsion, in which its very bowels had been turned outward.” In a deep valley are seen the ruins of small cells and cottages, thought to be the remains of those sequestered habitations to which hermits were wont to retire for the uses of penance and mortification ; and it is remarked that, in the whole earth, a more comfortless and desert place could not have been selected for so pious a purpose. From these hills of deso¬ lation, however, there is obtained a magnificent prospect of the Plain of Jericho, the Dead Sea, and of the distant summits of Arabia; for which reason the highest of the group has been assigned by tradition as the very spot whence all the kingdoms of the world were seen in a moment of time. It is, as St. Matthew styles it, an exceeding high mountain, and in its ascent not only difficult but dangerous. It has a small chapel at the top, and another about half-way down, founded upon a projecting part of the rock. Near the latter are observed several caves and holes, excavated by the solitaries, who thought it the most suitable place for undergoing the austerities of Lent,—a practice which has not even at the present day fallen altogether into disuse. Hasselquist describes the path as “ dangerous beyond imagination. I went as far up on this terrible mountain of Temptation as prudence would admit, but ventured not to go to the top ; whither I sent my servant, to bring what natural curiosities he could find, while I gathered what plants and insects I could find below.”f Mariti, whose religious zeal was fanned into a temporary flame, ascended the formidable steep as far as the grottoes, which he delineates with much minuteness. He pronounces * Paradise Regained, Book I. v. 295, &o. + Among these he found, with great delight, a very curious new cimex or bug , p. 129. SOUTH AND EAST OF JERUSALEM. 195 the chapel inaccessible from the side on which he stood, and is very doubtful whether it could now be approached on any quarter, the ancient road being so much neglected. But it should seem that most travellers are smitten with the feel¬ ing which seized the breast of Maundrell, although they all have not the candour to acknowledge it. Alluding to the Arabs, who demanded a sum of money for liberty to ascend, he says, “ we departod without further trouble, not a little glad to have so good an excuse for not climbing so dangerous a precipice.”* The imagination of Milton has thrown a captivating splendour around this scene, which, at the same time, he appears to have transferred to the mountain-range beyond the Jordan in the country of the Moabites. “ Thus wore out night; and now the herald lark Left his ground-nest, high towering to descry The morn's approach, and greet her with his song: As lightly from his grassy couch up rose Our Saviour, and found all was but a dream; Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting waked. Up to a hill anon his steps he reared, From whose high top to ken the prospect round, If cottage were in view, sheepcote, or herd ; But cottage, herd, or sheepcote, none he saw; Only in a bottom saw a pleasant grove, With chant of tuneful birds resounding loud: Thither he bent his way ; determined there To rest at noon, and entered soon the shade High roofed, and walks beneath, and alleys brown, That opened in the midst a woody scene.”! Leavingthe Quarantina with its dreary scenes and solemn recollections, the pilgrim returning from the Jordan finds himself on a beaten path which, since the days of Moses, it is probable has connected the rocks of Salem with the banks of the sacred river. Chateaubriand informs us that it is broad, and in some parts paved ; having undergone, as he conjectures, several improvements while the country was in possession of the Romans. On the top of a mountain there is the appearance of a castle, which, we may con¬ clude, was meant to protect and command the road ; and at a little distance, in the bottom of a deep gloomy valley is the Place of Blood, called in the Hebrew tongue Abdomim, * Journey, p. 80. f Paradise Regained, Book II. v. 281. 196 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY where once stood a small town belonging to the tribe of Judah, and where the good Samaritan is imagined to have succoured the wounded traveller who had fallen into the hands of thieves. That sombre dell is still entitled to its horrible distinction; it is still the place of blood, of rob¬ bery, and of murder; the most dangerous pass for him who undertakes to go down from Jerusalem to Jericho. As a proof of this, we may shortly mention an assault which was made upon Sir F. Henniker, who a few years ago resolved to accomplish that perilous journey. “ The route is over hills, rocky, barren, and uninteresting. We arrived at a fountain, and here my two attendants paused to refresh themselves ; the day was so hot that I was anx¬ ious to finish the journey, and hasten forwards. A ruined building, situated on the summit of a hill, was now within sight, and I urged my horse towards it; the janizary gal¬ loped by me, and making signs for me not to precede him, he himself rode into and round the building, and then motioned me to advance. We next came to a hill, through the very apex of which has been cut a passage, the rocks overhanging it on either side. I was in the act of passing through this ditch when a bullet whizzed by close to my head. I saw no one, and had scarcely time to think when another was fired, some short distance in advance. I could yet see no one ; the janizary was beneath the brow of the hill in his descent. I looked back, but my servant was not ^yet within sight. I looked up, and within a few inches of my head were three muskets, and three men taking aim at me. Escape or resistance was alike impossible. I got off my horse. Eight men jumped down from the rocks, and com¬ menced a scramble for me.—As he (the janizary) passed, I caught at a rope hanging from his saddle ; I had hoped to leap upon his horse, but fkund myself unable ; my feet were dreadfully lacerated ^y the honeycombed rocks ; nature would support me no longer; I fell, but still clung to the rope; in this manner I was drawn some few yards, till, bleeding from my ankle to my shoulder, I resigned my¬ self to my fate. As soon as I stood up one of my pursuers took aim at me ; but the other, casually advancing between us, prevented his firing. He then ran up, and with his sword aimed such a blow as would not have required a second: his companion prevented its full effect, so that it south and East of Jerusalem. m merely cut my ear in halves, , nd laid open one side of my lace : they then stripped me naked.”* * It is impossible not to suspect that the depraved govern¬ ment at Jerusalem connives at such instance* of violence in order to give some value to the protection which tK e v sell at a very dear rate to Christian travellers. The administra¬ tion of Mohammed Ali would be a blessing to Palestine inasmuch as it would soon render the intercourse between the capital and the -Dead Sea as safe as that between Alex¬ andria and Grand Cairo. Refreshing himselt at the fountain where our Lord and his apostles, according to a venerable tradition, were wont to rest on their journey to the holy city. the tourist sets his heart on revisiting the saered remains of ^ at decayed me _ tropolis. When at the summit of the Moult- 0 f Olives he is again struck with the mixture of magnificent^ ^ which marks the queen of nations in her widoweo ^ tate Owing to the clear atmosphere and the absence of sm.,. R ‘ the view is so distinct that one might count the separate houses. The streets are tolerably regular, straight, and well paved; but they are narrow and dull, and almost all on a declivity. The fronts of the houses, which are gene¬ rally two or three stories high, are quite plain, simply con¬ structed of stone, without the least ornament; so that in walking past them a stranger might fancy himself in the galleries of a vast prison. The windows are very few and extremely small; and, by a singular whim, the doors are so low that it is commonly requisite to bend the body nearly double in order to enter them. Some families have gardens of moderate dimensions ; but, upon the whole, the ground within the walls is fully occupied with buildings, if we ex¬ cept the vast enclosures in which are placed the mosques and churches. There is not observed at Jerusalem any square, properly so called ; the shops and markets are universally opened in the public streets. Provisions are said to be abundant and cheap, including excellent men*, vegetables, and fruit. Water is supplied by the atmosphere, and preserved in ca¬ pacious cisterns ; nor is it necessary, except when a long drought has exhausted the usual stock, that the inhabitants should have recourse to the spring near the brook Kedron. * A Visit to Egypt,