MISSION OF MOSES IN THE EAST.
During his reign in Ethiopia, Moses erected the Sphinxes and other
monuments, and left inscriptions and bas-reliefs as tokens of his
presence in that country. From thence he went to Midian, where he did
not remain idle, for there are mines there which he must have had
worked. He was commissioned by the Almighty to deliver the Israelites
and bring them out of Egypt, and, after teaching them how to govern
themselves, to lead them to the Land of Promise. During the forty years
that the Hebrews sojourned in the desert, Moses wrote inscriptions on
the rocks—all resembling those he left in Thebes—in order to show to
future generations the route by which he led his people.
At the foot of Mount Hor there is a remarkable place, called by the
Arabs Wady Mousa, or the Valley of Moses; and the whole of this wild
region is celebrated for its beautiful architectural remains.
Travellers of our time are told by the Arabs that a great prince dwelt
there, and they show them a noble edifice as Pharaoh’s Castle, and
another equally beautiful as the Palace of Pharaoh’s daughter. The
following extract, taken from the account given by an American
traveller, Mr. Stephens, describes these edifices:—[51]
“At the entrance of the city there was not a creature to dispute our
passage; its portals were wide open, and we passed along the stream
down into the area, and still no man to oppose us. In front of the
great temple, the pride and beauty of Petra, I saw a narrow opening in
the rocks, exactly corresponding with my conception of the object for
which I was seeking. A full stream of water was gushing through it, and
filling up the whole mouth of the passage.
“Mounted on the shoulders of one of my Bedouins, I got him to carry me
through the swollen stream at the mouth of the opening, and set me down
on a dry place a little above, whence I began to pick my way,
occasionally taking to the shoulders of my follower, and continued to
advance more than a mile. I was beyond all peradventure in the great
entrance I was seeking. There could not be two such, and I should have
gone on to the extreme end of the ravine.
“For about two miles it lies between high and precipitous ranges of
rocks, from five hundred to a thousand feet in height, standing as if
torn by some great convulsion, and barely wide enough for two horsemen
to pass abreast. At the end was a large open space, with a powerful
body of light thrown down upon it, and exhibiting in one full view the
facade of a beautiful temple, hewn out of the rock, with rows of
Corinthian columns and ornaments, standing out fresh and clear as if
but yesterday from the hands of the sculptor.
“Though coming directly from the banks of the Nile, where the
preservation of the temples excites the admiration and astonishment of
every traveller, we were roused and excited by the extraordinary beauty
and excellent condition of the great temple at Petra (Wady Mousa). The
whole temple, its columns, ornaments, porticoes, and porches, are cut
out from and form part of the solid rock; and this rock, at the foot of
which the temple stands like a mere print, towers several hundred feet
above, its face cut smooth to the very summit, and the top remaining
wild and misshapen as Nature made it.
“The whole area before the temple is perhaps an acre in extent,
enclosed on all sides, except at the narrow entrance, and an opening to
the left of the temple, which leads into the area of the city by a pass
through perpendicular rocks five or six hundred feet in height.
“Ascending several broad steps, we entered under a colonnade of four
Corinthian columns, about thirty-five feet high, into a large chamber
of some fifty feet square and twenty-five feet high. The outside of the
temple is richly ornamented, but the interior is perfectly plain, there
being no ornament of any kind upon the walls or ceiling; on each of the
three sides is a small chamber; and on the back wall of the innermost
chamber I saw the names of Messrs. Leigh, Banks, Irby, and Mangles, the
four English travellers who with so much difficulty had effected their
entrance to the city; of Messieurs Laborde and Linant, and several
others.
“Leaving the temple and the open area on which it fronts, and following
the stream, we entered another defile much broader than the first, on
each side of which were ranges of tombs, with sculptured doors and
columns; and on the left, in the bosom of the mountain, hewn out of the
solid rock, is a large theatre, circular in form, the pillars in front
fallen, and containing thirty-three rows of seats, capable of
containing more than three thousand persons. Above the corridor was a
range of doors opening to chambers in the rocks, the seats of the
princes and wealthiest inhabitants of Wady Mousa (Petra), and not
unlike a row of private boxes in a modern theatre. The whole theatre is
at this day in such a state of preservation that if the tenants of the
tombs around could once more rise into life, they might take their old
places on its seats and listen to the declamation of their favourite
player.
“Though I had no small experience in exploring catacombs and tombs,
these were so different from any I had seen that I found it difficult
to distinguish the habitations of the living from the chambers of the
dead. The façades or architectural decorations of the front were
everywhere handsome; and in this they differed materially from the
tombs in Egypt. In the latter the doors were simply an opening in the
rock, and all the grandeur and beauty of the work within; while here
the door was always imposing in its appearance, and the interior was
generally a simple chamber, unpainted and unsculptured.[52] I say that
I could not distinguish the dwellings from the tombs; but this was not
invariably the case. Some were clearly tombs, for there were pits in
which the dead had been laid, and others were as clearly dwellings,
being without a place for the deposit of the dead. One of these last
particularly attracted my attention. It consisted of one large chamber,
having on one side, at the foot of the wall, a stone bench about one
foot high and two or three broad, in form like the divans in the East
at the present day; at the other end were several small apartments,
hewn out of the rock, with partition-wall left between them, like
stalls in a stable, and these had probably been the sleeping apartments
of the family.
“There were no paintings or decorations of any kind within the chamber;
but the rock out of which it was hewn, like the old stony rampart that
encircled the city, was of a peculiarity and beauty that I never saw
elsewhere, being a dark ground, with veins of white, blue, red, purple,
and sometimes scarlet and light orange, running through it in rainbow
streaks; and within the chambers, where there had been no exposure to
the action of the elements, the freshness and beauty of the colours in
which these waving lines were drawn gave an effect hardly inferior to
that of the paintings in the tombs of the Kings at Thebes.
“Farther on, in the same range—though, in consequence of the steps of
the streets being broken, we were obliged to go down and ascend again
before we could reach it—was another temple, like the first, cut out
of the solid rock, and, like the first, too, having for its principal
ornament a large urn, shattered and bruised by musket-balls; for the
ignorant Arab, believing that gold is concealed in it, day after day,
as he passes by, levels at it his murderous gun, in the vain hope to
break the vessel and scatter a golden shower on the ground.”
From this encampment Moses led the Hebrews to the plains of Moab, and
after taking a survey of Canaan from the top of Mount Pisgah, that is
over against Jericho, he bade them a last farewell. He was then a
hundred and twenty years old; “his eye was not dim, nor his natural
force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains
of Moab thirty days,” and Joshua became their leader in the place of
Moses. It is also recorded, that “there arose not a prophet since in
Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the
signs and wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt
to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land ... and in all
the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.”
Josephus the Jewish historian gives an account of the departure of
Moses from the children of Israel thus:—[53]“Now as soon as they were
come to the mountain called Abarim (which is a very high mountain,
situate over against Jericho, and one that affords, to such as are upon
it, a prospect of the greatest part of the excellent land of Canaan),
he dismissed the senate; and as he was going to embrace Eleazar and
Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, a cloud stood over him on
the sudden, and he disappeared in a certain valley, although he wrote
in the Holy Books that he died, which was done out of fear, lest they
should venture to say that, because of his extraordinary virtue, he
went to God.”
Modern travellers have found remains of architecture and sculpture,
which serve as landmarks in the royal progress towards the East. No
doubt Moses had these works executed that they might give ample proof
of his presence in all those countries wherein the remains
exist—countries far divided from each other—and so that by them his
route could easily be followed from Ethiopia to the place where he
ended his pilgrimage on earth.
From Mount Abarim he took his journey eastward, evidently with a large
caravan, consisting of his faithful followers, and forming a formidable
escort. The first place at which they halted for any length of time is
in Persia, where there are unmistakable signs of his sojourn. The
following is an account given by Mr. Morier, who accompanied Sir
Harford Jones Brydges on the mission to Persia in 1809:—[54]
“The sculptures are situated at the distance of about fifteen miles
from Kázerún. About seven miles from it I passed the ruined village of
Derses; and, leaving two tombs, one on the right hand and the other on
the left of the road, came to the bed of a torrent, over which there
seems to have been built an aqueduct, for, on each side of its banks,
there are remains of masonry, and traces of its conduit may be
perceived on the southern bank.
“The extent of the ruins of Shahpúr to the southward is bounded by a
beautiful stream of water. Over the spring from which it issues the
road is sustained by fragments of architecture, which are part of the
entablature of some public building, and, by their dimensions, must
have once been magnificent.
“Immediately after passing the spring, we came upon the ruins of
Shahpúr. When standing on an eminence, we computed the whole to be
comprised, on a rough calculation, within a circumference of six miles.
This circumference enclosed a tract of plain, and a hill, on which the
remains of the ancient citadel formed a conspicuous and commanding
object. Whether by the caprice of Nature or by the labour of man, this
hill or acropolis is distinctly separated from the great range of
mountains forming the most eastern boundary of the plain of Kázerún.
“Between this and another imposing mass of rock runs the beautiful
river of Shahpúr. We reckoned the space between the two rocks at thirty
yards, which formed a little plain of verdure and shrubbery,
intersected, indeed, by the stream of the river. The opening between
the two grand masses presented a landscape the most varied, the most
tranquil, the most picturesque, and, at the same time, the most
sublime, that imagination can form.
“A black and stupendous rock flanked the right of the picture; while
another still more extraordinary rock, as richly illumined as the other
was darkened, supported the left. Between both a distant range of
mountains, whose rocks were terminated by a plain, filled up the
interstices, forming a fine aërial perspective; whilst the river and
rich shrubbery completed a most enlivening foreground.
“The hill on which the remains of the citadel stand is covered by ruins
of walls and turrets. On its eastern aspect the nature of the
fortification can be traced easily; for walls fill the chasms from rock
to rock, forming altogether a place of defence admirably strong. The
first object which arrested our attention was a mutilated sculpture of
two colossal figures on horseback, carved on the superfices of the
rock. The figure on the right was most injured; the only part, indeed,
which we could ascertain with precision was one of the front and two of
the hinder feet of a horse, standing over the statue of a man, who was
extended at his full length, his face turning outwardly, and reposed
upon his right hand, and his attire bearing marks of a Roman costume. A
figure in the same dress was placed in an attitude of supplication at
the horse’s knees, and a head in alto-relievo just appeared between the
hinder feet. The equestrian figure on the left is not quite so much
mutilated, the horse and parts of the drapery on the thighs being still
well preserved.
“The next piece of sculpture (which, like the former, was carved upon
the mountain of the citadel) is perfect in all its parts. It consists
of three grand compartments; the central and most interesting
represents a figure on horseback, whose dress announces a royal
personage. His head-dress is a crown, on which is placed a globe; his
hair flows in very large and massy curls over both shoulders, whilst a
slight mustachio just covers his upper lip, and gives much expression
to a countenance strongly indicative of pride and majesty.
“His body is clothed with a robe, which falls in many folds to his
girdle, and then extends itself over his thigh and legs as low as his
ancle. A quiver hangs by his side; in his right hand he holds the hand
of a figure behind him, which stands so as to cover the whole hind
quarter of his horse, and which is dressed in the Roman tunic and
helmet. A figure, habited also in the Roman costume, is on its knees
before the head of the horse, with its hands extended and with a face
betraying entreaty. Under the feet of the horse is another figure
extended, in the same attire and character as that of the other two
Roman figures.
“To the right of the tablet stands a figure with his hands also
extended, but dressed in a different manner, and, as far as we could
judge, with features more Egyptian than European. In the angle between
the King’s head and the horse’s is a Victory displaying the scroll of
fame. A figure (part of which is concealed by the one on its knees)
completes the whole of this division.
“The second grand compartment, which is on the right, is divided again
into six sub-compartments, in each of which are carved three figures,
the costumes and general physiognomies of which are all different. They
appear mostly in postures of supplication, and, I should suspect, are
representations of vanquished people.
“On the left, in the third grand compartment, are rows of horsemen,
divided by one line into two smaller compartments. They have all the
same characteristic dress and features as the royal figure in the
centre, and certainly represent his forces. The whole of this most
interesting monument is sculptured in a very hard rock, which bears the
finest polish, and which we pronounced to be a coarse species of
jasper. The figures on foot are in height five feet nine inches:
figures on horseback, from the rider’s cap to the horse’s hoofs, six
feet ten inches in length; the grand tablet eleven feet eleven inches.
“Having examined these, we next crossed the river to the sculptures on
the opposite rock. The first is a long tablet containing a multitude of
figures. The principal person (who is certainly the King represented in
the former tablet) is placed in the very centre of the piece, alone in
a small compartment, and is seated with a sword placed betwixt his
legs, on the pommel of which rests his left hand. On his right, on the
uppermost of two long slips, are many men, who seem to be a mixture of
Persians and Romans, the former conducting the latter as prisoners.
Under these, in the lower step, are others, who by their wigs appear to
be Persians. Their leader bears a human head in both hands, and extends
it towards the central figure. On the left are four small compartments.
The first (nearest that figure, and the highest from the ground)
incloses a crowd of men, whose arms are placed over one another’s
shoulders. Below these are five figures, one of whom leads a horse
without any more furniture than a bridle.
“The other two compartments are filled up with eight figures each. We
considered this to represent in general a King seated in his room of
audience, surrounded by his own people, and by nations tributary to
him. The length is eleven yards four inches. On the left of this were
two colossal figures on horseback carved in alto-relievo. The one to
the right had all the dress, character, and features of the King above
described; the other on the left appeared also a royal personage, but
differing in dress and in the furniture of his horse. Both had their
hands extended, and held a ring, which we conceived to be emblematical
of peace.
“After having re-passed the river, we walked over the numerous mounds
of stones and earth which cover the ruined buildings of Shahpúr, and
which, if ever explored, would discover innumerable secrets of
antiquity. We were conducted by the peasants who were with us to the
remains of a very fine wall, which in the symmetry of its masonry
equalled any Grecian work that I have ever seen. Each stone was four
feet long, twenty-seven inches thick, and cut to the finest angles.
“The wall formed the front of a square building, the area of which is
fifty-five feet. At the top were placed sphinxes couchant, a
circumstance which we ascertained from discovering accidentally two
eyes and a mutilated foot, at the extremity of one of the upper stones.
In this wall there is a window, which is arched by the formation of its
upper stone. Behind this square building we traced most correctly the
configuration of a theatre, thirty paces in length and fourteen in
breadth. The place resembled, at least, those called theatres which I
have seen in Greece. From a comparison of their positions, we were led
to suppose that the building still extant must have been connected with
the other behind it, and may have formed, perhaps, the entrance to
it.”[55]
These commemorative sculptures denote that the stranger King (Moses)
and his forces took possession of Derses near Shahpúr by conquest; and
the length of time he remained in the country may be inferred from the
interregnum, or unrecorded interval, between the Assyrian epochs of
Nimrúd and Khorsabad. The supposed duration of that period is about
sixty or seventy years, and it began just about the time that Moses
left the children of Israel, so that it synchronises with the arrival
of Moses in the country, and his residence there fills up the gap.
The number of his followers must have increased during the years that
Moses travelled from one country to another, and he was likely in
consequence to leave some of them to colonise, and to teach his
doctrine, and to carry on the ordinances of his religion, in every
region that was suitable for that purpose.
The Afghans, whose country lies nearest to Persia, claim descent from
the Jews, and the people of Kafiristan are unmistakably Jews. These
inhabit a mountainous country adjoining Afghanistan, on the north-west
of Cashmere.
“The Caufirs[56] have no general name for their nation. Each tribe has
its peculiar name, for they are all divided into tribes, though not
according to genealogy, but to geographical position, each valley being
held by a separate tribe. The Mussulmans confound them all under the
name of Caufir, or infidel, and call their country Caufiristaun. They
also call one division of them Seeaposh (black-vested), or Tor Caufirs
(black infidels), and another Speen Caufirs (white infidels). Both
epithets are taken from their dress, for the whole of the Caufirs are
remarkable for the fairness and beauty of their complexion, but those
of the largest division wear a sort of vest of black goat-skin, while
the others dress in white cotton.
“There are several languages among the Caufirs, but they have all many
words in common, and all have a near connection with the Sanskrit.
Their religion does not resemble any other with which I am acquainted.
They believe in one God; but they also worship numerous idols, which,
they say, represent great men of former days, who intercede with God in
favour of their worshippers. These idols are of stone or wood, and
always represent men or women, some mounted and some on foot.
“They have hereditary priests. They have also persons who can procure
an inspiration of some superior being by holding their heads over the
smoke of a sacrifice. Their festivals are often accompanied with a
sacrifice, and always with a feast. They have no titles of their own,
but they have borrowed that of Khaun from the Afghans for their rich
men. Their property chiefly consists in cattle and slaves.
“The houses of the Caufirs are often of wood, and they have generally
cellars where they keep their cheeses, clarified butter, wine, and
vinegar. In every house there is a wooden bench fixed to the wall, with
a low back to it. There are also stools shaped like drums, but smaller
in the middle than at the ends, and tables of the same sort, but
larger. The Caufirs, partly from their dress and partly from habit,
cannot sit like the other Asiatics; and if forced to sit down on the
ground, stretch out their legs like Europeans. They have also beds made
of wood and thongs of neats’ leather: the stools are made of
wicker-work.
“They celebrate a sacrifice at a particular place near the village
where there was a stone post; a fire was kindled before it, through
which flour, butter, and water were thrown on the stone. At length an
animal was sacrificed, and the flesh was burned, and part eaten by the
assistants, who were numerous, and who accompanied the priest in
prayers and devout gesticulations.”[57]
Their neighbours, the dwellers in the beautiful vale of Cashmere, also
claim descent from the Jews, “a claim[58] borne out by the personal
appearance of the race, their garb, the cast of their countenance, and
the form of their beards. There is a belief, too, among them that Moses
died in the capital of Cashmere, and that he is buried near it.” (This
belief is erroneous, as that Lawgiver ended his days very far away from
Cashmere.)
“There is no doubt that they were originally of Brahmin (Hebrew)
origin; and prosperous must have been the people—wise, beneficent, and
energetic the rulers, in those old days, if tradition and legend are to
be believed, and the mighty monuments of a past grandeur, long anterior
to the days when Mogul wealth and taste embellished the valley, are to
be looked on as faithful witnesses; but to this golden age succeeded
centuries of oppression.
“We must, therefore, not be too hard on the Kashmiri; his faults are
those that oppression fosters, and his virtues, for he has some, are
his industry, his religious toleration, his observance of family ties
and obligations, while for qualities of head and hand he is second to
no Eastern race. As artificers, the pale, slim, sneaking denizens of
the crowded lanes of Sreenuggur will compete with any in the East, and
the sturdy, broad-shouldered, large-limbed peasant is a painstaking and
successful husbandman.
“Among the many changes of masters which Cashmere has undergone, one
class of men appear not only to have retained the religion of their
Brahmin (Hebrew) forefathers, but also a high position among their
fellows. I allude to the Kashmiri Pundits—men of lengthy pedigree, of
wealth and influence, who, thanks to their superior education and
fitness for business, were largely employed by their successive
conquerors, placed in posts of trust, and seemingly exempted from the
forcible conversion to the creed of Mahommed, which was universally
imposed on their countrymen.”
From Cashmere the invading host of Moses entered Hindostan, known at
that period under the name of Ind, from the river Indus. The natives of
the country were a variety of barbarous tribes, who resisted the entry
of Moses and his followers, and many sanguinary battles were fought
before they were subdued, and the conquerors permitted to take
possession of the whole peninsula. Here Moses assumed the name of Manu,
and called his Hebrew nationality Brahmin.
The language he employed while in Hindostan was Sanscrit; all his laws
and ordinances were written in this sacred language. He established
classes or castes. The Brahmins in India occupied the same position as
the Levites in Judea, and were the priests, the instructors, and the
philosophers of the nation.
The chronicles of this epoch record the wars and the brave exploits of
heroes, and the wisdom and learning of the conquerors. The first
mention made of this invading nation gives as their residence a tract
of country between the rivers Sersooty and Caggar, distant from Delhi
about one hundred miles to the north-west. It then bore the name of
Bram-haverta, as being the haunt of gods; and although it was but about
sixty-five miles long by forty broad, it was the scene of the
adventures of the first princes, and the residence of the most famous
sages. They extended their territory, which seems to have included at
that time the districts of Oude, Agra, Allahabad, Lahore, and Delhi.
The city of Oude, then termed Ayodha, was the capital. In course of
time they moved down the peninsula, and subdued the Deccan and the
whole of the south. The celebrated rock temples of Ellora, and the
sculptured cave of Elephanta, are some of the many monuments left by
these Brahmins, the descendants of Abraham the Hebrew. Every traveller,
in viewing these wonderful remains is forcibly reminded of similar
remains in Egypt and Nubia—unmistakable proof of the works having been
executed under the guidance of the same inspired intellect.
The colonies left by Moses or Manu in the peninsula of India within the
Ganges were distinctly traceable in the days of Alexander the Great,
the southern colonists being swarthy, tall, and handsome, not unlike
Ethiopians, whilst those of the northern latitudes were much fairer,
and not unlike the Egyptians, and those still farther south were Jews.
Of such as these were the forces and followers of Moses in his progress
over the earth.
After conquering the whole peninsula he left the mainland and went over
to the island of Ceylon. The Cingalese are well versed in biblical
history; and they even believe that Adam and Eve came to Ceylon after
their expulsion from the garden of Eden. There are remains of former
grandeur and colossal statues to mark the presence of the god-like
Lawyer in the island.
From the island of Ceylon he went by sea and landed on the opposite
peninsula, or India beyond the Ganges. The neighbourhood of Siam has
splendid ruins of most noble buildings and statuary. In Bangkok, the
capital of Siam, the temples and all other religious buildings are
evidently of Egyptian origin. The Siamese of the present time, from the
King to the peasant, live in poor houses of wood or bamboo; and they
frankly admit that they did not build those ancient monuments, and do
not even know who were the builders of them.
Recent travellers in Chin-India speak in rapturous terms of the ruins
of Angkor, the great temple in Siam. One writer says: “The ruins of
Angkor are as imposing as the ruins of Thebes or Memphis, and more
mysterious”; while another thinks that “one of these temples, a rival
to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michael Angelo, might
take an honourable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is
grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome.”
The following description of these wonderful ruins is taken from the
work of a recent traveller who visited them:—[59]
“The ruins of Angkor are situated in the province of Siamrap, eastern
Siam, in about lat. 13° 30’ N. and long. 104° E. We entered upon an
immense causeway, the stairs of which were flanked with six huge
griffins, each carved from a single block of stone. This causeway,
which leads directly to the main entrance of the temple, is 725 feet in
length, and is paved with stones, each of which measures four feet in
length by two in breadth. On either side of it are artificial lakes fed
by springs, and each covering about five acres of ground. We passed
through one of the side gates and crossed the square to a _sala_
situated at the very entrance of the temple. Embosomed in the midst of
a perfect forest of cocoa, betel-nut, and toddy palms, and with no
village in sight, excepting a dozen or more huts, the abodes of priests
having the charge of it; the general appearance of the wonderful temple
is beautiful and romantic as well as impressive and grand. A just idea
of it can hardly be conveyed by writing; it must be seen to be
understood and appreciated. Still, perhaps, a detailed description
might assist the imagination somewhat in forming a proper estimate of
the grand genius which planned, and the skill and patience which
executed, such a masterpiece of architecture.
“The outer wall of Nagkon Wat—which words signify a city or assemblage
of temples or monasteries—about half a mile square, is built of
sandstone, with gateways on each side, which are handsomely carved with
figures of gods and dragons, arabesques, and intricate scrolls. Upon
the western side is the main gateway, and passing through this and up a
causeway (paved with slabs of stone three feet in length by two in
breadth) for a distance of a thousand feet, you arrive at the central
main entrance of the temple. About the middle of the causeway, on
either side, are image-houses, much decayed and overgrown with rank
parasitic plants; and a little farther on are two small ponds, with
carved stone copings, which in most places are thrown down.
“The foundations of Nagkon Wat are as much as ten feet in height, and
are very massively built of the same volcanic rock as that used in the
construction of the ‘Angels’ Bridge.’ The entire edifice, which is
raised on three terraces, the one about thirty feet above the other,
including the roof, is of stone, but without cement; and so closely
fitting are the joints as even now to be scarcely discernible. The
quarry where the stone was hewn is about two days’ travel—thirty
miles—distant; and it is supposed the transportation of the immense
boulders could only have been effected by means of a water
communication—a canal or river, or when the country was submerged at
the end of the rainy season. The shape of the building is oblong, being
796 feet in length and 588 feet in width, whilst the highest central
pagoda rises some 250 odd feet above the ground, and four others, at
the angles of the court, are each about 150 feet in height.
“Passing between low railings, we ascend a platform composed of
boulders of stone four feet in length, one and a half feet in width,
and six inches in thickness, and enter the temple itself through a
columned portico, the façade of which is beautifully carved in
basso-relievo with ancient mythological subjects. From this doorway, on
either side, runs a corridor, with a double row of columns, cut—base
and capital—from single blocks, with a double, oval-shaped roof
covered with carving and consecutive sculptures upon the outer wall.
“This gallery of sculptures, which forms the exterior of the temple,
consists of over half a mile of continuous pictures, cut in
basso-relievo upon sandstone slabs six feet in width, and represents
subjects taken from Hindoo mythology—from Ramayana, the Sanscrit epic
poem of India, with its 25,000 verses describing the exploits of the
god Rama and the son of the King of Oudh. The contests of the King of
Ceylon, and Hunaman, the monkey god, are graphically represented. There
is no key-stone used in the arch of this corridor, and its ceiling is
uncarved. On the walls are sculptured the immense number of 100,000
separate figures (or at least heads). Entire scenes from the Ramayana
are pictured; one, I remember, occupies 240 feet of the wall.
“Weeks might be spent in studying, identifying, and classifying the
varied subjects of this wonderful gallery. You see warriors riding upon
elephants and in chariots, foot soldiers with shield and spear, boats,
unshapely divinities, trees, monkeys, tigers, griffins, hippopotami,
serpents, fishes, crocodiles, bullocks, tortoises, soldiers of immense
physical development, with helmets, and some people with beards. The
figures stand somewhat like those on the great Egyptian monuments, the
side partly turned towards the front; in the case of the men, one foot
and leg are always placed in advance of the other; and I noticed,
besides, five horsemen, armed with spear and sword, riding abreast,
like those seen upon the Assyrian tablets in the British Museum. In the
procession several of the kings are preceded by musicians playing upon
shells and long bamboo flutes. Some of the kings carry a sort of
battle-axe, others a weapon which much resembles a golf-club, and
others are represented as using the bow and arrow. In one place is a
grotesque divinity, who sits elegantly dressed upon a throne surmounted
by umbrellas; this figure, of peculiar sanctity, evidently, has been
recently gilded, and before it, upon a small table, there were a dozen
or more ‘joss-sticks’ kept constantly burning by the faithful.[60] But
it is almost useless to particularise when the subjects and style of
execution are so diverse. Each side of the long corridor seemed to
display figures of distinct feature, dress, and character.
“‘The most interesting sculptures,’ says Dr. Adolf Bastian, the
President of the Royal Geographical Society of Berlin, who explored
these wonderful ruins in 1864, ‘the most interesting sculptures at
Nagkon Wat are in two compartments, called by the natives respectively
the procession and the three stages (heaven, earth, and hell). What
gives a peculiar interest to this section is the fact that the artist
has represented the different nationalities in all their distinctive
characteristic features, from the flat-nosed savage in the tasseled
garb of the Pnom, and the short-haired Lao, to the straight-nosed
Rajaput, with sword and shield, and the bearded Moor, giving a
catalogue of nationalities, like another column of Trajan in the
predominant physical conformation of each race. On the whole there is
such a prevalence of Hellenic cast in the features and profiles, as
well as in the elegant attitude of the horsemen, that one might suppose
Xenocrates of old, after finishing his labours in Bombay, had made an
excursion to the east.’
“There are figures sculptured in high relief (nearly life-size) upon
the lower parts of the walls about the entrance; all are females, and
apparently of Hindoo origin. The interior of the quadrangle, bounded by
the long corridor just described, is filled with galleries—halls,
formed with huge columns, crossing one another at right angles. In the
Nagkon Wat as many as 1,532 solid columns have been counted, and among
the entire ruins of Angkor there are reported to be the immense number
of 6,000, almost all of them hewn from single blocks and artistically
carved. On the inner side of the corridor there are blank windows, each
of which contains seven beautifully turned little columns. The ceilings
of the galleries were hung with tens of thousands of bats and pigeons,
and other birds had made themselves comfortable nests in out-of-the-way
corners.
“We pass on up steep staircases, with steps not more than four inches
in width, to the centre of the galleries which here bisect one another.
There are two detached buildings in this square. In one of the
galleries we saw two or three hundred images—made of stone, wood,
brass, clay—of all shapes and sizes and ages (some of the large stone
idols are said to be 1,400 years old).
“We walk on across another causeway, with small image-houses[61] on
either hand, and up a steep flight of steps, fully thirty feet in
height, to other galleries crossing each other in the centre above
which rises the grand central pagoda, 250 feet in height, and at the
four corners of the court four smaller spires. These latter are much
dilapidated and do not now display their full height; the porticoes
also bear evidence of the presence of the ‘heavy hand of time.’
“There is one more gallery, and then we come to the outer corridor, and
pass through a magnificent doorway to the rear of the temple, and walk
round to our _sala_, not knowing which to admire the most, the vastness
of the plan or the propriety and grace of the performance.
“The principal ruins of Siam and Cambodia yet discovered lie in the
province of Siamrap, as already stated. At about three miles north-east
of Angkor, on the opposite side of the Siamrap river, are the ruins of
a city called Pentaphrohm, the citadel of Taphrohm, and near it is a
_wat_ styled Phrakeoh, or the Gem Tower, presenting the same
combination of a royal and priestly residence as Angkor and Nagkon Wat.
Some of these temples and palaces, with their columns, sculptures, and
statues, are quite as interesting, though not so well-preserved, as
those at Angkor. About four miles east of Nagkon Wat are two other
remains of antiquity, Bakong and Lailan.
“In the province of Battambong, forty or fifty miles south-west from
Siamrap town, there are also ruins, temples, monasteries, and palaces,
and indeed the whole valley of the Makong river to the very borders of
China is spread with ruins of more or less magnitude, beauty, and
interest. Near the monastery of Phrakeoh is an artificial lake called
Sasong (the royal lake), built by the kings of Pentaphrohm, and
surrounded with pleasure-houses for their recreation. Dr. Bastian
thinks that it must have been a work of immense labour, and the whole
population of Cambodia of to-day would scarcely be able to raise such a
gigantic structure.
“The lake of Sasong he describes as being ‘of oblong shape, about 2,000
feet broad and 4,000 feet long, and surrounded by a high embankment of
solid masonry. Some of the blocks are fourteen to sixteen feet long and
highly finished. In convenient places square platforms were built
overhanging the water, with broad flights of steps leading down to it,
and in such places the huge masses of stone laid on each other are
embellished by delicate chisellings, bearing the figures of serpents,
eagles, lions (in their fabulous shapes as Naga, Kruth, Sinto) on the
ends. In the middle of the lake is a small island with the remains of a
former palace upon it. Of all the figures used for ornaments, that
which recurs most frequently is that of the Naga; and the Chinese
officer who visited Cambodia in 1295 describes already ‘the pillars of
the stone bridges adorned with serpents, each of which had nine heads.’
“About half a mile north-west of Nagkon Wat there are the ruins of an
observatory, built upon the summit of a hill perhaps 500 feet in
height. A foot-path leads up this hill through the thick jungle. The
first indication of any antiquities thereabouts is two immense stone
griffins, one standing on each side of the path; and next we pass a
small image with the head of an elephant and the body of a human being;
it is the elephant-headed Ganesh—the god of wisdom of the Hindoo
mythology. This hill is cut in five terraces paved with stone, and
having staircases, each about twelve feet in height, ornamented with
stone lions upon their balusters; and at the corners of each terrace
are small image-houses.
“The building is quadrilateral, and covers the entire crest of the
hill, there being four entrances; the central spire is now an unshapely
mass of large boulders, all overgrown with trees, shrubs, and vines.
From the summit we obtained an extensive view of the surrounding
country. To the north there extended from east to west a range of low
blue hills; to the south-east we could just discern the placid waters
of Lake Thalaysap; to the south lay the quaint old town of Siamrap, and
to the south-west there was another large lake of bright, clear water.”
On his arrival in the southern portion of the peninsula beyond the
Ganges, the great Lawgiver evidently set his followers to execute the
wonderful monuments above described.
The sculptures on the walls of the palace of Angkor represent exploits
of bravery and conquest, from the first invasion of Ind to the arrival
of the invaders on the island of Ceylon, and to their landing in Siam.
The observatory shows that Moses loved astronomy, and pursued the study
of that science in the distant east as he had done in Thebes.
When these noble undertakings were completed—which serve as
_souvenirs_ of his visit to the country—he, no doubt, left a colony to
protect them, and proceeded northward, where there are ample traces
which clearly indicate the route. The country he came to was like that
which is on the other side of the Bay of Bengal, inhabited by various
tribes of savages.
The empire he founded here was called the Empire of Brahma, and the
people Brahmins. The scriptures were expounded, and the doctrine of the
Lawgiver propagated, so that the natives of the country to this day
relate the fall of Adam, and all the particulars regarding that
memorable event. The following is a literal translation, by Dr. Mason,
of some rude verses which the Karens have preserved:—
“Anciently, God commanded, but Satan appeared bringing destruction.
Formerly, God commanded, but Satan appeared deceiving unto death.
The woman Eu and the man Tha-nai pleased not the eye of the dragon.
The dragon looked on them, the dragon beguiled the woman and Tha-nai.
How is this said to have happened?
The great dragon succeeded in deceiving—deceiving unto death.
How do they say it was done?
A yellow fruit took the great dragon, and gave to the children of God;
A white fruit took the great dragon, and gave to the daughter and son
of God.
They transgressed the commands of God, and God turned His face from
them.
They kept not all the words of God—were deceived, deceived unto
sickness.
They kept not all the law of God—were deceived, deceived unto death.”
It is evident that this tradition came from a written source, and there
is no other source than the books of Moses.
There is in the Christian world an erroneous acceptation of the first
and second chapters of the first book of Moses. Expounders of the
Pentateuch, of our enlightened age, err with respect to these two
chapters, and the consequence of this error is much confusion among
believers. These expounders say that God created only one man at the
creation of the world; and that when this man complained of _ennui_ and
loneliness, then the Almighty created the woman to keep him company.
This account of the creation of man has been the cause of many
controversies and divisions and secessions from the true faith.
In the first chapter of Genesis, Moses records the creation of heaven
and earth with all the contents of each of them. Man, male and female,
was created on the sixth day—not one couple, but many couples, as
other animals were created; they were without number. And the Almighty
blessed them, and told them to multiply and replenish the earth, and
subdue it; to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. He
gave them every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the
earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding
seed, for meat, &c.
This was accomplished on the sixth day; and “on the seventh day He
rested from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh
day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His
work which God had created and made.”
After this first seventh day, God created Adam, and the Lord God formed
_this_ man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and he became a living soul. “And the Lord God
planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put _this_ man whom he
had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also
in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it
was parted, and became into four heads.”
The man Adam was ruddy, for the earth or dust out of which he was
formed was red. The rest of the men who were created on the sixth day
were black, for the garden of Eden was divided from the rest of
negroland by the river Nile, which surrounded it entirely. During the
heavy rains in this portion of Africa, the waters of the lakes
overflow, the Nile, passing in its course through the red soil of
Ethiopia, gets tinged with that colour; and the waters, after entering
Egypt, retain that hue for a long distance towards the Mediterranean
Sea.
“And the Lord God took the man (Adam) and put him in the garden of
Eden, to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for
in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” So this man
alone, of all the created human beings, received this commandment from
God.
There is sculptured on the wall of a palace in Upper Egypt, which
Norden, the Danish traveller saw and sketched, a group of three persons
with a tree in the centre. The principal personage in this group is
seated, and is addressing a man standing before him, as if giving the
commandment above stated. The third figure is of a man standing behind
the seated person, with a sarcastic expression of countenance. This
sculpture no doubt represents the event in question.
After this, Eve was created. And it is recorded that “the serpent was
more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.”
He tempted the woman, and succeeded in making her break the commandment
which God had given to Adam.
Now there is another sculpture in Upper Egypt, representing a man with
a serpent’s head. So that the creature that tempted and seduced Eve was
a man; and he made her commit two sins: she broke the commandment of
God, and her troth to her husband. When she had thus doubly sinned, she
beguiled her husband, and persuaded him to disobey his Creator.
The Lord God visited the garden of Eden at certain hours of the day,
and Adam and Eve attended as keepers of it. But when the time of the
visit of the Lord God arrived, the man and his wife hid themselves, so
that the Lord called for Adam, “and said unto him, Where art thou? And
he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I
was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast
naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou
shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
“And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast
done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And
the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou
art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; _upon
thy belly shalt thou go_, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy
life; and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel.”
From this it is evident that the serpent, before he was cursed by God,
walked erect as a man, and it was only after the curse that he became
the creeping animal that we see him now. The Almighty, in His pity,
made coats of skins for Adam and Eve, and clothed them. This is another
proof that this man and his wife were different from the rest of
mankind, for these clothe themselves, whereas savages, to this day, go
about without clothing of any kind—perfectly naked as in the day they
were created.
Moses, in thus separating these two from other beings, gave a beginning
to the Jewish nation, as descending from the children of God. He was
the historian of this nation, and it was for these people that he wrote
his laws and ordinances of religion. Other nations of the earth are
only mentioned by him in his records incidentally, as coming in contact
with his nation by chance or accident.
The confusion made by the seventy elders who translated the Pentateuch
from the Hebrew into Greek, by having added six verses to the second
chapter of the book of Genesis, has caused great mischief in the
Church, resulting in disbelief of the Bible. If these first six verses
were removed from the second chapter, the version would be quite
correct, and as it was intended by Moses.
Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden, and, proceeding to
the East along the Nile, they made the caves in the rocks their
dwelling-place. In due time Eve gave birth to the child conceived in
sin, and she called him Cain. She had another son after this, whom she
called Abel. Cain had the vices of the serpent, and consequently hated
this younger brother; and when they became old enough to offer
sacrifices to God, he found that while his brother’s offering was
accepted, his was rejected. Thereupon high words were spoken, and,
rising up in anger, he struck his brother and killed him.
“And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I
know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, What hast thou done?
the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And
now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to
receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the
ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a
fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
“And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth;
and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a
vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that
findeth me shall slay me.
“And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain,
vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon
Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the
presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of
Eden.”
Here we have the first mention of intercourse between the people that
were created in the world on the sixth day, and a descendant of Adam
and Eve, who were created by the Lord God in the second week, and
placed by themselves in the garden of Eden. This land of Nod, on the
east of Eden, where Cain took up his abode, and married a woman of the
land, must have been near Noph in Egypt.
It is said Eve had another son, after the death of Abel and the
departure of Cain; he was named Seth. In the Pentateuch the children of
Adam and Eve are called the sons of God; and the descendants of the
human family in the world at large were styled the sons and daughters
of men.
In Munipúr snake-worship is still in existence. It is reported
that:—“The Raja’s peculiar god is a species of snake called Pakúng-ba,
from which the royal family claim descent. When it appears it is coaxed
on to a cushion by the priestess in attendance, who then performs
certain ceremonies to please it.
“This snake appears, they say, sometimes of great size, and when he
does so it is indicative of his being displeased with something. But as
long as he remains of diminutive form it is a sign he is in good
humour. Pakúng-ba is a snake by day, and by night assumes the human
form. A house is prepared for it, and when it appears the priests give
intimation of it, and all the head men and most orthodox Hindus, from
the Raja downwards, do _poojah_ (worship) before it.”[62]
The colonists left by Moses in his progress through the different
countries of Eastern Asia claim descent from celestial beings,
especially in India beyond the Ganges, in China, and other kingdoms as
far as the western shores of America. This claim originated from their
being the direct descendants of Adam and Eve. The savages among whom
they dwelt in bygone days admitted the claim, and, moreover, credited
them with divine attributes.
The kings of Burmah consider the throne-room of their palace, where
they receive homage from their subjects and strangers, as holy ground,
and have made it a rule that all who seek the royal presence shall put
off their shoes. Embalming the dead is also practised in Burmah, the
members of the royal family, when they die, being embalmed—a custom
brought by Moses from Egypt. The title of Phra among the Siamese is
also imported from Egypt, being used in both countries as a royal
appellation.
The inspired Lawgiver proceeded eastward from the kingdom of Brahma,
and entered China. The inhabitants of this immense tract of land lying
along the sea-shore were savages, ignorant of the arts and comforts of
civilized life. He imparted to them the knowledge of agriculture and
astronomy, arithmetic and navigation, and all the useful arts and
sciences. He reclaimed them from the darkness of profound ignorance,
and gave them laws for guidance in their duties towards God and their
fellow-beings.
Moses also taught these people to read and write; the writing being in
hieroglyphics, similar to that of Egypt. He established here a form of
government resembling that of the other kingdoms he had founded on his
route. And when he had reclaimed these savages and raised them to a
height of civilization equal to that of Egypt, he departed, leaving a
colony to continue the good work which he had begun.
It is remarked by Dr. Mason, that “there have been Jews in China from
time immemorial, and that ancient copies of the Pentateuch, written on
sheep-skins, have been found in their possession.”
Since the departure of Moses the kingdom of China, which he founded,
has many times been invaded by different nations of Western Asia; and
has had conquerors so savage that they ordered all the books to be
burnt, and compelled the people to adopt many strange customs, which
prevail in China even to this day. So that the Chinese were more
civilized in the days immediately succeeding Moses’ time than they are
in this century.
The country along the sea-board adjoining China is Corea; and the
Lawgiver visited this country also before he crossed over to the island
of Japan. The original Coreans were savages, like all their primitive
neighbours; and here the god-like Lawgiver imparted to the ignorant men
the same lessons he had given in all the countries along his route. He
formed the peninsula of Corea into a dependency of China; so that its
annals are included in the History of China.
The Coreans have a knowledge of the writings of Moses; and a system of
caste prevails as in the Eastern parts of India. The colonists were, of
course, the nobles of the land. A traveller states:—[63]
“The features of a very considerable portion of the natives I had an
opportunity to see during my travels in the country bore an expression
so noble and so marked, that they might have passed for Europeans, had
they been dressed after our fashion. This was also most strikingly
observable in a great number of children, whose handsome, regular
features, rosy skin, blue eyes, and auburn hair really made it so
difficult to distinguish them from European children that at first I
could not account for their looks but by believing them to be of
European descent—an impression which had, of course, to be abandoned
as altogether false and erroneous after penetrating further into the
interior, when appearances of the same nature became of daily
occurrence.”
From the peninsula of Corea Moses and his followers crossed over to the
beautiful island of Japan, in the North Pacific Ocean, not far distant
from the continent of Asia. The people inhabiting the numerous isles
which compose the kingdom of Japan were savages—ignorant and
superstitious, like the rest of the children of Nature, whom the
Lawgiver had met in his journey, and whom he reclaimed from the
darkness of ignorance to the knowledge of God and His commandments.
Here he taught the Japanese as he had other people; and after giving
laws and ordinances for their guidance, he departed, leaving a colony
to govern the country.