[127] The words of Beauchamp are:--"I employed two men for three hours
in clearing a stone, which they supposed to be an idol. The part, which
I got a sight of, appeared to be nothing but a shapeless mass: it was
evident, however, that it was not a simple block, as it bore the marks
of a chisel, and there were pretty deep holes in it." Sir Robert Ker
Porter says, it is a common idea with the Turks, that the real object
with Europeans, in visiting the banks of the Euphrates, is not to
explore antiquities, as we pretend, but to make a laborious pilgrimage
to these almost shapeless relics of a race of unbelievers more ancient
than ourselves; and to perform certain mysterious religious rites before
them, which excite no small curiosity amongst the Faithful to inquire
into.
[128] It is probable, that many fragments of antiquity, especially of
the larger kind, are lost in this manner. The inhabitants call all
stones, with inscriptions or figures on them, idols.--RICH.
[129] "The mass on which the Kasr stands," says Sir R. K. Porter, "is
above the general level full seven hundred feet. Its length is nearly
four hundred yards; its breadth six hundred; but its form is now very
irregular. Much of the _débris_, which this interesting spot presented
to the Abbé Beauchamp and Mr. Rich in 1811, have now totally
disappeared; the aspect of the summit and sides suffering constant
changes from the everlasting digging in its apparently inexhaustible
quarries for brick of the strongest and finest material.
[130] For the story of Haroot and Maroot, see D'Herbelot and Richards'
Persian Dictionary; also Kinneir's Geographical Memoir of the Persian
Empire.
[131] Buckingham.
[132] Justin. iii. c. 16.
[133] The Hebrew Scriptures; Herodotus; Xenophon; Valerius Maximus;
Diodorus Siculus; Plutarch; Arrian; Quintus Curtius; Justin; Texeira;
Rauwolf; Delle Valle; Prideaux; Rollin; Bp. Newton; Beloe; Rennell;
Beauchamp; Kinneir; Porter; Malcolm; Franklin; Rich; Buckingham.
[134] Since this was written, the following account has appeared in one
of the journals (The Saturday Magazine):--"The present population of
Hillah, which may average from six to seven thousand souls, consists
chiefly of Arabs, who have their own Sheik, but the Mutsellim, or
governor of the place, is under the pacha of Bagdad, and resides in a
fortress within the town. There are bazaars and markets on both sides of
the river. The shopkeepers are chiefly Armenians, Turks, and Jews. A
most important fact connected with these traders is, that Manchester and
Glasgow goods that were taken out by the Euphrates expedition as
samples, were eagerly bought by them, at a profit to the sellers of one
hundred per cent. There is much trade carried on in the town, both by
camels from the interior, and by boats laden with rice, dates, tobacco,
and other articles most in demand among the desert tribes. It would be
curious if, in the progress of commerce and civilisation, the
neighbourhood of Babylon should again become the scene of princely
mercantile traffic; it is described in the Revelations as having once
been (xviii. 12, 13), "The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious
stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and
scarlet, and all thyme wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all
manner of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and
marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and
wine, and oil, and flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses,
and chariots," &c.
[135] That beautiful bird, with plumage of the finest shining blue, with
purple beak and legs, the natural and living ornament of the temples and
porticoes of the Greeks and Romans, which, from the stateliness of its
port, as well as the brilliancy of its colours, has obtained the title
of Sultana.--SONNINI.
[136] The temple of the sun at Balbec.
[137] Chap. viii. verses 5, 6.
[138] Hist. Chron. lib. ii.
[139] An Arabian traveller in the tenth century.
[140] Ouseley.
[141] For these the curious reader may turn to the fine work of Messrs.
Daukins and Wood. There are several plates of these ruins, also, in
Pococke's and Bruce's travels. When at Balbec the latter made numerous
drawings; all of which he presented to George the Third. "These," says
he, "are the richest offering of the kind that were ever presented to a
sovereign by a subject."
[142] "The entry to the great Temple of the Sun is from the east,
through a noble portico of twelve circular columns; and the first
apartment in which the visiter finds himself is a magnificent hexagonal
hall, one hundred and eighty feet in diameter, exhibiting on all sides
the remains of an architectural beauty and magnificence of the richest
character, in the columns and other ornaments of a circle of chambers
which run around it. Beyond this is a still larger court, of nearly a
square form, being three hundred and seventy-four feet in one direction,
by three hundred and sixty-eight feet in another, and at the farther
extremity of that is the far-stretching pillared structure forming the
proper temple. As may be observed from the view, nine of the lofty
columns, which had composed this part of the edifice, are still to be
seen standing together. There had been originally fifty-six in all,
namely, ten at each end, and eighteen others along each of the sides.
The entire length of the space which they include is two hundred and
eighty-five feet, and its breadth is one hundred and fifty-seven feet.
The height, including the plinth, is eighty-seven feet."--ANON.
[143] The effect of the Corinthian order depends as much on the
execution of the sculptured details as in the harmony and correctness of
the proportion; and the miserable specimens we have about London, with a
stunted capital, and a few cramped projections, called acanthus leaves,
would not be known as the same order of architecture by the side of
these bold, free, airy, and majestic masses of building.--ADDISON.
[144] No cement or mortar is used in their construction, but the large
square stones are neatly adjusted, and so closely fitted, as to render
the joining almost invisible.
[145] Travels in Africa, Egypt, and Syria, p. 406, 7, 4to.
[146] Buckingham.
[147] Carne.
[148] Chronicles; Diodorus; Macrobius; Maundrell; Bruce; Seller; Dawkins
and Wood; Volney; Browne; Malcolm; Ouseley; Buckingham; Carne; La
Martine; Addison.
[149] The substance of this decree was as follows:--"Inasmuch as in
times past the continual benevolence of the people of Athens towards the
Byzantines and Perinthians, united by alliance and their common origin,
has never failed upon any occasion; that this benevolence, so often
signalised, has lately displayed itself, when Philip of Macedon, who had
taken up arms to destroy Byzantium and Perinthus, battered our walls,
burned our country, cut down our forests; that in a season of so great
calamity, this beneficent people succoured us with a fleet of a hundred
and twenty sail, furnished with provisions, arms, and forces; that they
saved us from the greatest danger; in fine, that they restored us to the
quiet possession of our government, our laws, and our tombs: the
Byzantines grant, by decree, the Athenians to settle in the countries
belonging to Byzantium; to marry in them, to purchase lands, and to
enjoy all the prerogatives of citizens; they also grant them a
distinguished place at public shows, and the right of sitting both in
the senate and the assembly of the people, next to the pontiffs: and
further, that every Athenian, who shall think proper to settle in either
of the two cities above mentioned, shall be exempted from taxes of any
kind: that in the harbours, three statues of sixteen cubits shall be set
up, which statues shall represent the people of Athens crowned by those
of Byzantium and Perinthus: and besides, that presents shall be sent to
the four solemn games of Greece, and that the crown we have decreed to
the Athenians shall there be proclaimed; so that the same ceremony may
acquaint all the Greeks, both with the magnanimity of the Athenians, and
the gratitude of the Byzantines."
[150] Gibbon.
[151] Gibbon.
[152] Chambers.
[153] Chambers.
[154] Clarke.
[155] Barthelemy.
[156] The whole circumference of the walls measures eighteen miles; the
number of mural towers is four hundred and seventy-eight.
[157] "This fact," continues Dr. Clarke, "has been so well ascertained,
that it will, probably, never be disputed." "The guardians of the most
holy relics," says Gibbon, "would rejoice if they were able to produce
such a chain of evidence as may be alleged on this occasion." The
original consecration in the temple of Delphi is proved from Herodotus
and Pausanias; and its removal by Zosimus, Eusebius, Socrates,
Ecclesiasticus, and Sozomen.
[158] Lord Sandwich.
[159] Hobhouse.
[160] Sandwich.
[161] Clarke.
[162] Lord Sandwich.
[163] Clarke.
[164] Chambers.
[165] Barthélemi; Wheler; Gibbon; Sandwich; Hobhouse; Byron; Clarke; La
Martine; Chambers; Parker.
[166] Elmanim; Sonnini; Browne; Brewster; Clarke; Encyclop. Londinensis;
Rees; Wilkinson.
[167] Rollin.
[168] Swinburne.
[169] Rollin; Swinburne.
[170] Swinburne.
[171] Swinburne.
[172] Forsyth.
[173] Livy; Rollin; Swinburne; Forsyth.
[174] The tale about purchasing so much land as an ox's hide would
cover, being a mere poetical fiction, is of course omitted.
[175] Lib. xxiii. ch. 6.
[176] Polybius has transmitted to us a treaty of peace concluded between
Philip, son of Demetrius, king of Macedon, and the Carthaginians, in
which the great respect and veneration of the latter for the deity,
their inherent persuasion that the gods assist and preside over human
affairs, and particularly over the solemn treaties made in their name
and presence, are strongly displayed. Mention is therein made of five or
six different orders of deities; and this enumeration appears very
extraordinary in a public instrument, such as a treaty of peace
concluded between two nations. We will here present our reader with the
very words of the historian, as it will give some idea of the
Carthaginian theology. "This treaty was concluded in the presence of
Jupiter, Juno, and Apollo; in the presence of the dæmon or genius
([Greek: daimonos]) of the Carthaginians, of Hercules and Iolaus; in the
presence of Mars, Triton, and Neptune; in the presence of all the
confederate gods of the Carthaginians; and of the sun, the moon, and the
earth; in the presence of the rivers, meads, and waters, in the presence
of all those gods who possess Carthage."--ROLLIN.
[177] 1,750,000_l._; that is. 35,000_l._ annually.
[178] Polybius acquaints us, that the ratification of the articles of
agreement between the Romans and the Carthaginians, was performed in
this manner: the Carthaginians swore by the gods of their country; and
the Romans, after their ancient custom, swore by a stone, and then by
Mars. They swore by a stone thus:--
"If I keep my faith, may the gods vouchsafe their assistance, and give
me success; if, on the contrary, I violate it, then may the other party
be entirely safe, and preserved in their country, in their laws, in
their possessions, and, in a word, in all their rights and liberties;
and may I perish and fall alone, as now this stone does:" and then he
lets the stone fall out of his hands.
Livy's account of the like ceremony is something more particular; yet
differs little in substance, only that he says the herald's concluding
clause was, "otherwise may Jove strike the Roman people, as I do this
hog;" and accordingly he killed a hog that stood ready by, with the
stone which he held in his hand.--KENNETT.
[179] M. Manilius and L. Marcius Censorinus.
[180] Rollin.
[181] Harmonies of Nature.
[182] Gibbon.
[183] Clarke.
[184] "A company, formed at Paris, for exploring the ruins of Carthage,
has already met with great success. A large house has been discovered on
the margin of the sea, near Bourj-Jedid. Paintings in fresco, similar to
those at Pompeii, adorn many of the rooms, and beautiful mosaics,
representing men, women, and nymphs, fishes of various kinds, tigers,
gazelles, &c. have been found. Fifteen cases with these precious relics
have arrived at Toulon."--_Literary Gazette, May 19, 1838._
[185] Polybius; Livy; Cicero; Justin; Rollin; Kennett; Gibbon; Montague;
Chateaubriand; Clarke; Sir George Temple.
[186] Swinburne; Brydone; Malte Brun; Encyclop. Londinensis.
[187] By Pliny, Strabo, and Tacitus.
[188] Quercus.
[189] Zonaras, apud Gyll.
[190] Julian; Barthelemy; Gibbon; Pococke; Clarke.
[191] The _sacred_ battalion was famous in history. It consisted of a
body of young warriors, brought up together, at the public expense, in
the citadel. Their exercises and even their amusements were regulated by
the sounds of the flute, and in order to prevent their courage from
degenerating into blind fury, care was taken to inspire them with the
noblest and most animated sentiments. Each warrior chose from the band a
friend to whom he remained inseparably united. These three hundred
warriors were anciently distributed in troops at the head of the
different divisions of the army.
Philip destroyed this cohort at the battle of Chæronea, and the prince
seeing these young Thebans stretched on the field of battle covered with
honourable wounds, and lying side by side on the ground on which they
had been stationed, could not restrain his tears.--BARTHELEMY.
[192] Dodwell.
[193] Ibid.
[194] Rollin; Barthelemy; Leland; Hobhouse; Dodwell; Leland.
[195] Obubea changed its name to Porcuna; and this, it is supposed, from
the circumstance of a sow having had thirty pigs at one litter; in
memory of which her figure was cut in stone with the following
inscription underneath:--
C. CORNELIVS. C. F.
C. N. GAL. CAESO.
AED. FLAMEN. II. VIR.
MVNICIPII. PONTIF.
C. CORN. CAESO. F.
SACERDOS. GENT. MVNICIPII.
SCROFAM. CUM. PORCIS. XXX.
IMPENSA. IPSORVM.
D. D.
[196] Jose.
[197] Thucydides; Rollin; Wheler; Dodwell; Williams.
[198] Rollin.
[199] Rollin.
[200]
Demens! qui nimbos et non imitabile fulmen,
Ære et cornipedum cursu simulâret squorum.--VIRG.
[201] Kennet.
[202] History of the Turks.
[203] Dodwell.
[204] Herodotus; Pliny the Nat.; Du Loir; Rollin; Kennet; Knowles;
Wheler; Chandler; Barthelemy; Stuart; Dodwell; Quin; Turner.
[205] The story of the maid of Corinth may be found in Pliny, lib.
xxxv.; and in Athenagoras, with this additional circumstance, that the
lover, while his outlines were taken, is described to have been asleep.
[206] Gibbon.
[207] The royal canal (Nahar-Malcha) might be successively restored,
altered, divided, &c. (Cellarius Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. p. 453): and
these changes may serve to explain the seeming contradictions of
antiquity. In the time of Julian, it must have fallen into the
Euphrates, _below_ Ctesiphon.
[208] These works were erected by Orodes, one of the Arsacidæan kings.
[209] "I suspect," says Mr. Gibbon, "that the extravagant numbers of
Elmacin may be the error, not of the text, but of the version. The best
translators from the Greek, for instance, I find to be very poor
arithmeticians."
[210] Selman the Pure.
[211] Rollin; Gibbon; Porter; Buckingham.
[212] Williams.
[213] Dodwell.
[214] Rollin; Barthélemi; Chandler; Clarke; Dodwell; Williams.
[215] In Judith, Dejoces is called Arphaxad:--"1. In the twelfth of the
reign of Nabuchodonosor, who reigned in Nineveh, the great city; in the
days of Arphaxad, which reigned over the Medes in Ecbatana.
2. And built in Ecbatana walls round about of stones hewn, three cubits
broad and six cubits long, and made the height of the walls seventy
cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits.
3. And set the towers thereof upon the gates of it, an hundred cubits
high, and the breadth thereof in the foundation thereof three score
cubits.
4. And he made the gates thereof, even gates that were raised to the
height of seventy cubits, and the breadth of them was forty cubits, for
the going forth of his mighty armies, and for the setting in array of
his footmen."
[216] It is said, in Esther, that Ahasuerus reigned over one hundred and
twenty-seven princes; from India to Ethiopia.
[217] According to Herodotus, the reign of
Dejoces was 53 years
Phraortes 22 ----
Cyaxares 12 ----
The Scythians 28 ----
Astyages 35 ----
----
Total 150
[218] Some authors have made a strange mistake: they have confused this
city with that of the same name in Syria, at the foot of Mount Carmel;
and still more often with that which was called the "City of the Magi."
[219] Lib. x. 24.
[220] Clio, 98.
[221] Ecbatana was taken by Nadir Shah. Nadir marched against the Turks
as soon as his troops were refreshed from the fatigues they had endured
in the pursuit of the Afghauns. He encountered the force of two Turkish
pachas on the plains of Hameden, overthrew them, and made himself
master, not only of that city, but of all the country in the
vicinity.--Meerza Mehdy's Hist. Sir William Jones's works, vol. v. 112;
Malcolm's Hist. of Persia, vol. ii. 51. 4to.
[222] "This custom," says Mr. Morier, "which I had never seen in any
other part of Asia, forcibly struck me as a most happy illustration of
our Saviour's parable of the labourer in the vineyard; particularly when
passing by the same place, late in the day, we still found _others
standing idle_, and remembered his words, '_Why stand ye here all the
day idle?_' as most applicable to their situation; for in putting the
question to them, they answered '_Because no one has hired us._'"
[223] Lib. x. c. 24.
[224] "The habitations of the people here (at Hameden) were equally mean
as those of the villages through which we had passed before. The
occupiers of these last resembled, very strongly, the African Arabs, or
Moors, and also the mixed race of Egypt, in their physiognomy,
complexion, and dress. The reception, given by these villagers to my
Tartar companions, was like that of the most abject slaves to a powerful
master; and the manner in which the yellow-crowned courtiers of the
Sublime Porte treated their entertainers in return, was quite as much in
the spirit of the despotic sultan whom they served."--_Buckingham's
Travels in Mesopotamia_, vol. ii. p. 18.
[225] Herodotus; Diodorus Siculus; Plutarch; Arrian; Quintus Curtius;
Rollin; Rennell; Morier; Sir R. Ker Porter; Buckingham.
[226] Rollin.
[227] Dodwell.
[228] Rollin; Barthelemy; Wheler; Chandler; Sandwich; Clarke; Hobhouse;
Dodwell.
[229] Gillies.
[230] Chandler.
[231] Pausanias; Plutarch; Barthelemy; Chandler; Dodwell; Rees; Gillies.
[232] Breadth scarcely anywhere exceeding forty miles.
[233] The others were, Miletus, Myus, Lebedos, Colophon, Priene, Teos,
Erythræ, Phocæa, Clazomenæ, Chios, and Samos.
[234] Polyen. Strat. vi.
[235] Diana was the patroness of all women in labour, as well as of the
children born.
[236] The Ephesians have a very wise law relative to the construction of
public edifices. The architect whose plan is chosen enters into a bond,
by which he engages all his property. If he exactly fulfils the
condition of his agreement, honours are decreed him; if the expense
exceeds the sum stipulated only by one quarter, the surplus is paid from
the public treasury; but if it amounts to more, the property of the
architect is taken to pay the remainder.--BARTHELEMY, vol. v. 394, 5;
from Vitruvius Præf., lib. x. 203.
[237] We often see this temple represented upon medals with the figure
of Diana. It is never charged with more than eight pillars; and
sometimes only with six, four, and now and then only with two.
[238] The columns being sixty feet high, the diameter, according to
rule, must be six feet eight inches; that is, one-ninth part. Thus,
every column would contain one hundred and ten tons of marble, besides
base and capital!--WREN'S PARENTALIA, p. 361.
[239] Mithridates caused 150,000 Romans in Asia to be massacred in one
day.
[240] Hist. August, p. 178; Jornandes, c. 20.
[241] Strabo, 1. xiv. 640; Vitruvius, 1. i. c. 1; Præf. 1. vii.; Tacitus
Annal. iii. 61; Plin. Nat. Hist. xxxvi. 14.
[242] The length of St. Peter's is 840 Roman palms; each palm is very
little short of nine English inches.
[243] They offered no sacrifices to the Grecian gods.
[244] Acts xx. 31.
[245] Acts xix. 11; 1 Cor. xv. 9.
[246] Acts xx. 19.
[247] Ch. ii.
[248] Revett's MS. notes.
[249] On this passage Mr. Revett has left the following observation in a
MS. note: "Upon what authority? Vitruvius, though he relates the story,
does not give us the name of the mountain on which it happened. If mount
Prion consists of white marble, it is very extraordinary it was not
discovered sooner; part of the mountain being included in the city."
[250] Diodorus Siculus; Vitruvius; Plin. Nat. Hist.; Plutarch; Polyænus;
Wren's Parentalia; Barthelemy; Gibbon; Wheler; Chandler; Revett; Clarke;
Hobhouse; Brewster; Rees.
[251] Seetzen; Burckhardt; Irby; Robinson.
[252] From a work published in 1778.
[253] Anon.
[254] Hippolyto de Jose; Swinburne; Wright; Murphy; Washington Irving.
[255] Lempriere.
[256] Morritt.
[257] Turner.
[258] Turner; Clarke.
[259] Barthelemy; Lempriere; Rees; Mitford; Clarke; Walpole; Morritt;
Turner.
[260] Rollin.
[261] Bossuet; Rollin; Encyclop. Metropolitana; Denon.
[262] Eustace.
[263] Dionysius of Halicarnassus makes it sixty years before the fall of
Troy; or 1342 B.C.
[264] Chambers.
[265] Chambers.
[266] He was then only eighteen.
[267] The death of this celebrated naturalist was probably occasioned by
carbonic acid gas. This noxious vapour must have been generated to a
great extent during the eruption. It is heavier than common air, and, of
course, occupies in greater proportion the substrata of that
circumambient fluid. The supposition is greatly strengthened by the
fact, that the old philosopher had lain down to rest; but the flames
approaching him, he was compelled to rise, assisted by two servants,
which he had no sooner done than he fell down dead.
[268] It is a remarkable circumstance that some naturalists walking amid
the flowers, on the summit of Vesuvius, the very day before this
eruption, were discussing whether this mountain was a volcano.
[269] Gandy, 53.
[270] Mons. Du Theil.
[271] Rees.
[272] Brewster.
[273] Ibid.
[274] Brewster.
[275] Brewster.
[276] Brewster, 741.
[277] Ibid, 740.
[278] Rees.
[279] Dupaty.
[280] Brewster.
[281] The letters in the smaller type were inserted by Ciampitti; as
those he considered appropriate for filling up passages which could not
be deciphered.
[282] Pliny the younger; Encycl. Rees, Metrop.; Brewster; Dupaty;
Eustace.
[283] Plin. v. c. 26. Ptolem. v. c. 15.
[284] Ptolemy; Pliny; Pococke; Chandler.
[285] This was an epithet given to Crete, from the 100 cities which it
once contained: also to Thebes in Egypt, on account of its 100 gates.
The territory of Laconia had the same epithet for the same reason that
Thebes had; and it was the custom of these 100 cities to sacrifice a
hecatomb every year.
[286] Sir John Malcolm.
[287] The boundaries of Iran, which Europeans call Persia, have
undergone many changes. The limits of the kingdom in its most prosperous
periods may, however, be easily described. The Persian Gulf, or Indian
Ocean, to the south; the Indies and the Oxus to the east and north-east;
the Caspian Sea and Mount Caucasus to the north; and the river Euphrates
to the west. The most striking features of this extensive country, are
numerous chains of mountains, and large tracts of desert; amid which are
interspersed beautiful valleys and rich pasture lands.--SIR JOHN
MALCOLM.
[288] I conquered the city of Isfahan, and I trusted in the people of
Isfahan, and I delivered the cattle in their hands. And they rebelled;
and the darogah whom I had placed over them they slew, with 3000 of the
soldiers. And I also commanded that a general slaughter should be made
of the people of Isfahan.--TIMOUR'S Institutes, p. 119. MALCOLM'S Hist.
Persia, vol. i. 461.
[289] Porter.
[290] Lett. ii. 1. 3.
[291] vii. 273, 486. viii. 2, 144.
[292] Sir John Kinneir says of this causeway: "It is in length about 300
miles. The pavement is now nearly in the same condition as it was in the
time of Hanway; being perfect in many places, although it has hardly
ever been repaired."
[293] At one time a horse's carcase sold for one thousand crowns.
[294] Malcolm, Hist. Persia from Murza Mahdy.
[295] The horrors of this siege, equal to any recorded in ancient
history, have been described by the Polish Jesuit Krurinski, who
personally witnessed them (see his History of the Revolution of Persia,
published by Père du Cerceau); and they are noticed in the "Histoire de
Perse depuis le commencement de ce siècle" of M. la Marnya Clairac, on
authorities that cannot be disputed.--OUSELEY'S Trav.
[296] Geog. Mem. of Persia.
[297] Morier.
[298] Malte-Brun.
[299] Job, chap. xv. ver. 28.
[300] Ferdousi; Ebn Hakekl; Della Valle; Chardin; Kinneir; Porter;
Malcolm; Malte-Brun; Ouseley.
[301] Hippolito de Jose.
[302] From the time that Solomon, by means of his temple, had made
Jerusalem the common place of worship to all Israel, it was
distinguished from the rest of the cities by the epithet Holy, and in
the Old Testament was called Air Hakkodesh, _i. e._, the city of
holiness, or the holy city. It bore this title upon the coins, and the
shekel was inscribed Jerusalem Kedusha, _i. e._, Jerusalem the Holy. At
length Jerusalem, for brevity's sake, was omitted, and only Kedusha
reserved. The Syriac being the prevailing language in Herodotus's time,
Kedusha, by a change in that dialect of sh into th, was made Kedutha;
and Herodotus, giving it a Greek termination, it was writ [Greek:
Kadytis], or Cadytis.--PRIDEAUX'S Connexion of the Old and New
Testament, vol. i. part i. p. 80, 81, 8vo. edit.
[303] And Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south,
and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings; he left none
remaining; but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of
Israel commanded.--Joshua, ch. x. ver. 40.
[304] --The emotions which filled the minds of those who witnessed the
laying of the foundation of the temple were strangely mingled. All gave
thanks to the Lord; and the multitude shouted with a great shout when
the foundations were laid; but, "many of the priests and Levites, and
chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first
house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes,
wept with a loud voice."--EZRA, iii. 12.
[305] Besides this, he built another temple.
[306] Some have thought that this description, which is from Josephus,
applies rather to the temple of Herod.
[307] It is remarkable that the sum mentioned is equal to the British
national debt.
[308] "Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and
with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore shalt
thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in
hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and
he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the
earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt
not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard
the person of the old, nor show favour to the young: and he shall eat
the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be
destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or
the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have
destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy
high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all
thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy
land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the
fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters,
which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the
straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: so that the man
that is tender among you and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward
his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of
his children which he shall leave: so that he will not give to any of
them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath
nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine
enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate
woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot
upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil
toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her
daughter, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall
eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness
wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates."--DEUT. xxviii.
47-57.
[309] Deut. xxix. 22, 24, 27.
[310] Robinson.
[311] Buckingham.
[312] The patriarch, says an accomplished traveller, makes his
appearance in a flowing vest of silk, instead of a monkish habit, and
every thing around him bears the character of Eastern magnificence. He
receives his visitors in regal stateliness; sitting among clouds of
incense, and regaling them with all the luxuriance of a Persian court.
[313] Dr. Clarke.
[314] Robinson.
[315] Matt. xiii. 2.
[316] D'Anville.
[317] Id.
[318] Buckingham.
[319] 2 Kings xxiii. 10, 12. 2 Chron. xxvii. 3.
[320] 2 Kings xxiii. 10.
[321] Brewster.
[322] Robinson.
[323] Id.
[324] Carne.
[325] John xx.
[326] Ib. v. 4.
[327] Ib. v. 5, 11.
[328] Clarke.
[329] Robinson.
[330] La Martine.
[331] Carne.
[332] Id.
[333] Robinson.
[334] Id.
[335] Josephus; Tacitus; Prideaux; Rollin; Stackhouse; Pococke;
D'Anville; Gibbon; Rees; Brewster; Clarke; Eustace; Chateaubriand;
Buckingham; Robinson; La Martine; Carne.
[336] Rollin.
[337] Polybius; Plutarch; Rollin; Titler; Barthelemy; Chateaubriand;
Dodwell.
[338] Shaw; Chandler; Kinneir; Malte-Brun; Buckingham; Porter.
[339] Rollin.
[340] Rollin.
[341] Turner.
[342] Those of Magnesia amounted to fifty talents every year, a sum
equivalent to 11,250_l._ sterling.
[343] Such was the custom of the ancient kings of the East. Instead of
settling pensions on persons they rewarded, they gave them cities, and
sometimes even provinces, which, under the name of bread, wine, &c, were
to furnish them abundantly with all things necessary for supporting, in
a magnificent manner, their family and equipage.--ROLLIN.
[344] Civil Architecture, 617.
[345] Pococke; Chandler; Encycl. Metrop.
[346] Rollin.
[347] Rollin.
[348] Dodwell.
[349] Rollin; Dodwell; Williams.
[350] This was the same plan as Hannibal followed afterwards at the
battle of Cannæ.
[351] Rollin; Wheler; Barthelemy; Clarke; Dodwell.
[352] Barthelemy; Rollin; Rees; Dodwell.
[353] Thucydides; Dodwell.
[354] This story is told at length in Statius's Thebaid.
[355] Dodwell.
[356] Thucydides; Pausanias; Plutarch; Rollin; Wheler; Chandler;
Barthelemy; Dodwell.
[357] Savary.
[358] Rollin.
[359] Rollin.
[360] Alexandria may be supposed to have been partly built with its
ruins.
[361] Malte-Brun.
[362] Rollin.
[363] The London and Birmingham Railway is unquestionably the greatest
public work ever executed, either in ancient or modern times. If we
estimate its importance by the labour alone which has been expended on
it, perhaps the Great Chinese Wall might compete with it; but when we
consider the immense outlay of capital which it has required,--the great
and varied talents which have been in a constant state of requisition
during the whole of its progress,--together with the unprecedented
engineering difficulties, which we are happy to say are now
overcome,--the gigantic work of the Chinese sinks totally into the
shade.
It may be amusing to some readers, who are unacquainted with the
magnitude of such an undertaking as the London and Birmingham Railway,
if we give one or two illustrations of the above assertion. The great
pyramid of Egypt, that stupendous monument which seems likely to exist
to the end of all time, will afford a comparison.
After making the necessary allowances for the foundations, galleries,
&c., and reducing the whole to one uniform denomination, it will be
found that the labour expended on the great _pyramid_ was equivalent to
lifting fifteen thousand seven hundred and thirty-three million cubic
feet of stone one foot high. This labour was performed, according to
Diodoras Siculus by three hundred thousand, to Herodotus by one hundred
thousand men, and it required for its execution twenty years.
If we reduce in the same manner the labour, expended in constructing the
London and Birmingham Railway, to one common denomination, the result is
twenty-five thousand million cubic feet of material (reduced to the same
weight as that used in constructing the pyramid) lifted one foot high,
or nine thousand two hundred and sixty-seven million cubic feet more
than was lifted one foot high in the construction of the pyramid; yet
this immense undertaking has been performed by about twenty thousand men
in less than five years.
From the above calculation have been omitted all the tunnelling,
culverts, drains, ballasting, and fencing, and all the heavy work at the
various stations, and also the labour expended on engines, carriages,
wagons, &c. These are set off against the labour of drawing the
materials of the pyramid from the quarries to the spot where they were
to be used--a much larger allowance than is necessary.
As another means of comparison, let us take the cost of the railway and
turn it into pence, and allowing each penny to be one inch and
thirty-four hundredths wide, it will be found that these pence laid
together, so that they all touch, would more than form a continuous band
round the earth at the equator.
As a third mode of viewing the magnitude of this work, let us take the
circumference of the earth in round numbers at one hundred and thirty
million feet. Then, as there are about four hundred million cubic feet
of earth to be moved in the railway, we see that this quantity of
material alone, without looking to any thing else, would, if spread in a
band one foot high and one foot broad, more than three times encompass
the earth at the equator.--LECOUNT.
[364] Saturday Magazine.
[365] Saturday Magazine.
[366] Monthly Magazine.
[367] Harmonies of Nature.
[368] Strabo mentions the sepulchre, lib. xvii. p. 808.
[369] Herodotus; Diodorus; Strabo; Pliny; Plutarch; Arrian; Quintus
Curtius; Rollin; Maupertuis; Montague; Maillet; Pococke; Shaw; Savary;
Norden; Sandwich; Browne; Denon; Belzoni; Salt; Clarke; Wilkinson;
Lecount.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes: