(332 B.C.)
THE FLIGHT OF THE TYRIAN FAMILIES
AT
THE FALL OF TYRUS.
&c.
THE FIVE ADDITIONAL AND NEWLY-APPLIED
TYRIAN PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH
INVESTIGATED AND ESTABLISHED:
(_Making, with the Two generally acknowledged,--Seven in all:_)
THE LAST, APPLICABLE ONLY TO ANCIENT AMERICA.
That we may be distinctly understood in the numbering of the Sacred
Prophecies by ISAIAH, having reference to Tyrus, we will briefly
review them: and at the same time we repeat, that they are not
required to sustain the present History,--they are, however, the seals
to the Document.
1ST PROPHECY.
This we understand to be the same as foretold by EZEKIEL and
JEREMIAH,--viz., the destruction of the old metropolis on the
_mainland_ by Nebuchadnezzar. This event was accomplished at the end
of the thirteen years' siege, 485-472 B.C.
2D PROPHECY.
This was that the "Daughter of Sidon," as a Nation, should be
forgotten _seventy years_, and then be restored to memory and power.
This was fulfilled,--reckoning from the commencement of the Babylonian
investment (for she then ceased to be free) to the Dedication of the
Second Temple at Jerusalem, in the rebuilding of which the Tyrians
again assisted, as in the days of Hiram and Solomon.
3D PROPHECY.
The third (and with those that follow now originally applied) had
reference to a _second_ destruction,--the prediction stated that "the
land should be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled." This fearful
prediction was consummated by Alexander, in taking the Island-Capital,
and by his massacre of the population.
4TH PROPHECY.
This enumerates the several classes of the inhabitants at Tyrus during
_the last siege_, and that all (save the exception in the next
Prophecy) should be slain or made captive, found within the walls, but
the King,--he is the solitary exception, and that this was fulfilled
is proved from classic history, and which we have endeavoured to
illustrate in the previous chapter.
5TH PROPHECY.
This distinctly states that a "remnant" of the nation should be
rescued from the Alexandrian destruction. The prediction is
comprehended in the following words of ISAIAH:
"In the city is left desolation [_i. e._ massacre], and the gate is
smitten with destruction [_i. e._ with the storming]. When THUS it
shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall _be as
the shaking of an olive-tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the
vintage is done_."
These figures of speech from many proofs in Scripture (as previously
given, Vol. i., Book ii., ch. v.), mean that _a Remnant shall be
saved_. This was fulfilled,--through the instrumentality of the
friendly Sidonians, as already shewn. This is, also, on the authority
of acknowledged history,--though Arrian in merely alluding to the
fact, has, of course, no reference to any fulfilment of Prophecy, of
which it may be presumed that he was entirely ignorant as to its
existence,--or if not, he had no belief in its sacred character; but
neither of these points destroy the record of the fact of the
Sidonians having rescued the "remnant" during the Siege.
6TH PROPHECY.
This foretels the _means_ of escape to be employed by the last of the
Tyrians,--that it should be by _navigation_, not by land;--this is
gathered conclusively from the lines immediately following the
preceding quotation, wherein the natural thanksgiving upon such an
escape is also expressed:--
"They [the remnant] shall lift up their voices, they shall sing aloud
_from the_ SEA!" (_i. e._ Mediterranean.)
The proof of the fulfilment of this Prophecy is the same as that
employed to establish the previous one,--viz., the Sidonian Galleys.
The four predictions (3d, 4th, 5th, 6th) having reference to the
Alexandrian Siege of Tyrus, distinctly foretels as follows: viz.--The
storming of the capital--the massacre,--the safety of the King,--and
of the King only within the walls. While these points were in
action,--a remnant,--a nation's gleaning,--should be safely
gathered,--that they should be rescued by the means of navigation,--
that they should lift their voices in thanksgiving "from the
sea,"--which as a mother, upon her bosom was to cherish them in
safety! Now all these Prophecies, and their several parts, are proved
by authenticated history to have been accomplished;--no sceptic,
therefore, in regard to the startling character (perhaps boldness) of
this History, can deny to the Author the right to claim and employ a
_seventh_ and a last Prophecy by ISAIAH, to support conclusions of
Tyrian identity in the Western Hemisphere. This last prediction refers
even to the character of the Voyage to be finally taken by the
fugitive "remnant,"--the great distance of their flight,--and that
when they had reached their destination they should sojourn there.
This conclusive Prophecy will be brought forward in its proper place.
The Sidonians and rescued Tyrians now claim attention.
At the moment when the Capital was being desolated by flame and
falchion, and when the walls and gates were "smitten with
destruction," the Sidonian Galleys received on board the fugitive
Families; and from the direct National act of friendship, it must
appear apparent that those saved, Men, Women, and Children, were
Tyrians only;--yet in the confusion, a few Greeks and Egyptians may
have found shelter. This is possible in reference to individuals (but
not to families); for Tyrus being in commercial intercourse with the
Nile and the Archipelago, may have contained some few inhabitants of
Egypt or Greece at the sacking of the City. Amid the noise attendant
upon the entrance of the Macedonian Soldiery, and the screams of the
affrighted populace, the Sidonian vessels, with their fearful freights
escaped unobserved by the invaders; or, if they had been seen by the
enemy, they would not have been pursued; for they were Sidonians,--not
Tyrians,--that is in outward appearance, as manifested by the colours,
or ensigns of their Galleys; and to avoid suspicion, their ships must
have been few,--five or six,--sufficient, however, for the conveyance
of "a Colony from the East."[15]
[15] That the reader may not question whether the custom existed
in ancient days of having National or other flags flying, for the
purpose of recognition, it may be necessary to show that it was
the custom. This is proved upon the authority of ST. PAUL, who,
after his shipwreck upon the Island of Malta (_i. e._ Melita) and
residing there three months, again set sail in an Alexandrian ship
for Rome; the ensign or flag of which vessel represented the
Jovian Sons of Leda. "And after three months we departed in a ship
of Alexandria, which had wintered in the Isle, whose sign (_i. e._
flag or ensign) was Castor and Pollux." [Acts xxviii. 11.]--_G.
J._
Thus escaped, and upon the broad and friendly "Sea," it will readily
be imagined that Tyrian prayers and thanksgivings were "lifted up" in
purity and sincerity. Upon leaving Tyrus, they rowed towards the open
waters of the Mediterranean; but keeping in-shore, and for the
approaching nightfall, their prows would be turned toward the West.
The first sunset of their flight may have been crimsoned with the
tints of Nature,--but towards the East, on the horizon of their
once-loved home, arose the red clouds from furious conflagration,--
their fallen and flaming dwellings quenched only in the flowing
and heated streams of human blood!
As Night struggled for supremacy with expiring Day, the sky and waters
were illumined from the raging fire, rising from the funeral pile of
an once mighty, but now prostrate nation. The Tyrian "Queen of the
Sea," now dressed in her last crimson robe (which like that of
Hercules festered her to madness), from her Island-throne cast her
expiring looks upon the Mediterranean,--her faithful, yet conquered
champion,--whose bright panoply reflected and increased the grandeur
of the Monarch's fall--which, like a Star falling from the purple dome
of Night, and its fiery train reflected on the Ocean, and both on the
same instant, as in sympathy, expire: so the Sea-girt Queen's--and,
like that Star, cast from the Pleiades of Nations--never to be found
in her own, but in _another_ Sphere!
The last of the Tyrian Sons and Daughters, who, from the Sidonian
decks now gazed, like wildered maniacs, upon the smouldering ruins of
their home and country, and heard in the gathering stillness of the
night, the accumulated groans of the Crucified victims, and could
perceive in the rising moonlight (now emitting its full-orbed
splendour) their naked and writhing bodies, which, reflected like
images of ivory in the placid waters of the shore, seemed to double
the horrors of the scene;--while some of the Crucified upon the high
ruins of the City, had wrenched the nails and cords of their hands
from their dire scaffolds, and were plunging headlong, grasping in
air, and calling upon their gods to end their torture: yet, even with
this maddening scene before them, they felt that the fates of those
that had perished by the flame, sword, or Cross, were enviable when
compared with their _living_ desolation! In their moments of misery,
they experienced in its full force, the baneful curse cast upon the
Children through the Parent's pride and policy! Like Ishmael, Abram's
first-born, their hands had been uplifted against every Nation; and
in return, every hand was raised against _them_. They were now
wanderers--not like Hagar,--of a wilderness, where by a Well of Life
an Angel of Mercy might appear; but upon an approaching dark and
stormy Sea; the harbours and fountains of humanity closed against
them, and surrounded on every hand by the demons of despair or death!
As they in their "palmy state" had rejoiced upon the Destruction of
Jerusalem, so _their_ Nation's fall became the mirth and triumph to
every country; and they, in their turn, reached their summit of
grandeur, and from thence descended to desolation!
The Fugitives were now upon the Sea,--but no harbour could receive
them: the pilots dare not return and land at Sidon, for the agents and
officers of Alexander, and his own King were there, to protect the
Treaty, and his interest: to land the Tyrians, therefore, at their
parental home, would have involved that nation in a ruin similar, if
not equal, to that of Tyrus, the horrors of which had struck a terror
to the World! Some Historians of the ancient days have supposed that
the Fugitives were taken to Sidon, because, _they were nowhere to be
found_!--but those writers,--and Raleigh within the walls of the
Tower,--may be well excused, for they knew not of Temple-ruins, and
walls of equal magnitude, being in existence in another Hemisphere.
The next, and only apparent City of refuge was self-protecting
Carthage: but the Senate of that Republic had refused to aid the
Tyrians even in their day of strength; and Alexander's march upon
Jerusalem to resent a supposed offence of the Jews, in rendering
assistance to Tyrus, would be another reason, conjoined with the
sending of Rhodanus, why Carthage would not receive them. The Tyrians,
however, may have been furnished, indirectly, with supplies for a
voyage at Carthage,--_bought by the Sidonians, the owners of the
Galleys_; and in this instance no offence could be entertained by the
agents of the Macedonian, who were watching his interests in the
Republic.
In this terrible dilemma, there was but one Oasis in the watery
Desert, and that was the Tyrian's by right of original discovery;
_this was the group of Islands first landed upon by their Ancestors_,
in their circumnavigation of the Continent of Africa; and which are
designated by JEREMIAH, as "the Isles which are _beyond_ the Sea." To
these truly "Fortunate Islands" it was but natural that the Last of
the Tyrians would turn their thoughts. Since the Alexandrian Deluge
which had overwhelmed their country, in the Sidonian Arks they had
floated above the dangers of the flood; but, like the ravens of the
Deluge, they had wandered to and fro, hopeless of return: yet their
dove of peace, which at first could find "no rest for the sole of her
foot," now brought to their "mental sight" an olive-leaf from their
Island-Ararat "beyond the Sea!"
With heavy hearts, it may be supposed, that they bade farewell for
ever to the Mediterranean. Passing through the Straits of Gibraltar,
and coasting along the western shores of Africa, the snow-crowned Peak
of the chief Island would rise from the Ocean, like a Pharos to
illumine and proclaim their path of present safety. The peculiar
circumstances causing these lands to be revisited by the Tyrians,
would (as before hinted) seem to point directly to the reason of their
original and ancient appellation,--viz., The _Fortunate_ Isles
(Fortunatæ Insulæ). The name, from its very definition, indicates a
place of refuge from foe or wreck, and is, therefore, directly
applicable to the Fugitives. Upon the _chief_ of the Islands, known in
modern times as Teneriffe, the Tyrians and Sidonians first landed. We
establish this apparent fact, upon the ground that the principal
burying-place was here, as proved by the Mummies discovered in the
caverns of the Peak, as stated in the Analogies, and the same species
being found in Peru. They form a distinct and absolute chain across
the Atlantic, uniting the Fortunate Isles with the Western Hemisphere!
[Vol. i., Book i., ch. vii., § 4.] The other Islands of the group were
inhabited at a later day, and without doubt by the Sido-Tyrian
descendants, who became a People known as the Guanches, _i. e._
Freemen; the name itself (as before stated) points to an escape from
Slavery.
After the Tyrians had landed on the Fortunate Isle, the events of the
past would soon compel them to give full consideration to the
probabilities, and even possibilities of the future. These causes of
the hopes and fears of the human family, may have produced the effects
of assurance and conviction in their distracted minds, that their
escape was known,--the pathway of their retreat had been tracked,--and
that the remorseless bloodhound of Macedonia would still pursue them,
not only for their lives, but for the lands that had received them.
Again:--their new home might be discovered by some of the citizens of
Sidon, following in search of their absent countrymen: or if the
Sidonians on the Fortunate Isle should return to the Mediterranean,
discovery might be conveyed in that manner; and that they would return
was apparent, for they had left their families at Sidon. Every point
of conclusion would force upon them the necessity of further retreat
from still surrounding dangers: and that their next home as a Nation
must be founded upon the "gleanings" of their own country, unconnected
with the noble Sidonians, except by a companionship. The only means
for further retreat were in possession of their present
friends,--viz., The Galleys. The Island which they now inhabited, and
those surrounding them, belonged to the Tyrians,--a free gift of which
by the owners, in exchange for the Galleys of the Sidonians (save one
for their own return to Sidon), would naturally occur to the parties,
under the peculiar circumstances in which they were now relatively
placed. It will readily be admitted that the Sidonians, having
hazarded their lives, and even the destruction of their country, in
"gleaning" from the carnage at Tyrus, the "remnant" of the People,
that they would not hesitate to grant them the means of perfect
safety. The Galleys, therefore, may have become the Tyrian property by
gift, purchase, or in exchange for the Islands,--and perhaps, the
National secret of the Tyrian Dye: either of the propositions,
without the employment of "force," must appear probable, and
especially the two latter. We gather the suggestion of the Secret of
the "Dye" being one of the "objects" in the "negotiation" from the
fact that the _Shell_ is in the hands of the Negotiators, represented
upon the Altar at Copan,--the City we have placed as having been the
first built in Ancient America,--the Sculpture of which identically
illustrates this act of Amity!
The Tyrian possession of the vessels being accomplished, it would be
natural that the Sidonians would return to their homes, before the
departure of the rescued, 1st, From the natural desire to return to
their own families; 2dly, To prevent the enemy's suspicion from delay;
and 3dly, They would be enabled, thereby, to again serve the Tyrians,
by throwing any pursuers off the true track; and to these points may
be added, the National Secretiveness of the "Daughter of Sidon," who
might wish to conceal her retreat even from her protecting Parent.
Whether the Sidonians left first or not, or whether the parties left
simultaneously, is of no materiality towards the firm establishing of
the truth of this History: but, the apparent facts of the case would
force the conclusion, that if they did not lower oars simultaneously,
they would leave the Tyrians in possession of the Isles, which they
(the Sidonians) would return to at an early period to occupy; and that
they did, the ancient sepulchres, and their contents, bear ample
testimony, for the Religious customs of Sidonians and Tyrians were
identical.
The Sidonians had now placed the last seal upon their bond of
friendship. It was deeply impressed upon the mind of the receiver, and
could never be forgotten, or razed from the tablet of Tyrian memory!
It was truly a subject for the Sculptor's art to perpetuate, not only
upon their Temples, but upon the "Chief Altar" in whatever land or
country their future fate should cast them. And such we believe to be
the subject of the Sculpture upon the Chief Altar of Copan in Ancient
America, erected by Gratitude as a Religious Tribute to Friendship;
that whenever they should bow in reverence to their visible God, they
should remember the parental act, which alone had enabled them to
offer praises to their Deity! The Sidonians in their departure for
their home upon the Mediterranean, must have received the united
blessings of a People, who through their means only, had been rescued
from desolation or death, and in the terrible forms of Conflagration
or Crucifixion.
The Last of the Tyrian Nation, the remnant of an once powerful People,
were about to trust themselves again upon that element which had ever
befriended them,--and upon which they had ever moved as the Lords of
the domain: but, they had now no merry metropolis to receive them,--no
walled citadel whose antiquity would speak to them of "ancient days:"
recollections of the past were terrible,--the anticipations of the
future were dark and uncertain,--and in the present time only could
they view security. To return to any known part of Asia, Africa, or
Europe, was impossible,--their only path from the Fortunate Isle was
forth upon an untracked Ocean. Their final landing-place might be afar
off,--their sojourn for ever;--but Apollo and Astartē, their imaged
orbs of Day and Night, were to be the "lanterns to their feet,"--and
their skilful knowledge, would shelter them beneath the gorgeous, and
star-gemmed mantle of Astronomy!
The reader now may naturally inquire, How does this position and
resolution of the Tyrians agree with "a _seventh_ and last Prophecy,"
alluded to in the commencement of this Chapter as being now newly
applied?--and what is that Prophecy by ISAIAH?
The answers will be given with firmness, from the conscientious
conviction of their truth. Those natural points of debate in the minds
of the Tyrians, were the preliminaries to the fulfilment,--and their
safe landing and sojourn in the Western Hemisphere, were the actual
accomplishment of the Prophecy!
The prediction may have been unknown to this remnant of a Nation,--for
it was uttered to the Jewish people, and by one of that great
family,--ISAIAH,--and nearly 400 years previous to the Alexandrian
Siege. The Sacred Prophet distinctly says, [xxiii. 7]--
"_Howl, ye inhabitants of the Isle!_ [Tyrus] _Is this your joyous
city, whose antiquity is of ancient days?_"
This sentence by its question is spoken as _to_ the Tyrians;--but the
line immediately following, was uttered as _of_ them, and from the
wording, from the very spirit of a pre-knowledge of a future
event!--viz.,
"HER OWN FEET SHALL CARRY HER [Tyrus] AFAR OFF TO SOJOURN!"
This Prophetic line (brief as it is) contains four distinct and
important parts, yet each as necessary to the whole, as quadruple
angles to the perfection of a square: viz.--
"Her own feet | shall carry her | afar off | to sojourn."
1st. "_Her own feet_,"--is figurative that the means should be Tyrian;
viz., Navigation.
2d. "_Shall carry her_," _i. e._ shall convey them,--and that it was
to be by Navigation has already been proved,--"they shall cry aloud
from _the Sea_"--that is also demonstrated by the Galleys of the
Sidonians.
3d. "_Afar off_"--figurative that the migration should be to some
unusual distance, or nameless land.
4th. "_To sojourn_," _i. e._ to reside or remain,--and as no time or
duration is affixed to the words, they would seem to express in the
language of the Bible--"to sojourn for evermore," or to a time wherein
total annihilation should be accomplished,--as it has been by the
Spaniards and their descendants.
We will meet at the threshold any objections to the strong and
conclusive application to this History, of this remarkable, and
hitherto unemployed line of Prophecy.
1st. It cannot belong to the _first_ Siege of Tyrus,--viz., by
Nebuchadnezzar,--for after that event, the remnant of the then
Conquered People left the mainland Metropolis, and _settled on the
Island_,--a distance of _less than half a mile_; therefore, "afar off
to sojourn" could not apply to that invasion.
2dly. Being admitted that the line does not apply to the Babylonian
destruction, then as a necessity, it must belong to that by the
Macedonian Monarch. The Sidonians upon that occasion rescued the
remnant of the Nation, and to have returned to Sidon would also not be
"afar off," as the distance from Tyrus is but _twenty-three miles_. We
apprehend, also, that the reader is convinced that the political
reasons for not returning to Sidon are apparent and conclusive.
3dly. The Tyrians, simply by obtaining the Galleys from the friendly
Sidonians, had as it were their "own feet," _i. e._ navigable means to
carry them,--for Tyrus itself had _stood_, or _walked_ firmly for
centuries, only through and by means of Navigation.
And 4thly. They were not only to journey or migrate to "afar off"
distance,--a land as yet not _known by name_, and therefore, _could
not_ be specified by ISAIAH;--but another condition, or incident is
affixed,--viz., that wherever they finally landed, there they were "to
sojourn." Now let the most scrutinizing, Argus-eyed antiquary, search
every quarter of Europe, Asia, or Africa,--their ancient or their
modern histories, or traditions (and we know them well), and where
will he find these "afar off" sojourners, contemplated by the Prophet
ISAIAH? The conclusive answer to such inquiry will be, as from the
Tomb of Time, "Thou shalt not find them;"--but, in Ancient America,
there they are traceable,--there they are found;--proved to be
identical with the Tyrians of Phœnicia,--and the truth of the
long-concealed Prophecy, established by Holy-Writ and new-discovered
History.
"Her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn," is a sentence too
positive in its construction to be viewed by any reader as an idle or
a careless expression by ISAIAH. The solemn occasion upon which it was
uttered,--viz., the prediction of a Nation's downfall,--utterly
repudiates even the supposition that it, as part of the great
Prophecy, should not be strictly fulfilled with the residue; and every
other part having been accomplished, it would be sophistry to assume
that this particular line should not be:--but such an assumption would
not hold, since its fulfilment is absolutely proved in the Southern
portion of Ancient America.