"It is even yet shameful among the Persians, to be seen either to spit or to blow the nose."-XEN. Cyrop. 1. 1. c. 2. "Cyrus took care to accustom his associates not to be seen to spit or blow the nose."-IBID. 1. VIII. c. 1. "TYNDARUS. Hegio, this person was accounted a madman in Elis. Don't you give ear to what he prates about; for at home he has pursued his father and mother with spears, and that malady sometimes comes upon him which is spit out." PLANT. Captiv. Act II. sc. 4. "The chapel next to the dwelling of the Flamen Quirinalis-where at present it is reckoned profane even to spit."—Liv. 1. v. c. 40. "Nero in his contests before the people, adhered so strictly to the rules that he never durst spit, or wipe the sweat from his forehead in any other way than with his sleeve."-SUETON. Nero, c. 24. There are several instances in sacred history of the affectation of insanity by men of dignity, as the means of procuring for themselves immunity from threatened danger. "Solon that he might escape the penalty denounced against those who should incite the Athenians to war, feigned himself mad.”—PLUT. Solon, c. 8. "Brutus took care to fashion his behaviour to the semblance of foolishness. Having heard that the principal men in the state, and among the rest, his brother, had been put to death by his uncle, he resolved to seek security for a time in contempt." LIV. 1. 1. c. 56. PLUT. Publ. c 3. "The tragedians accuse Ulysses of wishing to escape from military service by the affectation of insanity."-Cic. de Offic. 1. III. c. 26. 1 SAMUEL XXIV. 6. And he said unto his men, the Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. "The majesty of the kings of Sparta was held in such veneration, even by their enemies, that they scrupled to strike them, even when they had an opportunity of doing so in battle."-PLUT. Agesil. c. 21. "The king of Taprobane, if he is found guilty of any offence, is condemned to death; but no one slays him; all turn their backs upon him, and refuse to hold any communication with him."-PLIN. Hist. nat. 1. VI. c. 24. 1. SAMUEL XXV. 11. Shall I then take my bread and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be? Water, of which there was often a great scarcity, was provided by the master for his labourers on all great occasions, such as sheep-shearing, ploughing, &c. Sometimes a thin wine was furnished in its stead; as is noticed in Homer's description of the shield of Achilles. "The shining shares full many ploughmen guide, HOм. П. 1. XVIII. v. 542. 37. His heart died within him and he became as a stone. Ariadne, mourning for Theseus is thus described 66 Fixing my eyes upon the sea, I silently seat myself upon some pointed rock, cold and senseless as the stone on which I sit."-OVID. Epist. 1. x. v. 49. 1 SAMUEL XXVIII. 6. And when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. "Let some prophet or some sacred sage Or learn the wasteful vengeance to remove By mystic dreams, for dreams descend from Jove." For divinations by dreams see Deut. XIII. 2. HOм. I. 1. I. v. 62. 7. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. 8. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up whom I shall name unto thee. 9. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10. And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 11. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. The necromants or consultors of the dead are supposed by some to have been impostors who possessed the gift of ventriloquism and are described by the Prophet Isaiah (c. XXIX. 4,) as wizards that peep and mutter. There is no reason to depart from the plain history in the text, or to suppose that the magicians of the earliest times had not power to raise some evil spirit or other phantom, by which the form and voice of one dead might be impersonated. Maximus Tyrius tells of those whose business it was, near the lake Avernus, to call up the shades of the departed, and who were called from their office, Pseuchagogoi. "When he who came to consult the oracle had offered prayers and performed sacrifices and libations, he called upon the shade of any one he pleased, whether of his ancestors or of his friends; which being done, an indistinct form, scarcely to be seen or recognised, appeared, which nevertheless possessed the power of speech and the gift of divination."-MAX. TYR. Diss. 26. Strabo says that the magicians, of whom he ranks Moses as the chief, "Were supposed to communicate ordinances and precepts from the gods both during their lifetime and after their death; as, for example, Teiresias, 'to whom alone,' according to Homer (Odyss. 1. xIx. c. 494), ' Proserpine gave wisdom and understanding after death.' The others flit about like shadows."-STRAB. 1. XVI. c. 2. "By potent spells she cleaves the sacred ground, Then with aspersions frights them back to hell! " Cicero charges Vatinius with CATULL. 1. 1. carm. 2. "Seeking to evoke the spirits of the shades below, and to appease the Dî Manes with the entrails of murdered boys."-Orat. in Vatin. c. 6. Horace describes the witches Canidia and Sagana exorcising the dead : "Soon with their nails they scrap'd the ground, And filled a magic trench profound With a black lamb's thick streaming gore, That they may charm the sprites to tell Some curious anecdotes from Hell."-HOR. 1. 1. Sat. 8. "Let the pale shade these herbs, these numbers hear, And say what dire events are drawing on. Pale, stiff, and mute, the ghastly figure stands, Do thou unfold what end these wars shall wait, And be the just interpreter of fate."-LUCAN. Phars. 1. vI. v. 715. According to what Osthanes tells us, there are numerous sorts of magic. It is practised with water, for instance, with balls, by the aid of the air, of the stars, of lamps, basins, hatchets, and numerous other appliances-means by which it engages to grant a fore-knowledge of things to come, as well as converse with ghosts and spirits of the dead. Apion asserts that he himself had raised the spirits of the dead, in order to make enquiry of Homer in reference to his native country and his parents; but he dares not, he tells us, disclose the answer he received."-PLIN. Hist. nat. 1. xxx. c. 5. "One Junius was accustomed to call up the infernal shades, that he might enquire of them."-TAC. Ann. 1. II. c. 28. 1 SAMUEL XXXI. 4. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. "Young Crassus, after his defeat by the Parthians, offered his side to his armourbearer, and ordered him to strike the blow. Censorinus is said to have died in the same manner."-PLUT. M. Crass. c. 25. More noble than this was the resolution of Darius, who, finding himself betrayed, and that he was either to be murdered by his own subjects or delivered into the hands of Alexander, would not be his own executioner; "Having commanded Bubaces to be called, 'Go,' said he, consult your own safety, having continued faithful to your king unto the last, as it became you. I will await here the decree of my fate. Perhaps you wonder that I do not put an end to my existence? I choose to die by another man's crime rather than by my own."" Q. CURT. 1. v. c. 12. 10. They fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. It appears from Josh. VIII. 29, and x. 26, as well as from the following extracts, that it was the custom of those days to insult the dead bodies of enemies. See notes on 1 Sam. XVII. 54, and 2 Sam. IV. 8. "The Gauls, as the chief of their spoils, fasten those that they have killed over the doors of their houses, as if they were so many wild beasts taken in hunting. The heads of their enemies, who were the chief persons of quality, they carefully deposit in chests, embalming them with oil of cedars. These they exhibit to strangers, glorying and boasting how great sums they, or some of their ancestors, have refused to accept for them."-DIOD. SIC. 1. v. c. 2. "The corpse of Galba, after it had lain long neglected in the streets, and during the licentiousness of the night had suffered insults and indecencies without number, was by Argius, one of the principal bondmen, bearing the office of steward, deposited in a mean grave within his own garden. His head, miserably mangled and stuck upon a pole by a rabble of the vile scullions and attendants of the camp, was by them erected over the tomb of Patrobius, a slave of Nero's, whom Galba had executed." TAC. Hist. 1. I. c. 49. 2 SAMUEL I. 16. And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed. Edipus, king of Thebes, speaking of the death of king Laius, declares his resolution to avenge it, saying, "Not to friends alone, Or kindred, owe I this, but to myself; Who murdered him perchance would murder me; "After the murder of Galba, all who truly or falsely claimed any share in the parricide, boasted of the fact as one worthy of perpetual renown. Above an hundred and twenty distinct memorials presented at this time, all claiming rewards for some notable exploit performed on that tragical day, fell afterwards into the hands of the Emperor Vitellius, who commanded search to be made for the authors, and all of them to be put to the sword; from no tenderness or regard for Galba, but out of policy, common or traditional amongst princes, as a security against such traitors."-TAC. Hist. 1. 1. c. 44. 18. Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher. The bow is one of the most ancient weapons of war. It was generally of wood, but sometimes of horn. Peculiar skill was required, not only in the use of the bow, but in stringing it, for which also great strength was necessary. Ulysses' bow, which had long remained unstrung during his absence, could not be bent by any of the suitors; and it was by his accomplishment of this feat, on his return, that he was recognised. The bow was probably bent with the help of the foot, as the Hebrew word signifies to tread the bow. "And now his well-known bow the master bore, Then as some heavenly minstrel, taught to sing Twang'd short and sharp like the shrill swallow's cry." The bow of Pandarus, formed of goat's horn, is thus described; and it is worthy of notice that the time of the Trojan war, in which its use is celebrated, is supposed to correspond very nearly with that of the wars of David. ""Twas form'd of horn, and smooth'd with artful toil : A mountain goat resign'd the shining spoil, Who pierced long since beneath his arrow bled; The stately quarry on the cliff lay dead, And sixteen palms his brows' large honours spread : The workmen join'd, and shaped the bended horns, And beaten gold each taper point adorns. |