37. His heart died within him and he became as a stone. Ariadne, mourning for Theseus is thus described "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 For divinations by dreams see Deut. XIII. 2. Ном. П. 1. 1. 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, 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, Some curious anecdotes from Hell." - HOR. 1. 1. Sat. 8. "Let the pale shade these herbs, these numbers hear, Pale, stiff, and mute, the ghastly figure stands, 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. п. с. 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. 1. 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 reso lution to avenge it, saying, "Not to friends alone, Or kindred, owe I this, but to myself; "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 High notes responsive to the warbling string, Ном. Odyss. 1. ΧΧΙ. ν. 397. 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 : This, by the Greeks unseen, the warrior bends, : 20. Askelon. Screen'd by the shields of his surrounding friends : Now with full force the yielding horn he bends, "Ascalon, a city of Syria.' - HDT. 1. 1. c. 105. Ном. П. 1. ιν. v. 105. 23. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. The ghost of Patroclus thus addresses Achilles : "As in fate and love we join, Ah, suffer that my bones may rest with thine ! Ном. П. 1. ΧΧΙΙΙ. v. 82. "Brutus having assured Cassius, before the battle of Philippi, that in the event of their being defeated he would not survive the catastrophe; Cassius smiled, and embracing Brutus said-" Let us march, then, against the enemy, for with these resolutions, though we should not conquer, we have nothing to fear. -PLUT. Brut. c. 40. Of Eteocles and Polynices, who were so bitterly opposed to each other in life, it is related that their ashes separated on the funeral pile. 2 SAMUEL II. 18. Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. "Achilles, swift of foot." - Ном. П. 1. 1. v. 58. 2 SAMUEL IV. IBID. 1. x. v. 316. 8. And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed. "The manner in which the Taurians treat their captives is this:- Every man cuts off the head of his prisoner, and carries it to his house; this he fixes on a stake, which is placed generally at the top of the chimney."-HDT. 1. Iv. c. 103. "Every Scythian drinks the blood of the first person he slays: the heads of all the enemies who fall by his hand in battle he presents to his king: this offering entitles him to a share of the plunder, which otherwise he could not claim. |