"The kinsfold, full of affection, have named the next day the Caristia ; and the relatives assemble at the family feast. In truth it is a good thing to turn our attention from the tombs, and from our relatives who are dead, to those who survive; and after so many are lost, to see all that remains of our family, and to reckon the degrees of relationship. Let the guiltless come; far, far hence be the unnatural brother, and the mother cruel to her offspring; the son for whom the father is too long-lived, and he who counts his mother's years; the cruel mother-in-law too, who hates and oppresses her daughter-inlaw.. Offer the frankincense to the propitious gods of the family concord is said to be present on this day with extreme benignity."-Ov. Fast. 1. ii. v. 616. 32. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. : "No man or woman among the Egyptians will kiss a Grecian, nor use a knife or spit, or any domestic utensil belonging to a Greek.”—HDT. l. ii. c. 41. The Jews of the Old Testament period used a common table for all the guests. At Joseph's entertainment a ceremonial separation prevailed; but it does not follow that separate tables were used, as was the custom among the ancient Greeks, and Germans, and perhaps, among the Egyptians. Eurymachus exhorts his companions to defend themselves against the darts of Ulysses, using the small, single tables which stood ready for the banquet as shields for their protection. "Draw your swords, and hold up these tables before you, as shields against the deadly shafts.-HOм. Odys. 1. xxii. v. 74. "After bathing, the Germans sit down to meat, every man apart, upon a particular seat and at a separate table.-TAC. Germ. c. 22. 34. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him. They spread the tables, the repast prepare, Each takes his seat, and each receives his share; The King himself, (an honorary sign,) Before great Ajax placed the mighty chine."-HOм. Il. 1. vii. v. 320. Then from the chine Ulysses carves with art Delicious food, an honorary part; This let the master of the lyre receive, A pledge of love! 'tis all a wretch can give."--IBID. Odys. 1. viii. v. 474. "In the solemnity of any public sacrifice among the Spartans, the first place is always reserved for the kings, to whom not only the choicest things are presented, but twice as much as to any other person.-HDT. 1. vi. c. 57. "Cyrus frequently sent his friends small vessels half full of wine, when he received any that was remarkably good, letting them know that he had not for a long time tasted any that was more delicious; besides which he also frequently sent them half-geese and half-loaves, &c., ordering the person who carried them to say Cyrus liked these things, for which reason he desires you also to taste them."--XEN. Anab. 1. i. c. 9. "Lycurgus assigned a public tent for kings, and allowed them a double share at supper; not that they might consume that portion, but that they might have it in their power to honour any one they pleased."-XEN. Lac. rep. c. 15. "Let all the portions of meat be equal at the Saturnalia; let the waiters do nothing out of favour or partiality to any; let them not set before one person a large, and before another a small portion of meat, before one a knuckle and before another a hog's cheek.-LUCIAN. Chronosol. c. 17. "But lo, a lobster introduced in state, Stretches, enormous, o'er the bending plate! Proud of a length of tail, he seems to eye And, crown'd with costly pickles, greets his Lord. A crab is yours, ill-furnished and ill-fed, With half an egg-a supper for the dead!"—Juv. Sat. v. v. 80. 5. GENESIS. XLIV. Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. Divination by the cup was performed by means of certain figures reflected by the rays of light in clear water. A lost work of Varro, quoted by Augustine, states that small pieces of gold or silver leaf, or thin plates of the same, were cast into the cup, intermingled with precious stones, on which certain characters were engraven; the answers were given in various ways; sometimes by the image of the person concerning whom the enquiry was made, being reflected in the water; as in the drop of ink in modern times described by Lane. Cups were also used for libations, independently of any magical purposes. "I give you this gold cup as a present, that you may be able to make libations." ARISTOPH. Par, v. 424. "A goblet in the midst Adrastus placed, With sculptured gold and glittering figures graced, In which his ancestors were wont to pour Libations, and indulge the genial hour."-STAT. Theb. 1. i. v. 540. 34. GENESIS XLVI. Every Shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. "The Egyptians exclude all swine-herds from their temples. With people of this description a connexion by marriage is studiously avoided, and they are reduced to the necessity of inter-marrying among those of their own profession."-HDT. l. ii. c. 47. "The Jews solemnly immolated a ram, in contumely to Jupiter Hammon. The ox, too, is what they sacrifice, a creature which the Egyptians worship for the god Apis." TAC. Hist. 1. v. c. 4. GENESIS XLVII. : 17. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. "The fine for disobedience to the Consul in the early days of Rome was of the value of five oxen and two sheep. The Romans, as yet, did not make much use of money, because their wealth consisted in abundance of cattle. To this day they call their substance peculia-from pecus, cattle-their most ancient coins having the impression of an ox, a sheep or a hog."-PLUT. Public. c. 11. Orpheus recovers Eurydice from Tartarus on the condition that— Orpheus "If, before he reach the realms of air, He backward cast his eyes to view the fair, "His longing eyes impatient, backward cast Ov. Metam. 1. x. v. 50. Niobe was turned to stone while grieving over the death of her children. And from the marble, tears eternal flow."-SOPH. Electra, v. 150. Ov. Metam. 1. VI. v. 301. GENESIS XX. 3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream. "The gods know all things and fore-shew them to whom they please by auguries, by omens, and in dreams."-XEN. Hipparch. c. 9. For further notices of dreams see Job xxxIII. 15. 3. Thou art but a dead man. "He that deserves to die is dead already, though he may still sup on a hundred Gaurian oysters, and plunge in a whole bath of the perfumes of Cosmus." Juv. Sat. VIII. V. 85. 11. And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. Ulysses exclaims "Into what land am I come? Are these people wild, cruel, without law, doing all things by violence? or are they given to hospitality; having the fear of God in their minds."-Нoм. Odyss. 1. VI. v. 119. 12. And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. The Athenians were permitted by the law of Solon to marry their sisters by the father's side; but not their uterine sisters. "The son of thy mother" is mentioned, Deut. XIII. 6, as of nearer affinity than others. "A brother, O averter of ill! debauched his sister, the child of his own mother!" ARISTOPH. Nub. v. 1372. "Cimon married his half-sister Elpinice in accordance with the custom of his country. For an Athenian is allowed to marry the daughter of his own father." CORN. NEP. Cimon, c. 1. 16. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other; thus she was reproved. "Charillus being asked why, at Sparta, virgins were suffered to appear in public unveiled, but wives only with veils, replied: That maidens may find husbands, and that wives may keep those they have found."-PLUT. Apoth. Lacon. Charyl. 20. GENESIS XXI. Ishmael dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. The Ituræans, who were descended from Jetur, a son of Ishmael, were famous for their use of the bow; as were, also, the men of Keder. Is. xxi. 17. "The Ituræan yew Receives the bending figure of a bow.."-VIRG. Georg. 1. II. v. 488. "Hence Ituræa's sons their arrows shot."-LUCAN. 1. VII. v. 230. 33. And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. Groves and sacred trees are frequently mentioned by the early writers. See 2 Kings XXIII. 7. "The trees formed the first temples of the gods, and even at the present day the country people, preserving in all their simplicity their ancient rites, consecrate the finest among their trees to some divinity; indeed, we feel ourselves inspired to adoration, not less by the sacred groves and their very stillness, than by the statues of the gods, resplendent as they are with gold and ivory. Each kind of tree remains immutably consecrated to its own peculiar divinity-the beech to Jupiter, the laurel to Apollo, the olive to Minerva, the myrtle to Venus; besides which, it is our belief that the sylvans, the fauns, and various kinds of goddess nymphs have the tutelage of the woods, and we look upon those deities as especially appointed to preside over them by the will of heaven."-PLIN. Hist. Nat. 1. XII. c. 2. "Meantime the guardian of the Trojan state, "Where the great oak, sacred to Jove, stretches its vast branches, or where the dark grove of Ilex trees bestows its sacred shade.”—VIRG. Georg. 1. III. v. 333. GENESIS XXII. 7. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8. And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering so they went both of them together. Although the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia is founded most probably upon that of Jephtha's daughter (Judges XI. 39,) the following passages from EURIPIDES bear so strong a resemblance to some parts of the history of Abraham's offering upon Mount Moriah, as to demand insertion here. 9. "AGAMEMNON. It behoves me to offer a certain sacrifice here. "IPHIGENIA. But it is with the priests that thou shouldest consider sacred matters. "AGAMEMNON. I deem thee happier than myself, for that thou knowest nothing." And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Isaac, like the divine Saviour whom he foreshadowed, was a willing victim; nevertheless, he was bound as was Jesus, this being the custom at sacrifices. "IPHIGENIA. Thou hast nurtured me for a glory to Greece, and I will not refuse." IBID. V. 1502. Sinon says― "The salted cakes were prepared and the sacred fillet was around my brow. I broke my bonds, and saved myself from death."-VIRG. n. 1. 11. v. 134. "Orestes and Pylades are led to the pitiless altar, their hands bound behind their backs."-Ov. de Pont. 1. III. Eleg. 2. 10. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his 11. son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. 12. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. "MESSENGER. The priest, taking the knife, prayed, and viewed her neck, that he might find a place to strike: and no little pity entered my mind, and I stood with eyes cast down; but suddenly there was a marvel to behold. For every one could clearly perceive the sound of the blow; but beheld not the virgin, where on earth she had vanished. But a stag lay panting on the ground, of mighty size and beautiful in appearance, with whose blood the altar of the goddess was abundantly wetted; and upon this Calchas thus spake :-0 leaders of this common host of the Greeks, behold this victim which the goddess hath brought to her altar, a mountain-roaming stag.. This she prefers greatly to the virgin, lest her altars should be defiled with generous blood." EURIP. Iph. in Aul. v. 1578. "On the occasion of a plague at Falerii an oracle required that a virgin should be sacrificed to Juno. When Valeria Luperca had been chosen by lot for the sacrifice, and the sword was already drawn to slay her, an eagle came down from heaven and carried it away and laid it upon the head of a young heifer which was feeding near the temple, and which was then sacrificed in her stead."-PLUT. Parall. c. 35. 17. That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply As soon the sandy grains thy tongue shall number o'er." "Many as grains of Libyan sand Upon Cyrene's spicy land, |