Many travellers bear a testimeny to the unhealthiness of thè air about the lake: the monks who live in the neighborhood, would have dissuaded Dr. Pococke from bathing in these sin'gular waters: he ventured in, however, and was, two days after, seized with a dizziness, and violent pain in the stomach, which lasted nearly three weeks, and which they imputed to his rashness; nor does he contradict them. NOTE 4. The day of judgment is a doctrine of Christianity: yet is it worthy remark, that the heathens cherished some vague opinions, and held some uncertain traditions, that the earth, and the orbs around us, are to be consumed by fire, as the following extracts will prove. When fate commands the final hour, And conquering Time's resistless power Stars mix'd with stars shall vainly try, The land no more shall guard the sea, And chaos shall return. Lucan. Phras. lib. i. v. 72—80, Stars shall rush upon stars, every thing material shall be consumed; and whatever now shines in order, shall perish in one common fire! Seneca, fine ad Marciam. Ovid represents his Jupiter, when resolved to punish the earth, choosing water, and checking his thunder, for the following reason: He stopt, for fear, thus violently driv❜n, The sparks should catch his axle-tree of heav'n. DRYDEN-Garth's Ovid, b, i. l. 346-350. LECTURE VI. NOTE 1-See page 181, and 182. NOTE 2-It is impossible to read the account given by Moses of the meeting of Jacob and Joseph, without calling to mind the masterly description furnished by Homer; in his Odyssey, of the discovery of Ulysses to Telemachus; and a very slight parallel will shew the superiority of the sacred historian over the genius of even Homer. Odys. lib. xvi, l. 188, 189: 213, 214, 215. "I am thy father. O my son! my son! That father, for whose sake thy days have run "He spoke and sat. The prince with transport flew, They wept abundant, and they wept aloud. Pope's Homer's Odyss. b. xvi, l. 206–209: 234-237. "And he wept aloud-And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph. Doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his r esence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you; and they came near: and he said, I am Joseph, your brother whom ye sold into Egypt."—"And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck." "And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father to Goshen; and presented himself unto him: and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." Mr. Pope, in his notes on this beautiful passage in Homer, says "This book (i. e. xvi).in general is very beautiful in the original; the discovery of Ulysses to Telemachus is particularly tender and affecting. It has some resemblance with that of Joseph's discovery of himself to his brethren, and it may not perhaps be disagreeable to see how two such authors describe the same passion." MOSES. I am Joseph I am your brother Joseph-- And he fell on his brother's HOMER. "I am Ulysses- I, my son, am he- "But it must be owned that Homer falls infinitely short of Moses: the history of Joseph cannot be read without the utmost touches of compassion and transport. There is a majestic simplicity in the whole relation, and such an affecting portrait of human nature, that it overwhelms us with vicissitudes of joy and sorrow. This is a pregnant instance how much the best of heathen writers is inferior to the divine historian upon a parallel subject." In these just sentiments I most heartily concur. And it would most amply repay any reader capable of understanding the original, to compare the whole of Homer's narration in Odyss. lib. xvi, from line 172 to line 232, with that of Moses in Gen. xlv, throughout, and xlvi, 28-30. It will be soon seen to whom we must yield the palm of excellence. LECTURE VIII. NOTE 1. The discussion respecting the nature of the miracles performed by the magicians, which was delivered in the Lecture, because it would have prolonged the exercise beyond all reasonable bounds, because the opposite opinions of different writers might have bewildered the attention of hearers, and because it would have digressed too far from the object, and would have broken the chain of the narrative, may perhaps not be deemed uninteresting as an pendix, and may be allowed the place of a note. The sentiments of the writers of the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANNICA are thus expressed: "The first magicians of whom we read are those who in Egypt opposed Moses. And we are told, that when Aaron cast down his rod, and it became a serpent, they also did the like with their enchantments; for they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents.' This was a phenomenon which, it must be confessed, had a yery miraculous appear ance; and yet there seems to have been nothing in it which might not have been effected by slight of hand. The Egyptians, and perhaps the inhabitants of every country where serpents abound, have the art of depriving them of the power to do mischief, so that they may be handled without danger. It was easy for the magicians, who were favored by the court, to pretend that they changed their rods into serpents, by dexterously substituting one of those animals in place of the rod. In like manner they might pretend to change water into blood, and to produce frogs; for if Moses gave in these instances, as as we know he did in others, any previous information of the nature of the miracles which were to be wrought, the magicians might easily provide themselves in a quantity of blood and number of frogs sufficient to answer their purpose of deceiving the people. Beyond this, however, their power could not go. It stopped where that of all workers in legerdemain must have stopt-at the failure of proper materials to work with. Egypt abounds with serpents; blood could be easily procured; and without difficulty they might have frogs from the river: but when Moses produced lice from the dust of the ground, the magicians, who had it not in their power to collect a sufficient quantity of these animals, were compelled to own this to be an effect of divine agency." Encyclop. Brit. Vol. x. Pt. II. Art, MAGIC. I am neither convinced by this reasoning, nor can admit into my belief, this representation. It goes upon the supposition that Moses announced his miracles previous to the performance of them, which it is admitted he did in some instances, but it cannot be proved that he did it in all, neither does it appear from the sacred history, that he did it in relation especially to the first miracle. Whatever were their skill in legerdemain, it would cost them some trouble to conceal the quantity of serpents, frogs, blood, &c. necessary to rival the miracles of Moses; and if there was not something like rivalry, and that successful rivalry, it was not a principle on which Pharaoh could be encouraged; and the circumstance of the magicians performing correspondent miracles with those of Moses, appears to be that, in the first instance, upon which his heart was hardened. And it is improbable that Moses should not have the power to detect the imposition, and to expose the cheat, which would certainly have been both his duty, and his interest, if the face were as this hypothesis supposes. The learned writers of the Ancient Universal History, state fairly the divided sentiments of different commentators on this difficult, subject, but appear to lean to the opinion that these miracles were performed by the agency of evil spirits, and not by legerdemain. They thus express their sentiments generally, on the possibility of the operations of such spirits. "That such a commerce is, or at least formerly was, possible, we cannot but confess; and we conceive it very difficult to account for several passages in scripture, without allowing it to have been practised. However, much the greater part of what has been attributed to this sort of magic, was undoubtedly the effect of imposture and delusion, which have been so apparent in several instances, as to tempt one almost to believe the same of all the rest." Anc. Univ. Hist. Vol. I. b. i. chap. 3. p. 587. Upon the miracles in question their ideas are expressed in language still more explicit. They state the two following reasons as evidences generally produced in favor of the opinion, that these miracles were wrought by the agency of evil spirits: "First, because the scriptures of the Old and New Testament seem to attribute some such power to evil spirits; and secondly, because Moses expressed himself in such terms as manifestly shew, that they really imitated him in all those wonders they wrought." They go on to criticise the express phrases which he used in describing the miracles of the magicians. He says, that "they cast down every man his rod, and they BECAME serpents." They assign three reasons why God suffered them thus to contend against the wonders wrought by Moses, and to produce similar phenomena. "First, it was necessary that these magicians should be suffered to exert the utmost of their power against Moses, in order to clear him from the imputation of magic." "Secondly, it was necessary in order to confirm the faith of the wavering and desponding Israelites, by making them see the difference between Moses acting by the power of God, and the sorcerers by that of Satan. And lastly, in order to preserve them afterwards from being seduced by any false miracles from the true worship of God." An. Univ. Hist. Vol. II, b. i. chap. 7. p. 562. note E. This representation appears to me to accord better with the Mosaic history, than the foregoing one. |