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was carved into an idol, it might be much nearer to a correspondence with the phrase in the text, than any thing which has hitherto been imagined. Unluckily, however, for this salvo, most of the statues said to have fallen from heaven are of wood, not of stone; so that were one inclined to do them the good office of vindicating their characters as celestials, we are, by this remark, deprived of the power. I shall give another instance of a heaven-descended deity.

At Athens the statue of Minerva Polias, protectress of the city, was of wood. Says the Scholiast on Demosthenes, "There are three statues of Minerva in Acropolis, at Athens: one of them, placed there from the beginning, is of olive-tree; this is called Minerva Polias." It was supposed to have fallen from heaven.

Pausanias gives the following account of it: "The most holy of all the statues is that of Minerva, which, by the common consent of all the townships, before they assembled themselves into one city, was dedicated in the place which is now called the Tower, but was then denominated the city, Polis. ported that this statue fell from heaven; but whether this was the fact or not, I shall not now attempt to prove."

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By this history, it should seem that this statue was dedicated at the origin of the city: for which reason it was called polias, "the city goddess." It appears also to have escaped the fury of the flames, when Xerxes burnt Athens; whence its sanctity, no doubt, was considered as very great, and utterly indisputable for so Pausanias mentions other ancient statues of Minerva, "which remain indeed entire, but are discoloured with smoke, and cannot bear a blow; for the flames reached these when Xerxes seized on the city."

Query, Were the original wooden deities the first imported images? Were they the work of princes, &c. long since deified? or, were they what the original settlers brought with them into the country? so that their origin being very remote, they, like all other extremely ancient things, were referred to the deities. The memory of their origin was lost, ergo, they, being saved, were the works of the gods; so that as the original natives were esteemed by later ages to be Auctothones, born of the earth, so these images were in like manner venerated as if they had been born of heaven. This seems to be as plausible a construction as the phrase will bear, and is supported by many considerations coincident with deep antiquity; but see another mode of accounting for the use of it by this person, in FRAGMENT, No. 127.

The reader will perceive, that Diana of Ephesus

was not the only idol whose character was endangered, if the opinions propagated by Paul prevailed; and moreover, that it was not for want of other, and severer subjects, that this apostle, when at Athens, selected the altar to the unknown God. I venture to say, we should discover more and greater prudence, propriety, and care to avoid offence, in the conduct of the apostle at Athens, notwithstanding his zeal, or rather in union with it, were we better acquainted with the actual circumstances of that city, and of himself, at that period; with the incidents and accompaniments of time, place, persons, and things; most of which we can describe but imperfectly, and some of which we can but conjecture inconclusively.

CHAPTER XXVIII. VERSE 5.

There came a VIPER out of the heat, and fastened on the hand of Paul.

We have in our Introduction to the New Testament observed, that little distinction of creatures is found in it. In reference to the serpent tribe, for instance, we have the words dragon, which is a great serpent; ophis, which is a serpent, generally; and echidna, which is a viper, but of what species we are not informed. Nor is this all, for unluckily, so far as natural history is concerned, the inhabitants of Malta tell us that St. Paul banished all snakes and serpents from the island; so that we must ever despair of identifying the kind, by means of its progeny. As Scripture is silent on that miracle, it may be allowed a naturalist to wish that the species had still been preserved on the island, in order that we might have shewn its deadly properties; but as the inhabitants have otherwise determined, we must submit.

Besides the words for serpents mentioned above, we have asp, or aspic, Rom. iii. 13.

There is in the Greek Anthologia, an epigram of Statyllius Flaccus, on the fate of a man who had escaped from the billows of the sea, and sleeping on the sands of Libya, was fatally bit by a viper. The poet says, "It was hard to have struggled against the waves, and to have come safe to shore, to meet there the death which he had escaped from the sea." The Maltese seem to have reasoned in a manner not unlike this, when they expected to have seen an instance of the divine judgment closely following Paul, though he had escaped from the waves.

That serpents conceal themselves in faggots, and among twigs and underwood, is well known; especially in countries where the cold of winter is not so penetrating as in our own.

ROMANS.

CHAPTER III. VERSE 13. THE poison of ASPS is under their lips. This is a quotation from Psalm cxl. 4. where the Hebrew word answering to the aspidon of this passage is ocashub: we have nothing to add to what we have hinted on the Psalm, to which we refer the reader.

CHAPTER IX. VERSE 17.

If some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive-tree, wert grafted among them. The art of grafting is so common among us, that there is no need to be particular in explaining it; yet, on a passage so remarkable as the present, we cannot altogether pass it by unnoticed. It consists in the introduction of a young shoot, twig, or branch, of a particular tree, on to the stem, or branch, of another tree, allied to the former in nature, and, to a certain degree, in properties. This is one of the most skilful

operations of gardening; and it requires judgment, that the qualities of the new connection should improve and amend the flavour of the fruit expected, rather than injure it, which an injudicious assortment would undoubtedly occasion.

The simile of the apostle has these particularities in it: 1st, That a shoot of wild olive is grafted into a cultivated tree, which is, as he observes, contrary to nature, and he might have added, contrary to art; since art would not have chosen a wild olive for the graft. 2dly, That some of the natural branches of this tree were displaced, to make room for these grafts; and that there is a possibility, perhaps we should add an expectation, that these may be grafted again, on their own tree; a procedure which may be very expressive as an allegory, but which is not according to the practice of a skilful gardener; nor to the state of branches separated from their parent tree.

I. CORINTHIANS.

CHAPTER XI. VERSE 10.

A WOMAN ought to have POWER on her head, because of the ANGELS.

It may be seen, FRAGMENT, No. 142, that the wearing of a veil, by a married woman, as a token of her being under power, was the sense proposed as being intended in this passage. What was only incidentally mentioned there, we may here venture to recommend to acceptance. The veil of married women was called in Hebrew, radid, dependency, i.e. a sign of dependency; and this the apostle translates, exousian, power, i.e. a sign of being under power: this may safely be taken as the proper meaning of the passage: yet another thought strikes me, whether a woman before marriage was not so secluded, as to have no power at all; not over others, for the servants of the family were those of her parents, not of herself; not over herself, for this, by the laws of Greece, was forbidden from being so much as supposed; she was under the protection of her father or her brother, or her nearest kinsman, but never in her own keeping and power. For this reason, possibly, the married veil was called power, rather than "a token of being under power," i.e. associating rather the superior import of the word than the inferior, with this part of a matron's dress. This, I say, may be taken as an occasion of the name; but it does not alter the application of this part of dress for certainly it was this veil, which, from its form, &c. denoted the wearer to

be, no young girl, taking on her to teach others; but a sedate, orderly matron, accustomed to regulate her household, to give them directions, and to be obeyed. As this token of her station, the apostle says, must be worn, it may not be amiss to observe the importance attached to this part of dress in the East. That it was not less anciently, than it is at present, may be inferred from abundance of passages in Scripture. "All the women of Persia are pleasantly apparelled: when they are abroad in the streets, all, both rich and poor, are covered with a great veil, or sheet of very fine white cloth, of which one half, like a forehead cloth, comes down to the eyes, and going over the head, reaches down to the heels, and the other half muffles up their face below the eyes, and being fastened with a pin to the left side of the head, falls down to their very shoes, even covering their hands, with which they hold that cloth by the two sides; so that, except the eyes, they are covered all over with it. Within doors they have their face and breasts uncovered; but the Armenian women in their houses have always one half of their face covered with a cloth that goes athwart their nose, and hangs over their chin and breasts, except the maids of that nation, who, within doors, cover only the chin, until they be married. It is not to be thought strange that the women are so hid; for all over Persia, as well as in Turkey, they observe the custom of not shewing themselves to men, and that so strictly, that when a man marries, he sees not his bride until the wedding day at

night, and the Roman catholics observe the same Whilst I was at Schiras, the Carmelites there married a Georgian widow to a Roman catholic, a native Schiras, nephew to the signora Maani Giverida, the first wife of signor Pietro della Valle: the truth is, I was a little surprised to see the woman present herself before the father that married her, all veiled and covered over; however, she was married in this manner. I cannot tell whether this method will be liked by our European ladies, who take as much pains to shew themselves, as the Persians to hide themselves," Thevenot, part ii. p. 93.

"This situation of the women among the Orientals occasions a great contrast between their manners and ours. Such is their delicacy on this head, that they never speak of them; and it would be esteemed highly indecent to make any inquiries of the men respecting the women of their family," Volney's Travels, vol. ii. p. 483.

"The veil worn by their women is of itself a preservative against those desires which are the occasion of so many evils in society. No man knows the face of any other woman than his wife, his mother, his sister, and sister in law. Every one lives in the bosom of his own family, and goes little abroad. The women, those even of the shaiks, make the bread, roast the coffee, wash the linen, cook the victuals, and perform all domestic offices," Volney.

We learn from the first of these extracts, that the Armenian married women wear somewhat of a veil, even at home, which the unmarried women of that nation do not. This veil, then, by whatever name it be called, is a token that the wearer is married; as our lawyers say femme couverte. The second extract, if referred to the history, Gen. xvii. 19. may render the inquiry made respecting Sarah, the wife of Abraham, more striking than we usually esteem it. What could Abraham and Sarah think of such a breach of customary politeness and discretion. Either the speaker was unusually rude, or unusually interesting; and this, no doubt, was the opinion of Sarah, who, hearing her name mentioned, was prompted to listen to what was about to follow. Our third extract agrees with the former; and corroborates what we have elsewhere said on the true import of our Lord's expression, "looking on a woman,' &c. in strict coincidence, perhaps, to a sentiment implied in this precept of the apostle. But it was not every where that the same strictness in this respect prevailed. We may easily suppose that in remote country places, where few strangers were seen, custom might differ, and be less punctual; while in cities, in mercantile cities, where there was a great resort of strangers, it would be necessary to adopt greater punctiliousness; and this we find is fact, as travellers have observed.

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stances less shy and scrupulous than other women of the East. They make less difficulty of conversing with a stranger, or of exposing their faces unveiled before him.

"As we approached, two women came out to meet us, and respectfully kissed the arms of the schiechs, who kissed their heads in return. They wore no veils upon their faces; their eyes were blackened with lead ore; and they had black spots, impressed as ornaments, upon their brow, cheeks, and chin. These beauties, whose complexion was a yellowish brown, and who were almost naked, immediately asked us for kochhel, to blacken their eyes; and for elhenné, to dye their nails yellow. They regaled us with milk and butter, which had been kept in goat skins; and gave us bad bread to eat with those dainties," Niebuhr, vol. i. p. 243.

"We passed the night at Bulgosa. Several of the men of the village came to see us; and after they retired, we had a visit from our hostess, with several young women accompanying her, who were all very desirous to see the Europeans. They seemed less shy than the women of the cities; their faces were unveiled; and they talked freely with us. As the air is fresher and cooler upon these hills, the women have here a finer and fairer complexion than in the plain. Mr. Baurenfeind drew a portrait of a young girl, who was going to draw water, and was dressed in a shirt of linen, checkered blue and white," ib. p. 292.

"In several places in Arabia the men wear no drawers; but these, with a large shirt, are all the dress used by the lower women. In the Tehama, women of this class wrap a linen cloth about their loins, in the manner of drawers. The women of Hedsjas veil their faces, like those of Egypt, with a narrow piece of linen, which leaves both the eyes uncovered. In Yemen they wear a larger veil, which covers the face so entirely, that the eyes can hardly be discerned. At Sana and Mokha they cover the face with a gauze veil, which is often embroidered with gold. They all wear rings on their fingers, arms, nose, and ears. They stain their nails red, and their hands and feet of a brownish yellow colour, with the juice of the plant elhenné. The circle of the eyes, and even the eye lashes, they paint black, with a preparation of lead ore, called kochhel. The men sometimes imitate this mode of painting the eyes with kochhel; but persons of sense laugh at so effeminate a practice," Niebuhr, vol. ii. p. 236.

women

These extracts may account for some whom we read of in Scripture being seen unveiled. Such, I apprehend, was the undress of Sarah, when seen by the officers of Abimelech and Pharaoh; and such might be that of Ruth, when she visited Boaz. But such ought not to be the state of Christian women, whose profession binds them to the strictest purity; at Corinth, which was a large city, a mercantile city, a lascivious city; a city where professors

VERSE 41.

of the Gospel were seen, as burning and shining lights; it rises glorious: so, also, the resurrection of the here every decorum should be preserved, and every body, &c. delicacy maintained, because of OBSERVERS. May this be the meaning of the word angels in this connection? The word often signifies spies; as James ii. 25. Rahab received the spies, angels, Greek; now, what were these spies, but observers, in a looser sense of the word? Vide also Prov. xiii. 13; Mark i. 2; Luke vii. 24. If this sense of the word may be admitted, which this is not the place to support, or to enforce, but merely to suggest, then the difficulties of this passage would vanish, and all its embarrassments, which have entangled the learned, would cease. It is clearly a precept of decorum.

CHAPTER XV. VERSE 36.

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it DIE. And that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body which shall be, but bare grain; perhaps wheat, or any other grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him; to every seed his own body.

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To die, here, is plainly put for ceasing to retain present form and appearance; but this is not inconsistent with re-appearance, under another form and this is strictly philosophical; for, that matter does not die, perish, but assume different modifications, is a principle well known and admitted in philosophy. In the present instance, the succeeding modification is re-nascence, or fertility; but every kind of grain, according to its own specific properties, the offspring resembling the parent; which is the subject of daily observation, and open to daily remark. This is one idea of the apostle. But I apprehend there is another: "Thou sowest bare, NAKED grain," grain separated from its stem, leaves, beard, &c. its outer coverings; it having been threshed, &c. before it is sown nevertheless, it rises from the earth with outer coverings, leaves, stem, beard, &c. according to its nature. It is sown naked, it rises clothed; it is sown imperfect, it rises perfect; it is sown deprived, it rises improved; it is sown in dishonour,

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for star differeth from star in glory. This is true, to the observation of the uninstructed eye; it is true, also, to the experience of astronomers. Indeed, they are the best judges on this subject. Those who, to behold the sun, are obliged to interpose dark glasses, or fluids, blackened by ink; while, to behold the moon, or the stars, they carefully concentrate every ray of light which they can collect, must be extremely sensible of the truth of our text. Nor is this all; for the planets, which are commonly reckoned among stars, are certainly much brighter, and more steady in their light than the fixed stars; while these also differ in brilliancy among themselves. They differ in brilliancy to the naked eye; and the eye, by their brilliancy, estimates their distances. But there is another sense in which stars differ in glory; for, through the immensely powerful telescopes of Herschel, they appear some red, some green, some yellow, some white: no bed of tulips shews greater variety of splendour. The more we know, therefore, the stronger is the import of this passage; and the more correct do the ideas and expressions of the apostle appear, or rather those of the Holy Spirit, speaking by him.

We should remark also, that the glory of the sun is direct, immediate, native; whereas, that of the moon and planets is reflected: they neither derive, nor impart it from themselves; but shine, or rather are resplendent, because their luminary is risen upon them. But the glory of the fixed stars, though distant, is their own: the interval from them to us is too immense for light to render itself sensibly by reflection: if they were not suns, their light could not reach us, in activity. We have no need here to enlarge on the nature or stations of the planets, which appertain to our system; for that, vide on Gen. chap. i.

JAMES.

CHAPTER V. VERSE 14. ANOINTING with OIL, in the name of the Lord. The use of oil as a medicine has lately been pretty much talked of; and many virtues have been attributed to it. It has been said that if it be applied very early, it is of sovereign efficacy in cases of the plague; and that persons employed in carrying oil about, do not take that disorder. I do not know how far subsequent discoveries may justify this rep

resentation; nor do I know how far we may suppose that the patient alluded to by the apostle in this passage might have contributed to his own malady. From the remark, "if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him," one is almost induced to think, that, like the Corinthians, 1 Cor. xi. 30. certain transgressions might be followed by sickness; to remove which, faith, and repentance, and prayer, were salutary to the mind, while the administration of oil was salutary, in a medical intention, to the person. This

idea may be true, or it may be false: it has no consequence whichever might be the fact, yet the following mention of confessing faults, of earnest prayer, of spiritual restoration, and of conversion from sin,

seem to follow more naturally, if the restoration of health to the body be connected with the exercise of corresponding sentiments by the mind. See the use of oil, as a medicament, Mark vi. 13.

VERSE 12.

JUDE.

SPOTS in your FEASTS OF CHARITY. These agapæ, or feasts of charity, were a very powerful mean, among the primitive Christians, of cultivating mutual affection among themselves, and of gaining the good will of those who observed their conduct; which leads to an idea, that they contributed to promote the Christian cause, by leading to conversion, and by supporting the minds of young converts under the difficulties attending their situation. Pliny seems to describe these agape, when, writing to Trajan, he says, The Christians "assemble on a day appointed, to take a common and innocent repast together." And Tertullian, Apol. cap. 39. speaks of them thus: "Nothing low or unseemly is committed in them; nor is it till after having prayed to God, that the company sit down to table. Food is taken in moderation, as wanted; and no more is drank than it becomes discreet persons to drink. Each takes such

refreshment as is suitable, in connection with the recollection that he is to be engaged, in the course of the night, in adorations to God; and the conversation is conducted as becomes those who know that the Lord hears them. After water has been brought for the hands, and fresh lights, every one ist invited to sing, and to glorify God, whether by passages from the sacred Scriptures, or of his own composition. This discovers whether proper moderation has been observed at the table. In short, the repast concludes as it begun; that is to say, with prayer." These institutions, even in the time of the apostles, were attended with inconveniencies, arising pretty much from a too strong sense of the inequalities of rank in life; at length, the rich invited only persons like themselves, or those who were expected to return the favour: consequently, the poor were excluded; and the whole was abolished by the Council of Laodicea, Can. 28; Synod of Trullo, Can. 74. and the Council of Carthage, Can. 42.

REVELATIONS.

CHAPTER XIV. VERSE 19.

THE wall of the city had twelve FOUNDATIONS, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.... And the FOUNDATIONS of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. I shall offer, in the first place, on these words, the remarks of a very observant critic, Edward King, esq. who in his Munimenta Antiqua, vol ii. recently published, has touched on this subject.

"The several alternate rows, or courses of stone and brick, as appearing in this wall, at Richborough, were by the Greeks, who lived in Roman times, called Θεμέλιοι, oι Θεμέλια ; and are the kind of ornaments alluded to by St. John, as being so highly beautiful, according to every one's apprehension in his days; when, in his emblematical representation of the walls of the holy city, in the prophecy of the Revelations, he speaks of such being formed of precious stones. The word queλa, is, in our translation of the passage, very improperly rendered, as far as relates to a consistency with our modern ideas, foundations, instead

of courses; and this mis-translation occasions much confusion in the minds of most persons who attempt to read the prophet's sublime description.

"Nevertheless, why these alternate rows either of brick, or of smooth flat stones, were anciently called Oquénia, or Oeuέio, foundations, though the word seems now so uncouth and inapplicable in our ears, is yet apparent enough; for whoever examines Roman walls attentively, will find that most usually the broader alternate rows of rude stone, or flints, or rubble and mortar, were evidently constructed merely by having the whole mass flung carelessly into a great cuisson, or frame of wood, whose interior breadth was that of the wall; and whose depth was that of the space between the alternate rows of bricks; and whose length was sometimes more and sometimes less, just as suited convenience; and that the parts thus reared, one at the end of another, on, and over each row of bricks, were united together afterward, merely by means of very small loose stones and mortar, thrown into the narrow space left at the ends between them. As therefore these caissons were removed up from one row of

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