Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

[1. Human Sacrifice.]

people so civilised, how much more among less refined nations, how strong the temptation to it must have been, and how necessary the strong interdiction and preclusion of it by the law, seeing how well acquainted the Hebrews were with the practices of their Egyptian neighbours, and how prone to imitate them.

but truths must be told; here a human sacrifice stares us in the face. Three human beings rest upon their knees with their heads struck off; the attitude in which they implored for mercy is that in which they met their doom; and the serpent opposite erects his crest on a level with their throats, ready to drink the stream of life as it gurgles from their veins. The executioner brandishes the ensanguined knife, ready to sever from the body the heads of three other unfortunate men who are lying prostrate, and held by a string behind him.* The Christian's yoke is easy, and his burden is light. See what paganism exacted from its votaries !”ተ

The cut at the head of this page is a portion of a row of figures, depicted in the tomb first discovered at Thebes, by Belzoni. This is indisputably a scene of human sacrifice to the serpent, which was so extensively worshipped throughout the East, and traces of which are offered by the idolatrous homage which the Hebrews ultimately came to pay to the brazen serpent which Moses set up in the wilderness, and which was preserved in the temple. With reference to this representation Dr. Richardson states:-" Here we were presented with an exhibition which it would be more agreeable to my feelings to hide from the light, and cover with the veil of oblivion; | native Egyptians.

To this we have only to add that the executioner is a priest, which concurs with all the other circumstances to show beyond dispute the religious character of the exhibition. It may also be noticed that, from the complexion, hair, and costume, the victims are obviously

MMM

[2. Human Sacrifice ]

The cut now added is from another of the royal tombs in the same place,* and are parts of a row in which a number of men are represented as undergoing the same treatment which is here shown. In this, men are in the act of having their arms bound behind them others thus bound are represented on

• Biban el Melook, i. e. the Gates of the Kings, at Thebes.

their knees while the blood spouts in a full stream from a mortal wound which has been inflicted by striking some weapon into the crown of their heads. In this case not only is the mode of death unusually horrible, but the

This portion of the scene has been omitted in our cut for want of room.

Richardson's Travels along the Mediterranean,' vol. i.

p. 299.

active agents, who bind the victims and hold them behind as they bleed to death, are women. This, as well as the peculiarity of the mode of death, would seem clearly enough to indicate a religious intention in this immolation; for it is altogether unlikely and incredible that

women should be parties in such a matter otherwise than as priestesses of the deity to whom the victims are offered.

And whatever sense be given to this act must be equally ascribed to that which follows, seeing that it is found in the same

[3. Human Sacrifice.]

tomb, and under the same circumstances, both being in fact two of various scenes of immo lation and carnage which the tomb exhibits. Let it also be noted that the cut at the head of the last page is from another of these tombs, and as THAT is a self-evident scene of human sacrifice, it is obvious to infer that the corresponding but less definite scenes in the other tombs have the same object. It is true that M. Jomard* thinks the scenes that the subjects represented in the two preceding cuts represent the immolation of slaves at the funeral of kings. But the tomb which affords the first of our cuts had not been discovered when this author wrote, and he wanted the illustration it was calculated to afford to the others. Besides, we have no historical knowledge that the practice of immolating victims at the sepulture of kings, existed among the Egyptians, whereas we have the distinct testimony of ancient writers that the practice of human sacrifice did exist among them. It is therefore safer to refer such exhibitions to an ascertained than to an unascertained practice. But, indeed, what is such immolation in itself but one of human sacrifice, in which a religious principle is distinctly involved? Sir J. G. Wilkinson, who throughout his works keeps the subject as much as possible out of view, from a very pardonable unwillingness to bring for ward into broad light a matter so disparaging to the "civilization" of a people whom he has made it the business of his life to comprehend, and-from the influence of that devotedness

• Descript. Gen. de Thèbes, in Descript. de l'Egypte,' tom.

[blocks in formation]

to a single object-to extol and magnify. In this pursuit we sympathise; but not being as yet far gone in the Egyptomania, we have felt at liberty on a former occasion,* as now, to bring forward what this distinguished antiquarian would wish to withdraw from notice, and to unveil what he would desire to cover. The reader will not be surprised that in his ample description of these tombs,† the only mention of these murderous scenes is in the slight and apologetic notice-that they appear to represent human sacrifices, but probably refer to the initiation into the higher mysteries, by the supposed death and regeneration of the neophyte. We shall not add anything to what

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

we have already said (p. 390) against this most unsatisfactory principle of interpretation. If it were true in this case, we should expect to see the persons slain in one part of the representation resuscitated in another-but where is this?

As a suitable appendage to this note, we have introduced (fig. 4) one of those constantly repeated representations of the wholesale immolation of captives before the gods, which so often occur in the Egyptian sculptures. With reference to them generally, we have nothing to add here to what has been said before (pp. 390, 391). But with respect to the particular example now given, it will be observed that the

king (for he is a king) has mounted the priestly mitre, to indicate that he is acting as a priest —that is, offering sacrifice, or immolating to his god. The figure of the god to whom the offering is made is, indeed, introduced in the original, but has been omitted by our artist. The manner in which he strikes his heavy dart successively into the brains of the miserable victims explains the manner in which the death-wound was inflicted upon the person represented in the second of our present cuts. The one now last offered is from a sculpture upon the portico of the palace-temple at Medinet Abou.

4 F

VOL. I.

[merged small][merged small][graphic][ocr errors][merged small]

JEHOSHAPHAT, the son of Asa, began to reign over Judah in the year 929 B.C., being the second year of Ahab in Israel. The alliance which he formed with Ahab has brought him forward, in the preceding chapter, sufficiently to intimate to the reader the excellent character which he bore. He indeed takes rank among the most faithful, and therefore most illustrious and wise of the Hebrew kings. Direct idolatry had been put down by his father, and the first acts of his own reign were to root out the remoter incentives thereto and instruments thereof. He destroyed the high places(') and the groves which his father had spared. Other kings before him had been satisfied with external operations; but to his enlightened mind it appeared that effects more deep and permanent might be secured by acting upon the inner

sense of the people, by instructing them fully in the principles and distinguishing privileges of their theocratical system, and by rendering those principles operative, as the standards of public and judicial action, throughout the land. The land had already been purged, as by fire, from the noxious weeds by which it had been overgrown; and now the king made it his business to occupy the cleared soil with corn-the staff of life, and with fruits "pleasant to the eye, and good for food."

To these ends the king sent out a number of " princes," whose rank and influence secured attention and respect to the priests and Levites who were with them to instruct the people. They had with them copies of the law: and, in their several bands, visited all the towns of the country, thus bearing instruction to the very doors of a people who had become too indolent or too indifferent themselves to seek for it. So earnest was the king in this object, that he went himself throughout the land to see that his orders were duly executed.

The attention of this able king was also directed to the reform of abuses in other departments of the state, and to the cultivation of the financial and military resources of his kingdom. The people, rendered happy by his cares, grew prosperous, and increased in numbers; in the same degree the real power of the government was strengthened, and was such as inspired the people with confidence, and their enemies with fear. Edom continued firm in its obedience, Philistia regularly remitted its presents and tribute-silver, and several of the Arabian tribes sought his favour, or acknowledged his power, by large yearly tributes of sheep and goats from their flocks. The men enrolled as fit to bear arms, and liable to be called into action, was not less than 1,160,000, which is not far short of the number in the united kingdom in the time of David.* Of these a certain proportion were kept in service. The best of the troops were stationed at Jerusalem, and the remainder distributed into the fortress and walled towns; and a strong force was concentrated on the northern frontier, especially in those lands of Ephraim which Asa had taken from Baasha. New fortresses were constructed in different parts of the country, and were well garrisoned and supplied with all the munitions of war. Of fortresses, and places fortified with walls and towers, of which so much mention is made in the Hebrew history of this period, the following probably afford the most curious, and only really illustrative examples which can now be obtained. They are all ancient Egyptian, and all copied from the celebrated mosaic pavement at Præneste,† and represent portions of the Egyptian cities of-1. Memphis, 2. Babylon, and of 3., a fortress on an island of the Nile.

[graphic][merged small]

The capital error of this monarch, the alliance he contracted with Ahab in the thirteenth year of his reign, has already been noticed in the preceding chapter, as well as the part he took in the battle of Ramoth Gilead, in which Ahab was slain, but his own life was preserved,

2 Sam. xxiv. 19.

The history of this may be seen in Montfaucon, tom. xiv., where it is engraved; which engraving has been copied by Shaw, and in Clarke's edition of Harmer's Observations.'

« PoprzedniaDalej »