Palestine, or, the Holy Land Part 20

[128] Journey, p. 76.

[129] Pausanius, describing the Sepulchre of Helena at Jerusalem, mentions this device: "It was so contrived that the door of the sepulchre, which was of stone, and similar in all respects to the sepulchre itself, could never be opened except upon the return of the same day and hour in each succeeding year. It then opened of itself by means of the mechanism alone, and after a short interval closed again. Such was the case at the time stated; had you tried to open it at any other time, you would not have succeeded, but broken it first in the attempt." Paus. in Arcad. cap.

xvi.--_Clarke's Travels_, vol. iv. p. 383.

[130] Journey, p. 63.

[131] Deut. xi. 29, 30.

[132] "Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's Well was there."--John iv. 5, 6.

[133] Travels, vol. iv. p. 264.

[134] Clarke, vol. iv. p. 275.

[135] Clarke, vol. iv. p. 280.

[136] Richardson, vol. ii. p. 415.

[137] Travels in Palestine, &c. by J.S. Buckingham, vol. ii. p. 144.

[138] Travels in Palestine, vol. ii. p. 104.

[139] Num. xxi. 24. Deut. ii.

[140] Buckingham, vol. ii. p. 244.

[141] Travels in Palestine, p. 259.

[142] Buckingham, vol. ii. p. 261.

[143] Travels in Palestine, vol. ii. p. 261.

[144] Joseph, lib. iii. De Bell. Jud. Ha.s.selquist, p.157. Clarke, iv.

p.227.

[145] Travels in Palestine, vol. ii. p. 359.--"Quae urbes, quod ipse servator ils praedixerat, hodie in ruinis jacent."--Cluverius, lib. v.

cap. 20. "Capernaum was visited in the sixth century by Antoninus the Martyr, an extract from whose Itinerary is preserved by Reland, who speaks of a church erected upon the spot where St. Peter's dwelling once stood."--_Clarke's Travels_, vol. iv. p. 211.

[146] Buckingham, vol. ii. p. 366.

[147] "Within two hours and a half of Tiberias, we looked down on a fine cultivated plain, quite bare of trees; beyond which, at a much lower level, lay the narrow Valley of the Jordan. This plain was pastured over by horses from the town, for the keepers of which white tents were scattered about in all directions. We now came in sight of the Sea of Galilee: we only saw the northern half, and its size disappointed us; but the dark blue still water, the green hills around covered with bushes, and the high snowy ridge of Djibbel el Sheik made a very delightful landscape.

Tiberias, with its high-feudal citadel, its walls and towers, now forms a remarkable feature in the view; and the steep hills, which descend at once to the lake on the east, attract attention from their strangely-channelled sides diversified with dark green bushes and white chalky soil. The lake at the town may be six or eight miles broad. We could see no stream formed by the Jordan through it. Before it was dark we had a very fine view of the lake; at the southero part it is narrow, and the sides bold. The sun threw a deep shade on this side and on the water, while it marked the hills and valleys on the opposite side with strong light and shade. The northern part is much wider and tamer; but the hills are still high and green, and the lofty snowy mountain of Djibbel el Sheik rising over them gives great dignity to the landscape. This mountain was very striking late in the evening, as retaining the sun's rays after every thing around us was in darkness. In all respects it is the greatest ornament of the lake, and I am surprised that travellers have not mentioned it more."--_Anonymous Journal_.

[148] Buckingham, vol. ii. p. 368.

[149] Dr. Clarke relates, that "the French, during the time their army remained under Bonaparte in the Holy Land, constructed two very large ovens in the earth at Tiberias. Two years had elapsed at the time of our arrival since they had set fire to their granary; and it was considered as a miracle by the inhabitants that the combustion was not yet extinguished.

We visited the place, and perceived, that whenever the ashes of the burnt corn were stirred, by thrusting a stick among them, sparks were even seen glowing throughout the heap; and a piece of wood left there became charred."

[150] The following extract from the unpublished journal already so often referred to will amuse the reader:--"We arrived at the foot of Mount Tabor. It is, in its general outline, a round, regular-shaped hill, but is rocky and rough enough when it is to be ascended. It has many trees, mostly Valonia oaks. It stands on the east of the great Plain of Esdraelon, up a recess formed by Mount Hermon on the one side, and the hills towards Nazareth on the other. Its height from the plain I should guess at 1000 feet. We ascended the greater part of the way on mules. On the top of the hill is one of those large cisterns, or granaries, so often alluded to before. There was one also near Jennin, which we observed in coming in. I have since seen them in numerous other places, which puts an end to Dr. Clarke's pagan remains. The whole of the Great Plain is fully cultivated, yet we could hardly see a single village, which adds to the peculiarity of its appearance,--one sheet of cultivation without a rock or tree".

[151] Clarke, vol. iv. p. 260. Doubdan, Voyage de la Terre Sainte, p. 507.

Paris, 1661.--It is remarkable that all the descriptions of the view from Mount Tabor appear to be borrowed from this sedulous Frenchman, whose work, in point of topography, is still unequalled.

[152] Journey, p. 112.

[153] Clarke, vol. iv. p. 170.

[154] Vol. iv. p. 174. "Up stairs, above the Chapel of the Incarnation,"

says Dr. Richardson, "we were shown another grotto, which was called the Virgin Mary's Kitchen, and a black smoked place in the corner which was called the Virgin Mary's Chimney. I believe none of the cinders, fire-irons, or culinary instruments have been preserved; these probably fled with the Santa Casa, or Holy House, to Loretto; and our only astonishment is, that the house should have taken flight and left the chimney and kitchen behind."--vol. ii. p. 440.

[155] Luke iv. 28, 29, 30.

[156] Travels in Palestine, vol. ii. p. 315.

[157] "Traditio continua est, et nunquam interrupta, apud omnes nationes Orientales, hanc petram, dictam Mensa Christi, iliam ipsam esse supra quam Dominus noster Jesus Christus c.u.m suis comedit discipulis ante et post suam resurrectionem a mortuis.

"Et sancta Romana ecclesia INDULGENTIAM concessit septem annorum et totidem quadragenarum, omnibus Christi fldelibus hunc sanctum loc.u.m visitantibus, recitando saltem ibi unum Pater, et Ave, dummodo sint in statu gratiae."

"It is a continued and uninterrupted tradition among all the Eastern churches, that this stone, called the Table of Christ, is that very one upon which our Lord Jesus Christ ate with his disciples both before and after his resurrection from the dead.

"And the holy Roman church hath granted an INDULGENCE of seven years, and as many lents, to all the faithful in Christ visiting this sacred place, upon reciting at least one Pater Noster and an Ave, provided they be in a state of grace."

[158] Clarke, vol. iv. p. 167.

[159] "De la nous retournasmes sur nos pas, a l'entree du village par ou nous avions pa.s.se, pour aller voir la Fontaine ou on alla puiser l'eau qui servit a ce miracle; mais en allant ces femmes et enfans nous penserent accabler de pierres et d'injures, tant ils sont inhumains et enemies des Chrestiens."--_Le Voyage_, &c. p. 512.

[160] Clarke, iv. p. 187. "We were afterward conducted into the chapel, in order to see the relics and sacred vestments there preserved. When the poor priest exhibited these, he wept over them with so much sincerity, and lamented the indignities to which the holy places were exposed in forms so affecting, that all our pilgrims wept also. Such were the tears which formerly excited the sympathy and roused the valour of the Crusaders. The sailors of our party caught the kindling zeal, and nothing more was necessary to incite in them a hostile disposition towards every Saracen they might afterward encounter."

[161] Travels, vol. iv. p. 141.

[162] Travels vol. iv. p. 148.

[163] Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 35.

[164] Buckingham, vol. i. p. 181.

[165] History of the Jews, vol. iii.

[166] Decline and Fall, vol. ii. p. 385.

[167] The reader who wishes to examine the evidence for the miraculous nature of the interruption sustained by the agents of Julian will find an ample discussion in the pages of Basnage, Lardner, Warburton, Gibbon, and of the Author of the History of the Jews.

[168] History of the Jews, vol. iii.

[169] "When the first light brought news of a morning, they on afresh; because they had intercepted a letter tied to the leg of a dove, wherein the Persian emperor promised present succours to the besieged. The Turks cased the outside of their walls with bags of chaff, straw, and such like pliable matter, which conquered the engines of the Christians by yielding unto them. As for one st.u.r.dy engine, whose force would not be tamed, they brought two old witches on the walls to enchant it; but the spirit thereof was too strong for their spells, so that both of them were miserably slain in the place.

"We must not think that the world was at a loss for war-tools before the brood of guns was hatched: it had the battering-ramme, first found out by Epeus at the taking of Troy; the balista to discharge great stones, invented by the Phenicians; the catapulta, being a sling of mighty strength, whereof the Syrians were authors; and perchance King Uzziah first made it, for we find him very dexterous and happy in devising such things. And although these bear-whelps were but rude and unshaped at the first, yet art did lick them afterward, and they got more teeth and sharper nails by degrees; so that every age set them forth in a new edition, corrected and amended. But these and many more voluminous engines are now virtually epitomized in the cannon. And though some say that the finding of guns hath been the losing of many men's lives, yet it will appear that battles now are fought with more expedition, and Victory standeth not so long a neuter, before she express herself on one side or other."--_Fuller's Holy Warre_, p. 41.

[170] Fuller remarks, that "this second ma.s.sacre was no slip of an extemporary pa.s.sion, but a studied and premeditated act. Besides, the execution was merciless upon sucking children whose not speaking spake for them; and on women whose weakness is a s.h.i.+eld to defend them against a valiant man. To conclude, severity, hot in the fourth degree, is little better than poison, and becometh cruelty itself; and this act seemeth to be of the same nature."--_Fuller's Holy Warre_, p. 41.