CHAPTER V.

THE HALT AT OSTRACINE.

The march began, as usual, about midnight, and terminated at Ostracine. They had not proceeded far from Casium, when they reached the lake Sirbonis, whose surface was so covered with the drifted sand, that they had difficulty in distinguishing it, in the darkness, from the surrounding wilderness. A few sabbath-days’ journies farther on, they came to a green, fertile, and blooming vale, called Larish, in the midst of the desert, like a flower growing in the sand. A small brook discharges itself by this valley into the lake Sirbonis. In summer, it is commonly dry: now its clear waters were flowing, and the stars were reflected in them. Elisama checked his horse, as they were about to cross it, and called to Helon, “Farewell to Egypt; this is the boundary! I cross the _river of Egypt_.”

There seemed to be something melancholy in his tone, as if the farewell were painful, notwithstanding his approach to the Holy Land. The ominous anticipations of Helon’s mother occurred to him, and though at Alexandria he had despised them as female weakness, he could not shake them off. Helon called aloud, with an animated voice, so that all before and behind might hear him, “Farewell Egypt; I see thee not again—or only as a new man!” He rode forward, giving himself up to the imaginations of his own mind, to which there was something of a fascinating interest in this nightly procession, amidst songs near and distant, the measured tinkling of the bells, beneath the glimmering light of the stars, and ruddy gleams of pitch-kettles, which deepened the surrounding shadows. He felt now more than ever that he had left Egypt behind, and was surprised at the almost poetical enthusiasm which began to be awakened within him.

Two hours after sunrise, they arrived at Ostracine. No one was weary. The tent was pitched, and they laid themselves under it. Myron was rather dissatisfied, as having had the worst of the argument; Helon was full of the animating reflections which the journey in the night had excited in him; and Elisama still under the influence of the melancholy which had seized him at the river of Egypt. All emotions are durable in the mind of an oriental, and he does not quickly part either with his sorrow or his joy. Yet all were full of alacrity, and Myron, as usual, the first to speak, began thus:

“Though I have little chance of making my cause good to any one’s satisfaction but my own, while I continue with you, yet I shall rejoice, Elisama, to hear the continuation of your narrative. I presume we would all rather speak and hear, than sleep.”

“Listen then,” said Elisama, “and perhaps the narrative may enable me to throw off the melancholy that weighs upon me. I related to you, at Casium, that Jehovah had given the law to our nation, in preference to every other, as their inheritance, and their treasure. But though given, much was yet necessary in order that the law should be obeyed. It was not in every land, nor under all circumstances, practicable to walk blameless in all the commandments of the Lord. The whole legislation on mount Sinai had a reference to the future condition of Israel in Canaan, where those circumstances, under which alone the law could be fulfilled, either already existed, or were to be produced.

“First of all it was necessary, that the land of Canaan, which was still occupied by many native tribes, should be conquered. Moses, the man ‘with whom Jehovah talked as a man talketh with his friend,’[32] was dead. But he had left his people the law, and an ardent longing for rest in the land of which he had presented so attractive a picture; and, besides all this, he had left them a valiant successor to himself, Joshua, the son of Nun, who, with Caleb, had alone been found worthy, among so many thousands, to enter into the promised land. Joshua was indeed not a second Moses; for a prophet like him has not since arisen in Israel, who had known God face to face. But, even in his youthful years, we knew Joshua as a faithful servant of Moses, who never quitted the tabernacle till his master returned to the camp. At the same time we saw him victorious over Amalek, in the valley of Rephidim, while Moses, standing on the top of Horeb, held up the staff of God. Next he appears as one of those who explored the land of Canaan, and brought back a true report of it, with a specimen of its fruits; and last of all, the Lord himself calls him a man in whom his spirit is, and commands Moses ‘to lay his hands upon him, and present him to the priest Eleasar, and the whole congregation, and put his glory upon him, that all the children of Israel might obey him.’[33] Eleasar was to consult the Lord for him; and, at his word, both he and all the children of Israel were to go out and come in. This Moses had done, and when he died the Lord confirmed the appointment, and said to Joshua, ‘Be strong, and of good courage, and thou shalt divide unto this people the land which I have sworn to their father to give them.’

Footnote 32:

Exod. xxxiii. 11.

Footnote 33:

Num. xxvii. 23.

“By him, accordingly, the conquest of the land of promise was accomplished. The terror of the Lord went before him; the swelling Jordan divided itself to let him and the people pass; Jericho and Ai fell before him, in a manner equally wonderful and terrific, and the march of the victorious army proceeded without a check to Sichem, which Jacob had given to Joseph. The craft of the Gibeonites and their neighbours saved their lives, but furnished Israel with the _Nethinim_, the hewers of wood and drawers of water.[34] Thus he smote one and thirty kings, and divided the land among the tribes, established cities of refuge, and built Timnath-Serah, on the hills of Ephraim.[35] The tribes of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh, received their inheritance on the eastern side of Jordan; but, on condition that 40,000 men from among them should assist in the conquest of the country on the other side, and on their return should erect, near the Jordan, a monument of their having partaken in the war with their brethren. A short time before his death, he held a general assembly of the people, in which he made Israel renew the covenant with Jehovah.[36] When he died, he bequeathed to fourteen judges, who ruled Israel in succession, the difficult duty of upholding what he had established. The people, not yet sufficiently confirmed in the law, since more was necessary for this purpose than the mere possession of the land, allowed themselves to be seduced into the idolatry of the Canaanites. From without, the Mesopotamians, Moabites, Canaanites of the north, Midianites, Amalekites, Amonites, and Philistines, harassed and subdued the yet unconsolidated nation. In this way nearly 500 years elapsed, in which fourteen heroes and sages, whom we call Judges, arose, and each, in their time, employed their energies in opposing the universal corruption, or delivering the people from oppression. So much did it cost to secure the possession of the portion which Jehovah had given to his people! Samuel closes this list of heroes, a man on whom, in a peculiar manner, the spirit of the Lord rested, and who, under the influence of this spirit, established schools of the prophets, to perpetuate the knowledge of the law.

Footnote 34:

Josh. ix.

Footnote 35:

Josh. xix. 49.

Footnote 36:

Josh. xxiii. xxiv.

“Thus was the land acquired: but there was still wanting a civil constitution, and a vigorous executive government. Jehovah alone would be their king; but the people felt the necessity that this dignity should be embodied to them in the person of one from among themselves. Samuel disapproved this imitation of the customs of the heathens, but he was compelled to yield, and anointed first Saul, and then David, king. In the whole history of our nation, there is no character that takes a more powerful hold of human sympathies than David, from his youth and his friendship, his heroic spirit, his conquests and institutions, his weaknesses and his sufferings. Scripture calls him ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ Under him the promise of God to Abraham was fulfilled in the amplest sense, and from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates, the whole country was subject to Israel. But he did still more. He became the central point to all the tribes who had hitherto lived in nominal federation and virtual independence. He united all the five millions of his subjects by a common bond, and made Jerusalem the capital. For the first time, under him, it was possible to observe the civil laws of Moses. Joshua had conquered a country for the law, but David established a state for it.

“Still one thing was wanting, the temple, in which the glory of the Lord should dwell. The tabernacle, its prototype, had been brought to Shiloh, and from thence to Gibeon. The ark had been captured by the Philistines, had been brought back by them to Bethshemesh, thence to Kiriath Jearim, to Gilgal, to Nob, to the house of Obed-Edom at Gibeon, and finally to Zion. In all these places sacrifices had been performed. This was contrary to the will of Jehovah. David, who knew this, had already made preparations for the building of a temple, but it was not the pleasure of Jehovah that he should erect it. It was reserved for Solomon his son, to be the third, who, after Joshua and David, should furnish the last and most important of those means, which still were wanting to make the external observance of the law practicable. And how did he perform this duty! In what strains do our sacred books speak of his wisdom, of his riches and of the unparalleled splendour of his temple! Kings and queens came from the east to behold this wonder of the world.

“The reign of Solomon was the era in which all was fulfilled, which Israel could still desire; in which every thing united to give external dignity to the worship of Jehovah. The country was tranquil within, and at peace with its neighbours, governed by its king with wisdom, and united by the temple which served as a central point to the whole nation. This is the most splendid era of our history, and when an Israelite pictures to himself days of happiness and prosperity, it is under the image of the reign of Solomon.

“Only read, Myron, the translation of our Books of Kings, and you will be surprised to find, that on reaching the reign of Solomon, you are transported from the calm tone of historic narrative, to the animated style of poetry, as if its own traits and colours were not strong or bright enough to do justice to the reminiscences of those joyous, youthful days. In the history of a nation, as in the life of an individual, there is always some one period, in which every thing is combined that contributes to happiness; it comes once, and comes not again!

“But I am wandering from my proper subject, which is to describe to you the wisdom and the riches of Solomon. The Books of Kings relate, that at his entrance on his kingly office, after he had sacrificed a thousand burnt-offerings on the hills of Gibeon, Jehovah appeared to him in a dream[37] and asked him what he should give him. Solomon, in his humility, calls himself a little child, who knew not how to go out or to come in, and asks only an understanding heart, to discern good from evil. And the answer of Solomon pleased the Lord, and God said unto him, ‘Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, nor riches, nor the life of thine enemies, but hast asked understanding to discern judgment, behold I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have given thee also that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.’ Accordingly we are told of his wisdom, ‘that he excelled all the children of the east country and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spoke 3000 proverbs, and his songs were 1005; and he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of insects, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon from all kings of the earth which had heard of his wisdom.’[38] Of his riches it is said, ‘Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt; and they brought presents, and served him all the days of his life. And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, ten fat oxen and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, roebucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his figtree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. And Solomon had 40,000 chariot horses, and 12,000 horsemen.’[39] And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year, was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, besides that which he had of the merchant-men, and of the traffic of the spice-merchants and the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country.—He made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold, there was not the like made in any kingdom. All the drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels in the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver, it was accounted nothing of in the days of king Solomon. ‘He made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.’[40]

Footnote 37:

1 Kings iii. 5.

Footnote 38:

1 Kings iv. 30.

Footnote 39:

1 Kings iv. 20.

Footnote 40:

2 Chron. ix. 27.

“When the queen of Sheba had visited him, she said, ‘It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Yet, I believed not the words until I came and mine eyes had seen it—behold the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy servants which stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom.’[41]

Footnote 41:

1 Kings x.

“The temple was a monument both of his wisdom and his wealth. Phœnicia excelled at that time all other nations of the earth in skill in the arts, and Solomon made a bargain with Hiram, king of Tyre, both for workmen and for cedar-wood from Lebanon. Solomon had 70,000 men who carried burthens, and 80,000 carpenters, on the mountain, without reckoning the superintendents of the works. Seven years was this multitude employed upon the erection of the temple; the foundation was laid in the fourth year of his reign, and it was completed in the eleventh. When it was finished, he assembled the elders of Israel, and the heads of tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. And when Solomon had offered his incomparable dedication-prayer, and blessed the people, and had sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep, he and all Israel held a feast, a great assemblage, from the entering in of Hamath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord for fourteen days. And he sent the people away, and they blessed the king, and went away unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.[42]

Footnote 42:

1 Kings viii.

“Thus was the second period of the history of our nation completed. In the first they received the law; in the second they obtained a country, a king, and a temple. Now every man in Judah and in Israel might dwell securely under his own vine and his own figtree, from Dan to Beersheba, and serve Jehovah. We have next to see whether they did so. But I will break off here, that I may preserve unmingled the remembrance of those glorious days.”

“Blessed be the Lord,” exclaimed Helon, “the King of the world, who vouchsafed such a time to his people!”

“It is not to be denied,” said Myron, “that it must have been a joyful time in Jerusalem, and the whole land of Judea under Solomon. And yet your nation seems to me better fitted for a wandering life through the wilderness, such as was yesterday described to us.”

“Why so?” asked Helon.

“Because you knew not how to improve your good fortune.”

Helon was astonished.

“I pity a people, so destitute of all taste and skill in the fine arts as yours. They want to build a temple and a house of the forest of Lebanon—gold and silver they have in abundance, but they are obliged to send for artists from Tyre; they come, execute their works, and leave these behind them, without having communicated to your nation the smallest portion of their dexterity.”

“There have not been wanting amongst us in all ages,” said Helon, “excellent artificers.”

“Single instances decide nothing,” said Myron, “but a nation which, in its most flourishing period, is obliged to engage artists from foreign kings, and can do nothing by its own ingenuity and dexterity, is surely a poor and helpless race. How different from the great Hellenic people! Poetry in abundance I have indeed heard from you, but this is the only branch of art in which you have done any thing. No painting, no statuary, no drama!”

“Thou speakest,” said Elisama, interposing angrily, “like a blind heathen, and what I have so often intimated seems to have been lost upon thee. Israel was not designed, nor ever aimed, to excel in such worldly arts. It was to be a kingdom of priests and a holy people, to receive and to preserve the law of Jehovah; and on this account he calls it his people, his Jeshurun, his beloved Israel. The time which other nations might devote to the culture of the elegant arts, Israel was to spend in the observance of the law. You have omitted all mention too of our music. This and our poetry are alone worthy to accompany the people before the presence of Jehovah; his temple must be splendid, but it was of no consequence that it was made so by foreign hands. Besides, the present temple, which yields little if at all to the former, was built by native artists; and supposing that in Solomon’s time architecture was unknown among us, could this skill be reasonably expected in a nation, which had struggled for five hundred years for the possession of the soil, which even then had not been completely united for more than half a century, and had passed a considerable portion even of that short time in internal commotion!

“You are unjust, Myron, in another respect,” added Helon, “the state of the arts among a people should be judged of from that department, in which it has put forth its powers. Compare our poets with yours; we have no need to fear the comparison.”

“Mention to me then your Homer and Sophocles,” said Myron.

“In those species of poetry our fathers have written nothing. But name to me a Greek, who has surpassed the odes of David, the elegies of Jeremiah, or the epigrams and scolia of Solomon.”

“I will read your poets,” said Myron, “when I return to Alexandria, but it is impossible that a barbarian should rival the great masters of Greece.”

“Compare, with a mind free from prejudice, as becomes a true critic of art, and you will be astonished at the lyric flights of our psalms, which leave Pindar behind; at the plaintive tenderness of Jeremiah, more deep and touching than that of Simonides. Remember, too, that this poetry of ours was never designed by its authors as a work of art, or a display of poetic power, but was the effusion of a mind swelling with the praise of Jehovah, lamenting its own, or its country’s sorrows, or intent upon enforcing the precepts of the law. With us the artist is more prominent and interesting than his work; you think you have succeeded, when the artist is forgotten in the merit of his production.”

Sallu brought in the meal, and they ate and drank in peace, Elisama and Helon ruminating on the glory of Solomon, Myron not less pleased with his reflections on the preeminence of his own nation. They slept from the heat of the noonday till the sun went down, and when evening came on were still in a state between sleeping and waking, enjoying the coolness of the breeze. The stars had begun to appear over the desert, when they were roused by a blast of the trumpet, in its harshest tone. They started up. “That,” said Elisama, “is not the signal of the march; it is an alarm.” Sallu rushed in and informed them that a horde of Arabs was in sight, and threatened an attack. The tumult was excessive. The men mounted their horses and hastened to the side on which the danger appeared. The guides vociferated and endeavoured to restore order. The bows were strung; the slaves struck the tents, and were preparing to drive the camels further into the rear. After all these preparations had been made the enemy retired, feeling himself probably too weak to encounter such a resistance.

While all were resuming their places, Myron seemed somewhat disappointed at the loss of the adventure which he had promised himself, to season the insipid sameness of the caravan’s march, Elisama turned himself in the direction of Jerusalem, and in an attitude of prayer repeated,

When I call my enemies turn back; This I know, for God is with me. In God have I put my trust, I will not fear; What can man do unto me? Thy vows are upon me, O God! I will pay my thank-offerings unto thee: For thou deliveredst my soul from death, My foot from falling, That I may walk before God in the land of the living? Ps. lvi. 10-14.

The guide was not willing to remain till midnight in this place, and gave the signal for departure. The alarm into which they had just been thrown, the terrors of their fellow-travellers, and the tumult of departure, were unable to turn the minds of Helon and Elisama from the glories of the age of Solomon, and they rehearsed together the following psalm, which, composed primarily in his honour, was supposed to carry also a secret reference to one much greater than Solomon.

The mountains shall declare peace to the people And the hills announce righteousness. They shall fear thee, as long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, As showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion from sea to sea, From the river to the ends of the earth, They that dwell in the desert shall bow before him, And his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents, The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. All kings shall fall down before him, All nations shall serve him— A handful of corn, scattered in the earth on the top of the mountains Shall wave its fruit like the trees of Lebanon. And the peopled cities shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed in him; All nations shall call him blessed!—Psl. lxxii.