PERSIUS.—Alas, for man; how vain are all his cares! And, oh! what bubbles his most grave affairs.—Sat., V., 1.
Circularity of Nature
Eccl. 5-7.—The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; etc.
PRESIDENT JAMES M'COSH, LL. D.—Physical science, at its present advanced stage, seems to at one with the Word of God, in representing all nature as in a state of constant change, but with principles of order instituted in order to secure its stability. There seems to be no such thing as absolute rest in nature. Every object in creation seems to have a work to do, and it lingers not, as it moves on, in the execution of its office. It exists in one state and in one place this instant, but it is changing meanwhile, and next instant it is found in another state or in another place. But there is an equilibrium established among these ever moving forces, and the processes of nature are made like the wind, to return according to their circuits.—typ. Forms, p. 31.
Eccl. 1:6.—The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
JOHN KITTO, D. D., F. S. A.—In Judea, as well as in many other parts of the world, the wind is by no means so variable as with us. They are nearly, if not altogether, periodical, and are observed to return with some constancy, at particular seasons of the year. This seems to be what is here meant by the “circuits " of the wind.—Note In loco.
DR. WILLIAM FRASER.—In his very interesting and instructive work, The Physical Geography of the Sea, Lieutenant Maury has vividly described the currents in the atmosphere from the equator to the poles, and from the poles to the equator—the ore current ranging along a lower level, the other on a higher, and both exchanging their heights at the equator and the tropics—like overlapping belts on higher and lower wheels in a factory—while at the north and south poles they move from right to left and left to right respectively, around a circular mass of air, and are steady in their course as the Gulf Stream. Unlike the Trade Winds, they know no rest. Their circuit is ceaseless; and no one can examine the facts which have been ascertained and the principles which they represent, without delighting in the new meaning which lights up that Scripture sentence, so long unintelligible: "The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits." This is truly an accurate generalization, and may well arrest the attention of those who believe that every line of the Bible has been long since exhausted of all its truth.—Blending Lights, p. 72.
PROF. J. P. COOKE, Harv. Univer.—We all know that the drops of rain percolate through the soil, and collect in natural reservoirs formed between the layers of rock, and that these reservoirs supply the springs. The rills from numerous adjacent springs unite to form a brook, which increases as it flows, until it finally becomes the majestic river, rolling silently on its course. Every drop of that water has been an incessant wanderer since the dawn of creation, and it will soon be merged again in the vast ocean, only to begin anew its familiar journey, by a repetition of the process of evaporation. If we would gain an idea of the magnitude and extent of this wonderful circulation, we must bring together in imagination all the rivers of the world, the Amazon and the Orinoco, the Nile and the Ganges, the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence, and, adding to these the ten thousands of lesser streams, endeavor to form a conception of the incalculable amount of water which during twenty-four hours they pour into the vast basin of the world, and then remember that during the same period at least four times as much water must have been raised in vapor, and scattered in rain over the surface of the earth.—Religion and Chemistry, p. 132.
Earthly Things Unsatisfactory
DR. THOMAS DICK.—There is no human being who feels full satisfaction in his present enjoyments. The mind is forever on the wing in the pursuit of new acquirements, of new objects, and, if possible, of higher degrees of felicity than the present moment can afford.... These restless and unbounded desires are to be found agitating the breasts of men of all nations, of all ranks and conditions in life. If we ascend the thrones of princes, if we enter the palaces of the great, if we walk through the mansions of courtiers and statesmen, if we pry into the abodes of poverty and indigence, if we mingle with poets or philosophers, with manufacturers, merchants, mechanics, peasants or beggars; if we survey the busy, bustling scene of a large city, the sequestered village, or the cot which stands in the lonely desert—we shall find, in every situation, and among every class, beings animated with desires of happiness, which no present enjoyment can gratify, and which no object within the limits of time can fully satiate. Whether we choose to indulge in ignorance, or to prosecute the path of knowledge; to loiter in indolence, or to exert our active powers with unremitting energy; to mingle with social beings, or to flee to the haunts of solitude—we feel a vacuum in the mind, which nothing around us can fill up; a longing after new objects and enjoyments, which nothing earthly can fully satisfy. “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing."—The Philosophy of a Future State, p. 17
REV. ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, D. D.—There was the wide scenery, the vineyards, too, with their towers reaching down on every side of the valley of Eschol, whence came the famous cluster; and the red anemones, and white roses on their briar-bushes. Next in one of those gray and green valleys—for these are the predominant colors—appeared, one below the other, the three pools of Solomon—I must again say "venerable," for I know no other word to describe that simple, massive architecture in ruin, yet not in ruin—the "pools of water that he made to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees," and there are the very gardens, not now, indeed, beautiful as when he came out in state as Josephus describes, with his gold-powdered servants, to see them, but marked by the long winding defile of Urtas—green, and fresh and winding as a river—which leads toward Jerusalem. And along the mountain side runs the water through the channel begun by him, but—strange conjunction—restored by Pontius Pilate.—Sinai and Palestine, p. 104.
REV. J. P. NEWMAN, D. D.—Fifteen miles to the north from Hebron, the valley of Urtas crosses the road at right angles, and to the right of the highway are the celebrated pools of Solomon. But Time, that inexorable destroyer of human works, has effaced every trace of his wonderful genius save the pools that bear his name. Both history and tradition point with unmistakable accuracy to the imperial founder of these great fountains. These pools consist of three immense reservoirs, situated in a straight line one below the other, and so constructed that the bottom of the first is higher than the top of the second, and the second than that of the third. They are in part excavated in the rocky bed of the valley, and in part built of square hewn stones covered with cement, and are entered by stone steps excavated in the rock. Measuring 380 feet in length, 236 in breadth, and 25 in depth, the upper pool is the smallest of the three. A hundred and sixty feet to the east is the middle pool, which is 423 feet long 39 feet deep, and varies from 160 to 250 wide. Two hundred and forty-eight feet farther east is the lower and largest reservoir, being 582 feet in length, from 148 to 207 in width, and 50 feet in depth, and, when full, capable of floating one of our largest men-of-war. Forty rods to the northwest, in an open field, are the perennial sources of these great fountains. I know not which to admire more—the genius of the architect that conceived such a complicated work, or the public spirit of the king who supplied the means for its execution. —From Dens to Beersheba, p. 248.
Common Destiny
HORACE.—
Earth, impartial, entertains
Her various sons, and in her breast
Princes and beggars equal rest.
—Hor., 1. ii., carm. 18.
Folly of Avarice
Eccl. 4:88There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. (Ecclesiastes 4:8).—There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
JUVENAL.—
While the streams of affluence rail,
They nurse the eternal dropsy of the soul,
For thirst of wealth still grows with wealth increased,
And they desire it less who have it least.
—Sat., XIV., v. 138.
Reverence toward God
PLUTARCH.—In all public ceremonies and processions of the priests, a herald went before who gave notice to the people to keep holiday. For, as they tell us, the Pythagoreans would not suffer their disciples to pay any homage or worship to the gods in a cursory manner, but required them to come prepared for it by meditation at home: so Numa was of opinion that his citizens should neither see nor hear any religious service in a slight or careless way, but disengaged from other affairs, bring with them that attention which an object of such importance required.—Num., c. 14.
Vows to Be Paid
LIVY—When the Carthagenian camp was seen from the walls of the city, what vows were then offered up by each particular person, and by the whole body of the people! How often in their assemblies were their hands stretched out towards heaven, and exclamations heard,—O! will that day ever arrive when we shall see Italy cleared of the enemy, and blessed once more with the enjoyment of peace? That, now, at length, in the sixteenth year, the gods had granted their wish, and yet not the slightest proposal had been made of returning thanks to the gods. So deficient are men in gratitude, even at the time when a favor is received; and much less are they apt to retain a proper sense of it afterward.—Liv., XXX., 21.
CICERO.—Let vows be carefully perforMed.—De Leg., lib. ii., c. 9.
Earthly Goods
HORACE.—
What though you thrash a thousand sacks of grain,
No more than mine thy stomach can contain.
The slave who bears the load of bread, shall eat
No more than he who never felt the weight.
Or say what difference, if we live confined
Within the bounds of Nature's law assign'd,
Whether a thousand acres of demesne,
Or one poor hundred, yield sufficient grain?
—Sat. I., lib. i., v. 45.
EGYPTIAN PAPYRUS.—Feast in tranquility, seeing that there is no one who carries away his goods with him. Yea, behold, none who goes thither comes back again.—Festal Dirge; See Records of the Past, Vol. IV., p. 118
Anger
Eccl. 7:99Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. (Ecclesiastes 7:9).—Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. SENECA.—Immoderate anger turns to madness, and, therefore, anger is to be avoided, not only for moderation's sake, but for the health.—Senec., ep. 118.
Moderation
CICERO.—Behold, behold, O priests! this religious man, and if it seems good to you (and it is only the duty of virtuous priests), warn him that there are some fixed limits to religion; that man ought not to be too superstitious.—Pro. Domo., c. 40.
MARTIAL.—Whoever is wise, without being too wise, is truly wise.—Mart., lib. xiv., ep. 210.
All Are Sinners
PLATO.—I shall never, searching for that which cannot be, throw away a portion of my life on an empty impracticable hope,—searching for an all-blameless man among us, who feed on the fruits of the wide earth. When I have found one I will inform you.—Protag., c. 31.
PLUTARCH.—It is very difficult, or rather impossible, to find any life whatever without its spots and errors. Human nature produces no specimen of virtue absolutely pure and perfect.—Cimon, c. 2.
THEOGNIS.—The sun looks down on no man now living, who is entirely good and temperate.—In Brunck.
SOLON.—No one is altogether faultless or harmless.—In Brunck.
Death Inevitable
PINDAR.—All the common path must tread, That leads each mortal to the dead.—Olymp., I., 131. HORACE.—Age and youth promiscuous crowd the tomb; No mortal head can shun the impending doom. —Hor., I., 28.
Divine Forbearance Abused
JUVENAL—
This writer introduces a wicked man, reasoning thus:
But it grant the wrath of heaven be great; 'tis slow,
And days, and months, and years, precede the blow.
If, then, to punish all, the gods decree,
When in their vengeance, will they come to me?
And I, perhaps, their anger may appease—
For they are wont to pardon faults like these:
At worst, there's hope.
—Sat., XIII., v. 100.
Success from God
Eccl. 9:1111I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)—I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
THEOGNIS.—Often while the wise man fails of obtaining distinction, the wicked and the foolish have arrived at honor.—Theog., v. 665.
HERODOTUS.—Fortune commands men, and not men fortune.—Lib. vii., c. 49.
SOPHOCLES.—Not always the huge size of weighty limbs insures the victory.—Ajax, v. 1250.
The Wise Poor Forgotten
VALERIUS MAXIMUS.—When Alexander the Great was about to destroy. Lampsacus, his old master, Anaximenes, came out to meet him. Alexander, perceiving that he would endeavor to persuade him to be merciful, swore that he would not do anything he would ask him. "Then," said Anaximenes, "I entreat you to destroy Lampsacus." This readiness of sagacity saved a city renowned for its ancient grandeur from the destruction to which it had been dooMed.—Val. Max., lib. vii., c. 3.
DR. ADAM CLARKE.—This passage receives a fine illustration from the case of Archimedes, saving the city of Syracuse from all the Roman forces besieging it by sea and land. He destroyed their ships by his burning-glasses, lifted tip their galleys out of the water by his machines, dashing some to pieces and drowning others. One man's wisdom here prevailed for a long time against the most powerful exertions of a mighty nation. In this case wisdom far exceeded strength. —Note In loco.
Dead Flies
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM.—The swarms of flies in the East very soon corrupt and destroy any moist unguent or mixture which is not carefully covered from them, and pollute a dish of food in a few minutes.—Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 327.
Light Pleasant
G. CHAPIN CHILD, M. D.—Those who enjoy the blessing of alternate day and night every twenty-four hours, can hardly realize the intense thankfulness with which the dawn and the sun are welcomed by men who have just passed through the depressing influences of the dreary polar night. We can sympathize with Dr. Kane, in his brig among the Greenland ice, as he records his eager watchings for the sun, and the calculations which, by revealing its daily progress toward him, permitted him to anticipate with certainty the day of its reappearance. We understand the thankfulness with which he must have watched the dawn growing brighter and brighter, and the delight with which at length he scrambled up a neighboring height to catch a glimpse of the orb still hidden at the level of the deck. " I saw him once more, and from a projecting crag nestled in the sunshine. It was like bathing in perfumed water."
When wintering in the far north, Captain Sherard Osborn thus describes the return of the sun after an absence of 66 days. On February 7th, " the stentorian lungs of the Resolute's boatswain hailed to say the sun was in sight from the masthead; and in all the vessels the rigging was soon manned to get the first glimpse of the returning god of day. Slowly it rose; and loud and hearty cheers greeted the return of an orb which those without the frozen zone do not half appreciate, because he is always with them. For a whole hour we feasted ourselves admiring the sphere of fire." Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.—Benedicite, p. 96.
The End of Man
PHOCYLIDES. —We have our body from the earth, and the body being restored into the earth again is dust; but the air receives the spirit. —Phocyl., v. 101.
PLATO.—Is death anything else but the separation of the soul from the body? And is not this to die, for the body to be apart by itself, separated from the soul, and for the soul to subsist apart by itself, separated from the body? death anything else but this?—Phœdo, c. 9.
EURIPIDES.—
Permit, then, that the dead
Be in the earth entombed. Each various part
That constitutes the. frame of man returns
Whence it was taken;-to the ethereal sky
The soul; the body to its earth: of all
Naught save this breathing space of life our own;
The earth, then, which sustained it when alive,
Ought to receive it dead.
—Eurip. Suppl., v. 531.
SENECA. —When the day comes that will separate this composition, human and divine, I will leave this body here where I found it, and return to the gods. —Epist., 102.
HORACE. —Alone the mouldering body lies, And souls immortal from our ashes rise.—Lib. i., car. 28.
ASSYRIAN TABLET.—The dying man... Like a bird may his soul fly to a lofty place! To the holy hands of its God may it return!—Oriental Records (Historical), p. 230.
IDEM.—The departed man, may he be in glory I May his soul shine radiant as brass! To that man may the Sun give life! And Marduk, eldest son of heaven, grant him an abode of happiness!—Ibid.