ÆSCHYLUS.—
He, that to virtue's heavenly power
Unforced his willing soul shall bow,
Nor ruin's tyrant rage shall know,
Nor keen affliction's torturing hour.
But he that dares her sacred laws despise,
Trampling on justice to amass his prey,
Appall'd shall hear the rushing whirlwinds rise,
And tremble at the storms that swell the sea,
Wild with despair
He pours his prayer,
Whirled in the giddy tempest round;
His blasted pride
The gods deride
And all his daring hopes confound;
Smile as they view him rack'd with pain
Bound in misfortune's iron chain;
As on the pointed rock they see him thrown,
To perish there unpitied and alone.
—Eumen., v. 550.
THEOGNIS. —Excess has ruined many a foolish man; for it is difficult to keep the mean when good things abound.— rheas., v. 693.
DEMOSTHENES. —Great and unexpected success is apt to hurry weak minds into extravagances.— Olynth., III., 9.
QUINTUS CURTIUS. —Your prosperity begins to make you mad.—Quint. Curt., x., 2.
PLATO. —Righteousness—a matter far more valuable than gold.—De Rep., lib. i. c. 10.
MARTIAL.—A good man lengthens his term of existence. To be able to enjoy the recollection of our past life is to live twice.—Mart., lib. x., epigr. 23.
PLAUTUS.—A man's reputation is his way to money. Let me but maintain a good character, and I shall be rich enough.—Mostell, Act I., sc. 3.
PINDAR. —
Those who seek with high emprise,
The steep where virtue's guerdon lies,
The brightest walks of life await.
—Olymp., vi. 122
JUVENAL. —The only path that surely leads to a life of peace, lies through virtue.—Sat. x., v. 363.
LUCIAN. —
Swift favors charm; but when too long they stay,
They lose the name of kindness by delay.
—Epigr.
CALLIMACHUS. —Not to everyone doth Apollo manifest himself; but to the good only.—H. in Apoll., v. 9.
PLATO. —Flee without turning back, from the society of the wicked.—De Leg., lib. ix., c. 1.
HESIOD.—
But thou to justice cleave, from wrong forbear.
Wrong, if he yield to its abhorr'd control,
Shall pierce like iron into the poor man's soul:
Wrong weighs the rich man's conscience to the dust,
When his foot stumbles on the way unjust.
Far different is the path, a path of light,
That guides the feet to equitable right:
The end of righteousness enduring long,
Exceeds the short prosperity of wrong.
—Oper. et Dies, v. 211.
PLAUTUS. —Your tongues and talk are steeped in honey; your doings and dispositions in gall, and sour vinegar. From your tongues you utter sweet words; you make your lovers to have bitter hearts, if they fail to give you presents.— Trucul., Act I., sc. 2.
PINDAR. —A bitter end remains to forbidden pleasures.—Apud Plut. de audiend. poet., c. 3.
Prov. 6:6-86Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:6‑8).—Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—The natural interpretation of this passage is, that the ant proves her industry and wisdom by storing up in summer' a supply for winter use. Many difficulties have been raised respecting this, from the fact that the ant tribe are, excepting in hot climates, for the most part dormant in winter, and that their food is not corn, but flesh, insects, and saccharine matter from trees, which cannot be stored. They do, however, fill their nests with all kinds of substances, chiefly for the purpose of lining them and keeping them free from damp; and I have not only seen them in the Holy Land busily engaged in carrying quantities of barley to hoard, but have found the nests full of corn, mingled with chaff, grass, seeds, and all sorts of dried vegetable husks. Elsewhere they have been observed, not only to carry seeds to their nests, but, after the rains, when the moisture has penetrated their dwellings, to bring them up again to the surface to dry. The ancients unanimously believed that the ant stored up food for winter consumption; and who that has watched the incessant activity of these little creatures, issuing in long files from their subterranean labyrinths by a broad beaten track., and gradually dispersing in all directions by pathways that become narrower and fainter as they are subdivided and diverge, while a busy throng is uninterruptedly conveying back by the same paths every movable object which they are able to drag with their powerful forceps, would not at once arrive at the same conclusion?—Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 320.
REV. W. M. THOMSON, D. D.—It has been asserted by some that ants do not gather grains of wheat and barley, and lay them up in store; but that is nonsense. Tell it to these farmers, and they will laugh in your face. Ants not pilfer from the floor and the granary! They are the greatest robbers in the land. Leave a bushel of wheat in the vicinity of one of their subterranean cities, and in a surprisingly short time the whole commonwealth will be summoned to plunder. A broad black column stretches from the wheat to their hole, and you are startled by the result. As if by magic, every grain seems to be accommodated with legs, and walks off in a hurry along the moving column. The farmers remorselessly set fire to every ant city they find in the neighborhood of their threshing-floors.—Land and the Book, II., 262.
REV. JOSEPH ROBERTS. should be remembered, that in the East, when people are in their houses, they do not wear sandals; consequently their feet and toes are exposed. When guests wish to speak with each other, so as not to be observed by the host, they convey their meaning by their feet and toes. Does a person wish to leave a room in company with another, he lifts one of his feet; and should the other refuse, he also lifts a foot, and then suddenly puts it down on the ground. " He teacheth with his fingers: "when merchants wish to make a bargain in the presence of others, without making known their terms, they sit on the ground, have a piece of cloth thrown over the lap, and then put each a hand under, and thus speak with the fingers. When the Brahmins convey religious mysteries to their disciples, they teach with their fingers, having the hands concealed in the folds of their robes.—Orient. Illust., p. 355.
MAXIMUS TYRIUS. —Diseases of the body God relieves; diseases of the mind he hates.—Dissert., 41.
PHOCYLIDES.—The immortal God hates every false swearer.—Phocyl, v. 15.
HESIOD. —
Let no strange woman e'er seduce thy mind
With robe up-gathered in a knot behind:
She prattling her soft things, asks, sly, thy home;
But trust a woman, and a thief is come.
—Oper. et Dies, v. 371.
CICERO.—Many men, because they are enfeebled and subdued the moment pleasure comes in sight, give themselves up to be bound hand and foot by their lust, and do not foresee what will happen to them. —De Fin., lib. i., c. 14.
PLAUTUS. —Lydas (at the door of a harlot's house)—Open and throw back this gate of hell, I do entreat; for really I deem it nothing else; inasmuch as no one comes here but he who has lost all hope that he may yet become a decent person.—Bacch., Act III., sc. 1.
AMATORIUS.—Sweet is the fruit which is gathered when the keeper is absent. c. 5.
Pro. 12:10.—A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
PLUTARCH.—Kindness and beneficence should be extended to creatures of every species; and these still flow from the breast of a well-natured man, as streams that issue from the living fountain. A good man will take care of his horses and dogs, not only when they are young, but when they are old and past service. We certainly ought not to treat living creatures like shoes or household goods, which when worn out with use, we throw away: and were it only to teach benevolence to human kind, we should be merciful to other creatures.— Cat. Maj., c. 5.
STATIUS. —There is no heavier grief to a man than hope that is long in coming.—Theb., II., 320.
THEOGNIS. —Consort not with bad men, but ever cleave to the good: with them eat and drink; sit with them, and please them; of whom there is a large force. For from the good thou shalt learn good, but with the bad, if thou shouldst mix, thou wilt lose even the mind thou hast.—Theog., v. 31.
EPICTETUS. —It is impossible to touch a chimney-sweep without being partaker of his soot.—Epic., lib. iii., c. 16.
ARISTOTLE.—The life of a good man is not at all in want of pleasure, as a certain appendage, but contains pleasure in itself; for he is not a good man who does not rejoice in beautiful actions; and actions according to virtue will be in themselves delectable.—Nicomachean Ethics, lib. i., c. 8.
EURIPIDES. —Medea. I know indeed the ills that I am about to dare; but my rage is master of my councils, which is indeed the cause of the greatest calamities to men.—Med., v. 1078.
THEOGNIS.—Everyone honors a rich man, but dishonors a poor; yet in all men there is the same mind.—Theog., v. 621.
MENANDER. —Things are consumed and corrupted, each by its own particular evil; and the destroyer of everything is contained within itself; as for instance, rust in iron, if you reflect; the worm or dry-rot in wood; the moth in garments. Thus envy, which is the worst of all evils, has caused, does cause, and will cause, atrophy and consumption; for it is the impious associate of an evil mind.
PROF. THOMAS WATSON, M. D.—Very many diseases have a mental origin; and perhaps there is no cause of corporeal disease more clearly made out, or more certainly effective, than protracted anxiety and distress of mind. Our passions and emotions also, nay, even some of our better impulses, when strained or perverted, tend to our physical destruction.—Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Physic, fi. 59.
DR. GEORGE MOORE, M. R. C. P.—There is but one cause of misery, disease and death to man. Let us shun that, and we need not be very nice about the choice of our diet, or our doctor, for, after all, the grand secret of health is to be happy at heart.—Health, Disease and Remedy, p. 140.
PLAUTUS.—If the inhabitants have good morals, I think the city is properly fortified; but if vices prevail there, a hundred walls would be of no avail for preserving its interests.—Pers., Act IV., sc. 4.
REV. THOMAS SCOTT, D. D.—" Righteousness "—genuine piety—is inseparably connected with industry, sobriety, equity, mercy and frugality; and these conduce to health, population, union and competency. The prevalence of vice and impiety is a national reproach, conduces to disunion, weakness and disgrace. Note, In loco.
PLUTARCH.—One of the maxims of the Pythagoreans was not to stir the fire with a sword, the meaning of which was not to irritate an angry man.— Num., c. 14.
PLATO.—The divine nature is not such as to be seduced by presents, like a knavish judge. It would be a dreadful thing indeed if the gods looked to gifts and sacrifices, and not to the soul, whether a person be holy or just. Nay, they look much more to this than to expensive processions and sacrifices, which there is nothing to prevent them from having the power to pay, each year, who have sinned greatly against the gods, and greatly too against men. But they, as not receiving bribes, disdain all such things as these, as says the god and the prophet of the gods.—Alcib., lib. ii., c. 13.
CICERO.—Let not the wicked dare to think of appeasing the anger of the gods by gifts. —De Leg., lib. ii., c. 9.
THEOGNIS.—Choose rather to live religiously with small means, than to be rich, having gotten riches unjustly.—Theog., v. 545.
HOMER.—
Mighty Jove cuts short, with just disdain,
The long, long views of poor designing man.
—Iliad, XVII., 328.
XENOPHON.—Human wisdom knows no more how to choose the best than one who should determine to act as chance and the lot shall decide. The gods, who are eternal, know all things that have been all things that are, and all that shall happen in consequence of everything; and when men consult them, they signify to those to whom they are propitious, what they ought to do, and what to leave undone.—Cyrop., lib. i., c. 6.
MENANDER. —When you see any one highly elated, glorying in his birth and riches, and exalting himself above measure, you may expect a sudden retribution. The higher he soars, the greater will be his fall.—Apud. Stroh., xxii.
ARISTOTLE.—The wicked man injures both himself and his neighbors by following evil passions.— Eth., IX., 8.
CICERO.—Men of vicious life are doubly pernicious to the state, as being not only guilty of immoral practices themselves, but likewise of spreading them far and wide among their fellow-citizens. Nor are they mischievous to it inasmuch as they cherish vices themselves, but also because they compel others; and they do more harm by their example than by the crimes which they commit.—De Leg., lib. iii., c.
PHILO.—
A hoary head with sense combined,
Claims veneration from mankind:
But if with folly join'd, it bears
The badge of ignominious years.
—Apud. Anthol. Grœc.
CICERO. —You (Caesar) have subdued nations, savage in their barbarism, boundless if we regard the extent of country peopled by them, and rich in every kind of resource; but still you were only conquering things, the nature and condition of which were such that they could be overcome by force. But to subdue one's inclinations, to master one's angry feelings, to be moderate in the hour of victory, to not merely raise from the ground a prostrate adversary, eminent for noble birth, for genius and for virtue, but even to increase his previous dignity,—these are actions of such a nature that the man who does them I do not compare to the most illustrious man, but I consider him equal to a god.—Pro. Marcel., c. 3.
MARTIAL.—To Domitian. Conqueror of many leaders; conqueror also of thyself.—Mart., lib. viii., epigr. 54.
ISOCRATES.—Judge of your friends in the misfortunes of life, and their voluntary sharing of danger; for we prove gold by fire; but we know best our real friends in affliction and distress.—Orat. 1.
CICERO.—Friends are loosened, as it were, by happy events, and drawn together in distress.—De Amic., c. 13.
CICERO.—In proportion as the vigor of the mind exceeds that of the body, so also are the sufferings which rack the mind more terrible than those which are endured by the body. He, therefore, who commits a wicked action is more wretched than he who is compelled to endure the wickedness of another.— Philip., XI., c. 4.
EURIPIDES.—A man who is congenial in manners, though a stranger in blood, is a better friend for a man to have than ten thousand relatives.—Orest., v. 805.
EURIPIDES.—Gifts, they say, persuade even the gods; and gold is more powerful with men than a thousand arguments.— Med., v. 964.
Prov., 19:7.—All the brethren of the poor do hate him: bow much more do his friends go far from him? He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
MENANDER.—It is difficult to find the kinsman of a poor man; no one will confess relationship with him who is in need; for he fears to be asked for something.—Ap. Stob., X.
PLUTARCH.—Plato, having lifted his staff against a servant who had provoked him, stood in that posture for a long time, in order, as he said, to restrain his anger.—De Ser. Num. vind., c. 5.
OVID.—The greater any one is, the more placable is he in his anger; and a noble disposition is easily affected.— Trist., 1. iii., eleg. 5.
HESIOD.—No better lot hath providence assigned. Than a fair woman with a virtuous mind.—Op. et Dies., v. 700.
SIMONIDES.—A man can obtain nothing better than a good wife, and nothing more horrible than a bad one.—In Brunck, p. 99.
MARTIAL.—The riches you give away are the only riches you will possess forever.—Mart., lib. v., epigr. 42.
HOMER.—Inflaming wine, pernicious to mankind, Unnerves the limbs, and dulls the noble mind.—Iliad, V., 263.
ISOCRATES.—When the understanding is disordered by wine, it is like a chariot which has flung off its driver; for a chariot wanting a directing hand is hurried without order; and the soul is full of error and deception when the mind is darkened by strong liquor.—Oration 1.
EURIPIDES.—SUCH things as a boy learns, these he is wont to remember till old age. Do ye then educate your children well.—Suppl., v. 916.
PLATO.—The instruction given in earliest age is wonderfully lasting and impressive.— Timœus, c. 4.
QUINTILIAN.—Train but the tender age, you form the man.—Lib. i., c. 3.
JUVENAL.—He who meditates within his breast a crime that finds not vent even in words, has all the guilt of the act.—Sat. xiii., v. 209.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—Yes, that is true to nature, and to actual life in all its details. The stone terraces and garden walls soon tumble down when neglected, and this, beyond any country I have seen, is prolific in thorns and thistles. All your vineyards in this region are covered with them, and so thousands of your valuable olive-trees are completely choked up with briers and thorns, and their owners are too shiftless and indolent to clear them away.—The Land and the Book, Vol. I., p. 522.
SOLON.—The mind of the immortals is always hidden from men.—In Brunck, p. 73.
ARABIC PROVERB.—Rare visits increase love.—Erpen's. Arab. Gram.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—The occurrence of rain (in Palestine) after the corn is ripe is scarcely known, and thus we find it suggested as an image of what is most incongruous: "As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool."—Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 31.
REV. H. W. PHILLOTT, M. A.—In Syria, and especially the Haurân, there are many ancient doors consisting of stone slabs with pivots carved out of the same piece, inserted in sockets above and below, and fixed during the building of the house. The allusion in Proverbs is thus clearly explained.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 1077.
THEOGNIS.—Never speak boastingly in public; for no man knows what a night and a day may bring about for a man.—Theog, v. 159.
DEMOSTHENES.—He whose condition is most prosperous, whose fortune seems most favorable, knows not whether it is to remain unchanged, even for a day.—De Corona.
THEOCRITUS.—We are mortals, and cannot look forward to the morrow.—Carm., XIII., v. 4.
SOPHOCLES.—True is the adage—From the hands of foes Gifts are not gifts, but injuries most fatal.—Ajax, v. 664.
WILLIAM ALDIS WRIGHT, M. A.—In the sepulchers at Thebes butchers are represented as sharpening their knives on a round bar of metal attached to their aprons, which from its blue color is presumed to be steel.—Smith's Dict. of the Bible, p. 1143.
WILLIAM ALDIS WRIGHT, M. A.—Corn may be separated from its husk and all its good properties preserved by such an operation, but the fool's fully is so essential a part of himself, that no analogous process can remove it from him.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 2015.
PLUTARCH.—Nicocreon caused Anaxarchus to be pounded and brayed to pieces with iron pestles.—De Virt. Mural., c. 10.
REV. JOSEPH ROBERTS.—Large mortars are used in the East for the purpose of separating the rice from the husk. When a considerable quantity has to be prepared, the mortar is placed outside the door; and two women, each with a pestle of five feet long, begin the work. They strike in rotation, as blacksmiths do on the anvil.—Cruel as it is, this is a punishment of the state: the poor victim is thrust into the mortar and beaten with the pestle. The late king of Kandy compelled one of the wives of his rebellious chief thus to beat her own infant to death.—Orient. Illust., p. 368.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—In all the districts of Palestine where goats are kept, their milk is an important 'item of food, and is used both fresh and curdled, or manufactured into butter and cheese. In the mountainous regions no other milk is used, and the goats are the sole wealth of many villages. Here they are profitable enough to maintain the farmer's family.—Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 91.
CICERO.—The power of conscience is very great, O judges, and is of great weight on both sides: so that they fear nothing who have done no wrong: and they on the other hand, who have done wrong, think that punishment is always hanging over them.—Pro Milon, c. 23.
STATIUS.—O wickedness, ever cowardly!—Theb., 1. ii., v. 490.
HESIOD.—He harms himself that plans another's ill, And evil counsels plague their authors still.— Op. et Dies, v. 263.
HORACE.—He who is always in a hurry to be wealthy, and immersed in the study of augmenting his fortune, has lost the art of reason and deserted the post of virtue.—Epist.. XVI., v. 67.
JUVENAL.—He who covets riches would also grow rich speedily. But what re. spect for laws, what fear or shame is ever found in the breast of the miser hasting to be rich.—Sat. XIV., v. 176.
THEOGNIS.—I neither wish nor pray to be rich; but be it mine to live on my little store, and find no hurt. —Theog., v. 1153.
PLATO.—May I deem the wise man rich, and may I have such a portion of gold as none but a prudent man can either bear or employ.—Phœdrus, c. 64.
ALEXIS.—Enough, and just enough, how good is it!
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—Modern research has proved the wisdom and instinct of these little creatures to be far in advance of any other known insect, not even excepting the Bee. Their skill in architecture is wonderful and varied. Some species build their labyrinths of pellets of kneaded clay, arched and fitted like the most solid masonry; others employ rafters and beams for their roofs; others excavate the trunks of trees. They fortify their passages against rain and enemies, closing them every night, and opening them in the morning. Like the bees and wasps, their communities are composed of males, females and neuters, the latter being both the workers and the rulers. These receive the eggs, watch over them with unceasing care, bring the larva to enjoy the heat of the sun, and then carry them back to their chambers as the day declines. They gather food for them, and supply them incessantly; they tear away the cases from the cocoons when the perfect insect is, ready to emerge; they spread and dry the wings, which the males and females alone possess, and that only in the perfect state; they afterward tend the females, feed them, wash them, and keep continual guard. They rear myriads of aphides, or small plant parasites, from the egg, to supply food for the young, and keep them like cows. Some species, as the Amazon Ants, organize regular marauding expeditions, attack the colonies of other ants; and carry off the larvae to be their slaves. In fact, had not the habits of the ants been verified by the observations of the most careful and truthful naturalists, they would have been incredible. Truly, indeed, did Agur pronounce them to be “exceeding wise."—Natural History of the Bible, p. 321.
DR. LINCECUM. —The species named "Agricultural" is a large brownish Ant. When it has selected a situation for its habitation, if on ordinary dry ground, it bores a hole, around which it raises the surface three and sometimes six inches, forming a low circular mound having a very gentle inclination from the center to the outer border, which on an average is three or four feet from the entrance. But if the location is chosen on low, flat, wet land, liable to inundation, though the ground may be perfectly dry at the time the ant sets to work, it nevertheless elevates the mound, in the form of a pretty sharp cone, to the height of fifteen or twenty inches, and makes the entrance near the summit. Around the mound in either case the ant clears the ground of all obstructions, levels and smooths the surface to the distance of three or four feet from the gate of the city, giving the space a handsome appearance. Within this area not a blade of any green thing is allowed to grow, except a single species of grain-bearing grass. Having planted this crop in a circle around, and two or three feet from, the center of the mound, the insect tends and cultivates it with constant care, cutting away all other grasses and weeds that may spring up amongst it and all around outside of the farm-circle to the extent of one or two feet more.
The cultivated grass grows luxuriantly, and produces a heavy crop of small, white, flinty seeds, which under the microscope very closely resemble ordinary rice. When ripe, it is carefully harvested and carried by the workers, chaff and all, into the granary cells, where it is divested of the chaff and packed away. The chaff is taken out and thrown beyond the limits of the area. During protracted wet weather, it sometimes happens that the provision stores become damp, and are liable to sprout and spoil. In this case, on the first fine day the ants bring out the damp and damaged grain, and expose it to the sun till it is dry, when they carry it back and pack away all the sound seeds, leaving those that had sprouted to waste.
Now, there can be no doubt of the fact, that the particular species of grain-bearing grass, mentioned above, is intentionally planted. In farmer-like manner the ground upon which it stands is carefully divested of all other grasses and weeds during the time it is growing. When it is ripe, the grain is taken care of, the dry stubble cut away and carried off, the area being left unencumbered until the ensuing autumn, when the same " ant-rice " reappears within the same circle, and receives the same agricultural attention as was bestowed upon the previous crop; and so on year after year, as I know to be the case, in all situations where the ants' settlements are protected from graminivorous animals. My conclusions have not been arrived at from hasty or careless observation, nor from seeing the ants do something that looked a little like it, and then guessing at the results. I have at all seasons watched the same ant-cities during the last twelve years, and I know that what I have stated is true. I visited the same cities yesterday, and found the crop of ant-rice growing finely, and exhibiting also the signs of high cultivation, and not a blade of any other kind of grass or weed was to be seen within twelve inches of the circular row of ant-rice. —Journal of the Linnœan Society, Vol. VI., No. 21, p. 29.
REV. J. G. WOOD, M. A., F. L. S.—The economical habits of this wonderful insect far surpasses anything that Solomon has written of the ant, and it is not too much to say that if any of the Scriptural writers had ventured to speak of an ant that not only laid up stores of grain, but actually prepared the soil for the crop, planted the seed, kept the ground free from weeds, and finally reaped the harvest, the statement would have been utterly disbelieved, and the credibility not only of that particular writer, but of the rest of Scripture severely endangered. We all know that Solomon's statement concerning the ant has afforded one of the stock of arguments against the truth of Scripture; and here we have his statements not only corroborated to the very letter by those who have visited Palestine for the express purpose of investigating its zoology, but far surpassed by the observations of a scientific man who had watched the insects for a series of years.—Bible Animals, p. 620.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—The coney does not, like the rabbit, scoop out a burrow for itself, but lives in holes in the rocks, where it makes its nest and conceals its young, and to which it retires at the least alarm. They are a feeble folk, and though they will attempt to bite when seized in their holes, yet their efforts are not very formidable. But their wariness is great. “They are exceeding wise." Being in some degree gregarious, they never feed without having sentries on the look-out, and, on the approach of danger, a short squeak from the look-out sends the whole party instantly to their retreat.— Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 76.
REV. J. G. Wool), M. A., F. L. S.—The coney is so crafty that no trap or snare ever set has induced it to enter, and so wary that it is with difficulty that one can be killed even with firearms.—Bible Animals, p. 317.
REV. W. M. THOMSON, D. D.—Nothing in the habits of locusts is more striking than the pertinacity with which they all pursue the same line of march, like a disciplined army. As they have no king, they must be influenced by some common instinct.—The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 107.
PROF. H. 13. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—The word semamith, here translated "spider," is by some supposed to represent the Gecko, a species of lizard, which has the power of walking on an inverted surface. It may, however, stand for the spider, which uses its feet so nimbly to run up its web, and to cling to any surface, that they may well be termed “hands," while no recess, even in a palace, is secure from its intrusion.—Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 304.
THE COMPILER.—The ingenuity, cunning and stratagems of the spider, have been subjects of observation and interest from remote antiquity. Solomon might well mention it among “the small things that are wise upon the earth." For, truly, what the spider does with her hands, and her spinning organs, is very wonderful. The garden spider is a most skilful aeronaut, and practiced his art with consummate success, long ages before its discovery by man; it constructs its balloon with silk of its own manufacture, and wafts along, or ascends on high, with ease and rapidity, in its airy chariot. The water spider, from time immemorial, has been familiar with all the triumphs of the diving-bell; it fabricates for itself a covering in which it can safely dive, remain at the bottom of pools and streams, there build for itself a dry and comfortable habitation; from this it daily ascends in quest of prey, and, having secured it, carries it down to its sub-aquatic mansion, to be devoured at its pleasure. Another species, called the builder, is eminently gifted with architectural talents; but its structures are always underground. There it excavates rooms, bores galleries, forms vaults, constructs bridges, and carves out entrances. Its habitation, when completed and garnished, is always remarkable for the extreme neatness which reigns within it. Whatever the humidity of the soil in which it is built, water never penetrates it; the walls are nicely covered with tapestry of silk, having usually the luster of satin, and are almost always of dazzling whiteness. But the most remarkably ingenious of all the contrivances about its habitation is the door at its entrance, which lacks nothing but a lock, for it is nicely fitted to a frame, and actually works upon a hinge. This door, upon close examination, is found to be a complicated fabric, being formed of no less than thirty layers of earth and web, emboxed in each other. On the outside it is coated with soil similar to the surrounding earth, so that the existence of an entrance would hardly be suspected. And what is very striking, the door is so hinged that, whether the spider enters or goes out, it is sure to shut of itself. The advantage of this adjustment is great and obvious; for, whether it darts out upon its prey, or retreats before an enemy, no time need be lost in shutting the door. In these operations of spiders, we discover designs so wise, contrivances so happy, and adaptations so successful, as plainly prove that the benevolent Creator has taught each the lessons of its life-duties, and made these little creatures, small though they be, “wise upon the earth."—See my work entitled Work Days of God, p. 596.
J. G. WOOD, M. A., F. L. S.—Size for size, the lion is one of the strongest of beasts. A full-grown lion can, not only knock down and kill, but carry away in its mouth an ordinary ox; and one of these terrible animals has been known to pick up a heifer in its mouth, and to leap over a wide ditch still carrying its burden. Another lion carried a two-year old heifer, and was chased for five hours by mounted farmers, so that it must have traversed a very considerable distance. Yet, in the whole of this journey, the legs of the heifer had only two or three times touched the ground. It kills a man, and comparatively small animals, such as deer and antelopes, with a blow of its terrible paw—a second blow is seldom necessary to cause the death of such a victim. The lion seems to be a very incarnation of strength, and, even when dead, gives as vivid an idea of concentrated power as when it was living. And when the skin is stripped from the body, the tremendous muscular development never fails to create a sensation of awe. The muscles of the limbs, themselves so hard as to blunt the keen-edged knives employed by a dissector, are enveloped in their glittering sheaths, playing upon each other like well-oiled machinery, and terminating in tendons seemingly strong as steel, and nearly as impervious to the knife. Not until the skin is removed can any one form a conception of the enormously powerful muscles of the neck, which enable the lion to lift the weighty prey which it kills and to convey it to a place of security. It is, moreover, one of the most courageous animals in existence when it is driven to fight; and if its anger is excited, it cares little for the number of its foes, or the weapons with which they are arMed. “He turneth not away for any."—Bible Animals, p. 20-22.
LIVY.—Several of the Roman nobles disputing about the relative merits of their wives, agreed to visit them unexpectedly, in order to observe their several occupations. Lucretia was found busily employed with her wool, though at a late hour, and sitting in the midst of her house, with her maids at work around her.—Liv., lib. i., cap. 57.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—In Sidon, at this day, a majority of the women are thus working in raw silk and cotton, instead of wool and flax. Many of them actually support the family in this way, and by selling their produce to the merchants, bring their food from far. A leading Moslem told me that 'nearly every family in Sidon was thus carried through the past scarce lid very dear winter. —The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 573.
Prov. 31:1313She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. (Proverbs 31:13).—She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—The industrious of this country are very early risers. Long before day they are up and about their work; but what is especially remarked, they never allow their lamp to go out by night.—The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 573.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—The use of the girdle is universal, under the impression that it greatly contributes to the strength of the loins, around which it is twisted tightly in many a circling fold. The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 573.
Prov. 31 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
VIRGIL.—
They ply the distaff by the winking light,
And to their daily labor add the night:
Thus frugally they earn their children's bread,
And uncorrupted keep their nuptial bed.
—Æn., 1. viii., v. 407.
HOMER—Hasten to thy task at home, There guide the distaff and direct the loom.—Iliad, VI., 491.
PLUTARCH.—When the bride is led home, she is made to sit upon a fleece of wool; she then takes the distaff and spindle, and adorns her husband's house with hangings.—Quœst. Rom., c. 31.
XENOPHON.—Leontiades, one of the Theban generals, had thrown himself upon a couch after supper, and his wife was sitting by him, employed at the spinning wheel.—Hist. Grœc., V., 4.
SUETONIUS.—The Emperor Caesar Augustus seldom wore any garment but those that were made by the hand of his wife, sister, daughter and granddaughter.—Cœs. Aug., c. 73.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—The husband of such a faithful and industrious wife is known in the gates, where he sitteth among the elders of the land. What the Bourse is in Paris, and the Exchange in London, the open spaces about the gates of the city were to the Orientals, and still are in many parts of the East. There the elders congregate to talk over the news of the day, the state of the market, and the affairs of their particular community. The husband of such a wife is distinguished among his compeers by a costume clean, whole and handsome, and a countenance contented and happy.—The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 573.