The World's Progress Part 58

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, That host with their banners at sun-set was seen; Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strewn.

For the angel of death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he pa.s.sed; And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved--and forever grew still.

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock beating surf.

And there lay the rider, distorted and pale, With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail; And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of a.s.shur are loud in their wail, And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

--_Byron._

Hezekiah was so affected by his marvellous deliverance, that he listened to the voice of Isaiah throughout the remainder of his days, and instigated both social and religious reforms. These were so radical that ere long a reaction set in. All religious practices were again tolerated and Isaiah and his followers were forbidden to preach to the people.

This forced the prophet to give permanency to his messages by writing them down for future generations. It was now that the book of Deuteronomy was produced, known later as the Book of Law. Many of the rules therein laid down had cause for being in the conditions of the times. For example, every locality had possessed its own peculiar form of sacrifice and its own priesthood. To insure regularity of worship it was now provided that religious festivals should be solemnized only at the temple of Jerusalem, which city should be the religious center of the land. When in the time of Josiah another period of religious reform set in, this Book of Law, or Deuteronomy, was discovered in the temple where it had lain unnoticed. This gave occasion for a complete overturning of social and religious customs. As in previous periods of prosperity, the Hebrews had sunk into reckless extravagances and hopeless poverty; into idolatrous worship and gross immorality. The reforms inst.i.tuted by Josiah were designed to recall the ma.s.ses to paths outlined for them by their greatest teachers and prophets.

"The full significance of this sweeping innovation can be appreciated only by a comparison with the practices which it supplanted. Hitherto sacrifices appear to have been offered anywhere and by any one; in fact, every animal slain was regarded as shared with the deity. At every town there was a _high place_ to which the people went, not only on feast days, but whenever they wished, through the priest, to have a disputed case settled, or to ascertain the divine will respecting their private matter. Religion entered into all their life. The enactments of Deuteronomy swept away the high places, placed a ban upon private sacrifice, and restricted all offerings to the Temple. A sharp distinction was thereby drawn between the laity and the priests, between secular and holy things. Religion henceforth became something formal, above and apart, rather than in all which concerned the nation or individual. Conventionality took the place of the old freedom and joyousness which had so often degenerated into laxness. The end desired by the reformers was attained. The narrowing of religion saved it from the shallowness of heathenism. The Jehovah who was worshipped in the Temple with jealously guarded forms was not in danger of being degraded to a level with the surrounding deities. That which henceforth const.i.tuted the Jewish church was divorced from the state, and so survived the downfall of the nation. Unfortunately the narrowing process did not cease after the crisis was past, so that its later effects were deplorable; but, measured in the light of existing circ.u.mstances, the reformation of Josiah marks the beginning of that movement which ultimately resulted in the complete elimination of the practical heathenism which had long threatened the extinction of the pure worship of Jehovah."[1]

After the fall of Nineveh, Egyptian forces attempted to cross Palestine on their way to the east. Their progress was forbidden by the Judean king. In the battle which ensued Josiah was slain. This has been called the "most tragic event in Hebrew history." In the crude judgment of his day, the ma.s.ses regarded his death as punishment for the destruction of the high places throughout the land. These were re-established, and for the moment it seemed that all the results of the late reformation were swept away.

Egypt held Judah in tribute for three or four years. Then Babylonia defeated the Egyptian army and appropriated its conquests for the new Chaldean empire.

About 597 B.C., tribute having been refused Nebuchadnezzar, he marched against Jerusalem and took the flower of her people into captivity.

Those who were left foolishly planned a second revolt. Jeremiah filled the place once occupied by Isaiah, and he denounced the folly of the popular party with great force, vividly picturing the ruin a revolt would cause. His very life was in danger because of the boldness of his counsel, and at times he was held prisoner. Shortly again the armies of Babylonia stood before the walls of Jerusalem. The great king remembered the history of centuries wherein the resources of a.s.syria and Babylonia had been squandered in holding the western states. He resolved to settle the matter for all time, and the city of Jerusalem was utterly laid waste, while its inhabitants were for the most part deported to Babylonia. Jeremiah was left free to go wherever he chose, and he remained with the poor peasants who were left to till the soil. Shortly after the stricken band migrated to Egypt where they soon lost their ident.i.ty.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., the perpetuation of the Hebrew faith was left solely to those thousands of captives who had been sent to Babylon. Of all who had peopled the fair land of Israel and the hills of Judah, they alone remained to hold fast the inheritances of their fathers and to preserve the ancient faith. During the seventy years of their captivity it was the remembrance of their once proud nation and beloved Jerusalem, together with the hope of again returning to its hills, that sustained those stricken hearts and gave them courage.

Living as much as possible to themselves, they held to their peculiar customs and in some ways were not materially changed by the enforced exile. However their religious conceptions underwent a marked change, and the experiences of the exile itself brought them finally into a fuller realization of the faith they had long followed blindly.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Hist. of the Hebrew People: Vol. II, 180.

DESCRIPTION OF ILl.u.s.tRATIONS

IN PART I.

DISTANT VIEW OF THE PYRAMIDS.

This road leading from Cairo to the Pyramids is often spoken of as the "high road." Were it not built up in this way, communication would be cut off during the period of the inundation.

Camels, "ships of the desert," are commonly used in Egypt. Arabs populate the land and are clamorous in their demands for coins from travelers.

GREAT PYRAMID, SPHINX AND TEMPLE OF ARMACHIS.

The great Pyramids had stood approximately 800 years when Abraham first came into the Delta; they had existed approximately 1500 years when Moses led the Israelites out of the land of bondage. The largest of the three is indeed stupendous, its base covering thirteen acres. In the foreground of the picture is seen the ruins of the Temple of Armachis.

Like the Pyramids, the Sphinx has stood wrapped in mysterious silence these thousand years. The form of the Sphinx was very common in ancient Egypt, it being a symbolic representation of the king. The body of the lion symbolized his strength, or power; the human face was a portrait of the monarch. Shifting sands have acc.u.mulated to the breast of the body--said to be 140 feet long. Of the huge proportions one may judge from the fact that should a man stand upon the ear of the Sphinx his hand could not reach the top of the head. A little chapel of comparatively recent date has been placed between the paws of the lion.

TOURISTS SCALING THE GREAT PYRAMID.

The Great Pyramid was originally covered with blocks of the hardest granite. This casing was removed by the Mohammedans for use in building the mosque of Cairo. Thus removed, the blocks of building stone of which the huge pile is for the most part composed, were left exposed. Laid down in the form of steps, tourists today are able to climb to the very top. To be sure, some of these steps are shoulder high, but with much pulling by guides in front and some pushing from those behind, one may ascend in about half an hour. The splendid view over the valley and neighboring desert amply repay one for the discomforts of the climb.

DROMOS (COLUMNS) AND SECOND PYLON (GATEWAY) TEMPLE OF KARNAK.

The great temple of Karnak was begun by Seti I., and was enlarged by many succeeding Pharaohs. An avenue of rams led to the gateway, which was the last portion to be completed. Crossing a court, one came at length to the temple itself.

The figures and letters carved on the stone may be plainly seen in this picture.

BEAUTIFUL ISLAND OF PHILAE AND THE NILE.

This templed island of Philae, known sometimes as "the pearl of Egypt,"

lies uppermost of a group of islands forming the first cataract. Isis was the local deity and to her a temple was built in remote times.

Recently a great dam has been constructed near Philae to insure a larger supply of water for the valley. It has been estimated that $13,000,000 will accrue to Egypt annually by this means, but the island of Philae, with its beautiful temple, is thereby doomed. Indignant protests have been made from lovers of the beautiful in many lands, but the English government has shown itself more determined to insure the prompt payment of interest upon its bonds than to preserve monuments of antiquity.

HAREM WINDOW AND COURT.

As is well known, in all Mohammedan countries, women pa.s.s their lives in closest seclusion. Their quarters are provided in the upper story of the house, the windows being small indeed. Seldom going out, living their years in idleness, it is small wonder that these unfortunate creatures often resort to intrigues to absorb their interest.

WINGED LION.

These symbolic animals in stone were stationed at the portals of the royal palace and sometimes guarded the palaces of the wealthy in a.s.syria. The lion's body symbolized strength, the wings of the eagle, swiftness; the human head, human intelligence. It was believed that evil spirits would pause before such emblems of majesty, nor dare to enter.

MUSICIANS AND ATTENDANTS IN THE GARDEN OF a.s.sHURBANIPAL.

After the war was over, the king, satiated with booty and slaughter, sought the quieter pleasures of the banquet. This was frequently served in the royal garden, while musicians dispensed sweet strains of music.

To make more animated the joyous occasion, the head of the defeated king or general was sometimes suspended from a nearby tree, so that the a.s.syrian ruler might exult over his own triumph as he drank his wine.

DAMASCUS SWORD-MAKER.

The swords of Damascus have always been famous. The ancient sword-makers understood a secret process of tempering steel which rendered it very pliable and at the same time imparted to it astonishing strength.

THE RIVER JORDAN.

The word _Jordan_ means "the down-comer," and truly a river which drops 3,000 feet in a course of 150 miles is indeed a "descender." In the spring the stream is brown and muddy, heavily charged as it is with debris from the mountains. Ships never journey far up or down the river.

Below the level of the sea, the climate is hot and sultry and the region full of malaria.