Sr ' ^Tr- re # CTc rn K.^ HOUSE B¥IM TO THE MAUDE ©E THE lOKtt FMTM, THE ©AYS ©E SOLOMOM? 1 Mxnps . Chap. HI- Ver. PTSHERi SOM & C9 LONDON «• PAULS . SACRED ARCHITECTURE, ITS RISE, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STATE. EMBRACING THE BABYLONIAN, INDIAN, EGYPTIAN, GREEK, AND ROMAN TEMPLES, -THE BYZANTINE, SAXON LOMBARD, NORMAN, AND ITALIAN CHURCHES, WITH AN ANALYTICAL INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND PERFECTION OF THE GOTHIC CHURCHES IN ENGLAND ; AND PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR RESTORING THESE DILAPIDATED CHRISTIAN EDIFICES TO THEIR PRIMITIVE BEAUTY. ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTY-THREE PLATES, SHOWING THE PROGRESSIVE CHARACTER OF THE VARIOUS STYLES OF SACRED ARCHITECTURE. AND A GLOSSARY Of TERMS. ALSO, <£lcnuntd of €l)\i dj Qtsign, p . AND AN ACCOUNT O r ’ THE ORIGIN OF DIOCESSES, AND PARISHES, AND THE FOUNDING OF THEIR CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES, WITH HISTORICAL DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS OF EVERY PART BELONGING TO THESE VENERABLE FABRICS; AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PLAN BEST ADAPTED FOR THE VOICE; AND ON VENTILATION, AND WARMING. BY RICHARD BROWN, ESQ., PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE. AUTHOR OF “DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE;” “THE PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE;” “HISTORY OF PAINTING;” AND “AN ELUCIDATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSING ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTS;” ETC., ETC. FISHER, SON, & CO., THE CAXTON PRESS, ANGEL STREET, ST. MARTIN’S -LE- GRAND, LONDON; POST-OFFICE PLACE, LIVERPOOL ; PICCADILLY, MANCHESTER. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/sacredarchitectuOObrow PREFACE. It is observable in all ages, that the several nations of the world, however opposite in their character, customs, and manners, have united in one essential point — that of an inherent opinion of the adoration due to a Supreme Being, and of essential methods necessary to evince such a belief in his existence. Thus, in remote regions of the globe, we find sacrificial altars, sacred groves, and high places. In others, pagan temples appropriated to certain rites, with Hindoo pagodas, and Arabian or Saracenic mosques. In the more enlightened countries, are various Catholic churches consecrated to the religious worship of the Trinity. Hence, in all climes, Sacred Architecture appears to have originated and grown up with the wants of mankind, and to have been designed, constructed, and perfected under the benign influence of religion. In the first step towards the improvement and civilization of a people, it has always been their desire to manifest, and render homage to, the Almighty Power that has produced all things, and to raise up monuments to His worship, from the rudest-formed altars of unhewn stone erected by nomade shepherds, to the sublime temples built by the classic Greeks : and hence it will be found that those chaste and splendid structures on the Acropolis at Athens, and at Psestum, as well as the gigantic monuments of the Thebaid, owe their existence to the operation of a religious sentiment. Now, the various creeds of mankind have alike invariably influenced the different styles of Sacred Architecture which have been adopted by their votaries, and thus necessarily rendered it everywhere easy to trace the relative connection between the religious creeds, principles, and structures of a nation. Hence, to the spirit of religion, and its prejudices, may for the most part be imputed the diversity of revolutions that Sacred Architecture lias in all ages undergone. In proof of this difference, we have only to contrast the temples of the Greeks and Homans with those of the Egyptians and Hindoos — the mosques of the Saracens, a 2 IV PREFACE. with the pagodas of the Chinese — -and, then, the Byzantine, Lombard, Norman, and Pointed styles of the Christian Gothic churches, with those of the more modern Romano-Italian. If we search into the early history of Sacred Architecture, we find not only the inspired writers hut the heathen historians, giving us accounts of sacred structures; and Oriental travellers all afford materials for this purpose, derived either from authentic sources, traditionary accounts, or actual observation of the existing objects themselves. Now, in this research, it would be vain to inquire who built the first temples, seeing architecture evidently had its origin in the Antediluvian world. It appears, however, that temples are not of so remote a date. And here it will be necessary to remark, that although the sons of the patriarch Noah, on their dispersion at the commencement of the present world, might have hastily built rustic habitations to protect themselves from the inclemency of the weather, while others repaired to those caverns abounding in Asia, they must at this time have been previously well acquainted with constructive, if not decorative architecture, the knowledge of which they brought with them when they entered the Ark, for we find, soon after their settlement, they built cities, and erected temples to the Divinity. And further, it will be obvious to all who have studied the early history of the human race in connection with its antiquities, and considered the analogies offered by those rude and simple untutored nations of the world, who “ see God in clouds, and hear him in the wind,” particularly those who once occupied the western sides of the Americas on the discovery of those countries, that the science of architectural designs was here the result of their devotional tendencies, though the art of building at first might have originated in their personal wants. And again, with reference to Sacred Architecture in Egypt and in India, in Mexico and Peru, in Greece and in Rome, in Gaul and in Britain, structures connected with the worship of the Deity existed, and still exist, of the earliest dates, beyond the range of positive chrono- logical information — some evincing a greater, and others a less advance in taste and refinement, but all retaining some analogy upon the same point, and tending to what may be called archi- tectural arrangement. Now, the varied styles of Sacred Architecture are not to be considered as originating in a mere desire and taste of a people for ornament, though carve-work and sculpture always pre- vailed to a great extent ; nor was it a preference the eye gave to peculiar forms ; they owe their birth to definite circumstances — to the various climates, to the productions or materials of the countries, as well as to the religious creeds that influenced the adoption bath of the Pagan and Christian symbols. Thus, it is rather curious to observe, on philosophical investigation, the extreme influence which was exercised by religion, or abstract ideas, over all material objects with which they are connected. The writers of all countries, both sacred and profane, concur PREFACE. v in admitting the early superstition of consecrating groves, in which were placed altars, for the purpose of religious ceremonies, to be the primitive custom common to every uncivilized people, which was succeeded by the enclosure of these altars. Secondly, rudely constructed temples of wood supported by trunks of trees, followed. And finally, the progress of refinement appeared, first among the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, and Egyptians, by the imitation of these wooden, rustic fanes in more durable materials of granite and porphyry, which were afterwards followed by new devices both in Ethiopia and in India, where temples were excavated out of the solid rock. After this period, the sacred structures became more chaste in Greece, and sumptuous in Rome ; they varied according to the ideas that were suggested by the religious enthusiasm of the people, or the importance and ceremonies they attached to their particular pagan divinities, and hence we see religion has even operated as a predisposing cause in the development of the arts. Like the progress of science, the arts of enriching these sacred edifices with sculpture pro- ceeded, regularly, from the simple to the more compound, and then to the historical complex compositions, with emblems and attributes, in the way of ornamental improvement ; until, by scientific experience and the dictates of priestly luxury, they attained the highest possible degree of splendour and costliness, varied by rich marbles, and the inlay of precious metals, and mother- of-pearl, which ultimately became diffused among all subsequent nations and people, in propor- tion as they advanced in science, art, and refinement, to a much greater degree. The Egyptians were throughout not only guided by certain artistical rules, but in the representation of their idol-gods were bound to observe certain forms and figures prescribed by the priests, which it was accounted sacrilege to transgress. The more effectively to accomplish this object, and to exclude the intervention of any thing forbidden by the laws in subjects accounted sacred, the profession of an artist was not allowed to be exercised by any common or illiterate person. Indeed, the probability is, that they were in some sort attached to and formed a branch of the priesthood. However, we have seen in almost every age of the world, that new wants, difference of habits, new religions, change of times and circumstances, have given to Sacred Architecture the powers of new creations, which were exercised with much integrity. And although there are, and ever will be, great similarities in certain things running through all sacred architecture, yet are those works of new creation so distinct, as to show each variety of style to be complete in itself, wrought out with much high finish, and with such thorough propriety to the occasion, as to give to every different one, some superiority at least over all its existing rivals. Thus, to the Egyptian, may be ascribed that of ponderous grandeur, where large masses are arranged har- moniously and effectually : to the Greek, that of beauty, sublimity, and sculptured excellence, imparting grace and dignity ; to the Roman, a pompous magnificence, superior ingenuity, and VI PREFACE. advanced science ; to the Moresque and Saracenic styles, that of turbaned whimsicality, ornate lightness with fanciful Arabesque terminations ; and to the different styles of Christian Gothic Architecture, a greater intricacy of enrichment, with symbolical ornaments, and a more bounded invention, than that of the Mussulman piles, far outstripping in science, and geometrical con- struction, the Ro m an e s que -I t ali a n ; which shows how the materials of ancient architecture may be moulded to modem times, while, at the same time, they give practical warning of what may result from the abuse of the principles of the science. The Gothic has also a successful claim to solemnity and picturesqueness peculiarly its own ; by which these Catholic churches conse- crated to Christian worship, may be considered the noblest works that now adorn the several nations of the world. It was doubtless the religious principle that stimulated the Roman Catholic to contribute his wealth, and set artisans to work on the erection of those splendid Gothic edifices, not only that they might, by the magnificence of the building, invite the Deity to dwell within them, but that such stupendous works might at the same time open to the mind vast conceptions, and fit it to converse with the divinity of the place, for everything that is majestic, grand, and solemn impresses an awfulness and reverence on the mind of the beholder, and strikes in with the natural greatness of the sold. Sacred places of worship constitute not only a benefit to a people, but also to the embellishment of the kingdom by their splendour and sublimities, when erected in cities and great towns ; here they excite admiration in the beholder, and attract the attention of the man of genius, as their perfection and beauties are naturally associated with those of other arts and sciences, and operate as an index to the state of refinement which a people has attained; consequently tending, in some measure, to raise a nation’s importance in the esti- mation of foreign states. In fact, it was the belief, in the middle ages, that the more sacred edifices a country possessed, the safer it was against pestilence and famine. Pericles the Athenian, by his taste and knowledge in the art, elevated his country to a degree of temple architectural magnificence that has never been surpassed, or even equalled ; and Augustus, by studiously cultivating architecture, laid the foundation of the subsequent splendour of Rome. Monarchs of more recent history, also sought to aggrandize their dominions with these edifices, through their instrumentality, in the middle ages. Thus in the reign of the Lombard sovereign, Theodolinda in Italy, then of Charlemagne in Germany, and afterwards that of Charles the Bald in France. Following these monarchs, the exalted dignitaries of the church did not think it derogatory to their holy calling, to cultivate the taste, and study the rules of Sacred Architec- ture, by which many of them became the most eminent Christian church-builders. It was even enacted by the Saxon laws, that bishops and priests, before they took upon themselves the sacred PREFACE. vii office, should qualify themselves in mechanics. Thus king Edgar says, “We command that every priest, to increase knowledge, do learn some handicraft.” At this time, to be a skilful mechanic was the chief recommendation to clerical orders. To the energetic pursuits in the theory as well as the practice of the science of Sacred Architecture, Germany, Flanders, France, and England are indebted to their architects for some of the most splendid efforts of genius that the art, combined with great geometrical science, has ever produced. Although the characteristics of the various styles of Sacred Architecture, and the regulations which govern the arrangements and proportions of the leading features in each, are fixed ; yet, in forming new compositions, or combinations, groupings of the parts, and a pictorial union of archi- tecture with the accompaniments, there is still scope left for the modern architect, who has an innate taste, inventive mind, active imagination, and romantic feelings for the sublime and the beautiful. The picture, the sentiment, and the associations with which the subject of Sacred Architecture teems, are frequently promiscuously regarded, while so much of its science as is necessary to critical estimation, and to a knowledge of the general principles of design, is involved in the treatment. For a knowledge of design, the sacred architectural styles of the edifices of the different kingdoms and countries is essential, and productive of more general import in this respect than is commonly imagined. When we are made acquainted with the different styles of sacred buildings that have distinguished the people of various ages and nations, we are then enabled to discover their principles, and to trace and follow up at the same time a crowd of recollections in history, relative to the character, state of progression, manners, customs, and institutions of the nations that raised them up. Of the works on Sacred Architecture we may recommend for study that of the Egyptians by Monsieur Denon, the Greeks by Stuart, and the Sacred Architecture of the ancient Romans, by Vitruvius and Desgodetz. Several writers since the restoration of classic architecture, the first of which was that of Leon Batista Alberti, and afterwards Palladio, have attempted to discover and explain the rules which guided these nations. However, very little has appeared of a practical nature on the subject of the Christian architecture of the middle ages. The authors who flourished in those periods in which our most finished Gothic structures were erected, were monks, who have left us no account of the principles which directed the architects of their time; and modern authors have avoided the subject as being in itself mathematically abstruse, (with the exception of Messrs. Britton and Pugin, who have given us some detailed examples of existing churches in France and England, but no account of their construction.) Monsieur Felihien has brought to light some accounts respecting the building of the ancient churches in France, but lie has entered into no details, either on the nature, origin, or progress of this style of architecture. PREFACE. viii In Germany Dr. Holler, an architect, and learned writer on tlie subject of Gothic Architecture, has given us an excellent work, entitled Denkmacliler der Deutsclien Baukunst, in reference to the churches of that country ; but it is to England we must look for the finest examples and best records. In the work now submitted — produced with much labour, and many years’ inde- fatigable research — the reader will find the history of Sacred Architecture traced from its rise at the creation, when Cain and Abel offered up their sacrifices, through all the changes it afterwards underwent, Avitli a parallel representation of the different styles, and the peculiar character and scenic accompaniments belonging to each, followed by an analytical inquiry into the origin of the Gothic style, and its triple divisions in our parish churches, with details and descriptions of the component parts of these Christian edifices. For the rebuilding of churches, or their repairs, a specification is given for such works, \A r hich will be found exceedingly useful to the clergy, and its clauses are such that it cannot be broken, nor can impositions be practised on committees, or individuals. There is also given in this work the early history of the division of England into diocesses, and the origin and foundation of their cathedrals ; and the division which afterwards took place in that of diocesses into parishes, with the building of their churches, and the means then adopted for their future support. The history of the British Apostolic church will also here he found interesting, being traced from the Apostles to the time Avhen it merged into the Roman Catholic church, which afterwards became the Protestant, in the reign of Henry VIII. — The whole comprises a progressive history of Sacred Architecture from the Creation down to the present epoch, thus rendering the work interesting not only to the great body of our clergy, but to lay proprietors, and to every admirer of those venerable Christian ecclesiastical edifices which now adorn Great Britain. In reference to the Illustrations in this work, I have thought it not proper to give original designs, hut rather to show the rise and progress of Sacred Architecture from existing edifices, in which the styles are gradually developed, and may be readily referred to. As to the priority of the Egyptian and Indian styles, this, I find, cannot be decided with certainty. Robinson places the Indian architecture before that of the Egyptian ; his reasons for so doing I consider not conclusive. Now, Babylon, part of whose ruins still remain, was built after the Asyrian capital, Nineveh ; it was from this city the sons of Noah were dispersed; and here we have the account of their appropriated destination. Egypt appears to have risen to power, and become a kingdom before India. We might go farther, and show that the excavated temples of Egypt, along the Nile, originated in Ethiopia. Those in India might have been derived from the same source. The monuments alluded to in India are Hindoo temples, of the most colossal size, excavated in the granite mountains of Elora, near Aurungabad, and in the island of Eleplianta, PREFACE. IX are supported by massive columns and the figures of elephants, and other animals, together with groups of colossal statues of tlieir imaginary gods. They are works of whose origin history has pre- served no memorial ; however, their stupendous execution and gigantic form rank them amongst the wonders of human labour ; and from their characteristic style, as well as the connection that is proved between Egyptian and Indian history, we are fully justified in suspecting them to have emanated from Egyptian taste. Osiris, Sesostris, and other Egyptian kings, during their con- quests in India, everywhere erected altars to their gods, and introduced the use of temples. At the end of this work will be found a dissertation on the Elementary Principles of Archi- tectural Church Design, and the formation of churches with respect to Sound — a considera- tion of the greatest importance to the audience, and for the ease of the minister in making himself heard with less exertion of the lungs, which, for want of its due observance, has caused / many a worthy divine to fall a sacrifice to the discharge of his duty. On the subject of Ventila- tion a section is given ; this has also been insufficiently attended to in our parish churches, though its neglect has been the cause of much indisposition, or serious illness, to the delicate, and to some even loss of life. Surely it ought to have occurred to our clergy, that without a constant supply of fresh air brought in amongst the congregation, they coidd not long remain in health and vigour. Ventilation does not only refer to the discharging of the foul air that has been repeatedly breathed, but the supply of fresh air in its place, which requires to be equally diffused over the whole interior of the church. — On the Warming of churches in the winter season, a section will be found in our closing pages. This is also a subject of great importance, both to the clergyman and the congregation, when assembled for divine worship. If the church is found to be cold in the winter season, few hearers will attend, particularly the delicate and infirm, but the kind of heat should be such as approximates to our atmosphere in summer. The warm air I have shown to be the most congenial to health, is that produced by warm water or steam carried around the interior by means of pipes, and circulating throughout the whole length and breadth of the church. R. BROWN, Architect. 5, Upper Eaton Place, Exeter, September 2d, 1845. b X CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. Antediluvian World (b.c. 4004) xiii Postdiluvian World (b.c. 2349) xv SACRED ARCHITECTURE, ITS RISE AND PROGRESS. Section I. On the primitive Sacred Architecture of the Egyptians, b. c. 2188 1 Section II. On the Sacred Architecture of the Greeks, b. c. 1556 . 9 Section III. On the Sacred Architecture of the Romans, b.c. 566 . 17 On Sacred Architecture in Rome under the emperor Constantine the Great 22 On Sacred Architecture in Rome under Theodoric the Goth 31 Lombard Catholic Architecture in Italy, under Theodo- linda .33 Sacred Architecture in the time of Charlemagne . . 36 Catholic Sacred Pointed Architecture 37 Italian Sacred Architecture 37 The Influence of Italian Sacred Architecture in Europe 45 Section IV. Sacred Architecture of the Anglo-Saxons, a. d. 449 . . 52 Section V. Sacred Architecture of the Anglo-Normans, a. d. 1066 . 60 Section VI. Ecclesiastical Pointed Architecture in France attributed to the Visi- Goths 70 Section VII. Introduction and Progress of Ecclesiastical Gothic Pointed Architecture in England under the Plantage- nets, a. d. 1 130 83 Section VIII. The ancient Gothic Churches of France and of England compared 98 Section IX. A Parallel View of the ancient Pagan Classic Architec- ture of the Greeks and Romans 114 Section X. A Comparative View of the four principal Styles of Sacred Architecture 120 Section XI. Critical Researches into the Origin of the Catholic Gothic Architecture of the Middle Ages 125 Section XII. Different Opinions on the origin of Catholic Gothic Architecture, separately examined 128 PAGE Section XIII. Historical Representations of the various changes which Catholic Church- Architecture has undergone . . . 137 Section XIV. The Picturesque Beauties and Sublimities of Ecclesias- tical Gothic Architecture, considered 156 Section XV. Observations on the most magnificent Gothic Churches on the Continent, and in England 159 Section XVI. On the Principles which seem to have directed the Gothic Architects — their manner of proceeding — knowledge and talents .......... 164 Section XVI.* Architectural Principles that will lead us to ascertain the epoch of the erection of our Ancient Norman and Gothic Cathedrals, and the Churches in England erected between the Conquest and the Reformation . 169 Section XVII. Theoretical and Practical Directions for restoring our Ancient Cathedrals, and dilapidated Parochial Churches to their primitive beauty 173 Section XVIII. Specification of the. several artificers' works required to be performed in erecting and finishing a Church in the Lancet Gothic style of Architecture, for the parish of , in the county of Kent, agreeably .to the various Plans, Elevations, and Sections, pro- vided for that purpose — See Plates from XXIX. to XXXIII 181 An Inquiry concerning the Apostolic Churches of the first three centuries — Chap. I., II., III. .... 269 An Inquiry respecting the early Christian Churches in Britain, before the mission of St. Augustine to this country, (a. d. 599,) who at that time converted the Anglo-Saxons from Paganism to the Roman Catholic faith 273 Chap- II. Of the chief divisions of the Ecclesiastical Catholic or Christian Churches of the Medieval Period, embracing the Norman and Gothic 283 Chap. III. The Interior of Gothic Churches detailed 287 An Inquiry into the Laws of Sound in Churches . . 294 On the Ventilation of Churches generally ..... 295 On the Warming of Churches in the Winter Season . 296 Conclusion 298 Glossary of Sacred Architectural Terms 299 XI ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Solomon’s Temple to face the title First Plate I. View of ancient Babylon, the postdiluvian city, from which issued the various nations of the earth, with an account of the temple of Belus, at the time of its overthrow by Cyrus' ; built n. c. 2247, destroyed b.c. 538 195, 196 Plate I. Perspective view of an Egyptian Temple at Edfou, with scenic accompaniments 197 Plate II. General plan, and great peristyle court of the Egyptian Temple at Edfou 198 Plate III. Egyptian facades of porticoes 199 Second Plate III. Examples of Egyptian capitals of columns .... 200 Third Plate III. Cavern-Temples in Nubia and in Egypt. Temple of Ibsambol. Cavern - temples at Ellora in India. Temple of Indra- Sabah 201 Fourth Plate III. View of the Hindoo Temples of Juggernaut, at Orissa, near Bengal, in India 202 Plate IV. The temples of the Heathen Greeks 203 Plate V. Plan and Interior of a Greek Hypaathral Temple . . 204 Plate VI. The Greek orders of Temple Architecture . . . 205, 206 Plate VII. Temples of the Heathen Romans 207 Plate VIII. Plan and section of the Heathen Pantheon, at Rome 208, 209, 210 Plate IX. The Roman orders of Temple Architecture . . . 211, 212 Plate X. The Temples at Balbec and Palmyra 213 Plate XI. Exterior of a Constantine Basilican Church .... 214 Plate XII. Interior of a Constantine Basilican Church .... 215 CAGE Plate XIII. Saint Sophia’s Byzantine Church, at Constantinople . 216 Plate XIV. Arabian Mohammedan Mosque at Orpha .... 217 Plate XV. Indian, Mohammedan, and Turkish Mosques .... 218 Plate XVI. Interior of the Moorish Mosque at Cordova in Spain . 219 Plate XVII. Saint Mark’s Mosquish Church at Venice 220 Plate XVIII. Pisa Cathedral, — Lombard Architecture ..... 221 Plate XIX. St. Geron’s Church, at Cologne, — Lombard Architecture 222 Plate XX. View of a Lombard Church, and the architectural details . 223 Plate XXI. Anglo-Saxon Christian churches, first and last periods . 224 Plate XXII. An Anglo-Norman Ecclesiastical church, perspective view 225 Plate XXIII. Plan and Sections of an Anglo-Norman Ecclesiastical church 226 Plate XXIV. Norman Ecclesiastical Architectural details .... 227 Plate XXV. Plan, elevation, and sections of the Knights Templars’ church in London 228 Plate XXVI. Plan and south elevation of a Gothic church, first period 229 Plate XXVII. West and east elevations of a Gothic church, first period . 230 Plate XXVIII. Gothic details, — first period 231 Plate XXIX. Plans for a Gothic church, composed of the early and middle periods 232 Plate XXX. South elevation of a Gothic church, — composed of the early and middle periods 233 ILLUSTRATIONS. xii Plate XXXI. West elevation, and transverse section of a Gothic church, composed of the early and middle periods . . 234 Plate XXXII. Longitudinal section of a Gothic church, composed of the early and middle periods . 235 Plate XXXIII. East elevation and transverse section of a Gothic church, composed of the early and middle periods .... 236 Plate XXXIV. View of a collegiate Gothic church, middle period, equilateral style 237 Plate XXXV. Longitudinal section of a collegiate Gothic church, middle period, or equilateral style 238 Plate XXXVI. Details of a Gothic church, — middle period or equilateral style 239 Plate XXXVII. Perspective view of a Gothic church, with scenic accom- paniments. Third period, or perpendicular style . . 240 Plate XXXVIII. General plan, east elevation, and chancel of a Gothic church. Third period 241 Plate XXXIX. Details of a Gothic church, third period 242 Plate XL. Plan and south elevation of an octagon Gothic church. Degenerated style 243 Plate XL I. South elevation of an Hexagon Episcopal chapel, mixed architecture, and the interior elevation of the altar- end of the monastic church of Batalha in Portugal. . 244 Plate XLII. Sections of progressive cathedral roofs and inverted ceilings, with a Romanesque interior, drawn to one comparative scale 245 Plate XLIII. Roslyn chapel, Scotland — general plan and longitudinal section . . . 246 Plate XLIV. Roslyn chapel, Scotland — East elevation and interior , view of the altars 247 Plate XLV. General plan of an English abbey-church, and plan of a French cathedral 248 Plate XLVI. View of an English Plantagenet cathedral in the Gothic style ' 249 PAGE Plate XLVII. View of old St. Paul’s cathedral, and a parallel of the new with that of St. Peter’s at Rome 250 Plate XLVIII. General plan of St. Peter’s at Rome, and St. Paul’s in London 251 Plate XLIX. Bird’s-eye view of St. Peter’s at Rome, with its local scenery 252 Plate L. Design for a Vicarage House, in accordance with the Plan- tagenet and Tudor styles of Ecclesiastical Architec- ture 253, 254 The elementary details, diagrams, and figures, exemplify- ing the principles of design in Sacred Architecture. Plate LI. The elementary principles of Arcuation .... 255, 256 Plate LI I. The elementary principles of tracery in Gothic windows, progressing from the simple lancet style to the com- plex florid ' 257, 258 Plate LI II. Diagrams of Gothic groined ribbed ceilings, with the various ornaments peculiar to each of the three Gothic styles 259, 260 Plate LIV. A display of various domes, both Roman, Italian, Byzantine, and Mohammedan, with Roman and Greek temple ornaments 261, 262 Plate LV. The elementary principles of composing Gothic churches. And those plans that are best calculated to aid the voice and sight 263, 264 Plate LVI. A parallel representation of German, French, and English Gothic cathedrals, showing the exclusive merits of each, with a comparison between the Gothic and Romano- Italian spires in England 265, 266 Plate LVII. An assemblage of various temples and altars. A Greek tower, and patriarchal church, and a Romanesque Protestant church and chapel 267, 268 Plate LVIII. Ichnographical and Orthographical representations of an early Catholic temple-church at Tyre . . . 277 to 282 INTRODUCTORY II I S T 0 R Y. ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD, B.C. 4004. “ Aad in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof.” — Genesis iv. 3, 4. PRIMITIVE ALTARS OF TURF. In all ages mankind have been sensibly convinced of the necessity and importance of an inter- course between the Creator and themselves ; and the offering of supplication, prayer, and praise to Jehovah, supposes him to be attentive to man’s desires, and to be capable of fulfilling them. Thus the poet Milton puts that divine Morning and Evening Hymn, in adoration of the Almighty, into the mouths of our first parents, when in their bower in Paradise.* Indeed, God himself instituted the sabbath on his finishing the works of creation. f Adam and Eve, however, did not long continue in this state of blessed innocence ; for having yielded to the tempter, they broke the commands of their Maker, who had placed them in this earthly abode, and had pointed out clearly the consequences to them of disobedience. Thus baneful sin entered into the world, and Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden for ever. Hitherto all nature had been serene, the air balmy, and the sky unclouded ; it now, in consequence of the fall, became gloomy, and the elements convulsed. J Certain archangels from Jehovah were charged with the com- mission to order forth the ensuing and revolving seasons of summer and winter, with all their concomitants. Thus Milton says — “ The Sun Had first his precept so to move, so shine, As might affect the earth with cold and heat Scarce tolerable, and from the north to call Decrepit Winter, from the south Solstitial Summer’s heat. To the winds they set Their comers, when with bluster to confound Sea, air, and shore, the thunder when to roll With terror through the dark aerial hall. To bring in change Of seasons to each clime ; else had the Spring- Perpetual smil’d on earth with vernant flowers, Equal in days and nights. These changes in the heav’ns, though slow, produced Like change on sea and land, sideral blast, Vapour, and mist, and exhalation hot, Corrupt and pestilent. Thus began Outrage from lifeless things ; but Discord first, Daughter of Sin, among th’ irrational, Death introduc’d through fierce antipathy : Beast now with beast ’gan war, and fowl with fowl, And fish with fish ; to graze the herb all leaving. Devour’d each other, nor stood much in awe Of man, but fled him, or with count’nance grim Glar’d on him passing : these were from without, The growing miseries, which Adam saw.” Paradise Lost, Book x. * See books iv. and v. — There is probably no subject on which such a'diversity of opinions has been entertained as concerning the site of Paradise, in which the progenitors of mankind were placed. Mohammedans even believe that it was in one of the seven heavens from which Adam was cast down upon the earth after the fall. “ Some,” says Dr. Adam Clark, “ place it in the third heaven, others in the fourth ; some within the orbit of the moon, others in the moon itself ; some in the middle regions of the air, or beyond the earth’s attraction ; some on the earth, others under the earth, and others within the earth. Every section of the earth’s surface has also, in its turn, had its claims to this distinction advocated. From this mass of conflicting- opinions, confining ourselves to terra firma, two are the most probable, that of Dr. Wells, the other of Major Rennell ; one fixes the terrestrial Paradise in Armenia, between the sources of the Euphrates', Tigris, Pliasis, and Araxes ; and the other identifies the land of Eden with the vicinity of the latter city ; while others, more prudently, only contend that it stood in some part, of the tei-ritory, where an ancient union, and subsequent separation, of the Euphrates and Tigris, took place. — N. R. B. t Genesis, ii. 3. I “ Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the hills also moved, and were shaken, because he (Jehovah) was wroth.” — Psalm xviii. 7. C XIV INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. Whether our first parents after their expulsion from Paradise, set apart any hallowed spot, to which they repaired at certain times, to offer up thanksgiving for the mercies shown to them by Jehovah, we are not informed; though reasonable to infer that they did. The first account we have in the sacred volume, of devotional exercises having been adopted, is that of Cain and Abel, the two first-born sons of Adam and Eve.* Cain, who was the elder, being an husbandman, or cultivator of the ground, brought an offering unto Jehovah of the fruits of the land ; but his obla- tion being known to be offered with an unbelieving and wicked heart, Jehovah did not mark his respect by the descent of fire from heaven. Abel, the younger, being a shepherd, brought unto the Lord the firstlings of his flock, which oblation being offered up in faith, was accepted by Jehovah. This produced enmity in the heart of Cain towards his brother, whom he inhumanly slew, and for which Cain was branded by the Almighty with an ignominious mark, banished from the Lord’s peculiar favour, and sent forth as a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth. Now we have no mention made of any sacred object in the form of an altar, on which those offerings and sacrifices were laid. It is therefore highly probable that the oblations were placed on a raised hillock, or mound of earth ; or if any rustic erections were reared, they might be of sord or turf, however rude the structure. Milton, in his Paradise Lost, has, with a poetic license, imagined such structures to have been raised on the occasion. Thus says the angel Gabriel, on awaking Adam out of his entranced sleep, ‘ Direct your attention to the sacrificial spot, and to Abel, who lies weltering in his gore from the deadly wounds which have been inflicted by his brother Cain.’ Then — “ His eyes he open’d, and beheld a field, Part arable and tilth, whereon were sheaves New reapt ; the other part sheep-walks and folds ; I’th’ midst an altar as the landmark stood Rustic, of grassy sord ; thither anon A sweaty reaper from his tillage brought First-fruits, the green ear, and the yellow sheaf, UnculPd, as came to hand ; a shepherd next, More meek, came with the firstlings of his flock, Choicest and best, then sacrificing, laid The inwards and their fat, with incense strew’d, On the cleft wood, and all due rites perform’d. His off'ring soon propitious fire from Heav’n Consum’d with nimble glance, and grateful steam. The other’s not, for his was not sincere ; Whereat he inly rag’d, and as they talk’d Smote him into the midriff with a stone That beat out life ; he fell, and deadly pale Groan’d out his soul with gushing blood effus’d. Much at that sight was Adam in his heart Dismay’d, and thus in haste to th’ angeJ cry’d, 0 Teacher, some great mischief hath befall’n To that meek man, who well had sacrific’d. Is piety thus and pure devotion paid ? T’ whom Michael thus, he also mov’d, reply’d, These two are brethren, Adam, and to come Out of thy loins ; th’ unjust the just hath slain, For envy that his brother’s offering found From Heav’n acceptance ; but the bloody fact Will be aveng’d, and th’ other’s faith, approv’d, Lose no reward, though here thou see him die, Rolling in dust and gore. To which our Sire, Alas, both for the deed and for the cause ! But have I now seen death ? Is this the way 1 must return to native dust ? O sight Of terror, foul and ugly to behold, Horror to think, how horrible to feel ! ” Paradise Lost, Book xi. This was the first primitive kind of sacred structure, and the first sort of homage and adoration paid to the Divine Being, according to the revealed Mosaic history. A little more than one hundred years after Abel had made his oblation to Jehovah, as the supreme Maker of the universe, we are informed that the race of Adam, which had greatly multiplied on the earth during that period, now began generally to call upon the name of the Lord ;fi and that afterwards Enoch, whose walk in life had been holy before the Lord, had been exempted from death by being translated to heaven. J This is all the account we have on record of the sacred structures and religious customs observed by the antediluvian race of mankind, for homage towards the Supreme Being, and Lord of the Universe, during the space of 1655 years. Notwithstanding this scriptural evidence of events and communications, and of the positive existence of a God, and Maker of the universe, whom Adam had seen, and with whom he had com- municated, and informed his posterity, yet in the end the people began to dishonour him, and * Genesis, iv. 3. f Genesis, iv. 26. f Genesis, v 24. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. XV commit filthy abominations, till at last God declared that their hearts were not only become evil, but that continually;* and that he was resolved to exterminate those beings from the face of the earth. Noah, who had found favour with God by his upright life, was therefore commanded to construct a floating ark of gopher-wood,f a plan of which was described by God himself.J This naval ark was accordingly built, and at the appointed time a male and female of every living creature entered therein with Noah and his family’s families, which being shut in by God, the windows of heaven were opened, the flood descended and deluged the whole earth, drowning and annihilating every living creature thereon. The patriarch Noah, who had found favour with God, he and his family, with the selected animals of beast and birds of every kind, alone were preserved in this floating vessel, or primitive sacred ship, for the reproduction of the New, or Postdiluvian World; and thus perished the old Antediluvian world, which had existed 1655 years. POSTDILUVIAN WORLD, B.C. 2349. “ And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him : every beast, every creeping tiling, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. And Noah budded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” — Gen. viii. 18 — 20. PATRIARCHAL ALTARS OP UNHEWN STONE. “ And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build, it of hewn stone : for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.” — Exodus xx. 25. We are now come to a period of sacred history in which the veil is withdrawn, for not only the inspired writers, but heathen historians, have here given us accounts of various devotional objects, or structures, and their statements have been further authenticated by Oriental travellers, thus realizing the truths of holy writ, as well as confirming the prophecies relating to their desolation. Now the waters being assuaged, and the ark having rested upon the mountain of Ararat, in Armenia, § Noah, immediately on disembarking, built there an altar, and took of every clean beast, -and every clean fowl, (that is, those which were not carnivorous, and were good for food,) and offered a burnt-offering unto the Lord. || Thus we see that altars are still mentioned as the first sacred objects, immediately on the commencement of the present world ; by which we reasonably conclude that Noah had seen those structures in the previous world, where constructive architec- ture must have considerably advanced before the Deluge, and consequently brought in with the sons of Noah. After the confusion of tongues, and dispersion at Babel of the families of Noah, that the whole earth might be peopled according to the command of God, Noah allotted to his three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japhet — their portion of the globe. An Armenian tradition, * Genesis, vi. 5. f Gopher wood, or cypress' tree. When we consider that 1S3 and KvirapurcoQ have the same radical consonants, we are at once led to decide that the gopher-wood was the cypress-tree. The wood of the cypress possesses an unrivalled fame for durability, and its resistance to those injuries which are incidental to other kinds of wood. The Divine appointment had doubt- less a reason founded in the nature of things ; and no better reason can be found than that the matchless excellence of the wood recommended. The compact and durable nature of the cypress rendered it peculiarly eligible for sacred purposes; hence we find it was employed in the construction of coffins among the Athenians, and mummy-cases among the Egyptians. The cupressus sempervirens, a straight and elegant tree of the cone-bearing family, seems therefore to have the best title to the credit of having furnished the material for the most important vessel that was ever constructed. — N. R. B. j Genesis, vi. 14. Although there are different opinions as to where this mountain is situated, it is generally admitted that the mountain Ararat, on which the ark rested, is situated in Armenia, in the vast chain of Taurus, and nearly in the centre between the southern extremities of the Black and the Caspian seas. Its summit is elevated 17,260 feet above the level of the sea, and is always covered with snow, as indeed is the whole mountain, for three or four months in the year. The Armenians, who have many religious establishments in its vicinity, regard this mountain with intense veneration ; and are firmly persuaded that the ark, being built of enduring wood, is still preserved on its summit. — P. B. v I! Genesis, viii. 20. c 2 XVI INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. quoted by Abulfaragi, says this emigration took place 541 years after the Flood, and 191 after the deatli of Noah, in the following order To the sons of Shem was allotted the region of the tawny, namely, Palestine, Syria, Assyria, Samaria, (Singar or Shinar,) Babel, (or Babylonia,) Persia, and Ilegiaz (Arabia). To the sons of Ham, the region of the blacks, Teiman, (or Idumea, Jer. xlix. 7,) Africa, Nigritia, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Scindia, and India, (or India west and east of the river Indus). To the sons of Japhet, the region of the ruddy, Garbia, (the north,) Spain, France, the countries of the Greeks, Sclavonians, Bulgarians, Turks, and Armenians. Now, when the generations of these families had greatly multiplied, we find God spake to Abraham, who was a descendant of Shem, and had become the father of a large household, to leave his native place, Ur, in Chaldea, and repair to Sicliem, into the plain of Moreh, in Canaan. Here the Lord appeared unto him, and said, “ Unto thy seed will I give this land ■” in consequence we find Abraham here budded an altar unto the Lord, commemorating this blessed promise, which was afterwards accomplished under Moses and Joshua, when the Canaanites were extir- pated in consequence of the idolatrous abominations into which they had fallen, although this crime had proved the overthrow of the Old World. The patriarch Abraham* * * § soon after removed from this place to a mount on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east ; now, here he also budded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon his name.f This place he afterwards visited on his return from Egypt, and then again offered up prayers to Jehovah. After this we find Abraham removed his tent with his family, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.t Secondly, we have an account of the nomade patriarch, Isaac, the son of Abraham, who was also a husbandman as well as a shepherd ; and having gone up from Gerar to Beersheba, in consequence of a famine, the Lord appeared to him the same night, and said, “ I am the God of Abraham, thy father ; fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.” And Isaac here pitched his tent, formed a camp, and budded an altaiq and called upon the name of the Lord. In this place Isaac was desirous of settling, and his servants here digged a well for water for his flocks and herds ; and he sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold, so the Lord blessed him.§ Thirdly, we have an account of the nomade patriarch, Jacob, || the son of Isaac, who was also a shepherd dwelling in tents. He set up an altar (calling it El-elohe-Israel) after his meeting with Esau, from whom he had fled, and here offered to the Lord. Afterwards Jacob budded an * One of the principal fathers and families of mankind — B. t Genesis, xii. 8. t The patriarch Abraham, being a nomade in the land, was a dweller in tents. Patriarch signifies a father and head of a tribe ; thus Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were three notable patriarchs, and favoured by God. These families were pastoral, and Abraham’s wealth consisted of cattle, sheep, oxen, camels, and asses ; and his household was very gTeat, consisting of several hundred souls, some of whom bore arms and went into battle — see Genesis xiv. 14. These families roamed from place to place with their portable tents and cattle, and wherever pasturage was to be found, there they pitched their dwellings, and formed a camp, until it was necessary again to migrate, which was not very suddenly, as the pasturage around formed a circuit generally of five leagues. Their cattle for slaughter, milk, butter, cheese, and wool, were generally sold to the inhabitants of neighbouring- towns, by which Abraham beearne possessed of much gold and silver. Abraham had his name changed by God from Abram, as a father of many nations — Genesis, xvii. 5. He was by the Jews regarded as the father of the faithful. Abraham was heir of all the world, and both prophet, priest, and king in his family ; and wherever he pitched his camp, there he erected an altar unto Jehovah, where his family attended the offerings and sacrifices. — See the various passages in the book of Genesis. § Genesis, xxvi.— In the East some live in tents all the year, and others build huts for the winter, where they abide. These begin to grow corn in the vicinity, and to leave a few old persons to look after it. As the cultivation increases, more persons of the family stay at the huts in the summer, until nearly all the tribe remain to attend to the cultivation, only sending out a few with the flocks. Thus the wandering tribes gradually change from a pastoral to an agricultural people. May not the prospect which it involved of Isaac’s permanent settlement in Gerar with his powerful clan, account for the visible uneasiness of Abimelech, and the measures he took to prevent such settlement — see Genesis, xxvi. We thus also see the process by which a wandering and pastoral people gradually become settled cultivators. — P. B. [| From Jacob, (to whom God gave the name of Israel,) sprung the twelve tribes — the Israelites. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. altar at Beth-el by command of the Lord]* “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there, and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fledest from the face of Esau thy brother. So Jacob (whose name was afterwards changed to Israel) did as the Lord commanded, and came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Beth-el, he and all the people that were with him, (that is, belonging to his clan;) and he builded there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el, because there God appeared unto him when he fled from the face of his brother.” Thus we see that altars were the only sacred objects set up for the worship of God during the patriarchal times, and that the patriarchs themselves were the priest- hood ; and those altars were of unhewn stone, in contrast to the idolatrous altars at that time, which often contained a sculptured figure of the god to whom it was erected. f COMMEMORATIVE STONE-PILLARS ERECTED. Next we find rude stone-pillars were set up to ratify vows, witness agree- ments, and mark the spot where remarkable events had occurred : thus “ Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt thee and me.” j Again, “ Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went towards Haran, and he alighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set ; and he took a stone of that place, and put it for his pillow, and lay down in that place to sleep, when he dreamt he saw a ladder upon the earth, near him, whose top reached to heaven ; on which angels were descending and ascending on it. And the Lord stood above, and promised to Jacob and his seed the land on which he then was. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is m this place, and I knew it not ; and he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place ! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it; and he called the name of the place, Beth-el.” § SEPULCHRAL STONE-PILLARS ERECTED. a The first record of a sepulchral pillar set up to mark the abode of the dead, we find mentioned in the earliest history in the world, that of the Bible, which jS was that set up by Abraham in Canaan, a country abounding in natural 5 ® caverns. The account of this family cemetery, we shall here transcribe from holy U writ. “ And Abraham bought the field in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, at Hebron, in Canaan, for a burying-place for himself and family ; and here were placed the remains of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also Sarah, the wife of Abraham, Rebecca^ the wife of Isaac, and Leah, the first wife of Jacob ; but his beloved Rachel dying on his journey from Beth-el to Ephrath, she was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is in Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave, that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.” Hitherto we have had a striking proof of the existence of a law in the nature of man, to dedicate his best affections to the Deity, and the social ones of the heart to his relatives and friends ; for not only do we find, that wherever the human foot has been stayed, there is the sacred altar, the commemorative stone set up, and the monumental pillar, but we find them * See Genesis, xxxv. f See Plate ix. page 211. of this work. | Genesis, xxxi. § Genesis, xxviii. 19. — Beth-el means literally the House of God. The previous name of this place was Luz. The place now pointed out as Beth-el contains no indication of Jacob’s pillar. The Jews believe that it was placed in the sanctuary of the sacred temple, and that the ark of the covenant rested upon it ; and they add, that after the destruction of that temple, and the desolation of Judea, their fathers were accustomed to lament the calamities that had befallen them, over the stone on which Jacob’s head had rested at Beth-el. The Mohammedans are persuaded that their famous temple at Mecca is built over the same stone. — P. B. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. xviii amidst dwellings destitute of every approach to that domestic luxury which the arts have now provided for our mansion-houses : but we discover a vast disproportion between the labours of man, in the objects dedicated as tributes of gratitude and affection, and those in our habitations, devoted to personal comfort and splendour. On the whole of the habitable globe, not excepting the bleak downs and dreary heaths of our own native land, are to be seen the early and modest erections of nomadian sacred structures ; and in a later period, in various parts of the country, splendid crosses, erected at the different resting-places of the dead, in their journeying to the house appointed for all living,* all of which erections must have required a union of care and labour, given only to a duty and regard everywhere held inviolably sacred. f ISRAELITISH CIRCULAR STONE-ERECTIONS CONTAINING THE DECALOGUE. After the children of Israel had left Egypt, under the command of Moses, crossed the Red Sea, and arrived at the wilderness of Sinai, the Lord spake to Moses from the mount, saying, Come up unto me into the mount, and be there, and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them. And Moses did so. He then budded an altar at the foot of the hill, and twelve pillars were set up, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day ; And it shall be, on the day when ye pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster ; and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law when thou hast passed over, that thou mayest go into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Therefore it shall be, when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in Mount Ebal ; and thou shalt plaster them with piaster.^: And there thou shalt build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones ; thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them ; and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God.§ After the death of Moses, the command of the Israelites devolved upon Joshua; here in his journey he had to cross the Jordan, as had been stated by Moses. When they were gone over, we find the Lord commanded Joshua to select twelve men, one out of each tribe of the Israelites; and each to take a stone from the Jordan, on which the priest who bore the ark had trodden. * Vide the history of Waltham, Charing, and other splendid architectural crosses, erected by the order of Edward I., to commemorate his affection for Eleanor, his deceased queen Dr. Lingard’s History of England. f Many interesting considerations, on which we cannot here expatiate, result from tracing the various methods which were resorted to, in order to preserve the memory of events in the primitive times, when the art of writing was either unknown, or had not yet been brought to bear on the usages of civil life. The progress of writing was manifestly slow ; and after the art was well known, the ancient commemorative practices were for a long time still retained. We have seen the patriarchs erect- ing altars, where the Lord had appeared to them. (Genesis xii. 7. xxvi. 25, xxxv. 7.) planting groves (Genesis xxi. 31, 33.) and setting up monuments in memory of the principal events of their lives ; and for the same purpose giving characteristic names to the spots where such events took place. Instances of the last description have been too frequent to require indication. The profane writers, and the existing usages in many countries, furnish examples of the same customs. The ancient fragments of Sanchoniathon inform us, that rude stones and posts were the first memorials of the Phoenician people, who might have had their first account from the tradition of the Hebrews. The ancient people of the north preserved the memory of events by placing stones of extraordinary size in particular places ; and this method is still used by the American savages, among whom writing is unknown. The manner in which such monuments were made subservient to this purpose, is clearly described in Joshua iv. Parents explained to their children the objects of such erections, and instructed them in the facts which gave occasion to them. In this way tradition supplied in some degree the place of written records. The early sepulchral pillars come under the same class of commemorative erections. They do not appear to have borne any inscriptions in their primitive use, although in after times they did. Burder collects instances from Homer, of pillars erected over graves. Paris is repre- sented, when going to shoot Diomed, as crouching behind the pillar which had been erected upon, or near, the grave of Ilus. So also at the funeral of Elpenor, we find Ulysses and his companions forming a tumulus, and erecting a pillar ; and in another place, a heap of earth and a pillar are mentioned as the usual tokens of respect paid to the dead.— P. B. t Deuteronomy xxvii. The stones were plastered over with lime and gypsum, to receive the writing of the law. § These rude altars were adopted, to inculcate the idea that elaborate and figured altars were not necessary in the sacrifices to Jehovah, as they were in those to most of the heathen gods ; while they precluded the occasion for idolatry, which such altars were likely to afford. Neither were they to be ascended by steps, as those of the idolatrous ones. — B. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. xix And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.* And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, “ When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones ? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over/’f Gilgal was a noted place in the time of the exode of the Israelites ; here they encamped, here the ark was rested, and the passover kept : here Saul, the first king of Israel, was crowned ; here the judges met to administer the laws ; and here sacrifices were offered to the Almighty. We afterwards find Joshua setup an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses. And he wrote there upon the stones, a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel, and afterwards read to the congregation, which they were enjoined to observe.^ After the division of the tribes into two kingdoms, Gilgal became infected with the idolatry of Moloch and Chiuu.§ STONEHENGE. The analogy between the stones set up by the Patriarchs, and by Moses and Joshua, as sacred memorable objects, to ratif}^ vows, and announce the laws of the Decalogue, and the altar for devotional sacrifices used by those early people, with the approximation to the cromlechs of the ancient Celtic nations, is too clear not to be observed in our researches. “ It is remarkable,” says General Y allancy, in his Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis,\\ “ that all the ancient altars found in Ireland, and now distinguished by the name of cromlechs, were originally called Bothel, or House of God, and they seem to be of the same species as those mentioned in the book of Genesis, called by the Hebrews, Betli-el, which has the same signification as the Irish Bothel. From the sacred writers, it is evident that it was customary to offer sacrifices by these pillars or cromlechs, for on the return of the ark from Philistia, where it had been in captivity, we are informed J that two milch kine drew the cart on which the ark was placed into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone, and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt-offering unto the Lord.^f Now, the sacrifical druidical stone-altar, in front of Stonehenge, that mystical Celtic temple of the sun on Salisbury plain,** stands immediately before the trilithon, which forms the end of the hypsethral or roofless temple within the peribolus, and which temple itself is doubtless of the same kind as that which Moses built at the foot of Mount Sinai, and consisted of twelve pillars surrounding an altar ; on which stones the Decalogue, or Mosaic Law, was written. ft * Josh. iv. 20, &c. We do not know that there exists any local indication of the precise site of Gilgal. — R. B. f Josephus says, that an altar was constructed with the twelve stones; and as the stones were not singly larger than one man could carry, this seems not unlikely. In the present instance, the stones, if set somewhat apart in an orderly manner, and in a conspicuous situation, would seem likely to convey more distinct reference to the twelve tribes, than if united to form one altar; or it might, on taking possession of the promised land, indicate a covenant between God and the people, and show forth a type of that temple which was afterwards built at Jerusalem. — B. X Josh. viii. 30, 31, 32, &c. § See Amos, v. 4, 5, and 26 ; Hos. xii. 11. || Coll, de Reb. Hib. tom, ii. p. 21. 1 Samuel, vi. 14, 15. ** In assuming Stonehenge (from the Saxon hanging stone) to be the oldest sacred architectural monument in England, we do not pretend to lower the antiquity of any other, but to put this beyond them all, believing it to be a specimen of primreval columnar architecture, which led the way as one of the numerous gradations (some of which may have left no traces on the face of the earth) from the monolithic cromlech to the Parthenon at Athens. — llosking. tt Exod. xxiv. 4. XX INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. Novv, although the abominations of the antediluvians had produced the overthrow of the old world by their forgetting God, yet we find, by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, that the same abominations began to prevail in the early ages of the present world.* RISE AND PREVALANCE OF IDOLATRY AFTER THE DELUGE. “ If I beheld the sun wuen it shined, or the moon walking in brightness, and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand. This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have denied the God that is above.” — Job, xxxi. 26, 27, 28. As pagan temples were built for idol-gods, to whom profane rites were offered, first begin- ning at Babylon, and then extending over the whole of Asia, prior to the temple of Solomon being erected to Jehovah at Jerusalem, we shall in this place give a brief sketch of the nature, rise, and extent of idolatry, from the Deluge to the time of our Saviour, when this abomination had everywhere prevailed, and overspread the land. In Canaan these sacred places of idolatrous worship chiefly abounded, which the Lord had enjoined the children of Israel, on their coming into Palestine, or the promised land, utterly to destroy. f Now, although Moses had warned the Israelites against the banefulness of idolatry ; neverthe- less, when he came down from the Mount, he found them worshipping a golden calf which they had made, and were rejoicing around it, saying, These be thy gods, O Israel. J The commands given were those, “ Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters ; thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them.” These are the words of God himself. Moses says, “ And the Lord com- manded me also to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it. “ Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, for ye saw no manner of simili- tude on the day that the Lord spoke unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire, of the like- ness of male or female ; nor the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, or the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air j the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, or the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth.” Here was a caution given by the Lawgiver against every kind of image-worship. The danger of such representations is manifest, in as much as the material figurations of the power and attributes of God would in time be, and actually were, at least by the mass of the people, considered as distinct deities, and as such worshipped ; hence, in forming such representations, there was the two-fold danger of assigning a separate deity to the separate symbols, and of paying to the symbol itself that honour which was due to God only. Thus men might and did fall into idolatry, without perhaps in the first instance intending any thing else * In that of Laban, whose images bis daughter Rachel, the wife of Jacob, stole, there has been various opinions, whether they were idolatrous, but it is generally thought not. These were certain images used by the ancients, called ( O'SmJ teraphim. Some think they were talismans, or figures, of metal, formed under a particular aspect of the planets, and to which they ascribed the preservation of the family from evil, and their -enjoyment of happiness. To which the Eastern nations have for many ages been exceedingly addicted ; and the Persians call them telephen, which is much the same as teraphim. It is certain they were consulted for oracles by Rachel. Perhaps it was that she wished to transfer her father’s good fortune to herself and family, or in order to worship them, that she stole her father’s teraphim. He carefully searched, to recover it, but could not ; Jacob caused her soon after to deliver the same, and he hid them under an oak, never more to be used. (Gen. xxxi. 19, 35. xxxv. 4.) Micah the Ephraimite found a teraphim, which the Danites took away, and placed in their city. (Judges, xvii. xviii.) Michal, laid an image in the bed instead of David her husband, and thereby deceived her father’s messengers, (1 Sam. xix. 13. 16,) workers with familiar spirits consulted the teraphim. (2 Kings, xxiii. 24.) Nebu- chadnezzar consulted his teraphim whether he should first besiege Rabbath, or Jerusalem. (Ezek. xxi. 21.) The Jews in their present dispersion are without images or teraphim, as they profess great detestation of idolatry. (Hos. iii. 4.) — Gurney’s Die. of the Bible. t “ These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do, in the land which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye shall live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains and upon the hills, and under every green tree. And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire ; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.” — Deut, xii. 1, 2, 3. see also 1 Kings, xx. and 2 Kings, xvii. t Exod. xxxii. 4. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. xxi than to honour the true God. This was one, but not the only way in which idolatry arose, and against this in particular it seems to have been the object of the sacred Scriptures to guard ; hut there is also a manifest view to other idolatries, less excusable, and less accountable in their origin than this. It will be useful to bear in mind, what is well expressed by Dr. Hales, “ that the idolatry of the heathen in general, and of the Egyptians and Canaanites in particular, consisted not only in worshipping false gods, such as the sun, moon, stars, and elements,* &c., which they supposed to be animated, and actuated by some intelligences residing in them, and exerting their beneficial or noxious powers to the advantage or detriment of mankind, but also in forming certain symbolical and figurative representations of the true God, under the forms of beasts, birds, and fishes, expressive of their peculiar excellences or powers — as the horns or strength of the bull, the milk or nourishment of the cow — the swiftness and sharp-sightedness of the eagle or hawk — the wisdom or cunning of the serpent, &c., until at length the symbols were forgotten or perverted by the vulgar into the most gross and senseless materialism on the one hand, or bestial idolatry on the other. 5 '’ — Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. p. 231. The first objects of adoration by the Chaldeans at Babylon, evidently were the heavenly bodies. The second, that of animals, was peculiar to Egypt. The third, gods and demi-gods, who presided over the arts and sciences, the sea and the land, were peculiar to Greece ; and noted persons, who after death were deified on account of their exploits, were added by the Romans. To all of whom were erected the most magnificent temples on earth, some of which exist nearly perfect, and others in a state of decay, which temples have since been delineated, described, and published; those in Egypt by Denon, in Greece by Stuart, and at Rome by Piranesse.t Now, Eusebius, who lived in the fourth century, when many of those pagan temples were in their pristine splendour, and idolatry not wholly exterminated, wrote on this subject in his oration in praise of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, who abolished idolatry throughout the Roman states, and permanently established Christianity. Prom his valuable work we shall give some extracts: — “Many of the idolaters, 55 says he, “not believing in the immortality of the soul, thought mankind had no existence after death, therefore they esteemed death the conqueror of all things, and a great god : and that there was no punishment hereafter for the wicked, because the soul was annihilated with the body. In consequence of this belief, they produced the lascivious inventions and fables of gods given to pleasures and passions ; and being enemies to the true God, made the world subject to their mischievous errors, erecting everywhere altars and temples to those false gods. Having through these abominations in course of time mystified and lost sight of the true God and Maker of the Universe, they began to attach the sacred name of Jehovah, first to the sun, moon, and stars : they accounted the earth next, and the plants and fruits proceeding from thence, to be attributes of different gods. Then they made images of Ceres, Proserpina, Pomona, and Bacchus. Neither were they contented herewith, but their own thought and speech, the interpreters thereof, they called gods. They called the mind Minerva, and speech Mercury, and the faculties of the soul whereby sciences are compre- hended and conceived, they attributed to Mnemosyne and the Muses. But their folly did not end here : they proceeded in their impiety, increasing their perverse opinions, esteeming the affections and passions of the mind to be gods, and began to call their lusts, and the intemperance of their desires — gods ; namely, such as Love, Priapus, and Venus. Neither did they cease here, for they consecrated mortal men after their death, and esteemed them as heroes and gods ; imagining that some immortal and divine power did hover about their monuments and sepul- chres. Their madness then proceeded further, for they honoured all kinds of creatures, and * Dent. iv. 19. t For a description of the method of making idols, see Isaiah xliv. 12, 13; and for clothing them, see Jeremiah x. 9. d XXII INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. poisonous serpents, witli the title of gods, and worshipped them. Neither did they cease here 5 for they made the images of men and women, and of wild beasts and serpents, in wood and in stone, iron, brass, and other metals, and did reverence and adore them. Their wickedness went further, for they offered sacrifices to demons and to devils. Also they proceeded further, and sought charms, incantations, and conjurations, the power and assistance of the spirits of the air. In the deification of mortal men, the Grecians called Bacchus, Hercules, Esculapius, Apollo, and others — divinities, heroes, and gods. The Egyptians supposed that Horus, Osiris, Isis, and the like beings, were gods, who by then- admirable and singular wisdom invented geometry, astronomy, and arithmetic. Others deified men ; yet, albeit, though these were wise men, they knew not nor understood the measure of a divine power, neither did they consider what difference there is between mortal and immortal natures. Wherefore they were not ashamed to call all kinds of beasts, all kind of creatures, and also poisonous serpents, and wild beasts — gods. The Phoenicians esteemed Metcantharus and Usorus, and other mortal men, and those ignoble, base, and abject persons, to be gods. The Arabians also did reverence as gods, one Dusaris and Obdus ; the Getes, one Zamolxis ; the Cilicians, one Mopsus ; and the Thebanes, Ampliiaraus. And to conclude, the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Grecians, and all the nations under the sun, although they knew the various parts of the world, the elements and fruits which pro- ceeded out of the earth, their own perturbations and passions, yet they filled every city, country, and village with images, temples, and altars, and dedicated unto them, and destroyed then- minds by conforming their manner to these gods. So they had those whom they called gods, and others who approached near unto the name of gods, whom they called Heroes, and good Genii, although their names and natures were repugnant : for they attributed honour to filthy obscene things on earth, as if one should not look up to heaven, but bow downwards to the earth, and there strive to find out those heavenly bodies. So men, through ignorance, and the deceit of the devil, said that the Divine essence, which is only intelligences, and which is seated above the world, in the heavens, was and did reside in natural generation, in mortal affections and passions, and in death itself. “ And some were so mad, that they sacrificed unto those that which they esteemed dearest ; neither did they spare in a mad fury to offer their only-begotten children to idols. What could be a greater madness than to sacrifice men, and whole cities, unto them ? Are not the Grecians witness hereof? Do not their historians mention the same ? The Phoenicians did yearly sacrifice their dear and only children to Saturn. And the Rhodians, too, often did the same ; for they offered human sacrifices the day before the Nones of May. Among the Sala- monians, in Minerva’s Temple, a man was compelled to go thrice round about it, and then the priest stabbed him with a spear, and afterwards burnt him on the altar. Moreover, who can reckon how many men were slaughtered and sacrificed in Egypt ? For at Heliopolis, three men were sacrificed every day, instead whereof, their King Amoses understanding that it was a cruel and bloody sacrifice, commanded that so many waxen men should be sacrificed. More- over, in Chios, they offered a man to Bacchus, and so in Tenedos. Moreover, in Lacedemon, they offered him human sacrifices ; and so did the Cretensians, who sacrificed a man to Saturn. Laodicsea, which is a city of Syria, used every year to offer a virgin to Minerva, but now a hart. Moreover, the Libyans, and Carthaginians did sacrifice men unto their gods and devils. The Arabians also every year did saciifice a boy, whom they buried under the altar. Besides, his- tories do relate that it was a common custom among the Grecians to sacrifice a man before they went to war. The Thracians also, and the Scythians, did the same. The Athenians are reported * In Egypt, the first generation of men judged there were two chief gods that were eternal, that of the sun and moon. The first they called Osiris, the other Isis : these gods they held governed the world — Bryant's Mythology. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. xxiii to have sacrificed Leon’s daughters, and the daughter of Erectheus. Besides, it is well known, that at Megalopolis, they did every Thursday sacrifice a man. And many philosophers confirm the same by their testimony. Diodorus Siculus, whose history is briefly 7 ' epitomized out of others, doth report that the Libyans did openly sacrifice two hundred boys of noble birth, and added three hundred others to the sacrifice. Such was the awful, diabolical, and sottish state of the idolaters in the world at different times, which continued down to the time of the Roman emperor, Con- stantine the Great, when he rooted it out of those dominions subject to the Romans, and estab- lished Christianity on a broader basis.” — Eusebius Pamphilus’s Oration in Praise of Constantine. THE PHOENICIAN IDOL-TEMPLE OF BAAL, IN SYRIA. Who the first Baal was, whether the Chaldean Nimrod, or the Syrian Hercules, sometimes called Melkart, who was worshipped at Tyre under that of the sun, is not so evident ; yet the Phoe- nicians, as well as the Chaldeans, adore the sun under that name, though perhaps their idolatry, described by profane writers, is not the most ancient, but a more recent form introduced by the Assyrians. Every sort of abomination was committed on the festival of this idol, and of Ashtaroth his mate. In his chemarim, or chariot-temples, was kept a perpetual fire burning on his altars; some were erected to him in groves and high places, and on the tops of terraced houses.* The Moabites had begun their worship of Baal before the days of Moses, and the Israelites began theirs in his time.f Now, Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor.J Here the Israelites relapsed into that idolatry, after the death of Joshua, and under the Judges. § Samuel seems to have quite abolished the worship of this idol from Israel ;|| but Ahab and Jezebel, above two * Jeremiah xxxii. 35. 2 Kings xvii. 16. xxiii. 4, 12. f Numbers xxii. 41. and Numbers xxv_ 3. J They put on the badges of Baal-peor, that is, by binding themselves with fillets in his honour, and thus openly avowing their idolatry. This seems very probably the true sense of the original word iqj? tzmad, as used in this place. The Israelites would thus seem to have manifested every form of devotion to the idol of Moab : they worshipped him, they ate of his sacrifices ; they wore his festival badges, and they defiled themselves by participating in the lustful abominations with which his worship was celebrated. Those who have given their attention to the elucidation of the idolatries mentioned in scripture, are not agreed about Baal-peor. We may observe, that the same god was often worshipped by the same people, but almost always under different names, and with different ceremonies; and as the worship of the Baal so fre- quently mentioned in the scripture was most extensively diffused, it is not improbable that this was the same idol, distinguished as the national deity of the Moabites by the affix “ Peor,” derived probably from Mount Peor, within their territory (Numbers, xxiii. 28,) being the chief seat of his worship. We all know how common it is to call the same deity by different surnames, according to the different places where he was worshipped. The Olympian and Dodonaean Jupiters form an instance of this. As, however, Baal (lord) is rather the titular distinction of a chief deity (the sun generally) rather than a proper name, it may be doubted whether precisely the same deity is always intended by this term, particularly when a distinctive surname is given. Jerome, Origen, and many other high authorities, are of opinion that Baal-peor was the same, or nearly the same, as the Priapus of the Romans, and was worshipped with similar obscene rites ; such rites were not indeed by any means peculiar to any one deity, but were more or less common to many, whence the scripture, with just severity, frequently calls the deities of the surrounding nations, not “ gods,” or even “idols,” but “ abominations:’’ — “ the abomination of Moab,” “ the abominatton of the Ammonites,” “ the abomination of the Zidonians,” & c. This view as to Baal-peor seems rather to be sanctioned by the striking passages in Hosea, (ix. 10,) which we thus read in Boothroyd’s version. “ They went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves to shame, And became abominable as the object of their love.” Whichever view we take, there is little question that the worship of this idol was celebrated by the most immodest actions, and that the unholy connections of the Israelites with the daughters of Moab and Midian, were as much crimes of idolatry as of lust. We learn from Num. xxxi. 16, that in this melancholy affair, the Israelites were designedly seduced by the people of the land by the advice of Balaam, who having, much against his inclination, been obliged to bless those whom he desired to curse, and being probably aware of the consequences which attended their worship of the golden calf, (see Exodus, xxxii.) suggested the attempt to seduce them from their allegiance to Jehovah, as the most likely way to bring down ruin upon them. It is believed by many commentators, that Chemosh, “ the abomination of Moab,” from whom the Moabites are called, Numbers, xxi. 29, “the people of Chemosh,” and to whom Solomon erected an altar on the Mount of Olives, ( 1 Kings xi. 7.) was the same as Baal-peor. This opinion was entertained by Milton, who thus alludes to present transactions, and defines the limits to which the worship of the idol extended. Chemos, th’ obscene dread of Moab’s sons, From Aroar to Nebo, and the wild Of southmost Abarim ; in Hesebon, And Horonaim, Seon’s realm, beyond The flow’ry vale of Sibma, clad with vines, § Judges ii. 13. iii. 7. x. 6. And Eleale, to th’ Asphaltic pool. Peor his other name, when he entic’d Israel in Sittim, on the march from Nile, To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe. Paradise Lost, Book, i. II 1 Sam. vii. 4. XXIV INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. hundred years afterwards, reimported it from Zidon in all its abominations. The priests of Baal were extremely disgraced at Mount Carmel ; their god appeared quite regardless of their cries and the slashing of their flesh, to move his pity, and to bring fire on their altar.* * * § Nay, the impo- tence of their idol being discovered, and the people at the trial of Elijah and their priests, they were by them apprehended and slain. f In the end, Jehu, under a pretence of his being about to offer up sacrifices to this idol, assembled all the priests of that god, four hundred and fifty in number. “ And it came to pass as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt- offering, that J ehu said to the guard, and to the captains, Go in and slay them, let none come forth ; and they smote them with the edge of the sword ; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal, and they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught-house unto this day.” J There were many altars to this idol in Midian ; the one most noted was that destroyed by Gideon, which his idolatrous father had built ; thus described in holy writ : — “ And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it : and build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place ; and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down : and he did as the Lord had said unto him.”§ What the characteristic architecture of the temples of this idol Baal was, we are unable to say, in the absence of graphic delineations, and historical descriptions. The Phoenicians, we are told by Lucian, built in the Egyptian style, though these people were of Dorian origin; but their country retains no memorials of its ancient architecture, by which w r e may confirm or correct his information. Doubtless Carthage, and the other colonies of Phoenicia, followed their parent country in this particular. THE IDOL-TEMPLE OP ASHTAROTH AT ZIDON. Ashtaroth, or Astarte, a famed goddess of the Zidonians. Jezebel, the daughter of Etlibaal, king of Zidon, and wife of king Ahab, was so mad on idolatry, that she maintained, at her own expense, four hundred priests of the groves sacred to Ashtaroth ; and she instigated her husband to murder Elijah, he having disgraced the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel. || The name of Ashtaroth, in the Syriac language, signifies Ewes which have dugs like those of Diana. The Phoe- nicians and Carthaginians reckoned Ashtaroth the same as Juno of the Greeks; others will have her to have been the wife of Ham, the father of the Canaauites ; Lucian thinks, and I suppose very justly, that the moon, or queen of heaven, was worshipped under this name, ^-icero calls her the fourth Venus of Syria. The Phoenician priests affirmed to Lucian, that she was Europa, the daughter of their king Agenor, whom Jupiter carried off by force. She is variously repre- sented, sometimes in a long, sometimes in a short habit ; sometimes as holding a baton in her right hand. Sometimes she is crowned with a crescent, at other times with a cow’s head, whose horns served as the usual symbol of sovereign power ; and according to Sanchoniathon, were emblems of the new-moon. She was venerated by the Syrians, under the name of Astarte, which the Septuagint gives as equivalent to the Hebrew Ashtaroth. Ashtaroth was properly a grove- idol ; and the sacred plantation, which subdued the blaze of day to the mildest light, was her * Perhaps the Philistines did not deny that Jehovah was a God, but they denied his exclusive claims to omnipotence. — I Sam. iv. 8. f 1 Kings xviii. 27 — 40. Note — Baal was a part of the name of cities, to signify that they were dedicated to his service. The Moabites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and frequently the Hebrews, had their Baal, as Baal-berith, Baal-peor, and even Baal-zebub, &c. — R.B. ^ 2 Kings x. 25 — 27. § Judges vi. 25 — 28. || 1 Kings, xix. Manasseh shed innocent blood, and set up the altar of Baal in the temple of Jerusalem, 2 Kings, xxi. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. XXV proper sanctuary. But the obscurity of these woods coucealed deeds of sanctified abominations, which we dare not describe. Yet her rites were not bloody, for while to her associate Baal (the sun) with whom she is so often mentioned in Scripture, bloody and (except as represented by Melkart of Tyre) even human sacrifices were offered — only bread, liquors, and perfumes were presented to Astarte. Hence the apostate Hebrews are represented in the idolatrous act of making cakes for the queen of heaven.* This goddess was much idolized by the Philistines, or Canaanites, so much so, that the armour of Saul was put up in her house. f Ashtaroth had not everywhere temples in such abundance as Baal, but where these existed, she being a grove-idol, her’s were usually planted around, j Often the trees which were sacred to her were planted near the temple of the sun, (Baal,) those two chief idols of the sun and moon, (Astarte) being much associated in their worship ; though we do not believe them to have been so inseparable as Calmet supposes them to be. Respecting the style of architecture of the temples of this idol-goddess, Ashtaroth, we have certainly no account, but it no doubt resembled that of Baal, her mate. She had a magnificent temple at Hierapolis, in Syria. THE PHILISTINES 5 IDOL-HOUSE OP DAGON, AT ASHDOD. Dagon, the principal idol-god of the Philistines, § is commonly thought to represent Noah, who lay floating in his ark, (or, as some style it, the first temple,) and to have derived his name from Dag, (in,) a fish : he is commonly figured as a man in his upper part, with the tail of a fish, like the lower part of that monster known as the mermaid. Others will have his name derived from Dagan, “ wheat/ 5 and reckon on him as a copy of the Egyptian Isis, who taught that people to enclose by ridges, and cultivate land, and grind corn. At Aslidod, when the ark of God had been captured by the Philistines, and placed in his temple, as if it had been his booty, his image fell before it, his head and hands were broken off on the threshold ; on account of which his priests never after trod on the threshold, but jumped over it as they entered the temple ;[| but Jonathan, the Maccabee, at last burnt it, with the remains of the Syrian army, which had fled into it as a supposed sacred place of safety. After which we hear no more of the existence of the idol-god Dagon : perhaps Odakon, (0 canwv,) the Chaldean deity, or fish-god, was the same with him. At Gaza, Samson pulled down the temple, which had been erected there to his profane rites, on the heads of his worshippers. This temple was evidently a spacious edifice, as was that * Jer. vii. 18. f The Philistines had fought against Israel, who were under the command of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, whereby he was sorely wounded. Finding this, Saul desired his armour-bearer to slay him, lest he should .fall into the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines, which the armour-bearer refusing, Saul fell on his own sword, and died ; which when his own armour-bearer saw, he likewise fell on his sword. Now Saul and his three sons being dead, the Israelites fled. And on the following day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found the body of Saul and his three sons slain in Mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent it into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth : and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. — 1 Samuel xxxi. Chronicles xv. 16. § The Philistines were descended from Mizraim, the second son of Ham, who peopled Egypt. They seem to have left that country at a very early period, and to have settled on the coast of Canaan, expelling the Avims, by whom it had previously been occupied. (Deut. ii. 23, Amos ix. 7, Jeremiah xlvii. 4.) They soon became so powerful, as to give to the country the name of Palestine, by which it was known even in the time of Moses Exod. xv. 14. II 1 Samuel v. 5 Prostration at the threshold in the East, implies the highest reverence for the presence that dwells within ; hence Dagon was brought into an intelligible posture of humiliation before the ark of God. In the East, particularly in Persia, the attention paid to the threshold of holy places is very observable, and tends to illustrate not only the text before us, but that in Ezek. xliii. 8. in which God complains that his holy name had been defiled, by “ their setting of their thresholds by my threshold by which we understand that idols being placed within his temple, as their threshold approximated to, or identified with, his threshold. In Persia, the mosques consecrated to eminent saints therein entombed, are never entered without previous prostration at the threshold. Thus in front of the highly venerated mausoleum of Fatima, at Room, are inscribed these words : — “ Happy and glorious is the believer, who shall reverently prostrate himself with his head on the threshold of this gate; in doing which, he will imitate the sun and the moon. So also, at the mausoleum of Sheikh Seffi, at Ardebil. — Morier vol. ii. p. 254. ^ l Maccabees x. 83, 84. XXVI INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. at Ashdod, and covered with a fiat roof according to the custom in the East, there having been on it, at the time of the catastrophe, when it was pulled down by Samson, two thousand people.* Milton thus apostrophizes on the occasion in his dramatic poem — “ As with the force of winds and water pent, When mountains tremble, those two mighty pillars, With horrible confusion to and fro, He tugged, he shook, till down they came, and drew The whole roof after them with burst of thunder, Upon the heads of all who sat beneath.” Milton : Samson Agonistes. How this edifice was constructed, that Samson by overturning only two pillars, and those within his grasp, while there must of necessity have been many to support the flat roof above, and thereby brought down the whole fabric on the heads of the Philistines, we are at a loss to conceive,t without the interposition of a Divine agency, for the removal of any two pillars would have caused but a very partial disintegration. As to supporting such a multitude above, who that recollects the old temples of Egypt, with their vast flat roofs of immense blocks and slabs of stone, on which the modern Fellahs establish their villages, would question that a temple-roof might afford room for even a greater number of persons, and be strong enough to bear their weight ? That this temple was akin to the Egyptian architecture, there can be no reason to doubt, when we con- sider the origin of the Philistines from the Egyptians, and their near approach to their vicinity, and that Hebron, in Canaan, was as old as Zoar in Egypt. And it is not an unlikely supposi- tion, that the roofs of their temples, and indeed the temples themselves, were on the same large scale, and general principles of arrangement, as those of their great neighbours. In these temples, as in the buildings to which we have referred, there was an interior open area within the main one, opposite the gate which leads to it ; and if Samson had made sport in the area of such a structure as an Egyptian temple, thousands of spectators might, under ordinary cir- cumstances, have stood in perfect security, on the roof of the main building, and of the cloisters, which usually extended along the other three sides of the quadrangle. See plate II. THE MOSAIC TABERNACLE, (b. C. 1491 .) “ When God had brought the Israelites forth out of Egypt, he determined to manifest himself to them in a peculiar way, and, as the head of their government, their King and General, to dwell as it were among them by an external and visible manifestation of his presence; and from this resulted regulations in some degree analogous to those which the presence of a temporal king would have rendered necessary. Therefore while they sojourned in tents, he would have a tent or tabernacle built, in which, as his palace, he also might sojourn with them. But when the Hebrews obtained the occupation of the land promised to their fathers, their Almighty Governor would also have a fixed dwelling, and the move- able tabernacle was exchanged for a temple. The plan of the tabernacle was given by God to Moses while he was in the Mount Sinai. It contained the ark of the covenant, in which were deposited the tables, having on them the ten command- ments of God, and also the sacred utensils. It was not intended to admit the people, but only the priests who here offered, at stated times, sacrifices for the sins of the Israelites.” — Exodus xxvi.’’ The plan of this tabernacle was of an oblong square figure fifty-five feet in length, by eighteen feet in breadth and in height. Its length was extended from east to west, the entrance being at the east end. The two sides and the west end consisted of a frame-work of boards, of which there were twenty to each side, and eight at the west end ; these boards were joined to each other, so as to form a wooden wall, which might be easily taken down, and set up again. The frame-boards did not slide in grooves, but each was furnished at the bottom with two * Judges xvi. 21 — 30. + Milton supposes the building to have been on the plan of a half-round with two pillars in front, and that part open to a spacious court. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. XXVll tenons, which were received into sockets in the bases of solid silver ; and to give the whole greater security, the framed-boards were furnished each with five rings, or staples of gold, by means of which they were successfully run up to their proper places, on horizontal rails or bars, which served as the ribs of the fabric, binding all its parts together. The boards, as well as the rails, were of shittim-wood,,* overlaid with thin plates of gold. The east end being the entrance, had no boards, but was furnished with five pillars of shittim-wood overlaid with gold, and each standing on a socket of brass. Four similar pillars within the tabernacle, towards the west or further end, supported the rich hangings, which divided the interior into two apartments, of which the inner apartment was called the holy place, or the “ Holy of Holies,” in which the presence of the Lord was more immediately manifested. The separating hanging was called by way of eminence “ the veil ; ” as where the expression “ within,” or “ without the veil,” is sometimes used, to distinguish the most holy from the holy place. The people, as we have observed, were never admitted into the interior of the tabernacle; none but the priests might go even into the outer chamber, or holy place, and into the inner chamber the high-priest alone was allowed to enter, and that only once in the year, on the great day of atonement. To this, however, there was a necessary exception, when the tabernacle was to be taken down, or set up. The outer chamber was only entered in the morning, to offer incense on the altar which stood there, and to extinguish the lamps ; and again in the evening, to light them. These were all the services for which the attendance of the priest was necessary within the tabernacle, all the sacrifices being made in the open space in front of the tabernacle, where stood the brazen altar for burnt-offerings. It will be useful to observe that the most holy place contained only the ark, with its contents ; that the outer apartment contained the altar of incense, the table of the shew-bread, and the great golden candlesticks ; f while the open area in front of the tabernacle contained the brazen laver for the ablutions of the priests, and the brazen altar for burnt offerings. This description will give an idea of the general form, substantial structure, and arrangement of the tabernacle. We shall therefore now proceed to notice the various curtains which were * Shittim-wood, (O'taw shittim.) This was perhaps the acacia liorrida, a kind of mimosa, a native of Arabia, since the Arabic word resembles the Hebrew. The wood is of an excellent quality, whence it derives the name given by the Greek translators, ( ScXa aiwvaia,) wood that never decays — P. B. f This was properly a pharos, or lamp, wholly of pure gold ; it weighed a talent, (about 125 lbs-), although Josephus informs us it was hollow within. It consisted of a base and stock, with seven branches, three on each side, and one in the middle, spread open like a fan ; these branches, with the exception of the middle one, were all segmenlally curved, and diverged from each other, and were worked out in carved parts of flowers and branch placed alternately. The whole number of these orna- ments amounted to seventy — Josephus’ History. The Jews say that the flowers were lilies, and that the knobs were in the form of pomegranates. On the extremities of the branches were seven golden lamps, one on each branch ; that on the arch of Titus is the best authority, but the base there represented has figures of birds and marine monsters, which we certainly should not expect to find in a utensil consecrated to the service of Jehovah. This is a continuation of the statement of Josephus, who, in speaking of the triumphs of Vespasian and Titus, and of the sacred utensils which were paraded on that occasion, says that the candlestick was somewhat altered from the form which it had borne in the temple, and, among other alterations, he expressly says that the shaft was fixed on a new base. After the triumph, the candlestick, together with the tables of the shew-bread, were lodged in a temple built by Vespasian, and consecrated to Peace. It is to be observed, however, that the candlestick in question was not the same as that made for the tabernacle. This was, with the other utensils, transferred to the temple built by Solomon, and became the prey of the Chaldeans in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. It does not appear that it was ever restored, but that a new one was made for the second temple. It is disputed, whether the lamp, which was supplied from pure olive-oil, was kept burning night and day, or only at night. In Exodus, xxx. 7, 8, it is mentioned as the duty of the priest to “dress” the lamps every morning, and to light them every evening : but in the parallel text in Leviticus, xxiv. 2, it is said, that the lamps were to burn continually. We are disposed to consider, from the two passages taken together, that the lamps were to be kept continually burning at night, being kindled in the evening, and extinguished in the morning. If they were kept burning night and day, the lighting in the evening may mean no more than that the light had been extinguished, while the lamp was trimmed, and the oil and wick renewed. It is not in itself improbable that the lamps were kept burning by day, for light could only be admitted within the tabernacle through the curtain at the east, or unboarded end ; if that curtain were thick, the holy place might have been so dark, as to render artificial light not less requisite by day than by night. The most holy place, in which the ark lay, was at all times left in darkness. — P. B. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. xxviii thrown over, ancl formed the outer coverings of the tent. The first, or inner covering, was of fine linen, splendidly embedded with figures of cherubim, and fancy-work, in scarlet, purple, and light blue. It is described in the same terms as the veil of the “ holy of holies,” and was doubt- less of the same texture and appearance with the veil, which, according to Josephus, was enlivened with all sorts of flowers, and interwoven with various ornamental figures, (excepting the forms of animals.) Over this inner covering was another made of goats’ hair, which was spun by the women of the camp. Over this covering there was another of rams’ skins dyed red ; and over that, the fourth and outermost covering of tahash skins, (badgers’). These curtains, after covering cr rather forming the roof, hung down by the sides and west end of the tabernacle, those that were outside being calculated to protect the more costly ones within ; while the whole combined to render the tabernacle impervious to rain, and safe from the injuries of the weather. This sacred tabernacle was placed in the midst of the camp, surrounded by an oblong enclosed, pillared court, the length of which was one hundred cubits, by fifty broad, fully described in the book of Exodus, chap, xxvii. THE ARK OE THE COVENANT. (b. C. 1491.) “ And David danced before the ark of the Lord when bringing it into Zion.” — 2 Samuel, vi. 14 — 17- The ark of the covenant was a coffer, or chest, of sliittim- wood, (acacia horrida,) overlaid with gold, in which were kept the tables of the ten commandments, not only the entire ones, say the Jews, but also those which were broken; together with Aaron’s rod (staff) that budded, and the golden pot of preserved manna. This sacred chest seems to have been of the dimensions of three feet nine inches in length, by two feet three inches in breadth, and depth according to the common cubit of eighteen inches. Around the upper edge there was a rim, or cornice, (called in the text a crown), of pure gold, and on each side were fixed rings of gold, to receive the poles of shittim- wood, covered with gold, by which the ark was carried from place to place. The staves always remained in the rings, even when the ark was at rest. The ark had at top a lid or cover of solid gold, for such was what the text calls “the mercy seat,” and which the Septuagint renders i\aarr]piov, or the propitiatory, by which name it is mentioned by St. Paid, in Heb. ix. 4, and which was probably so called, because, on the great day of atonement, the blood of the expiatory sacrifice was sprinkled on or before it.* Upon the two ends of this lid, and of the same material with it, that is, solid gold, were placed two figures of cherubim, which looked towards each other, and whose outstretched wings meeting over the centre, overshadowed the ark completely. It w'as here that the Shechinah, or Divine Presence, most commonly resided, and, both in the tabernacle and temple, was indicated by a cloud, from the midst of which responses were delivered in an audible voice, whenever the Lord was consulted on behalf of the people. Hence God is sometimes mentioned, as “ He that dwelleth (or sittetli) between the cherubims.” In its removals the ark was covered with a veil, and might only be carried on the shoulders of the priests or Levites.f The rabbins think with some reason that it was only carried by the priests on extraordinary occasions, being ordinarily borne by the Levites. No other form of conveyance was allowed, nor were any other persons permitted to interfere with it. David thought perhaps to do it honour by putting it on a new cart, when he proposed to remove it to Kirjath-jearim ; but the result convinced him of the necessity of adhering to the established * Leviticus, xvi. 14, &c. t Numbers, iv. 6, &c. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. XXIX practice. On that occasion, Uzzah, being an unauthorized person, was struck dead for putting his hand to the ark, in order to steady it when shaken by the oxen.* The ark of the covenant belonging to the tabernacle was never in a fixed place, before the time of Solomon. At one time it was in captivity among the Philistines ; at another, in a private house of Obed-edom the Gittite; indeed, king David expressed his shame that he had a house of cedar, whilst the ark of the Lord dwelt in a tent at Jerusalem. After the death of David, Solomon came to the throne of Israel, who then built the famous Temple, and therein deposited the ark.f THE MOSAIC PORTABLE ALTARS. Prom the time of the erection of the tabernacle there were but two altars to be used in ordinary cases — the one for burnt sacrifices, the other for the burnt incense. The altar of burnt- offering was a kind of chest, of shittim-wood, overlaid with plates of brass, to defend it from the fire ; it was about three yards in length, and as much in breadth, and about five feet and a half high. At every corner it had a scroll, or horn of the same material with the rest. On its top was a brazen grate, through which the ashes of the offering fell into a pan below. This altar was portable, carried, with a covering over it, on the shoulders of the Levites, by staves of shittim-wood overlaid with brass, and fixed in brazen rings on the sides thereof. Solomon made a brazen altar for sacrifice much larger, but certainly not all of solid brass ; whether it was hollow within, we know not. It was about fifty-seven feet in length and breadth, and half as much in height, and had an easy ascent to it on the east side. After the captivity, the altar of burnt-offering seems to have been a large pile of stones, about sixty feet on each side of the base, and forty-five at the top. j The altar of incense was a small table of shittim-wood, overlaid with gold, about twenty-two inches in breadth and length, and forty-four in height. Its top was surrounded with a cornice of gold, it had scrolls, or horns, at the four corners thereof, and was portable, having staves of shittim-wood, overlaid with gold. Both these altars were solemnly consecrated with sprinkling of blood, and unction of oil, and their horns were tipped with the blood of the general expiation. The altar of burnt-offering stood in the open court, at a small distance from the east end of the tabernacle, or temple. On it were offered the morning and evening sacrifices, and a multitude of other oblations. To it criminals fled for protection. § The altar of incense stood in the * 2 Sam. vi. 7. t It seems that the ark, with the other precious things of the temple, became afterwards the spoil of Nebuchadnezzar, arid was taken to Babylon; and, it does not appear that it was restored at the end of the captivity, or that any new one was made. What became of the ark after the captivity cannot be ascertained. Some of the rabbins think that it was concealed, to preserve it from the Chaldeans, and that it could not again be discovered, nor will be, till the Messiah comes and reveals it. Others indeed say that it was taken away by the Chaldeans, but was afterwards restored, and accordingly placed in the second temple ; but the Talmud, and some of the Jewish writers, confess that the want of the ark was one of the points in which the second temple was inferior to that of Solomon’s. — Nehem. i. | Exod. xxvii. 19. 2 Chron. iv. 1. § “ There were six cities of refuge appointed by Moses for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourned among them, that whosoever killetb any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.” The object of the ensuing regulations is, obviously, to guard against the evils and abuses of a practice which remains to this day exceedingly prevalent in the East. This was the usage which rendered it a point of honour indispensable and remorseless, for the nearest relative of a person slain, to become the avenger of his blood, and not to rest until he had destroyed the slayer. Moses was evidently legislating on existing usages. The character and function of the avenger of blood (goel) are alluded to as already well understood, and the desire is manifested throughout to save the slayer from the blind rage of the goel, until the case could be properly investigated ; and then, if the offending person proved to have been guilty only of manslaughter, he received protection ; whereas, if a murderer, the goel was allowed to execute his avenging office.— Numbers, xxxv. 12. It was thought a great thing, when the law dared to force great offenders from the altars, and the statues of the gods, and bring them to trial and punishment ; yet this great thing the law of Moses did at once. “ If a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand ; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile: thou shall lake him from mine altar , that he may die." — Exodus, xxi. 13, 14. T his was efficient legislation. That which the Gentile nations regarded as the most awful profanation, was not only permitted, but commanded, by Jehovah. In practice also we see that it was deemed lawful to kill at the altar a criminal who refused to leave its protection. Thus when Joab fled to the e XXX INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. sanctuary, just before tlie inner veil, and on it was the sacred incense, which was burnt every morning and evening; and nothing else was offered on it. Solomon’s Hebrew temple at Jerusalem, b. c. 1012. There was no house built to the name of the Lord until the days of Solomon. Previous to this, mounts and high places were in repute. David worshipped at Zion, and Solomon offered his sacrifices on an altar at Gibeon. — 1 Kings, iii. 2, 4. The temple of Solomon, at Jerusalem, was built by him for the worship of Jehovah, 480 years after the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt.* The plan had been given by the Almighty himself to David, but the building of it was assigned to Solomon his son, after the death of David his father. The preparations which had been made were immense. f David and his princes assigned thereto 108,000 talents of gold, and 1,017,000 talents of silver, both of which together amounted to £942,719,750, or £939,299,687 sterling ; and in weight amounted to about 46,000 ton weight of gold and silver ; and about 183,600 men, Hebrews and Canaanites, were employed in building it — Brown’s Antiquities of the Jews. Everything, we are informed, was made ready before it came to the spot, so that nothing was to be done but to join the materials together. In our account we shall here follow the Jewish chronicler. The temple was erected on Mount Moriah, according to the last wishes of David; the summit of which hill, says Josephus, Avas so small, that it had not suffi- cient base for the sacred edifice, with its courts and appendages. To remedy this inconvenience, by extending the base of the summit of the mount, Solomon raised a wall of squared stones along the valleys which encircled it, of an immense size, and filled up the intervening space between the wall and the acclivity of the hill with compacted earth; and here, although the statement be prospective, we may as well mention, from the same source, that after the captivity, the Hebrews, for many ages, continued gradually to increase the extent of this hill. They moved back the wall on the north, the south, and the west; and they also erected walls of immense square stones, from the lowest part of the valley, so as at last to render the top of the hill a furlong square. It must be distinctly remembered that this Avas the ultimate extension, as it appeared in the time of our Saviour. The summit of Moriah, being thus increased by Solomon in the manner mentioned, was enclosed with a Avail ; in which there Avas an entrance on every side, the one towards the south-west for the royal family, where, by a raised way, called the gate of Tallecheth, they came to their place in the covert of the Sabbath. The east gate Avas called Stir ; the south gate Avas called Asuppim, because it seems there the Levites convened to recewe their directions ; and the gate Parbar Avas at the north-west of the temple. At the side of every gate, and at every corner of the court, houses seem to have been built ; into this outer court every clean Hebrew, or proselyte of the covenant, might enter. In our Saviour’s time, there was a court of the Gentiles without this. In the middle of the outer court, but nearer to the Avest end, there Avas a court for the priests and Levites, stretching oblong from west to east, and Avas surrounded AvYth a Ioav A vail, of about four feet high, that the people might, over the top of it, see what was doing by the priests : this court had two entrances, one on the north side, and another on the south. In this court, just before the east end of the temple, stood the brazen altar, twenty cubits long, as many broad, and ten high ; and the brazen sea and lavers, Avhich brass-work aa as cast in the clay ground near Succoth and Zaretan. The temple, properly so called, stood from Avest to east, near the west end of the court of the priests, and had its sole entrance at the east end. First, you come to a porch, twenty cubits from north to south, and ten from east to west, and one hun- tabernacle, and took bold of the horns of the altar, Benaiah, who was sent to slay him, commanded him. in the king’s name, to come forth. He refused, saying, “ Nay ; hut I will die here.” Benaiah went to the king for further instructions, and Solomon told him to “ do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood which Joab shed.” — 1 Kings, ii. 28, &c. * Exodus, xxx. ; 1 Kings, vi. 1. t 1 Chron. xxviii., xxix. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. XXXI dred and twenty in height. This served as a tower to adorn the temple, and was a place of shelter, and of prayer to the serving priests. On each side of its entrance was a pillar, about thirty-six cubits high, and twelve cubits in circumference, adorned with chapiters, and about two hundred figures of pomegranates. The one was called Jachin (stability), and the other Boaz (strength). Passing through this porch, you entered the sanctuary, or holy place, which was forty cubits in length, twenty in breadth, and thirty in height, at the west end of which stood ten golden candlesticks ; on the south side and on the west ten tables, with twelve loaves of shew-bread on each ; and in the middle, between them, stood the altar of incense. In this apartment, too, were lodged the silver trumpets, the standards of weight and measure, and the sacred treasures. Passing through the sanctuary lengthways, you entered, by a fine veil, and a two-leaved door of olive-tree, into the oracle, or most holy place, into which only the high priest might enter, and that only upon the great day of atonement. It was a square of twenty cubits every way; here stood the ark, with its furniture ; and here Solomon had two new cherubims of olive-tree, which overshadowed the two golden ones, and stretched their wings the whole breadth of the house. The Avails of the house was reared with alternate rows of regularly hewn whitish sonorous stone, and shining marble : the outside was carved with figures of cherubims and palm-trees, and the whole inside — floor, Avails, and roof — was of cedar overlaid Avith gold. The oracle had no windows at all, but Avas perpetually dark. The sanctuary had narrow windows, light against light. If the ninety priests’ chambers, of three stories, thirty in each, Avere built in the Avail of the temple, the windows of the sanctuary must have been high ; but if, with some, we suppose the priests’ chambers built on the top of the temple, the windows might be low enough. This temple Avas seven years and six months in building, and about eleven months after it was finished, and just before the feast of tabernacles, it Avas furnished with the ark, and other sacred utensils ; and the shechinah, or cloud of divine glory, entered it, to take up its rest over the ark between the cherubims ; and it was dedicated with a solemn prayer by Solomon, and by seven days of sacred fasting, and by a peace-offering of 20,000 oxen, and 120,000 sheep, to consume which the holy fire anew came down from heaven. The temple-sendee consisted in sacrifices, songs, prayer, &c.* This HebreAV temple remained but about thirty-four years in its glory, when Shishak, king of Egypt, carried off its treasures. t Under Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah, it Avas much decayed; but Jelioiada and Jehoash repaired it in b. c. 857. Soon after, Joash robbed it of its treasures, to give them to Hazael, king of Syria, j; to procure the assistance of Tiglath-pileser, the Assyrian. Ahaz presented him with the treasures of the temple. He removed the brazen altar, and put his idolatrous one in its place. He removed the brazen sea from off the oxen, and the brazen lavers from off their pedestals, or supporters, and placed them on the ground. He also broke many of the sacred vessels, and shut up the temple. § Hezekiah repaired it, and made such useful vessels for it as Avas wanted ; but in the fourteenth year of his reign, he was obliged to rob it of much of its wealth, to give it to Sennacherib, king of Assyria. || Manasseh, b.c. 698, set up the Egyptian and Syrian idols in the temple, which are alluded to by Ezekiel in his vision ;®[ (which image must have been that of the great temple of Denderah in Egypt), but afterwards * 1 Chron. xxii., xxvi., xxix., 1. 9 , 1 Kings, vi., viii. ; 2 Chron. iii., vi. f 1 Kings, xiv. 25, 26. t 2 Kings, xii. 17, 18; 2 Chron. xxiv. § 2 Chron. xxviii. ; 2 Kings, xvi. 17. || 2 Chron. xxix. ; 2 Kings, xviii. Ezek. viii. “ And the Lord brought me in the vision to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north. So 1 lifted up mine eyes, and beheld the image of jealousy in the entry. And the Lord said unto me, Son of u an, seest thou what they do, even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here ; but turn thou again, and thou shalt see greater abominations. And he brought me to the door of the court, and he said, Go in and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw, and beheld every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the walls round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery. Then said he unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the gate of the Lord’s house, which e 2 xxxu INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. Josiah his grandson restored the true worship of God, and further purified the temple, and replaced the ark of God there.* In G05 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar carried part of the sacred vessels to Babylon, and placed them in that of the god Belus, and about seven years after he carried away others ; and at last, entirely burnt and demolished the temple, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. f Cyrus, king of Persia, afterwards destroyed the temple of Belus. SECOND TEMPLE. Amidst the joy of some and the mourning of others, the temple was, by the orders of Cyrus, begun to be rebuilt in the year 13 . c. 535, and, notwithstanding much hinderance, was finished in about twenty years, during the reign of Darius, and solemnly dedicated to the service of God. The Persian king’s decree seems to have ordered its height to be sixty cubits, and its breadth to be sixty-six ; perhaps the porch might be only allowed to be sixty cubits high, which was but the half of the height of that erected by Solomon, or what we render breadth may signify the length, as it is scarcely probable Cyrus would order the height and breadth and not the length. Or, perhaps, though Solomon’s temple was but twenty cubits from side to side within, yet the breadth of the walls and priests’ chambers added thereto, might make it sixty cubits. This second temple was built under the superintendence of Zerubbabel, and Jeshua the high priest, and wanted, as the Jews say, five things, which were the chief glory of the former, viz., the ark and its furniture, the Shechinah, or cloud of the Divine presence, the holy fire, the Urim and Thummim, and the spirit of prophecy : but the want of these could hardly be the reason of the old men’s mourning when they saw the foundation of it laid, but the true reason seems to be, the unlikelihood that a temple founded by a few poor tributaries would ever attain to the glory of the former, raised by the wisest and richest of kings, (Ezra, i. iii. and vi.) In the year 170 b.c. Antiochus profaned it, stopped the daily sacrifices, and erected the image of Jupiter, his chief idol, on the altar of burnt-offering; but about three years after, Judas Maccabeus purified and repaired it, and restored the true worship of Almighty God. TI-IIRD TEMPLE, MORE ENLARGED B.C. 18. To gain the affection of the Jews, and humour his own pride, Herod the Great, who had become king of Judea, about this time, b.c. 18, began to enlarge or rather to rebuild the temple anew ; and in about nine years and a half he finished the principal parts ; and but forty-six years before our Saviour had begun his public ministry, it was not quite finished ; nay, till the beginning of their ruinous wars, they still added to the building. Josephus describes this temple as follows — “ It was built on a very hard rock, wherein the foundations were laid with incredible expense. The temple itself was sixty cubits high, and as many broad. But in the front, Herod added two wings, or shoulders, each of which projecting twenty cubits, made the whole length of the front one hundred cubits, arid the breadth as many ; and the gate was towards the north, and behold there sat women weeping for Tammuz a Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shall see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and behold at the door of the temple, between the porch, towards the temple of the Lord, and their faces towards the east, and they worshipped the sun towards the east. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man ? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit here ? — Note. A tine subject for Martin’s pencil. a Tammuz was Adonis, an idol-god of Syria, hence a very extraordinary superstition, that a river of Phoenicia, which flows from Mount Lihanus, has a very notable property of the water appearing bloody after heavy rains, said to be stained by the blood of Adonis, wounded by the wild boar, and annually commemorated. To this Milton alludes : — “ Thammuz came next behind. Whose annual wound in Lebanon allur’d The Syrian damsels to lament his fate In amorous ditties all a summer’s day ; While smooth Adonis from his native rock Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood Of Thammuz yearly wounded.” * 2 Kings, xxi., xxii. ; 2 Chron. xxxiv., xxxv. t 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19; Ezek. vii. 20. 22; xxiv, 21 ; Jer. iii. 13. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. xxxiii was seventy cubits high, and twenty broad, but without tlie doors. The stones were of white marble, twenty-three cubits in length and nine in breadth, all polished and unspeakably beau- tiful. Instead of doors, the gate was closed with vails, covered with gold, silver, purple, and everything rich and curious. At each side of the gate were two stately pillars, from whence hung golden festoons and vines with leaves, and clusters of grapes curiously wrought. The whole inclosure was about a furlong square, surrounded with a high wall of large stones, some of them above forty cubits long, and all fastened to one another with lead or iron. Where the wall was raised from the bottom of the adjacent valley, its height was above three hundred or four hun- dred cubits. On the inside of this high wall, round about, were erected three fine galleries, the narrowest about thirty feet wide, and fifty in height, but the largest, which was between the other two, was forty-five feet wide and one hundred feet high. These galleries were supported by one hundred and sixty-two pillars of marble, each about twenty-seven feet in circumference. The walls of this enclosure had four gates towards the west, and one towards each of the other three. Solomon’s porch was at the east gate of the temple, which gate was called Beautiful, Acts, iii. 2, 11. The piazzas and court were paved with marble. Within this enclosure, and near to the galle- ries, was a second, surrounded with a flight of beautiful marble steps, and with stately columns at proper distances, inscribed with mottoes, prohibiting the Gentiles and unclean J ews to proceed further. This enclosure had one gate on the east side, three on the south, and as many on the north, placed at equal distances. Within this a third enclosure surrounded the temple, or altar of burnt-offering. This wall had a flight of fourteen steps on the outside, which hid a consider- able part of it ; and on the top, quite round, it had a terrace of twelve feet broad. This enclosure had one gate on the east, four on the south, and as many on the north, at equal distances. At the inside of each gate were two large square chambers, thirty cubits wide and forty high, sup- ported by pillars of twelve cubits in circumference. On the inside, except on the west side, there was a double flight of galleries, supported by a double row of pillars. The gates were thirty cubits high and fifteen broad. The women, it seems, had their separate courts, and entered by the east gate, which was overlaid with Corinthian brass. Within this third enclosure, the court of the priests was separated from that of the people by a low wall. Here stood the altar of burnt-offering, which was of hewn stone, forty cubits broad and fifteen in height ; and the towers, and the temple properly so called, the wall of the temple, and its roof, being covered with gold on the east side, made a glorious appearance in sunshine. Herod solemnly dedicated this new temple. It had not stood much above seventy years, when the Jews made a forfeit of it, in their ruinous war. After it had been polluted with murder, and every other wickedness, it was (to the extreme grief of Titus, the Roman prince,) burnt to the ground by one of his soldiers, who threw a fire-brand into it while besieging the city. This calamity befell the temple within forty years after the crucifixion ; hence the fulfilment of our Saviour’s words, after he had been rejected by the Jews — “There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down,”* Matt. xxiv. 2 ; and again, “ Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done,” Mark, xiii. 30. Julian, the Roman emperor, in concurrence with the Jews, twice attempted to rebuild it, about a. n. 360. Earthquakes and flames of fire swallowed up and consumed the materials, and killed a vast number of the workmen. On the same site at Jerusalem, there is now the Mohammedan mosque of Omier; to this the Mohammedans pay great veneration, but no Jew or Christian dare enter its courts under pain of death, or of redeeming his life by becoming a Mohammedan. * “ And as Jesus went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Master, see what manner of stonps and what buildings are here ! ” Mark xiii —Well might such a remark be made, seeing many of these stones were 30 feet long, 12 broad, and 12 thick; but some even of 60 feet long are still to be seen in the walls around Jerusalem Shaw's Travels in Palestine. XXXIV INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. A. Holy of Holies B , Holy Place. C C , Courts round tlie Temple. T) D, Place where the knives for sacrifice were kept. E, Ascent to the Altar. F, Vestry, or Robing-room. G, Place where the sacrificial cakes were made. H H, Apartments for the singers. I, Place where the priests assem- bled. L, Salt-store. M, Brazen Sea. N, place for washing the burnt - offerings. O, The well, or place in which were kept the machines used in drawing water for the Temple services. P P P P, Gates. Q Q , Priests’ kitchens. B, King’s throne. 5, Hall of the great Sanhedrim. T T, Courts of the kitchens. Jzusish* 1:™“ °° “ 103 ", = ; :=3 B CvJ/ifa Ark of the Covenant. Altar of Incense. Golden Candlestick. Table of Shewbread. e } Pillars Jachin and Boaz. Porch. g , Place for the Shewbread. Place for the stones used about the Altar. Place for the lambs for the daily sacrifices. Bath for the Priests. m 77z, Kitchens. Halls, or Synagogues. Different apartments for lodg- ings, and the furniture of the Temple. Porters’ lodges. Wood piles. Magazines of perfumes. Second Sanhedrim. Apartment lor the Nazarites. Apartment of the Lepers. Place for alms. y , Space before the Porters' lodges. Engraved pillars, prohibiting the entrance of Gentiles and unclean persons. CONJECTURAL PLAN OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE, AFTER BERNARD LAMY. DISQUISITION RESPECTING THE APARTMENTS OP SOLOMON’S TEMPLE ; IN REFERENCE TO THE PLAN GIVEN BY B. LAMY. Although the account given by Josephus be obscure, and evidently influenced by the national and professional feelings of the writer, yet we may learn from it a sufficient number of circumstances, to ascertain, not indeed the precise form, but the general grandeur of the edifice — (see Frontispiece.) There were various buildings and apartments which served as magazines for the wine, oil, corn, wood ; others, in which were deposited the habits and utensils employed in the temple-service ; and some which served as lodges for the priests and levites while engaged in their course of duty.* Professor Jahn, in his Arclneologia Biblica, noticing Solomon’s temple, does not say where these were situated, but, judging from the still existing practice in Oriental temples, we have not any hesitation in subscribing to the opinion of Calmet, in his dissertation, and also Lamy, who, although they differ in some details, agree, as do the Rabbins and Josephus, in considering that both the courts, (or the two inner courts, if there were three, as some conclude) were surrounded by a colonnade, and behind and below which were the cells appropriated to these several purposes. We may suppose, that those of the outer court served as the magazines, while those of the inner court contained the priestly cells, and whatever was needed for the immediate service of the temple. The difference about the courts consists in this — whether there were at first two or three enclosing walls, and con- sequently whether the courts were two or three. Jahn seems to think that there were but two, regarding the outer wall, and the court enclosed between it and the second wall, as a sub- sequent addition. But both Calmet and Lamy hold that this third wall from the interior existed from the first, only the former thinks that it was originally a simple wall without a colonnade or cells. The discrepancy of these statements is due to the want of agreement in the several passages of Josephus which refer to this temple. Upon the whole, however, we understand him to say, that there were, from the first, three courts, each of which he calls a temple, and * 1 Kings vi. 36., vii. 12. 2 Kings xxiii. 12. 2 Chron. iv. 9., xx. 5. Ezek. xl. 28. INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. XXXV that the middle court was surrounded with cloisters, and the outer court had a double cloister supported by high pillars of native stone, roofed with cedar. This agrees with Lamy’s plan. But in another place, Josephus seems to say that the outer wall was at first without a colonnade, which was afterwards added when that wall was thrown back, and the enclosed area enlarged ; and this is Calmet’s view. As to the sanctuary itself, it was, in form, of an oblong figure, sixty cubits long, twenty broad, and thirty high, with the exception of the “ most holy place,” the height of which was only twenty cubits, so that there remained above it a room ten cubits in height.* In front of the sanctuary was the vestibule or porch, which was one hundred and twenty cubits high, twenty broad from north to south, and ten in depth. But by including the thickness of the walls with the side-chambers and the porch, the length is by some made one hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits ; and other additions are considered to make the height of the building thirty-six cubits, and of the porch one hundred and twenty-six cubits, (Lewis’s Origines Hebrsese.) This porch seems to, have been the only part of the structure considerably elevated, was open in front, and had near the entrance the two massive pillars called Jachin and Boaz.f These pillars were twelve cubits in circumference, and thirty-six cubits high, the shafts being eighteen cubits, the capitals five, and the bases thirteen. They were profusely ornamented with representations of leaves, pomegranates, &c. They were of brass, hollowed within, the metal being a hand’s breadth in thickness. From this porch a door of oleaster, or wild olive, ornamented with cheru- bim, palms, and flowers of carved work, led to the sanctuary. This door was covered with gold, and turned on hinges of the same metal. A similar door led from the sanctuary to the most holy place, and both doors were covered with a veil of linen richly embroidered ; the relation to each other, and the respective appropriation of the holy and the most holy places, were the same in the tabernacle, the general plan of which may be distinctly traced in all that relates to the temple. 1 The holy place contained the incense- altar, with ten tables, and ten golden candlesticks, instead of one of each, as in the tabernacle, and was only entered twice a day, by a priest to offer incense, and attend to the lamps, while the inner “ most holy place,” containing the ark, was entered only once a year, by the high priest, on the great day of expiation. Along the north, south, and west sides of the sanctuary extended a gallery, three stories high, constructed of beams and planks, and to which there was access by means of a winding staircase. These stories, or stages, did not altogether rise to more than half the height of the temple, and must have given more majesty of appearance to a structure, which might have appeared naked without such accompaniments. The resulting conclusion from the entire examina- tion and comparison will probably be, that the temple of Solomon was an astonishing and magnifi- cent work for the time in which it was built, particularly remarkable for its costly materials and elaborate workmanship, but that as a whole, its architectural effect was not sufficiently concentrated in one pile of building to enable it to bear comparison with the cathedrals, and other structures, of a much later age. This is sufficiently evinced by the proportions which are given in the text. From the other temples of remote antiquity it seems to have been chiefly distinguished by this sumptuousness of detail. In other respects we recognize the general arrangement common to all — a holy place, inaccessible and inviolable, covered and shut up, and placed at the extremity of one or more courts, surrounded with peristyles, and with cells or apartments for the lodging and accommodation of the officiating ministers. * A Jewish cubit is a little more than eighteen inches. t The two pillars, Jachin and Boaz, are symbols of Free Masonry, which mysterious society commenced with the building of Solomon’s Temple A Brother of the Craft. J 1 Kings vii. 15, 19 ; 2 Chron. iii. 15, 17. XXXVI INTRODUCTORY HISTORY. AN INQUIRY RESPECTING THE STYLE OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE. When Solomon sent to Hiram, king of Tyre, to make arrangements for a supply of timber from Lebanon, he requested the assistance of a skilful architect, who has been particularly described as the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan ; and his father, a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and silver, and brass, and iron ; in stone, and in timber; in purple, and in blue; and in fine linen, and in crimson. Also, able to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which should be put to him, in company with the builder, and Solomon himself. Of this gorgeous temple reared by their united skill, we are unable to form any positive idea of its architecture ; but being derived from the Tyrians, we of course consider it was similar to their’s ; however, no monuments of this once proud and flourishing people now exist. Ahllapandus, a learned Spanish jesuit, and famed architect, has published an elaborate dissertation, chiefly founded on Ezekiel’s visionary description, and on his own fancy and rules of architecture, in which he insists that the theory and practice of permanent architecture commenced with the building of the temple by Solomon ; and with it, he says, “ the Corinthian order,” which is falsely attributed to the Greeks. A late learned architect of our own country, Mr. Wilkins, has endeavoured to show, in his translation of Vitruvius, that it was in the Grecian style, and that its form, proportions, and distribution, were not dissimilar to those of the temple of Ceres at Eleusis, or of iEgina. As the Tyrians were those principally employed by Solomon, we think the probability is great that it was in the Phoenician or Egyptian-like style, as far as the Jewish ceremonial would permit ; and certainly the description of its distribution accords better with that of the Egyptian temple than a Greek one. Clemens of Alexandria gives a description of an Egyptian temple very much like that of the J ewish ; and the palm-leaves, pomegranates, and the lilies in the chapiters of the latter, are very common in existing capitals of the former; whereas, in the Greek remains of early date, no such ornaments are be to found. — Whether the Jews in after times preferred a national style of architecture or not, we cannot tell ; there is no reason, however, for supposing that they did, for their religious structures at Jerusalem were not repeated in other places, as the temples of the heathen divinities were among the Greeks and Romans, by which they might have acquired a peculiar mode of combination. The previous existence of a national Jewish style of sacred architecture, tends to strengthen our position, that architectural science did not origi- nate in the construction, disposition, and decoration of edifices, erected for domestic dwellings, of which the Jews must, when settled, have had as much occasion for as other nations, as well as a multitude of religious edifices, such as synagogues,* which were numerous, and in the con- struction of which they might have acquired one, if not forbidden by their Mosaic code. * It is surprising that the Jews, in their splendid synagogue lately-erected in London, should have adopted the Pagan temple-architecture of the Romans, (the Corinthian,) when they have so ample a description given of the details of Solomon’s Temple, which ought to have been the archetype.— B. SACRED ARCHITECTURE, ITS RISE AND PROGRESS. SECTION L ON THE PRIMITIVE SACRED ARCHITECTURE OF THE EGYPTIANS. B. C. 2188. t “ Who has not heard, where Egypt’s realms are named, What monster gods her frantic sons have fram’d? Here ibis, gorged with well-grown serpents ; there, The crocodile commands religious fear : Where Memnon’s statue magic strings inspire With vocal sounds, that emulate the lyre ; And Thebes, such. Fate, are thy disastrous turns, Now prostrate o’er her pompous ruins mourns ; A monkey-god, prodigious to behold ! Strikes the beholder’s eye with burnish’d gold: To godship here blue Triton’s scaly herd ; The river progeny is there preferr’d ; Through towns Diana’s power neglected lies. Where to her dogs aspiring temples rise : And should you leeks or onions eat, no time Would expiate the sacrilegious crime : Religious notions sure, and blest abodes, Where every orchard is o’errun with gods 1” Rollin’s Ancient History. Egypt was one of the primitive nations in order with Nineveh, after Babylon ; from which latter city the children of Noah were expelled, on the building of the tower of Babel. It w r as founded by Mizraim, the son of Ham, and grandson of Noah, 2188 b.c. Never were a people more supersti- tious than the Egyptians; who, after having lost sight of the worship of the great Jehovah, debased themselves by forming a great number of idol-gods, of different orders and degrees ; which, belonging more to fable than sacred history, we shall but slightly notice, previous to describing their sacred temples. Among the Egyptians, two idol-gods were universally adored ; these were Osiris and Isis, which were thought to represent or typify the sun and moon. Indeed, the worship of these objects, constantly riding over their heads in a clear blue sky, is generally supposed to have first given rise to idolatry in Egypt, as well as in Chaldea and Syria Proper. Besides these celestial bodies, the Egyptians deified a great number of terrestrial animals, as the bull, the calf, the ram, the dog, the cat, the wolf, the fox, and even the hawk, which they held sacred (the ibis was the Egyptian stork). Every nation, says Cicero, who was himself an idolater. B o THE SACRED ARCHITECTURE had a great zeal for their gods and sanctuaries ; but, among us, the Romans, he observes, it is very common to see their temples robbed, and their treasures carried off.* However the Romans might venerate their idols of worship, they were exceeded by the Egyptians ; among them, it was never known, that any person ever abused the crocodile, the ibis, or the cat; there, its inhabitants would have suffered the most extreme torments, rather than be guilty of such sacri- lege ;t and even a punishment was decreed against him who should have killed an ibis, or a cat, with or without design. Diodorus relates an accident to which he himself was an eye-witness, during his stay in Egypt — “ A Roman having inadvertently, without design, killed a cat, the exasperated populace ran to his house ; and neither the authority of the king, who immediately detached a body of his guards, nor the terror of the Roman name, could rescue the unfortunate criminal.” j This happened in the reign of Tiberius, when seven thousand Romans were killed in the tumult. And, further, such was the reverence which the Egyptians had for their sacred animals, that, in an extreme famine, they chose rather to eat one another, than feed upon their imagined deities. § Of all the animals, the bull Apis, which was regarded by the Egyptians as a symbol of their chief god, Osiris, or the sun, and called Epaphus by the Greeks, was certainly the most famous. || Eor him, the most magnificent temples were reared, and extraordinary honours paid him while lie lived, and still greater at his death, for then the Egyptians went into a general mourning, and his obsequies were solemnized with much pomp, so as is hardly credible. In the reign of Ptolemy Lagus, we are informed, the bull Apis dying of old age, the funeral pomp, besides the ordinary expenses, amounted to upwards of five thousand pounds. After the last honours had been paid to the deceased god, the next care was to provide him a successor, and all Egypt was sought through for that purpose. He was known by certain signs, which distinguished him from all other animals of that species ; upon his forehead was to be a white spot, in form of a crescent, on his back the figure of an eagle, and upon his tongue that of a beetle. As soon as he was found, mourning gave place to joy, and nothing was heard in all parts of Egypt but festivals and rejoicings. The new god was brought to Memphis, to take possession of his dignity, and there installed with a great number of ceremonies. Now, it is really astonishing to conceive how so early a nation as Egypt, whose monarchy lasted one thousand six hundred and sixty- three years, boasting of its antiquity and superiority above all other nations, noth regard to wisdom and early learning, and so near descendants from Noah, from whose family they branched, and from whom they must have heard of the Deluge which had taken place (2318 b.c.) in consequence of the abominations of the antediluvians, should so soon after have fallen into idolatry, as did the Egyptians. Indeed, to read of animals, and * De Nat. Door., 1. i., n. 82. f Herod., 1 xj., c. 65. t Diod., 1. i., p. 74, 75. § Several reasons are given for the worship paid to animals by the Egyptians. The first is drawn from fabulous history, where it is pretended, that the gods, which the Egyptians believed to be supernatural beings (and numerous), in a rebellion made against them by the giants, or furies, who were bound in the inmost recesses of the earth, had broken their chains, commenced a horrid conflict, and attempted to ascend the mountain of Olympus, in Greece, where the gods abode, which caused those gods to fly into Egypt, and there conceal themselves under the form of different animals. The second reason is taken from the benefit which the several animals procure to mankind — the bull, by its labour at the plough ; and the ibis, it was worshipped because he put to flight the winged-serpents, with which Egypt would otherwise have been infested. The ichneumon was also adored, because he prevented the too great increase of the crocodiles, by eating their eggs ; which, though adored, he might have otherwise proved destructive to Egypt. — Diod., ii., p. 77, &c. || In Joshua xxiv. 14. it is expressly said, that the Israelites, while in Egypt, served the gods of that country; and of course the bull Apis. Had this information been wanting, the fact of their predilection for the idolatry of Egypt, would be sufficiently apparent, from their apostacv during their journey at the time Moses was in the Mount, when they compelled Aaron to make the molten calf. What a rooted disposition for the worship of Apis the Israelites entertained, is further evinced by the facility with which King Jeroboam (who had resided in Egypt) was induced, several centuries later, to lead Israel to sin, by worshipping the golden calves set up in Dan and Bethel, and the worship of which seems to have prevailed generally among the ten tribes to the time of the captivity. — P. B. It is supposed that Cham, the father of Mizraim, who founded this kingdom, and was the second son of Noah, was the first that was worshipped in Egypt as a god, under the name of Jupiter Ammon ; a temple of which had been erected to OF THE EGYPTIANS. 3 insects, such as beetles, honoured with religious worship, placed in temples, and maintained with great care, and at an extravagant expense — to read that those who killed them were punished with death, and that these animals were embalmed, and solemnly deposited in tombs designed them by the public — to hear, further, that this extravagance was carried to such lengths, that even vegetables, such as leeks and onions, were considered the abodes of gods, and acknowledged as deities, and invoked in time of trouble or necessity, and depended upon for succour and protection, are absurdities which we, at this distance of time, can scarcely believe or credit ; and yet they have the evidence of all antiquity.* You enter, says Lucian (Imag.), into a magnificent temple, every part of which glitters with gold and silver ; you then look attentively for a god, and are treated with a stork, or an ape, or a cat. Thus, the more we reflect, the more we are astonished how a rational race of human beings could have forsaken the God of their forefathers by changing his incorruptible glory into an image like that of a corruptible man, and four-footed beast — to birds of prey, and every abominable creeping thing ! Though the philosophers of that age pretended that they held them in estimation merely as images of the Deity, and paid them honours, according to the laws and customs of their country; yet, we ask, was not this rather degrading and debasing the Deity, of whom even the most silly usually entertain a much greater and more august idea ? Having considered the idols of Egypt, we shall next turn our attention to their sacred places of worship, or temples. From all we are able to collect, from either sacred or profane history, it cannot be doubted that the Egyptians — who were the first people that cultivated the sciences, and brought the civil arts to anything like a state of perfection — were the first nation that erected temples to their gods (after the Babjdonians) ; and to their religion, and its superstitions, may be attributed all those efforts and inventions, in the mode of constructing them, for which they are so justly renowned, and which undeniably entitles their style of architecture to the claim of primogeniture in the art. In its cause they studied improvements; concentrated all their powers of invention ; and exercised all their most ingenious skill ; which, consequently, rendered architecture with them the art par excellence. Their great ambition seems to have been, that the edifices they constructed to their mystical deities, should be in perfect conformity with their object ; and that the strength and durablity exhibited in their prodigious magnitude, should serve to typify their greatness and immutability.t The battering-walls, the circular pillars, and the most secret places of these religious structures, were ornamented with hieroglyphics and bas-reliefs; while the ceilings of the porticos exhibited beautifully-executed zodiacs and celestial planispheres; but their ornament was merely the result, and not the object, of their design. What, in our eyes, constitutes all these decorations, is but a series of symbolical significations, and allegorical inven- him, we find was in existence in the time of Alexander the Great, who repaired to it, and there sacrificed to that deity. This temple was situated rather extraordinarily, for we are informed that, though it was in the midst of a desert, or boundless solitude, it was nevertheless surrounded with a grove, so very shady, that the sunbeams could scarcely pierce it ; not to mention that the grove was watered with several springs, which water preserved it in perpetual verdure. It is related, that near this sacred grove was another, in the midst of which was a fountain, called the Water or Fountain of the Sun ; at daybreak it was lukewarm, at noon cold, but in the evening warmer insensibly, and at midnight boiling-liot ; afterwards, as day approached, it descended in heat, and so was to continue this vicissitude for ever. The god typified as Cham, and who was worshipped in this temple, was represented under the form which painters and sculptors give to gods, for we are told he was made of emeralds and precious stones, and from the head to the navel represented a ram — Quintus Curtius. * An Egyptian who was sick, imagining that leeks and onions would cure him, eat of those vegetables; and in time, by the strength of his constitution — not of the edibles — he recovering, leeks and onions became sacred, and were immediately deified. — Faber, on Idolatry. f In the way of art and science, the Egyptians were a creative nation ; as primitive architects, they had no models to imitate ; they borrowed nothing from any other people ; necessity suggested to them the first principles of the useful, whilst nature alone held up to them examples for the ornamental — the real and only source of pure taste. Nature they have faithfully copied, for all the decorative details of their architecture are most faithful imitations of the natural productions of their country, namely, the lotus, all the palm tribe, the vine, the reed papyrus, &c. — IT 13. b 2 4 THE SACRED ARCHITECTURE tions, to typify the divine attributes and wisdom of the Creator ; they constitute i code of learning, moral precepts, and religious rites, embodied in forms — the organs through which they communicated all those sciences more immediately connected with the creation, and which developed the Divine greatness and power ; so that all their inventions were dictated by the most profound judgment. Every detail was subservient to some great end, and was suggested by some urgent reason ; every object thus spoke most intelligibly to the eye, to the heart, and to the soul of the beholders, which constituted these temples the sacred treasures of Egyptian science as well as art.* * * § The priests, who were the great depositaries of all knowledge, were the exclusive designers of their temples ; they alone directed the taste of the architect and the sculptor ; and they employed architectural grandeur, with all its accessories, to influence the minds of those people whose actions they wished to govern ; nor can we imagine anything better suited to inspire religious awe, and a profound reverence amongst an idolatrous people, than this style of archi- tecture. “ According to Manetho, the only native Egyptian historian known, those temples rose under the dynasties of the first Pharaohs, t about two thousand two hundred years b.c.; at which period the country, though held in great subjection by the hierarchy, flourished in wealth, population, science, and the arts. The incursions, however, of a barbarian race of Arabian shepherds, called Hickshoz, overthrew the Pharaohs, drove them out of Egypt, destroyed all their magnificent monuments, and subjected the country to the most desolating and oppressive slavery, dining two dynasties of their rustic kings ; but they were in turn driven out by the restored Pharaohs, who recovered their country, with the additional power of being independent of the hieratic influence, and established one of the most brilliant eras of their race. Under them, and about two thousand years b.c., rose up the splendid edifices we now see in ruins ; they rebuilt the fallen city, restored the desolated temples, and embodied with the new ones the sacred relics of the old, whose hieroglyphical inscriptions, beyond traditionary data of the great patriarchs of art and learning, have lately been deciphered by J. G. Wilkinson, Esq.’fy The solid masonry of these stupendous temples of Egypt would have defied the ravages of time, and remained unimpaired to the present day, had not the destructive hand of man been employed against them; the invasion of Cambyses, the Persian monarch (500 b.c.), after laying waste the whole country, finally destroyed the city of Thebes, crushed the priesthood, slaughtered their god Apis, and terminated the independent sway of native sovereigns. § However, several * The materialism — if we may be allowed the expression — of Egyptian worship, rendered all these details essential ; it fixed the imagination on physical nature, and obliged the ecclesiastics to seek those forms best calculated to express the dogmas of their religion ; and in contemplating their temple architecture, it is impossible not to be struck with the manifest influence religion has had in its erection. — H. j- Of all the Pharaohs, Sesostris, the tirst of the nineteenth dynasty, was the most distinguished, for the great and extensive works he executed in architecture ; most of the existing ruins of temples in Egypt, anterior to the Persian inva- sion, are attributed to that monarch — M. Champollion. f Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. See his presentations in the British Museum. § Cambyses, having conquered the Egyptians, ordered the priesthood to lead Apis, their chief god, (which was a steer, born of a cow said to be engendered by a flash of lightning, and that will produce no other offspring), into his presence ; which the priest having done, Cambyses, as if in a fit of frenzy, drew his dagger, intending to strike the belly of the bull Apis, but, instead, struck the thigh ; and then, laughing, said to the priests, “ O you blockheads, do the gods become such, consisting of flesh and blood, and that do feel iron ; yet such a god is worthy of the Egyptians ! but now you shall have no longer reason to rejoice that Apis has appeared, on whom you depended, as you imagined, to defeat me.” So saying, he commanded those whose business it was, to scourge the priests, and gave orders that all the Egyptians who might be found feasting in honour of this god, should be put to death. Thus ended this delusive festival, which had been appointed, and the priests were punished. As for Apis, who was wounded in the thigh, he wasted, as he lay in the temple, and at length died of his hurt. After this, the Persian king entered the temple of Vulcan, and made sport of the image of the deity ; for there is an image of Vulcan there, nearly resembling the images called Pateci, which the Phoenicians place at the prows of their galleys. For the benefit of those who have not seen them, I may mention, that those figures represent pigmies. Cambyses entered also the temple of the Cabiri, into which it is unlawful for any but the priests to enter; the images of OF THE EGYPTIANS. o temples of the Egyptians are still existing at the present time, in Upper and Lower Egypt, almost entire, and of prodigious magnitude ; that of the temple at Karnac, in ancient Thebes, is con- sidered to be above four thousand years old, said to have been erected 2272 years before the coming of Christ. It was, when in its pristine glory, not less than a mile and a half in circum- ference ; but it now shows the desolating marks of the hand of time. Belzoni, wdio visited Egypt, observes, in his enthusiastic manner, when entering this magnificent temple — “ I was lost in a mass of colossal objects, eveiy one of which was more than sufficient of itself to attract my attention ; I seemed alone in the midst of all that is most sacred in the world ; a forest of enor- mous columns, adorned all round with beautiful figures, and various ornaments, from top to bottom ; the graceful shape of the lotus, which forms the bell-shaped capitals, and which is so well proportioned to the columns ; the friezes, also adorned in every part with symbolical figures, in low relief, representing battles, processions, triumphs, priests, and sacrifices — all relating to the ancient history of the country. The walls of the sanctuary, usually formed of red porphyry granite ; the high portal, seen at a distance from the openings of this vast labyrinth of sacred edifices, on each side of me, had such an effect upon my soul, as to separate me, in imagination, from the rest of mortals, exalt me on high above all, and cause me to forget entirely the trifles and follies of life.” It further appears, he says, on entering the city of Thebes, like entering a city of giants, who, after a long conflict, were all destroyed, leaving ruins of their various temples as the only proof of their former existence. The Egyptians did not consider when they were erecting their temples that they were building for an age, but for eternity ; for they had a prophecy amongst them that they should return to life again after a thousand years, so they expected to see those sacred edifices when they came back ; but there is no more probability (observes Belzoni) of their returning to Egypt, than those who pursued Moses, and were swallowed up in the Bed Sea.* In Egyptian architecture there is an uniformity of structure, both in the masses and in the ornaments ; and the predominant feature of their sacred temples is, that of the colossal form which was everywhere and on all occasions adopted. The immense size of the granite blocks of stone they employed, and the mechanical arts necessary for transporting them from the quarry, and then raising them to their required elevation in the temples when building, cause those sacred structures to appear like works of superhuman labour. In every degree those temples exhibited a solemn majesty of style, and imposing grandeur, while austere simplicity, combined with order, uniformity, and regularity, pervade the whole design ; which, with the solidity and massiveness of the parts, and the prodigious dimensions of the stones, imparted an air of the most impressive and awful sublimity on the mind of the beholder. Now, although the Egyptian style of sacred architecture may be considered heavy and somewhat sombre, as well as deficient in the lightness and elegance of its Grecian rival, it corresponds perhaps better with the gravity of the national character, and was more in harmony with the mysteries of its peculiar idolatrous religion. The sacred architecture of Egyptian temples may be said to be characterized by the this temple he burned, after deriding them in various ways ; they are similar to those of Vulcan, of whom the Cabiri are said to be the sons — Herod., b. iii. * Belzoni’s Travels in Egypt. No nation that ever existed within the annals of the human race has left edifices in extent, magnificence, and solemn grandeur, that can vie with those of ancient Egypt. We have the authority of historians for believing that the temples spoke more strongly than any historian can, to compel our belief of what they have been, by what they are. Monsieur Denon, speaking of Thebes, says, “ Still temples, nothing but temples ; not a vestige of the hundred gates, so celebrated in history ; no walks, groves, bridges, baths, or theatres ; not a single edifice of public utility or convenience ; notwithstanding the pains I took in the researches, I could find nothing but temples, walls covered with obscure emblems and hieroglyphics, which attested the ascendancy of the priesthood, who still seemed to reign over the mighty ruins, and whose empire constantly haunted my imagination. — Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypt, p. 17G. Vide Denon. G THE SACRED ARCHITECTURE boldness and magnitude of its parts, and tlie almost monotonous uniformity which pervades the features of then’ temples, being usually composed of solid walls of pyramidal form, which at the bases amounted in some to twenty-five feet in thickness. The larger and more perfect structures do not externally present the appearance of being columned within ; a boundary wall or peribolus, girding the whole and preventing the view of any part of the interior ; except perhaps the towering mass of some inner pylons, or the lofty tops of an extraordinary portico of columns, with their superimposed terrace above, or the tapering obelisks which occupy at times some of the courts, or perhaps some dense mass of structure, which is the body of the temple itself, inclosing the thickly-columued halls. The immense magnitude of these sacred edifices may perhaps have made them independent, in their perfect state, of considerations which have weight in architectural compositions at the present time, and on which, indeed, its harmony depends.* The angular roof was unknown to the Egyptians, in consequence of rain falling but seldom in that country ; their temples had flat terraces formed of immense large stones, laid on horizontal beams of the same material, which rested on the external walls and inner columns of the edifice ; the porticos had lacunaria ceilings and terrace coverings. The columns supported an entab- lature, composed of only architrave and cornice — sometimes architrave, frieze, and cornice, formed of immense blocks, united without cement, and ornamented with hieroglyphics, or bas-reliefs — representing their zodiacal and religious processions, and frequently with that species of decoration subsequently imitated by the first Grecian architects, who distinguished them with the appella- tions of triglyphs and metopes, and rendered them the principal characteristic of the Dorian style. Perfect specimens of this are seen in the eastern gallery of the great temple in the island of Pliilbe, in an architrave fragment at Kaum Ombou, and in the temple of Hermopolis. Nearly all the principal sacred edifices of the Egyptians lie within the district of Upper Egypt, from the frontiers of Ethiopia to Man feint in the north, which includes the magnificent ruins of the temples in the islands of Philoet and Elephantina ; those of Ivaum Ombou, Esne, or Latapolis, Edfou, or Apollinopolis, Medinet Abu, or Tentyra in the Thebaid, Dendera, and Girge, for which we refer the reader to the elaborate and scientific work of Monsieur Denon. Amongst those beautiful remains may still be discovered all the finest forms and most ornamental details, which the Greeks have subsequently adopted in their temple architecture ; the consideration of which naturally awakens our surprise that the palm of originality, and the first principles of classic architecture, should have been awarded to the Greeks, and asserted that in their three orders — namely, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian — are only to be found the origin of true taste, and the source of the first principles of the art ; while, at the same time, that the Egyptian architecture is but the infancy of taste and invention in that branch of human skill. Now, a knowledge of the grandeur, nobleness, and harmony of design, the genius of composition in the ornamental accessories, of the exquisite finish and elaborate workmanship exhibited in the splendid remains of the above temples, furnish ample testimony to contradict the assertion. A very little reflection in the study of the various characteristics for which these architec- tural piles are so remarkable, observes a writer on Egyptian antiquities, will suffice to convince * The temples of antiquity in Upper Egypt present a very uniform appearance, and their first impression inclines the traveller to attribute them to the same, or nearly the same, epoch. The plans and dispositions of the temples bear throughout a great resemblance to one another. The same character of hieroglyphics, the same forms of the divinity, bearing the same symbols, and worshipped in the same manner, are sculptured on their walls from Hermopolis to Philde. They are built of the same species of stone ; very little difference is discernible in the degrees of excellence of workmanship, or the qualities of the materials ; and where human force has not been evidently employed to destroy the temples, they are all in the same state of preservation and decay. — Hamilton’s iEgyptiaca. f This island was held particularly sacred by the Egyptians, from the idea that Osiris was buried there. — Boid. OF THE EGYPTIANS. 7 the reader, that, though of a peculiar style, they are not productions of the infancy of the art, but assignable only to its mature era ; consequently, the perfection of it ; and that such per- fection has resulted only from the practice and experience of many centuries ; in further proof of which may Ire cited the discovery made by Monsieur Denon at Thebes, of the ruined parts of ancient temples having been employed and serving as foundation-stones to those now standing, and which he describes to Ire ornamented with hieroglyphics in as high a style of finish as those of the superstructures which we now look upon as the oldest remnants of art existing. The doorways and portals of the temples are usually found to be the most ornamented, and are invariably surmounted with a winged globe, which, there is no doubt, was meant to typify the Deity, the symbol by which the Egyptians represented the universe, whose invisible and divine image they dared not venture to characterize in any human form. One of the temples at Karnac, called the Memnonium, as well as at other places, exhibits examples of peristyles supported by colossal figures, instead of columns, which evidently have suggested to the Athenian Greeks the invention of their Caryatic and Persian peristyle, as seen in the temple of Erechtheus. The decorative accessories of the Egyptian temples, as previously observed, were composed only of what might prove useful ; hieroglyphical inscriptions everywhere met the eye, to express and enforce their precepts of morality, or the dogmas, sacred rites, and ceremonies of their religion. Frequently the great actions of their kings were recorded on the walls as at Luxor, where the conquest of India is expressed in beautiful design within a series of panels, with such a degree of grace and elegance of outline, that the whole constitutes a richness of ornament of the most striking order.* Statues of their gods, in a few constrained attitudes, occupied places in divers parts of the temples, though always stiff, formal, and, to us, unmeaning. The art of sculpture with them was exclusively rendered subservient to the purposes of their worship. Priestly ordinance directed the designs of the sculptor ; they were not allowed to vary ; a few positions only with the accompa- nying attributes of their deity were assigned to express the religious meaning, so that the great restrictions thus imposed upon the artist fettered his genius, and altogether precluded the practice of that animated locomotion, that expressive intelligence, so peculiar to the Grecian masters. Hence that physical repose, that simplicity of attitude, that quiescent state of nature, so charac- teristic of all the Egyptian statuary that has been hitherto handed down to us. The greatest enemy to deviation from the rules of Grecian art, cannot fail to take a lively interest in the study of the Egyptian school, were it merely from the circumstance of its having been the parent of that refined and exquisite taste, which has ennobled the names of Corinth and of Athens ; where superior talent was unrestrained by the manacles of superstitious regulations, forbidding the smallest deviation from prescribed rules as unpardonable profanation. f Hence the art still remains the same, the rules of it still the same ; for it never rose to that perfection which the student of nature can alone attain. In spite of all the defects, however, of Egyptian art, it has at least the great merit of originality. The character of the animals of their country, whether quadrupeds, birds, or fish, will be allowed by every one to be faithfully maintained ; and though the employment of granite, particularly for statues, cannot be considered the result of * Notwithstanding the multiplied addition of these details, which, on close inspection, crowd on the various parts to a degree of sumptuous richness, they were disposed with such grace, elegance, and judgment, that they never interfered with the few lines that composed the simplicity of their architecture, but totally disappeared at a distance, and left the building in all the greatness of its first principles Boid. t According to Synesius, the profession of artist was not allowed to be exercised by any common or illiterate person, lest they should attempt anything contrary to the laws and regulations regarding the figures of the gods ; and Plato (in his second Book of Laws) says, they never suffered any painter or statuary to innovate anything in their art, or to invent any new subjects or any new habits. — Plato. 8 THE SACRED ARCHITECTURE OF THE EGYPTIANS. refined taste, it must at least be admitted tliat tlie perfection they arrived at in engraving this stone, intimates wonderful ingenuity, and testifies the advanced state of Egyptian sculpture at a most remote period. Egyptian Temples. Temple of Vulcan, at Memphis; Temple of Venus; Temple of Thebais, at Cnubis; Temple of Jupiter, at Karnac ; Temple of Jupiter Ammon; Temple of Apollo, at Apollinopolis Magna; tliis temple was 170 feet long, 180 broad, and 70 high. Temple of Esne, or Latopolis ; Temple at Dendera Magna ; this temple possesses a most sumptuous portico, the columns of which are surrounded with hieroglyphics, and the capitals contain heads of Isis. A Temple of Osiris, at Tentyra ; Temple of Hermopolis Magna; Temple at Ornbos; Temple at Isole ; Temple of Edfou; Temple in the Isle of Philbe ; Temple at Queron ; Temple of Ineron ; Temple Hermonthis ; Elephantine Temple, at Syene ; Temples in the Island of Elepliantina ; Temple Caryatic, or Rhamesseion, at Thebes; Temple of Ipsambul. Materials used in Egyptian Temples. In the construction of their temples, the Egyptians appear to have used wrought stones at a very early period ; this probably was induced by the still earlier habit of excavating rocks to form tombs. The stones, for the most part, were granite, breccia, and dark-sandstone, with unburnt bricks.* The granite was principally supplied from the quarries at Elepliantina and Syene, for which the Nile offered a ready mode of conveyance ; some species were brought down the river from Ethiopia, but we do not find that the materials were at any time brought from any other country. It may be remarked too, that in the earliest structures, calcareous and the common grit, or sandstone, is principally employed, except in the obelisks, which were of black basalt ; and some few of the propyl sea. All the temples at Thebes are of that material ; in Lower Egypt, on the contrary, and in the works of later date generally, almost everything is constructed of granite ; and their idol-gods were of grey, green, and red, of the same material. * All the bricks in Egypt during the reign of the Pharaohs and the time of the Israelites, were burnt by the sun, not in kilns ; nor were they the property of private individuals, as in other kingdoms, but belonged to the Egyptian government, acting under Pharaoh. They were a great source of profit to the revenue, and were always stamped with the king’s or with a pontiff’s name. Some Egyptian bricks had figures of animals and birds stamped on them, and various creeping things depicted in various colours, like mosaic pavement. (Wilkinson’s Thebes.) We are so much in the habit of associating the making of bricks with burning, that the common reader fails to discover that the straw could be for any other use than to burn the bricks. Without disputing that the Egyptians did sometimes burn their bricks, the evidence of ancient remains in their country, and the existing customs of the East, leave little room to doubt, that the use of the straw was to mix with and compact the masses of clay used in making sun-dried bricks. Bricks of this sort are still commonly made in Egypt; and their ancient use in the same country is evinced by the brick pyramids of Dashoor and Faioum. That they were never in the fire is shown by the fact that the straw which enters into their composition has sustained no injury or discoloration. Such bricks are very durable in dry climates like Egypt ; but would soon be ruined if exposed to much rain — Herodotus observes it as one of the customs in which the Egyptians were uidike other nations, that they kneaded their clay with their hands, and their dough with their feet. — Herodotus Hist. 9 SECTION II. ON THE SACRED ARCHITECTURE OF THE GREEKS. B. C. 1556. « Hail maids celestial, seed of heav’n’s great king, Here, nor unaided let the poet sing, Inspire a lovely lay, harmonious nine, My theme th’ immortal gods, a race divine, Of Earth, of Heav’n which lamps of light adorn, And of old sable Night, great parents, born, , And, after, nourish’d by the briny Main : Hear, goddesses, and aid the vent’rous strain ; Say whence the deathless gods receiv’d their birth, And next relate the origin of Earth, Whence the wide sea that spreads from shore to shore, Whose surges foam with rage, and billows roar ; Whence rivers which in various channels flow, And whence the stars which light the world below, And whence the wide expanse of heav’n, and whence The gods, to mortals who their good dispense ; Say how from them our honours we receive, And whence the pow’r that they our wants relieve, How they arriv’d to the sethereal plains, And took possession of the fair domains : With these, Olympian maids, my breast inspire, And to the end support the sacred fire, In order all from the beginning trace, From the first parents of the num’rous race.” Hesiod’s Theogonv. Greece, in sacrecl history, being the second country in renown after Egypt, it is necessary to begin by observing, that Cecrops, a native of the latter kingdom, led here a colony of that people, and became the founder of Athens, the capital of the Grecian States, in 1556 b. c. The Athenians, therefore, like the Egyptians and Pelasgians, then’ original nomade predecessors, were polytheist idolaters. Having no revelation for their guide before the Christian era, they believed in a plurality of gods and demigods,* alike, and suitable to their own passions ; which deities they imagined, and fashioned out of blocks of wood and marble, enriching them with all the precious metals, and afterwards enshrining them in magnificent temples ; which idols they adored. J ove, or J upiter, with Minerva, and a long list of other imaginary beings, they believed in, and supposed governed the world ; but the greatest deity of all, they considered, was Jove ; and thus sings Hesiod, who with Homer was the first who gave the gods a poetical dress, — “ From Jove, great origin, all monarchs spring; From mighty Jove, all kings, himself the king.” Him they supposed inhabited or lived in a celestial palace on the top of the mountain Olympus. f * Socrates was the only one among the Greek philosophers who dared to deny a plurality of divinities, and insist on the being of one great God alone, for which assertion be was put to death by poison. — Vide his Discourse on the Immor- tality of the Soul. t Olympus is situated in Thessaly, a mountain which, for its extraordinary height of 9,000 feet, and being covered with perpetual snow, on which a clear sun was always shining, gave it such lustre, that it was styled by the Greeks Heaven, and by the poets Parnassus. Here Jove’s palace was believed to be seated, from whence he hurled his bolts of thunder. The nine muses whom Hesiod invokes, were his daughters. — Hesiod’s Theogony. C 10 THE SACRED ARCHITECTURE Those celestial deities were by the Greeks supposed to be united in marriage, whose consorts were styled goddesses, which brought forth a race of demi or half gods ; those were denominated terrestrial deities — so says Diodorus Siculus. Chaos, Hesiod supposes, in his Theogony, was the parent of all, and Heaven and Earth the first of all visible things. That Heaven is the father, says the Greek Plutarch, in his “ Inquiry after God,” appears from his pouring down the waters, which have the spermatic faculty ; and Earth the mother, because she brings forth. This, according to the opinion of Plutarch and some others, was the origin of the multiplicity of the gods and goddesses, — men esteeming those bodies in the heavens and on the earth, from which they received benefit, the immediate objects of their gratitude and devotion, they afterwards attempted to personify in the most graceful and beautiful marble statues. The same, we find, were the motives which afterwards induced them to pay divine honours to popular mortal men.* To these supposed deities they first sacrificed on altars, but afterwards erected for them the most august and beautiful temples, f of Pentelicon marble, that were ever conceived by the mind of man, many of which are still existing in different parts of Greece and her colonies — some nearly entire — many in ruins — while others have totally disappeared, through a long lapse of ages, change of state, and the ravages of war ; while sacred edifices possessing an immense treasure, were always objects of desire by the neighbouring nations. The first and most cele- brated temple that calls our attention, was that of Apollo, at Delphi. Now, in every people we discover a reverence and awe of the Divinity, a homage and honour paid to him, and an open profession of an entire dependence in all their undertakings and necessities ; in all their adversities and dangers. Dr. Hill says, “ Incapable of themselves to penetrate futurity, and ascertain events in their own favour, we find them intent upon consulting the divinity by oracles, and by other methods of a like nature, and to merit his protection by prayers, vows, and offerings.”! It is by the same supreme authority they believed the most solemn treaties are rendered inviolable ; it is this that gives sanction to their oaths, and vows ; and to it, by imprecations, is referred the punishment of such crimes and enormities as escape the knowledge and power of man. On their private occasions, as voyages, journeys, marriages, diseases, &c., the divinity is still invoked. With him their very repast begins and ends ; no war is declared, no battle fought, no enterprise formed, without his aid being first implored ; to which the glory of the success is constantly ascribed by public acts of thanksgiving, and by the oblation of the most precious of the spoils, which they never fail to set apart as the indispensable right of Divinity. § The celebrated oracular temple of Apollo at Pliocis in Achaia, stands the first in renown ; it was situated near the mountain Parnassus, which place, by the poets, is styled the Abode of the Blessed. In the part of the temple where the oracle stood, there issued from a cavern below, a strong sulphureous vapour, “ which rose like an exhalation,” so as to intoxicate the brain, and * Javan, the son of Japliet, and grandson of Noah, who is supposed to have been the father of the Grecian states, as Menes was that of Egypt, had four sons, who were deified. First, Elisha, who was established in the city of Elis, a very ancient one in Peloponnesus. The temple on the Ilissus and the Elysian fields, or paradise of the virtuous, are still known, and retain his name. Tarsis, the second son, it is supposed, settled in Achaia ; Chittim, who was the third, in Macedonia ; and Dodanim, the fourth son, in Thessaly, which the Thessaloniansa fterwards worshipped as Jupiter, AoiOuvr)