used to give a horrid grin of satisfaction and triumph. (See on Proverbs xxvii. 22.)

21.

"Their houses shall be full of doleful creatures;

and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there." (See on chaps. xx. xxi.)

، Yes; the wretch is now punished for his crimes, and those of his father; dogs and devils are now dwelling in his habitation." The owl, whose native name is ANTHI, is one of the most ominous birds of the East. Let him only alight upon the house of a Hindoo, and begin his dismal screech, and all the inmates will be seized with great consternation. Some one will instantly run out and make a noise with his arecanut-cutter, or some other instrument, to affright it away. I recollect one of these creatures once flew into the house of a lady when she was in the pains of parturition: the native servants became greatly alarmed, and ran to me, lamenting the fearful omen. I had it driven from the house; and notwithstanding the malignant influence of the feathered visiter, and the qualms of the domestics, all things went on well. On another occasion, I shot one of them which had troubled us on the roof, night by night: but as he was only wounded in the wing, I took him into the house, with the intention of keeping him: but the servants were so uncomfortable, and complained so much at having such a BEAST" in the house, I was obliged to send him away. these statements it will be seen what ideas would be attached to the Owls dwelling in the houses of Babylon.

،،

From

"Satyrs shall dance there." Lempriere, "Satyri, demigods of the country, whose origin is UNKNOWN! They are represented like men, but with the feet and the legs of goats; short horns on the head, and the whole body covered with thick hair. They chiefly attended upon Bacchus, and rendered themselves known in his orgies by their riot and lasciviousness."

Bacchus. "His expedition in the East is most celebrated.

He marched at the head of an army composed of men as well as of women, all inspired with divine fury, and armed with thyrsuses, cymbals, and other musical instruments. The leader was drawn in a chariot by a lion and a tiger, and was accompanied by PAN and Silenus and all the SATYRS!" "PAN, according to some, is the same as FAUNUS (also represented with the equipage of the SATYRS), and he is the chief of all the SATYRS."

What Oriental scholar can help thinking of Rāmar or Rama, and Anuman, his monkey chief, over the monkey soldiers, and their numerous victories, so celebrated in ALL parts of the East? These millions of monkeys are described as being able to assume any form, and as being heroes of boundless energies, “able to wield in combat rocks and mountains, and tremendously to annoy the enemy with their tails and teeth: skilled in every kind of weapon, they could remove the greatest mountains, pierce the stoutest trees, and in swiftness put to shame Samada the lord of rivers, causing him to overflow his bounds; and, mounting in the air, they could seize the very clouds: they could rule inebriated elephants, and with their shout cause the feathered songsters to fall on the ground." In these stories we have probably the origin of monkey or ape worship in Babylon, India, and China. +

The passage, therefore, " satyrs shall dance there," may allude to the utter desolation of Babylon, and to the fabulous tales of those victorious monsters whose achievements occupy so large a place in Eastern and Western story; or it may simply mean that the APE shall be found with other beasts

* Hunoomanu, the monkey, has also been placed among the gods, as a form of Shivu. Temples to this god are to be seen; and in some places his image is worshipped daily: he is even chosen by many as their guardian deity. Hunoomanu bears some resemblance to Pan, and like him owes his birth to the god of the winds."-Ward.

+ See Picart and Ward; also Rich on Babylon; Fragments to Calmet, 597.

of the desert sporting in the once splendid palaces of Ba

Europeans are often astonished, in walking through a town or village, to see so many DESOLATE houses, and frequently come to improper conclusions from an idea that the place had once a greater number of inhabitants. At half an hour's notice, families may be seen to leave their dwellings, never to enter them more. Hence in almost every direction may be seen buildings with roofs half fallen in; with timbers hanging in various positions; shutters and doors flapping in the wind, or walls half levelled to the ground. Various are the reasons for which the superstitious idolater will leave his dwelling: should one of the family die on the fifth day of the new or waning moon*, the place must be forsaken for six months; or should the Cobra Capella (serpent) enter the house at the times alluded to, the people must forthwith leave the house. Does an owl alight on the roof for two SUCCESSIVE nights, the inmates will take their departure; but if for ONE only, then by the performance of certain ceremonies the evils may be averted. Are evil spirits believed to visit the dwelling? are the children often sick? are the former as well as the present occupiers unfortunate? then will they never rest till they have gained another habitation. Sometimes, however, they call for the sāstre, i. e. magician, to enquire if he can find out the cause of their troubles; when perhaps he says, the walls are too high, or too much in this or that direction; and then may be seen master, servants, children, carpenters, and masons, all busily employed in making the prescribed alterations, But another reason for the desolation in houses is, that a father sometimes leaves the dwelling to two or three of his sons; and then, when the necessary repairs have to be

* See note on Psalm cxxi. 6.

made, one will not do this, and another will not do that, till the whole crumbles to the ground.

XIV. 12.-"How art thou fallen from heaven, O

Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down, which didst weaken the nations!" Margin, instead of Lucifer, "daystar."

What are we to understand by the term Lucifer? nothing more than the name of the MORNING STAR: which may be VENUS OF JUPITER, according to the relative position in reference to the sun. But to whom in the passage is the term Lucifer applied? No doubt to the Assyrian monarch; for nearly the whole chapter relates to the downfall of the Babylonish, or rather Assyrian empire. But is not Satan sometimes called by that name? He is: and so far as the MORNING STAR is concerned, nothing can be more inappropriate than to give to him the name of the beautiful harbinger of day. But there is surely some reason for this epithet being attached to that fallen spirit. How can Lucifer be called SON of the morning? Is not that planet especially VENUS, of the feminine gender? No, in Eastern language it is always MASCULINE! But what do lexicographers say about heilel? Parkhurst has, "The morning star, from its vivid splendour;" and this interpretation is in some measure confirmed by the 13th verse. But do not some suppose that Lucifer is an improper rendering, and that it ought to be "HOWL?" Yes; but what difference does that make as to the epithet morning star being applied to the monarch of Babylon? None; as SON OF THE MORNING still implies the same star, having for its prefix howl, cry, lament, which well agrees with the predicted downfall of the king. But has not the word a distinctive meaning? The learned editor of Calmet says, under Lucifer, "This word seems to import one unduly exalted, or who has exalted himself unduly, a famous braggart, an upstart, intoxicated with power and supremacy, and therefore playing mad freaks in his tyranny

- to "

gods;"

66

on

over neighbouring nations." But what has this to do with the beautiful MORNING STAR? Nothing; it is to the PERSON signified we are to look for an explanation. But why call the monarch of Assyria by the name of that star? Because I believe it to refer to his system of mythology. The editor to Calmet says, "the subsequent allusions to ascending into heaven;"-to" exalting his throne above the stars of God;" sitting on the mount of the congregation, that is of the the sides of the North," that is, the mount Meru of the Hindoos; seem to be Oriental, and even Brahminical. I have repeatedly shown* that the Hindoo and Assyrian systems of idolatry are substantially the SAME, and I think it is there we are to look for an illustration of the QUALITIES attributed to Lucifer, and also for an explanation of other allusions in this chapter. The name of the morning star among the Hindoos is VELLE, and to it is attached PERSONALITY. He was the gooroo, i. e. priest and teacher of the demi-gods or giants, called ASSURS (recollect the Assyrians are often mentioned by that name in the Old Testament and in the Apocrypha) to VELLE are ascribed the most malignant powers; and through his cunning the gods were conquered by the ASSURS, made prisoners, and put to the most DEGRADING offices. This braggart and the tyrants now rejoiced over the humbled gods, and were so intoxicated with their achievements that they began to contemplate plans of greater daring. Siva the supreme, hearing the cries of the celestial inhabitants, and compassionating their misery, complied with their requests, and granted a son to arise from his own body, through whom they regained their liberty, conquered the ASSURS, and their wicked gooroo VELLE, and thus triumphed over their old and cruel foes.+

See Introduction, and various other places in this volume.

But

In the book Scanda Purana (which is now in course of translation) is a full account of VELLE; of the origin, conquests, and tyranny of the ASSURS; of their cruelties to men, and all the celestials (excepting Siva the supreme), and of their final overthrow by Scandan, the son of Siva.

There is a striking similarity betwixt the giants, gods, and demi-gods of the East, and those of Greece and Rome: Lempriere-" The giants are