In preparing to strike, it coils it-
self up, and raises it head from the
middle of the orb, ib. For this
reason its name denotes a shield al-
so, ib. Its venom the most subtile
of all; is incurable, and followed
by speedy destruction, 429. Το
tread upon the asp, or give it the
smallest disturbance, attended with
extreme danger, ib. Glory of the
last days, 430. Taming the aspic,
431. This art very ancient, 431,
432.

Various methods of charm-
ing serpents, ib. The power of
music in charming serpents, 432,
433, 434, 535. While the charm
continues, the serpent is sometimes
deprived of its fangs, 436. On
some serpents these charms seem to
have no power, 436. How the
serpent prevents the charm, ib.
Various ways of accounting for
this, 437. Charmer supposed to
be exposed to great danger, if he
fail, 438.

Why

ASPHALTITES, or the Salt Sea: co-
vers the vale of Sodom, i. 205. Its
length and breadth, 209. Cha-
racter of its water, ib.
called the Dead Sea, 210. Its ex-
halations not destructive to life, ib.
The water bears up the body in
swimming with uncommon force,
ib. The shores encrusted with salt,
211. Lavoisier's analysis of the
water, ib. Black combustible peb-
bles found on the shore, 212.
Apples of Sodom, fabulous, 213.
Volney's theory of its saltness re..
futed, 214-216. The Dead Sea,
not the crater of a volcano, 218.
The rugged mountains and spaci-
ous caverns on its south-west shore,
a secure retreat to the oppressed,
218, 219.

Ass, two varieties of this animal,
tame and wild, i. 536. Names
by which he is known in Scripture,
ib. Qualities of the tame ass, 536,
537. The breed greatly encour-
aged by the Patriarchs, ib. Highly
valued in ancient times, ib. In
David's reign, a prince in Israel
appointed to take care of them, ib.
Not unworthy of this care, 538.

Long used for the saddle, ib. Saddle-
asses descended from onagers, 539.
Their price, ib. Very handsome
and extremely swift, 538, 539.
Their dispositions, 539. This race
confined to the great, ib. To ride
on an ass was in the days of the
Judges a mark of distinction, 540.
Gradually fell into disrepute, 541.
The saddle-ass apt to become res-
tive, ib. The Shunamite, 541,
542. Bridle necessary to guide the
ass, 543. He disregards the whip,
ib. Young ass preferred for the
saddle, 543, 544. Saddle-asses
sometimes adorned with rich and
splendid trappings, 544. The weal-
thy Israelites rode white asses, 545.
The female ass more highly valued
by the orientals, than the male, 546.
The ass in some countries employ-
ed in war, ib. Occasionally yoked
to the chariot, 547, 548. Never
flees before an enemy, 547. Of con-
siderable value as a beast of bur-
then, 548. Often employed by the
orientals in the carriage of goods,
549. Powerful to sustain, and
patient under an unequal load, 549.
550. He laboured with the ox in
the same field, and under the same
yoke, 550, 551. A single ass is oc-
casionally seen drawing the plough
in Syria and Egypt, 552. The
Israelite forbidden to plough with
an ox and an ass together, 552,
553. Some faint traces of this law
among the heathen, 553. The ass
assisted in gathering in the crop,
and then was sent to drive the mill-
stone, 544. The variety and num
ber of his services, 554, 555. These
never sufficient to save him from
abuse, 555. Laws of Moses pro-
viding for his safety and comfort,
555, 556. The ass grateful to his
benefactor, 556. Considered by the
Jews as an unclean animal, 557.
In cases of extreme want, the law
was disregarded, ib. Neglect and
contempt which followed this ani-
mal through life, did not forsake
him even in death, 558, 559.
ATHLETE or combatants, in the
Grecian games; how trained, iii.

25. Preparatory exercises, when |
they proposed to contend in the
Olympian games, 326. The laws
most strictly enforced, ib. Cha-
racters of those permitted to con-
tend, ib. Disencumbered them-
selves of their clothes, 329.
AUGUSTUS, the Roman emperor, so
terrified when it thundered, that he
hid himself in some secret corner
till the storm ceased, ii. 170.
AVIMS, probably descendants from
Cush, i. 137. Extent of their
settlements, ib. Driven out by the
Philistines, descendants of Miz-
raim, ib.

AWNINGS, large, spread upon lofty
pillars, and attached by cords of
various colours, to screen the com-
pany at an entertainment from the
sun, iii. 114. Some of them be-
longing to the Indian emperors,
very costly, and distinguished by
various names, ib.

B.

BABYLON, city of; built by Nim-
rod, i. 98. Its walls of brick, ib.
Its twenty-five gates of solid brass,
99. Its bridge adorned at each
end with a splendid palace, ib. Its
pensile gardens, 100. Temple of
Belas, ib. Very strong both by
nature and art, 101. Its site now
unknown, 105.

city and tower of, i. 38.
Built near the scene of the first
transgression, within the limits of
Eden, ib. Design of the tower,
41, 42. The most stupendous
work ever attempted by man, 52.
Long remembered in the east, 53.
BABYLONIA, the province of, an-
ciently called the land of Nimrod,
i. 114.
BACK-HOUSE, annexed to the prin-
cipal dwelling in the east, ii. 540.
Description of it, 541. A lodging
for strangers, and place of retire-
ment, ib.
How furnished, ib.
Eglon's summer parlour, ib. Com-
municated with the street by a pri-
vate staircase, 542. Upper and
inner chambers, structures of the
same kind, 542.

BADGER, the; mentioned in Scrip-
ture only on account of its skin, ii.
211. Badgers' skins formed the
exterior covering of the tabernacle
and its furniture, ib. Shoes for
ladies of the highest rank, made of
them, ib. The subject involved by
contradictory statements in doubt
and uncertainty, 212. No evidence
that the term rendered badger de-
notes an animal at all, 212–214.
Denotes merely a colour, 214. Most
probably red or purple, 215.
BAG or Scrip, used by shepherds in
the east to carry their provisions,
ii. 392.

BAGREACH; a sort of pancakes, how
made, iii. 55.
BAKEHOUSES, public; introduced
into Judea long before the captivity,
iii. 59. The dough how received
and carried to the bakehouses, 60.
A piece of bread given to the baker
for his trouble, ib.
BALISTA, a military engine for cast-
ing arrows, darts and stones of a
large size, iii, 422.

BALSAM, a native of Judea, so pre-

cious that it sold for double its
weight in silver, iii. 97, note.
Description of the plant, ib. Me-
thod of extracting the juice, ib.
Character and medicinal virtues of
the balm, ib.
BALSAM-TREES, i. 372. Liquid
essence made of these sweet scented
trees, 374.

BANQUET; the feast being over, and
the tables withdrawn, the ancient
Romans put down their wine, iii.
112. In Persia the time for drink-
ing wine was at the beginning of
the feast, ib. "Banquet of wine,"
meaning of the phrase, ib. Often
spread beneath the shade of a
tree on the margin of a brook,
113.

BARDACHS, a sort of earthen vessels
in which the orientals cool their
water, iii. 192.
BARLEY, bread made of; used in

Palestine only in times of scarcity
and distress, iii. 46. In some re-
gions of Persia, commonly used by
the lower orders, ib. Barley, the

first corn used in making bread, ib.
Soldiers who had been guilty of
any offence, in the Roman camp,
fed with barley bread, 47.
BARZILLAI; meaning of David's
charge concerning his sons, iii 105.
BASHAN, a celebrated pastoral dis-
trict of Canaan, i. 190. A rough
mountainous tract, lying between
the hills of Gilead and the river
Jordan, 191. The oaks of Bashan,
held in high estimation; the extent
and luxuriance of its pastures, and
the superior breed of its flocks and
herds, 193.
BASILISK or Cockatrice, i. 439.
Description of, 440. Its hissing
puts all other serpents to flight, ib.
Its breath fatal to those that inhale
it, ib. This dreadful snake abounds
in Fgypt, 440. Is oviparous, 441.
When the egg is broken, the young
basilisk leaps out, puts itself into
an attitude of attack, ready to spring
on whatever comes in its way, ib.
Argument against inebriety, 441,
442. The basilsik's power of fas-
cination, 443. The symbol of a
powerful monarch, 443, 444.
Sometimes the symbol of a good
king, sometimes of a bad one, 445.
BASKETS, Covered with skin, in which

the Arabs put their bowls and
dishes, ii. 406.

BASONS of pure gold, used in some
parts of the east for washing the
feet of kings and princes, iii. 100.
Vessels of silver, earthen ware, or
wood, for persons of inferior station,
ib. The bason employed by the
Saviour, ib.

BASTARD in ancient Greece, despis-

ed and exposed to public scorn, iii.
159. Jewish father paid no atten-
tion to the education of his natural
children, ib. In Persia never placed
on a footing with legitimate off-
spring, ib. A bastard stigmatized
in the law of Moses till the tenth
generation, 159.

BAT, the; winged quadruped, ii. 215.
Description of, ib. The Ternate
bat described, ib. Carries on the
work of destruction by open force,
216. Its dwelling, 216. Their

stench intolerable, ib. What is
meant by the idolater's casting his
idols to the moles and the bats,
217.

BATTERING-RAM, description of,
iii. 421. Three kinds mentioned
by Potter, ib. Vespasian's ram,
422.

BATTLE, order of, among the an-
cient Greeks, iii. 406. Among
the Romans, ib. Among the Is-
raelites, ib. How they commenced
their attack, 412.
BATTLE-AXE, often used by the pri-
mitive Greeks, iii. 375.
BEACONS in which fires are lighted
to direct the march of eastern cara-
vans, iii. 395, 396.
BEAR, the; sometimes associated
with the lion in Scripture, ii. 108.
Different species of bears, ib. De-
scription of them, 109. Particular
description of the red bear, 109,
110. Peculiar form of his anterior
feet; resembling the human hand
111. His voice, a grumbling,
mournful sound, 112. More in-
clined to rage than to complain, ib.
When excited to rage, extremely
formidable, ib. The manner in
which he combats his enemy, 113.
King David's exploit, ib., 114.
The bear remarkable for his cun-
ning and deceit, 114. Subsists dur-
ing the winter by sucking his paws,
115. When he first goes abroad
after the winter, he attacks his prey
with open violence and terrible rage,
ib. Does not always put his vic-
tims instantly to death, ib. The
cruel oppressor compared to the
bear, ib. The female bear, when
rearing her young, still more fierce
and terrible than the male, 116.
Her passions most furious when
she happens ro be deprived of her
young, 117. To steal them a des-
perate attempt, ib. To meet a fool
in his folly still more dreadful than
to meet a bereaved bear, 118. Al-
lusion of the prophet to these facts,
119. The she bears at Bethel,
120, 121, 122. The bear symbo-
lizes the empire of the Medes and
Persians, 122, 123, 124.

BEARD, cutting off; a mark of con-
tempt or dislike, iii. 240, 241.
BEDS, from which the orientals feast-
ed, iii. 92. Placed round the tables,
one to each table, ib. Formed of
matresses and supported on frames
of wood, ib. Beds of silver and
gold, meaning of the phrase, ib.
Manner of reclining on these beds,
93. Those who spoke raised them-
selves almost upright, ib. When
they ate they raised themselves on
their elbow, and used the right
hand, ib. The Greeks and Ro-
mans sometimes used both hands, ib.
BEE, a gregarious insect, subject to
a regular government, i. 391.
Different opinions about the mode
of their propagation, ib. A very
cleanly creature, 392. By no
means destitute of hearing, 393.
A vexatious and even formidable
adversary, 394. Easily provoked;
fierce and persevering in their at-
tack, 395. Assails with fearless
intrepidity, the largest and most
ferocious animal, 395. Renowned
for singular industry, strict disci-
pline, and valuable products, ib.
Often lent its name to females of
various ranks in society, ib.
BEHEMOTH, an amphibious ani-
mal, i. 475. The same as the
hippopotamus, 475, 476. Argu-
ments in support of this opinion,
ib. &c. In size, equal to an ox,
476. Eats grass like an ox, 477.
In the form of his head and feet,
not less than in the size and stature
of his body, bears a considerable
resemblance to the ox, ib. His
body protected by an impenetrable
skin, 478, 479. His tail that of a
tortoise, but incomparably thicker,
479. Is of a tapering conical shape;
remarkable for its smoothness, thick-
ness, and strength, 480. His pro-
digious strength, ib. His bones ex-
tremely hard, 481. His teeth very
long, cylindrical and chamfered, ib.
Crocked like a scythe, for reaping
his food, 483. Measurements of
his body, 481, 482. His mouth,
a vast opening, his voracity por-
tentous, 482. Lives with equal

ease in the sea, on the land, or at
the bottom of the Nile, ib. Not
less remarkable for his sagacity,
ib. Instances of it, ib. Though
he lives for the most part in the
water, yet he seeks his food more
frequently on the land, 484. His
habitual gentleness, 485. The
reeds are the chosen haunt of the
hippopotamus, ib. These his co-
vert, his food, and his medicine,
486. Various cries of the hippo-
potamus, 486, 487. He walks
deliberately into the deepest floods,
489. Method of taking him, ib.,
490.

BELLS, little, fastened to the an-
kle rings in the east, which make
a tinkling as they walk, iii. 40.
Worn also on the feet and toes, and
placed in the tresses of their hair ;
suspended round their necks, and
to the golden rings which they wore
on their fingers, ib.

put about the necks and on
the legs of the war-horse, iii. 352,
353. Mr. Burder traces the cus-
tom to the worship of the sun, 353.
Anciently signs or symbols of vic-
tory or dominion, ib.
BESIEGING; Hebrew manner of,
iii. 382.

BETROTHING, twelve months com-
monly intervened between the es-
pousals and the marriage, iii. 137.
During this interval the wife con-
tinued with her parents, 138.
Bridegroom permitted to visit her
in her father's house, ib. Neither
of the parties left their own abode
during eight days before the mar-
riage, ib.

; several forms of,
used in Greece, iii. 136. Jewish
virgin, legally betrothed, consider-
ed as a lawful wife, 137. If she
proved unfaithful she was punished
as an adulteress, ib.
BIER, a sort of bed upon which the

Greeks laid out the bodies of their
dead, iii. 249. Orientals carried
out their dead to burial upon it,
252.

BISCUITS, which the Mahometan
pilgrims carry from Egypt to