Chapter VI: Fifth Day (3)

The heathen, who “did not like to retain God in their knowledge, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened,” were in this respect, symbolically represented by the tribe of Owls and Bats, and other birds of night, all of which the law pronounced to be unclean. In the Owl we have a striking image of the sceptic, who loves darkness rather than light, and is more proud of his artificial ignorance than any man ought to be of the most useful knowledge: who could never find Divine truth, because he never loved it; as the Owl is offended with that glory which the sun diffuses over the natural creation. As the day has no charms for the Owl, so revealed religion has nothing wise or wonderful in its nature and design with the unbelieving philosopher; who brings with him to the word of God all that prejudice with which the Owl flies out of its retreat into the sun-shine. Yet he has his admirers; as the hooting of the Owl is music in the ears of another of the same species. This emblematical bird, when exposed to the light of the sun against his will, lets down a conspicuous membrane over his eyes, to guard them from the inconvenient splendor of the orb of day; as the infidel draws a dark veil of evil reasonings and blasphemous objections over his heart, to intercept and weaken the effulgent rays of heavenly truth. The Owl has a natural aversion from the light; and if he breaks through his ordinary rule, and settled habit, so as to appear in the day-time, he is pursued and reprimanded by other birds, as one that is a disgrace to their kind. But the birds which thus express their indignation against the Owl, never kill him, being unarmed and inoffensive in their nature.[156] So an infidel should not be put to death for his detestable and demoralizing principles; but all Christians should agree in giving public notice of him, and showing the world what he is. For internal realities do not always comport with external appearances. The outward appearance of the Owl seems to promise a great degree of gravity and wisdom, while its principles and manners are opposite to the common sense of other birds, and its office in the creation reduces it to the rank of a common mouse-trap. So the philosophers it represented made a pompous display of reason and learning, all of which, so far as they applied these to divinity, were no better than ignorance and folly. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools;” and by an unaccountable fatality chose this very bird as the emblem of their wisdom; which was accordingly held in great veneration at Athens, the principal seat of heathen learning, as the symbol of Minerva, the tutelar goddess of that city.

The Bat is a sort of monster, partaking of the nature of both a bird and a beast, having feet or claws growing out of its pinions, and contradicts the general order of nature by creeping with the instruments of its flight. What a contrast between this creature and the Lark!

“Up-springs the Lark,
Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of morn;
Ere yet the shadows fly, he, mounted, sings
Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts
Calls up the tuneful nations.”

Nothing can be more pleasing, observes Goldsmith, than to see the Lark warbling upon the wing; raising its note as it soars, till it seems lost in the immense heights above us; the note continuing, the bird itself unseen; to see it then descending with a swell as it comes from the clouds, yet sinking by degrees as it approaches its nest, the spot where all its affections are centered--the spot which has prompted all this joy. While the Lark thus mounts on triumphant wings, soaring up into the heavens with a song of praise to its Creator, this little black animal lies sleeping in holes and cracks of decayed edifices; and if disturbed by any accident, drops down and crawls upon the earth. When darkness prevails, it comes forth from its concealment to haunt the cemeteries of the dead, and desolate places; as if it purposely avoided the society of all cheerful birds, and took a delight in associating with Owls and Beetles in dark and solitary abodes. “The bat is called עטלף _âtalaph_,” according to Parkhurst, “from עט _ât_ to _fly_, and עלף _âlaph_, _darkness_ or _obscurity_, because it flies about in the _dusk of the evening_, and in the _night_; so the Septuagint νυκτερις, from νυξ, the _night_, and the Vulgate, _vespertilio_, from _vesper_, the evening.”

These birds of the night but too appropriately symbolize with persons who love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Dr. Shaw, speaking of Ostriches, says, “In the lonesome part of the night they frequently make a very doleful and hideous noise, sometimes resembling the roar of the Lion; at other times the hoarser voices of other quadrupeds, particularly the Bull or Ox.” He adds, “I have often heard them groan as if in the greatest agonies.” Thus--

“The slaves of excess, Their senses to please,
Whole nights can bestow,
And on in a circle of riot they go;
Poor prodigals, they The night into day
By revellings turn,
And all the restraints of sobriety scorn.

The drunkards proclaim At midnight their shame,
Their sacrifice bring,
And loud to the praise of _their_ master they sing:
The hellish desires Which satan inspires,
In sonnets they breathe,
And shouting descend to the regions of death.”

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Footnotes - Chapter VI

[141] The great Greenland Whale is a large, heavy animal,
usually found from sixty to seventy feet long. The head alone
is equal to a third of its bulk; and the cleft of the mouth
is above twenty feet long. The upper jaw is furnished with
barbs, that lie like the pipes of an organ, the greatest in
the middle, and the smallest on the sides; these compose the
whale-bone, the longest spars of which are found to be not less
than eighteen feet. The fins on each side are from five to
eight feet, consisting of bones and muscles, and sufficiently
strong to give speed and activity to the great mass of body
which they move. The tail is about twenty-four feet broad; and,
when the fish is on one side, its blow is tremendous. The skin
is smooth and black, and in some places dappled with white and
yellow: which, running over the surface, have a very beautiful
effect. The outward or scarf skin is no thicker than parchment;
but this removed, the real skin appears of about an inch thick,
and covers the fat or blubber that lies beneath: this is from
eight to twelve inches in thickness; and, when the fish is in
health, of a beautiful yellow. The muscles lie beneath: and
these, like the flesh of quadrupeds, are very red and tough.

[142] A variety of opinions we meet with concerning the
_whale_ which swallowed Jonah, and in whose belly he was _three
days and three nights_. The following is offered by Dr. A.
Clarke. “That a fish of the _shark_ kind, and not a _whale_,
is here meant, _Bochart_ has abundantly proved, vol. iii, col.
742, &c, edit, Leyd. 1692. It is well known, that the throat
of a whale is capable of admitting little more than the _arm_
of an ordinary man; but many of the shark species can swallow
a whole man; and men have been found whole in the stomachs of
several. Every natural history abounds with facts of this kind.
Besides, the shark is a native of the _Mediterranean Sea_, in
which Jonah was sailing, when swallowed by what the Hebrew
terms דג גדול _dog gadol, a great fish_; but every body knows
that _whales_ are no produce of the Mediterranean Sea, though
some have been by _accident_ found there, as in most parts of
the maritime world: but let them be found where they may, there
is none of them found capable of swallowing a man.”

[143] The _Torpedo_ is formidable, being well known by
the effect it produces when touched: but the manner of its
operating is to this hour a mystery to mankind. Such is the
unaccountable power it possesses, that, the instant it is
touched, it benumbs not only the hand and arm, but sometimes
also the whole body. The shock received, by all accounts, much
resembles the stroke of an electrical machine; being sudden,
tingling, and painful. “The instant,” says Kemfer, “I touched
it with my hand, I felt a terrible numbness in my arm, and as
far up as the shoulder. Even if one tread on it with the shoe
on, it affects not only the leg, but the whole thigh. Those who
touch it with the foot, are seized with a stronger palpitation
than even those who touch it with the hand. This numbness bears
no resemblance to that which we feel when a nerve is a long
time pressed, and the foot is said to be asleep: it rather
appears like a sudden vapor, which, passing through the pores
in an instant, penetrates to the very springs of life; whence
it diffuses itself over the whole body, and gives real pain.
The nerves are so affected, that the person struck imagines
all the bones of his body, and particularly those of the limb
that received the blow, are driven out of joint. All this
is accompanied with an universal tremor, a sickness of the
stomach, a general convulsion, and a total suspension of the
faculties of the mind.”

We are in possession of some facts which relate to the
manner of its acting. Reaumur, who made several trials on
this animal, has at least convinced the world that it is not
necessarily, but by an effort, that the Torpedo benumbs the
hand of him that touches it. He tried several times, and could
easily tell when the fish intended the stroke, and when it
would continue harmless. Always before the fish meditated
the stroke, it flattened the back, raised the head and the
tail; and then by a violent contraction in the opposite side,
struck with its back against the pressing finger; while the
body, which before was flat, became humped and round. The
most probable solution of this phenomenon is, that it depends
on electricity. When the fish is dead, the whole power is
destroyed, and it may be handled, or eaten with perfect
security.

[144] A large herring-fishery is carried on at Douglas, in
the Isle of Man. Herrings are so abundant in the neighborhood
of Gottenburgh, that 200,000 barrels, on an average, are salted
there every year, and about 400,000 are employed in making
train oil. Besides these, 50,000 barrels are consumed fresh in
the country, or sent to Denmark. Allowing 1,200 fish to each
barrel, in this district alone, about 780,000,000 of herrings
are caught in a season. In the year 1776, 56,000 barrels were
sent to Ireland, and thence exported to the West Indies.

[145] The Indians of Jamaica and Cuba (says Oviedo) go a
fishing with the Remora, or Sucking-Fish, which they employ as
falconers employ hawks.--This fish, which is not above a span
long, is kept for the purpose, and regularly fed. The owner,
on a calm morning, carries it out to sea, secured to his canoe
by a small but strong line, many fathoms in length; and the
moment the creature sees a fish in the water, though at a great
distance, it darts away with the swiftness of an arrow, and
soon fastens upon it. The Indian, in the mean time, loosens
and lets go the line, which is provided with a buoy that keeps
on the surface of the sea, and serves to mark the course which
the Remora has taken, and pursues it in his canoe until he
conceives his game to be nearly exhausted and run down: he
then, taking up the buoy, gradually draws the line towards the
shore; the Remora still adhering with inflexible tenacity to
its prey; and it is with great difficulty that he is made to
quit this hold. By this method (adds Oviedo) I have known a
turtle caught, of a bulk and weight which no single man could
support.--Edward’s West Indies, vol. i. p. 100.

[146] A species of sea turtle, weighing 840 lb. was
harpooned and caught on the 27th of September, 1811, off Sandy
Hook, near New-York. It measured three feet two inches round
the neck, was seven feet long, eight feet in circumference,
and seven feet and a half from the extremity of one fin to the
other: of a coal black color, with five black ridges on the
back resembling the sturgeon. It is said to be a trunk turtle,
a native of the East Indies, and was the first ever seen in
the American seas. The proprietor of a museum purchased it for
fifty dollars.

[147] Sir W. Jones, when in India, formed en acquaintance
with an intelligent and respectable Brahmin. The religion of
these men permits them not to destroy life, nor to swallow any
creature which has possessed it; and so strict are some, that
in the season when insects abound, they cover their mouths and
nostrils, and sweep the ground on which they walk with a soft
broom, that they may not tread on them. Sir William had a solar
microscope sent from England, and showing it to his Hindoo
friend, demonstrated the impossibility of his eating even fruit
and vegetables without swallowing the animalcules which adhere
to them. The Brahmin was astonished and seemed gratified; but
begged importunately for the microscope, _so_ importunately,
that, at length, Sir William reluctantly resigned it to
him. A momentary gleam of joy flashed across the Brahmin’s
countenance; and, grasping the instrument, he immediately
descended from the viranda, where they were conversing, into
the garden, when, seizing a stone, he instantly smashed it to
pieces. On assigning his reason for this act, which he did a
few days afterwards, when his friend’s anger had subsided, he
said, “Oh that I had remained in that happy state of ignorance
wherein you first found me! Yet will I confess, that, as
my knowledge increased, so did my pleasure, until I beheld
the last wonders of the microscope. From that moment I have
been tormented by doubt, and perplexed by mystery: my mind,
overwhelmed by chaotic confusion, knows not where to rest,
nor how to extricate itself from such a maze. I am miserable,
and must continue so to be, until I enter on another stage of
existence. I am a solitary individual, among fifty millions of
people, all educated in the same belief with myself, all happy
in their ignorance! So may they ever remain! I shall keep the
secret within my own bosom, where it will corrode my peace, and
break my rest; but I shall have some satisfaction in knowing
that I alone feel those pangs which, had I not destroyed
the instrument, might have been extensively communicated,
and rendered thousands miserable! Forgive me, my valuable
friend, and, oh, _convey no more implements of knowledge and
destruction_!” These religious prejudices, which cannot bear
the light of sound philosophy, we perceive to be the results of
lamentable ignorance and degrading superstitions, and it may
be hoped will soon be removed by the cultivation of science,
and especially the dissemination of the Scriptures. The
missionaries now in the East will certainly be of very singular
use to the natives.

[148] M. de Saussure, in a letter to Bonnet, says,
“Infusion-animalcules multiply by continued divisions and
sub-divisions. Those roundish or oval animalcules that have
no beak or hook on the fore part of their bodies, divide
transversely. A kind of stricture of strangulation begins about
the middle of the body, which gradually increases, till the
two parts adhere by a small thread only. Then both parts make
repeated efforts, till the division is completed. For some time
after separation, the two animals remain in seemingly torpid
state. They afterwards begin to swim about briskly. Each part
is only one half the size of the whole: but they soon acquire
the magnitude peculiar to the species, and multiply by similar
divisions. To obviate every doubt, I put a single animalcule
into a drop of water, which split before my eyes. Next day, I
had five; the day after, sixty; and, on the third day, their
number was so great, that it was impossible to count them.”--La
Palingenesie Philosophique, par C. Bonnet, tom. i. pp. 428, 429.

[149] See Bryant’s Observations upon the Plagues inflicted
upon the Egyptians, Part I.

[150] See Jones’s Disquisition concerning clean and unclean
Animals.

[151] Nicholas, in his voyage to New-Zealand, vol. i, p.
334, says, “The morning of the 10th of January, 1815, was
announced to our enraptured ears by the swelling notes of the
woodland choristers, and never either before or since did I
hear such delightful harmony. Rising together at an early hour,
we fancied ourselves for the moment in some enchanted ground,
while the forest seemed to ring with the mellow warblings of
nature, and a thousand feathered songsters poured their soft
throats in responsive melody. There was, however, one bird that
was distinguished from all the rest, as well by the compass and
variety of its notes, as by their incomparable sweetness. This
bird, which has been brought to Port Jackson, and highly prized
there, is called by the colonists the _organ-bird_, and is, I
believe, peculiar to New-Zealand: the notes of the Nightingale,
however exquisite, are, in my opinion, much inferior to the
song of this bird; and I never thought before that either the
grove or forest could boast of such a vocal treasure.”

[152] A Martin recently fixed her nest directly over
the window of the Inn at Rampside, in Low Farnes. After her
young were hatched, she became a very troublesome visitant,
by throwing the cleansing of her nest upon the window. The
servant-maid, with more attention to cleanliness than humanity,
removed the little inconvenience by destroying the nest with
a broom. The young birds of course fell to the ground; in
the mean time the parents collected a great number of their
own species, who quickly built a second nest, sufficiently
commodious for the reception of the distressed family, and the
young were safely conveyed to their new lodgings by the parents
and their assistants.

[153] Dr. Edmonston, in his view of the Zetland islands,
says, “The white-tailed Eagle, or Erne, boldly attacks fishes
of the largest size. Several desperate combats have been
witnessed between this bird and the Halibut. The former strikes
his claws into the fish with all his force, determined not to
relinquish his hold, and, although but rarely, is sometimes
drowned in the attempt to carry off his prize. When he has
overcome the Halibut, he raises one of his wings, which serves
as a sail, and if favored by the wind, in that attitude drifts
towards the land. The moment he touches the shore, he begins to
eat out and disengage his claws; but if discovered before this
can be effected he falls an easy prey to the first assailant.”

[154] Bellonius says, “The Storks come to Egypt in such
abundance, that the fields and meadows, are white with them.
Yet the Egyptians are not displeased with this sight; as frogs
are generated in such numbers there, that did not the Storks
devour them, they would over-run every thing. Besides, they
also catch and eat Serpents. Between Belha and Gaza, the fields
of Palestine are often desert on account of the abundance of
Mice and Rats; and were they not destroyed by the Falcons that
come here by instinct, the inhabitants could have no harvest.”

[155] Dr. Edmonston says:--“The crows generally appear in
pairs, even during winter, except when attracted to a spot
in search of food, or when they assemble for the purpose
of holding what is called the _Crow’s court_. This latter
institution exhibits a curious fact in their history. Numbers
are seen to assemble on a particular hill or field, from many
different points. On some occasions the meeting does not appear
to be complete before the expiration of a day or two. As soon
as all the deputies have arrived, a very general noise and
croaking ensue, and, shortly after, the whole fall upon one or
two individuals, whom they persecute and beat until they kill
them. When this has been accomplished, they quietly disperse.”

On the subject of Gulls, Dr. Edmonston says:--“In the
affectionate care of their offspring, these Gulls display great
sagacity and even foresight. When the cradle at Noss is about
to be slung, the gulls, aware of the approaching capture of
their young, are unremitting in their efforts to carry them
off. From the first moment that they observe preparations
making to enter the holm, they become noisy and restless,

---- ‘and chide, exhort, command,
Or push them off,’

so that if bad weather delay the arranging of the cradle,
but for a few days, scarcely any are left to be taken away.

“This bird is a great enemy to the fowler, by intimating
to other birds his approach. One of them is an inseparable
attendant on the _Scarfs_, when they assemble on the rocks
for the purpose of drying and resting themselves; and they
seem sensible of the good offices of this voluntary guardian,
by quietly receiving it among them, and obeying its friendly
admonitions.--On the approach of a person from the shore, or
of a boat, the Gull having first testified marks of anxiety
and apprehension, flies off before either have approached
within gunshot, and all the Scarfs, except those who are young
and inexperienced, follow. It not merely contents itself with
giving them warning in due time, but urges their departure by
repeated calls, and sits down in the water, at a considerable
distance from the spot from which it fled, as if intending
to point out the place where they may consider themselves in
safety; and they generally all repair to the same place. To
the Seal this bird is of essential service. These animals
frequently lie upon the rocks for hours in succession, and so
well acquainted are some sportsmen with their haunts, that they
raise small bulwarks, or _rests_, to conceal their approach,
or wait their arrival behind a rock. The Gull, however,
frustrates all these precautions, by first flying over the head
of the hunter, and then screaming close to the Seal; and, when
the latter is not disposed to avail himself at once of this
friendly intimation, I have known them _strike him on the head_
with their feet. As soon as he slips into the water they appear
to be perfectly satisfied, as if they then conceived him in a
situation to protect himself.

“The Gull seems to consider itself the natural guardian of
the coast. If it spies a person at a distance, walking in a
cautious manner, in the neighborhood of any bird, it instantly
repairs to the spot, and by a keen acute cry, different from
the common note, endeavors to inform it of the approaching
danger. Ducks and Curlews know the hint quite well, and almost
always take advantage of it, and fly off long before the fowler
can arrive within gun-shot of them. On these occasions it often
comes with a sweep, as if intending to strike the person,
who by that means is kept in a state of constant alarm and
irritation; but if it do not immediately fly off, after having
succeeded in accomplishing the object of its mission, this
officious interference not unfrequently draws the vengeance of
the fowler on itself, and it falls the victim of its own good
intentions. This Gull is not satisfied with having alarmed
birds on any particular occasion. It does indeed fly to a
distance and sit down, but after its anxiety has been once
roused, it never loses sight of the fowler, but follows him at
a distance wherever he goes, and unless by pretended inactivity
the sportsman can quiet the apprehension of his enemy, it is
in vain to think of getting within reach of any bird that is
naturally shy and of a timid disposition. The scream of this
bird is peculiarly wild, and indicative of anxious impatience.”

[156] Hasselquist, speaking of the _Strix Orientalis_,
or Oriental Owl, says, “It is of the size of the common owl,
living in the ruins of old deserted houses of Egypt and Syria;
and sometimes in inhabited houses. The Arab in Egypt calls it
_Massasa_, the Syrians _Bana_. It is very ravenous in Syria,
and in the evenings, if the windows be left open, it flies into
houses, _and kills infants_, unless they are carefully watched;
wherefore the women are much afraid of it.”--Travels, p. 196.

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