THE EAGLE "Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, And make her nest on high? She dwelleth on the rock, and hath her lodging there, Upon the crag of the rock, and the stronghold. From thence she spieth out the prey, —JOB. CHAPTER VI THE EAGLE The little strip at the east end of the Mediterranean must have been the most wonderful place of all the world for natural history subjects. In that small space, under almost tropical skies, with air tempered by the great sea and mountains, which are as numerous there as in Switzerland, though lower; with the sea on the west, and a salt sea in the interior; rivers, lakes, and brooks of pure water; fountains and springs, with rich plains and fertile valleys; where does earth produce another spot of equal size so congenial as a home for all kinds of furred and feathered creatures? In nearly every instance what Bible writers said of the birds proves their habits and characteristics unchanged. to-day. From the sanity of the greater part they wrote it is almost positive that when their meaning is obscure there is an error in translation. No one of them knew the birds, or at least went into detail, as the Man of Afflictions. There is just There is just a possibility that brooding over his troubles from the unpromising vantage of an ash-heap Job watched the creatures around him to learn if living was a rough affair for them. As he was the soul of honor, he recorded what he saw in a way to furnish a model for all following observers. Any one who can record plain truths in exquisite verse is a great genius. |