The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-16 00:00:00

MISCELLANEOUS.

eltiT ICS AND ANNDTATIONS.—Whoever considers the re-
volutions of learning, and the various questions of greater or
less importance, upon which wit and reason have exercised their
powers, must lament the unsuccessfulness of inquiry, and the
slow advances of truth, when he reflects, that great part of the
labour of every writer is only the destruction of those that went
before him.. The first.care of the builder of a new system is to
demolish the fabrics which are standing. The chief desire of
him that comments ari_author, is to shew how much other com-
!mutations lave corrupted and obscured him. The opinions
prevalent in one age, as truths above the reach of controversy,
are confuted and rejected in another, and rise again to recep-
tion in reinter times. Thus the human mind is kept in mo-
tion without progress. Thus, -sometimes truth and error, and
sometimei contrarieties of error, take each other's place by re-
ciprocal invasion. The tide of seeming knowledge which is
poured over one generation, retires, and leaves another naked
and barren ; the sudden meteors of intelligences which for a
while shoot their beams into the regions of obscurity, ona.sud-
den withdraw their lustre, and leave mortals again to grope-
their way.

THE ROCK OF ITOREB.—Nearly a century ago, several tra-
vellers of respectability, at different times, visited the tract of
country over which the Iraelites passed in their- journey from
the Red Sea to the Promised Land, In examining the region
in the neighbourhood-of Mount Sinai they severally discovered,
among other evidences of the Mosaic II i story, the Rock of Horeb,
now known by the name of Meribah or Massah, from which the
great Jewish Leader, in a miraculous manaer, drew water for
the immense host of his countrymen. One of these travellers
was Pococke, an Englishman of respectability and integrity.
As his description of this monument of antiquity, so interesting
for the corroboration which it affords to the Sacred Historian,
and so venerable for having been the object upon which was
wrought so wonderful a miracle as that above mentioned, is
minute and satisfactory, it is worthy of selection and perusal._
" Here they shew the Rock, which they say Moses struck
and the waters flowed out, when God told him he would stand
before him upon the Rock of Horeb. It is on the foot of
Mount Seric, and is.a . red granite stone, fifteen feet long, ten
wide, and about twelve high. On both sides of it, towards the
south end and at the top of the stone, for about the breadth of
eight inches, it is discoloured as by the running of water ; and
all down this part on both sides, and at the top, are a sort of
openings or mouths, some of which resemble the lion's mouth,
that is sometimes cut in stone spouts,- but appear not to be the
work of a tool. There are about twelve on each side, and
within every one is a horizontal crack, and in some also a crack
perpendicularly down. There is also a crack from one of the
mouths next the hill, that extends two or three feet towards the
north, and all around the south end. The Arabs call this
stone the Stone of Moses.'' The Greeks call it the Stone of
Fountains, and it is traditionary with them, that it is the same
that Hosea: struck with his rod.

THE HEGIRA.—The hegira in chronology is a ce;ebrited
epochs used by, the Arabs and Mahometans for the computa-
tion of time. The word is Arabic, and denotes to fly, quit one's
country, family, friends; &c. The event whrth gave rise to
this epocha was Nahomet's flight from Mecca. The magic-:
trates of ,thatmity, fearing that his impostures Might raise a se-.
dition, resolved:to expel ; accordingly, they effected'
about the period A.D. 621 Their computation of time began
with the new moon of that period, which, is the reason of the
great regard for crescents in the East, where every mosque is
adorned with them.

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