The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1854-12-13
Ruins OF Ninevch ILLUS.
araailng Scripture.


We cannot conclude this article
without speaking of some interesting
illustrations of Scripture furnished by
The work before us. We select omly
utcw out Of many, On one sculpture,
embracing battle scene, Il number
of cnptivcs appear before the victori-
GUS chief, some knceling, some bow
ing, and others prostratcd OH the
earth; us it is prophesied in Psalm
'lxxiii::'9. Ills enemies shall lick the
dust" The Assyrian generals, return
ing home, are apparently Welcomed
by bands Of men and women, instru-
mcnts of music, singing and dancing,
just rs ''wllen David returned from
tile slaughter Of the PhiIiStincs, the
women came out of all the cities of
lsrcal, singing and dancing to meet
Saul, with taLcrets, with joy, and with
instruments Of music, | Samuel,
xiii, 6) 1t is evident from the
,llrss OF the labourers employed OH
HE great public work of the A>sy rians,
l,ortrayeu or the bas relicfS, that they
are foreigners. The Jews, owing to
their peculiar physoynomy, can be
easily detected AMONG the builders,
(2 Kings, xviii, 23) These were the
men whom the king ofAssyria carried
away, and rcpa ed them by the colo.
mist from his own duminions, = Kings
xvii, 24. All 'hc sculptures repre-
scnting battles and conuuests, show
the Assyrian king, according to custom
carrying away to remote regions the
peop:e OF the countries which he had
conquered. And not the people only,
hut also their idol god. On some OF
the slabs before alluded to, the !AsSy
.rians are represented as carrying away
in triumph the gods ofthc conquered
nation, placed on poles, and borne
in procession on mems shoulders. To
this custom allusion is made in Isaiah
xxxvi., 10, and xxxvii., l2, l3. The
chariot horses of the Assy rians, a.
we'll as their cavalry, are continually
represented as having bells aroun,
their necks. SO it is said in Zech
xiv, 20, "IIoliness to the Lord shai
tbe written on the bells of the horses.
I'm several instances are bas relicts 0
chariots having usually lofty wheel:
So VIC read in Ezekiel, j., Is, "As 70
their rings, (circumtcrcnces, the.
were SO high that they were dreadful.
This prophet, being among the caI
tivcs in Assyria, by the river ChebaI
mus, have been familiar with sue
things. Tho book of ljzekicl's propl
ecy presents many combinati"h {
living animals, in which the colnbin;
stion is indicative Of union of tn
qualities of the animals on bein
'introtacel. thus in Ezekiel, l., II
III, we hac:. union ofth lace Of MAJ
(nteligence,) and .lon (strengtl
ron the right side, and Of an OK (p
ticnce and mldncss) on the 9th,
side End the face of III eagle, (swiI
ness and penetration, answering
+omniprcscnce) So doubtless Il
Assyrians, in their human heade
bulls, eagle headed men, and 9th
Heterogeneous figures, designed |
these combinations to represent Il
union Of different qualities in the san
.being--a result which, in this pictu
language, could in no other way
so easily, briefly, and naturally attai
ed. Similar combinations in t
hierog'yphics Of Egypt. Pcrha
Dagnn, the god who figures SO lare
,ly in n'the sculptures, may be col
spounded in This manner, of fish a
n man, in which the man prcdomir
les. in allusion to the Eastern mott
which made the spirit Of evil ali
intclligcnt, and each striving for I
1nastery. The human fern mig
symbo izc the spirit Of good the Ii
the slippery, deceptive spirit of evil.
The: bowls bat"lc 'lic altar" (Zet
' xiv. 20, arc*ivihly brought to m
NY the discovery, in tho ruins of Ba
a"n, of several bowls with inscrip,i,
whicn may have BEEN carried thit
sr"h, Jerusalem bY The captive
Ebre%s;-- CAar. Rsp. .5' 'as'f