The herald., 1896-06-14

brothers." and to the female descend
ants Of aristocratic and wealthy 1nteS-
tates, was in effect, part and parcel or
the rude Jurisprudence Of the Hebrew
patriarchs. 1t would appear at all
events that the last blessing Of a man
like Isaac had in that day, somewhat
the effect of legislative enactment and
that, in this especial instance, at any
rate, it divested the title to the "birth-
right" out of the eldest son. Esau, and
invested it in his younger brother.
Jacob, even though the act Of investi-
ture was obtained through fraud.
This ancient benedictional act was
remotely in the nature Of our mod
ern nuncupative will, not required to be
in writing nor to be declared or attested
with any formalities. But the broad
ness of it's effect, even in sweeping away
is something to stagger the mind of the
modern jurist.
When Samuel was amounting Saul as
king Of Israel, we read that fHe took
vial of oil and poured 1t upon the head
of Saul and kissed him, saying, rs it
not because the Lord hath annointed
thee to be captain over his Inherit
ance?" Here it will be observed that
the act of kissing seems to have been an
important, If not an indispensable ele-
ment of the ceremony of coronation.
Again. we find the giving Of kiss used
as covenant of good faith and amity
between Aaron and Moses. When. by
divine direction, Aaron went Into the
wilderness" to meet the great lawgiver.
then on his mission Of emancipation to
his countrymen In Egypt he saluted
Moses ''in the Mount of God" with
kiss. By the way, this form Of saluta-
tion Is still in vogue among several of
the European peoples, notably the Ger
man and Scandinavian branches of the
great Aryan race. The other day when
the present emperor, William, of Ger
many, visited the czar Of Russia, there
was an exhibition of effusive kissing of
each other by these monarchs approx
mating the gushing lip-greetings of two
school girls. that Is very amusing to
American and English eyes. But these
modern monarchs kiss each other more
in obedience to court requirement and
etiquette than as among the patriarchial
rulers. in spirit of solemn and signi-
f1cant affection. The devoted friend
ship between Jonathan and David was
sealed with a kiss, and we are told that
afterwards when David had become
king Of Israel. he, in manifestation Of his
gratitude to the successful warrior
prince, Barzillai, kissed him in the
presence Of all the people of Judah.
The kiss of homage" or. as the Jews
reader will recall as the ceremonial sign
and pledge of allegiance required of the
mobiles at the coronation of oriental
kings.
The modern custom of kissing the
Book" as the climax to the administra-
tion of oaths in courts Of justice-a GUS
tom now all but Obsolete-had it's roots
in very ancient soil. 1t Is a survival Of
that spirit of superstitious reverence for
the supernatural that characterizes the
history not only of the Jews, but of all
ancient peoples, and that even now, in
these days Of electric light and cathode
rays, exercises no small amount of in
riuence in formulating modern creeds
and influencing the public, as we'll as
private, actions Of mankind, whether in
the abstract or in the concrete. In east
ern climes, in India and all the lands of
the orient, that great cradle of the hui
man race, this spirit Of mysticism min
gled with religious ecstasy, with day.
dreams Of Immortality and faith In the
impossible still fingers, occasionally
flashing forth in all it's pristine splen-
dors. AS the Greek and Roman myth
ologists peopled every locality and in
stalled in almost every object in nature
some deity, good or evil, so the weird
and mystic mind Of the orientals found
tongues in trees, books in the running
brooks" and read in plants and flowers
a silent language that not only imbued
their sentimental thought and feeling,
but seriously affected the transaction of
their everyday affairs. Percival gives
neat expression to this in the lines:
I'm eastern lands they talk In flowers.