But besides the public offerings of the nation, the soldiers often of their own accord, consecrated a part of their spoils to the God of battles: they had several methods of doing this; at one time they collected them into an heap, and consumed them with fire; at another, they suspended their offerings in the temples. Pausanias, the Spartan, is reported to have consecrated out of the Persian spoils, a tripod to Delphian Apollo, and a statue of brass seven cubits long, to Olympian Jupiter. The origin of these customs is easily discernible in the manners of the Hebrews. After the rich and various spoils of Midian were divided, the officers of the army, penetrated with gratitude that they had not lost a man in the contest, “presented an oblation to the Lord, jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, ear-rings, and tablets, to make atonement," as they piously expressed it, "for their souls before the Lord." But the city of Jericho and all its inhabitants, except Rahab and her family, were devoted to utter destruction, as an offering to the justice and holiness of God, whom they had incensed by their crimes ; "And the city," said Joshua, "shall be accursed, even 'it, and all that are therein, to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein; only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord." c

When the demands of religion were satisfied, the Grecian soldiers commonly reserved articles of extraordinary b Numb. xxxi, 49, 50. Josh. vi, 17, 18, 19, 24.

value which they had obtained, as a present to their general or the commander of their party. To this mark of respect, Deborah perhaps alludes in the words which she puts into the mouth of Sisera's mother and her attendants: "Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera, a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needle work, of divers colours of needle work on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil." "It has been," says Malcom, "the invariable usage of all Asiatic conquerors, from the monarch who subdues kingdoms, to the chief that seizes a village, to claim some fair females as the reward of his conquest."f

е

To the jewels of silver and gold, which the Hebrew soldier was accustomed to bring as a free-will offering into the treasury of his God, must be added the armour of some illustrious foe, which, in gratitude for his preservation, he suspended in the sanctuary. The sword of Gòliath was wrapped up in a cloth, and deposited behind the ephod; and in a succeeding war, the Philistines proving victorious, took their revenge by depositing the armour of Saul in the temple of Ashtaroth. The custom of dedicating to the gods the spoils of a conquered enemy, and placing them in their temples as trophies of victory and testimonies of gratitude, is very ancient, and universally received in Asia and Greece. Hector promises to dedicate his enemy's armour in the temple of Apollo, if he would grant him the victory :

Ει δέ κ' εγω τον ελω δωη δε μοι ευχος Απολλων, (c Il. lib. vii, 1. 80.

d Potter's Gr. Antiq. vol. ii, p. 108.

e

* Judg. v, 30.

f Hist. of Persia, vol. i, p. 79, note; and p. 631, note.

Potter's Gr. Antiq. vol. ii, p. 109.

VOL. III.

Gg

"But if I shall prove victorious, and Apollo vouchsafe me the glory to strip off his armour, and carry it to sacred Troy, then will I suspend it in the temple of the far darting Apollo."

Virgil alludes to this custom in his description of the temple, where Latinus gave audience to the ambassadors of Æneas:

"Multaque præterea sacris in postibus arma," &c.

En. lib. vii, 1. 183.

"Besides, on the sacred door posts, many arms, captive chariots, and crooked scymitars are suspended, helmets, crested plumes, and massy bars of gates, and darts, and shields, and beaks torn from ships."

Nor was it the custom only to dedicate to heaven the weapons taken from an enemy, when the soldier retired from the tumults of war to the bosom of his family; he frequently hung up his own arms in the temple, as a grateful acknowledgment of the protection he had received, and the victories he had won. Horace thus alludes to

the practice:

"Vejanius, armis,

"h

Herculis ad postem fixis, latet abditus agro." h

And Ovid refers to the same custom in these lines:

"Miles ut emeritis non est satis utilis annis,

Ponit ad antiquos, quæ tulit, arma Lares."

"The battered soldier worn out with age and the toils of war, devotes the arms which he formerly bore, to his ancient household gods." i

In this custom, the Greeks and Romans imitated the Asiatic nations, and particularly the Hebrews; for when David resigned the command of his armies to his generals,

h Lib. i, Epist. i, 1. 4.

iTrist. lib. iv.

he laid up his arms in the tabernacle, where they con tinued for several ages; and there is reason to believe his conduct in this respect, was followed by many of his companions in arms. When Joash, one of his descendants, was crowned, Jehoiada the high priest, under whose care he had been educated, delivered to the captains of hundreds, spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in the house of God."

The Greeks and other unenlightened nations of antiquity, as a further expression of their gratitude to the gods whom they worshipped, were accustomed to offer solemn sacrifices, and return public thanks to them for their protection and support. The Hebrews, in like manner, under the direction of inspired prophets, celebrated their victories by triumphal processions, the women and children dancing, and playing upon musical instruments, and singing hymns and songs of triumph, to the living and true God. The song of Moses at the Red sea, which was sung by Miriam and the women of Israel, to the dulcet notes of the timbrel, is a most beautiful example of the triumphal hymns of the ancient Hebrews.1 The song of Deborah and Barak, after the decisive battle in which Sisera lost his life, and Jabin his dominion over

j 2 Chron. xxiii, 9.

* Potter's Gr. Antiq. vol. ii, p. 111.

This custom is still kept up in India; and, as in the remote age of Miriam, the most distinguished female leads the dance, and is followed by a troop of young girls who imitate her steps, and if she sing make up the chorus. The tune and figure seem to be unstudied, and the songs which accompany them are all extemporaneous effusions. The tunes are extremely gay and lively, yet with something in them wonderfully soft. The steps are varied, according to the pleasure of her who leads the dance, but always in exact time; and far more agreeable than any of our dances." Forbes's Orient. Mem. vol. ii, p. 295.-In Turkey the same custom is retained, in all its parts. Lady M. W. Montagu's Lett. vol. i, p. 197.

m

the tribes of Israel, is a production of the same sort, in which the spirit of genuine heroism and of true religion are admirably combined. But the song which the women of Israel chaunted when they went out to meet Saul and his victorious army, after the death of Goliath, and the discomfiture of the Philistines, possesses somewhat of a different character, turning chiefly on the valorous exploits of Saul and the youthful champion of Israel: "And it came to pass, as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities sf Israel, singing and dancing to meet king Saul with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music: And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." But the most remarkable festivity perhaps on the records of history, was celebrated by Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, in a succeeding age. When that religious prince led forth his army to battle against a powerful confederacy of his neighbours, he appointed a band of sacred music to march in front, praising the beauty of holines as they went before the army," and to say, Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever.” After the discomfiture of their enemies, he assembled his army in the valley of Beracha, near the scene of victory, where they resumed the anthem of religious praise : "Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the fore front of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, unto the house of the Lord."" Instead of celebrating his own hem 1 Sam. xviii, 6. n 2 Chron. xx, 21.