renee, for they looked when he should have swollen and fallen down dead suddenly. We are informed by natural historians, that under the action of this dreadful poison, the whole body swells to an extraordinary size, and in about seven hours death relieves the hopeless and agonized sufferer from his torments. These barbarians, it would seem, had been taught by their own experience, or the testimony of others, that the poison of this creature proves fatal in a much shorter time, for they waited some time in he confident expectation of seeing Paul suddenly expire. They knew, perhaps, what has been fully ascertained, that the bite of this animal is more pernicious, according to the place of its abode, the aliment on which it feeds, its age, the heat of the season when the wound is inflicted, and the degree of provocation it has received. On this occasion, it must have been exceedingly provoked; and the high state of excitement in which the Melitese saw it fastened upon the hand of the stranger, was, perhaps, the true and the only reason which induced them to believe the p would produce a sudden effect.-PAXTON. ROMANS. CHAPTER III. Ver. 13. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips. Of a deceitful man, of one who speaks in smooth language, it is said, "Ah! at the tip of his tongue is ambrosia, but under it is poison."-ROBERTS. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? เ "Wretched man that I am!" "Do I often cry out, in such a circumstance, with no better supports and incitements .han the law can give, Who shall rescue me, miserable captive as I am, from the body of this death?' from this continual burden which I carry about with me; and which is cumbersome and odious as a DEAD CARCASS tied to a living body, to be dragged along with it wherever it goes?" Thus are the words paraphrased by Dr. Doddrige, to which he subjoins this note: "It is well known that some ancient writers mention this as a cruelty practised by some tyrants on miserable captives who fell into their hands; and a more forcible and expressive image of the case represented cannot surely enter into the mind of man." That such a cruelty was once practised is certain from Virgil: "Quid memorem infandas cædes? quid facta tyranni!" &c. "Why should I mention his unutterable barbarities? Or, why the tyrant's horrid deeds? May the gods recompense them on his own head and on his race. Nay, he even bound to the living the bodies of the dead, joining together hands to hands, and face to face, a horrid kind of torture: and them, pining away with gore and putrefaction in this loathed embrace, he thus destroyed with lingering death." -Burder. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 24. For if thou wert cut out of the olivetree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive-tree; how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive-tree. CHAPTER XII. Ver. 13. Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Hospitality has always been highly esteemed by civilized nations. It has been exercised from the earliest ages of the world. The Old Testament affords numerous instances of its being practised in the most free and liberal manner. In the New Testament it is also recommended and enforced. The primitive Christians were so ready in the discharge of pitable as they were to all strangers, they were particularly this duty, that even the heathens admired them for it. Hos so to those who were of their own faith and communion. In Homer and the ancient Greek writers, we see what respect they had for their guests. From these instances we turn with satisfaction to view the kind and friendly disposition of less polished people. Modern travellers often mention the pleasing reception they met with from those among whom they made a temporary residence. Volney, speaking of the Druzes, says, "whoever presents himself at their door in the quality of a suppliant or passenger, sure of being entertained with lodging and food in the most generous and unaffected manner. I have often seen the lowest peasants give the last morsel of bread they had in their houses to the hungry traveller. When they have once contracted with their guest the sacred engagement of bread and salt, no subsequent event can make them violate it." "An engagement with a stranger is sometimes accepted as an excuse for not obeying the summons of a great man, when no other apology, hardly even that of indisposition, would be admitted." (Russel.) The Hindoos extend their hospitality sometimes to enemies, saying, "the tree does not withdraw its shade even from the wood-cutter."-BURDER. CHAPTER XIII. Ver. 4. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain : for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. This is spoken agreeably to the notions and customs of the Romans at the time when the apostle wrote. Thus Suetonius says, (in Vitell. cap. 15,) that Vitellius gave up his dagger, which he had taken from his side, to the attend. ing consul, thus surrendering the authority of life and death over the citizens. So the kings of Great Britain are not only at their inauguration solemnly girt with the sword of state, but this is afterward carried before them on public occasions, as a sword is likewise before some inferior ma This practice is so far contrary to nature, that it is not usual for a branch of a wild olive-tree to be grafted in a good olivetree, though a branch of the good is frequently grafted into the wild. Pliny says this latter was frequently practised in Africa. And Kolben tells us, that "long ago, some garden olive slips were carried to the Cape from Holland, and grafted on the stocks of the wild olives at Constantia, a seat so call-gistrates among us.—Burder. ed in the Capian colony." Theophrastus takes notice of both the abovementioned modes of graftiny olives.--BURDER. Ver. 14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil | roots, fruit, grain, milk, butter, and honey. They appear the lusts thereof. "To be clothed with a person" is a Greek phrase, signifying to assume the interests of another, to enter into his views, to imitate him, to be wholly on his side. Chrysostom particularly mentions this as a common expression, O deiva Tov deiva Evedvaaro, Such a one hath put on such a one. So Dionysius Halicarnassus, speaking of Appius and the rest cf the decemviri, says, ουκετι μετριάζοντες αλλα τον Ταρκύνιον SKELVOV EvdvoμEVOL-They were no longer the servants of Tarquin, but they clothed themselves with him. Eusebius, in his Life of Constantine, says of his sons, they put on their father. The mode of speech is taken from stage-players, who assume the name and garments of the person whose character they represent.-BURDER. to be as strong and as healthy as those who live on flesh, and they avoid the "sin" of taking life. They believe that all who take life for the purpose of food will assuredly go to one of the seven hells. It has a distressing effect on their minds to show them, through a microscope, the animalcules which exist in the water they drink: for they are convinced by this they must often destroy life.-ROBERTS. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 16. Salute one another with a holy kiss Saluting one another on the face, in token of respect and friendship, was an ancient and common custom among both Jews and Gentiles; and was continued for some time among the primitive Christians in their religious assemblies, and particularly at the end of their prayers, before the celebration of the Lord's Supper, to testify their mutual love. It was therefore called the holy kiss, to distinguish it from that which was merely of the civil kind. By this symbol they showed that Christians, as such, were equal; because among the Persians and other eastern nations, equals kissed each other on the cheek, but inferiors kissed only the hand of a superior.—Burder. THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL, THE APOSTLE, TO THE CORINTHIANS.. CHAPTER I. Ver. 28. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are. "All things which are not." The venerable Mr. Wesley says, "The Jews frequently called the Gentiles 'them that are not,' in such supreme contempt did they hold them." When a man of rank among the Hindoos speaks of lowcaste persons, of notorious profligates, or of those whom he despises, he calls them alla-tha-varkul, i. e. those who are not. The term does not refer to life or existence, but to a quality or disposition, and is applied to those who are vile and abominable in all things. "My son, my son, go not among them who are not." "Alas! alas! those people are all allatha-varkul." When wicked men prosper, it is said, "This is the time for those who are not." "Have you heard that those who are not are now acting righteously?" Vulgar and indecent expressions are also called "words that are not." To address men in the phrase "are not," is provoking beyond measure; their eyes will soon brighten, and their tongue and hands begin to move at the individual who thus insults them. The Lord did select the "base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught hings that are."-ROBERTS. CHAPTER IV. Ver. 9. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. In the word saxarovs, last, which the apostle here uses, there is a reference to the Roman custom of bringing forth those persons on the theatre in the after part of the day, to fight either with each other, or with wild beasts, who were appointed to certain death, and had not that poor chance of escaping which those brought forth in the morning had." Such kind of spectacles were so common in all the provinces, that it is no wonder we should find such an allusion here. The words aredeitev, exhibited, and Ocarpov, a spectacle on the theatre, have in this connexion a beautiful propriety. The whole passage is indeed full of high eloquence, and finely adapted to move their compassion in favour of those who were so generously expiring, and sacrificing themselves for the public good.-DODDRIDGE. CHAPTER V. Ver. 6. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not, that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? This is said of the man who corrupts others; also of a bad servant; "the more sour the leaven, the better the bread." When a mother has to administer nauseous medi. cine, she says, "My child, take it; do you not know the more sour the leaven, the better the bread ?" Meaning, because the potion or powder is offensive, it will produce better effects.-ROBERTS. CHAPTER IX. Ver. 7. Who goeth a warfare at any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? The wages of the shepherds in the East do not consist of ready money, but in a part of the milk of the flocks which they tend. Thus Spon says of the shepherds in modern Greece, "These shepherds are poor Aarians, who feed the cattle, and live in huts built of rushes; they have a tenth part of the milk, and of the lambs, which is their whole wages: the cattle belong to the Turks." The shepherds in Ethiopia, also, according to Alvares, have no pay except the milk and butter which they obtain from the cows, and on which they and their families subsist.-ROSENMULLER. Ver. 24. Know ye not, that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. Games and combats were instituted by the ancients in honour of their gods; and were celebrated with that view by the most polished and enlightened nations of antiquity. The most renowned heroes, legislators, and statesmen, did not think it unbecoming their character and dignity to mingle with the combatants, or contend in the race; they even reckoned it glorious to share in the exercises, and meritorious to carry away the prize. The victors were crowned with a wreath of laurel in presence of their country; they were celebrated in the rapturous effusions of their poets; they were admired, and almost adored by the innumerable multitudes which flocked to the games from every part of Greece, and many of the adjacent countries. They returned to their own homes in a triumphal chariot, and made their entrance into their native city, not through the gates which admitted the vulgar throng, but through a breach in the walls, which were broken down to give them admission; and at the same time to express the persuasion of their fellow-citizens, that walls are of small use to a city defended by men of such tried courage and ability. Hence the surprising ardour which animated all the states of Greece to imitate the ancient heroes, and encircle their brows with wreaths, which rendered them still more the objects of admiration or envy to succeeding times, than the victories they had gained, or the laws they had enacted. But the institutors of those games and combats had higher and nobler objects in view than veneration for the mighty dead, or the gratification of ambition or vanity; it was their design to prepare the youth for the profession of arms; to confirm their health; to improve their strength, their vigour, and activity; to inure them to fatigue; and to render them intrepid in close fight, where, in the infancy of the art of war, muscular force commonly decided the victory. This statement accounts for the striking allusions which the apostle Paul makes in his epistles to these celebrated exercises. Such references were calculated to touch the heart of a Greek, and of every one familiarly acquainted with them, in the liveliest manner, as well as to place before the eye of his mind the most glowing and correct images of spiritual and divine things. No passages in the nervous and eloquent epistles from the pen of Paul, have been more admired by critics and expositors, even in modern times, than those into which some allusion to these agonistic exercises is introduced; and, perhaps, none are calculated to leave a deeper impression on the Christian's mind, or excite a stronger and more salutary inffuence on his actions.-PAXTON. Ver. 25. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. The honours and rewards granted to the victors were of several kinds. They were animated in their course by the rapturous applauses of the countless multitudes that lined the stadium, and waited the issue of the contest with eager anxiety; and their success was instantly followed by reiterated and long-continued plaudits; but these were only a prelude to the appointed rewards, which, though of little value in themselves, were accounted the highest honour to which a mortal could aspire. These consisted of different wreaths of wild olive, pine, parsley, or laurel, according to the different places where the games were celebrated. After the judges had passed sentence, a public erald proclaimed the name of the victor; one of the Judges put the crown upon his head, and a branch of palm into his right hand, which he carried as a token of victorious courage and perseverance. As he might be victor more than once in the same games, and sometimes on the same day, he might also receive several crowns and palms. When the victor had received his reward, a herald, preceded by a trumpet, conducted him through the stadium, and proclaimed aloud his name and country; while the delighted multitudes, at the sight of him, redoubled their acclamations and applauses. The crown, in the Olympic games, was of wild olive; in the Pythian, of laurel; in the Isthmian or Corinthian, of pine-tree; and in the Nemæan, of smallage or parsley. Now, most of these were evergreens; yet they would soon grow dry, and crumble into dust. Elsnor produces many passages, in which the contenders in these exercises are rallied by the Grecian wits, on account of the extraordinary pains they took for such trifling rewards; and Plato has a celebrated passage, which greatly resembles that of the apostle, but by no means equals it in force and beauty: "Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible." The Christian is called to fight the grod fight of faith, and to lay hold of eternal life; and to this he is more powerfully stimulated by considering that the ancient athlete took all their care and pains only for the sake of obtaining a garland of flowers, or a wreath of laurel, which quickly fades and perishes, possesses little intrinsic value, and only serves to nourish their pride and vanity, without imparting any solid advantage to themselves or others; but that which is placed in the view of the spiritual combatants, to animate their exertions, and reward their labours, is no less than a crown of glory which never decays: a crown of infinite worth and duration; an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for them." More than conquerors through him that loved them, and washed from their sins in his own blood; they, too, carry palms in their right hands, the appropriate emblems of victory, hardly "After this I beheld, and, lo, contested, and fairly won. a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands." But the victory sometimes remained doubtful, in consequence of which a number of competitors appeared before the judges, and claimed the prize; and sometimes a combatant, by dishonourable mandates, who were rejected on such occasions by the judge agement, endeavoured to gain the victory. The candiof the games, as not having fairly merited the prize, were called by the Greeks adokpot, or disapproved, and which we render cast away, in a passage already quoted from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be (adok pos) a cast-away," rejected by the Judge of all the earth, and disappointed of my expected crown.-PAXTON. Ver. 26. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. In order to attain the greater agility and dexterity, it was usual for those who intended to box in the games, to exercise their arms with the gauntlet on, when they had no antagonist near them, and this was called otopaxia, in which a man would of course beat the air. In the footrace, the runners, of whatever number they were, ranged themselves in a line, after having drawn lots for their places. While they waited the signal to start, they prac tised, by way of prelude, various motions to awaken their activity, and to keep their limbs pliable, and in a right temper. They kept themselves breathing by small leaps, and making little excursions, which were a kind of trial of their speed and agility; in such exercises, they might be said with great propriety to run uncertainly, towards no particular point, and with no direct or immediate view to the prize. Both these allusions occur in the declaration of the apostle: "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight 1, not as one that beateth the air." He did not engage in his Christian course as one doubtful in himself whether, in pursuing the path of duty, he should have the honour of being crowned at last or not; as they are, who know that one only receives the prize; nor did he exercise himself unto godliness, like boxers or wrestlers, who sometimes fight in jest, or merely to prepare for the combat, or to display their strength and agility, while they had no resistance to encounter, no enemy to subdue, no reward to merit; but he pressed on, fully persuaded that, by the grace of God, he should obtain an incorruptible crown from the hands of his Redeemer.-PAXTON. Ver. 27. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away. See on ver. 25. Like the Grecian, combatants, the Christian must be wellborn-born, "not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of the Lord, which liveth and abideth for ever;" he must be free-"a citizen with the saints, and of the household of faith;" he must "abstain from fleshly lusts," and "walk in all the statutes and commandments of the Lord, blameless." Such was Paul; and in this manner he endeavoured to act: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away." The latter part of this verse Doddridge renders, "Lest after having served as a herald, I should be disapproved;" and says in a note, "I thought it of importance to retain the primitive sense of these gymnastic expressions." It is well known to those who are at all acquainted with the original, that the word nogas, means to discharge the office of a herald, whose business it was to proclaim the conditions of the games, and display the prizes, to awaken the emulation and resolution of those who were to contend in them. But the apostle intimates, that there was this peculiar circumstance attending the Christian contest-that the person who proclaimed its laws and rewards to others, was also to engage himself; and that there would be a peculiar infamy and misery in his miscarrying. Adoxipos, which we render cast-away, signifies one who is disapproved by the judge of the games, as not having fairly deserved the prize.-PAX TON. CHAPTER X. Ver. 25. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no questions for conscience' sake: 28. But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience' sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. These verses refer to articles of food which had been presented to the idols, and were afterward sent to the shambles to be sold. The heathen make large presents to the temples of grain, fruit, milk, and other eatables, and therefore the priests send what they do not require to the market to be sold. The fruit called plantain (banana) may be known as having been offered to idols by having a small piece pinched off one end; and the other articles have generally some sign by which they may be known. It is however impossible at all times to ascertain the fact, and I doubt not that most Englishmen have at one time or another eaten things which have been offered to idols. The apostle is very particular in his directions to the Christian converts, (v. 27:) "If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go, whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no questions for conscience' sake." We see the converts were not forbidden to go to a feast, . . a family, not a religious festival; but the phrase, If ye be disposed to go," shows there were doubts and hes itations as to whether they ought to go. The moment they found the food had been offered to idols they were to *eat not."-ROBERTS. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 5. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. It is still customary to this day in the East, when you accidentally meet a woman in her house, that she instantly covers herself up, and even runs away, and will not appear before a man; nay, even if a person lives among them as a physician, and eventually has free access to their rooms, he has yet great trouble to get a sight of their faces, unless they have a defect there; nay, he can scarcely ask it of them, though in diseases much may be perceived and judged of by the countenance. Now, as in these countries modesty requires that women should cover themselves, even when at home, before all men, and particularly before young people, it would have been extremely improper, if, when speaking publicly in the congregation, they had exposed themselves to everybody's view.-ROSENMULLER. Ver. 10. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head, because of the angels. The head-dress of the women is simple: their hair is drawn behind the head, and divided into several tresses: the beauty of this head-dress consists in the thickness, and in the length of these tresses, which should fall even down to the heels, in default of which they lengthen them with tresses of silk. The ends of these tresses they decorate with pearls, and jewels, or ornaments of gold, or silver. The head is covered under the veil, or kerchief, (couvre chef,) only by the end of a small bandeau, shaped into a triangle: this bandeau, which is of various colours, is thin and light. The bandelette is embroidered by the needle, or covered with jewellery, according to the quality of the wearer. This is, in my opinion, the ancient tiara, or diadem, of the queens of Persia; only married women wear it; and it is the mark by which it is known that they are under subjection, (c'est là la marque à laquelle on reconnoit qu'elles sont Sous PUISSANCE power.) The girls have little caps, instead of this kerchief, or tiara; they wear no veil at home, but let two tresses of their hair fall under their cheeks. caps of girls of superior rank are tied with a row of pearls. Girls are not shut up in Persia till they attain the age of six or seven years; before that age they go out of the seraglio, sometimes with their father, so that they may then be seen. I have seen some wonderfully pretty. They show the neck and bosom; and more beautiful cannot be seen.-CHARDIN. The The wearing of a veil by a married woman was a token of her being under power. The Hebrew name of the veil signifies dependence; great importance was attached to this part of dress in the East. "All the women of Persia are all, both rich and poor, are covered with a great veil, or pleasantly apparelled; when they are abroad in the streets, sheet of very fine white cloth, of which one half, like a forehead cloth, comes down to the eyes, and, going over the head, reaches down to the heels, and the other half muffles up the face below the eyes, and being fastened with a pin to the left side of the head, falls down to their very shoes, even covering their hands, with which they hold that cloth by the two sides, so that, except the eyes, they are covered all over with it. Within doors they have their faces and breasts uncovered; but the Armenian women, in their houses, have always one half of their faces covered with a cloth, that goes athwart their noses, and hangs over their chins and breasts, except the maids of that nation, who, within doors, cover only the chin, until they are mar ried." THEVENOT. Ver. 14. Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair it is a shame unto him? See on 1 Pet. 3. 3. Ver. 15. But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her for her hair is given her for a covering. The eastern ladies are remarkable for the length, and the great number of the tresses of their hair. The men there, on the contrary, wear very little hair on their heads. Lady M. W. Montague thus speaks concerning the hair of the women: "Their hair hangs at full length behind, divided into tresses, braided with pearl or riband, which is always in great quantity. I never saw in my life so many fine heads of hair. In one lady's I have counted one hundred and ten of these tresses, all natural; but it must be owned that every kind of beauty is more common hele than with us." The men there, on the contrar,, snave all the hair off their heads excepting one lock; and those that wear hair are thought effeminate. Both these particulars are mentioned by Chardin, who says, they are agreeable to the custom of the East: the men are shaved, the women nourish their hair with great fondness, which they lengthen, by tresses and tufts of silk, down to the heels. The young men who wear their hair in the East, are looked upon as effeminate and infamous.-HARMER. CHAPTER XIV. Ver. 7. And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? 8. For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? The words of St. Paul, in 1 Cor. xiv. 7, will appear with the greatest energy, if we consider them as signifying, that for want of a due distinction of sounds, those by whom a procession according to the usages of the East should pass, might be at a loss to know whether they should join them with expressions of gratulation, or in words of lamentation. Irwin has given an instance of such a joining in the latter case, where, speaking of the singing in a funeral procession, that went by his house, he says, "There was an Arabian merchant on a visit to us, when the funeral went by; and though in company with strangers, he was not ashamed to run to the window, and to join audibly in the devotions of the train." If a pipe was designed to regulate the expressions that were to be made use of, if it gives an uncertain sound, and sometimes seemed to announce a triumph or a wedding, and sometimes a procession on account of the dead, how should a bystander know how to behave himself? "Even things without life give sound, whether pipe or harp; except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall a man know what is piped or harped?" How shall a man know what the music is designed to produce, congratulation, or condolence? This is a much stronger sense than the supposing, if the sounds were irregular, the apostle meant it was impossible to tell what dance was intended. In truth, such an explanation would not well agree with he extemporaneousness of eastern dances, for the hearer of the music might in that case know what was to be done, and all that would follow from it would be, that if the music was irregular, so would the dance be.-HARMER. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 24. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. If the opinion of the eminent critic, Storr, may be admitted, that the kingdom here said to be delivered up to the Father is not the kingdom of Christ, but the rule and dominion of all adverse powers-an opinion rendered very probable by the following words: "when he shall have put down (Gr. done away, abolished) all rule and all authority and power," and ver. 25, "till he hath put all enemies under his feet"-then is the passage of identical import with Rev. xi. 15, referring to precisely the same period: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." It is, therefore, we conceive, but a peculiar mode of denoting the transfer, the making over of the kingdoms of this world from their former despotic and antichristian rulers to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ, the appointed heir and head of all things, whose kingdom is to be everlasting. If this interpretation be correct, we are prepared to advance a step farther, and suggest that the phrase, he shall have delivered up, (Greek, narado,) be understood as an instance of the idiom in which he verb is used without any personal nominative, but has reference to the purpose of God as expressed in the scripures; so that the passage may be read, "Then cometh the end, (i. e. not the close, the final winding up, but the perrect development, expansion, completion, consummation of the divine plans, in regard to this world,) when the prophetic announcements of the scriptures require the deliv : The barbarous custom of making men combat with wild beasts has prevailed in the East down to the most modern times. Jurgen Andersen, who visited the states of the great mogul in 1646, gives an account in his Travels, of such a combat with animals, which he witnessed at Agra, the residence of the great mogul. His description affords a lively image of those bloody spectacles in which ancient Rome took so much pleasure, and to which the above words of the apostle refer. Álamardan-Chan, the gov ernor of Cashmire, who sat among the chans, stood up, and exclaimed, "It is the will and desire of the great mogul, Schah Choram, that if there are any valiant heroes who will show their bravery by combating with wild beasts, armed with shield and sword, let them come forward if they conquer, the mogul will load them with great favour, and clothe their countenance with gladness." Upon this three persons advanced, and offered to undertake the combat. Alamardan-Chan again cried aloud, "None should have any other weapon than a shield and a sword, and whosoever has a breastplate under his clothes, should lay it aside and fight honourably." Hereupon a powerful lion was let into the garden, and one of the three men abovementioned advanced against him; the lion, on seeing his enemy, ran violently up to him; the man however defended himself bravely, and kept off the lion for a good while, till his arms grew tired; the lion then seized the shield with one paw, and with the other his antagonist's right arm, so that he was not able to use his weapon; the latter, seeing his life in danger, took with his left hand his Indian dagger, which he had sticking in his girdle, and thrust it as far as possible into the lion's mouth; the lion then let him go; the man however was not idle, but cut the lion almost through with one stroke, and after that entirely to pieces. Upon this victory, the common people began to shout, and call out, "Thank God, he has conquered." But the mogul said, smiling, to this conqueror, Thou art a brave warrior, and hast fought admirably! But did I not command to fight honourably only with shield and sword? But, like a thief, thou hast stolen the life of the lion with thy dagger." And immediately he ordered two men to rip up his belly, and to place him upon an elephant, and, as an example to others, to lead him about, which was done on the spot. Soon after a tiger was let loose; against which a tall, powerful man, advanced with an air of defiance, as if he would cut the tiger up. The tiger, however, was far too sagacious and active, for, in the first attack, he seized the combatant by the neck, tore his throat, and then his whole body in pieces. This enraged another good fellow, but little, and of mean appearance, from whom one would not have expected it: he rushed forward like one mad, and the tiger on his part undauntedly flew at his enemy; but the man at the first attack cut off his two forepaws, so that he fell, and the man cut his body to pieces. Upon this the king cried, "What is your name?" He answered, "My name is Geyby." Soon after one of the king's servants came and brought him a piece of gold brocade, and said, "Geyby, receive the robe of honour with which the mogul presents you." He took the garment with great reverence, kissed it three times, pressing it each time to his eyes and breast, then held it up, and in silence put up a prayer for the health of the mogul; and when he had concluded it, he cried, " May God let him become as great as Tamerlane, from whom he is descended. May he live seven hundred years, and his house continue to eternity!" Upon this he was summoned by a chamberlain to go from the garden up to the king, and when he came to the entrance, he was received by two chans, who conducted him between them to kiss the mogul's feet. And when he was going to retire, the king said to him, "Praised be thou, Geyby-Chan, for thy valiant deeds, and this name shalt thou keep tr |