The land and the Book; or, Biblical illustrations drawn from the manners and customs, the scenes and scenery of the Holy Land . Moses had from the top of Pisgah. The result of such a 1 Sam. xxvi. 1-12. = 1 Sam. xxt. 15, IG. MASADA—HISTORY OF THE CASTLE. 417 survey on my mind, however, has always been far less sat-isfactory and refreshing than it appears to. have been toMoses, for no other part of Palestine is so dreary and unin-teresting as this, and it grows more and more so as you ap-proach the Sea of Sodom, until the barren, bronze-coloredrocks terminate in the tremendous cliff of Masada. I
The land and the Book; or, Biblical illustrations drawn from the manners and customs, the scenes and scenery of the Holy Land . Moses had from the top of Pisgah. The result of such a 1 Sam. xxvi. 1-12. = 1 Sam. xxt. 15, IG. MASADA—HISTORY OF THE CASTLE. 417 survey on my mind, however, has always been far less sat-isfactory and refreshing than it appears to. have been toMoses, for no other part of Palestine is so dreary and unin-teresting as this, and it grows more and more so as you ap-proach the Sea of Sodom, until the barren, bronze-coloredrocks terminate in the tremendous cliff of Masada. It hasnever been my privilege to visit that celebrated castle, andthe best account I have seen of it is from the pen of , who was also the first in modern times to visit andidentify it. The most striking views were drawn by histraveling companion, Mr. Tipping, and appear in Mr. Traillsnew translation of Josephus. Their visit was made in thewinter of 1842, and since then many travelers have beenthere, including several of the exploring expedition of Cap-tain Lynch. All who visited this terrific crag and strange. 418 THE LAND AND THE BOOK. castle seem to have been smitten with the spirit of exag-geration, but no one, except perhaps M. de Saulcey, hasequaled Josephus. You can read his account in the 8thchapter of the 7th book of his Wars. He thus speaks ofthe approach to it along the path called the serpent^ asresembling that animal in its narrowness and its perpetualwindings, for it is broken off at the prominent precipices ofthe rock, and returns frequently into itself, and, lengthen-ing again by little and little, hath much ado to proceed for-ward, and he that would walk along it must first go on oneleg and then on the other; and there is also nothing butdestruction in case your foot slip, for on each side there is avastly deep chasm and precipice, sufiicient to quell the cour-age of any body by the terror it infuses into the mind,etc., etc. The historian informs us
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