5 8 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



In 1709 a scholar appeared in another part of Europe and of 

 different faith, who did far more than any of his predecessors to 

 envelop the Dead Sea legends in an atmosphere of truth Adrian 

 Reland, professor at the University of Utrecht. His work on Pales- 

 tine is a monument of patient scholarship, having as its nucleus a 

 love of truth as truth : there is no irreverence in him, but he quietly 

 brushes away a great mass of myths and legends : as to the statue 

 of Lot's wife, he does not deign to treat it at length, but incident- 

 ally applies the comparative method to it with killing effect, for 

 he shows that the story of its miraculous renewal is but one 

 among many of its kind.* 



Yet to superficial observers the old current of myth and mar- 

 vel seemed to flow into the eighteenth century as strong as ever, 

 and of this we may take two typical evidences. The first of these 

 is the "Pious Pilgrimage" of Vincent Briemle. His journey was 

 made about 1710 ; and his work, brought out under the auspices 

 of a high papal functionary some years later, in a heavy quarto, 

 gave new life to the stories of the hellish character of the 

 Dead Sea, and especially to the miraculous renewal of the salt 

 statue. 



In 1720 came a still more striking effort to maintain the old 

 belief on the Protestant side, for, in that year the eminent theo- 

 logian Masius published his great treatise on " The Conversion of 

 Lot's Wife into a Statue of Salt." 



He evidently intended that this work should be the last word 

 on this subject among Protestants, as Quaresmio had imagined 

 that his work would be the last among Catholics. He develops 

 his subject after the high scholastic and theologic manner. Call- 

 ing attention first to the divine command in the New Testament, 

 " Remember Lot's wife," he argues through a long series of chap- 

 ters. In the ninth of these he discusses " the impelling cause " of 

 her looking back, and introduces us to the question, formerly so 

 often discussed by theologians, whether the soul of Lot's wife was 

 finally saved. Here we are glad to learn that the big, warm heart 

 of Luther lifted him above the common herd of theologians, and 

 led him to declare that she was " a faithful and saintly woman," 

 and that she certainly was not eternally damned. In justice to 

 the Roman Church also it should be said that several of her most 



* For Zwinner, see his "Blumenbuch des Heyligen Landes," Miinchen, 1661, p. 454. 

 For Mezger, his " Sacra Historia," Augsburg, 1*700, p. 30. For Doubdan, see his " Voyage de 

 la Terre Sainte," Paris, 1666, pp. 338, 339 ; also Tobler and Gage's " Ritter." For Goujon, 

 his " Histoire et Voiage de la Terre Saincte," Lyons, 1670, p. 230, etc. For Morison, see 

 his " Voyage," book ii, pp. 516, 517. For Maundrell, see in Wright's " Collection," pp. 383 

 et seq. For Clericus, see his " Dissertatio de Salis Statua," in bis " Pentateuch," edition of 

 1696, pp. 327 et acq. For Father Beaugrand, see bis "Voyage," Paris, 1701, pp. 137 et 

 seq. For Reland, see his " Palaestina," Traject. Batavorum, 1714, vol. i., pp. 61-254, and 

 passim. 



