312 An Attempt to ascertain the Animal 



quivering of a javelin." All this is illustrative of a most 

 powerful animal : it bears allusion to the modes in which some 

 other known animals were attacked ; but we can see at once 

 that they would all be futile against a megalosaurus. " His 

 bed is the splinters of flint, which the broken rock scattereth 

 on the mud. He maketh the main to boil like a cauldron." 

 Would not an animal the size of the megalosaurus, 70 ft. long, 

 and thick in proportion, in rapid and powerful motion, do this? 



" He snuffeth up the tide as a perfume. Behind him glit- 

 tereth a pathway;" or, as the Scripture translation runs, 

 " He maketh a path arise after him." In the pathway of the 

 megalosaurus in the sea, by night, such a luminous mark or 

 path as is often seen in the wake of a ship in the sea would, 

 we may presume, occur. Is not this the earliest reference to the 

 luminosity of the sea on record ? The description proceeds 

 thus : " The deep is embroidered with hoar." That is, from 

 the foam the motions of the megalosaurus would make. This 

 describes the appearance of the wake in his path in the day 

 time, as the luminous path did that which would be seen at 

 night. 



" He hath not his like upon earth." As far as we know, 

 for strength, size, and ferocity, there never has been the like 

 of the megalosaurus upon earth. 



" This creature without fear." Of whom, indeed, need a 

 megalosaurus have been afraid? " He dismayeth all the 

 boastful. He is a king over all the sons of pride." 



Under these figurative expressions, it strikes me that we 

 have the description of a large amphibious animal of the cro- 

 codilian family, much larger and more fierce, however, than 

 the crocodile ; one which cannot be taken by the usual devices 

 for taking that animal ; one which dwells in the sea, and sleeps 

 at times on its flinty shores ; in short a perfect megalosaurus. 

 We have seen that there were four, we may say five, modes of 

 capturing the crocodile used in Egypt ; these five modes, viz. 

 by the baited hook, the upright spike, the spear, the club used 

 bridlewise, and the iron nets, are here referred to as unavail- 

 able in capturing the leviathan ; then it is clear the leviathan 

 was not the crocodile, but some animal more powerful than 

 he ; that animal, too, in all other respects, seems to have 

 resembled the crocodile, except its size and strength being 

 greater : then, since such description tallies with what the 

 megalosaurus must have been, may we not safely infer that 

 by " leviathan " the megalosaurus was intended ? 



As to the Behemoth, I will now give from the 40th chapter 

 of the Book of Job, the description of the behemoth : " Behold 



