THE HART AND THE HIND. Ill 



the production of the horns arises wholly from the superabundance 

 of nourishment, is the difference which is found between the horns 

 of stags of the same age, of which some are very thick and spread- 

 ing, while others are thin and slender, which depends absolutely on 

 the quantity of nourishment : for, a stag which inhabits a plentiful 

 country, where he feeds at his will ; where he is not molested by 

 dogs or by men ; where, having eaten quietly, he may afterwards 

 ruminate at his ease, will always show a head beautiful, high, and 

 spreading : palms large and well-furnished : the stem of his horns 

 thick, well-pearled, with numerous antlers, long and strong : where- 

 as, he who inhabits a country where he has neither quiet nor nour- 

 ishment sufficient, will show but an impoverished head, few antlers, 

 and feeble stems; INSOMUCH, THAT IT 19 ALWAYS EASY TO DETER- 

 MINE, BY EXAMINING THE HEAD OF A STAG, WHETHER HE INHABITS 

 A PLENTIFUL AND QUIET COUNTRY, AND WHETHER HE HAS BEEN 

 WELL OR ILL FED.' 



The prediction of Jacob, then, may be thus understood : ' Naph- 

 tali shall inhabit a country so rich, so fertile, so quiet, so unmolest- 

 ed, that, after having fed to the full, on the most nutritious pastur- 

 age, he shall shoot out branches, i. e. antlers, &c., of the most majes- 

 tic magnitude.' Thus the patriarch denotes the happy lot of Naph- 

 tali ; not directly, but indirectly ; not by the energy of immediate 

 description, but by inevitable inference, arising from the observation 

 of its effects. In fact, the lot of this tribe was rich in pasture, and 

 4 his soil,' as Calrnet observes, ' was very fruitful in corn and oil,' 

 So that we have correct verbal propriety, and the subsequent fulfil, 

 ment of the prophecy, in favor of this interpretation. 



The residence of Naphtali was a beautiful woodland country, ex- 

 tending to Mount Lebanon, and producing fruits of every sort. 

 Moses says (Deut. xxxiii, 23) Naphtali shall enjoy abundance of fa- 

 vor and be filled with the blessings of the Lord. Joseph us speaks 

 highly of the fertility of Galilee, which comprised the lot of the 

 tribe, arid reckons two hundred and fourteen towns in the province. 

 It needs little proof that such a country was likely to yield abun- 

 dance of nourishment for deer, which might display its prolific ef- 

 fects in the growth and magnitude of the horns, and'their branches : 

 so that this country might literally fulfil the patriarch's blessing, 

 which is not always to be expected in figurative language, 



