134 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY. 



with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." 1 

 (Psalm c\i\. 5) ; as does the prophet, also, when describing the ren- 

 ovating" and quickening influences of the Spirit of God : ' They 

 that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall 

 mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary ; 

 .and they shall walk, and not faint,' Isaiah xl. 31. It has been sup- 

 posed that there is an allusion to the moulting of the eagle in Micah's 

 charge to the people to mourn deeply, because of the judgments of 

 God: 'Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; 

 enlarge thy baldness as the eagle,' (Minah i. 16); but we rather 

 think that the allusion is to the natural baldness of some particular 

 species of this bird, as that would be far more appropriate. The 

 direction of the prophet is to a token of mourning, which was usu- 

 ally assumed by making bald the crown of the head ; here, however, 

 it was to be enlarged, extended, as the baldness of the eagle. Ex- 

 actly answering to this idea is Mr. Bruce's description of the head 

 of the ' golden eagle :' the crown of his head was bare or bald ; so 

 was the front, where the bill and skull joined. The meaning of the 

 prophet, therefore, seems to be, that the people were not to con- 

 tent themselves with shaving the crown of the head merely, as on 

 ordinary occasions ; but, under this special visitation of retributive 

 justice, they were to extend the baldness over the entire head. 



We have had frequent occasion to admire the intimate acquaint- 

 ance which the writer of the book of Job displays with many parts 

 of animated nature; his account of the eagle is characterised by 

 great accuracy and beauty : chap, xxxix. 27 30. 



To the last line in this passage, our Saviour seems to allude in 

 Matt. xxiv. 28 : ' Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagle 

 be gathered together;' that is, wherever the Jewish people, who 

 were morally and judicially dead, might be, there would the Koman 

 armies, whose standard was an eagle, and whose strength and 

 fierceness resembled that of the king of birds, in comparison with 

 his fellows, pursue and devour them. 



In Deut. xxxii. 11, there is a beautiful comparison of the"'care 

 and paternal affection of the Deity for his people, with the natural 

 tenderness of the eagle for its young. 



The remarkable circumstance of bearing the young upon her 

 wings, is alluded to in another part of scripture, (Exod. xix. 4) ; and 

 many passages in the writings of ancient authors countenance the 

 idea, that the eagle actually takes up her timid young ones, and 

 bears them on her wings till they venture to fly. It is not to be 

 supposed that she wafts her unfledged young through the voids of 

 heaven, or to distant places ; the meaning probably is, that she aids 

 with her wings their feeble and imperfect attempts to fly, till, em- 

 boldened by her example, and their own success, they fearlessly 

 oornmit themselves to the air. So did Jehovah, says Paxton, for 

 bis c.hosen people. When they were slumbering in Goshen, or 



foaning in despajr of recovering their freedom, he sent his servant 

 oses to rouse them from their inglorious sloth, to assert their lib- 



