THE ASININE GROUP. 303 



of the heathens, that the Jews woihipped an ass's 

 head, or the blasphemous absurdity of the Onoel 

 form holding a book, with the motto, " Deus Chris- 

 tianorum Menechytes," was not more the delirious 

 act of hieroglyphical emblematisers of that Gnostic 

 sect which strove to unite Christianity with Pagan- 

 ism, rather than the result of absolute malice ; cer- 

 tain it is, that in the circles of Behemoth, figured 

 by the Ophites, the last genius, or Eon ? is deno- 

 minated Onoel and pictured with asinine forms. 

 Evidently, when Mirvan II., the last Caliph of 

 the Ommiad line, was distinguished by the title 

 of Hymar-el-Gezirah, or the wild ass of Mesopo- 

 tamia, no disrespect was meant to his person ; nor 

 in the memorable declaration of Jacob, where Issa- 

 char is compared to a strong ass between two bur- 

 thens, for it became an emblem and probably an 

 ensign of his tribe. Similar ideas of respect were 

 attached to the figures of asses on the shields of 

 several Roman legions of the third century, repre- 

 sented in Pancirolus ; to the Borak banner of the 

 first Babylonian Caliphs, and to those borne on the 

 ensigns of ancient Naples and Vicenza. 



It is to be regretted that travellers of talent and 

 education have paid so little attention to minutiae in 

 their accounts of the wild species of the asinine 

 form, and thereby confounded one with the other : 

 such, among others, is the description of a wild ass 

 from the Cape of Good Hope, seen by Bishop He- 

 ber at Barrackpore, in the menagerie of the Gover- 

 nor-general of India, led about almost choked with 



