THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 299 



" fet my face againft him that eateth flefh with blood, till I 

 " cut him off from the people." 



We have an inftance in the life of Saul * that fliews the 

 propenfity of the Ifraelites to this crime, haul's army, after 

 a battle, flew, that is, fell voracioufly upon the cattle they had 

 taken, and threw them upon the ground to cut off their 

 flefh, and eat them raw, fo that the army was defiled by eat- 

 ing blood, or living animals. To prevent this, Saul caufed 

 roll to him a great ftone, and ordered thofe that killed their 

 oxen to cut their throats upon that ftone. This was the only 

 lawful way of killing animals for food ; the tying of the ox 

 and throwing it upon the ground was not permitted as e- 

 quivalent. The Ifraelites did probably in that cafe as the 

 Abyffinians do at this day ; they cut a part of its throat, fo 

 that blood might be feen upon the ground, but nothing mor- 

 tal to the animal followed from that wound. But, after lay- 

 ing his head upon a large ftone, and cutting his throat, the 

 blood fell from on high, or was poured on the ground like 

 water, and fufficient evidence appeared the creature was 

 dead before it was attempted to eat it. We have feen that 

 the Abyffinians came from Paleftine a very few years after 

 this; and we are not to doubt that they then carried with 

 them this, with many other Jewifh cuftoms, which they 

 have continued to this day. 



The author I laft quoted fays, that it is plain, from all the 

 books of the eaftern nations, that their motive for eating 

 flefh with the life, or limbs of living animals cut off with 



v. iii. P p 2 the 



* 1 Sam. chap. xiv. ver. 32. 33. 



