26 KT. HON. SIR R. TEMPLE, EART., ON THE UNITY OP TRUTH. 



almost impassable. You say how did that happen? It 

 happened very easily. The rainfall is often extremely fierce 

 and by the precipitation of drainage the river fills in a very 

 short time. I have myself seen a great rainfall over Kishon. 

 I think I could have ridden through almost anything on my 

 bay horse of Damascus breed, but that day the crossing was 

 so difficult that I quite realised what the fate of Sisera must 

 have been. There is that military battle that occurred 

 3,500 years ago ! The situation can be identified better 

 than that of any one of the battlefields of ancient Greece. 



One more example — I do not want to fatigue you, but 

 I might go on for ever. There is the case of Jacob's Well. 

 Everybody ren:iembers the parable of our Lord at the well 

 when the woman came up to draw water. She came from the 

 village Sychar, the name of which still survives. There is a 

 Avell which has been built over, and long dried up and a chapel 

 placed over it by the Crusaders, but the Palestine Exploration 

 people have thoroughly cleared it out and ascertained that 

 below the debris a well exists, and have found the marks on tlie 

 stone of the rope and the vessel by wdiich the Avater used to be 

 drawn. Read carefully in St. John's Gospel the conversation 

 between our Lord and the woman, and you will find that after 

 a certain amount of conversation of a very spiritual character, 

 wliich is the foundation really of a great deal of the spiritual 

 nature of our religion (the woman had led a dissolute life 

 and our Lord evidently knew it and gently reproached her), 

 she said to Him, " Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet." 

 and she asked Him if God is to be worshipped in that 

 mountain. Now there had been no previous alkision to a 

 mountain. She wanted, of course, to gain a sectarian 

 advantage, as a Samaritan, against a Jew ; but the point 

 is this that she suddenly said to our Lord, " Sir. I perceive 

 that Thou art a prophet," and asks Him Avhether God is to be 

 worshipped in that mountain or in Jerusalem. Was there 

 a mountain innnediately within sight? Of course there was, 

 immediately overhanging, a magnificent limestone formation 

 with the outline standing out against the eastern sky. Why 

 did she say " this mountain " ? Because on the top of it was 

 the Samaritan Temple the ruins of which you niay see 

 to-day. So you perceive the woman, looking at the mountain, 

 saw the tower at the top, and that reminded her of her sect, 

 so she said to Christ, " Sir, is God to be worshipped in this 

 mountain or in Jerusalem ? " Luagine how the thing comes 

 before you. I have stood there on that spot where our 



