ANGEL AND BEAST. 217 



Christian cave saint and the Moslem dervish, whom 

 the Arabs have always regarded with equal veneration. 

 But it was among the Jews, from the time of Samuel 

 to the captivity that prophets or dervishes were most 

 abundant. They were then as plentiful as politicians : 

 and politicians in fact they were, and prophesied against 

 each other. Some would be for peace, and some 

 would be for war : some were partisans of Egypt, 

 others were partisans of Babylon. The prophetic 

 ideas differ in no respect from those of ordinary men, 

 except in the sublime or ridiculous effect which 

 they produce on the prophetic mind and body. 

 Sometimes the predictions of the Jewish prophets, 

 were fulfilled ; and sometimes they were not. To use 

 the Greek phrase, their oracles were often of base 

 metal ; and in such a case the unfortunate dervish 

 was jeered at as a false prophet, and would in his 

 turn reproach the Lord for having made him a fool 

 before men. 



The Jewish prophet was an extraordinary being. 

 He was something more and something less than a 

 man. He spoke like an angel ; he acted like a beast. 

 As soon as he received his mission, he ceased to wash. 

 He often retired to the mountains, where he might be 

 seen skipping from rock to rock like a goat ; or he 

 wandered in the desert with a leather girdle round 

 his loins, eating roots and wild honey ; sometimes 

 browsing on grass and flowers. He always adapted 

 his actions to the idea which he desired to con- 

 vey. He not only taught in parables, but performed 

 them. For instance, Isaiah walked naked through 

 the streets to show that the Lord would strip Jeru- 

 salem, and make her bare. Ezekiel cut off his hair 

 and beard and weighed it in the scales : a third part 



