LT.-COL. G. MACON LAY ON BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY. 



159 



reached the Pharisees, He withdraws into Galilee by way of 

 Samaria, and during His few days 5 march through that province He 

 is recorded to have incidentally observed that four months had still 

 to elapse before harvest, or in other words before the passover 

 (John iii, 26, and iv, 1, 35 ; cp. Jos. iii, 15, iv, 19, and v, 10, etc.). 



The Secretary. — I should like to have an opportunity of referring 

 to what I understood Captain Caborne to refer to when he spoke of 

 the sun standing still, and the moon in the time of Joshua. It has 

 been a great stumbling block to some believers in the Bible, arising 

 entirely from us westerns forgetting that the poetical passages of the 

 Scriptures which never were intended to be taken literally. Of 

 course no man of science can believe that the Almighty brought the 

 whole of this universe to a standstill in order to effect any purpose 

 whatever. It is quite unthinkable ; but the whole thing is explained 

 as a poetical quotation from the book of Jasher, " Is not this written 

 in the book of Jasher, so the sun stood still and the moon over the 

 valley 1 " It is a poetical quotation from a work not in the Scriptures 

 itself. I believe this explains the passage. 



Colonel Hendley, CLE. — On page 124 Colonel Mackinlay speaks 

 of the invariable orientation of the temples in the East. Some time 

 ago I was asked by Sir Norman Lockyer to make some observations 

 regarding the orientation of Indian temples. I found there was 

 really no very definite rule at all, and the temple of the sun pointed 

 to the north : it had nothing to do with the sunshine. The only 

 important point seemed to be that the doorway of the temple should 

 not point to the south or the region of the demons. However, 

 Hindus do so far believe in the effect of the sun and moon on the 

 images, that on certain nights the images are taken out and bathed 

 in the moonlight. Very few people really realise the importance of 

 astronomy and still more of astrology in the East. Almost every 

 act of a native is foretold by the astrologer. His marriages are 

 regulated by it, and a rich man will have his horoscope made up 

 every year ; so that a friend of mine had one which was 30 feet 

 long. When a coronation takes place it may be regulated by the sun. 

 I was present at the coronation of the Desert King, the Maharajah 

 of Jodhpur, and we waited until the sun rose above the horizon for 

 a lucky moment, when the mark of investiture was made on his 

 forehead. 



Something was said in the paper about the Brahmans. Last night, 



