The next morning we were in the harbor of Haifa, under the shadow of Mt. Carmel, and rose early to read about Elijah, and to bring as near to us as we could with an opera-glass the convent and the scene of Elijah's victory over the priests of Baal. The noble convent we saw, and the brow of Carmel, which the prophet ascended10 to pray for rain; but the place of the miraculous11 sacrifice is on the other side, in view of the plain of Esdraelon, and so is the plain by the river Kishon where Elijah slew12 the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, whom he had already mocked and defeated. The grotto13 of Elijah is shown in the hill, and the monks14 who inhabit the convent regard themselves as the successors of an unbroken succession of holy occupants since the days of the great prophet. Their sumptuous15 quarters would no doubt excite the indignation of Elijah and Elisha, who would not properly discriminate16 between the modern reign17 of Mammon and the ancient rule of Baal. Haifa itself is only a huddle18 of houses on the beach. Ten miles across the curving bay we saw the battlements of Akka, on its triangle of land jutting19 into the sea, above the mouth of Kishon, out of the fertile and world-renowned plain. We see it more distinctly as we pass; and if we were to land we should see little more, for few fragments remain to attest its many masters and strange vicissitudes20. A prosperous seat of the Phoenicians, it offered hospitality to the fat-loving tribe of Asher; it was a Greek city of wealth and consequence; it was considered the key of Palestine during the Crusades, and the headquarters of the Templars and the Knights21 of St. John; and in more modern times it had the credit of giving the checkmate to the feeble imitation of Alexander in the East attempted by Napoleon I.
The day was cloudy and a little cool, and not unpleasant; but there existed all day a ground-swell which is full of all nastiness, and a short sea which aggravated22 the ground-swell; and although we sailed by the Lebanon mountains and along an historic coast, bristling23 with suggestions, and with little but suggestions, of an heroic past, by Akka and Tyre and Sidon, we were mostly indifferent to it all. The Mediterranean24, on occasion, takes away one's appetite even for ruins and ancient history.
We can distinguish, as we sail by it, the mean modern town which wears still the royal purple name of Tyre, and the peninsula, formerly25 the island, upon which the old town stood and which gave it its name. The Arabs still call it Tsur or Sur, "the rock," and the ancients fancied that this island of rock had the form of a ship and was typical of the maritime26 pursuits of its people. Some have thought it more like the cradle of commerce which Tyre is sometimes, though erroneously, said to be; for she was only the daughter of Sidon, and did but inherit from her mother the secret of the mastery of the seas. There were two cities of Tyre,—the one on the island, and another on the shore. Tyre is not an old city in the Eastern reckoning, the date of its foundation as a great power only rising to about 1200 b. c., about the time of the Trojan war, and after the fall of Sidon, although there was a city there a couple of centuries earlier, when Joshua and his followers27 conquered the hill-countries of Palestine; it could never in its days of greatness have been large, probably containing not more than 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants, but its reputation was disproportionate to its magnitude; Joshua calls it the "strong city Tyre," and it had the entire respect of Jerusalem in the most haughty28 days of the latter. Tyre seems to have been included in the "inheritance" allotted29 to Asher, but that luxurious30 son of Jacob yielded to the Phoenicians and not they to him; indeed, the parcelling of territory to the Israelitish tribes, on condition that they would conquer it, recalls the liberal dying bequest31 made by a tender Virginian to his son, of one hundred thousand dollars if he could make it. The sea-coast portion of the Canaanites, or the Phoenicians, was never subdued32 by the Jews; it preserved a fortunate independence, in order that, under the Providence33 that protected the Phoenicians, after having given the world "letters" and the first impulse of all the permanent civilization that written language implies, they could still bless it by teaching it commerce, and that wide exchange of products which is a practical brotherhood34 of man. The world was spared the calamity35 of the descent of the tribes of Israel upon the Phoenician cities of the coast, and art was permitted to grow with industry; unfortunately the tribes who formed the kingdom of Israel were capable of imitating only the idolatrous worship and the sensuality of their more polished neighbors. Such an ascendency did Tyre obtain in Jewish affairs through the princess Jezebel and the reception of the priests of Baal, that for many years both Samaria and Jerusalem might almost be called dependencies of the city of the god, "the lord Melkarth, Baal of Tyre."
The arts of the Phoenicians the Jews were not apt to learn; the beautiful bronze-work of their temples was executed by Tyrians, and their curious work in wood also; the secret of the famous purple dye of the royal stuffs which the Jews coveted36 was known only to the Tyrians, who extracted from a sea-mussel this dark red violet; when the Jews built, Tyrian workmen were necessary; when Solomon undertook his commercial ventures into the far Orient, it was Tyrians who built his ships at Ezion-geber, and it was Tyrian sailors who manned them; the Phoenicians carried the manufacture of glass to a perfection unknown to the ancient Egyptians, producing that beautiful ware37 the art of which was revived by the Venetians in the sixteenth century; the Jews did not learn from the Phoenicians, but the Greeks did, how to make that graceful38 pottery39 and to paint the vases which are the despair of modern imitators; the Tyrian mariners40, following the Sidonian, supplied the Mediterranean countries, including Egypt, with tin for the manufacture of bronze, by adventurous42 voyages as far as Britain, and no people ever excelled them in the working of bronze, as none in their time equalled them in the carving43 of ivory, the engraving44 of precious metals, and the cutting and setting of jewels.
Unfortunately scarcely anything remains45 of the abundant literature of the Phoenicians,—for the Canaanites were a literary people before the invasion of Joshua; their language was Semitic, and almost identical with the Hebrew, although they were descendants of Ham; not only their light literature but their historical records have disappeared, and we have small knowledge of their kings or their great men. The one we are most familiar with is the shrewd and liberal Hiram (I cannot tell why he always reminds me of General Grant), who exchanged riddles46 with Solomon, and shared with the mountain king the profits of his maritime skill and experience. Hiram's tomb is still pointed47 out to the curious, at Tyre; and the mutations of religions and the freaks of fortune are illustrated48 by the chance that has grouped so closely together the graves of Hiram, of Frederick Barbarossa, and of Origen.
Late in the afternoon we came in sight of Sidon, that ancient city which the hand-book infers was famous at the time of the appearance of Joshua, since that skilful49 captain speaks of it as "Great Zidon." Famous it doubtless had been long before his arrival, but the epithet50 "great" merely distinguished51 the two cities; for Sidon was divided like Tyre, "Great Sidon" being on the shore and "Little Sidon" at some distance inland. Tradition says it was built by Sidon, the great-grandson of Noah; but however this may be, it is doubtless the oldest Phoenician city except Gebel, which is on the coast north of Beyrout. It is now for the antiquarian little more than a necropolis, and a heap of stones, on which fishermen dry their nets, although some nine to ten thousand people occupy its squalid houses. What we see of it is the ridge52 of rocks forming the shallow harbor, and the picturesque53 arched bridge (with which engravings have made us familiar) that connects a ruined fortress54 on a detached rock with the rocky peninsula.
Sidon cames us far back into antiquity. When the Canaanitish tribes migrated from their seat on the Persian Gulf55, a part of them continued their march as far as Egypt. It seems to be settled that the Hittites (or Khitas) were the invaders56 who overran the land of the Pharaohs, sweeping57 away in their barbarous violence nearly all the monuments of the civilization of preceding eras, and placing upon the throne of that old empire the race of Shepherd kings. It was doubtless during the dynasty of the Shepherds that Abraham visited Egypt, and it was a Pharaoh of Hittite origin who made Joseph his minister. It was after the expulsion of the Shepherds and the establishment of a dynasty "which knew not Joseph" that the Israelites were oppressed.
But the Canaanites did not all pass beyond Syria and Palestine; some among them, who afterwards were distinctively58 known as Phoenicians, established a maritime kingdom, and founded among other cities that of Sidon. This maritime branch no doubt kept up an intercourse59 with the other portions of the Canaanite family in Southern Syria and in Egypt, before the one was driven out of Egypt by the revolution which restored the rule of the Egyptian Pharaohs, and the other expelled by the advent41 of the Philistines60. And it seems altogether probable that the Phoenicians received from Egypt many arts which they afterwards improved and perfected. It is tolerably certain that they borrowed from Egypt the hieratic writing, or some of its characters, which taught them to represent the sounds of their language by the alphabet which they gave to the world. The Sidonians were subjugated61 by Thotmes III., with all Phoenicia, and were for centuries the useful allies of the Egyptians; but their dominion62 was over the sea, and they spread their colonies first to the Grecian isles63 and then along the African coast; and in the other direction sent their venturesome barks as far as Colchis on the Black Sea. They seem to have thrived most under the Egyptian supremacy64, for the Pharaohs had need of their sailors and their ships. In the later days of the empire, in the reign of Necho, it was Phoenician sailors who, at his command, circumnavigated Africa, passing down the Red Sea and returning through the Pillars of Hercules.
The few remains of Sidon which we see to-day are only a few centuries old,—six or seven; there are no monuments to carry us back to the city famous in arts and arms, of which Homer sang; and if there were, the antiquity of this hoary65 coast would still elude66 us. Herodotus says that the temple of Melkarth at Tyre (the "daughter of Sidon") was built about 2300 B.C. Probably he errs67 by a couple of centuries; for it was only something like twenty-three centuries before Christ that the Canaanites came into Palestine, that is to say, late in the thirteenth Egyptian dynasty,—a dynasty which, according to the list of Manetho and Mariette Bey, is separated from the reign of the first Egyptian king by an interval68 of twenty-seven centuries. When Abraham wandered from Mesopotamia into Palestine he found the Canaanites in possession. But they were comparatively new comers; they had found the land already occupied by a numerous population who were so far advanced in civilization as to have built many cities. Among the peoples holding the land before them were the Rephaim, who had sixty strong towns in what is now the wilderness69 of Bashan; there were also the Emim, the Zamzummim, and the Anakim,—perhaps primitive70 races and perhaps conquerors71 of a people farther back in the twilight72, remnants of whom still remained in Palestine when the Jews began, in their turn, to level its cities to the earth, and who lived in the Jewish traditions as "giants."
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1
fickle
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| adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的 | |
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jut
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| v.突出；n.突出，突出物 | |
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attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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hoisting
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| 起重，提升 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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discriminate
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| v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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huddle
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| vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人 | |
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jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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bequest
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| n.遗赠；遗产，遗物 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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ware
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| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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riddles
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| n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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48
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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50
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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51
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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52
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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distinctively
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| adv.特殊地，区别地 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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subjugated
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| v.征服，降伏( subjugate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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elude
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| v.躲避，困惑 | |
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errs
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的第三人称单数 ) | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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