it was half way from Athens to
Carystus
in Eubnea.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
org/access_use#pd-google
? MANETHO.
MAN
? nus against Apitin; but still greattr portions in the
"Chronicles" of George Synceilus, a monk of the ninth
century. The "Chronicles" of Syncellus were prin-
cipally compiled from the "Chronicles" of Julius Af-
ricanus and from Eusebius, both of whom made great
use of Manetho's " History. " The work of Africanus
is lost; and we only possess a Latin version of that of
Eusebius, which was translated out of the Armenian
version ot the Greek text preserved at Constantinople.
Manelho indicates as his principal sources of informa-
tion certain ancient Egyptian chronicles, and also, if
Syncellus has rightly comprehended his meaning, the in-
scriptions which Thoth, or the first Hermes, had traced,
according to him, in the sacred language, on columns.
tV'e say, if Syncellus has rightly comprehended him,
because it appears that the passage, in which Manetho
speaks of the columns of Egypt, has not been taken
from his history of Egypt, but from another work of a
. iiystic character, entitled Sothis. The inscriptions
just referred to, as having been written in the sacred
dialect, Agathodsmon, son of the second Hermes, and
father of Taut, had translated into the vulgar dialect,
and placed among the writings deposited in the sanc-
tuary of a temple. Manetho gives the list of thirty
dynasties or successions of kings who reigned in the
same city; for thus are we to understand the word
dynasty, which, in Manetho, is not synonymous with
reigning family. Hence some of his dynasties are
composed of several families. The thirty-one lists of
Manetho contain the names of 113 kings, who, ac-
cording to them, reigned in Egypt during the space of
4465 years. As we cannot reconcile this long dura-
tion of the Egyptian monarchy with the chronology of
the Scriptures, some writers have hence taken occasion
to throw discredit on Manetho, and have placed him
in the class oi fabulous historians. (Compare, in par-
ticular, Petal. , Doetr. Temp. , lib. 9, c. 15. ) A circum-
stanca, however, which would seem to claim for this his-
torian some degree of confidence is, that the succession
0/kings, as given by him, does not by any means corre-
ipond to the pretensions of the more ancient priests of
Egypt, who enumerated to Herodotus a list of monarchs
which would make the duration of the kingdom of Egypt
exceed 30,000 years! We know also, from Josephus,
that Manetho corrected many things in Herodotus
which betrayed a want of exactness. Larcher accuses
Manetho of having been a mere flatterer of the Ptol-
emies. {Hist. d'Herod. , vol. 7, p. 323. ) But the lat-
ter has found a defender in M. Dubois-Ayme. (De-
scription de I'Egyple, vol. 1, p. 301. ) Other and
more equitable critics, such as Calvisius, Usher, and
Capellus, have endeavoured to reconcile the chronol-
ogy of Manetho with that of the Scriptures, by reject-
ing as fabulous merely the first fourteen, fifteen, or
sixteen dynasties. Marsham, however, was the first
to accomplish this end, and that, too, without re-
trenching any part of Manetho's catalogue. (Chron-
icus Canon JEgyptiacus, Hebraicus, Gracus, Land. ,
1672, fol. ) He has made it appear, that tho first sev-
enteen dynasties of Manetho might have reigned si-
multaneously in different parts of Egypt, and that thus
the interval of time between Menes (whom Marsham
believes to have been Ham, the son of Noah), and the
end of the reign of Arnasis, is only 1819 years. Two
great men of the 17th century, Newton and Bossuet,
have approved of the system of Marsham: and yet it
would cortainly seem to be faulty, in placing, contra-
? ? ry to all probability, the commencement of the Egyp-
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? MAN
MAN
mother occasion, lie makes mention (36, 10). Bent-
ley Believes thai the poet is to be placed in the age of
Augustus; but he has no other ground for this belief
<bau the observation which he has made, that Mauilius
oevei uses the genitive terminationii (auxilii, ingenii,
imperii, &c), but the contracted form in i (auxili,
agent), which mirks a writer of the Augustan age.
Properiius among the poets first used \he form in it.
-- The poem of Manilius is unfinished. The five
books which are extant treat principally of the fixed
stars,- jut the poet promises, in many parts of his work,
to gn i an account of the planets. The language is
in many instances marked by great purity, many po-
etic beauties appear, and the whole betrays no incon-
siderable degree of talent in managing a subject of
so dry and forbidding a nature. It appears from many
parts of the work that Manilius was a stanch adherent
of the Stoic philosophy. The best editions are, that
of Bentley, Land. , 1739, 4to, and that of Stoeber,
Argent. , 1767, 8vo. (Scholl, Lit. Romaine, vol. 1,
p. 276. ) -- II. An epigrammatic poet, ono of whose
epigrams is cited by Varro. (Antk. Lot. , vol. 1, p.
673. )--III. Manius, a Roman consul, A. U. C. 605.
He left a work qn the Civil Law, and another entitled
Manila Monumenla. (Scholl, lot. Rom. , vol. 1, p.
182. )
Manlius, the name of one of the most illustrious
patrician gcntcs of Rome. Those most worthy of
notice are: I. Marcus Manlius Capitolinus, who was
consul B. C. 390 (Liv. , 5, 31), and was the means of
preserving the Capitol when it was nearly taken by
the Gauls (Liv. , 5, 47), from which exploit be re-
ceived the surname of Capitolinus. He afterward be-
came a warm supporter of the popular party against
his own order, and particularly distinguished himself
by the liberality with which he assisted those who
were in debt. He publicly sold one of his most val-
uable estates, and declared that, as long as he had a
single pound, he would not allow any Roman to be
carried into bondage for debt. In consequence of
his opposition to the patrician order, he was accused
of aiming at kingly power. The circumstances at-
tending his trial and death are involved in much ob-
scurity. It would appear that he was accused before
the centuries and acquitted; and that afterward, see-
ing that the patrician order were bent on his destruc-
tion, h e seized upon the Capitol and prepared to de-
fend it by arms. In consequence of this, Camillus,
his personal enemy, was appointed dictator, and the
curia (i. e. , the patrician assembly) condemned him
to death. According to Livy, who implies that Man-
lius did not take up arms, he was thrown down from
the Tarpeian rock by the tribunes; but Niebuhr sup-
poses, from a fragment of Dio Cassius (lib. 31), com-
pared with the narrative of Zonaras (7, 24), that he
wag treacherously pushed down from the rock by a
? lave, who had been hired for that purpose by tho pa-
trician party. (Rom. Hist. , vol. 2, p. 610, seq. , Eng.
transl. ) Tho house which Manlius had occupied was
razed to the ground; and the Manlian gens resolved
that none of its patrician members should again bear
the name of Marcus. Manlius was put to death B. C.
381. --II. Titus Manliu9 Capitolinus Torquatus, was
son of L. Manlius surnamed Imperiosus, who was dic-
tator B. C. 361. When his father Lucius was accused
by the tribune Pomponius, on account of bis cruelty
towards tho soldiers under his command, and also for
? ? keeping bis son Titus among his slaves in the coun-
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? MAM
MAK
auci d to lorc an alliance with A rgos and Elia, with
which coniedeiatcs thry finally made war against Spar-
la. (Thucyd. . b, 29, seqq. ) In the battle which was
fought on their territory, they obtained at first a deci-
ded advantage against its Lacedemonian troops op-
posed to them; but the Isft wing of the allied army
having been routed, they were in their turn vigorously
attacked, and forced lo give way with heavy loss.
(Thucyd. , 5, 66. ) This ill success led to the dissolu-
tion of the confederacy, and induced the Mantineans,
not long after, to renew their former alliance with Spar-
ta (Thucyd. , b, 78), to which they adhered until the
peace of Antalcidas. At this period the Lacedtetno-
nians, bent on strengthening their power in the penin-
sula to the utmost, peremptorily ordered the Mantineans
to pull down their walls, or to prepare for war, as the
thirty years' truce agreed upon between the two states
had now expired. On their refusal to comply with this
unjust and arbitrary demand, a Spartan army enter-
ed the Mantinean territory, and laid siege to the city.
The inhabitants defended themselves with vigour, and
might have held out successfully, had not Agesipolis
caused the waters of the river Ophis lo be diverted
from their channel, and directed against the walls of
the town, which, being of brick, were easily demolish-
ed. By this Mantinea fell into the hands of the Spar-
tans, who destroyed the fortifications, and compelled
the inhabitants lo change their constitution from a de-
mocracy to an oligarchy, and to separate, as formerly,
into four townships. (Xen. , Hist Gr. , 5,2,7. --Paa-
tan. , 8, S. --Polyb. , 4, 27. ) After the battle of Leuc-
tra, however, the Mantineans, under the protection of
Tbeoes, again united their population and rcfortificd
their city, notwithstanding the opposition of the Lace-
demonians. (A'ta. . Hist. Gr. , 6, 5. ) Mantinea ac-
quired aJdni;r. al celebrity from the great but undeci-
sive battle fought in its plains between the Basolians
ai ' Spartans, in which Epaminondas terminated his
gLricis career (B. C. 362); and it continued to be one
cftb. " tading cities of Arcadia till it joined the Achaean
league, when it fell for a short time into the hands of
the -El >lians and Cleomenes, but was recovered by
Aratus lour years before the battle of Sellasia. (Po-
lybius, ^, 8, 4. ) The Mantineans having, however,
again j> ined the enemies of the Achseans, they treach-
erously put the garrison of the latter lo the sword.
(Polyb . 2, 58, 4 ) This perfidious conduct drew down
upon tl em the vengeance of Antigonus Doson and the
Achscat s, who, making themselves masters of the city,
gave it jp to plunder, and sold all Ihe free population
as slavi 4; a chastisement which Polybius considered
as scar, cly equal to iheir offence, though its cruelty
had been set forth in strong colours by the historian
Phylarchus. The name of the city was now changed
to Antigonea, in compliment to Antigonus Doson. We
learn also from Pausanias, that the Mantineans had
merited tha protection of Augustus from having es-
poused his cause against Marc Antony. Their town
still continued to flourish as late as the time of Hadri-
an, who abolished the name of Antigonea and restored
its ancient appellation. --The site of the famous battle of
Mantinea was about thirty stadia from the city, on the
road to Pallantium, near a wood named Pelagus. The
tomb of Epaminondas had been erected on the spot
where hebreathed his last: it consisted originally of one
pillar xily, surmounted by a shield and a Boeotian inscrip-
tion; but another pillar was afterward added by the
? ? Emperor Hadrian. (Pausan. , 8, 11. )--The ruins of
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? MARATHON.
MAR
? mild lie Athenians, who had eleven generals inclu-
ding the polemarch, were for the day under the orders
of Miltiades. According to Cornelius Nepoa (Kir.
Mtlttad), the Persians were a hundred thousand effect-
ive foot and ten thousand horse; yet Plato, mean-
ing probably to include the seamen and the various
multitude of attendants upon Asiatic troops, calls the
whole armament fire hundred thousand; and Trogus
Porapeius, according to his epitomizer Justin (2, 9),
did not scruple to add a hundred thousand more.
These writers, however, did not perceive that, by en-
cumbering the Persians with such useless and un-
manageable crowds, they were not heightening, but
diminishing, the glory of the conquerors. The Athe-
nians numbered six-and-forty different nations in the
barbarian host; and the Ethiopian arrows, remains of
which are still found at Marathon, seem to attest the
fact that Darius drew troops from the remotest provin-
ces of the empire. Yet our calculations must be kept
down by the remark, that the whole invading army
was transported over the sea, according to Herodotus,
'. n 600 ships. This, on the footing which he fixes else-
where, of 200 men to each trireme, would give 120,000:
and we ought probably to consider this as the utmost
. imit to which the numbers of the invaders can reason-
ably be carried. Those of the Athenians, including the
Plataans, arc uniformly rated at about 10,000. It is
possible that the number of the tribes had some share in
grounding this tradition: it probably falls short of the
truth, and certainly does not take the slaves into ac-
count, who served most likely as light-armed troops.
When all these allowances are made, the numerical
inequality will be reduced to a proportion of five to one.
--It is remarkable, that, though Herodotus represents
the Persians as induced to land at Marathon with a
view to the operations of their calvary, he does not
say a word either of its movements in the battle, or of
? ny cause that prevented them. It seems not to have
come into action; but perhaps he could not learn by
>hat means it was kept motionless. Yet there was
a tradition on the subject, probably of some antiquity,
which anpears to havo assumed various forms, one of
which was adopted by Nepos, who relates, that Miltia-
des protected his flanks from the enemy's cavalry by
an abattis: a fact which it may be thought Herodotus
could scarcely have passed over in silence if it had
been known to him, but which might have been the
foundation of a very obscure account of the matter,
which is given by another author. In the explanation
i)f the proverb, xu("-c imrcfr (Suidat. --Cent. , 14, 73,
Scholt), we read, that when Dalis invaded Attica, the
Ionians got upon the trees (1), and made signals to the
Athenians that the cavalrv had gone away (uc eiev
X<JpiC oi i-Treir). and that Miltiades, on learning its re-
treat, joined battle and gained the victory; which was
the origin of the proverb, hri tuv tt)v tu(iv diaXvov
tup. (Tkirlwall's Greece, vol. 2, p. 241, seq. )--The
Persians lost in all six thousand four hundred men.
Of the Athenians only one hundred and ninety-two
fell; but among them were the polemarch Callima-
chus; Stesibius, one of the ten generals; Cynregirus,
Brother of the poet Aeschylus, and other men of rank,
who had been earnest to set an example of valour on
this trying occasion. Cornelius Nepos observes that
Marathon was ten miles from Athens; but as, in fact,
it is nearly double that distance, it is probable that we
dUght to read twenty instead of ten. Pausanias affirms
? ?
it was half way from Athens to Carystus in Eubnea.
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? MARCELLINUS.
MAR
ot Tacitus. The history of Ammianus proceeds as
far as 378 A. D. It embraced, consequently, a period
of 282 years; but the first thirteen books, which con-
tained a sketch of the history of 256 years (from 96
to 352), are lost, and we have only the last eighteen.
These eighteen, however, form the moat important
part of the labours of Ammianus. In the first thir-
teen bcoks he merely arranged materials from writers
who had gone before him; although it must be ac-
knowledged, that ever, this part would have been in-
teresting for us, as many of the works from which he
selected are now lost. In the eighteen books, how-
ever, that remain to us, and which it is more than
probable the copyists transcribed separately from the
rest, Ammianus relates the events which occutred du-
ring his own time. As he often look an active part in
those, or, at least, was an eyewitness of most of them,
he relates them in the first person: when he details
what did not pass under his immediate inspection, he
is careful to obtain the requisite information from those
who are acquainted with the subject, and who took
part in the matter that is related: he does not pretend,
however, to give a complete history of his time, and
he passes in silence over events respecting which he
has neither accurate information nor positive docu-
ments. This part of his work, therefore, is less a his-
tory than what we would call at tho present day me-
moirs of his time. Ammianus Marcellinus was a well-
informed man, and possessed of great good sense and
excellent judgment. No writer was ever more entitled
to praise for candour and impartiality. He understood
well the art of clearly showing the connexion of events,
and of painting in striking colours the characters of
those individuals whom he introduces into his narra-
tive. In a word, he would in all probability have
oecn an accomplished historian had his lot been
cast in a more favourable age. Had he lived in the
golden period of Roman literature, the study of good
models and the society of enlightened men would
have perfected his historic talent, and have formed
his style in a purer mould. The latter would not,
as is too often the case in Ammianus, have been
destitute of that simplicity which constitutes one of
the great beauties of historical narrative, nor over-
oaded with ornaments and disfigured by turgid and
barbarous forms of expression. These faults, how-
ever, in the style of Ammianus, find an excuse in
the circumstances of his case. He was a stranger,
and wrote in a language not his own , neither did the
busy life which he had led in camps permit him to cul-
tivate the talent for writing which nature had bestowed
upon him His good qualities are his own; his de-
fects arc those of the times; and, in spite of these de-
fects, his style is conspicuous among all the writers
who were contemporary with him for a purity to which
they could not attain. --Ammianus Marcellinus is the
last pagan historian; for, notwithstanding all that some
maintain to the contrary, we have no certain proof of
his having been a Christian. A public man, enriched
with the experience acquired amid the scenes of an
active life, he relates the events connected with the
new religion introduced by Constant vie with sang-froid
and impartiality, and perhaps with the indifference of
a man who knew how to raise himself to a point of
view where he could perceive naught but masses and
results. He blamea with equal frankness the anti-
christian mysticism of Julian, and the religious intol-
? ? erance of Constantius and his bishops. He speaks
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? MAR
MAR
during me second Punic war, and was accustomed to
be called '. he sword of the Romans, as Fabius was
denominated I heir shield. We have a life of him by
Plutarch. --II. Marcus Claudius, held the consulship
withServius Sulpicius, B. C. 51. He was remarkable
for his attachment to republican principles, and his
uncompromising hostility towards Caesar; and it was
hu who proposed to the senate to recall that command-
er from his province in Gaul. After the battle of
i'Lirsalia, Marcellus went into voluntary exile, and
was not pardoned by Cansar until some considerable
interval had elapsed, and then only at the earnest in-
tercession of the senate. It was on this occasion that
Cicero delivered his speech of thanks to Caesar.
Marcellus, however, did not long survive to enjoy the
pardon thus obtained, having been assassinated by an
adherent of his, P. Magius Gilo. He was then on his
return to Italy. The cause that prompted Cilo to the
act is not known. Cicero conjectures that the latter,
oppressed with debts, and apprehending some trouble
on that score in case of his return, had been urging
Marcellus, who was surety for some part of them, to
furnish him with money to pay the whole, and that, on
receiving a denial, he was provoked to the madness of
killing his patron. (Cie. , Ep. ad Att. , 13, 10. --Com-
pare Ep. ad Fam. , 4, 12. ) According to others,
however, he was prompted to the deed by seeing other
friends more highly favoured by Marcellus than him-
self. (Vol. Max. , 9, 11. ) After stabbing his patron,
Cilo slew himself. --III. Marcus Claudius, commonly
known as the "Young Marcellus," was the son of
Octavia the sister of Augustus, and consequently the
nephew of the latter. Augustus gave him his daugh-
ter Julia in marriage, and intended him for his suc-
cessor; but he died at the early age of IS, universally
regretted on account of the excellence of his private
character. Virgil has immortalized his memory by the
beautiful lines at the close of the sixth book of the
iEneid, and which are said to have drawn from Octa-
via so munificent a recompense. (Vid. Virgilius. )
Livia was suspected, though without reason, it would
teem, of having made away with Marcellus, who was
an obstacle to the advancement of her son Tiberius.
The more ostensible cause of his death was the inju-
dicious application of the cnld bath by the physician
Antonius Musa. (Vid. Musa. )
Marciana, a sister of the Emperor Trajan, who,
on account of her public and private virtues and her
amiable disposition, was declared Augusta and empress
by her brother. She died A. D. 113.
Marcianopolis, a city of Moesia Inferior, to the
west of Odessus, founded by Trajan, and named in
honour of his sister Marciana. (Amm. Marcell. , 27,
4. --Jornand. , Get. , c. 16. ) It soon became an im-
portant place in consequence of its lying on the main
toad from Constantinople to the Ister, and of its being
the place where preparations were made for all the
expeditions against the barbarians in this quarter.
When the Bulgarians formed a kingdom out of what
was previously Moesia, Marcianopolis became the cap-
ital, under the name of Pristhlaba (llpiaHhiia. --
Anna Comn. , p. 194) or Preslau). It still retains this
name, and also that of ICski Stamboul with the Turks:
the modern Greek inhabitants, however, call it Mar-
tenojoh. According to the /(in. Ant. (p. 228. --Corn-
Bare T'htopylacl. , 7, 2), Marcianopolis was 18 miles
to the west of Odessus. (Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 7,
? ? p. 138. )
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? MARE MORTUUM.
UARE MORTUUM.
ties from every other piece of water in the knswn
world, that it is a wonder it has not been the subject
of more frequent and extensive observation. Its
depth seems to be altogether unknown; and it is
only of late that a boat has navigated its surface.
Towards its southern extremity, however, in a con-
tracted part of the lake, is a ford, about six miles
over, made use of by the Arabs: in the middle of
which they report the water to be warm, indicating
the presence of warm springs beneath. In general,
towards the shore it is shallow; and it rises and falls
with the seasons, and with the quantity of water car-
ried into it by seven streams, which fall into this their
common receptacle, the chief of which is the Jordan.
It also appears either to be on the increase, or to be
lower in some years than in others, whence those
travellers are to be credited who assert that they have
beheld the ruins of the cities either exposed or in-
gulfed beneath tLi> waters. Troilo and D'Arvieux
attest that they observed fragments of wall, &c. Jo-
aephus rccr. ar'&s, that one might still see there "the
shadows of the five cities" (jtcVtc ftiv itoteav ewiar),
leaving it somewhat uncertain what he means by this
figurative language. (Bell. Jud. , 4, 8, 4. ) Strabo
gives a circumference of 60 stadia to the ruins of Sod-
om, according to the traditions of the neighbouring
communities (wore iriaTciav roic i? pi/? . Xoty/rvoic vird
tuv hyxupluv, ur upa ukovvto imrc rpionaidcica mX-
etc evravda, uv Tjjf /iT/Tpoiroteuc, Xodopuv, au^oirn
KvnXoc. Hjtjkovtu ttov aradiuv. --Strab. , 764). Two
aged and respectable inhabitants of Jerusalem told
Maundrell that they had once been able to see some
part of these ruins; that they were near the shore, and
the water so shallow at the time, that they, together
with some Frenchmen, went into it, and found several
pillars and other fragments of buildings. These sever-
al authorities are too weighty to be despised; and we
c>>y collect from them some support to the opinion,
kit, at the destruction of the guilty cities, they were
cot entirely overwhelmed with the waters, but remain-
ad more or less exposed to view, as monuments of the
judgments of God; and that, from the slow increase
of the waters through a period of nearly 4000 years,
they havo gradually receded from our sight, and are
now only to be seen through the water, if seen at all,
after seasons of long-continued drought. The water
now covering these ruins occupies what was formerly
the Vale of Siddim; a rich and fruitful valley, in which
stood the five cities, called the cities of the plain,
namely, Sodom, Gomorrah, Adrnah, Zeboim, andBela
or Zoar. The first four of these were destroyed, while
the latter, being " a little city," was preserved at the
intercession of Lot; to which ho lied for refugo from
the impending catastrophe, and where he remained in
safety during its accomplishment. Naturalists have in-
dulged themselves in many speculations as to the man-
ner in which this destruction took place, and the im-
mediate causes engaged in effecting it; as if this were
necessary for our faith. It is probable, however, that
in this inatance, as in most others, the Almighty called
in the aid of second causes for the accomplishment of
his purpose. The most reasonable explanation of such
causes is founded on what is said in Gen, 14, 10, of
the soil of the Vale of Siddim, that it was " full of slime
pits," or, more properly, pits of bitumen, for thus the
word is rendered in the Septuagint. Now it is prob-
able that in this instance, as in that of the flood, the
? ? inhabitants of the offending cities were involved in
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? MARE MORTUUM.
MARE MORTUUM
equally to be inferred from the want jf apace over
wh'ch the water could expand itself to be exhausted by
evaporation. 11 J. the discovery of the opening on the
southern border of the lake, and the inclined valley
leading thence to the sea, have rendered these infer-
ences almost conclusive. We may then, and must in
fact, refer the origin of the lake to the epoch in ques-
tion, when the combustion of the soil, or of its sub-
strata, occasioned a subsidence of the level of the val-
ley, by which the river was arrested in its course, and
a basin formed to receive its waters. These gradually
spread themselves over its surface, and would no doubt
soon have filled it, and resumed the ancient channel to
the southward, had not their increase been retarded by
the process of evaporation, which advanced in an in-
creasing ratio as the expanse of water grew wider and
wider. The newly-lormed lake would thus continue
to extend itself, until the supply of water from the
streams, and the consumption by evaporation, arrived
at a balance. When this took place, or whether it has
even yet taken place, cannot be known; at least with-
out such observations as have not yet been made.
That it has not long been the case may be inferred
from the disappearance of the ruins which were visible
two centuries ago. --The water of this sea is far more
salt than that of the ocean; containing one fourth part
of its weight of saline contents in a state of perfect
desiccation, and forty-one parts in a hundred in a slate
of simple crystallization: that is to say, a hundred
pounds by weight of water will yield forty-one pounds
of aalts; while the proportion of saline contents in the
water of the Atlantic is not more than l-27lh part in
a stste of dryness, and about six pounds of salts in a
hundred of the water. The specific gravity of the
water is 1. 211 ; that of common water being 1000. A
vial of it having been brought to England by Mr.
Gordon of Clunie, at the request of Sir Joseph Banks,
was analyzed by Dr. Marcet, who gives the following
results. - "This water is perfectly transparent, and
does not deposite any crystals on standing in close
vessels. Its taste is peculiarly bitter, saline, and pun-
gent. Solutions of silver produce from it a very copi-
ous precipitate, showing the presence of marine acid.
Oxaiic acid instantly discovers lime in the water.
The lime being separated, both caustic and carbona-
ted alkalies readily throw down a magnesian precipi-
tate. Solutions of barytes produce a cloud, showing
the existence of sulphuric acid. No afumine can be
discovered in the water by the delicate test of succin-
ic acid combined with ammonia. A small quantity
of pulverized sea salt being added to a few drops of
the water, cold and undiluted, the sal: was readily
dissolved with the assistance of a gentle trituration,
showing that the Dead Sea is not saturated with com-
mon salt. None of the coloured infusions common-
ly used to ascertain the prevalence of an acid or an
alkali, such as litmus, violet, and turmeric, were in the
least altered by the water. " The result of Dr. Mar-
cel's analysis gives the following contents in 100 grains
of the water:
Muriate of Ltme
Muriate of Magnesia
MuriHle of Soda
Sulphate of Lune .
. 3. 990 grains.
. 10. 346 >>
. 103150"
? ? . 00M"
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? MAR
for, although it be now known that the water*
of thid lake, instead of proving destructive of animal
life, swarm with myriads of h'shes (Chateaubriand,
*ol. 1, p. 411, Land. , 1811); that, instead of falling
victims '>> its exhalations, certain birds make it their
peculiar resort (Maundrell, p. 84, Ozf. , 1721); that
shells abound upon its shores; that the pretended
fruit containing ashes in as natural and admirable a
production of nature as the rest of the vegetable king-
dom, being the fruit of the Soltmum Melangcna, the
inside of which, when the fruit is attacked by an in-
sect (Tcnthredo), turns to dust, while the skin remains
entire and of a beautiful colour; notwithstanding all
these and other facts are well established, yet even
the latest authors by whom it is mentioned continue
to fill their descriptions with imaginary horrors. --Re-
land, in his account of the Lacut Asphaltitcs (Palast. ,
vol. 1, p. 238), after inserting copious extracts from
Galen concerning the properties and quality of the
water, and its natural history, proceeds to account for
the strange fables that have prevailed with regard to
its deadly influence, by showing that certain of the an-
cients confounded this lake with another, bearing the
same appellation of Asphaltites, near Babylon; and
that they attributed to it qualities which properly be-
longed to the Babylonian waters. An account of the
properties of the Babylonian lake occurs in the wri-
tings of Vitruvius (8, 3), of Pliny (35, 15), of Athe-
n. vus (it, 5), and of Xiphilinus (p. 252). From their
various testimony it is evident, that all the phenomena
supposed to belong to the Lake Asphallites near Baby-
lon, were, from the similarity of their names, ulti-
mately considered as the natural characteristics of the
/ndaean lake, the two Asphaltites being confounded. "
(Clarke's Travels, vol. 4, p.
? MANETHO.
MAN
? nus against Apitin; but still greattr portions in the
"Chronicles" of George Synceilus, a monk of the ninth
century. The "Chronicles" of Syncellus were prin-
cipally compiled from the "Chronicles" of Julius Af-
ricanus and from Eusebius, both of whom made great
use of Manetho's " History. " The work of Africanus
is lost; and we only possess a Latin version of that of
Eusebius, which was translated out of the Armenian
version ot the Greek text preserved at Constantinople.
Manelho indicates as his principal sources of informa-
tion certain ancient Egyptian chronicles, and also, if
Syncellus has rightly comprehended his meaning, the in-
scriptions which Thoth, or the first Hermes, had traced,
according to him, in the sacred language, on columns.
tV'e say, if Syncellus has rightly comprehended him,
because it appears that the passage, in which Manetho
speaks of the columns of Egypt, has not been taken
from his history of Egypt, but from another work of a
. iiystic character, entitled Sothis. The inscriptions
just referred to, as having been written in the sacred
dialect, Agathodsmon, son of the second Hermes, and
father of Taut, had translated into the vulgar dialect,
and placed among the writings deposited in the sanc-
tuary of a temple. Manetho gives the list of thirty
dynasties or successions of kings who reigned in the
same city; for thus are we to understand the word
dynasty, which, in Manetho, is not synonymous with
reigning family. Hence some of his dynasties are
composed of several families. The thirty-one lists of
Manetho contain the names of 113 kings, who, ac-
cording to them, reigned in Egypt during the space of
4465 years. As we cannot reconcile this long dura-
tion of the Egyptian monarchy with the chronology of
the Scriptures, some writers have hence taken occasion
to throw discredit on Manetho, and have placed him
in the class oi fabulous historians. (Compare, in par-
ticular, Petal. , Doetr. Temp. , lib. 9, c. 15. ) A circum-
stanca, however, which would seem to claim for this his-
torian some degree of confidence is, that the succession
0/kings, as given by him, does not by any means corre-
ipond to the pretensions of the more ancient priests of
Egypt, who enumerated to Herodotus a list of monarchs
which would make the duration of the kingdom of Egypt
exceed 30,000 years! We know also, from Josephus,
that Manetho corrected many things in Herodotus
which betrayed a want of exactness. Larcher accuses
Manetho of having been a mere flatterer of the Ptol-
emies. {Hist. d'Herod. , vol. 7, p. 323. ) But the lat-
ter has found a defender in M. Dubois-Ayme. (De-
scription de I'Egyple, vol. 1, p. 301. ) Other and
more equitable critics, such as Calvisius, Usher, and
Capellus, have endeavoured to reconcile the chronol-
ogy of Manetho with that of the Scriptures, by reject-
ing as fabulous merely the first fourteen, fifteen, or
sixteen dynasties. Marsham, however, was the first
to accomplish this end, and that, too, without re-
trenching any part of Manetho's catalogue. (Chron-
icus Canon JEgyptiacus, Hebraicus, Gracus, Land. ,
1672, fol. ) He has made it appear, that tho first sev-
enteen dynasties of Manetho might have reigned si-
multaneously in different parts of Egypt, and that thus
the interval of time between Menes (whom Marsham
believes to have been Ham, the son of Noah), and the
end of the reign of Arnasis, is only 1819 years. Two
great men of the 17th century, Newton and Bossuet,
have approved of the system of Marsham: and yet it
would cortainly seem to be faulty, in placing, contra-
? ? ry to all probability, the commencement of the Egyp-
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? MAN
MAN
mother occasion, lie makes mention (36, 10). Bent-
ley Believes thai the poet is to be placed in the age of
Augustus; but he has no other ground for this belief
<bau the observation which he has made, that Mauilius
oevei uses the genitive terminationii (auxilii, ingenii,
imperii, &c), but the contracted form in i (auxili,
agent), which mirks a writer of the Augustan age.
Properiius among the poets first used \he form in it.
-- The poem of Manilius is unfinished. The five
books which are extant treat principally of the fixed
stars,- jut the poet promises, in many parts of his work,
to gn i an account of the planets. The language is
in many instances marked by great purity, many po-
etic beauties appear, and the whole betrays no incon-
siderable degree of talent in managing a subject of
so dry and forbidding a nature. It appears from many
parts of the work that Manilius was a stanch adherent
of the Stoic philosophy. The best editions are, that
of Bentley, Land. , 1739, 4to, and that of Stoeber,
Argent. , 1767, 8vo. (Scholl, Lit. Romaine, vol. 1,
p. 276. ) -- II. An epigrammatic poet, ono of whose
epigrams is cited by Varro. (Antk. Lot. , vol. 1, p.
673. )--III. Manius, a Roman consul, A. U. C. 605.
He left a work qn the Civil Law, and another entitled
Manila Monumenla. (Scholl, lot. Rom. , vol. 1, p.
182. )
Manlius, the name of one of the most illustrious
patrician gcntcs of Rome. Those most worthy of
notice are: I. Marcus Manlius Capitolinus, who was
consul B. C. 390 (Liv. , 5, 31), and was the means of
preserving the Capitol when it was nearly taken by
the Gauls (Liv. , 5, 47), from which exploit be re-
ceived the surname of Capitolinus. He afterward be-
came a warm supporter of the popular party against
his own order, and particularly distinguished himself
by the liberality with which he assisted those who
were in debt. He publicly sold one of his most val-
uable estates, and declared that, as long as he had a
single pound, he would not allow any Roman to be
carried into bondage for debt. In consequence of
his opposition to the patrician order, he was accused
of aiming at kingly power. The circumstances at-
tending his trial and death are involved in much ob-
scurity. It would appear that he was accused before
the centuries and acquitted; and that afterward, see-
ing that the patrician order were bent on his destruc-
tion, h e seized upon the Capitol and prepared to de-
fend it by arms. In consequence of this, Camillus,
his personal enemy, was appointed dictator, and the
curia (i. e. , the patrician assembly) condemned him
to death. According to Livy, who implies that Man-
lius did not take up arms, he was thrown down from
the Tarpeian rock by the tribunes; but Niebuhr sup-
poses, from a fragment of Dio Cassius (lib. 31), com-
pared with the narrative of Zonaras (7, 24), that he
wag treacherously pushed down from the rock by a
? lave, who had been hired for that purpose by tho pa-
trician party. (Rom. Hist. , vol. 2, p. 610, seq. , Eng.
transl. ) Tho house which Manlius had occupied was
razed to the ground; and the Manlian gens resolved
that none of its patrician members should again bear
the name of Marcus. Manlius was put to death B. C.
381. --II. Titus Manliu9 Capitolinus Torquatus, was
son of L. Manlius surnamed Imperiosus, who was dic-
tator B. C. 361. When his father Lucius was accused
by the tribune Pomponius, on account of bis cruelty
towards tho soldiers under his command, and also for
? ? keeping bis son Titus among his slaves in the coun-
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? MAM
MAK
auci d to lorc an alliance with A rgos and Elia, with
which coniedeiatcs thry finally made war against Spar-
la. (Thucyd. . b, 29, seqq. ) In the battle which was
fought on their territory, they obtained at first a deci-
ded advantage against its Lacedemonian troops op-
posed to them; but the Isft wing of the allied army
having been routed, they were in their turn vigorously
attacked, and forced lo give way with heavy loss.
(Thucyd. , 5, 66. ) This ill success led to the dissolu-
tion of the confederacy, and induced the Mantineans,
not long after, to renew their former alliance with Spar-
ta (Thucyd. , b, 78), to which they adhered until the
peace of Antalcidas. At this period the Lacedtetno-
nians, bent on strengthening their power in the penin-
sula to the utmost, peremptorily ordered the Mantineans
to pull down their walls, or to prepare for war, as the
thirty years' truce agreed upon between the two states
had now expired. On their refusal to comply with this
unjust and arbitrary demand, a Spartan army enter-
ed the Mantinean territory, and laid siege to the city.
The inhabitants defended themselves with vigour, and
might have held out successfully, had not Agesipolis
caused the waters of the river Ophis lo be diverted
from their channel, and directed against the walls of
the town, which, being of brick, were easily demolish-
ed. By this Mantinea fell into the hands of the Spar-
tans, who destroyed the fortifications, and compelled
the inhabitants lo change their constitution from a de-
mocracy to an oligarchy, and to separate, as formerly,
into four townships. (Xen. , Hist Gr. , 5,2,7. --Paa-
tan. , 8, S. --Polyb. , 4, 27. ) After the battle of Leuc-
tra, however, the Mantineans, under the protection of
Tbeoes, again united their population and rcfortificd
their city, notwithstanding the opposition of the Lace-
demonians. (A'ta. . Hist. Gr. , 6, 5. ) Mantinea ac-
quired aJdni;r. al celebrity from the great but undeci-
sive battle fought in its plains between the Basolians
ai ' Spartans, in which Epaminondas terminated his
gLricis career (B. C. 362); and it continued to be one
cftb. " tading cities of Arcadia till it joined the Achaean
league, when it fell for a short time into the hands of
the -El >lians and Cleomenes, but was recovered by
Aratus lour years before the battle of Sellasia. (Po-
lybius, ^, 8, 4. ) The Mantineans having, however,
again j> ined the enemies of the Achseans, they treach-
erously put the garrison of the latter lo the sword.
(Polyb . 2, 58, 4 ) This perfidious conduct drew down
upon tl em the vengeance of Antigonus Doson and the
Achscat s, who, making themselves masters of the city,
gave it jp to plunder, and sold all Ihe free population
as slavi 4; a chastisement which Polybius considered
as scar, cly equal to iheir offence, though its cruelty
had been set forth in strong colours by the historian
Phylarchus. The name of the city was now changed
to Antigonea, in compliment to Antigonus Doson. We
learn also from Pausanias, that the Mantineans had
merited tha protection of Augustus from having es-
poused his cause against Marc Antony. Their town
still continued to flourish as late as the time of Hadri-
an, who abolished the name of Antigonea and restored
its ancient appellation. --The site of the famous battle of
Mantinea was about thirty stadia from the city, on the
road to Pallantium, near a wood named Pelagus. The
tomb of Epaminondas had been erected on the spot
where hebreathed his last: it consisted originally of one
pillar xily, surmounted by a shield and a Boeotian inscrip-
tion; but another pillar was afterward added by the
? ? Emperor Hadrian. (Pausan. , 8, 11. )--The ruins of
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? MARATHON.
MAR
? mild lie Athenians, who had eleven generals inclu-
ding the polemarch, were for the day under the orders
of Miltiades. According to Cornelius Nepoa (Kir.
Mtlttad), the Persians were a hundred thousand effect-
ive foot and ten thousand horse; yet Plato, mean-
ing probably to include the seamen and the various
multitude of attendants upon Asiatic troops, calls the
whole armament fire hundred thousand; and Trogus
Porapeius, according to his epitomizer Justin (2, 9),
did not scruple to add a hundred thousand more.
These writers, however, did not perceive that, by en-
cumbering the Persians with such useless and un-
manageable crowds, they were not heightening, but
diminishing, the glory of the conquerors. The Athe-
nians numbered six-and-forty different nations in the
barbarian host; and the Ethiopian arrows, remains of
which are still found at Marathon, seem to attest the
fact that Darius drew troops from the remotest provin-
ces of the empire. Yet our calculations must be kept
down by the remark, that the whole invading army
was transported over the sea, according to Herodotus,
'. n 600 ships. This, on the footing which he fixes else-
where, of 200 men to each trireme, would give 120,000:
and we ought probably to consider this as the utmost
. imit to which the numbers of the invaders can reason-
ably be carried. Those of the Athenians, including the
Plataans, arc uniformly rated at about 10,000. It is
possible that the number of the tribes had some share in
grounding this tradition: it probably falls short of the
truth, and certainly does not take the slaves into ac-
count, who served most likely as light-armed troops.
When all these allowances are made, the numerical
inequality will be reduced to a proportion of five to one.
--It is remarkable, that, though Herodotus represents
the Persians as induced to land at Marathon with a
view to the operations of their calvary, he does not
say a word either of its movements in the battle, or of
? ny cause that prevented them. It seems not to have
come into action; but perhaps he could not learn by
>hat means it was kept motionless. Yet there was
a tradition on the subject, probably of some antiquity,
which anpears to havo assumed various forms, one of
which was adopted by Nepos, who relates, that Miltia-
des protected his flanks from the enemy's cavalry by
an abattis: a fact which it may be thought Herodotus
could scarcely have passed over in silence if it had
been known to him, but which might have been the
foundation of a very obscure account of the matter,
which is given by another author. In the explanation
i)f the proverb, xu("-c imrcfr (Suidat. --Cent. , 14, 73,
Scholt), we read, that when Dalis invaded Attica, the
Ionians got upon the trees (1), and made signals to the
Athenians that the cavalrv had gone away (uc eiev
X<JpiC oi i-Treir). and that Miltiades, on learning its re-
treat, joined battle and gained the victory; which was
the origin of the proverb, hri tuv tt)v tu(iv diaXvov
tup. (Tkirlwall's Greece, vol. 2, p. 241, seq. )--The
Persians lost in all six thousand four hundred men.
Of the Athenians only one hundred and ninety-two
fell; but among them were the polemarch Callima-
chus; Stesibius, one of the ten generals; Cynregirus,
Brother of the poet Aeschylus, and other men of rank,
who had been earnest to set an example of valour on
this trying occasion. Cornelius Nepos observes that
Marathon was ten miles from Athens; but as, in fact,
it is nearly double that distance, it is probable that we
dUght to read twenty instead of ten. Pausanias affirms
? ?
it was half way from Athens to Carystus in Eubnea.
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? MARCELLINUS.
MAR
ot Tacitus. The history of Ammianus proceeds as
far as 378 A. D. It embraced, consequently, a period
of 282 years; but the first thirteen books, which con-
tained a sketch of the history of 256 years (from 96
to 352), are lost, and we have only the last eighteen.
These eighteen, however, form the moat important
part of the labours of Ammianus. In the first thir-
teen bcoks he merely arranged materials from writers
who had gone before him; although it must be ac-
knowledged, that ever, this part would have been in-
teresting for us, as many of the works from which he
selected are now lost. In the eighteen books, how-
ever, that remain to us, and which it is more than
probable the copyists transcribed separately from the
rest, Ammianus relates the events which occutred du-
ring his own time. As he often look an active part in
those, or, at least, was an eyewitness of most of them,
he relates them in the first person: when he details
what did not pass under his immediate inspection, he
is careful to obtain the requisite information from those
who are acquainted with the subject, and who took
part in the matter that is related: he does not pretend,
however, to give a complete history of his time, and
he passes in silence over events respecting which he
has neither accurate information nor positive docu-
ments. This part of his work, therefore, is less a his-
tory than what we would call at tho present day me-
moirs of his time. Ammianus Marcellinus was a well-
informed man, and possessed of great good sense and
excellent judgment. No writer was ever more entitled
to praise for candour and impartiality. He understood
well the art of clearly showing the connexion of events,
and of painting in striking colours the characters of
those individuals whom he introduces into his narra-
tive. In a word, he would in all probability have
oecn an accomplished historian had his lot been
cast in a more favourable age. Had he lived in the
golden period of Roman literature, the study of good
models and the society of enlightened men would
have perfected his historic talent, and have formed
his style in a purer mould. The latter would not,
as is too often the case in Ammianus, have been
destitute of that simplicity which constitutes one of
the great beauties of historical narrative, nor over-
oaded with ornaments and disfigured by turgid and
barbarous forms of expression. These faults, how-
ever, in the style of Ammianus, find an excuse in
the circumstances of his case. He was a stranger,
and wrote in a language not his own , neither did the
busy life which he had led in camps permit him to cul-
tivate the talent for writing which nature had bestowed
upon him His good qualities are his own; his de-
fects arc those of the times; and, in spite of these de-
fects, his style is conspicuous among all the writers
who were contemporary with him for a purity to which
they could not attain. --Ammianus Marcellinus is the
last pagan historian; for, notwithstanding all that some
maintain to the contrary, we have no certain proof of
his having been a Christian. A public man, enriched
with the experience acquired amid the scenes of an
active life, he relates the events connected with the
new religion introduced by Constant vie with sang-froid
and impartiality, and perhaps with the indifference of
a man who knew how to raise himself to a point of
view where he could perceive naught but masses and
results. He blamea with equal frankness the anti-
christian mysticism of Julian, and the religious intol-
? ? erance of Constantius and his bishops. He speaks
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? MAR
MAR
during me second Punic war, and was accustomed to
be called '. he sword of the Romans, as Fabius was
denominated I heir shield. We have a life of him by
Plutarch. --II. Marcus Claudius, held the consulship
withServius Sulpicius, B. C. 51. He was remarkable
for his attachment to republican principles, and his
uncompromising hostility towards Caesar; and it was
hu who proposed to the senate to recall that command-
er from his province in Gaul. After the battle of
i'Lirsalia, Marcellus went into voluntary exile, and
was not pardoned by Cansar until some considerable
interval had elapsed, and then only at the earnest in-
tercession of the senate. It was on this occasion that
Cicero delivered his speech of thanks to Caesar.
Marcellus, however, did not long survive to enjoy the
pardon thus obtained, having been assassinated by an
adherent of his, P. Magius Gilo. He was then on his
return to Italy. The cause that prompted Cilo to the
act is not known. Cicero conjectures that the latter,
oppressed with debts, and apprehending some trouble
on that score in case of his return, had been urging
Marcellus, who was surety for some part of them, to
furnish him with money to pay the whole, and that, on
receiving a denial, he was provoked to the madness of
killing his patron. (Cie. , Ep. ad Att. , 13, 10. --Com-
pare Ep. ad Fam. , 4, 12. ) According to others,
however, he was prompted to the deed by seeing other
friends more highly favoured by Marcellus than him-
self. (Vol. Max. , 9, 11. ) After stabbing his patron,
Cilo slew himself. --III. Marcus Claudius, commonly
known as the "Young Marcellus," was the son of
Octavia the sister of Augustus, and consequently the
nephew of the latter. Augustus gave him his daugh-
ter Julia in marriage, and intended him for his suc-
cessor; but he died at the early age of IS, universally
regretted on account of the excellence of his private
character. Virgil has immortalized his memory by the
beautiful lines at the close of the sixth book of the
iEneid, and which are said to have drawn from Octa-
via so munificent a recompense. (Vid. Virgilius. )
Livia was suspected, though without reason, it would
teem, of having made away with Marcellus, who was
an obstacle to the advancement of her son Tiberius.
The more ostensible cause of his death was the inju-
dicious application of the cnld bath by the physician
Antonius Musa. (Vid. Musa. )
Marciana, a sister of the Emperor Trajan, who,
on account of her public and private virtues and her
amiable disposition, was declared Augusta and empress
by her brother. She died A. D. 113.
Marcianopolis, a city of Moesia Inferior, to the
west of Odessus, founded by Trajan, and named in
honour of his sister Marciana. (Amm. Marcell. , 27,
4. --Jornand. , Get. , c. 16. ) It soon became an im-
portant place in consequence of its lying on the main
toad from Constantinople to the Ister, and of its being
the place where preparations were made for all the
expeditions against the barbarians in this quarter.
When the Bulgarians formed a kingdom out of what
was previously Moesia, Marcianopolis became the cap-
ital, under the name of Pristhlaba (llpiaHhiia. --
Anna Comn. , p. 194) or Preslau). It still retains this
name, and also that of ICski Stamboul with the Turks:
the modern Greek inhabitants, however, call it Mar-
tenojoh. According to the /(in. Ant. (p. 228. --Corn-
Bare T'htopylacl. , 7, 2), Marcianopolis was 18 miles
to the west of Odessus. (Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 7,
? ? p. 138. )
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? MARE MORTUUM.
UARE MORTUUM.
ties from every other piece of water in the knswn
world, that it is a wonder it has not been the subject
of more frequent and extensive observation. Its
depth seems to be altogether unknown; and it is
only of late that a boat has navigated its surface.
Towards its southern extremity, however, in a con-
tracted part of the lake, is a ford, about six miles
over, made use of by the Arabs: in the middle of
which they report the water to be warm, indicating
the presence of warm springs beneath. In general,
towards the shore it is shallow; and it rises and falls
with the seasons, and with the quantity of water car-
ried into it by seven streams, which fall into this their
common receptacle, the chief of which is the Jordan.
It also appears either to be on the increase, or to be
lower in some years than in others, whence those
travellers are to be credited who assert that they have
beheld the ruins of the cities either exposed or in-
gulfed beneath tLi> waters. Troilo and D'Arvieux
attest that they observed fragments of wall, &c. Jo-
aephus rccr. ar'&s, that one might still see there "the
shadows of the five cities" (jtcVtc ftiv itoteav ewiar),
leaving it somewhat uncertain what he means by this
figurative language. (Bell. Jud. , 4, 8, 4. ) Strabo
gives a circumference of 60 stadia to the ruins of Sod-
om, according to the traditions of the neighbouring
communities (wore iriaTciav roic i? pi/? . Xoty/rvoic vird
tuv hyxupluv, ur upa ukovvto imrc rpionaidcica mX-
etc evravda, uv Tjjf /iT/Tpoiroteuc, Xodopuv, au^oirn
KvnXoc. Hjtjkovtu ttov aradiuv. --Strab. , 764). Two
aged and respectable inhabitants of Jerusalem told
Maundrell that they had once been able to see some
part of these ruins; that they were near the shore, and
the water so shallow at the time, that they, together
with some Frenchmen, went into it, and found several
pillars and other fragments of buildings. These sever-
al authorities are too weighty to be despised; and we
c>>y collect from them some support to the opinion,
kit, at the destruction of the guilty cities, they were
cot entirely overwhelmed with the waters, but remain-
ad more or less exposed to view, as monuments of the
judgments of God; and that, from the slow increase
of the waters through a period of nearly 4000 years,
they havo gradually receded from our sight, and are
now only to be seen through the water, if seen at all,
after seasons of long-continued drought. The water
now covering these ruins occupies what was formerly
the Vale of Siddim; a rich and fruitful valley, in which
stood the five cities, called the cities of the plain,
namely, Sodom, Gomorrah, Adrnah, Zeboim, andBela
or Zoar. The first four of these were destroyed, while
the latter, being " a little city," was preserved at the
intercession of Lot; to which ho lied for refugo from
the impending catastrophe, and where he remained in
safety during its accomplishment. Naturalists have in-
dulged themselves in many speculations as to the man-
ner in which this destruction took place, and the im-
mediate causes engaged in effecting it; as if this were
necessary for our faith. It is probable, however, that
in this inatance, as in most others, the Almighty called
in the aid of second causes for the accomplishment of
his purpose. The most reasonable explanation of such
causes is founded on what is said in Gen, 14, 10, of
the soil of the Vale of Siddim, that it was " full of slime
pits," or, more properly, pits of bitumen, for thus the
word is rendered in the Septuagint. Now it is prob-
able that in this instance, as in that of the flood, the
? ? inhabitants of the offending cities were involved in
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? MARE MORTUUM.
MARE MORTUUM
equally to be inferred from the want jf apace over
wh'ch the water could expand itself to be exhausted by
evaporation. 11 J. the discovery of the opening on the
southern border of the lake, and the inclined valley
leading thence to the sea, have rendered these infer-
ences almost conclusive. We may then, and must in
fact, refer the origin of the lake to the epoch in ques-
tion, when the combustion of the soil, or of its sub-
strata, occasioned a subsidence of the level of the val-
ley, by which the river was arrested in its course, and
a basin formed to receive its waters. These gradually
spread themselves over its surface, and would no doubt
soon have filled it, and resumed the ancient channel to
the southward, had not their increase been retarded by
the process of evaporation, which advanced in an in-
creasing ratio as the expanse of water grew wider and
wider. The newly-lormed lake would thus continue
to extend itself, until the supply of water from the
streams, and the consumption by evaporation, arrived
at a balance. When this took place, or whether it has
even yet taken place, cannot be known; at least with-
out such observations as have not yet been made.
That it has not long been the case may be inferred
from the disappearance of the ruins which were visible
two centuries ago. --The water of this sea is far more
salt than that of the ocean; containing one fourth part
of its weight of saline contents in a state of perfect
desiccation, and forty-one parts in a hundred in a slate
of simple crystallization: that is to say, a hundred
pounds by weight of water will yield forty-one pounds
of aalts; while the proportion of saline contents in the
water of the Atlantic is not more than l-27lh part in
a stste of dryness, and about six pounds of salts in a
hundred of the water. The specific gravity of the
water is 1. 211 ; that of common water being 1000. A
vial of it having been brought to England by Mr.
Gordon of Clunie, at the request of Sir Joseph Banks,
was analyzed by Dr. Marcet, who gives the following
results. - "This water is perfectly transparent, and
does not deposite any crystals on standing in close
vessels. Its taste is peculiarly bitter, saline, and pun-
gent. Solutions of silver produce from it a very copi-
ous precipitate, showing the presence of marine acid.
Oxaiic acid instantly discovers lime in the water.
The lime being separated, both caustic and carbona-
ted alkalies readily throw down a magnesian precipi-
tate. Solutions of barytes produce a cloud, showing
the existence of sulphuric acid. No afumine can be
discovered in the water by the delicate test of succin-
ic acid combined with ammonia. A small quantity
of pulverized sea salt being added to a few drops of
the water, cold and undiluted, the sal: was readily
dissolved with the assistance of a gentle trituration,
showing that the Dead Sea is not saturated with com-
mon salt. None of the coloured infusions common-
ly used to ascertain the prevalence of an acid or an
alkali, such as litmus, violet, and turmeric, were in the
least altered by the water. " The result of Dr. Mar-
cel's analysis gives the following contents in 100 grains
of the water:
Muriate of Ltme
Muriate of Magnesia
MuriHle of Soda
Sulphate of Lune .
. 3. 990 grains.
. 10. 346 >>
. 103150"
? ? . 00M"
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? MAR
for, although it be now known that the water*
of thid lake, instead of proving destructive of animal
life, swarm with myriads of h'shes (Chateaubriand,
*ol. 1, p. 411, Land. , 1811); that, instead of falling
victims '>> its exhalations, certain birds make it their
peculiar resort (Maundrell, p. 84, Ozf. , 1721); that
shells abound upon its shores; that the pretended
fruit containing ashes in as natural and admirable a
production of nature as the rest of the vegetable king-
dom, being the fruit of the Soltmum Melangcna, the
inside of which, when the fruit is attacked by an in-
sect (Tcnthredo), turns to dust, while the skin remains
entire and of a beautiful colour; notwithstanding all
these and other facts are well established, yet even
the latest authors by whom it is mentioned continue
to fill their descriptions with imaginary horrors. --Re-
land, in his account of the Lacut Asphaltitcs (Palast. ,
vol. 1, p. 238), after inserting copious extracts from
Galen concerning the properties and quality of the
water, and its natural history, proceeds to account for
the strange fables that have prevailed with regard to
its deadly influence, by showing that certain of the an-
cients confounded this lake with another, bearing the
same appellation of Asphaltites, near Babylon; and
that they attributed to it qualities which properly be-
longed to the Babylonian waters. An account of the
properties of the Babylonian lake occurs in the wri-
tings of Vitruvius (8, 3), of Pliny (35, 15), of Athe-
n. vus (it, 5), and of Xiphilinus (p. 252). From their
various testimony it is evident, that all the phenomena
supposed to belong to the Lake Asphallites near Baby-
lon, were, from the similarity of their names, ulti-
mately considered as the natural characteristics of the
/ndaean lake, the two Asphaltites being confounded. "
(Clarke's Travels, vol. 4, p.
