Hide browse bar Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position:
chapter:
chapter 1chapter 2chapter 4chapter 5chapter 6chapter 7chapter 8chapter 9chapter 10chapter 11chapter 12chapter 13chapter 14chapter 15chapter 16chapter 17-26chapter 18chapter 19chapter 20chapter 21chapter 22chapter 23chapter 24chapter 25chapter 26chapter 27chapter 28chapter 29chapter 30chapter 31chapter 32chapter 33chapter 34chapter 35chapter 36chapter 37chapter 38chapter 39-60chapter 39chapter 40-3chapter 40chapter 41chapter 42chapter 44chapter 45chapter 46chapter 47chapter 48chapter 49chapter 50-3chapter 50chapter 52chapter 53chapter 54chapter 55chapter 56chapter 57chapter 58chapter 59chapter 60chapter 61-87chapter 61chapter 62chapter 64chapter 65chapter 66chapter 67chapter 68chapter 69chapter 70chapter 72chapter 74chapter 76chapter 77chapter 78chapter 79chapter 80chapter 81chapter 82chapter 83chapter 84chapter 85chapter 86chapter 88chapter 89-117chapter 89chapter 90chapter 91chapter 92chapter 93chapter 94chapter 95chapter 96chapter 97chapter 98chapter 99chapter 100chapter 101chapter 102chapter 103chapter 104chapter 105chapter 106chapter 107chapter 108chapter 109chapter 110chapter 111chapter 112chapter 113chapter 114chapter 115chapter 116chapter 117chapter 118-28chapter 118chapter 119chapter 120chapter 121chapter 122chapter 123chapter 124chapter 125chapter 126chapter 127chapter 128chapter 129-38chapter 129chapter 130chapter 131chapter 132chapter 133chapter 134chapter 135chapter 136chapter 137chapter 138chapter 139-49chapter 139chapter 140chapter 142chapter 143chapter 145chapter 146chapter 148chapter 149chapter 150-60chapter 150chapter 151chapter 153chapter 154chapter 155chapter 156chapter 159chapter 160
This text is part of:
The fidelity of the Arabs is still proverbial. Cf. Kinglake, Eothen, c. xvii, p. 202 (ed. of 1864). τῶν βουλομένων: in loose apposition to ἀμφοτέρων κτλ. The em ployment of a mediator is an Oriental characteristic (cf. Heb. viii. 6). δακτύλους. For touching ‘thumbs’ with blood, &c., cf. the cleansing of the leper (Lev. xiv. 25, 28). λίθους ἑπτά. The number ‘7’ is of course sacred. For stones as a witness cf. Gen. xxxi. 45-8, ‘Galeed’, and Josh. xxiv. 26-7. On the whole of this passage, so important anthropologically, cf. Robertson Smith, R. S. pp. 315-16, and Tylor, P. C. ii. 381. By the mixture of blood the stranger was admitted to fellowship with the tribe, or if an Arab of a different clan (ἀστός), to fellowship with the clan. No doubt, in the rite originally, the parties tasted each other's blood; the idea was that ‘the blood is the life’. The gods appealed to are in H. the common gods of the race; but the touching of the stones goes back to an earlier time, when ‘the new tribesman has to be introduced to the god’ (of the particular tribe). For other instances of blood covenant cf. Lydia, i. 74, Scythia, iv. 70, Armenia, Tac. Ann. xii. 47, and, among the Balonda on the Zambesi, Livingstone, Travels (1855), p. 488.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
Purchase a copy of this text (not necessarily the same edition) from Amazon.com
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.