Bible animals : $b being a description of every living creature mentioned in the Scripture, from the ape to the coral.Wood, J. G. (John George)
Religion
Bible animals : $b being a description of every living creature mentioned in the Scripture, from the ape to the coral.
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Animals in the Bible; Nature in the Bible
One of these remarkable characteristics is the strange loathing with
which he regards the Dog. In all other parts of the world, the Dog is
one of the most cherished and valued of animals, but among those
people whom we popularly class under the name of Orientals, the Dog is
detested and despised. As the sacred books were given to the world
through the mediumship of Orientals, we find that this feeling towards
the Dog is manifested whenever the animal is mentioned; and whether we
turn to the books of the Law, the splendid poetry of the Psalms and
the book of Job, the prophetical or the historical portions of the Old
Testament, we find the name of the Dog repeatedly mentioned; and in
every case in connexion with some repulsive idea. If we turn from the
Old to the New Testament, we find the same idea manifested, whether in
the Gospels, the Epistles, or the Revelation.
To the mind of the true Oriental the very name of the Dog carries with
it an idea of something utterly repugnant to his nature, and he does
not particularly like even the thought of the animal coming across his
mind. And this is the more extraordinary, because at the commencement
and termination of their history the Dog was esteemed by their
masters. The Egyptians, under whose rule they grew to be a nation,
knew the value of the Dog, and showed their appreciation in the many
works of art which have survived to our time. Then the Romans, under
whose iron grasp the last vestiges of nationality crumbled away,
honoured and respected the Dog, made it their companion, and
introduced its portrait into their houses. But, true to their early
traditions, the Jews of the East have ever held the Dog in the same
abhorrence as is manifested by their present masters, the followers of
Mahommed.
Owing to the prevalence of this feeling, the Dogs of Oriental towns
are so unlike their more fortunate European relatives, that they can
hardly be recognised as belonging to the same species. In those lands
the traveller finds that there is none of the wonderful variety which
so distinguishes the Dog of Europe. There he will never see the bluff,
sturdy, surly, faithful mastiff, the slight gazelle-like greyhound,
the sharp, intelligent terrier, the silent, courageous bulldog, the
deep-voiced, tawny bloodhound, the noble Newfoundland, the clever,
vivacious poodle, or the gentle, silken-haired spaniel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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