One of the prophets in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes made use of this freedom of speech; he was the first of a succession of prophets who combined great and poetic thought with evenly flowing rhythm of diction, and made kings and grandees as well as the people wince under their incisive words of truth. It was Amos of Tekoa. Amos did not belong to the prophetic guild, he was no prophetic disciple, and probably neither wore a garment of haircloth, like Elijah, nor let his hair grow long, but was a simple herdsman and planter of sycamores. Whilst tending his herds, the prophetic spirit came mightily upon him, and he could not refrain from appearing in public. "God spake to him, and in him, how should he not prophesy?" The prophetic spirit urged him to repair to Bethel, and there, in the temporary capital of King Jeroboam II., he declaimed against the perversions and vices of the nobles, and opened their eyes to the consequences of their evil deeds. That a countryman, clad in shepherd's garb, dared speak publicly, could not help creating sensation in Bethel. A high degree of culture must have prevailed in those days in Samaria, when a shepherd was able to speak in beautiful, rhythmic utterances, and was understood, or at least expected to be understood, by the people. The speeches of Amos and those of his successors combine the eloquence and comprehensibility of prose with the metre and the rhythm of poetry. Metaphors and imagery lend additional solemnity to their diction. It is therefore difficult to decide whether these utterances should be classed as prose or as poetry. In place of a more suitable description, they may be designated as beautifully formed poetic eloquence. The orations of Amos, however, did not fail to betray his station. He used similes taken from his shepherd life. They showed that, while tending his flocks, he often listened to the roaring of the lion, and studied the stars in his night-watches. But these peculiarities only lent a special charm to his speeches. Amos came to Bethel before the earthquake occurred, and he predicted the event in words of prophetic foresight. The earthquake thereupon followed, with all its accompanying terrors, and carried desolation everywhere. The subsequent plagues of drought, sterility, and locusts afflicted the kingdom of the Ten Tribes equally with the kingdom of Judah. Amos, and with him all right-minded people, expected that these visitations would effect a reform, putting an end to the hideous excesses of the wealthy and their cruel oppression and persecution of the poor. But no improvement took place, and Amos inveighed against the impenitent sinners in the severest terms. He reproved the men who ridiculed his prophetic utterances. He denounced those who, relying on their power or their piety or their nobility of descent, felt themselves unassailable. (Amos v. 4-15, vi. 1-8.)