Note VI.

ON THE DARKNESS OF THE SUN AND MOON, DURING THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

It has been briefly suggested in the text, that during the hour of Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane there was probably a natural eclipse of the moon, and during the three last hours of his crucifixion an extraordinary darkness of the sun, occasioned by a shower of volcanic ashes which at that time overspread the land of Palestine. It has also been remarked that this darkness of the sun and moon on the same day was apparently one of the signs of the times, divinely appointed to indicate the approaching conclusion of the Mosaic, and commencement of the Christian dispensation; and that the prediction of Joel, quoted by the apostle Peter in his address to the Israelitish people assembled at Jerusalem on the memorable day of Pentecost, may thus be satisfactorily explained: — "I will show wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and illustrious day of the Lord; and it shall be that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."¹ — In the Hebrew and other eastern languages, the phrase of the moon being turned into blood signifies a lunar eclipse, and the origin of the expression is well known; namely, that on such occasions the moon is not absolutely black, like the sun, but of a dull red, or blood colour. This appearance is most conspicuous at the equinoctial seasons; and, as the Jewish passover always takes place at the vernal equinox, and during the time of full moon, the only time when lunar eclipses occur, the supposition is so far in harmony with the circumstances of the case. That an eclipse of the moon actually happened about the period of the crucifixion, is affirmed by several writers, although concerning the precise day and hour of the event they are not perfectly agreed. Thus, in a physiological treatise on the passion of Christ, published in 1673, by V. H. Vogler, professor of philosophy and medicine in the university of Helmstadt, the author regards the darkness of the sun as miraculous, but ascribes that of the moon to a natural eclipse. — "Venimus ad obscuratum solem, cujus solus Lucas signato, Matthseus autem et Marcus generatim duntaxat tenebrarum factarum, quarum tamen etiam ipse Lucas antea mentionem fecit, meminerunt. Notumvero est alias soli reapse tenebras non offundi, sed lumen ejus duntaxat intercipi, luna inter eum ac terram nostrumque adspectum posita. At solis iste defectus qui tempore passionis Domini evenit, prorsus a naturalibus causis fuit alienus; utpote qui plena luna contigerit, quae et ipsa eopse die, sed naturaliter, eclipsin est passa, id quod aliunde constat."² — A similar statement was made about a century later by a learned English clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Kennedy, in his "System of Astronomical Chronology unfolding the Scriptures," from which the following is an extract. — "In the year of our Saviour's crucifixion, the true astronomical time of the paschal new moon happened some hours before six in the evening, in the meridian of Jerusalem; whilst the mean time, as computed by the Jews, followed some hours after six in the evening; by which means Neomenia Nisan, the first day of Nisan, began in the second evening after the true conjunction, on which evening the moon was visible, although the Jews did not propose to calculate the visibility, but under the aforementioned circumstances it must necessarily begin in that manner. Now, if to the second evening after the conjunction we add 14 days, it will bring us down to the 15th day of the moon's age, or to the day of the full moon; and that the moon was at the full on the passover day on which our Lord suffered, (in the 19th year of Tiberius Caesar, and the 33rd of the vulgar Christian era, as the best chronologers agree to fix it,) is not difficult to prove; for, as there was, by the gospel history, on the noon of that day a supernatural eclipse of the sun, so was there on the evening of that day, (as astronomers report,) a natural eclipse of the moon, which is a clear proof that it was at the full. So far is it from being true that the moon would be constantly visible at the end of the first day of the month that, on the contrary, the month would sometimes begin on the evening on which the moon was visible. It began so in the year of our Lord's crucifixion, and by the laws of Jewish computation."³— The final determination of this interesting point must be left to astronomers; but their calculations may perhaps be assisted by the following records, borrowed from Archbishop Usher's Annals, of several lunar eclipses which were observed and reported in the first half-century of the Christian era, — (During Herod's last illness, a.m. 4000, A. P. J. 4710, and. 4 years before Christ, that is, before A. D., there was an eclipse of the moon;) "which eclipse to have been on the 3rd day of March, three hours after midnight, the astronomical table doth show." (Herod's death took place A. M. 4001, A. P. J. 4711,) "about the 25th of our November. . . . . . . The legions of Pannonia being in a mutiny, are affrighted at a sudden eclipse of the moon, and so submit themselves to Tiberius. This total eclipse was seen on the 27th of September, [a.m. 4018, A. P. J. 4728,] five hours after mid night, so that the moon set in the very eclipse . . . . . . Valerius Asiaticus being again consul, the island Therasia rose out of the Ægean sea in a night wherein the moon was eclipsed. This eclipse was seen the very night between the last day of December (which terminated that year in which Valerius Asiaticus was the second time consul), and the kalends of January." [A. M. 4050, A. P. J. 4760.] — In the well-known chronological work, — L'Art de Vérifier les Dates, — a total eclipse of the moon is said to have occurred June 14th, A. D. 29, at 8½ p.m.; and another April 14th, A. D. 32, at 9½ A. M.; a partial eclipse Dec. 9th, A. D. 29, at 8½ P. M.; and another, April 25th, A. D. 31, at 9 P. M.⁴

If in Joel's remarkable prediction the allusion to blood, in connexion with the darkening of the moon, signifies a lunar eclipse, the reference to fire and smoke, in connexion with the darkening of the sun, may justly be regarded as intimating that this darkness would be occasioned by a volcanic eruption, attended with a discharge of smoke and ashes: — "I will show wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke, The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and illustrious day of the Lord." — The terms used by the prophet, as quoted in a Greek translation by the apostle Peter, exactly correspond to those of the three earlier evangelists, when recording the darkness at the crucifixion; as likewise to those of John in the Apocalypse, when describing the appearance in vision of a volcanic eruption. The words from Joel are, — "Καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἅνω, καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κάτω, αἷμα, καὶ πῦρ, καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦῑ ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος, καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα, πρὶν ἦ ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου, τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ," &c.; ——those of the Apocalypse,— " Καὶ ἤνοιξε τὸ φρέαρ τῆς ἀβύσσου, καὶ ἀνέβη καπνὸς ἐκ τοῦ φρέατος, ὡς καπνὸς καμίνου μεγάλης, καῖ ἐσκοτίσθη ὁ ἥλιος και ὁ ἀὴρ ἐκ τοῦ καπνοῦ τοῦ φρέατος." — "And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit."

Language precisely similar is employed in the Old Testament to represent the awful convulsions which attended the overthrow of the cities of the plain, and the promulgation of the Mosaic law from Mount Sinai, and which in both cases may reasonably be ascribed to volcanic agency, under the guidance of divine interposition. On the former occasion, — "the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven: . . . . . . and Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord; and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and towards all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo! the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a. furnace." — On the latter, — "Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly."⁵ — That shocks of earthquake actually occurred in the immediate neighbourhood of Jerusalem, both at the crucifixion of Christ, and at his resurrection, is distinctly stated by the evangelist Matthew: — "And behold! the veil of the temple split asunder from the top to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent, and the tombs were opened. . . . . . When the centurion, and those who were with him guarding Jesus observed the earthquake, and the [other] events, they feared exceedingly," &c.; — and on the morning of the resurrection, it is stated by the same sacred writer, — "Now behold! there had been a great earthquake." — The close resemblance of Luke's description of the darkness at the crucifixion to the passage above quoted from the Apocalypse, naturally suggests the conclusion that the same explanation is applicable to both. — "Ἧν δὲ ὡσεὶ ὥρα ἕκτη, καὶ σκότος ἐγένετο ἐφ’ ὅλην τὴν γῆν ἕως ὥρας ἐννάτηςῖ καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ὁ ἥλιος, καὶ ἐσχίσθη τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον." — "It was about the sixth hour, and a darkness overspread the whole land till the ninth hour, and the sun was obscured, and the veil of the temple split [asunder] in the midst." — This description intimates that the darkness which covered the land gradually increased in density, until the sun became invisible; which is precisely the effect that would be produced by a shower of volcanic ashes, represented in the language of the apostle John as a smoke arising out of the bottomless pit, darkening the sun and the air. The darkness of three days' continuance, which constituted one of the plagues of ancient Egypt at the period of the Exodus, — "even darkness which might be felt," — was evidently of a similar nature; and by the apocryphal author of the Wisdom of Solomon is accordingly said to have proceeded from Hades, that is, from the internal abyss of the earth. — "Οἱ δὲ τὴν ἀδύνατον ὅντως νύκτα, καὶ ἐξ ἀδύτου ᾅδου μυχῶν ἐπελθοῦσαν, τὸν αὑτὸν ὕπνον κοιμώμενοι," &c.; — "But they, sleeping the same sleep that night, which was indeed intolerable, and which came upon them out of the bottoms of inevitable hell, were partly vexed with monstrous apparitions," &c.⁶

The view here taken implies that the darkness at the crucifixion was not universal, but limited to the land of Judea, or at furthest of Palestine, in conformity with its presumed import and design; namely, like the star or meteor which preceded the birth of Christ, to mark out that land as the scene of a momentous transaction, wherein the Deity was directly concerned. Such was also the case on the two analogous occasions in Egypt, already noticed; for, when — "Moses stretched forth his haijd towards heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days, [so that] they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days, [it is added,] but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." — So also, when through the prophet Ezekiel God denounced a similar judgment against Pharaoh-Hophrah, the infliction was expressly limited to the country concerned: — "All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God."⁷ — Both in the Scriptures, and in other books, the Greek word γῆ, like the Hebrew אוין, is perhaps more frequently used in a restricted than in an extensive sense, and its actual signification must therefore be determined in each particular case by the circumstances, and the context. That a preternatural darkness should overspread the entire globe of the earth, one half of which lies always in shadow, is physically impossible; and that even a whole hemisphere should be thus obscured for three hours, without the slightest notice being taken of such an event by the eminent naturalists and historians who flourished in those times, is morally impossible; whilst, on the other hand, the absence of any record except by the evangelists of a merely local occurrence of this kind, confined to the province of Judea, cannot reasonably excite either doubt or surprise. Neither is it necessary to suppose that the shower of ashes issued from that very land, and accompanied the earthquake mentioned by Matthew; since it might have proceeded from a simultaneous eruption in Asia Minor, or some other neighbouring volcanic country, whence it would naturally have been wafted over Palestine by the westerly winds which always prevail at the paschal season. The following instances of similar occurrences in modern times will show how complete and continued a darkness might thus be induced at noon day.

The first took place at Detroit, in North America, in the year 1762; and is thus described in a letter communicated to the Royal Society of London, and inserted in their Transactions. [On] "Tuesday last, being the 19th inst., we had almost total darkness for the most of the day. I got up at day-break. About ten minutes after I observed it got no lighter than before. The same darkness continued until nine o'clock, when it cleared up a little. We then, for the space of about a quarter of an hour, saw the body of the sun, which appeared as red as blood, and more than three times as large as usual. The air all this time, which was very dense, was of a dirty yellowish green colour. I was obliged to light candles to see to dine at one o'clock, notwithstanding the table was placed close by two large windows. About three the darkness became more horrible, which augmented until half-past three, when the wind breezed up from the S. W., and brought on some drops of rain, or rather sulphur and dirt, for it appeared more like the latter than the former, both in smell and quality. I took a leaf of clean paper, and held it out in the rain, which rendered it black whenever the drops fell upon it; but, when held near the fire, turned to a yellow colour, and when burned, it fizzed on the paper like wet [gun] powder. During this shower the air was almost suffocating, with a strong sulphurous smell: it cleared up a little after the rain. There were various conjectures about the cause of this natural incident, . . . . but I think it most probable that it might have been occasioned by the eruption of some volcano, or subterraneous fire, whereby the sulphurous matter may have been emitted in the air, and contained therein, until meeting with some watery clouds, it has fallen down together with the rain. — Detroit, October 25th, 1762." — The second case occurred at Tripoli, in Africa, and is mentioned in a letter from Miss Tully, the sister of the British resident at that court, to a friend in England, which has been published in the narrative of his proceedings. — "Accounts we have just received from Europe having explained to us a preternatural appearance that happened there some time since, leads me to tell you of the extraordinary manner in which an eruption of Mount Etna affected this country. Nothing could make a more desolate appearance than this town. The sky was extremely thick and dark, and the heavy rain, as it fell, left the white walls of the houses streaked with black, as if from sooty water tinged with red. This phenomenon appears now, without doubt, to have been caused by the eruption of Mount Etna in July last. From the great convulsions of the mountain, showers of hot sand were carried towards Malta; and the amazing column of fire that issued took at last its direction across the sea towards Barbary, when the atmosphere on this coast became heated to an alarming degree, and occasioned great consternation, no one at the instant being able to account for such a phenomenon, — Nov. 22nd, 1787."⁸

The remaining examples of this kind are on a larger scale, and of a still more striking character. The first is derived from a vivid description in Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine, of the dreadful eruption of the Souffrier Mountain, in the island of St. Vincent, on Thursday night, April 30th, 1812, which concludes as follows: — "The break of [the next] day, if such it could be called, was truly terrific. Darkness was only visible at eight o'clock, and the birth of May dawned like the day of judgment. A chaotic gloom enveloped the mountain, and an impenetrable haze hung over the sea, with black sluggish clouds of a sulphureous cast. The whole island was covered with favilla, cinders, scoria, and broken masses of volcanic matter. It was not until the afternoon the muttering noise of the mountain sank gradually into a solemn, yet suspicious silence." — From this eruption an enormous shower of ashes drifted with the wind to the island of Barbadoes, distant from St. Vincent about 110 miles; and the darkness thereby produced is thus depicted by a resident planter. — "About half-past seven o'clock [A. M. May 1st.] it was so dark that candles were brought in. At eight o'clock it was pitch dark in the open air; or, in other words, so dark that we could not perceive our hands when held up before our faces at two feet distance. No night at home in winter, when neither the moon nor a star is to be seen, was ever more sombre. This darkness continued of the same intenseness until twenty- five minutes past twelve o'clock; that is, for the space of four hours and twenty-five minutes; at which time we perceived very indistinctly the outlines of large and near objects. At half-past twelve o'clock we distinguished them more correctly; from which period the light increased until between three and four o'clock P. M., but was very obscure. From the time at which I got up in the morning, until we went to bed in the evening, at eight o'clock, there was a constant fall from the clouds of a substance in extremely fine flakes, which, when first gathered from our clothes, had the appearance of the dust of wood-ashes, but which, when suffered to accumulate, assumed the resemblance of powdered rotten-stone, and possessed the same quality of cleaning brass. . . . . . Assuming the product of an experiment as the medium quantity which fell on a foot square throughout the island, and estimating from our best maps the quantity of land in the island at 106,470 acres, the total quantity of this extraneous substance which is now on its surface, independent of that which is upon the trees, could not be less than 1,739,187,750 gallons wine measure, or 6,811,817,512 pounds avoirdupois."⁹

The following graphic account of a still more awful eruption of the Tomboro Mountain, in the island of Sumbawa, which occurred in April, 1815, is borrowed from the History of Java by the late Sir T. S. Raffles. — '' In order to give the reader some idea of the tremendous violence with which nature sometimes distinguishes the operations of the volcano in these regions, and enable him to form some conjecture from the occurrences of recent experience of the effects they may have produced in past ages, a short account of the extraordinary and wide-spread phenomena that accompanied the eruption of the Tomboro Mountain, in the island of Sumbawa, in April, 1815, may not be uninteresting. Almost every one is acquainted with the intermitting convulsions of Etna and Vesuvius, as they appear in the descriptions of the poet, and the authentic accounts of the naturalist; but the most extraordinary of them can bear no comparison in point of duration and force with that of Tomboro. This eruption extended perceptible evidences of its existence over the whole of the Molucca islands, over Java, a considerable portion of Celebes, Sumatra, and Borneo, to a circumference of a thousand statute miles from its centre, by tremulous motions and the report of explosions; whilst within the range of its more immediate activity, embracing a space of three hundred miles around it, it produced the most astonishing effects, and excited the most alarming apprehensions. On Java, at the distance of three hundred miles, it seemed to be awfully present. The sky was overcast at noon-day with clouds of ashes; the sun was enveloped in an atmosphere whose 'palpable' density he was unable to penetrate; showers of ashes covered the houses, the streets, and the fields, to the depth of several inches; and amidst this darkness explosions were heard at intervals, like the report of artillery, or the noise of distant thunder. . . . . .  All conceived that the effects experienced might be caused by eruptions of some of the numerous volcanoes on the island; but no one could have conjectured that the showers of ashes which darkened the air, and covered the ground of the eastern districts of Java, could have proceeded from a mountain in Sumbawa, at the distance of several hundred miles. . . . . .  The first explosions were heard on this island (Java) in the evening of the 5th of April. They were noticed in every quarter, and continued at intervals until the following day. . . . . . From the 6th the sun became obscured: it had everywhere the appearance of being enveloped in a fog. The weather was sultry, and the atmosphere close, and still the sun seemed shorn of its rays; and the general stillness and pressure of the atmosphere seemed to forbode an earthquake. This lasted several days. The explosions continued occasionally, but less violently and less frequently than at first. Volcanic ashes also began to fall, but in small quantities, and so slightly as to be hardly perceptible in the western districts. This appearance of the atmosphere continued with little variation until the 1 0th of April, and till then it does not appear that the volcano attracted much observation, or was considered of greater importance than those which have occasionally burst forth in Java. But on the evening of the 10th the eruptions were heard more loud and more frequent. From Cheribon eastward the air became darkened by the quantity of falling ashes, the sun. was nearly darkened; and in some situations, particularly at Solo and Rembang, many said that they felt a tremulous motion of the earth. It was universally remarked in the more eastern districts that the explosions were tremendous, continuing frequently during the 11th, and of such violence as to shake the houses perceptibly. An unusual thick darkness was remarked all the following night, and the greater part of the next day. At Solo candles were lighted at 4 P. M. of the 12th. At Magelan in Kedu objects could not be seen at three hundred yards distance. At Grésik, and other districts more eastward, it was dark as night in the greater part of the 12th of April, and this saturated state of the atmosphere lessened as the cloud of ashes passed along, and discharged itself on its way. . . . . . The distance to which the cloud of ashes was carried so quickly as to produce utter darkness was clearly pointed out to have been the island of Celebes, and the district of Grésik on Java. The former is two hundred and seventeen nautical miles distant from the seat of the volcano; the latter, in a direct line, more than three hundred geographical miles."¹⁰

The last occurrence of this nature which will be here cited, and the most dreadful of all, took place in central America, and is thus described in a communication inserted in the Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine.

"Rio Mopan, April 13th, 1835.— One of the most stupendous convulsions of the globe ever known in this hemisphere took place last January, on the eruption of the volcano of Cosiguina. This volcano is situated in Nicaragua, one of the states of Central America, and stands near the eastern promontory of the bay of Conchagua, separating the waters of the gulf from the Pacific. I can give no more faithful or vivid description of its appearance and effects in the immediate vicinity than the following translation of a report, dated January 29th, from the Commandant of Union, a sea-port situated on the western shore of the bay of Conchagua, and the nearest place of any consequence to the volcano. —— 'On the 20th inst., day having dawned with usual serenity, at eight o'clock, towards the S. E., a dense cloud was perceived of a pyramidal figure, preceded by a rumbling noise, and it continued rising until it covered the sun, at which elevation, about ten, it separated to the north and south, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The cloud finally covered the whole firmament about eleven, and enveloped everything in the greatest darkness, so that the nearest objects were imperceptible. The melancholy howling of beasts, the flocks of birds of all species that came to seek as it were an asylum amongst men, the terror which assailed the latter, the cries of women and children, and the uncertainty of the issue of so rare a phenomenon, — everything combined to overcome the stoutest soul, and fill it with apprehension; and the more so when at four P. M. the earth began to quake, and continued in a perpetual undulation, which gradually increased. This was followed by a shower of phosphoric sand, which lasted till eight o'clock P. M. on the same day, when there began falling a heavy and fine powder, like flour. The thunder and lightning continued the whole night, and the following day (the 21st;) and at eight minutes past three o'clock P. M., there was a long and violent earthquake, [so] that many men who were walking in a penitential procession were thrown down. The darkness lasted forty-three hours, making it indispensable for every one to carry a light, and even these were not sufficient to see clearly with. On the 22nd it was somewhat less dark, although the sun was not visible; and towards the morning of the 23rd, the tremendously loud thunder-claps were heard in succession like the firing of pieces of artillery of the largest calibre, and this fresh occurrence was accompanied by increased showers of dust. From day-dawn of the 23rd until ten o'clock A. M. a dim light only served to show the most melancholy spectacle. The streets, which from the rocky nature of the soil are full of inequalities and stones, appeared quite level, being covered with dust. Men, women, and children were so disfigured, that it was not easy to recognize any one except by the sound of their voices, or other circumstances. Houses and trees, not to be distinguished through the dust which covered them, had the most horrible appearance. Yet, in spite of these appalling sights, they were preferable to the darkness into which we were again plunged from after the said hour of ten, as during the preceding days. The general distress, which had been assuaged, was renewed; and, although leaving the place was attended by imminent peril from the wild beasts that had sallied from the forests, and sought the towns and high roads, as happened in the neighbouring village of Conchagua and this town into which tigers thrust themselves, yet another terror was superior; and more than half the inhabitants of Union emigrated on foot, abandoning their houses, well persuaded that they should never return to them, since they prognosticated the total destruction of the town, and fled with dismay for refuge to the mountains. At half-past three on the morning of the 24th the moon and a few stars were visible, as if through a curtain, and the day was clear, although the sun could not be seen, since the dust continued falling, having covered the ground all round about, to a thickness of five inches. The 25th and 26th were like the 24th, with frequent though not violent earthquakes. The cause of all this has been the volcano of Cosiguina, which burst out on the 20th, I am also informed that on the island of Tigre, in that direction, the showers of the 21st were of pumice stones of the size of a pea, and some even as large as a hen's egg. The earth quaked there more than here, but no houses or other edifices have been thrown down. Here there are many people with catarrhs, headachs, sore throats, and pectoral affections, resulting doubtless from the dust. Several persons are seriously unwell, and yesterday a girl of seven years old died, with symptoms of an inflammatory sore throat. Flocks of birds are found dead, lying on the roads, and floating on the sea. The showers of dust lasted till the 27th."¹¹

It is impossible to read with attention the foregoing and similar extracts, without perceiving that the awful scenes described in several parts of Scripture, — the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, the conflagration on Mount Sinai, the extraordinary darkness in Egypt, and that at the crucifixion of Christ, although primarily induced by divine interposition, were in their immediate nature and origin volcanic. The short and simple account given by Moses of the phenomena which occurred at Mount Sinai, during the promulgation of the Israelitish covenant, is decisive in this respect. — "It came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders, and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that [were] in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." — When reminding them a little before his death of the same solemn transaction, he uses similar language: — "Ye came near and stood under the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude, only [ye heard] a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant which he commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments, and he wrote them upon two tables of stone."¹² — This description, a little magnified, would be perfectly applicable to the eruption of the Souffrier mountain, in the island of St. Vincent. The — "thick darkness"— at Mount Sinai, and the — "darkness which might be felt" — in ancient Egypt, correspond to — "the palpable density of the atmosphere," — occasioned by the showers of volcanic ashes which fell in the island of Java, during the eruption of Tomboro. In reference to Egypt, the scriptural statement is remarkably distinct. — "And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand towards heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness [which] may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." — The comment on this event in the apocryphal book of the Wisdom of Solomon appears at first sight, like many other oriental narratives, extravagant and hyperbolical: — "Being scared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents, they died for fear. . . . . . Whether it were a whistling wind, or a melodious noise of birds among the spreading branches, or a pleasing fall of water running violently, or a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of skipping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains, — these things made them to swoon for fear." — Nevertheless, with some allowance for the diffuse and florid style of this uninspired but venerable writer, his description bears a close resemblance to that of the eruption of Cosiguina only a few years since; when the appalling sounds which accompanied the heavy showers of dust and pumice, drifting with the wind, were aggravated by the howling of wild beasts, the rushing of domestic animals, and the screaming of birds, impelled by terror to seek refuge amongst the dwellings of men, and thus furnishes an internal evidence of truth.¹³ The darkness for three hours at the crucifixion finds a parallel in the darkness for more than four hours in Barbadoes, derived from the smoke and ashes of the Soufifrier mountain. In the former case its volcanic origin was indicated by the shocks of earthquake which occurred on the spot, yet it might very possibly have been occasioned by a shower of ashes which had travelled from another region; since in Java, at the distance of three hundred miles from the crater, it was, owing to a similar cause, as dark as pitch during a whole day. It is also illustrated by the catastrophe at Union, in central America; where, in consequence of the eruption of Cosiguina, — "a pyramidal cloud rose gradually until it covered the entire firmament, darkened the sun, and enveloped everything in the greatest obscurity;" — exactly corresponding to the description of the apocalyptic vision, — ^' There arose a smoke out of the [bottomless] pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit."

The view here taken is strongly confirmed by its remarkable agreement with a conclusion briefly noticed in the text, and which seems to be equally suggested by reason and by Scripture; namely, that in the present condition of the world, all volcanic movements are effects of the malediction which God denounced against the earth at the fall of man, and evidences of his displeasure at human depravity. Not long before that event the globe was, according to the Mosaic narrative, in a state of chaos and ruin, when the Deity interposed; and, having by successive operations reduced it to order, and furnished it with living beings, including mankind as the lords of all, pronounced his blessing on the new creation, and declared it to be very good. Had mankind retained their primitive innocence and friendship with God, this happy state of things would doubtless have continued, and in that case it cannot be supposed that earthquakes or volcanic eruptions would ever have occurred. But the numerous events of this kind which have actually taken place, wherein large tracts of land and myriads of persons have been suddenly destroyed by fire, plainly indicate the reality of the malediction, and the consequent tendency of the earth to relapse into its original chaos. These partial catastrophes are therefore to be regarded as preludes to the final and universal one predicted in Scripture, and which, according to the same authority, is to be followed by the reconstruction of the globe in more than its pristine perfection, as the eternal abode of virtue and happiness. Thus, after referring to the general deluge in the time of Noah, another stupendous intimation of the same kind, the apostle Peter declares; — "The heavens and the earth [which are] now . . . . . . are kept in store, being reserved to fire, at the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. . . . . . The day of the Lord will come as a thief, wherein the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved by fervent heat, and the earth with [all] its productions will be burnt up: . . . . . . nevertheless we, according to his promise, expect new heavens, and a new earth, wherein righteousness will dwell." — The description of the renovated world, given by the apostle John in the figurative language of the Apocalypse, exactly corresponds. — "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, — 'Behold! the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them [as] their God, and will wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there will be no more death, neither grief, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away.' — And he that sat on the throne said, — 'Behold! I make all things new.' . . . . And he showed me a river of [the] water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb; [and] in the midst of the street [of the city,] and on each side of the river [the] tree of life, producing twelve kinds of fruit, [and] yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations, and there will be no more curse.''¹⁴

It is still further in favour of this view if, as there is much reason to conclude, the majority of epidemic and pestilential diseases are occasioned by volcanic effluvia, emitted either silently or with explosion from the interior of the globe, and wafted by winds over various regions, until, after causing great ravages, they are finally decomposed or dispersed. That such is the case has been strongly suspected by physicians and philosophers from the earliest periods down to the present, and no other explanation of the facts equally probable has ever been proposed. The connexion observed in all times and countries between pestilential disorders and volcanic agency has been abundantly proved by Short, Webster, Forster, and others, who have also shown that this connexion is regular and constant. In several instances the cause of epidemics has been rendered manifest by their being attended with a fog or cloud, or with coloured rains, fancifully compared to showers of blood; and during the prevalence of the Asiatic cholera in England, in the year 1832, the specific gravity of the atmosphere was found by Dr. Prout to be sensibly increased. This author judiciously observes that the poisonous character of certain effluvia from volcanoes is well exemplified by two of them, — Selenium, and Sulphur. When dissolved in hydrogen gas, and diffused through the air, the minutest quantities of these substances, more especially of the former, produce the most powerful and deleterious effects on the animal frame.¹⁵ Mr. Parkin, who has published a distinct treatise on the subject, remarks that, independently of violent eruptions, and of earthquakes, which according to Lyell are merely abortive eruptions, volcanic action accompanied with gaseous exhalations is almost always going on in a silent and invisible manner; and that the occasional presence in the atmosphere of a virulent poison is proved by the fact, that during remarkable epidemic periods the lower animals, and even vegetables, suffer as well as man. It may be added, that in some of these cases the waters of lakes, rivers, and of the sea itself have become contaminated, and that great numbers of fishes have in consequence been infected and destroyed.¹⁶ That during volcanic eruptions enormous quantities of gas, vapour, or impalpable powder are often discharged from the interior of the earth, and after rising to an immense height are transported to vast distances, is well known; and the extensive diffusion, and sometimes capricious course of epidemic disorders, as well as their variable prevalence and intensity, exactly correspond to the influence of such a cause. A complete demonstration of this theory must, of course, be a work of time and labour; but enough has been done, especially of late years, to render it highly probable, and to encourage further research.

Let the result however be what it may, it is an indisputable and appalling fact that, even omitting for the present the formidable effects of malaria, a poison generated on the surface, the interior of the earth is to a great extent a source of disease and death to its inhabitants, and chiefly to the human race. By way of illustration, it is sufficient to mention that two epidemics alone, the Black Death in the fourteenth century, and the Asiatic Cholera in the nineteenth, are each computed to have destroyed within a few years fifty millions of mankind. Concerning the former it is stated by Hecker, — "This great pestilence of the fourteenth century, which desolated Asia, Europe, and Africa, was an oriental plague. . . . . . On account of the inflammatory boils and tumours of the glands, and from the black spots indicatory of a putrid decomposition which appeared on the skin, it was called in Germany, and the northern kingdoms of Europe, — The Black Death. From China to the Atlantic the foundations of the earth were shaken. Through Asia and Europe the atmosphere was in commotion. . . . . . In the inmost depths of the globe that impulse was given in the year 1333, which in uninterrupted succession for twenty-six years shook the surface of the earth, even to the western shores of Europe. . . . . . It was reported to Pope Clement [VI.] at Avignon, that throughout the East, probably with the exception of China, 23,840,000 had fallen victims to the plague. . . . . . It may be assumed without exaggeration that Europe lost during the Black Death 25,000,000 of inhabitants." — The mortality occasioned by the Asiatic Cholera, which in the early part of the present century made the entire circuit of the world, can scarcely have been less; since in British India alone, during the short space of fourteen years, it is estimated by Scoutetten and Desruelles at eighteen millions, and the latter author infers that in China it was still more considerable.¹⁷ The connexion of the Black Death with earthquakes is mentioned above in very striking terms by Hecker; that of Cholera is thus noticed by Orton. — "It has been very long and generally observed that earthquakes either accompany or precede severe epidemical diseases. Mr. Webster, (who has paid the most minute and laborious attention to all the histories of epidemics, and all the remarkable phenomena o-f nature of which any records are to be found,) is extremely clear and explicit on this head, and his evidence is such as to place the truth of at least this part of his interesting speculations beyond a doubt. . . . . . The epidemic Cholera in India affords the strongest confirmation of this remarkable fact. Earthquakes are in general by no means common in India; but since the appearance of the epidemic they have been extremely so, and in some instances their effects have been very ruinous. . . . . . The connexion of earthquakes, and atmospherical disturbances, and irregularities of seasons, with epidemics can scarcely be disputed; and if the eruption of volcanoes, particularly of new or extinct ones, forms a part of the concatenation, it lends a degree of probability to the hypothesis of changes in the interior of the earth being the original cause of all."¹⁸

"This state of things, far from being "very good," is therefore a painful proof of the reality of the malediction, and the explanation here offered merely indicates the mode in which that malediction usually operates; for, although such visitations are doubtless always to be regarded as divine judgments, they do not, except in special cases, imply a direct interposition, nor do they always imply even in these cases a different mode of action, but often merely a new and supernatural impulse, agreeably to the rule observed in all genuine miracles; namely, that supernatural agency is employed with the strictest economy, and no further than is absolutely necessary. This principle is well illustrated by a passage in the book of Isaiah, wherein it is said; — "Tophet [is] ordained of old, yea, for the king it is prepared: he hath made [it] deep [and] large: the pile thereof [is] fire and much wood: the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." — The immediate dependence of pestilential diseases on volcanic agency is intimated in various parts of Scripture. The murrain and pestilence, for example, in Egypt, together with most of the other plagues inflicted on that country in the time of Moses, exhibit this character, and it is distinctly avowed in the sublime hymn of Habakkuk.

"God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran:
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
[His] brightness was as the light:
He had beams [coming] forth from his hand, and there [was] the hiding of his power.
Before him went the pestilence, and burning diseases went forth at his feet.
He stood, and measured the earth: be beheld, and drove asunder the nations:
The everlasting mountains were scattered; the perpetual hills did bow:
His ways [are] everlasting."¹⁹

Similar intimations are found in the New Testament, particularly in Christ's principal prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the physical and political convulsions which would precede that awful event. — "Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines, and pestilences; there will also be fearful sights, and great signs from heaven, . . . . . in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and its waves roaring, [and] men fainting through fear, and apprehension of the [events] coming on the earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."²⁰ — If, therefore, at the crucifixion of Christ an extraordinary darkness at noonday, expressive of the malediction, was produced by volcanic agency operating under divine direction, it was an occurrence peculiarly suited to the occasion, and in perfect accordance both with general principle, and with ancient prophecy.

1) Joel, chap. 2, v. 28-32; — Acts, chap. 2, v. 16-21.

2) Vogler, (V. H.,) Physiologia Historiae Passionis Jesu Christi, p. 23,

3) Kennedy, (John,) A. Complete System of Astronomical Chronology, &c. pp. 367, 368.

4) Usher, (Archbishop,) Annals of the World, &c. pp. 794, 795, 809, 873; — L'Art de Vérifier les Dates, &c. depuis J. C. vol. i. p. 271.

5) Daubeny's Description of Active and Extinct Volcanoes, &c. pp. 278-290;— Genesis, chap. 19, v. 23-28; — Exodus, chap. 19, v, 16-18; — Joel, chap. 2. v. 30, 31; — Acts, chap. 2, v. 19, 20; — Revel, chap. 9, v. 1, 2.

6) Exodus, chap. 10, v. 21-23; — Wisdom, chap. 17, v. 14, 15; — Matt. chap. 27, v. 51—54; chap. 28, v. 1, 2; — Luke, chap. 23, v. 44, 45.

7) Ezek. chap. 32, v. 7, 8;

8) Philosophical Transactions for the year 1763, vol. liij. pp. 63, 64: Tully's Narrative of a Ten Years' Residence at Tripoli in Africa, pp. 153, 1.54.

9) Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine, 8vo. London, 1812, vol. xl. pp. 67-76.

10) Sir T. S. Raffles, History of Java, vol. i. pp. 29-33.

11) Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, vol. xx. pp. 165-167. (From Silliman's Journal, July, 1835.)

12) Exodus, chap. 19, v. 16-18; chap. 20, v. 18-21; chapt. 24, v. 15-17; — Deuteron. chap. 4, v. 10-12; chap. 5, v. 22, 23; — Heb. chap. 12, v. 18-21.

13) Exodus, chap. 10, v. 21-23; — Wisdom, chap. 17, v. 9, 10, 18, 19.

14) 2 Peter, chap. 3, v. 7-13; — Revel, chap. 21, v. 1-4; chap. 22, v. 1-3.

15) Dr. Prout, Bridgewater Treatise, pp. 347-354; — Orton, On Cholera, pp. 258, 259, 466; — Parkin, On Epidemic Diseases, pp. 170-77; — Webster, On Pestilential Diseases, vol. i. pp. 87-90, 100-102, 116-121, 140-146, 165, 166, 191, 192, 226-228, 436, 437, 443-446; — vol. ii. p. 13-23.

16) Parkin, On Epidemic Diseases, pp. 34, 35, 48, 64, 70, 71, 170, 171, 177-184; — Webster, On Pestilential Diseases, vol. i. pp. 131, 135, 184-188, 201-203, 219-221, 427-430.

17) Hecker, On the Black Death, pp. 4, 28, 29, 44, 45, 56, 57, 77; Desruelles, Precis Physiologique du Cholera Morbus, pp. 26, 27;Scoutetten, Histoire du Cholera Morbus, &c. pp. 20-27.

18) Orton, On the Epidemic Cholera of India, pp. 258, 259, 466.

19) Genesis, chap. 14, v. 10; chap. 19, v. 23-28; — Exodus, chap, 9. v. 1-7, 13-15; chap. 12, v. 29, 30; — Psalm 78, v. 49-51; — Isaiah, chap. 30, v. 33; — Habakkuk, chap. 3, v. 1-6. In the latter passage the marginal readings, which are almost always the best, have been here adopted.

20) Matt, chap, 24, v. 3-8; — Mark, chap. 13, v. 3-8; — Luke, chap. 21, v. 7-11, 25, 26.