A RECENT VISIT TO PETRA: A Lecture. By Mr. ARTHUR W. SUTTON, F.L.S. Delivered at a Meeting of the Institute on February 3rd, 1908. (Short account by the SECRETARY.) TH HE city of Petra, capital of Edom and emporium of commerce in early times for caravans traversing the Arabian desert to and from the Persian Gulf to the Tyrian cities, has lain in desolation and ruin since the eruption of the Arabs under Mahomet; but nevertheless, in its solitude it excites the admiration of the traveller for the marvellous beauty of its temples and tombs sculptured out of the native sandstone rock, geologically known as "the Nubian sandstone," rich in colours of red, purple and their varieties. It has generally been approached by western travellers either from Egypt by the Sinaitic mountains and the Arabah Valley, or from Jerusalem by way of the Dead Sea. Both ways are full of difficulty and some danger from the predatory Arabs which requires tact, and the expenditure of liberal bachsish. But the party of Mr. Sutton entered the city from the eastern side by way of the remarkable gorge known as the Sik-a torrent bed or cleft in the rock, a mile and a half in length from where it descends from the table-land of Edom to the point where it opens out on the wide expanse of the city; and where, from the obscurity of the lofty walls shutting out the sun, at a sudden bend is revealed the façade of the most beautiful of the temples called "the Temple of Ghuzneh," glistening in the sunshine, and displaying in its portico of Corinthian columns, and entablature richly sculptured, a marvellous example of architectural skill which strikes the beholder with wonder. But this is only the first of a succession of splendid façades by which the whole of this vast amphitheatre has been adorned by its Nabathæan inhabitants. This is not the proper place to attempt a description of Petra, which has already been done by numerous travellers; and was admirably illustrated by the coloured photographs taken by Mr. Sutton, and thrown on the screen by the lantern, accompanied by his personal description of them. When the expeditionary party, of which the writer was a member, visited the city in 1883, we entered it from the Arabah Valley on the west,* crossing the plain at the foot of Mount Hor, which rises grandly in a cliff facing the western region of the Arabah and An account of this visit is given in Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine, published by the Palestine Exploration Society, p. 85 (1885). the Badiet-el-Tih; the scene of the Israelitish encampment during the Forty Years. It was on breaking up their encampment that they desired to ascend on to the Edomite table-land, and asked permission of the King of Edom to pass by "the King's Highway," but were refused (Numbers xx, 16-21). Mr. Sutton supposes (with other writers) that Moses desired to lead the Israelitish host right through the city of Petra up into the table-land beyond. This would have been an impossible task; both owing to the narrow and difficult pathways leading into, and out of the city; and moreover the Israelites in passing through the city would have been exposed to attack from a hostile population. It was through "the border" of Edom, not its centre, that the tribes desired to pass, and this highway was discovered, and in all probability identified by the members of the expedition of 1883-4. The road strikes off from the Wadyel-Arabah towards the mountains at a point a few miles north of Mount Hor. It was partly explored by our party, and the rocks on either side were covered by rude drawings of animals; there can be little doubt, the writer believes, that this was the King's highway by which the Israelites desired to ascend to the table-land of Edom and Moab; and probably Mr. Sutton will admit this view.* Perhaps this article cannot be better closed than in the words of Dean Burgon's elegy-on witnessing the desolation of Petra which had been foretold by the prophets-and is now plainly revealed to the traveller of the twentieth century:—† And this is Petra :-This the lofty boast Of Edom's once unconquerable coast! These the gay halls through which in days of old These the proud streets where wealth with lavish hand All that the seaman's timid bark beguiles From Cush and Ophir, Tarshish and the Isles ; And pearl and plume from India's farthest shore. Like some fond heart which gaunt disease hath left, Mute in its anguish; struck with pangs too deep For words to utter, or for tears to weep." Mr. Sutton has now accepted this view. Mr. Sutton has given a detailed account of his visit in the Friends' Witness, vol. i, No. 2 (1908). And of Mount Hor, the tomb of Aaron (Jebel Haroum) Dean Burgon thus speaks; after referring to the rocks and mountains around: "And one there is which beetling o'er the rest, Uplifted high, where none but stars may keep "Petra," a poem by Dean Burgon, 1845. ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING.* ARTHUR W. SUTTON, ESQ., F.L.S., IN THE CHAIR. The Minutes of the previous Meeting were read and confirmed, and the following Candidates were elected : ASSOCIATES :-Mr. Sim Boon Kwang, Singapore; Miss Caroline Mary Longdon, Derby. Mr. J. Townsend Trench, Walham Green. LIBRARY ASSOCIATES :-Birmingham Free Library; Nottingham Free The following paper was then read by the author :- PHILOSOPHY AND "EVOLUTION": AN INQUIRY. By Professor H. LANGHORNE ORCHARD, M.A., B.Sc. WHAT is Philosophy? What is "Evolution"? "Evolution" a Philosophy? Is Let us compare them, and see whether, in logical language, the two ternis "agree or "disagree." Definition of Philosophy.-If Philosophy be defined as the study of first principles, its function is 1. To investigate the Origins of things. 2. To Explain facts. 3. To Unify knowledge in accordance with our intuitions. Definitions of "Evolution."-What is "Evolution"?† Diverse answers are given. It is a change, say, of form and configuration, as in an army or a fleet. It is development-the growth and passage to maturity and end of the structures and functions belonging to living organisms. Instead of a lifehistory it may be any other kind of history, e.g., of another "evolution," the "evolution" of an " evolution." We may have *Monday, February 17th, 1908. + Dr. Walter Kidd has pointed out (Difficulties of Evolution) that “it is the nebulous character of the doctrine of Evolution which constitutes its strength." "the evolution" of an invention, say, of a watch, or of a steamengine, or of a telescope (see Nature, September 27th, 1906), and (to quote from the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society) we may speak of " the evolution of the fine adjustment of the microscope." In these uses of the term the basic idea appears to be that of progression, i.e., continuous change attended by improvement.* More serious attempts at a definition tell the bewildered inquirer that Evolution "is the theory that the condition of things at any moment is the result of the condition of things at the previous moment . a series of orderly changes, the condition of things at any moment being the result of the condition at the previous moment" (Wilson).† "We know, of course, that Evolution means the passage from the more general to the more special, and that although as the general result an onward advance has taken place, yet specialization does not always or necessarily mean highness' of organization in the sense in which the term is usually employed" (Traquair). Evolution is "the law of the continuous re-distribution of matter and motion," or, more formally, "Evolution is a change from indefinite incoherent homogeneity to a definite coherent heterogeneity, through continuous differentiations and integrations" (Spencer). Evolution is an "indefinite and confused movement of the mind of the age" (Wiegand). "A series of orderly changes," a "passage," a "law," a "change," an "indefinite and confused movement." Modern "Evolution" theories. Of modern Evolution theories the most influential are the monistic and atheistic doctrine of Haeckel, the practically agnostic doctrine of Spencer, and the theistic doctrine of Le Conte. Differing in many and important features, they agree in a common postulate-the transmutation of species, and deny the axiom that like causes produce like results. Why some people accept the "doctrine."-That so unnatural a theory should have been welcomed by many able men, may at first sight seem surprising. In truth it has been taken on its own profession. It offers an excuse to some for disbelieving the Genesis record of creation, and hence throws the shadow of doubt * In Nature, August 22nd, 1907, we read of "the evolution of wound treatment during the last forty years." + Problems of Religion and Science, p. 51. "Darwinismus." Some of the disagreements of evolutionists are interestingly set out in "Vertebrate Morphology." (See Nature, April 30th, 1903.) |