In a truly
scientific spirit he calls attention to the similarity of the Dead
Sea, with the river Jordan, to sundry other lake and river systems;
points out the endless variations between writers describing the
salt formations at Usdum; accounts rationally for these variations,
and quotes from Dr. Anderson's report, saying, "From the soluble
nature of the salt and the crumbling looseness of the marl, it may
well be imagined that, while some of these needles are in the
process of formation, others are being washed away."
Thus came out, little by little, the truth regarding the Dead Sea
myths, and especially the salt pillar at Usdum; but the final truth
remained to be told in the Church, and now one of the purest men
and truest divines of this century told it. Arthur Stanley, Dean of
Westminster, visiting the country and thoroughly exploring it,
allowed that the physical features of the Dead Sea and its shores
suggested the myths and legends, and he sums up the whole as follows:
"A great mass of legends and exaggerations, partly the cause and
partly the result of the old belief that the cities were buried
under the Dead Sea, has been gradually removed in recent years.
Pages:
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180