Horace otiosiores

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ing and trembling. It is indescribable what 1 felt while I was engaged in this work; so that I spent upwards of two hours about it. I then lay down for a little repose, a'nd when 1 awaked my mind was so full of peace and comfort that I could most heartily thank the Lord for his powerful aid, which he had granted to mean unworthy creature. 192. The Plague. Antes has aome remarks upon the plague which are well worthy the consideration of philosophical physicians. It always eeascs in Egypt when the weather becomes very hot; and extreme heat eradicates it more certainly at Cairo, than cold abates it at Constantinople. They are always (he says) pretty sure when the plague will cease, for it seldom remains after the 24th of June; this has given occasion to the following superstitious notions, not among the Turks only, but particularly among the Cophtic Chris- tians. They say, and firmly believe, that angels are sent by God to strike those people who are intended;is a sacrifice. All those who receive the stroke must inevitably die, but those tiiat receive the infection through tear only escape or recover. W hen they f'tel themselves infected, they say, anna mattub- bel cuppa which signifies, am struck, or smitten, by the plague. As the I7tli of June, according to the Cophts, is the festival of the Archangel Michael, on which day he lets a drop of water of such a fermenting quality fall into the river, as occasions its overflowings; they say that, at the same time, he, as the chief of all the other angels, orders ail those occupied in striking the people to retire. The Cophts add, that if any of them should still lurk about in the dark alter that day, they must absolutely fly before St John on the 24th of June A thinking mind, though it acknowledges t'he band of God in ev...