Blinding the eyes as a punishment or political disqualiflcation was a heathen cruelty sometimes re- ferred to in the Scriptures, and is found exliibited on the .Assyrian monuments. The custom of putting out the eyes of captives especially was very common in the East (1 Sam. xi, 2). Thus Samson was deprived
Ancient Assyrian King blinding a Prisoner.
convey a compliment — admiration of the child. If any one is seen to stare at so as to envy i of sight by the Philistines (Judg. xvi, 21), and Zede- the offspring, the mother hastily snatches it away, to | kiah by the Chaldees (2 Kings xxv, 7). In 1820 Ptae perform some superstitious rite, as a charm against the i Wilson saw a number of individuals at Acre who were supposed evil e3'e." And Mr. Roberts says, among the disfigured in various ways, by a hand amputated, an
Hindoos, the han-nuru, "evil eye," of some people is be- lieved to have a most baneful effect upon whatsoever it shall be fixed. Those who are reputed to have such eyes are always avoided, and none but near relations will invite them to a feast.
In Zech. iv, 10, the angels of the Lord are called "his eyes," as being the executioners of his judg- ments, and watching and attending for his glorj'. From some such association of ideas, the favorite min- isters of state in the Persian monarchy were called "the king's ej'es." So, in Numb, x, 31, " to be instead of ej'es" is equivalent to being a prince, to rule and guide the people. This occurs also in the Greek poets, as in Pindar (Ohimp. ii, 10), where " the eye of Sicilia" is given as a title to one of the chief men iu Sicily,
eye torn out, or a nose which had been split, or partly or totally cut off. In 182G two emirs had their eyes burnt out, and their tongues in part cut off, by the prince of Mount Lebanon, on account of their having been concerned in some disturbances against his gov- ernment. In some cases the Orientals deprive the criminal of the light of day by sealing up his eyes with some kind of adhesive plaster (Isa. xliv, 10). See Punishment.
"P.viNTiNG THE EYES," or rather the eyelids, is more than once alluded to in Scripture, although this scarcely appears in the Authorized Version, as our translators, unaware of the custom, usually render "eye" by "face," although "eye" is still preserved in the" margin. So Jezebel "painted her eyes," literally
EYES
428
EYLERT
"put her eyes in paint," before she showed lierself puMicly (2 Kings ix, 30). This action is forcibly expressed by Jeremiah (iv, 30), "ThouLch thou rentest tiiine eyes with painting." Eze- kiel (xxiii, 40) also represents this as a part of high dress: ''For whom thou didst wasli tliyself, imintedst thj eyes, and de.cliedst tliyself with ornaments." Tlie custom is also, very possibly, al- luded to in Prov. vi, 25 : " Lust not af- ter her beauty in thine heart, neither let her take thee uith her eyelids.^'' It certainly is the impression in Western Asia that tliis embellishment adds much to the languisliing expression and se- ducenient of the eyes, although Euro- peans tind some difficult}' in apprecia- ting the beauty which the Orientals find in this adornment. (See Hartmann's Uehrmrinii, ii, 149 sq.)
The follow-ing description of the proc- ess is from Lane's Modern Egyptians (i, 41-43): " The ej'cs, with yevy few ex- ceptions, ai-e black, large, and of a long almond form, with long and beautiful lashes, and an exquisitel}' soft, bewitch- ing expression : ej'es more beautiful can hardly be conceived : their charm- ing effect is much heightened by the concealment of the other features (how- ever pleasing the latter may be), and is rendered still more strikint: bj' a prac-
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Ancient Kgyptian Boxes or Bottler, holding the Kold for staining the Eyelids.
a. In the British Museum. The others are in the Museum of Alnwick Castle.
fc, c, is the Bodkin fpr applying the Kold.
tice universal among the females of the higher and mid- ] even with the remains of the black powder, have often die classes, and XQxy common among those of the lower orders, which is that of blackening the edge of the eya- lids, both ivbove and below the ej^es, with a black pow-
been found in the ancient tombs. I have two in my possession. But, in many cases, the ancient mode of ornamenting with the kohl was a little different from the modern. I have, however, seen this ancient mode practised in the present day in the neighborhood of Cairo, though I onh' remember to have noticed it in two instances. Tlie same custom existed among the Greek ladies, and among the Jewish women in early times."
Sir J. G.Wilkinson alludes to this passage in Mr. Lane's book, and admits that the lengthened form of the ancient Egyptian eye, represented in the paint- ings, was probably produced Ijj- this means. " Such," he adds, "is the effect described by Juvenal (^Sat. ii, 93), Pliny {Ep. vi, 2), and other writers who notice the custom among the Romans. At Kome it was con- sidered disgraceful for men to adopt it, as at present in [most parts of J the East, except medicinalh' ; but, if we may judge from the similarit}- of the cj-es of men and women in the paintings at Thebes, it appears to . have been used bj^ both sexes among the ancient ^."''i:"'^'""®'^.' ^ ^™ ^°l'^' "^ Feference^to the better kind E^j-ptians. Many of the kohl-bottles have been found