IV. Authorities. — 1. Ancient. — Strabo, xiv, 183 sq. ; Herodotus, i, IG; Tacitus, Annal. iii, 63; iv, 56; Pliny, //. X. V, 29 ; Bcickh, Inscript, Gmc. " Smyrniiean In- scriptions," especially Nos. 3163-3176 ; Pausanias, foe. cit., and iv, 21, 5; Macrobius, Saturnalia, i, 18.
2. J/orferw.- Rosenmliller, Alterthumsk. i, 2, 224 sq.; Turner, Travels, iii, 138-141, 285-291; Arundell, ut sup.; Richter, p. 495; Schubert, i, 272-283; Narrative of Scottish Mission, p. 328-336 ; Eothen, eh. v ; M'Far- \A\\e, Prof/ress of the Turkish Empire; Prokesch, in the Wiener Jahrb. d. Literiitur, 1834; Wrangel, Shizzen aus d.Oslen (Danfz. 1839); Murray, Handbook for Turkey in Asia, p. 262 sq. See Asia Minor.
Smyth, Thomas, D.D., a Presbyterian minister, was born in Belfast, Ireland, July 14, 1808. He was educated at Belfast and at Loudon, and came to the United States in 1830. He was graduated at Prince- ton Theological Seminary, N. J., after which he was pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church at Charleston, S. C, from 1832 until his death, Aug. 20, 1873. He was the author of numerous works, chiefly in illustration and defence of the Presbyterian form of Church govern- ment; also of The Unity of the Hunutn Face Proved to be the Doctrine of Scripture, Reason, and Science (1850), and The True Ori;/ia and Source of the Mecklenburg Declaration if Indiptndence. (W. P. S.)
Smyth, "William. See Smith, William (1).
Smytonite Controversy was a dispute which arose in the Secession Kirk about the middle of the
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SNAIL
83i
SNAKE
18th century respecting the elevation of the elements in celebrating the Lord's supper. One of the ministers of that body, Mr. Smyton, of Kilmaurs, considered such elevation an essential part of the orilinance, but the syn- od determined that it should be left an open question.— Blunt, Did. of Sects, s. v.
Snail is the representative in the A. V. of two He- brew words, which are certainly the names of very dif- ferent animals.
1. C/iomet {'^"OTI ; Sept. (ravpa ; Vulg. lacerta) occurs only as the name of some unclean animal in Lev. xi, 30. The Sept. and Vulg. understand some kind of lizard by the term ; the Arabic versions of Erpenius and Saadias tjive the chameleon as the animal intended. The Veneto- Greek and the rabbins, with whom agrees the A. V., render the Heb. term by '• snail." Bochart (Hiei-oz. ii, 500) has endeavored to show that a species of small sand- lizard, called chulaca by the Arabs, is denoted ; but his argument rests entirely upon some supposed etymologi- cal foundation. The word chomet in Chaldee is said to signify "to bow down," and therefore "suggests the Lacerta stellio, which is noted for bowing its head, in- somuch that the followers of Mohammed kill it, because they say it mimics them in the mode of repeating their prayers. It is about a foot in length, and of an olive color shaded with black" (Kitto, Pict. Bib. ad loc). The lizard referred to appears to be the skink {Scincns offi- cinalis), which is very abundant throughout Northern Africa, Arabia, and Syria. MM. Dumeril and Bibron, in their elaborate work on reptiles, give us the following information of the species : " M. Lefebvre, who collected several of these animals during his excursion to the oasis of Barhriah, has communicated to us several ob- servations on the habits of this species which we can- not omit. According to this zealous entomologist, the skink is found on hillocks of fine light sand, which the south wind accumulates at the bottom of hedges that border on cultivated grounds, and around the roots of tamarisk-trees, which grow on the confines of tlie desert. It may be there seen basking in the rays of the sun, when the heat is intense, antl, from time to time, giving chase to beetles and other insects which happen to pass near it. It runs with considerable rapidity, and when alarmed it buries itself in the sand with singular quick- ness, burrowing in a few moments a gallery of man}' feet in depth. When caught it struggles to escape, but nei- ther attempts to bite nor to defend itself with its claws."
Col. H. Smith, without specifying his reasons, takes the chomet to be the true lizard (that is, we presume, the genus Lacerta) as restricted in modern herpetology — "several (probablj^ many) species existing in myriads on the rocks in sandy places and in ruins in every part of Palestine and the adjacent countries. There is one species particularly abundant and small, well known in Arabia by the name of sarabandi." Of these lord Lind- say says, speaking of his approach to Sinai, "hundreds of little lizards, of the color of the sand, and called by the natives sarahandi, were darting about."
In the present imperfect state of our acquaintance
Skink {acinous officinalis).
with the reptiles of Western Asia, it is perhaps impos- sible to determine with satisfaction the actual species intended by some of the ancient Hebrew names. That the chomet was some one or other of the commoner kinds there can be little doubt, and this is all we can venture to say. Lizards of many sorts abound in these lands; they delight in a burning sun, in a dry sandy soil, in stony deserts, in ruined edifices. Moore's picture of