late; he wae excessively sorry (1r,p(ll.u,ros). This word is only used twice again in the New TeJtnment-of the Saviour in his agony, and of the rich ruler in parting, perhaps for ever, from the Saviour. But then there was the false shame consequent on repeated oaths, and because of the prtlllence of so many persons of quality. How could he break the former? How could he insult, by withdrawal of bis kingly promise or breach of faith, the latter? How could he set aside (&8eT,jo-a,) a promise made before so many, and confirmed by so many oaths? 3. .At once a guardsman (o-1r,1tovll.&-r.,p, either equal to Bopv4>Jpo1, a satellite or body-guard, or equa'l to 1taT&o-1t01ro~, a spy, or scout; at all events, a guardsman of Herod now at war with Aretas) is despatched. The head is brought, dripping with blood. Oh, horrid sight I It is banded on a platter to the maiden; and she, maiden though she was, received it, and, maiden though she was, bore it away to her mother. The word "maiden n (1top&o-1011, equivalent to little or young maiden) is repeated, as if to stigmatize the untender, unfeeling, and beyond expression unmaidenly, conduct of this princess. 4. So ended the last act of this bloody tragedy. It now remained for the sorrowing disciples of the Baptist tearfully and tenderly to take up the corpse (,,,.,..,µ~, equivalent to cadaver) of their belond master, and consign it to its last resting-place in the tomb. VI. .ADDITIONAL REMARKS, 1. A nearly parallel case, or a crime somewhat similar to that of Herod, is referred to in strongest terms of condemnation by Cicero, in the twelfth chapter of his ' Treatise on Old Age,' as follows:-" I indeed acted unwillingly in banish- ing from the senate L. Flaminius, brother of that eminently brave man, T. Flaminiu8, seven years after he had been consul ; but I thought that his licentiousness should \Je stigmatized. For when he was consul in Gaul, he was prevailed on by a courtesan, at an entertainment, to behead one of those who were in confinement on a capital accusa- tion; • , . but lewdness so abandoned and so desperate, which was combining with private infamy the disgrace of the empire, could by no means be visited with approba- tion by myself and Flaccus." 2. It was in a gloomy dungeon; in the strong old castle of Machrerus, that the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. That place was in Perrea, nine miles east of the Dead Sea, and on the borders between the dominion of Herod and of Aretas. It is thus described by Josephus in relation to its strength: "The nature of the place was very capable of affording the surest hopes of safety to those that possessed this citadel, as well as delay and fear to those that should attack it; for what was walled in was itself a very rocky hill, elevated to a very great height; which cir- cumstance alone made it very hard to be subdued. It was also so contrived by nature that it could not be easily ascended; for it is, as it were, ditched about with such valleys on all sides, and to such a depth that the eye cannot reach their bottoms, and such as are not easily passed over, and even such as it is impossible to fill up with earth."-J. J. G.
Vers. 30-44. Parallel passages: Matt. xiv. 13-21; Luke ix. 10-17; John vi. 1-14.-Miraculous provision. I. THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. 1. The vivid description of St. Mark. In connection with this miracle, St. Mark describes the recog- nition of our Lord by the multitude, their running together on foot, their outspeeding the Saviour, their arrival at the place of disembarkation before him, the compassion that moved him, the instruction he gave them. He describes, moreover, the green grass on which the multitudes sat down, their divisions into hundreds and fifties, their reclining company after company (literally, a convivial party, and o-vµ,r&u,11 o-v,,.-&0-,11, a Hebraism, like Bvo Bvo of ver. 7) or as though in military order, the resemblance of the multitudes thus seated to the plots of a garden (1r~o-11.l 1rpao-111l, equivalent to "beds of leeks," from 1rprlao11, a leek, and the structure another Hebraism)-the whole exhibiting a. stirring and life-like scene. 'l'he importance of this miracle mo.y be inferred from all four evangelists recording it. 2. The time of year. From the fresh greenness of the gra.ss we infer the season of the year, and can better account for the great multitudes that crowded the grassy space near Bethsaida. It was spring-March or April-and so the season of the Passover, as we are expressly informed by St. John ; the pilgrim companies were on the move in that direction, and hence the greatness of the crowds that followed the Saviour. .Another miracle of feeding the multitudes is recorded by St.. Matthew, in the fifteenth chnpter of that Gospel towards its close, and al:io. by St. Mark (viii. 1-9). 'l'hat the two miracles are quite distinct, is shown by the 282 THE. GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [en. v1. l-6b.