Classical Theology.—Lxxix.

CLASSICAL THEOLOGY . —LXXIX .

LONDON , SATURDAY , OCTOBER 15 , 1864

JUNO AND JANTJAEY . The legitimate children of Juno and Jupiter were Vulcan , Mars , and Hebe . Some , however , write that Hebe had no other parent than Juno , who gave birth to her after this manner . At a

feast given by Jupiter , Juno ate of some wild lettuces , forthwith conceived , and brought forth Hebe , who , on account of her exceeding beauty , was by Jupiter denominated the Goddess of Youth , and appointed his cup-bearer ; but it so

happened that she unfortunately fell , whilst so employed , in so exposed and ungraceful a manner , as to cause all the guests to laugh , whereat the god turned her out of office and bestowed it upon Ganimede . Homer , however , says she was

conceived of Jupiter , never turned out of office , but made cup-bearer to the other gods , as Ganimede wasto Jupiter ; and when Hercules came to heaven she was married to him , and , in all power , as the

Goddess of Youth , at his intercession and entreaty , restored Iolaus , the son . of Iphicius , to his youth . This miraculous circumstance , obtained , as it was by the supplication of Hercules , is to some extent worthy of remark , as showing the efficacy

ascribed by the ancients to prayer . By a holier knowledge come down to us we , too , are informed by faith mountains may be removed into the sea , and the dead restored to life ; indeed , is there anything " too hard for the Lord ?"

We must also bear in mind that Hercules was the son of the Grecian god . Nevertheless , we enter again into the regions of fable . The metamorphosis , my thologically , under the sceptre of Jupiter , may be likened to pantomime , under the wand

of harlequin ; but some superhuman cause must surely have given rise to _ the idea of their practical effects . In the Scriptures there is to be found plenty of authority to substantiate such occurrences . Lot ' s wife was turned into

a pillar of salt ; then there is the sublime transfiguration of Christ himself ; the rivers of Egypt changed into blood ; the water at the marriage feast in Cana in Galilee transposed into wine , and numerous et cetera . Spiritual manifestations may be a

delusion of the eyes and ears , yet still it is a delusion , whilst , in "the discerning of spirits , " there has ever been and is a manifestation , as visible and audible to the sight and hearing , as certainl y was the angel that appeai-ed unto Balaam , when his eyes were made suddenly more

clearsighted—or , in other words , became supernaturally opened . We go to church , and hear such divinely revealed passages , as , for instance , " The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and they took them wives of all that they chose .

. . . . There were giants in the earth in those days ; and also after that , when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men , and they bear children to them , the same became mighty men which were of old , men of renown . ( Gen . c . vi . )

" And God sent an ana-el unto Jerusalem to de-O stroy it . . . and the angel of the . Lord stood by the threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite .. . . . And Ornan turned back and saw the angel , and his four sons with him hid them- . selves And the Lord commanded the angel to put up his sword again into the sheath

thereof ( 1 Chron . c . xxi . ) . " Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah , saying-, So let the gods do to me , and more also , if I make not thy life as the life of one of them ( the slain prophets ) by to-morrow about this time . And

when he saw that he arose and went for Ms life . . . . And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree , behold , then an angel touched him , and said unto him , Arise and eat . And he looked , and , behold , there was a cake baken on the coals , and

a cruse of water at his head , & c . ( 1 Kings , c . xix . ) .. " This was the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar ; and I knew that they were the cherubims . Every one had four faces apiece , and every one had four wings ; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings ( Ezek . c . x . ) .

" And behold , a ladder set up on the earth , and the top of it reached to heaven ; and behold , the angels of God ascending and descending on it . " ( Gen . c . xxviii . ) But it is in the New Testament that we come

to the more full and clear develojsment of the spiritual world ; in fact , the veil of the Temple is rent , the covenant between God and man confirmed , the revelations of the tomb ghostly and bodily unsealed , and the solution of their

mysteries doctrinally , profoundly , or , in a word , Emmanually expounded . Here at once we are informed of the spirits of darkness and of light , or of this world and of heaven . St . Matthew says ( c . iv . ) , " ¦ There was Jesus led up by the spirit into the

wilderness to be tempted of the devil . " We do not hesitate to confess that the devil did many things which , can now be scarcely conceived .