INTRODUCTION. 7

Till late, reluctant, at the dawn of day,
Sour he departs, and quits th’ untasted prey.”
Here is almost the natural history of the animal in a few
lines. His nightly prowling, his courage undaunted by
hounds and huntsmen, only giving way under the attack
of fire, and, lastly, his retreat at the dawn of day, are all
admirably true to nature, and agree perfectly with the scat-
tered notices in Scripture. Again, he compares a proud
chief to an eagle :—
“ As the bold bird, endued with sharpest eye
Of all that wing the mid aerial sky,
The sacred eagle, from his walks above,
Looks down, and sees the distant thicket move,
Then stoops, and sousing on the quivering hare,
Snatches his life amid the clouds of air.”
And again :—
“ So the strong eagle, from his airy height,
‘Who marks the swans’ or cranes’ embodied flight,
Stoops down impetuous while they light for food,
And, stooping, darkens with his wings the flood.”

We may observe here that Homer calls the bird the
sacred eagle, elsewhere the bird of Jove; and it is interest-
ing to find that in Ezekiel this bird is used as a symbol of
sovereignty, the king of Egypt being described as a “ great
eagle with great wings and many feathers,” and the monarch