67 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY.

animals have entirely disappeared from localities where they
formerly abounded ; but lions are still found ix many parts
of western Asia, particularly near the rivers Tigris and Eu-
phrates. The lion is mentioned in various parts of the
Bible. In the 14th chapter of Judges one is slain by Sam-
son, and is afterwards found inhabited by a swarm of bees,
thus giving rise to his famous riddle, “Out of the eater
came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweet-
ness.” Again in 2 Samuel, ch. xvii., the lion is made the
symbol of strength and courage: “ He that is valiant, whose
heart is as the heart of a lion.” This metaphor is by no
means peculiar to the Bible, and it is frequently used in the
poetry of Greece and Rome: we also use the same compari-
son, considering the term applicable to our dion-hearted King
Richard. In the 12th chapter of the first book of Chroni-
cles occurs the singular expression, “ Men of war, fit for the
battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces
were like the faces of lions.” This is a forcible comparison,
for few things in the animal creation are more terrible than
the appearance of an enraged lion. The ‘Pictorial Bible’ has
the following remark on this text:—‘We are inclined to
suspect that the sacred historian had also in view the strong
resemblance which the face of the lion bears to that of man.