Great Value of Water.

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Chap. 6.]

The custom of leaving the principal supply of water without the Wallsof the more ancient cities, is remarkable; and the reason for it has notyet been satisfactorily explained. The water which supplied Alba Longa ,lay in a very deep glen, and was therefore scarcely defensible ; but thesprings of the Scamander at Troy, of Enneacrunus at Athens; of Dirce at Thebes , and innumerable others, prove that such instances were com-mon. 1 When David waged war against the Ammonites, his success, ac-cording’to Josephus , was chiefly owing to his general cutting off theirwaters, and especially those of a particular well. Antiq. vii, 1. Mardo-nius stopped up the Gargaphian fountain, which supplied the Grecian ar-my with water, an act which brought on in its vicinity, the famous battleof Platea, in which he was slain, and the power of Persia in Greece finally prostrated. A remarkable instance of the labor and perseveranceof ancient soldiers, in cutting off a well or fountain from besieged places,is given by Caesar in his Commentaries on the War in Gaul, viii, 33.

3. To prevent the water from being Stolen; which could scarcely havebeen prevented at wells with curbs, for they could not then have been con-cealed. We must bear in mind that the extreme scarcity of water in theeast, required a vigilant and parsimonious care of it; and hence continualquarrels arose from attempts to purloin it, or to take it by force. ‘ Andthe herdsmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, thewater is ours.’ Gen. xxvi, 20. This kind of strife, says Dr. Richardson,between the different villagers, still exists, as it did in the days of Abra-ham and Lot. It was customary for shepherds to seize on the wells be-fore others came, lest there should not be sufficient water for all theirflocks, and it was at an occurrence of this kind, that Moses first became ac-quainted. with Zipporah and her sisters. Jos. Antiq. ii, 11. “ Nearly six

hours beyond the ruined town of Kournou, and two beyond the dry bedof a small stream called El Gerara, [the brook of Gerar?] we were sur-prised at Unding two large and deep wells, beautifully built of hewn stone.The uppermost course, and about a dozen troughs for watering cattle dis-posed round them, of a coarse white marble ; they were evidently coevalwith the Romans. Q,uite a patriarchal scene presented itself as we drewnear to the wells ; the Bedouins were watering their flocks; two men ateach well letting down the skins and pulling them up again, with almostferocious haste, and with quick savage shouts.” Lindsay’s Trav. Let. 9.

The scarcity of water in those countries has from the remotest timesmade it an object of merchandise .—“ Ye shall also buy water of them formoney that ye may drink.” Deut, ii, 6, 28. And Jeremiah—“we havedrunken our water for money.” Lam. v, 4. See Ezekiel, iv, 16, 17.This value of water may be perceived in the negotiation of Moses withthe king of Edom , for a passage through that country. He pledgedhim-self that his countrymen would not injure the fields or the vineyards;“neither,” says he, “will we drink of the waters of the wells;” and in asubsequent proposition, he adds, “ if I and my cattle drink of thy waters,then I will pay for it.” Num. xx, 17, 19. It is we think evident fromthe text, that the great quantities of water which such a host would re-quire, was the principal objection urged by the people of Edom ; theywere afraid, and very naturally too, that a million of souls might drain alltheir wells while passing through the land, a calamity that might provefatal to themselves. Brooks and rivers, were dried up by the army ofXerxes as he advanced towards Greece .

It may be observed here, that when in 1811, Burckhardt discovered

Gell’s Topography of Rome, i, 34.

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