not superior, to the prophetess and the high priest], I, Jehovah,
in the vision to him would make myself known: in the dream would I speak
to him. Not so _my_ servant Moses [God's prophet, not theirs]; in all my
house faithful is he. Mouth to mouth do I speak to him, and vision, but
not in dark speeches; and likeness of Jehovah he beholds." Moses, then,
was favored with "visions without dark speeches."

Now, as implied in the passage thus retranslated, there is a grand
distinction between symbolic and therefore _dark_ visions, and visions
not symbolic nor dark. Visions addressed, as the word indicates, to the
eye, may be obviously of a twofold character,--they may be either darker
than words, or a great deal clearer than words. The vision, for
instance, of future monarchies which Daniel saw symbolized under the
form of monstrous animals had to be explained in words; the vision of
Peter, which led to the general admission of the Gentiles into the
Christian Church, had also virtually to be explained in words; they were
both visions of the dark class; and revelation abounds in such. But
there were also visions greatly clearer than words. Such, for instance,
was the vision of the secret chamber of imagery, with its seventy men of
the ancients of Israel given over to idolatry, which was seen by the
prophet as he sat in his own house; and the vision of the worshippers of
the sun in the inner court of the temple, witnessed from what was
_naturally_ the same impossible point of view; with the vision of the
Jewish women in the western gate "weeping for Thammuz," when, according
to Milton's noble version,

"The love tale
Infected Sion's daughters with like heat,
Whose wanton passions in the sacred porch
Ezekiel saw, when, by the vision led,
His eye surveyed the dark idolatries
Of alienated Judah."

Here, then, were there visions of scenes actually taking place at the
time, which, greatly clearer than any merely verbal description,
substituted the seeing of the eye for the hearing of the ear. And
visions of this latter kind were enjoyed, argues the writer of this
ingenious treatise, by the prophet Moses.

One of the cases adduced may be best given in the author's own words.
"Moses," he says, "received directions from God how to proceed in
constructing the Tabernacle and its sacred furniture; and David also was
instructed how the Temple of Solomon should be built. Let us hear
Scripture regarding the natu