Volume 2

364 Life of Jesus Christ
vessel by the stem, and in the other held a butterfly just
escaping the larva. The butterfly, which was something like
a bird and something like a disgusting insect, shone with
variegated colors. Around the head of the idol and just
above the forehead \vas a wreath of loathson.1e beetles and
flying vermin, forming as it were a compact mass, one appearing
to hold the other fast. Above the forehead and in
the center of the pointed head between the horns sat one of
those disgusting things larger and more hideous than the
others. They were glittering, and they radiated all the colors,
but they were horrible, venomous things with long
bodies, horns, feelers, and stings. When Jesus drew near to
the pagans that were seeking these insects for the idol, the
\vhole crown flew asunder like a dark swarm and hid in the
holes and corners around the country, while all kinds of
frightful black spirits crept with them, frightened, into the
holes. They were the wicked spirits that were honored in
Beelzebub with those beetles.
On the following forenoon, Jesus reached Dion, that is
the Jewish quarter, which was much smaller than that of the
pagans. The latter was beautifully situated on the declivity
of a mountain and had several temples. The Jewish quarter
\vas entirely distinct fronl it. Where Jesus arrived outside
the city the arbors were, for the ITIOSt part, finished. Under
one of them He was ceremoniously received by the priests
and magistrates of the place, His feet washed, and the
customary refreshments offered. Immediately after, He
\vent out among the sick, numbers of whom were lying and
standing under the arbors that had been erected from this
spot to the city. The disciples assisted and kept order. There
\vere sick of all kinds: lame, dumb, blind, dropsical, and
paralyzed. Jesus cured and exhorted many. There were
some that stood upright on three-legged crutches, and there
were other crutches upon which the invalid could rest without
using the feet. These latter were almost like go-carts. At
last Jesus came to the sick women. They were lying, lean­