Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/127

 ]VDJEA, CHAPTER I. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEBREW CIVILIZATION. § i. — The Place of Jtidœa in History. As we ran over the great tableland of Sardinia and penetrated into its valleys, we noted how contact with Phoenicia had weaned the untutored savages of the distant west out of their primitive barbarism, how under the auspices of Tyre and Carthage, they in time had attained, if not a high grade, at least the first rudiments of plastic and industrial arts, brought about by the knowledge of metals and their diversified uses. We followed the Phoenicians to the utmost limit of their adventurous trail ; we observed them at work there where their influence knew as yet of no rival ; still in their company, we shall retrace our steps towards the Syrian coasts, whence their ships were wont to start on their expeditions em- bracing the whole Mediterranean. Tyre, nor Sidon, nor any of the maritime cities shall this time engage our attention or delay our visit to the narrow strip of land turned into a green and shady oasis by the skilful husbandry of its inhabitants. In that portion interposing between Phoenicia and the valley of the Jordan, which we now call Palestine, we shall find a small people, owning the same blood and speech as the Phoenicians, whose place in the world was but a narrow corner, rendered nevertheless important by the unparalleled part they played in it. This people were the Jews. Although closely related to the Phoenicians, they were most unlike them, in that early period at least, which at present alone concerns us. The place they hold in the history of civilization was not the result of their great industrial or com- mercial power, which were nil, since as long as Judsea was their own to live in, they were nothing more than herdsmen, ploughmen,