*

Thummim. Urim, autem inftrumentum concavum decore fabricatum Theraphim antiquitus appellatum fuiffe videtur, Urim & Thummim per apertum duplicati Pectoralis latus immiffa concavum illius medium occupaffe& quia nonulli Urim & Thummim voces tantum inertes lamina quadam aurea exaratas, & in pectoralis arcano reconditas: alii ea duas tantum virtutes.

Christ. a Caftor tells us, they were two images, which being fhut up in the doubling of the Breastplate, did from thence give the oracular answer by a voice and Dr. Spencer is alfo of this opinion. Dr. Pocock treats this as a conceit both abfurd and impious, as favouring more of heathenifm and idolatry, than of the pure inftitution of a Divine

Law.

Dr. Prideaux, thinks the words Urim and Thummim, only meant the Divine virtue and power, given to the Breaft-plate in its confecration, of obtaining an oraculous anfwer from God.

he

In Levit. viii. and 8. we find the Urim and Thummim, mentioned without the twelve ftones, viz. put the breaft-plate upon him; also he put in the breaft-plate the Urim ou Thummim. And, Deut. xxxiii. and 8. Let thy Urim ou thy Thummim be with thy holy one: Here is no mention made of Breaft-plate or Stones.

The Hebrew copulative particle ou, fignifies or, as well as and. So that Urim & Thummim,

*Judges, chap. xvii. 4. and 5.

confufion,

may be fynonimous words, correfponding to the Irish Uraim or (vel) Tammam. *

The High Prieft was not to confult the Urim for any private perfon, but only for the king, for the prefident of the Sanhedrim, for the general of an army, or for for fome other great prince or public governor in Ifrael; and not for any private affairs, but for fuch only as related to the public interest of the nation, either in Church or State.

Our Hibernian Druids never confulted the Iodhan Morain, but in the courts of justice, or on affairs of ftate; to all their decrees Urraim, i. e. implicit obe dience was paid.

In dubious cafes, or where the intereft of th Church was concerned, or the election of a king they confulted the LIATH MEISICITH, or Liath Fail.

* To avoid this confufion, the Irish language either prefixes ce, ke, i. e. seeing that, or affixes gus, i. e. fact, deed, truly; ex. gr. ceo, keo, and: from whence the Greek xa: ougus, contract. ed to agus or, oundea, i. e. and in truth, contracted to andea it is remarkable that agus is only to be found in the Egyptian, Bafc, or Cantabrian; and in the Irish, Erfe and Manx:. from oundea, is formed the German unde, the Teutonik ende, and the English and.

THE

THE

LIATH MEISICITH.

PLATE II.

This very curious monument af antiquity, is the property of T. KAVENAGH, Efq; of Ballyborris, in the County of Carlow.

It is a box, the fize of the drawing, and two inches

deep, it is made of brafs cafed with filver: it contains a number of loose sheets of vellum, on which are written extracts of the gofpel and prayers for the fick, in the Latin language, and in the Irish characThere are alfo, fome drawings in water colours of the apostles, not ill executed: these are supposed to be the work of Saint Moling, the patron of that part of the country.

ter.

In the center of the lid is a large crystal,* the fize of the drawing and one inch and a quarter thick;

* Crioft-al in Irish, fignifies a holy ftone; and is probably the true etymology of the word, and not from xp, frigus, for the Greeks could not be ignorant, that crystal was the produce of hot countries as well as of cold,-the best is found in the island of Madagascar :-the ftrongeft cryftallizations are formed by

heat.