--

"How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? the
scorners delight in their scorning, and _fools_ hate
knowledge?"

[Illustration: THE STARS OF ORION.]

What constellation was known to the ancient Hebrews as "the fool"? The
Seventy who rendered the Old Testament into Greek confess themselves at
fault. Once, in Amos, both _K[=i]mah_ and _K[)e]s[=i]l_ are left
untranslated. Instead of "Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion," we
have the paraphrase, "That maketh and transformeth all things." Once, in
Job, it is rendered "Hesperus," the evening star; and in the other two
instances it is given as "Orion." The tradition of the real meaning of
the word as an astronomical term had been lost, or at least much
confused before the Septuagint Version was undertaken. The Jews had
not, so far as there is any present evidence, learned the term in
Babylon, for the word has not yet been found as a star-name on any
cuneiform inscription. It was well known before the Exile, for Amos and
Isaiah both use it, and the fact that the author of Job also uses it,
indicates that he did not gain his knowledge of the constellation during
the Babylonian captivity.

The majority of translators and commentators have, however, agreed in
believing that the brightest and most splendid constellation in the sky
is intended--the one which we know as Orion. This constellation is one
of the very few in which the natural grouping of the stars seems to
suggest the figure that has been connected with it. Four bright stars,
in a great trapezium, are taken to mark the two shoulders and the two
legs of a gigantic warrior; a row of three bright stars, midway between
the four first named, suggest his gemmed belt; another row of stars
straight down from the centre star of the belt, presents his sword; a
compact cluster of three stars marks his head. A gigantic warrior, armed
for the battle, seems thus to be outlined in the heavens. As Longfellow
describes him--

"Begirt with many a blazing star,
Stood the great giant, Algebar,
Orion, hunter of the beast!
His sword hung gleaming by his side,
And, on his arm, the lion's hide
Scattered across the midnight air
The golden radiance of its hair."

In accord with the form naturally suggested by the grouping of the
stars, the Syrians have called the constellation _Gabb[=a]r[=a]_; and
the Arabs, _Al Jabb[=a]r_; and the Jews, _Gibb[=o]r_. The brightes