THE IMAGE AND THE STONE

’This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37.  Thou, O king, art a king of kings:  for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38.  And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all.  Thou art this head of gold. 39.  And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40.  And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron:  forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things:  and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41.  And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42.  And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43.  And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men:  but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44.  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:  and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45.  Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter:  and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. 46.  Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47.  The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48.  Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49.  Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon:  but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.’—­DANIEL ii. 36-49.

The colossal image, seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, was a reproduction of those which met his waking eyes, and still remain for our wonder in our museums.  The mingled materials are paralleled in ancient art.  The substance of the dream is no less natural than its form.  The one is suggested by familiar sights; the other, by pressing anxieties.  What more likely