David, making use of his opportunity, slays him with his own sword, and bears away from the field of battle, the hewn-off head as a trophy of victory.  As formerly the Israelites fled before the snorting and stamping of the great Goliath, so now flee the Philistines in consequence of the victory of young David.  Thus they give opportunity to the Israelites to pursue them, and to fill the roads with the corpses of the slain fugitives.  It is easy to imagine how great must have been the joy of the victorious Hebrews.  In proof of it, we learn how women came forth from the cities of Judea, with drum, fiddle, and other musical instruments, to meet the victors, and sang alternately:  “Saul hath slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands.”

Thus the sonata expresses—­

1.  The stamping and defying of Goliath.

2.  The terror of the Israelites, and their prayer to God at sight of the terrible enemy.

3.  The courage of David, his desire to humble the pride of the giant, and his childlike trust in God.

4.  The contest of words between David and Goliath, and the contest itself, in which Goliath is wounded in the forehead by a stone, so that he falls to the ground and is slain.

5.  The flight of the Philistines, and how they are pursued by the Israelites, and slain by the sword.

6.  The exultation of the Israelites over their victory.

7.  The praise of David, sung by the women in alternate choirs.

8.  And, finally, the general joy, expressing itself in hearty dancing and leaping.

II. David curing Saul by means of Music

Among the heavy blows dealt to us at times by God, for holy reasons, are to be counted bodily sicknesses.  Of these one can in a real sense say that they cause pain.  Hence the invention of that physician of Padua was by no means ridiculous, who thus represented in picture-form, over his house-door, the various sicknesses:  a man attacked by many dogs and gesticulating wildly, through pain.  To each of these dogs was given a name, and each acted accordingly.  The dog, Gout, was biting the man’s foot; the dog, Pleurisy, his loins; Stone, his kidneys; Colic, his belly, and so on.  Finally, a great sheep-dog, representing daily fever, had thrown the man to the ground.  The inventor could easily have known (for that he did not require any special experience) that sicknesses act upon men in a manner not less gentle.  By the exercise of patience, pain can at length be conquered, although the soul, so intimately combined with the body, must feel it not a little.  But when the soul is attacked by sickness, patience always gives way; for bodily, cannot in any way be compared with mental, suffering.  Inner anguish shows itself in restless gestures.  Scripture takes us into a lazaretto of such afflicted persons.  Among others, we meet with a royal and singular patient.