Note 206 — Chapter IX · ÆSCULAPIUS AND THE SERPENT.

The power of healing was a prominent and popular characteristic of the god of the Hebrews. “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Ex., xv, 26); “I will restore health unto thee and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord” (Jer., xxx, 17); “He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds” (Ps. cxlvii, 3); “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed” (Jer., xvii, 14); and other similar passages are met with in the Bible. Indeed, the curing of diseases has always been largely resorted to when the claim of divinity has been brought forward. It is a deceptive test.