NomoredifficultywasencounteredintheformationoftheLotlegend，toaccountforthatrockresemblingthehumanform，thanintheformationoftheNiobelegend，whichaccountedforasupposedresemblanceintherockatSipylos：itgrewupjustaswehaveseenthousandsofsimilarmythsandlegendsgrowupaboutstrikingnaturalappearancesineveryearlyhomeofthehumanrace。Beingthusconsonantwiththeuniversalviewregardingtherelationofphysicalgeographytothedivinegovernment，itbecameatreasureoftheJewishnationandoftheChristianChurch——atreasurenotonlytobeguardedagainstallhostileintrusion，buttobeincreased，asweshallsee，bythemyth-makingpowersofJews，Christians，andMohammedansforthousandsofyears。Thespotwherethemythoriginatedwascarefullykeptinmind；indeed，itcouldnotescape，forinthatplacealonewereconstantlyseenthephenomenawhichgaverisetoit。Wehaveasteadychainoftestimonythroughtheages，allpointingtothesaltpillarastheirrefragableevidenceofdivinejudgment。Thatgreattheologicaltestoftruth，thedictumofSt。VincentofLerins，wouldcertainlyprovethatthepillarwasLot’swife，foritwasbelievedsotobebyJews，Christians，andMohammedansfromtheearliestperioddowntoatimealmostwithinpresentmemory——“always，everywhere，andbyall。”ItwouldstandperfectlytheancienttestinsisteduponbyCardinalNewman。”Securusjudicatorbisterrarum。”
For，eversincetheearliestdaysofChristianity，theidentityofthesaltpillarwithLot’swifehasbeenuniversallyheldandsupportedbypassagesinGenesis，inSt。Luke’sGospel，andintheSecondEpistleofSt。Peter——coupledwithapassageinthebookoftheWisdomofSolomon，whichtothisday，byamajorityintheChristianChurch，isbelievedtobeinspired，andfromwhicharespeciallycitedthewords，“Astandingpillarofsaltisamonumentofanunbelievingsoul。”[429]
[429]Fortheusualbiblicalcitations，seeGenesisxix，26；St。
Lukexvii，32；IIPeterii，6。ForthecitationfromWisdom，seechap。x，v。7。FortheaccountofthetransformationofLot’swifeputintoitsproperrelationswiththeJehovisticandElohisticdocuments，seeLenormant’sLaGenese，Paris，1883，pp。
53，199，and317，318。